Kickoff is a little over 12 hours away and I thought I'd get one more preview out.  Scouts Inc. usually hits on a lot of the obvious, but their preview of the game is always a plus.

49ers Keys to Success (with my own thoughts)
1. Straighten out the problems on the offensive line - According to Maiocco and Stats, LLC, Joe Staley has given up a team-high 5 sacks.  His move to left tackle has not exactly been smooth sailing, but hopefully as the season goes on we'll see some improvements.
2. Get Gore the ball early and often - Certainly not a shocking suggestion.  Gore has proven his ability to contribute in both the running and passing game.  I know forcing a specific ratio can create problems but it seems foolish if he's not touching the ball 25 times a game.
3. Keep Cassel running in the pocket - Cassel has completed 2/3 of his pass and while his YPA is relatively low, it should only improve as he grows more comfortable.  Accordingly, the pass rush simply has to be there.  Eventually, Cassel is going to gain some comfort with the deep game and I'd prefer it not happen today.

Matchup to Watch
They agree with us on the Moss-Clements being the best matchup of the week.  They say that:

This week Moss gets to test out his speed and big-play ability on one of the league's better cover men. It has the potential of an exciting matchup, and both players are sure to be up for the challenge. Clements prides himself on his ability to shut down opposing teams' best receivers, and he should get opportunities to prove himself against New England. The key factor in Moss versus Clements will be Cassel's ability and willingness to get the ball deep with the timing and accuracy to allow this matchup to play out.

Let's hope for a repeat of Clements' performances against Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson.  Walt Harris will have to hold up his own end of the bargain against Wes Welker, but Moss is the biggest threat out there.

Overall, Scouts Inc. slightly favors the Patriots.  They give the Patriots the edge in wide receivers, on the o-line and d-line, in special teams and at head coach.  The 49ers get the edge at quarterback, running back, linebacker and defensive back.  They predict a 23-17 Patriots win stating that:

San Francisco appeared to lose some confidence last week in New Orleans, and the 49ers are now on pace to set a new league record for sacks allowed in a season. New England isn't without its own question marks -- and shaky quarterback play is just one of them. But the Patriots get a narrow edge in this game, if for no other reason than Belichick has had an extra week to prepare for it.

There are two types of heart-breaking losses.  There is the last second stunning end to a game, something Cardinals fans endured last season when Tully Banta-Cain pounced on a Kurt Warner end zone fumble.  Then there's the slow Chinese water-torture type of death, as we saw today.  The former is like ripping off a band-aid, the latter just eats you up for a good chunk of a game.

This game can be fully explained by two statistics: turnovers and time of possession.  The 49ers had 4 fumbles and 1 interception.  Arizona finished with 37:05 to the 49ers 22:55 in time of possession  and held onto the ball for roughly 3/4 of the 2nd half.  It got so bad that before the two under 2 minute drives in the 4th quarter, the 49ers had the ball for ONE DRIVE IN THE SECOND HALF!

One thing to keep in mind (not to poor salt on this) is that the final score actually could have been a lot worse.  Twice the Cardinals ran the ball inside the five yard line, only to be moved back 15 yards due to personal fouls.  Instead of 14 points on those two drives, they came away with 3 points.

While it's hard to talk about anything good, for these initial recaps I want to at least get the good, the bad and the ugly down so we have a more complete picture.

The Good
Frank Gore - When he was actually on the field he was making plays befitting a Mike Martz running back.  He was a great escape valve for JTO and he looked lean and mean bouncing off tacklers.  I expect a big year from him no matter how the 49ers do record-wise.

Parys Haralson/Justin Smith - Haralson finished the game with 2.5 sacks and was bringing pressure for the entire first half. Justin Smith had a half a sack but was getting in Warner's face the entire first half.  However, the Cardinals adjusted in the second half bringing in more protection and the pass rush immediately died.  I know you don't want to give up the big play, but an occasional corner and safety blitz might have kept the Cardinals more honest

Bryant Johnson - He didn't have a huge game, but he got himself open and held on to the ball.  Considering how much time he missed in training camp, I think he performed quite well.  His chemistry with O'Sullivan should only improve.

