San Francisco 49ers - Training Camp - 8/7

Camp Singletary has gone well so far for the San Francisco 49ers. The level of intensity shown at each practice during the first 10 days of camp have been off the charts. Singletary obviously has gained the respect of the veterans and rookies alike. The one hiccup for the 49ers during camp has been the absence of rookie wideout Michael Crabtree. The 10th pick overall has yet to sign with the team and although his agent Eugene Parker denies the report, Crabtree's cousin has told the media he is willing to sit out the entire 2009 season and reenter the 2010 NFL draft.

The current players do not seemed too bothered with the situation and believe it will be resolved soon. Mike Singletary held out for 3 weeks as a rookie, therefore he has no way of preaching to Michael that he needs to be in camp. One thing is for sure, Crabtree is loosing valuable time that may effect his 2009 campaign, but this may all be forgotten in a few years when he is putting up pro bowl caliber numbers each season for the 49ers.

Shawn Hill and Alex Smith have both looked comfortable in the new offense and both have a legitimate shot at the starting job. It has been well publicized that Hill has more success with shorter throws and Smith has much more success hitting the deeper routes due to his superior arm strength. The 49ers starting quarterback competition will come down to the actual play in the 49ers first few preseason games. Shawn Hill will probably start the first preseason game and Alex Smith will get a chance to start the second; after which I believe Singletary will make his final decision on the starter.

Not only the quarterbacks have looked impressive in the 49ers 2009 training camp. Brandon Jones and Josh Morgan have shined at the wideout spot. Morgan has received a ton of praise from his quarterbacks as well as the new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye. Jones is currently out with a shoulder strain for 2 weeks. In addition to the wideouts, Frank Gore has appeared to be in the best shape of his career and is hitting holes with an incredible amount of speed and agility. Vernon Davis as well has looked impressive and has caught the most amount of passes during the first part of the 49ers camp. in addition to the offensive side of the ball, the defense has also looked just as impressive. Ahmad Brooks has been quite impressive at the linebacker position. The defense has really come together and several players believe it is because it is a unit that has been together for a good 3 years and each player knows what the other is going to be doing. The defense has the luxury of being in the same system for over 3 years with defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, where as the offense is learning a new system for the seventh straight year. Hopefully the offense will get the same success and enjoy Jimmy Raye for several years to come.

.:|:. The 49ers preseason starts on August 14 against the Denver Broncos.

10. San Francisco 49ers - Andre Smith, OT, Alabama*
6-4 | 341 lbs. | Junior
Birmingham, AL
previous picks - Andre Smith - OT - Alabama
Others - Jason Smith, Everette Brown, B.J. Raji

Click here to view this 2009 NFL Mock Draft

Because Marvel Smith is not the long term solution, the 49ers will select Andre Smith here at 10. I don't believe they will select Oher here if Smith is gone because i believe Oher is a reach here. Because of the signing of Marvel the 49ers have flexibility at 10. They would probably go with Aaron Maybin had Andre been selected by the Bengals at 6 and may go with Mark Sanchez had he not been selected 8. The wild card here for the 49ers would be Chris Wells or Knowshon Moreno at 10 because they have said they will select a running back in the 2009 draft. Wells would be a better possibility because they want to add a bigger back.

(previous update) With the signing of Marvel Smith, I believe that the 49ers will select an edge rusher instead of a LT in the first round. Aaron Maybin or Orakpo would be ideal but Everette Brown must prove he can play OLB in a 3-4 prior to the 49ers pick to enable him to be in consideration here at 10.

An attractive trading partner would be the Buccaneers at 19. If Sanchez is available they may want to trade up due to Jeff Garcia leaving the team. Trading down may be the 49ers best option at number 10.

update 2/17 - For more proof on why the 49ers will not select a Quarterback in the first round. Daniel Brown - Mercury News

It also sounded unlikely that the 49ers would take a highly rated college quarterback such as Georgia's Matthew Stafford or USC's Mark Sanchez if they slipped to the 10th spot.

"As far as the draft, it would make sense if there's something there in the later rounds if we need to try and find a guy,'' Singletary said.

