Today was the last of the offseason workouts the media was allowed to witness in 49erland, so the staff here at Instant 49ers figured we better make this report count.
At the beginning of practice, the 49ers divided into position groups as usual and went through individual drills. One thing that stood out was watching the linebackers. LBs coach Mike Singletary is old school. He makes his guys work hard.
Rookie Larry Grant was really struggling going back and forth laterally over bags. Dontarrious Thomas also didn't look like he was having much fun. Singletary, as usual, was really on his guys. (As an aside, one source told me that a reason free-agent Takeo Spikes might be reluctant to sign with the 49ers is because he's heard about the killer workouts Singletary puts his linebackers through. That is just hearsay, as neither Spikes nor his agent has spoken publicly since the Eagles released him after he failed a physical several months ago.)
There was a lot of teamwork at today's practice - that being 11-on-11 "non-contact" scrimmage. The team went through some regular 11-on-11 work and then practiced their two-minute drill.
Some of you might find the following description of practice as boring as watching end-zone paint dry. Today, we're going to try to appease the hard-core fans who just can't get enough of this stuff. . .
--The first thing noticeable was that Zak Keasey got a lot of the snaps with the first-team offense. The 49ers did not use a fullback often, but when they did it was almost always Keasey. Incumbent starter Moran Norris was on the field for only a couple snaps, including one time when Grant put a nice move on him on a blitz and would've gotten to QB Shaun Hill for a sack.
--Walt Harris and Nate Clements did not participate in practice. Marcus Hudson and Donald Strickland lined up as the corners with rookie Reggie Smith coming in as a third corner.
--The timing was off on one pass from Alex Smith to Bryant Johnson. Smith made a nice throw of an intermediate route, but Johnson did not turn his head in time and the pass fell incomplete. This offense is predicated on timing, timing, timing, so these are the hiccups you'd expect to see in June. Johnson was the split end, Arnaz Battle was the flanker.
--Ashley Lelie (flanker) and Jason Hill (split end) got in on the action with the second team.
--I wrote earlier today about the "hot reads." Well, folks, at practice today it was really obvious. I can't recall the last time I saw the quarterbacks get rid of the ball this quickly to avoid the oncoming blitz. Shaun Hill got the ball out quickly to Jason Hill to beat a blitz early in practice.
--Three plays later when Smith was at QB, he delivered the ball quickly to tight end Billy Bajema. In fact, I saw Bajema catch more passes today than I've seen him catch in the past three seasons.
--Safety Keith Lewis had a good day. He broke up a pass down the field to Vernon Davis. Later, in a red zone situation, Lewis made an interception of a Smith pass in the end zone intended for Johnson.
--Things are still looking a little rough, as you can imagine. The 49ers had a two-TE formation with Battle and Delanie Walker lined up on the same side. Smith came to the line and noticed Battle and Walker were lined up improperly. They re-huddled to get things straightened away.
--The second offensive line on this day featured LT Joe Toledo, LG Brian de la Puente, C Cody Wallace, RG Jeb Terry and RT Chilo Rachal.
--Receiver Josh Morgan, who looked good the last time the media was allowed to watch practice, wasn't as sharp today. He dropped a nicely thrown deep ball from Hill.
--Hey, what was that? Oh, another hot-read thrown from Hill to Hill.
--On a third-and-five, Hudson broke up a Smith pass attempt to Battle.
--The 49ers featured an empty backfield (get used to it). Johnson, Ashley Lelie, Hill, Battle and Gore were all lined up as receivers. Smith hit Gore as a . . . you guessed . . . hot read.
--The next receiver on the field was undrafted rookie Robert Jordan. I know there have been a lot of questions about Cam Colvin of Oregon. He was allowed to join the team on Monday. I did not see him get on the field for teamwork today. That is not a surprise. Obviously, he's so far behind the other receivers, the 49ers wants to keep the tempo at a high level. So rather than learning while he was on the field, he did not take part in any 11-on-11 drills.
--I was sent scrambling for my roster when No. 20 picked off a Shaun Hill pass. No. 20? Oh, that's return specialist Allen Rossum, who is also listed as a cornerback.
And then the two-minute drill began . . . This is absolutely futile, but you can check out some video of a Smith first down pass, followed by an incomplete pass.
--The Smith drive ended with the aforementioned Keith Lewis pick in the end zone.