Vernon Davis - He made some solid catches, but equally important, he had some really nice blocks and no mental mistakes, a big problem for him the last two seasons.

The Bad
J.T. O'Sullivan - I won't put him in the ugly category because he did make some things happen on offense.  However, he had trouble when the pocket started to collapse.  He made a few nice dump-offs but his three turnovers killed (even if pass protection caused one of them).  He probably showed more bad than good considering the offense only managed 1 touchdown on a Gore run, but he did show some things that have me mildly optimistic.

Offensive line - At times they got a lot of push and opened up big holes for Frank Gore.  However, 4 sacks and two quarterback fumbles are not good results.  Joe Staley was pushed around for good chunks of the game and clearly is still learning the left tackle position.  Hopefully we'll see some steady improvement in the coming weeks.

The Ugly
The Secondary - Even when the 49ers were getting some pass rush early in the second quarter, the secondary could not maintain coverage, particularly on Anquan Boldin who finished with 8 receptions for 82 yards all in the second half.  There were several third and long situations where the 49ers simply couldn't make plays.  You let a team convert multiple 3rd and long situations and you're definitely going to end up on the wrong side of the score.

Turnovers - Everything that could go wrong on offense in the early part of the game did.  Throw in the later Takeo Spikes fumble on the short kick and it was a miserable day for the 49ers.  You turn over the ball 5 times, you're probably not going to win the game.  You turn it over 5 times and force 0 turnovers yourself and you're definitely NOT going to win the game.

Timeouts/Game Management - The one continuous complaint at this site (aside from QB play) is the time management issue.  With 1:01 left in the first half and Arizona deep in their own territory, the 49ers made a stop on 3rd down to set up a 4th and 12 punt.  Unfortunately, due to the lack of timeouts, Arizona ran the clock down to 10 seconds and the 49ers could do nothing to end the half.  One of those timeouts was blown on a pretty stupid challenge.  I'm not saying they would have scored with more time left, but they certainly would have had more of an opportunity.

Next week
Even though it's only week two, the 49ers face a huge showdown up in Seattle next week.  Due to injuries and suspensions, the Seahawks could be struggling and the 49ers have to take advantage of that.  I really hope the team is able to bounce back from this loss and not let it bog them down next week.  It'll be tough to win on the road, but it would be a huge momentum builder and help in any eventual tiebreaks.

Thanks to everybody who took part in the discussion, even as the knife was being twisted in the second half.  We had 34 users take part with our highest (besides me) being shlecko at 73 comments.  Due to the length of the list, I'm posting it after the jump.

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Up to this point we have discussed just about everything under the sun when it comes to the San Francisco 49ers.  We've beaten into the ground everything from the quarterback competition to the Ted linebacker position and everything in between.  During this entire time I never really even thought about doing one broad overview of the team.  We've predicted wins and losses based on the schedule and we've looked at their various opponents.  However, no post has brought it all together.  In doing this post, I think I've officially written my longest post at Niners Nation, so a good chunk of it will be after the jump.

In the President's State of the Union address, you often hear, "The state of our union is strong."  You won't hear such proclamations.  However, I am willing to say that the state of the union could turn out to be stronger than many of us anticipated.  When asked how I feel about the 49ers in 2008 (because clearly the world wants to know), I use the term cautious optimism. 

Looking at reader comments and the media around the nation, there are plenty of folks who are not feeling good about the 49ers chances in 2008.  For example, Bill Simmons posted his NFL preview column and he was pretty clear in thinking the 49ers will suck this season.  Now, clearly what the Sports Guy thinks about the 49ers is not on my radar, but I think it's indicative of the national belief. 

The 49ers were one of the cinderella picks heading into last season (although the Sports Guy didn't buy into the hype).  Then they crashed and burned and I think the ugliness of last season is carrying over into this season until they prove otherwise, which is a perfectly reasonable expectation.  Throw in a circus of a qb competition between the likes of J.T. O'Sullivan, Alex Smith and Shaun Hill and it's understandable why non-fans would think the 49ers are a joke.

