The final injury reports were released, and depending on which of the questionable people are playing, the matchups will be rather intriguing.

49ers Pass Rush vs. Saints offensive line
The Saints will be without starting left guard Jamar Nesbit, center Jonathan Goodwin is questionable and left tackle Jammal Brown is probable after being limited in practice all week.  For the 49ers, the pass rushing is starting to gain some traction as we've seen the likes of Parys Haralson and Roderick Green step up and make plays.  Justin Smith will continue to be moved all around the field to create matchup havoc.  And of course the impact of Manny Lawson is unknown at this point since we have no idea what defense the 49ers will roll out.  I'd say that more 3-4/4-3 than nickel/dime would make sense, but after the Seahawks game, who knows what will happen.

Either way, I think this is one area the 49ers may have the advantage.  If Drew Brees gets enough time he'll absolutely pick apart the 49ers defense.  Once again, I'd let the corners play man-to-man and come with an extra blitzer to create havoc in the backfield.

Whomever v. Reggie Bush
Although it's only a guess, I think it's safe to say somebody will be spying Reggie Bush the entire game.  Bush has absolutely shredded the 49ers in his short career, but the 49ers might finally have the talent to contain him...at least somewhat.  The two primary options for defending Bush would be either sticking a DB on him all game, or going with Manny Lawson for the first ten yards and a DB thereafter.

Personally, I think this is a perfect opportunity to unleash Dashon Goldson in a one-on-one situation.  He's listed as questionable this week but it sounds like he'll be able to play.  The other options is running a cross between zone and man on Bush.  Lawson would cover him in the first five or ten yards and then hands him off to a DB for the rest of the field.  The problem with that is confusion could result leaving just enough of a hole for Bush to run wild.  This is the most intriguing matchup of the day in my opinion.

49ers Receivers vs. Saints secondary
Bryant Johnson is questionable for Sunday and I'd imagine is a game-time decision.  Randall Gay is also questionable due to a hamstring injury and has been limited by the injury since week 1.  If Gay is out Mike McKenzie gets the start opposite Tracy Porter. 

If Johnson is sitting for the 49ers, I'm honestly not sure who would start opposite Isaac Bruce.  Arnaz Battle has settled in as the #3 receiver, so it's entirely reasonable to see Jason Hill or Josh Morgan starting opposite Bruce.  Hill has been getting more time on special teams, but he showed some impressive skills in the preseason.  I'd like to see either of the two get a little more playing time, but for my own personal benefit I've got Josh Morgan starting in one fantasy league where week 4 byes are killing me.  A quality game from Morgan would certainly be all the more beneficial.

One other brief point on the passing game is the effectiveness of Vernon Davis.  There has been plenty of discussion about Vernon Davis and his issues with catching the ball.  However, folks seem to agree that Davis's speed has been sufficient to at least spread out the defense and open up holes underneath.  The counter would be that eventually they might let Davis roam a little more free, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.  He makes big plays on the short passes so I'd imagine there is still the worry about what he could do catching balls up top.  Hopefully we'll see Davis explode tomorrow at the Superdome, but as long as he's being covered, hopefully the underneath remains open.

We've got an updated injury report after a couple days of practice and both teams have injury issues that might cause concern.

49ers
Bryant Johnson - Did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday with a hamstring injury

Keith Lewis - Did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday with a knee injury

Dashon Goldson - Limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday with a shoulder injury

Donald Strickland - Limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday with a knee injury

While I never want to see injuries, if the injuries to Johnson and Strickland keep them out of this Sunday's game, youngsters could benefit tremendously.  If Johnson is hurt Josh Morgan and Jason Hill could see a lot more playing time and more balls thrown in their direction.  If the stories about Josh Morgan losing 15 pounds are true, this bump in playing time could not come at a better time for him.

At cornerback, if Strickland is out, Tarell Brown remains the #3 cornerback with Shawntae Spencer's ACL surgery.  Brown had his first pick last week and will be looking to build on it.  Even if Strickland were to play I think Brown could be playing his way into the good graces of the coaching staff.  I like Strickland, but I'd love to see what Brown can do with some serious playing time.

