NFC WEST ESPN BLOG

dont know if already posted but just wanted to show what ESPN has to say about our team.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Francisco 49ers
Training camp site: 49ers headquarters (Santa Clara, Calif.)
Kyle Terada/US Presswire
Can Shaun Hill distinguish himself to claim the starting QB job?
Campfires: The 49ers have quite a few position battles for team that finished strong and feels good about its chances for contending within the division.

The quarterback race will rightfully command the most attention. Coach Mike Singletary said the players will know whether Shaun Hill or Alex Smith should be the starter, at which point Singletary will merely affirm what they know. That means Smith's status as the No. 1 overall draft choice in 2005 will not afford him any advantage in the competition. Hill's 7-3 record as the 49ers' starter over the last two seasons gives him the edge.

On defense, Dashon Goldson would have to flop or suffer another injury for the older and less athletic Mark Roman to take back his job at free safety. Dre Bly has the edge over Tarell Brown at right corner. Kentwan Balmer, the 49ers' first-round choice in 2008, could push for a starting job at left defensive end.

Camp will be a downer if ... both quarterbacks flounder and veteran Damon Huard appears to be the best option. Unlikely? Perhaps. But the scenario isn't as laughable as it should be. Neither Hill nor Smith distinguished himself during the competition a year ago. Even if Mike Martz was playing favorites when he installed J.T. O'Sullivan as the starter, the fact remains that O'Sullivan enjoyed the strongest preseason of the three.
The new offensive system should better suit Hill in particular, and the 49ers have declared this quarterback race a two-man affair, ruling out Huard as a contender. Still, after years of backing up Trent Green, Tom Brady and Dan Marino, Huard wound up starting three of the first five games in Kansas City last season when the unaccomplished Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen were his primary competitors.

Camp will be a success if ... Hill validates his 7-3 record as the 49ers' starter, right tackle Marvel Smith makes it through training camp healthy and the push toward a full-time 3-4 defense validates Parys Haralson and Manny Lawson as promising pass-rushers.
Hitting on all three of those might be asking a bit much, but getting two of them right might be enough, particularly if the 49ers feel good about the quarterback situation.

On the receiving end: It's a little surprising to see the 49ers emerge with their deepest group of receivers in years after committing to Singletary's smashmouth approach. The change to Singletary and offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye was all about making smarter use of the players general manager Scot McCloughan and former coach Mike Nolan had acquired in recent years.

That meant -- and still means -- forging an identity in the ground game. Yet, while receivers Michael Crabtree, Isaac Bruce, Brandon Jones and Josh Morgan will not be battling Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin for Pro Bowl berths this season, they do give the 49ers better potential than they've enjoyed recently.

Singletary's smashmouth roots should not and likely will not dissuade the 49ers from making frequent use of those receivers.


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Thanks. I think this offense is gonna throw the ball more than people think

Good read, I agree wit tohara as well, I believe we will toss the rock a lot more then expected. But I don't believe we will be sending 2 wideouts to the probowl ahead of fitz and bolden. The ball will get spread around and we will run the ball at will. Depending on our rt holding up.

Hope we stick with a pure 3-4. Manny and parylis will have a very productive yr if this comes to play! Dashon hope he stays healthy as well, he should get us a few turnovers as well. Something our safety position has been lacking as of late!
Bring on the season

Yessir! They are gonna throw the ball more this year! When they talk about smash mouth hard nose hit you in the face ball they are just gonna be tougher not like a pre-madonna nolan team. The team will be a balance between both I think

Originally posted by frankie:
Good read, I agree wit tohara as well, I believe we will toss the rock a lot more then expected. But I don't believe we will be sending 2 wideouts to the probowl ahead of fitz and bolden. The ball will get spread around and we will run the ball at will. Depending on our rt holding up.

Hope we stick with a pure 3-4. Manny and parylis will have a very productive yr if this comes to play! Dashon hope he stays healthy as well, he should get us a few turnovers as well. Something our safety position has been lacking as of late!
Bring on the season

I agree.

Makes you wonder about that first play from scrimmage in the regular season--will it be a pass or a run? We should see alot more play action this year. And Gore is set for a big year, IMHO.