So why am I cautiously optimistic?  Aside from being a diehard 49ers fan, I think there are several reasons why this team could be a solid football team.  I'll qualify solid by saying a very good season to me would be 9-7.  While parts of this team are playoff caliber, there are still enough question marks to keep me from going too far. 

We know that Patrick Willis is a beast, we know that Frank Gore is the man and we know that Isaac Bruce will probably put up solid but unspectacular numbers.  And I'd say we know Vernon Davis will find himself flagged for a whole variety of penalties.  So what don't we know yet?

How will this whole JTO thing pan out?
This is the million dollar question.  More of the season's potential is riding on this question than anything else.  In one of his media sessions Scot McCloughan stated that if Alex Smith is still the backup at season's end, he will not be back with the 49ers in 2009.  His salary escalates too much to keep him around.  So, will Alex Smith start for the 49ers again?  I'll go out on a bit of a limb and say that barring injury, no and that the Alex Smith era is over and done.

While most people don't like cocky individuals, I think the quarterback position requires a person who can forget his mistakes and look to the next play.  Certainly you don't want to repeat mistakes, but you also don't want them weighing on your mind constantly.  JTO brings a swagger that I am starting to enjoy.  Even for a guy who has treked around the NFL and NFL Europe, he seems to have this belief that he can be a great quarterback in this league.  I often wonder if Alex Smith has that kind of confidence.

I realize there are future contract issues to consider, but for the here and now in 2008, I think JTO will be a successful quarterback.  I'm not predicting Pro Bowl and MVP type great, but he will bring respect back to the 49ers QB position.  He's got the arm to make the throws and he's got just enough mobility to avoid sacks and make small things happen with his feet.  I said it before and I'll say it again, he's going to make some great plays and he'll also mix in some plays that have you shaking your head in disbelief (in a bad way).

The cautious comes into this because I'm certainly not 100% convinced of what I stated above.  The NFL has seen guys like Jake Delhomme and Kurt Warner come along and become Pro Bowl QBs.  However, the odds are certainly not in JTO's favor that he'll become the next one in that line.

Will we see a pass rush?
I don't think the pass rush will be anything spectacular in 2008.  I think Ray McDonald will take the next step in his pass-rushing evolution, but I think the pass rush will be more of a stop gap measure than a true force of nature.  And I think the 49ers defense can be successful without a great pass rush.  As long as they are creating some sort of pressure, the mere threat of a sack will be enough to force quicker throws from quarterbacks. 

The 49ers made additions and changes to the defense but I think it still remains a run-stopping defense with enough talent to contain the passing game.  Nate Clements is a #1 corner but I don't think he'll ever be confused with Champ Bailey.  Part of that is the lack of flash, but as long as Clements can contain that #1 receiver, who needs sizzle when you got the steak?

Earlier in the offseason I made a prediction that the 49ers defense would be at the very worst in the top half of the league.  I still believe that will happen.  The addition of Justin Smith and the return of Manny Lawson will obviously be huge.  However, Tully Banta-Cain coming off the bench instead of starting and the addition of Takeo Spikes could be equally important, at least to the linebacking corp.  TBC was at his best in New England coming off the bench.  When they started predicting 10 sacks and the like for him last year (I believe it was somebody at ESPN), I thought that was a bit premature.  He won't have huge stats this season, but I think the intangibles will be important.

More after the jump, including my locked-in record prediction for 2008, for which you can mock me endlessly later in the year (and feel free to throw out your official prediciton of record)...

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EDITOR'S NOTE - I managed to score jury duty today, so if anything comes up, feel free to use this as an open thread for breaking news of any sort.  Thanks to the power of SBN 2.0 I've managed to pre-post the #2 ILB All-Time team poll for noon pacific.  Other than that I'll be away from wireless until after 5pm.