Saints
WR David Patten - Did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday with a groin injury

C Jonathan Goodwin - Did not participate in practice Thursday

CB Randall Gay - Limited in practice Thursday, did not participate Wednesday with a hamstring injury

LB Scott Fujita - Limited particpation in practice with a knee injury

WR Terrance Copper - Limited participation in practice Wednesday and Thursday with a hamstring injury

CB Aaron Glenn - Out for this Sunday

One important issue for the Saints is the 4-game suspension of left guard Jamar Nesbit for violating the steroid policy.  It sounds like rookie Carl Nicks will get the start in his place.  Always fun for the defensive line to be facing a rookie offensive lineman.

At wide receiver, it sounds like Devery Henderson and Lance Moore will get the start, with Robert Meachem settling in as the #3 receiver.  I have to admit, the Meachem-Tarell Brown matchup could be a lot of fun to watch.

Among the rest of the injured folks, Fujita missed the last two weeks so I'm not sure if he'll be up to probable or not at this point.  If Gay could practice yesterday, I'd imagine he'd be closer to probable, but we'll see.  Also, we already knew Colston and Shockey were out but I had not made mention of Aaron Glenn, who's been declared out for this weekend with a strained ligament in his ankle.

When the final official injury report comes in I'll post it.

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)...

Continue reading this post »

Over at ESPN's blogosphere, Mike Sando had an interesting post today: Future Stars of the NFC West.  He initially mentioned Patrick Willis, but due to his overwhelming success last season, Sando decided he was already a star (I can agree with that).  He also mentioned Leroy Hill of the Seahawks, who has been getting high praise from the likes of Julian Peterson and Lofa Tatupo.

Mike's looking for some suggestions and it looks like I was the first person to comment.  I mentioned the Josh Morgan love, but decided to go in a different direction from there and point to Dashon Goldson.  Goldson has been a ballhawk in practice and he is definitely close to taking Mark Roman's job.  I don't think any of us would be surprised to see him starting at free safety in 2009, if not sooner.

So, let's come up with some guys.  Would you go with safer picks like Manny Lawson and Joe Staley?  Or is there a sleeper that hasn't been discussed nearly as much.  It's a little harder to find 49ers' sleepers here since we talk about everybody and everything.  However, a guy like Jason Hill or Tarell Brown might still qualify for that sleeper category.

If you get a second, swing over to Sando's post and throw up a comment with your choice.  And of course, let us know here who you think the next 49ers "superstar" will be.

I hope everybody is having a good Labor Day.  After the flurry of activity over the weekend, things have calmed down as we head into our first "game week."  We'll have all sorts of preview features in conjunction with Revenge of the Birds as we prepare for Week 1.  Also, keep an eye out later today for an open thread for our Community Power Rankings.  We did our first rankings right before training camp and I thought it was a nice little success.  I had initally planned one earlier in the exhibition season, but I like it better with the preseason now complete.

Tim Kawakami feels the 49ers and Raiders are looking for short term fixes to long term problems.

While most of us are high on Josh Morgan, the 49ers draft picks in general aren't expected to make a huge impact as rookies.

Ahmad Brooks is getting another second chance.  Brooks has had several run-ins with the law in college and the NFL.  I'd imagine he'll be on a short leash with Nolan and McCloughan.

Some dude from the Monterey Herald is raining on the JTO parade.

In case you missed it, here's ESPN The Magazine's NFC West overview.  I enjoy ESPN The Magazine but I think this layout can cause seizures in some people.

It seems like every year somebody runs a feature pitting college football against the NFL.  I love college sports, but without a good college team to support I don't get nearly as excited as I do for the 49ers.

ESPN is looking for people to submit videos of them tailgating.  The online version of ESPN The Magazine is creating a section called In Your Grill.

Time is indeed NOT on Mike Nolan's side.

Shockingly enough, Frank Gore is really excited for the Mike Martz offense this season.  Interesting stat in this article: Frank Gore had 40.5% of the 49ers net offensive yards last season, the highest percentage in the NFL.  Not exactly shocking considering what was around him, but still impressive.

This SI article on the "Decline and Fall of the 49ers Empire" is a couple years too late.