Goldson at FS is an upgrade and should make a difference immediately on defense.

Bring it on!

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by frankie:
Good read, I agree wit tohara as well, I believe we will toss the rock a lot more then expected. But I don't believe we will be sending 2 wideouts to the probowl ahead of fitz and bolden. The ball will get spread around and we will run the ball at will. Depending on our rt holding up.

Hope we stick with a pure 3-4. Manny and parylis will have a very productive yr if this comes to play! Dashon hope he stays healthy as well, he should get us a few turnovers as well. Something our safety position has been lacking as of late!
Bring on the season

I agree.

Makes you wonder about that first play from scrimmage in the regular season--will it be a pass or a run? We should see alot more play action this year. And Gore is set for a big year, IMHO.

Goldson at FS is an upgrade and should make a difference immediately on defense.

Bring it on!

Agreed 100%
1st play ya say?
Play action to davis for quick strike and td 49ers!!!!!!!!!!

Bring on the season
Congrats on the 1600 milestone. I feel honored it was to me lol

Originally posted by frankie:

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by frankie:
Good read, I agree wit tohara as well, I believe we will toss the rock a lot more then expected. But I don't believe we will be sending 2 wideouts to the probowl ahead of fitz and bolden. The ball will get spread around and we will run the ball at will. Depending on our rt holding up.

Hope we stick with a pure 3-4. Manny and parylis will have a very productive yr if this comes to play! Dashon hope he stays healthy as well, he should get us a few turnovers as well. Something our safety position has been lacking as of late!
Bring on the season

I agree.

Makes you wonder about that first play from scrimmage in the regular season--will it be a pass or a run? We should see alot more play action this year. And Gore is set for a big year, IMHO.

Goldson at FS is an upgrade and should make a difference immediately on defense.

Bring it on!

Agreed 100%
1st play ya say?
Play action to davis for quick strike and td 49ers!!!!!!!!!!

Bring on the season
Congrats on the 1600 milestone. I feel honored it was to me lol

Play action to TD--exactly what I was thinking!

And thank you for the kind words on the "milestone."

Singletary is going to make these men into warriors.

Let us not forget our record when ol' #21 gets the ball 20+. If we get 60 plays 20-25 should be frank gore rushes, another 5 to coffee, and 30 passes with at least 3 directed to Gore.

I recognize the incredible upgrade to the receiving corps - hell we even have 2 tight ends that can catch the ball and a third that will probably be able to as well.

And I like Bruce, but I hope he plays for 4-5 games and then goes off in to the sunset behind the likes of Crab, Morgan, Hill, and Jones. Battle too if he's around.

And as I've posted before a HEALTHY, confident Smith is better than Hill. In just about all aspects, attributes considerably better. I respect Hill a lot and love him as a reliable backup but not a 16 game starter. Just keep in mind that all you can really judge Alex on to this point is the 3rd game of his 3rd year at Pittsburgh. To that point, not one analyst would rule him a bust or a miss yet. Most thought he would be pretty good.

All this about offense and no mention of the emerging D on our hands, with Sing's fire to lead the way and an aggressive 3-4. All the karma with us landing Crab and finally moving forward to a new stadium (the NFL knows we need some money to build the place so we might get some zebra help too ) and the new jerseys were on our way back.

Just a last point, I remember Nolan and Scot's first year and the roster makeup, and come time to cut to 53 we were cutting guys that were not good at all or nobody's altogether, now, it is tough as hell to cut down. Thank Scot and Nolan for building the foundation that Scot and Sing will finally deliver on.

Niners will win 10 games this year, maybe maybe 9 but a division title and home game in the playoffs will happen.

And by the way, less than three weeks from today we open against Denver, its almost here.


[ Edited by P-52 on Jul 25, 2009 at 23:38:08 ]

Watch the video at the end. It's weird how they just kinda say San Fran is the dark horse and.......that's all.???


http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcwest/0-9-424/NFC-West-training-camp-preview.html

Originally posted by NASTYNATE22:


Singletary's smashmouth roots should not and likely will not dissuade the 49ers from making frequent use of those receivers.