Things along the offensive line certainly got a lot more interesting in the past couple of days.  After hearing that Jonas Jennings was having surgery on a broken knuckle, we learned today that Adam Snyder is out with what sounds like a right ankle sprain.  Thanks to sfgfan for throwing that one out below.

I use the headline "A rookie..." because there are a couple of options and no official word has been handed down as to which of the two will start.  One option would be to plug in undrafted rookie Brian De La Puente at left guard.  The other option is to move Tony Wragge over to left guard and plug in rookie Chilo Rachal at right guard.

We haven't heard a whole ton about De La Puente so I had a thought.  Maiocco has been running his day after look at all 81 players for both the Raiders and Packers games.  I'll post his comments on De La Puente and Rachal.

BRIAN DE LA PUENTE
Raiders

60-de la Puente: Nice block on linebacker Edgerton Hartwell on Hill shovel pass to Clayton helped net 14 yards. . . . Got a lot of action at LG after Snyder left the game.

Packers

60-de la Puente: Nice work one-on-one vs. DT Daniel Muir to allow Smith to deliver 27-yard pass down the field. . . . Performed very well in run and pass games.

CHILO RACHAL
Raiders

62-Rachal: Very solid job at RG after entering the game in the second quarter . . . Roughed up DT Derrick Gray in pass protection.

Packers

62-Rachal: Had some good plays, but there were some blemishes, too. . . Allowed QB pressure from Muir, who put good heat on Smith to lead to a third-down incompletion. . . . Missed a kick-out block on a 1-yard Clayton carry . . . Got low and opened the hole for Norris' 1-yard TD run . . . Got out front on screen pass to Clayton but he could not make the block on LB Abdul Hodge, who stopped the play for just 5 yards on third-and-8.

It's interesting how certain players will get a certain cache when it comes to the 53-man roster, simply because they were a draft pick.  Now I'm not jumping onto any sort of De La Puente bandwagon.  Rather I'm just intrigued by how this plays out for De La Puente.  Does he end up on the practice squad, our 53-man roster, or signing somewhere else with a chance to get some serious playing time?

According to Mike Sando, the NFC West divisional blogger at ESPN, the 49ers have kept an average of 9 offensive linemen in the three years of Mike Nolan.  Injury issues aside, the 49ers roster right now would probably include Joe Staley, Adam Snyder, Eric Heitmann, David Baas, Jonas Jennings, Tony Wragge, Chilo Rachal, Barry Sims and Cody Wallace.  Guys like Joe Toledo, Chris Patrick and John Booker are all training camp fodder.  So unless the 49ers decide to break camp with 10 offensive linemen, Brian De La Puente finds himself on the short end of the stick.

Due to the situation just described, I almost would prefer De La Puente get the start at left guard.  Chilo Rachal is not going anywhere and will get a chance to develop.  Since the starters are going into the third quarter (not sure where I read it, but I did read that somewhere), why not give De La Puente a chance to show what he can do?  An educated decision is certainly a better decision.  The first cut-down date is looming after this game and while I don't see De La Puente being in that first cut, it'd still be good to know what he's got.

I don't even know WHERE to begin with this.  I was looking over Matt Barrows most recent post and he managed to subtly throw in something that rocked my world just a little bit.  He was talking about how Joe Staley is one of the front-runners for Barrows' "Good Guy to Interview" award.  After some discussion about his foot and the offensive linemen's debate about Obama vs. McCain, Barrows dropped this little nugget:

The conversation ended with a discussion of Staley's Karaoke prowess. Staley says he's certain he's the best singer on the team and isn't shy about showing off his voice. During a recent excursion, he tapped Alex Smith's fiancee, Elizabeth Barry, for a duet of "A Whole New World." "I'm a big fan of Disney movies. So naturally I knew every word," Staley said. He also belted out Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" and "Hero" by Inrique Iglesias. The man has range ...

First off, I certainly won't judge a man by his karaoke choices.  The whole point of karaoke is throwing out some rather amusing songs.  However, this list of songs is something else.  I love how Staley says naturally he knew every word.  I bet he was a hit in the annual "make the rookies sing their fight song" hazing ritual.

