In poking around the Internet, I came across some updates related to some of the injury stories surrounding the 49ers.
- The primary injury story surrounds Dashon Goldson. He injured his elbow against the Raiders and rumors were flying today that it was a really serious injury. Since then, reports have surfaced that it's a strained muscle in his right arm and a strained ligament in his elbow, so that's certainly good news.
- The continuing foursome (Gore, BY, Estes, Harris) went through individual drills, but no new word.
- Arnaz Battle missed both practices today. He's missed a lot of practice with some recurring knee problems. Throw in off-season hand surgery and Battle remains a bit banged up. Hopefully it doesn't slow him down this year and this is more of a chance for rest.
Coach Nolan announced that the starters will get at least a full half of play. While you can argue sample sizes till the cows come home, this will give us a solid chance to see where this team is at. Obviously, I'd love to see Alex Smith roll out the 65+% completion percentage with a couple TDs. However, I think it's more important to see the defense put together a complete half. Of course, without Aubrayo Franklin and Bryant Young along the line, we'll only get an idea of the depth of the defense as opposed to just how good the starters are in the new 3-4. Really quite confusing I'd have to say.
This next tidbit falls into the category of "things that are much more important than football." We've all heard about the impact Taylor Jacobs has made on the field. Also, for those who missed it, Jacobs was with his pregnant wife and just barely made it to Saturday's game, in fact, being forced to get some sleep by Coach Nolan. I was curious about this, but didn't put much together about it, until reading Matt Maiocco's blog today.
Jacobs apparently had to speak with Coach Nolan about the extreme fatigue he was experiencing. While I've never had a child, I've heard plenty about the crazy hours spent awake. However, Taylor Jacobs story is a little bit different. Last October, Taylor and his wife lost their 10-week old daughter to sudden infant death syndrome. I would expect this will weigh heavily on them in the coming weeks as they look after Taylor, Jr.
While I'm not a super religious person, I do believe that good things should happen to good people. From all I've heard, Taylor Jacobs is a very good person and I only hope for the best for him, particularly in light of his loss last year. Whether you want to see Taylor Jacobs on the field of play or not, I'd like to think everyone here at Niners Nation has Taylor and his family in their prayers and/or thoughts. As I've said before, I've been a fan of his since his time in the fun 'n gun at Florida. While I'd like to see him make the roster, I at least hope everything works out for his family.