--The 49ers' nickel defense - some starters and some second-teamers -- consisted of CBs Rossum and Markus Curry, with Hudson playing the slot. The safeties were Lewis Baker and D.J. Parker (who looked pretty darn good, by the way). The inside linebackers were Jeff Ulbrich and Dontarrious Thomas, with a four-man line consisting of Louis Holmes (RDE), Tully Banta-Cain (LDE) and DTs Isaac Sopoaga and Ronald Fields.
--On a third-and-15, Hill hit Jordan for about 25 yards.
--Parker knocked down Hill's wobbly pass in the end zone for Dominique Zeigler.
--Hill hit Lelie in front of Reggie Smith for an apparent touchdown, but who's counting? The next play, Hill threw out of bounds in the end zone for DeShaun Foster. Reggie Smith was defending on the next play, an incomplete pass to Lelie.
--With Alex Smith back at QB, Keith Lewis broke up a pass for Johnson. But Smith came back to connect on a short pass to Lelie. And, then, Smith hit Battle for a TD in the back corner of the end zone over Lewis.
--J.T. O'Sullivan, the third wheel in the QB competition, got onto the field for four snaps at the very end. He completed a ball to Jordan on a crossing pattern, and also hit Foster on a shovel pass.
* * *
The obvious question: Who has the lead in the race to be the 49ers' quarterback?
Clearly, it's Alex Smith. He looks so much better on the practice field. He has the best arm; he throws a nice ball; he moves well; he has all the attributes. But the big question is whether he can carry it over into games.
Conversely, Shaun Hill was described by Nolan as a "gamer." He is the kind of guy who does not look great on the practice field, but is pretty darn effective in games.
When told what Nolan said about him, Hill did not seem all that pleased. It was meant as a compliment, but Hill said, "I'm not sure that's a good thing when you're trying to win a job on the practice field."
Right now - again, based on what I saw in four practices - O'Sullivan is a distant third. That is based primarily on the fact that he rarely gets on the practice field.
Regardless how it turns out, Nolan said he feels so much better about the QB situation this season than he has in years' past. He said he believes the person who wins the job will give the 49ers better QB play than they've had since Nolan arrived in 2005. Moreover, he said he believes the No. 2 and No. 3 QBs will be better-equipped to win games if they're pressed into action.
* * *
Comments | Add Comment
Posted By: Randy in Santa Rosa (19/06/2008 2:53:37 PM)
Comment: Great read Matt! Thanks for covering the die hard details that many other writers don't.
Posted By: StonerLab (19/06/2008 6:45:07 AM)
Comment: Matt,
Great detail on your last report of OTA's that you were able to watch. I believe that Berger had a perfect example of a "hot read" to a RB. In the great Montana years as he came up to the line of scrimmage & saw that a heavy blitz was coming he would call for Roger Craig to stay back for additional pass protection then as the blitz was being picked up for a few seconds Craig would then disengage and quickly get to the flat where "Joe Cool" would wait until the last instant then dump the ball off to Craig for huge gains. The 49ers killed defenses repeatedly when they blitzed with that play over & over. The yeae Craig went for 1000/1000 in 1986 a good chunck of those receiving yards came on that exact play.
Posted By: ninermaniac (19/06/2008 12:34:27 AM)
Comment: Sounds like the OTAs are going as planned. Singletary does need to crack the whip for those softies out there. Hopefully the WRs are lookin smooth. The TE and RB are getting some work i guess theres competition there. There seems to be some urgency for the T spot, just play the card game Speed. Im glad the CB spot is working on depth. BUT THIS MEANS NOTHING. Its only the End of the Beginning.
Posted By: road dog (18/06/2008 4:04:53 PM)
Comment: Thanks for the details. As one myself, I might be prone to overestimating this, but I feel you have a lot of readers that will read as much as you can type. So thanks for going in depth.
Posted By: Rich, San Ramon (18/06/2008 3:46:29 PM)
Comment: Thanks, Matt.
Posted By: Ryan (18/06/2008 3:13:05 PM)
Comment: Hey, Matt...
Any Shawntae Spencer sightings? I would think he'd still be the first corner off the bench and I didn't read a mention with the second OR third teams. Is he injured? Is the team giving up on him?
Response: Shawntae missed some time with a strained hip flexor during OTAs, but he was going to be excused this week anyway. He is getting married. --Matt M.