Practice Squad Info
Just as I was wrapping up this linkage, I noticed the 49ers rounded out their practice squad.  The final two members of the practice squad will be OT Joe Toledo and WR Chris Hannon.  Hannon, 6'3 205lbs, originally signed with the Chiefs in 2006, spending a chunk of that season on their practice squad, before spending 2007 on the Panthers practice squad.

Maiocco address fans interest in Cam Colvin:

Some in the Bay Area might be disappointed WR Cam Colvin (De La Salle High) was not added to the squad. He showed some flashes during training camp, and was at his best during the team's joint practice Aug. 4 against the Raiders. However, he seemed to drop off a little after that, and did not have a reception while seeing limited playing time during the exhibition season.

I wasn't on one side or the other in the Colvin argument particularly since he didn't have much of a chance of cracking the 53-man roster.  Herron had a few catches in the preseason but obviously that doesn't mean much of anything.  It is the practice squad after all.

Over the course of training camp I've occasionally chimed in with some of Mike Nolan's answers from post-practice media sessions.  I think Nolan's Nuggets is a quality title for this piece.  While he's the master of "coach-speak," I still like to throw out some of his thoughts.  One reason is the chance to try and read through the lines and figure out what he's "really" saying. 

For this particular week, we're focusing mostly on the wide receivers.  As previously stated, injuries have complicated things there.  I'll be doing one last 53-man projection later today and that is certainly one of the bubble-ish positions.

Nolan was asked about the starters for this Friday's game against the Chargers.  Josh Morgan is out with what sounds like a really bad illness.  Must be a nasty flu bug or something.  On who would start otherwise:

“It will be between Bryant Johnson and Ashley Lelie. Bryant Johnson, if he’s well, looks like he was able to go today pretty good, so it’ll be nice to see him, and at the other position it will be Isaac Bruce and Arnaz Battle, three wide receivers. Obviously all three receivers will be in the game at the same time.”

On how much time Johnson and Lelie might see:

“Yes, those guys haven’t played much, so a quarter, if not a half. I hope to see more of them. Some of the [reps] will depend on them. If they start to feel it tightening up or whatever, they absolutely won’t get as much. I hope that does not occur because, just liked we talked about, we want to get in that first [season] game with that healthy group.”

On work outside of the game:

“We did put a lot of emphasis these practices this week. We went good against good the entire week, which is not typical for this week, so we got a lot of good work and that was exactly what you guys were talking about. J.T. [O’Sullivan] got a lot of work with those guys that you were talking about in practice. Even though it maybe limited in the game, like I said, we tried to get in three days here this week as opposed to one game and I thought that was more important.”

Best answer of the day came in response to: Getting back to the receivers, during the offseason, you cut ties with Darrell Jackson and you kept [Ashley] Lelie around. You could argue that Jackson was more productive last year than Lelie. What is it about Lelie that you saw in him, that maybe this guy is going to be a worthwhile 49er. Was it Jerry Sullivan chiming in on that?

Nolan response: “I can’t recall.  I can’t answer that.”

Considering Lelie was in Sullivan's doghouse for parts of last season, the whole thing just blows my mind.  Maiocco made an excellent point when discussing his own 53-man roster projections:

If the 49ers keep five receivers, Lelie does not make it. But the 49ers proved Monday that Lelie is still in the game. If they had written him off, they would not have allowed him to practice. But they want him to make this team because he gives them a proven speed element. If they were set on cutting him, they would've cut him as soon as he passed the physical. Instead, they're taking a chance that he'll get reinjured, and then they'd owe him a good chunk of change in an injury settlement.

Is his speed element truly worth all this hassle?  He's a burner but is it possible Josh Morgan could bring a legit deep threat to the team?  Lelie's best season was in 2004 and his numbers went down every season since.  If he could stay healthy I suppose the speed is there, but we also have to consider who would be cut in his place.

So I guess burning question we're left with is simple: If healthy, is Ashley Lelie that good?

So, SB Nation has a fantasy sports blog called Fake Teams.  They came up with a good idea of having each team throw up a Fan Post about their best player and their sleeper pick for fantasy purposes.  Today is NFC West day and I threw up my Fan Post about the 49ers fantasy options.