43. San Francisco 49ers - Clint Sintim, OLB, Virginia
6-3 | 254 lbs. | Senior
Woodbridge, VA

Second Round possibilities:
William Betty OT UConn
Shonn Greene RB Iowa
Patrick Chung SS Oregon
Louis Delmas FS Western Mich
William Moore FS Mizzou
Donald Brown RB UConn
Clint Sintim OLB VIrginia



3rd Round:
Ron Brace DT BC
Rashad Johnson FS Alabama
Jamon Meredith OT South Carolina
Michael Hamlin SS Clemson

4th round
Jeremiah Johnson RB Oregon
Andre Brown RB NC State
Alex Boone OT OSU

5th round & beyond
Victor Butler OLB OSU - Perfect 5th round pick for 49ers
Tony Fiammetta FB - Syracuse - If Tony is there in the 6th - Pick him
Quinn Johnson FB LSU - 6th round - FB is a must - Quinn is a elite run blocker out of the back field
Kyle Moore DE USC - 7th round

A safety, and a change of pace back should be musts.

Great Info on Specifically the 49ers Draft- Matt Maiocco's Instant 49ers Blog - Press Democrat

Patrick Willis - LB
11th overall Selection in the 2007 NFL Draft

Joe Staley - OT
27th overall Selection in the 2007 NFL Draft

Frank Gore - RB
1st pick of the third round in the 2005 NFL Draft

Josh Morgan - WR
8th pick of the 6th round in the 2008 NFL Draft

I did like the possible additions of these players. Now all of these players have found teams and the 49ers have filled their holes with other less expensive players. Now with the draft coming up they have the opportunity to fill more holes...

RB - Derrick Ward
FB - Leonard Weaver - Tony Richardson
S- Sean Jones - Jermaine Phillips - Gibril Wilson
CB- Ronald Bartell - Bryant McFadden
WR - TJ Houshmandzadeh
DT - Albert Haynesworth
OT - Tyson Clabo - Ray Willis

Players in Bold signify players who would be ideal. and would fit in the 49ers system.

Thus far, only a couple potential unrestricted free agents have received the franchise tag. The Giants have franchised RB Brandon Jacobs, and the Patriots did the same with QB Matt Cassel.

The 49ers have no reason to use their franchise tag. But there are plenty of teams around the league that have decisions to make that could affect the 49ers, such as . . .

--Panthers: Will they franchise DE Julius Peppers, who wants to play OLB in a 3-4 scheme? Peppers said he will demand a trade if the Panthers use the tag on him. If the Panthers do not franchise Peppers, they might slap the designation on OT Jordan Gross.

--Bengals: WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh might be a player of interest to the 49ers, but the Bengals have the option of tagging him.

--Rams: The 49ers are looking for a safety, and O.J. Atogwe is a young play-maker. However, it seems highly likely he'll be tagged.

--Buccaneers: The same could be said for S Jermaine Phillips. But the Bucs might choose instead to secure the services of WR Antonio Bryant.

--Ravens: They have a lot of options, all with linebackers. Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis and Bart Scott are all scheduled free agents. Doubt the 49ers would enter bidding wars for Lewis or Scott, but Suggs is an intriguing possibility.

--Dolphins: S Yeremiah Bell and OT Vernon Carey are both possibilities. And both of those spots are positions of need for the 49ers.

--Browns: S Sean Jones is 26, and he's had 14 interceptions in his three seasons as a starter. However, he might not be going anywhere.

--It's doubtful the 49ers would go big after a cornerback. The Raiders' Nnamdi Asomugha and the Texans' Dunta Robinson are candidates to be locked up.

link to article - With York in charge - 49ers will not be passive in free agency

Following up on our previous items about NFC West salary-cap situations, here's a look at how the 49ers could create additional cap space heading into free agency:

Current cap room: $12 million

Projected functional cap room for free agency: $20 million to $30 million

How the 49ers could create more room: The 49ers plan to release quarterback Alex Smith or rework his contract. Releasing Smith would clear $7 million in 2009 cap space.

The chart (see below) shows the difference between how much selected players' contracts count against the salary cap depending on roster status. I generally singled out players you have asked about through the mailbag or comments sections of various blog entries. The team appears to want Smith back at a reduced rate. Jonas Jennings appears vulnerable to release.
Most of the 49ers' higher-priced players remain productive starters, from Justin Smith to Frank Gore to Nate Clements.

The Chart showed these possible savings on the cap if the following players were released...
Alex Smith = $7 Million
Jonas Jennings = $3.1 million
Michael Lewis = $2 Million
Isaac Bruce = $1.5 Million
Mark Roman $900 K

link to article - Easy Money? How the 49ers Can Save