Posted By: Papa (18/06/2008 2:20:50 PM)
Comment: Hi Matt: Keith Lewis is a play maker. To bad Nolan can't see it.
Posted By: NW Niner (18/06/2008 1:41:26 PM)
Comment: One follow up question. Was there anyone else like Tarell Brown that was conspicuously absent from the field? I thought Brown would be more involed in the first and second teams.
Posted By: Kytheran (18/06/2008 1:39:26 PM)
Comment: Best. Report. Ever.
Posted By: LodiGrapepicker (18/06/2008 1:00:47 PM)
Comment: Matt, just curious... have any of the draft picks been signed yet? Don't they have to be signed before they can participate in formal practice (but not OTA's)? Thanks
Response: No draft picks are signed. The 49ers expect to start signing some guys after the Fourth. Draft picks need not be under contract to participate in the offseason program, but they must sign before they can participate in training camp. --Matt M.
Posted By: Indiana Jim (18/06/2008 12:36:46 PM)
Comment: What? A Smith throw was off because of the receiver? What will happen next? TD's being worth 6 points? Craziness.
Posted By: Berger (18/06/2008 12:16:33 PM)
Comment: oneniner-I'm done with this conversation. It is going nowhere. It was nice talking to you.
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 12:07:39 PM)
Comment: Berger- "The fact that the receiver ran a hot route is what got him open in space in the first place."....NO.....what got him open was the QB recognize where the blitz, where it was coming from and he called the HOT READ.....nobody gets open just because they run a hot read......you can run a hot read anytime you want, that does not mean you will be opened, the only way you will be opened is if the QB calls the accurate HOT READ............"If a blitz is comming and the QB does not have time to look for his primary receiver, he might go to his check down first"......you equated the check down a hot read in WCO.....If a blitz is comming and the QB does not have time - means he does not have a HOT READ. Is that really that hard to grasp.......the whole point in countering not having time is the hot read, the QB does not wait for the blitz to get near..it happens simultaneously...the defense blitz, you let it go immediately(I would guess that is where the name HOT came from).....
Posted By: Berger (18/06/2008 11:53:53 AM)
Comment: oneniner- I forgot to answer your first question. The fact that the receiver ran a hot route is what got him open in space in the first place. In the verticle offense a defense will often have an extra man or two in the box which usually takes out the hot read. A hot read is a first read and a check down is a sfety valve and not usually the first read. If a blitz is comming and the QB does not have time to look for his primary receiver, he might go to his check down first. If you want to call that hot, then OK, but it is really a check down because he is being used as a safety valve and not an attack missle.
Posted By: Berger (18/06/2008 11:47:00 AM)
Comment: oneniner- Good question. Let's say the QB is in a 7 step drop and the RB runs a circle pattern, also called a Texas route. He is the check down receiver. The first read is deep, but wait; the safety is comming on a blitz. Immediately the RB becomes hot and is the first read. This would be a situation where the check down becomes hot. Keep asking, I'll answer if I can.
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 11:33:42 AM)
Comment: I am the king of cut and paste..lol....dude, I think we just have 2 different ways of seeing the field....."A hot read is a short pass that gets a player open in space"....I disagree with ur definition.......why would you need to get a player open in space if the player is already open in space DUE TO THE BLITZ. You call a hot read because you have a blitz. Right?......."A hot read is a first read, only."..TRUE....then think for a second how many times have you seen a QB take the ball, not look upfield and immediately throw a hot read to the RB....which means in a WCO those passes to the RB were not HOT READS...they were check downs......Hot Reads are mainly the slot guys.....I just cant see how a RB who is behind you can be the first read?...you mind telling me how that is possible?
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 11:21:32 AM)
Comment: Mike Dukes, who played linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers and two AFL teams from 1959 to 1965, was killed in a traffic accident earlier this week. He was 72.
Posted By: Berger (18/06/2008 11:16:03 AM)
Comment: oneniner- What are you, the "cut and paste knig?" You need to use your own words and not mine, and others, out of context. I am not confused. The Patriots are running check downs, not hot reads. They have hot reads but what you usually see is not that. They run longer routes with Moss and the the other speedy receiver. That spreads the defense. If a first read doesn't come open, you go to a check down, usually Welker. A hot read is a first read, only. It is a staple in the WCO because the philosohy is to get the ball in the hands of the playmekers in space. A hot read is a short pass that gets a player open in space. It matches the philosophy to a tee. *** And BTW, in Walsh's own words, although I'm para-phrasing, the WCO is not necessarily a short passing offense, it is an offense designed to get the ball in the playmakers hands in space. *** A long pass can substitute for a running play if it gets the ball to a player in space. That is the Walsh offense called the WCO by most.