When Kwame Harris was still around, the big knock on him was his sensitivity.  He was an artistic "Renaissance Man" and that didn't exactly fly.  Of course he was also a god-awful offensive lineman whose primary weapon was the hold.  Staley proved last season that he could kick some butt on the offensive line.  So, for now he gets a pass, although this is definitely something to keep in our back pocket.

In a less than stellar piece of news, it was announced that Michael Robinson underwent arthroscopic surgery today.  The procedure was designed to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.  The injury happened when he ran into the back of Chilo Rachal and went down.  He thought he was fine, but clearly that was not that case.  No timetable was given, but Barrows mentioned that it might be a week or two before he gets back on the field.  [EDITOR'S NOTE: MM is now stating Robinson could miss upwards of 3-5 weeks.  That would bring him back right before the start of the regular season.  We'll see what Thomas Clayton does with more preseason carries.  Maybe he squeezes onto the Week 1 roster.  We'll see.]

I tried doing my own research on this type of injury but most everything I found dealt with normal recovery times, and not times for professional athletes.  One interesting tidbit I came across mentioned that LenDale White supposedly played all of 2007 with a torn meniscus.  Although he struggled at times, the Titans back finished with 1,110 yards on the season and claims to be 100% healthy now.  Robinson is not an every down back but as a special teams standout we certainly want him at 100%.  He was not going to pass DeShaun Foster on the depth chart, but you never want a guy missing reps on the field.

In other 49ers injury news, Aubrayo Franklin passed his physical today and was taken off the PUP list.  Also, according to MM, the 49ers are hoping for Ashley Lelie to return later this week and apparently Joe Staley is making his way back tomorrow after missing time with his infected foot.

The 49ers wrapped up their third day of practice today.  Apparently the original plan was to have a morning and afternoon practice, but Mike Nolan decided to cancel the afternoon practice.  The team starts practicing in pads tomorrow, so it sounds like a chance to give everybody a little rest before then.

On current injury issues
"Arnaz Battle is nursing a little bit of a hamstring that kind of bothers him somewhat. He might take fewer reps at times, although he didn’t today. But someone like Ashley Lelie, naturally that gives someone else the opportunity to take some of those reps so it’d be important for him to get back. He should be back in a few days."

"Walt Harris was held out of practice just because that’s the way we’re doing it. Just like we’ve done the last two years with him: one a day. That is the case with certain players. Jonas Jennings is one of those and Walt Harris, Isaac Bruce, Arnaz Battle – those are the four that come to mind. Joe Staley should be in at the middle or end of the week. We’ll see how it keeps going, but it will not be tomorrow. Aubrayo Franklin should be in the next day or two. [Damane] Duckett will be a few days. Michael [Robinson] has got a strained knee, and they’ll look at it when they go inside . . . it just looks like a strain.”

On the WR battle
"There are a few established guys and a couple I can speak of right away: naturally Isaac Bruce and Arnaz Battle. [Bryant Johnson] might be in that group but, at the same time, he’s in a new situation and a new offense, and it’s important for him to stay in the competition as far as doing everything he can to get better.”

On whether Battle and Bruce are considered the "starters," with Johnson the #3
“No, I would consider all three of them. I would just talk about a three-wide situation because that’s definitely the case. We’re trying to get our best out on the field, so they may be part of the best 11 as it looks right now when you compare them to a fullback offense or a tight end offense.”

On Josh Morgan
“He’s caught a lot of balls, so he has made a good impression. He’s done a very good job, and he’s working hard. He needs to continue to do those things not only on the field but off the field as far as taking care of his body . . . It would be nice if he factors in because he’s certainly done a very nice job for three days and five practices.”

On whether they'll keep 6 receivers on the 53-man roster
“No, I would hope for at least four. Five would be reasonable, but six would mean that we’ve got a decent core of guys. So, I was hoping for guys to show up and then we’d have six, but I wouldn’t go that far today.”

