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The long "winter" that is the NFL offseason is finally at an end.  While games do not kick for another couple weeks, practice is officially underway today.  Thursday saw the 49ers report for duty and take care of phsyicals and whatnot.  Thankfully all the rookies are under contract and in camp.  To throw some cliches your way, in July everybody's a contender.  Some more than others, but every team has some reason or another for hope.  The 49ers hope comes in the form of Mike Martz and Justin Smith among many others.

We've broken down different training camp battles (twice).  We've looked at the new 49ers on the field and amongst the coaching staff.  We've even looked at possible best and worst case scenarios.  Consider this post then a quick overview for those who may have been away from Niners Nation awhile, as well as general info on training camp in Santa Clara.

Practice Facilities
Marie P. DeBartolo Sports Center
Santa Clara, CA
8 practices open to the public: July 25, 26, 27, 28, 30; August 1, 2,3

John Clayton with quick thoughts on the 49ers training camp and things to do away from camp:

• What John Clayton says: What's better than 49er camp? First, it's located on the outside of Great America amusement park, which could make for a great doubleheader for the entire family. Catch a morning or afternoon practice with one of the up-and-coming teams in football and slide over to the theme park. The 49ers train at their headquarters and have a nice setup for fans, with stands and refreshments.
• What to do besides training camp: Santa Clara is 45 minutes from downtown San Francisco; visit 49ers' camp in the morning and shop in Union Square in the afternoon. Other must-see places in San Francisco include Alcatraz, Pier 39, Golden Gate Park and the Ferry Building. Back at team headquarters, the Santa Clara Golf & Tennis Club is located but a few feet away, should campgoers wish to take some swings while in town. For a true taste of Silicon Valley history, the Intel Museum also is just down the street. And nearby Triton Museum of Art offers free admission.

Veteran Additions
Isaac Bruce, WR
DeShaun Foster, RB
Bryant Johnson, WR
J.T. O'Sullivan, QB
LaJuan Ramsey, DT
Alan Reuber, OT
Allen Rossum, KR/PR
Barry Sims, OT
Justin Smith, DE
Dontarrious Thomas, LB

2008 Draft Class
Kentwan Balmer, DT/DE
Chilo Rachal, G/T
Reggie Smith, CB/S
Cody Wallace, C
Josh Morgan, WR
Larry Grant, LB

Training Camp Battles to watch
QB1: Alex Smith vs. Shaun Hill vs. J.T. O'Sullivan (no snickering please)
Ted Linebacker: Jeff Ulbrich vs. Larry Grant vs. Brandon Moore
RG (winner does battle with Baas): Chilo Rachal vs. Tony Wragge
CB #2/3: Walt Harris vs. Shawntae Spencer vs. Tarell Brown vs. Reggie Smith
WR #2/#3/#4: Bryant Johnson vs. Arnaz Battle vs. Ashley Lelie vs. Jason Hill vs. Josh Morgan
FS: Mark Roman vs. Dashon Goldson
ROLB: Tully Banta-Cain vs. Jay Moore vs. Parys Haralson
World Wide Supremacy: Patrick Willis and Andy Lee vs. God (trick question, Lee and Willis ARE God)

We'll have wall to wall coverage of training camp.  I'm going to attend one of the eight practices, although that may expand to more if I have time.  In the meantime, if ANYBODY here attends training camp, we'd love to hear your thoughts in a Fan Post.  In the meantime I'll be scouring the Internet for information as things happen.  I hope everyone is as excited as I am for the return of football!

And of course, if you haven't yet signed up, the random drawing for spots in the first Niners Nation Fantasy Football League will be held July 31.  For those not selected, additional leagues will be created to fill all demand and there will be equal prizes to all winners.

For those who missed it from earlier, the 49ers won the every exciting and popular Barry Sims sweepstakes, outlasting the Rams, Patriots and Ravens.  Sims signed a two year deal, although financial terms were not revealed.  In deciding on the 49ers, it sounds like it was a combination of locale, $$$ and playing time:

"What maybe tips it a little bit is the money is a little bit better and you don't have to move to play here," said Vierra, who declined to reveal terms of the deal. "All I can tell you is he had a good feel in San Francisco."

Sims previously played for the Raiders and had a home in San Ramon I believe, so not having to relocate probably helped.  He'll compete with Jonas Jennings at right tackle, but he has the flexibility to play both tackle positions, making him an extremely valuable asset off the bench.