Posted By: NW Niner (18/06/2008 10:47:54 AM)
Comment: Matt, great reporting... Are T. Brown and M. Lawson still being held out of practice? What is next after these OTAs?
Response: Lawson was being held out; I saw Brown doing some stuff last week, but I didn't see him do much of anything yesterday. After these OTAs, the players and coaches take a break before reporting to camp on July 24. The first practice of training camp is July 25. --Matt M.
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 10:44:12 AM)
Comment: Berger - i think you might have been confused by ur own comment .....you said .." McCarthy ran the WCO, he would've had hoit reads. It is a staple of that offense" ....."It is a staple of the offense because in the WCO a short pass can be substituted for a running play."...(first of all a short pass in football is not a hot read).....TRUE -a short pass in a WCO could be regarded as a running play in the WCO.....but a hot read has nothing to do with running the ball....you don't throw hot reads expecting to gain 3-5 yards...the whole point of a hot read is to make the defense pay for blitzing, which means hot reads are meant to go for longer yards ....the only reason you throw to a hot read is cuz you know he his wide open due to the blitz (RIGHT)........i never claim to be an expert, but i would think a hot read to a WR is not serving the same purpose as a dump off to a RB......again the two teams that use the hot read the most are Patriots and colts, WHY?...because that is the only way they can beat the blitz on the regular....both teams have consistent slot players.
Posted By: PD (18/06/2008 10:25:43 AM)
Comment: Matt,
Awesome play by play description. In reference to your point about how Spikes "failed a physical", what does that exactly mean? Could it be just about anything? (He's suffering from an injury, overweight, failed a drug test etc..)
Response: Spikes had season-ending surgery on his rotator cuff. There's no word on whether he's healthy now, but a while back the 49ers thought it wouldn't be a problem for him taking part in training camp. --Matt M.
Posted By: Juniniho Moutinho Custodinho (18/06/2008 10:24:08 AM)
Comment: The Continental Packers are going down
Posted By: Berger (18/06/2008 10:18:26 AM)
Comment: oneniner- It is a staple of the offense because in the WCO a short pass can be substituted for a running play. The verticle offense is a running offense first and a deep passing offense second. The zone blitz was developed to cover hot reads by the 49er offense in the 80's. A zone blitz is when the D-lineman drops into coverage because other positions are rushing the passer, usually to cover a hot route. I would get carried away with hot reads and appearantly Mike Martz is too. I'm very happy about it. It is how Walsh beat the 46 defense of the Bears. It keeps blitzes at a mimimum so a team has time to take 5 and 7 step drops. The lack of hot routes is one of the reasons I do not like the verticle offense.
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 10:01:28 AM)
Comment: Berger..."It is a staple of that offense."...I am not sure about that...in the WCO i think its specifically dump offs and the hottest read I could think of in the WCO is the quick slant which really is not made to counter a blitz, but to take advantage of aggresive lb's and CB cushions........from what i know Hot Reads are usually in the slot or TE positions.......and lets not get carried away Hot Reads could be dangerous most times, it usually leads to the Hot Read catching and running after the catch or the CB sitting and waiting for the Hot Read which usually leads to an interception turning to 6 points.....so it has its advantages but also major disadvantages if the the defense reads it right.
Posted By: DMC (18/06/2008 9:56:03 AM)
Comment: Great read Matt. Thanks for all of your hard work throughout OTA's. Go Alex. I can't wait till training camp. I know its early but anybody wanna hop on the Justin Smith is going to the pro-bowl bandwagon with me ?
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 9:51:58 AM)
Comment: hmm...lets see ...well they are both in california.....sike...just freaking happy he lost.....am not trying to start a kobe convo, just putting it out there....you don't hav to pay attention or respond to it....