Nothing too shocking as it's obvious Frank Gore is the best fantasy option.  I went with Josh Morgan as the sleeper.  He was shutout last week, but clearly he's shown the goods.  I don't think a guy like Vernon Davis would be a sleeper simply because people around the country know about his abilities. 

Any other sleepers you'd consider "sleepers" on the 49ers for fantasy purposes?  If we're to believe Mike Martz, Delanie Walker could be a possible bye week TE option.  It sounds like he'll be lined up all over the field, like the Duke, so that opens up some options.  Isaac Bruce is always a safe 3rd or 4th receiver to have, as is Arnaz Battle.  Bryant Johnson could be a sleeper 1 or 2 if he steps up his game.

On a related note, we've got 3 Niners Nation leagues through Fleaflicker.  Right now I've got 8 people interested in a 4th league, so if I could get 4 more people that'd be awesome. 

Why should you take part?  Well, it's free but you'll be able to win a prize if you win your league.  The tentative prize plan is a gift certificate for the 49ers online store.  If we got to a 4th league the gift certificate will be in the $80 range, meaning you could conceivably get one of the $75 replica jerseys the team sells.  Or you could get a few items that add up to the $80.  I'd order them online and ship them to you (rather than you buy and me reimburse you).  If that's not reason enough to join, I don't know what is.

So, the first 4 people to express in the comments will be included in this fourth league.  If there is sufficient interest (10-12 people) I'll even create a fifth league.  If the fifth league is created it would lower the prize value for each league, but would allow more people in obviously.

After being dogged by a calf injury the last few weeks, Ashley Lelie was finally back in full practice yesterday.  The emergence of Josh Morgan, coupled with Lelie's injury has pushed Lelie to the cusp of being cut.  Including yesterday's practice, Lelie has 4 practices and 1 game to show he can bring something to the table.

However, we've gone over Lelie's situation enough to know what's what.  He's down to battling with Dominique Zeigler for consideration as a 6th receiver and that's that.  Other injuries have raised additional questions that are more important than the 6th receiver.

The question for the 49ers is who will be starting where and who will be coming off the bench to start the season.  The guys who entered training camp as the favorites to be the #2 and #3 receivers were Bryant Johnson and Arnaz Battle.  I qualify Bruce as the #1 more out of seniority than anything and really it's just a hypothetical. 

Anyways, Johnson and Battle have spent much of training camp dinged up.  From earlier reports, Johnson was performing quite well in camp before going down with a hamstring injury during the combined practice with the Raiders.  Battle on the other hand seems to be nicked up every offseason before coming in and producing as usual.

Josh Morgan has had ups and downs in training camp, but has shown serious talent.  He's got size, speed and good chemistry with J.T. O'Sullivan.  He didn't produce much against Chicago, but we know rookies will have good and bad moments.  However, his performances to date have created a tough situation for Mike Nolan, which he has readily acknowledged.

Isaac Bruce appears locked in at the flanker (Z) position as the "featured receiver."  Johnson is probably more talented at this point, but the Hall of Fame receiver with something left in the tank will get his crack as the #1.  Personally, I think one of the other receivers will surpass Bruce as the go-to guy, but for now, Bruce is in that role.

The split end (X) position is the one creating headaches (but I think a good kind of headache).  On the one hand, Bryant Johnson is the guy they brought in to be the man opposite Bruce.  Johnson is supremely talented and wants a chance to prove that and net a big money contract.  Unfortunately, he's been MIA the last few weeks as Josh Morgan has impressed the coaches.  And, you certainly can't forget Arnaz Battle.  He's been out of commission much of camp but if healthy I think we can safely assume another solid season.  The final option that really hasn't been discussed is Jason Hill.  He had a nice little game against the Bears but is still developing his skills.  If he finished up with a big game against the Chargers it wouldn't mean a heck of a lot but it would give him an equal number of quality games as compared to Morgan (just a thought).