53-man roster
The question now is how this affects everybody else.  While it's probably not a 100% lock, I'd imagine Sims is a pretty likely candidate for the 53-man roster.  I had indicated in the 53-man projection post that if the 49ers signed Sims, Damane Duckett would be the likely candidate to get axed.  Of course Duckett seems to be a pet project of the coaching staff, which might work out in his favor.  If they went with Sims OR Duckett, the team would carry 9 offensive lineman into the regular season.  One reason to go with just Sims is his availability as a right and left tackle.  Any thoughts on who is out of luck with the Sims signing?

Chilo Rachal
After being drafted as a guard, word was that the coaching staff was going to move Rachal to right tackle in large part due to lack of depth.  Now that there is a bit more depth, I'm curious if they still try and get Rachal some time at tackle.  It'd be nice if he could get a little time at both tackle and guard.  A versatile offensive lineman is a valuable commodity and considering how young he is, Rachal has time to develop both guard and tackle skills.

Jonas Jennings
Jennings is immensely talented, but unfortunately quite injury-prone.  If Sims has a good camp, this could very well be the end of Jonas Jennings as a 49er.  He has never been guaranteed a spot in 2008 and this gives the 49ers some more options.  Cutting Jennings could open up a spot for one of the other young options in camp, whether it be Joe Toledo, Alan Reuber, or Damane Duckett.  Of course, if Jennings is solid in camp and can stay healthy, that's kind of a moot point.

While the battle for who will be quarterback rages, the right tackle position has become something else entirely.  Assuming everyone is healthy, Joe Staley would be at left tackle and Jonas Jennings would be at right tackle.  Jennings is excused from the OTAs so health is not an issue yet.  However, in his absence, one time 49ers guard (for about 2 week) Chilo Rachal is getting a crack at right tackle for the first time since he was in high school.  Additionally, the 49ers signed Alan Reuber, a journeyman tackle who has bounced around the league.  While the Reuber signing may not make an impact once the regular season starts, it has gotten me thinking about this often forgotten position.

Jonas Jennings came to the 49ers amidst a decent amount of fanfare and a sizable contract.  He has subsequently proven to be talented and very injury prone.  When his 2008 option was picked up, the most interesting line was that he would be competing for a starting job and could still conceivably be cut.  He's dealt with what appears to be some important family matters and while we certainly feel for him, it's entirely possible Jennings is either gone or benched at some point soon.

This has opened the door for the guard we thought we drafted.  Chilo Rachal instead gets converted into a tackle and all of a sudden he's gone from competing with Dave Baas at right guard to competing with incumbent Jonas Jennings at tackle.  Throw in Damane Duckett and Alan Reuber and you've got a whole mess of bodies out there.  According to Nolan:

Head coach Mike Nolan said he was concerned about the overall unit. "We do need to add some depth there," he said. He figures he has "seven or eight" proven offensive linemen. "Last year, it was nine. Maybe that was a false sense of security."

The question becomes what will be the result at right tackle?  Considering the overall lack of depth, I think we can count that in the "Keep Jonas Jennings" column.  As I'm not all that knowledgeable about some of the nuances of the various offensive line positions, I turn to 49ers o-line coach George Warhop for guidance, followed by Rachal:

At tackle, Rachal has to learn to play "in space," that is, without being surrounded by teammates as he was at guard.

"One thing he's got going for him is he's extremely tough," Warhop said. "He's a very smart player." Rachal's new assignments "make sense to him. He just has to get sound technically."

Rachal said he played some tackle at USC in practice but not in a game. "It's not a big adjustment at all," he said. "After the first four plays (Monday), it pretty much came back to me."

Asked if the position switch was a nod to the fact Jennings has missed 27 games over his three years with the team, Warhop said, "I just think you can't have enough tackles, regardless of Jonas' history in terms of injuries."

I've thrown up a poll to see what people think about the future at right tackle.  The "Never" option basically means you think either Rachal is a bust or Rachal goes back to right guard and somebody else eventually replaces Jennings.  In reality this is probably a guess at best.  However, I think this is an interesting position battle to watch going forward.  While we want everyone to stay healthy, if Rachal played Lou Gehrig to Jennings' Wally Pipp, it might not be the worst thing in the world long term.