Posted By: Berger (18/06/2008 9:45:37 AM)
Comment: Jon- I am just throwing some random thoughts out, but it seems that since McCarthy ran the WCO, he would've had hoit reads. It is a staple of that offense. Turner runs the verticle offense. It is predicated on bunching up the defense and throwing deep or spreading the defense and running on them. When a defense is buched up there should be plenty of help to cover the hot reads. This would lend to more check downs instead of hot reads. That does't mean there aren't hot reads, it just means it isn't a part of the overall philosophy. It is a major part of the WCO philosophy because that offense substitutes short passes for runs and the verticle offense typically doesn't. It wouldn't surprise me if Turner did not run hot reads but I can't say I remember whether he ran them or did not. maybe Matt knows and can shed soome light.
Posted By: Matt (18/06/2008 9:39:40 AM)
Comment: oneniner--what does Kobe have to do with the Niners and vice versa? I don't like him one bit but I don't see what he has to do with this website. Just wondering....
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 9:20:13 AM)
Comment: Jon - cmon you know what we mean by no contact...funny response though..........I think the last 3 OC were trying to babysit A. Smith and that message was coming from Nolan, because coach nolan is stubborn and until his way fails terribly he really has no other way?.......
Posted By: Jon in SoCal (18/06/2008 9:03:35 AM)
Comment: Great read. Anyone who thinks no pads means non-contact should watch the line play. A mortal would get CRUSHED by these beasts. I am glad to hear about the hot routes. Matt: If this is the first time that Alex is doing this, and he has had 3 other coordinators, is this philosophy from Nolan or did the other 3 all think the same thing. Seems weird we would find 3 consecutive knuckleheads that don't use hot reads
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 8:56:08 AM)
Comment: It feels so good exposing KOBE...I am so so happy he lost......proves my point he his overrated, he shouldn't be on the 1st team all nba defensive team.
Posted By: Rob (18/06/2008 8:55:27 AM)
Comment: All of this talk about the "hot reads" has me wondering. From what it sounds like everyone is concluding that the 49ers were the only team in the league to not use "hot reads". Is that true? I mean, it sounds like there are other ways to handle the blitz and one of the other ways is to have the blocking scheme change to pick up the blitz. Is it really true the 49ers were the only team to use that method to address blitzes?
Posted By: Don Roberto (18/06/2008 8:47:04 AM)
Comment: Greetings Matt,
Thanks for the updates,and insights.Excellent work. Is it possible for the pressdemocrat to produce a "printer friendly version of the text of your articles?
The new layout is distracting in the Safari browser.Tell the chief mucky-muck Editors that according to one reader "it is inchoate." (g)
Posted By: Mackin (18/06/2008 8:26:14 AM)
Comment: Hi Matt, Great stuff, as usual. I think you meant "compliment," not "complement." Is Norris going the way of the Beasley?
Posted By: Josh in SB (18/06/2008 8:25:15 AM)
Comment: Matt, thank you so much for the great coverage you provide us fans. No one provides in depth coverage like this, and it is a great service to us all. Thank you!
Posted By: Berger (18/06/2008 8:17:42 AM)
Comment: A few of us complained until we were blue about this. Hot reads. We were getting toasted by them, we also weren't running them. Hot routes, on both sides of the ball, and very poor pass rushing is what I complained about the most last year. Everything I'm reading so far has given me confidence we will be better in two of three areas this year. I have yet to hear anything about how we are picking up hot reads when we are the ones blitzing. Did I mention, we were absolutely toasted in that area the last few years. A positive thought about this might be that since we are now running them in practice, we will better at covering them too. One can only hope, for now.
Posted By: Bill49er (18/06/2008 7:38:59 AM)
Comment: Moses
Great post, I hope you are right!
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 7:30:27 AM)
Comment: Moses has spoken....good stuff............I am still shocked Nolan didn't think hot reads were important in an offense...Payton Manning and Tom Brady have been winning games 90% of the time by throwing to the hot read which most of the time where the wr's playing the slot position.....throwing quickly to the hot read makes the QB look good, and encourages confidence, it also improves the pace of the offense.....why didn't he know this?
Posted By: Moses (18/06/2008 7:10:35 AM)
Comment: Matt, you ask a rhetorical question about Smith's ability to translate it onto the field. I should point out that last year we were 2-1 when Smith was healthy. In that period, the WRs dropped 13 passes of his 86 attempts (Arizona and Pittsburgh), including at least one TD, probably two as the path to endzone was wide open. Had they held onto the ball, like normal WRs, Smith would have had a QB rating in the high 80's. I calculated around 88. OTOH, in the St. Louis game (when they held onto the ball like most other WRs) Smith's rating was an 86. And, of course, to make things more fun, the o-line was giving up sacks like crazy.