So, assuming everybody is relatively healthy at the start of the season (e.g. Bryant Johnson is playing although he might not be quite 100% come week 1), who is in the starting lineup at split end for the early part of the season?  I'm not including Ashley Lelie because even if he does make the team he is in that specialized deep threat role and not the normal starting role in my opinion.  If you disagree, let me know.  A quick review of the candidates:

Bryant Johnson - Brought in to fill this very role and while he hasn't matched expectations he brings a ton of talent.

Josh Morgan - The rookie has shown incredible talent and had some of us thinking Marques Colston after two exhibition games.  We'd clearly have to temper expectations but to quote Hubie Brown, there is some tremendous upside here.

Arnaz Battle - May not be the most talented receiver, but he's the most consistent and will bust his butt every play.

Jason Hill - Like Morgan we're thinking upside with him.  If he were to end up as the #2 it would take some development over the course of this season.

After answering the poll, I'd be curious how you see the position shaking out completely.  If you vote for one, feel free to mention in the comments where you think everybody else falls.

As we approach the last game of the preseason, it's all about keeping guys healthy.  The 49ers have done fairly well in keeping healthy (KNOCK ON WOOD) and they're taking serious precautions this Friday against San Diego.  The first-team units will apparently only play a series or so.

Of course, with some of the recent injuries, the question becomes who will be out there and who will be on that first unit.  Brian De La Puente has an arm injury that has sidelined him recently.  Today saw Tony Wragge move over to left guard and Chilo Rachal took over at right guard.  However, David Baas is due back to the practice field this week, so we could see the Baas-Wragge combination at guard.

Some folks who missed practice include Keith Lewis and Josh Morgan due to illness.  On the other hand, Arnaz Battle and Ashley Lelie were finally able to take part in team reps today.  I'll have a bigger post about the wide receivers tomorrow, but Lelie certainly has his work cut out for him in the next five days.  Nolan has said he's on the fence about keeping 5 or 6 receivers so Lelie needs to give him a reason if he wants to stick around.

As for Friday's game, Nolan has indicated Adam Snyder, Jonas Jennings and Allen Rossum are all likely out.  Robert Ortiz will be returning punts, with Michael Robinson and Delanie Walker getting some action in the kick return game.  It's good to see Robinson back on the field.

In a somewhat related note, the final cutdown to the 53-man roster has to happen by Saturday.  Since that's the day after an evening game, I'm planning on doing a final 53-man projection on Wednesday or Thursday.  If there is anything that could dramatically affect a given player I'll throw up a post but if nothing big happens I probably won't since cuts could happen pretty quickly, making a same-day post rather dated.  Game-time decision.

425 yards of total offense by the 49ers tonight against the Chicago Bears.  Last week, 355 yards of offense against the Green Bay Packers.  Take a minute to soak those numbers in.  While it is only the preseason and backups were in for significant chunks, we can still enjoy ourselves on occasion. 

While the 49ers only won by 7 tonight, I really don't think the game was that close.  Even when it was tied 20-20, I actually felt like the 49ers offense could pull this thing out.  I can honestly say I don't remember the last time I had that feeling with the 49ers.  Even when they were 2-0 last year, the team had struggled in victory.  The year before most of us were surprised when they were 7-9 so we didn't expect anything.  The two previous years they were 4-12 and 2-14, nuff said.

The Bears defense finished up pretty abysmally last season and they look well on their way to another horrid season in 2008.  The way I look at it, the 49ers offense is clearly not 34 or 37 points a game good, but they're clearly not as bad as they were last year.  If the defense can get some teeth, a league average offense could be more than enough to make some noise.

So, preseason game #3 is in the books and we had some more questions answered.  Some questions will not be fully answered until the season starts, but we're getting some nice hints of things to come.

QB situation: It's official.  J.T. O'Sullivan is the starting quarterback for this team.  Maybe he loses the job midseason, but on September 7, O'Sullivan will be leading this offense against the Arizona Cardinals.  Whether you still prefer Alex Smith, I think it's safe to say that O'Sullivan has not done anything to lose the job.  Maybe he didn't deserve all the #1 snaps initially, but he showed he can make plays.  He won't throw the prettiest pass and I'm sure he'll make at least one vomit-inducing poor decision every game.  However, he knows this offense and will move the chains.  I've got thoughts on Alex Smith, but I'm going to leave them for another post involving a whole lot of film breakdown.  Suffice to say, his accuracy (or lack there of) is the death of him in the Mike Martz offense.

