Exhibition: 49ers vs. Broncos

FIRST QUARTER

–Niners win toss and elect to receive.

–Bear Pascoe muffs a short kickoff, but he recovers it. Niners take over at the 22.

–On second down, Shaun Hill hits Vernon Davis for 23 yards and a first down.

–Zak Keasey gets steam-rolled by Broncos DE Elvis Dumervil. But Hill hits Davis for 18 yards on third-and-15.

–Hill scrambled for 9 yards to the Broncos 29-yard line.

–Hill holds it waaaaaay too long for a sack and an 8-yard loss.

–On second-and-18, Glen Coffee picks up 15 yards, but Coffee gets stuffed on third-and-3.

–Alex Romero enters to attempt a 38-yard field goal. Joe Nedney is not in uniform tonight. Romero nails it, and it’s 49ERS 3, BRONCOS 3 with 7:53 remaining in the first quarter. That was a nice, long drive, but not a great call on third-and-3.

–Manny Lawson gets taken down on a cut block on a pass that resulted in 9-yard gain. On next play, he did a good job vs. the run for no gain on second-and-1. But the Broncos get the first down on a third-down run.

–Broncos have the ball at the 49ers’ 49. Offside on Lawson, lined up neutral zone, that’s a 5-yard penalty.

–FB Zak Keasey, who started this game, is questionable to return to action with a right elbow injury.

–Another pass to Clements’ side, to Chad Jackson. Mark Roman was closest man in coverage. It’s third-and-1 at the 11.

–Royal with another catch on Nate Clements for a first down.

-Clements gets in the last word. He picks off Orton in the end zone on a pass intended for Daniel Graham. He’ll stay in the end zone. Niners take over at the 20 with :56 left in first quarter.

–Alex Smith takes over at QB after Shaun Hill’s one series. 

–Smith doesn’t get rid of the ball. He takes a sack, and a 7-yard loss. And that’s the end of the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

–Smith throws to Josh Morgan for 14 yards on third-and-15. Champ Bailey had a chance to pick it, but Smith squeezed it in there. Still, Niners have to punt. Andy Lee with a 61-yard punt. Broncos take over at their own 37.

–INJURY UPDATE: Zak Keasey is out with a forearm injury.

–Some of the 49ers’ defensive starters are no longer in there. Ahmad Brooks is taking over at OLB, Rookie Scott McKillop is in there, too. Lawson remains in the game, and Sopoaga takes over at nose tackle.

–Broncos are driving again. But Marcus Hudson with a pass broken up on throw to Brandon Stokley, that sets up a third-and-6.

–New 49ers’ CB Dre’ Bly just picked off his former teammates, and he’s lovin’ it.

 –Smith is back with the first-team offense. He completes 7-yard pass to Arnaz Battle, and Coffee converts third-and-1.

–It’s third-and-7 for Smith, with Micheal Spurlock in as the third receiver (with Morgan and Battle). Against blitz, he throws over Spurlock or underneath Morgan. Incomplete, but the protection held up pretty well.

–McKillop and Justin Roland are the ILBs, while Brooks and Marques Harris are OLBs.

–Second-year player Reggie Smith makes the pick of an Orton pass. That’s his third pick. He returns it to the 6-yard line. A Denver penalty moves it to the 3.

–Smith throws to FB Brit Miller for the touchdown. Miller played linebacker last year at Illinois. Romero misses the PAT. That means it’s 49ERS 9, BRONCOS 0 with 5:16 left in the half.

–Marcus Hudson and Shawntae Spencer at cornerback spots to start series. Marques Harris makes stop for 3-yard loss.

–Tough matchup for McKillop, as he can’t hang with Eddie Royal for a 19-yard gain.

–Bly with a run blitz off the right side. He stops LaMont Jordan for no gain. That sets up a third-and-10 from the 49ers’ 45 after the two-minute warning.

–Smith throws low to Coffee on a blitz. If he had gotten it to him, it could’ve gone for a long gain.

–On third down, Smith completes 9-yard gain to Josh Morgan for a first down. There’s 1:04 remaining in half.

–Now, Niners are just going to run out the clock after Arnaz Battle’s false start. Coffee gains 8 to set up third-and-5. Broncos call a timeout with :15 remaining in half. Coffee gets the first down with 12-yard gain.

–That’s the end of the first half. Coffee got a lot of action. He has 67 yards on 14 carries for a 4.8 average.

–So the halftime stats were Shaun Hill 2 of 2 for 41 yards; Alex Smith 5 of 7 for 33 yards and a TD. Hill was sacked twice; Smith was sacked once. Based on the first half of this game, I’d say whatever inclination Mike Singletary had before this game is unchanged.

And because of newspaper deadlines, I will not be able to do this live-blogging thing in the second half.

Thanks for tuning in, and check back after the game.

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