I should also point out that during this time, the run game did not work with Gore accumulating just 179 yards on 52 attempts (3.4 avg). Of which 43 came on one attempt, further illustrating just how pathetic the rushing attack was on a play-by-play basis (2.67 yards/attempt). If, but for a blow defensive play, you can't average even three yards rushing, there's no help from the run game. Rather, it's like an anchor.
So, with no solid QB coaching, a corps of pass-dropping WRs, a pathetic OC demonstrating very poor play calling, an o-line showing very poor pass-blocking and no running game to speak of, Smith took us to 2-1 when he was healthy. Worrying about his ability to put it on the field seems, well, not very well thought-out. Especially as Smith, from being a totally inept rookie, has shown consistent growth as a player during the season and between seasons.
So, yes, after his injury, he was pathetic. There is no question about that. But he, despite Hostler's inability to run an offense, did show growth last year during his pre-injury phase. Just as he showed growth under Norv Turner. And even growth during his rookie campaign under McCarthy.
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 6:56:43 AM)
Comment: Hi Matt, any similarities in terms of on-field play and attitude (aggressiveness and body language) between WR Bryant Johnson and former niner WR A. Bryant?.....
Response: Not really. Seems to me that Bryant was a little more explosive on the field and a lot more explosive off the field. --Matt M.
Posted By: oneniner (18/06/2008 6:46:56 AM)
Comment: I am trying not to get too excited ..(Matt you do a great job of making this observations in camp look as if what you see is the real deal).....just one thing....as you stated this is "non-contact" ......real football is never "non-contact".
Posted By: sddave (18/06/2008 6:40:27 AM)
Comment: Matt, as long as I have read you, I can't ever remember an item like the "hot read" cause so much consternation on the Webzone. The fans are up in arms, be included. It must have left you shaking your head as well. Do you think Alex can recover from his PTSD? Keep up the good work.
Response: There is certainly a whole new set of obstacles for Smith this season, as he tries to bounce back after a disastrous season. I think he has a legitimate chance to take the next step under Mike Martz that many thought he'd take a year ago, coming off a decent second season. --Matt M.
Posted By: jimpooba (18/06/2008 6:29:13 AM)
Comment: Matt - all lot was made last year of where Hostler would be during games. Will Martz call plays from the sidelines as he has in the past? I assume if that is a yes, then it would probably be Tollner and Hoener in the box?
Posted By: Icelandic49er (18/06/2008 5:33:52 AM)
Comment: Fantastic work as always Matt. I am on holiday at a cabin in the country and so lucky to have an internet connection and getting these OTA ´s reports are fantastic.
Posted By: Cleveland Mike (18/06/2008 4:42:41 AM)
Comment: Matt-Awesome report. You're the best!!! Nuff said.
Posted By: Graham (18/06/2008 2:52:07 AM)
Comment: Hey Matt, fantastic work over OTA's. I realize it's different than what happens during the regular season, but at least we now have something approximating a mental image for all those practices about which you're not allowed to comment. My question is about defense. There's probably not as much news to report here, because until the pads go on, it's harder to get a sense of the defense. BUT I just wondered whether you might be able to put forth any conclusions you've drawn from OTAs about Justin Smith and how the Niners plan to use him. It wouldn't be the final word--just interested in how things are shaping up for now. Thanks.
Response: Other than any skills involing coverage in the passing game, it's difficult to really get a read on the defense during "non-contact" practices. The same goes for both sides of the line and running back (except when they're catching the ball out of the backfield). Mike Nolan often declines to make any public judgments about which players performed well during OTAs because when the pads go on, that's when they can see who are the players. --Matt M.
Posted By: jAMEEL (18/06/2008 12:08:52 AM)
Comment: And of yea. The 49ers ticket prices are really cheap. Therefore, the fanbase isn't really expecting much. Hopefully, Alex and the gang can lift us up in our recessionary times. GO NINERS
Posted By: jAMEEL (17/06/2008 11:56:56 PM)
Comment: I am happy that Smith is playing well. I think he has what it takes. He is no Montana, but hopefully, he isn't Druckenmiller either.
Posted By: josh (17/06/2008 11:20:21 PM)
Comment: matt i would love to here what you think of bryant johnson. how has he looked in practice and are you going to interview him at all
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