And briefly as to Shaun Hill.  I realize he has a sizable fan contingent.  As Rishi pointed out in the game thread, he was one of the lone bright spots in a season of crap.  I do agree that he deserved better.  At the same time, the physical attributes simply aren't there.  I realize you don't need to have all the physical tools as many professional athletes have shown.  At the same time, I think JTO has done enough for now to hold onto the job.  I'm sure he'll have me eating my words within the first two quarters of the regular season.

Offensive Line: They only gave up one sack and O'Sullivan et al. seemed to have enough time in the pocket most of the time.  I do need to rewatch the offense again to verify my thoughts.  This is more just insticts (which have been wrong many times).  I'm still anxious to see how they perform once the regular season gets here, but this is one question that I feel is hinting towards a rebirth.  I think Eric Heitmann needed last season to reach a full recovery and should be solid this year.  I'd like to keep De La Puente but I don't think the numbers will allow it.  As for their abilities in the running game?

Running Backs: Thomas Clayton is officially THE MAN against backups!  While partially joking, I'm serious in the fact that I really don't know what he'll be for the 49ers.  If he goes back to the practice squad he can be signed by any other team.  If your running backs are banged up, or you lack depth, wouldn't you take a flyer on the second year Clayton?

And what else needs to be said about Frank Gore?  Frank the Tank looked to be in midseason form.  I believe he shed some weight and he definitely seemed to have a little extra shiftiness tonight.  He was bobbing and weaving and finding holes like the Pro Bowler that he is.  Throw in the succesful screen plays and it's safe to say that Frank Gore is due for one hell of a season.  Martz may be a passing fool, but his use of Gore has me excited.

Wide Receivers: After back-to-back impressive performances, Morgan was thrown to three times tonight and had no receptions.  He got creamed on one over the middle play so I won't go calling him Alligator Arms (like our boy B. Lloyd).  He's a rookie so there will be the occasional regression.  He has no worries about a roster spot but this certainly didn't help his bid to score a starting spot.

Jason Hill on the other hand made some nice plays and combined with Morgan leaves me somewhat excited about the future of the wide receiver position for now.  One disappointment will be if Zeigler doesn't make the team.  I'm going to put together a 53-man roster look tomorrow or the next day and see what it would take to get him on the roster.  He's been really consistent receiver with 4+ catches each game and making plays at opportune moments.  They keep saying he'll be easy to slip through waivers to the practice squad, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Special Teams Coverage: Like clockwork, the 49ers had major headaches on special teams.  The Bears averaged 40 yards per kick return and 20 yards per punt return.  If this keeps up, the 49ers will be in trouble because the defense can't constantly defending only 50 or so yards per series.  I honestly have no answers for these problems.  Any ideas?  I'm going to see what I can dig up.

Pass Rush: After a pass rush run wild against the Packers, the front seven was contained this week.  I think this preseason sums up what we can expect from the pass rush.  There will be some truly amazing performances, but there will also be some wild inconsistencies that make us want to pull our hair out.  Ray McDonald ripping a couple sacks, followed by a couple offsides penalties.  Hopefully it's more of the former, but we'll see.

General Thoughts: Normally I would say to myself, oh don't get too excited about high scoring in the preseason.  However, I do NOT think this is a complete aberration.  The running and passing game will lead to some high scoring games.  While there will be struggles, the offense is clearly better than last season.  In last year's preseason, the 49ers scored 13, 26, 28 and 13 points.  So far this preseason it's 6, 34 and 37.  Preseason is clearly the ultimate in small sample sizes, but nonetheless I'll take what I can get to stay excited.

Participation: Finally, another SB Nation site came up with an interesting website that allows me to plug in the game thread and figure out who commented in the thread and how many comments they posted. Aside from myself, bondslegend had 216 comments, 49ersLou had 98, Cruithear had 43, 408 had 26, CB30 had 6, Muy Macho had 4, and Rishi, gatling, jtoj and metal_militia all had 1 comments.  Thanks to all for participating.  Always good to get everyone's insights on the game.