On whether Tony Wragge and Chilo Rachal are battling for a starter role or backup role
“You know, at this point, if everybody’s healthy, it will be a long shot for one of them [to start over David Baas]. But they keep getting better. I’d like for one of them to prove me wrong. You get your expectations too high on a rookie and you’ve either got a bad football team or you’re getting ready to be bad.”

MY THOUGHTS (Fooch, not Nolan)
It sounds like Josh Morgan is making quite an impact on the coaching staff.  Maiocco and Barrows indicated back in June that Morgan looked impressive in OTAs.  If Ashley Lelie can't get healthy, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Morgan get a roster spot over Lelie.  Considering the team has 3 solid receivers already, it would not be like cutting your top receiver by any stretch.  Lelie continues to frustrate.  He's out for several days and that's just not going to help him, especially considering he was in the dog house most of last season.

As for the battle at right guard, Nolan makes a good point about getting high expectations for a rookie.  Even if Rachal isn't able to step up, Wragge has been a decent offensive lineman when called upon.  And, as previously discussed, even if Wragge or Rachal doesn't take the starting job, they can work to providing some excellent depth.

It sounds like there will be random updates on 49ers training camp throughout the day.  As I come across information I'll add it to this post.  Feel free to discuss anything about training camp or otherwise that interests you.  And if you come across interesting training camp links throw them out there.  Consider this a combined running diary (updated less frequently than the draft one) and link dump.  So go to town.

Some early PUP news.  David Baas will start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.  He can come off the list when he passes a physical.  The general info is that he'll be back at the very end of the preseason.

Aubrayo Franklin has a calf injury that looks likely to lead to PUP placement.  Again, once he passes a physical he'll come off and it should be much sooner than Baas.

Joe Staley is not practicing today due to an infected bug bite on his foot.  Not the best way to start things out.

AM Practice
Nothing wildly over the top took place in the morning but as always there is plenty to infer from the participants:

The defensive lineman in the 3-4 were Isaac Sopoaga, Ronald Fields and Ray McDonald.  The linebackers were Justin Smith, Manny Lawson, Jeff Ulbrich and Patrick Willis.  This continues the trend of Smith getting a lot of time at linebacker.  I hope McDonald gets a lot of reps with the first team defensive line once the preseason games start.

On offense, Damane Duckett filled in for the bug-bitten Joe Staley and Tony Wragge got the first team snaps at right guard.  Once again, Zak Keasey is getting the majority of the snaps at fullback, although the two tight end set has been more popular.  I'm really curious what will happen with the fullback position in general and Norris in particular in the Martz offense.  Keasey is a special teams standout so maybe the 49ers figure they can save a roster spot by keeping him over Norris.

Jonas Jennings has apparently looked really good in drills.  Of course we all know he's supremely talented.  It's the injuries and personal issues that always get in the way.  If the team could get a FULL season from Jonas Jennings the o-line would be so much better for it.

______________________
Sources
Chrissy Mauck @ 49ers Home Page

Matt Maiocco

Matt Barrows

Well speak of the devil.  Just as I post about why first and second round draft picks haven't been signing, the 49ers go out and come to terms with their second round pick, Chilo Rachal.

The most interesting thing is the fact that they refer to him as tackle and guard.  Rachal was a guard at USC, where he didn't allow a sack in 21 games.  However, during June's organized training activities, Rachal spent his time at tackle.  The team was worried about depth issues and wanted him to get some time there.  Since then, the 49ers have signed Barry Sims to compete with Jonas Jennings for a starting spot, and at worst be the backup to both Jennings and Joe Staley.

So what does this mean?  I honestly don't know.  Jennings has his injury history and Barry Sims is no spring chicken.  I'm curious to see where they line up Rachal in training camp.  I'd prefer he just learn one position as well as possible, but if he can develop the flexibility to play both guard and tackle, that only increases his value.