I hope that is the case! We shouldn't ignore the passing game just to run the ball!!

GO NINERS!!

Alot of this season seems to hinge on the "ifs"... if marvel smith and dashon goldson stay healthy.. if we can get a pass rush.. if one of the QBs steps up... all i have to say is that IF those things happen, the 49ers are going to be a lot tougher than most people seem to think.. i like being the underdog and all but its getting a little old at this point.. we need to turn the corner this year and punch some teams in the mouth to get some respect back in San Fran

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by frankie:

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by frankie:
Good read, I agree wit tohara as well, I believe we will toss the rock a lot more then expected. But I don't believe we will be sending 2 wideouts to the probowl ahead of fitz and bolden. The ball will get spread around and we will run the ball at will. Depending on our rt holding up.

Hope we stick with a pure 3-4. Manny and parylis will have a very productive yr if this comes to play! Dashon hope he stays healthy as well, he should get us a few turnovers as well. Something our safety position has been lacking as of late!
Bring on the season

I agree.

Makes you wonder about that first play from scrimmage in the regular season--will it be a pass or a run? We should see alot more play action this year. And Gore is set for a big year, IMHO.

Goldson at FS is an upgrade and should make a difference immediately on defense.

Bring it on!

Agreed 100%
1st play ya say?
Play action to davis for quick strike and td 49ers!!!!!!!!!!

Bring on the season
Congrats on the 1600 milestone. I feel honored it was to me lol

Play action to TD--exactly what I was thinking!

And thank you for the kind words on the "milestone."

No prob and your welcome. I just don't really see our team as being as bland as yrs past! Last yr showed we do have players to make plays when needed! And all we did was add some players, and build on momentum. The biggest thing tho is we will run the ball more often. Take away the predictability. I do like marts but we didn't run for s**t. It is amazing gore got 1000 yards and even missed what 2-3 games? Martz is a genious, but with a more balanced and physical attack we will only prosper!
Imo of course!

Originally posted by P-52:
Let us not forget our record when ol' #21 gets the ball 20+. If we get 60 plays 20-25 should be frank gore rushes, another 5 to coffee, and 30 passes with at least 3 directed to Gore.

I recognize the incredible upgrade to the receiving corps - hell we even have 2 tight ends that can catch the ball and a third that will probably be able to as well.

And I like Bruce, but I hope he plays for 4-5 games and then goes off in to the sunset behind the likes of Crab, Morgan, Hill, and Jones. Battle too if he's around.

And as I've posted before a HEALTHY, confident Smith is better than Hill. In just about all aspects, attributes considerably better. I respect Hill a lot and love him as a reliable backup but not a 16 game starter. Just keep in mind that all you can really judge Alex on to this point is the 3rd game of his 3rd year at Pittsburgh. To that point, not one analyst would rule him a bust or a miss yet. Most thought he would be pretty good.

All this about offense and no mention of the emerging D on our hands, with Sing's fire to lead the way and an aggressive 3-4. All the karma with us landing Crab and finally moving forward to a new stadium (the NFL knows we need some money to build the place so we might get some zebra help too ) and the new jerseys were on our way back.

Just a last point, I remember Nolan and Scot's first year and the roster makeup, and come time to cut to 53 we were cutting guys that were not good at all or nobody's altogether, now, it is tough as hell to cut down. Thank Scot and Nolan for building the foundation that Scot and Sing will finally deliver on.

Niners will win 10 games this year, maybe maybe 9 but a division title and home game in the playoffs will happen.

And by the way, less than three weeks from today we open against Denver, its almost here.

Zebra help we don't need help from the refs! We just don't need the refs doing bogus calls vs us neither! What we need is good accurate calls by the refs on both sides. A good clean fair game. If it aint done that way, we don't deserve to win. The better teams will demolish us in easy fashion if we have to rely on the refs giving us a good call
Imo

As long as we don't have s**t like the refs did to the charger bronco game last yr. And they actually call s**t on the field we will be fine.

Originally posted by tohara3:
Thanks. I think this offense is gonna throw the ball more than people think

Yeah, I think it will be pretty balanced.