Now that Sims is signed, I'd imagine Rachal will compete primarily with David Baas, who is recovering from a torn pectoral.  Matt Barrows had some updated info on Baas:

The questions, then, are when will Baas be back? And will his absence allow Rachal, assuming he's at right guard, to usurp the position? I'm told that Baas is progressing nicely from his injury. He's out of his sling and he's been able to do some light work in the weight room. He is expected to go on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list when players have their physicals next week. He likely will miss all of the preseason but the team expects him back for the regular season. Baas has the added concern of losing upper body strength while he is kept from fully working out in the weight room.

Players never want to lose a starting spot due to injury, but the offensive line is certainly unique in the need for chemistry among the five guys there.  Barrows makes a good point when he asks what happens if Rachal is starting at one of the guard positions and forms solid chemistry with the rest of the line.  The negative would be forcing Baas back into the situation and having a discombobulated line trying to get back into rhythm.  Of course, this all depends on Rachal stepping up and taking the bull by the horns.  Let's hope that happens and he just slots right into a starting spot.

A few days ago marcello posted a link to Roger Goodell's rant against the rise in rookie salaries.  I knew I wanted to discuss this in more depth, but I wanted to wait and get my ducks in a row.  Today is a perfect time for this post thanks to several video links at ESPN.com and NFL.com on the issue.  Throw in Captain Chaos's post and there is a whole lot to consider.

Now that the owners have opted out of the current labor deal, the rookie salary issue is sure to become a sticking point in negotiations going forward.  When it comes to labor negotiations, each side values any and all bargaining chips they can bring to the table.  Conceivably, the NFLPA could concede a rookie salary cap as long as the NFL did ______.  However, this particular issue is not so simple.  Players eligible for the draft are covered by the NFL collective bargaining agreement, even though they're not members of the NFL Players Association.  Gene Upshaw and the veterans that run the NFLPA are supposed to be looking out for the best interests of their entire constituency, but I wonder how true that is.

People's Exhibit A: Patrick Willis and Joe Staley are entering their second year in the league, and as first round picks they have certainly benefited from the rise in rookie salaries.  I'm excited for the future of both young men and would not normally blaspheme against either, particularly the true awesomeness that is Patrick Willis.  Then I see the video linked here and I take issue with what they have to say.  In the video, both guys agree that some kind of cap is necessary on rookie salaries.  At the end they're asked about their own salaries but the video cuts off before we get a straight answer.

Say the NFL and NFLPA come to some sort of agreement on how to handle this.  If the players agree to a rookie salary cap, that could conceivably mean more money for the veterans when they're free agents.  That is a bit of an assumption on my part, but something worth considering.  One way to not screw over the rookies (not that a 3 year, $8 million deal would be getting screwed), would be that the money saved by the owners on rookie salaries would go towards the players pension plan.  That way the rookies could eventually benefit if they're in the league long enough.  I'm just spitballing ideas, but it's something that both sides will have to think long and hard about.

ESPN has some interesting info about the issue.  Gene Wojciechowski has an anti-Goodell take and after the jump is some ESPN video, including analysis by John Clayton.  He points to the trade off necessary for Upshaw to give up the rookie money and whether the NFL is willing to give up a chunk of revenue for that cap.

My own take?  While I believe in the free market economy, I don't think the situation is right for it in the NFL.  On the one hand, the owners are the ones giving up gobs of money to these players and they should be more disciplined.  The problem is that on the other hand, the players are willing to hold out until they get the money they want.  It becomes a battle of wills.  If there was a slotted rookie cap in place, there would be no holdouts and no acrimonious negotiations.  And for those wondering about the rookie salary pool, it comes down to working the system as they do with veterans.  The Dolphins rookie pool was $6.5 million.  Jake Long signed a 5 year, $57.75 million deal, but his 2008 cap figure is only $3 million.

I'll close with one reason for the players being allowed to demand whatever they want.  It comes from Wojciechowski's lambasting of the commissioner:

His statement was greeted by a long round of applause from the estimated crowd of 2,000 inside the amphitheater.

None of those applauding were drafted out of college, had their job rights owned by a team/employer not necessarily of their choice, could be traded to another employer without their consent, could be severely injured on the job, and could be cut at almost anytime.

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