June 6 we did our first 53-man roster projection.  Probably a little early, but most major transactions had taken place at that point.  August 11 we did our second 53-man roster projection, one game into the exhibition season.  With one game remaining for the 49ers, the final cut down date is Saturday, so now is as good a time as any for this final roster projection.

49ers blogger Chrissy Mauck actually posted some thoughts on the 53-man rather than project it out.  She works with the players on a daily basis so it's probably not as easy coldly saying cut or no cut.  I thought I'd run some of her thoughts before putting my final projection.

On Ashley Lelie
I would be absolutely SHOCKED if they cut Ashley Lelie. I know everyone else is putting him on the bubble, but in this Martz’ offense, I think you want six receivers and Martz talked many times this off-season about how talented he thinks Lelie is. I don’t think the guy gets cut because he had a calf injury.

On OLB
At the start of camp, I thought it would come down to Tully Banta-Cain or Parys Haralson, but I think Roderick Green has also made a case for himself. The 49ers could end up keeping two out of the three.

On Keith Lewis
He has had some mistakes on special teams during the preseason, but special teams coach Al Everest knows Lewis is one of the best around the league. Since the units have struggled, I think Al definitely fights for Lewis to be on the 53.

Nothing stunning there, but people really think Ashley Lelie is going to stick around.  At the same time, if the 49ers can keep Zeigler on the practice squad and Lelie struggles early on, I think he could be cut at any point during the season.  Additions since projection #2 are bolded and underlined

Offense
QB (3): Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, J.T. O'Sullivan
RB (3): Frank Gore, DeShaun Foster, Michael Robinson
FB (1): Zak Keasey
WR (6): Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson, Arnaz Battle, Jason Hill, Josh Morgan, Ashley Lelie
TE (3): Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker, Billy Bajema
LT (2): Joe Staley, Barry Sims
LG (2): Adam Snyder, Tony Wragge
C (2): Eric Heitmann, Cody Wallace
RG (2): David Baas, Chilo Rachal
RT (1): Jonas Jennings

Defense
DE (4): Isaac Sopoaga, Justin Smith, Kentwan Balmer, Ray McDonald
DT (2): Aubrayo Franklin, Ronald Fields
OLB (3): Manny Lawson, Tully Banta-Cain, Parys Haralson
ILB (5): Patrick Willis, Jeff Ulbrich, Dontarrious Thomas, Takeo Spikes, Larry Grant
CB (6): Nate Clements, Walt Harris, Shawntae Spencer, Tarell Brown, Donald Strickland, Reggie Smith
FS (2): Mark Roman, Dashon Goldson
SS (2): Michael Lewis, Keith Lewis

Special Teams
K: Joe Nedney
P: Andy Lee
LS: Brian Jennings
KR/PR: Allen Rossum

Last 5 on: Ashley Lelie, Larry Grant, Chilo Rachal, Cody Wallace, Zak Keasey (as opposed to Moran Norris)

First 5 off: Moran Norris, Dominique Zeigler, Thomas Clayton, Brian De La Puente, Roderick Green

I added Ashley Lelie to the 53-man projection simply because of the buzz in the media.  Personally, I'd rather see what Zeigler can do on game day, but unfortunately I was recently informed that I don't have a vote in the matter (shocking, I know).  However, like I said above, if Lelie struggles, I think he's on an especially short leash.

In order to make room for Lelie I left off Moran Norris.  As Scot McCloughan said, Norris should have been a Pro Bowler two years ago.  Unfortunately now, the shift in the offense seems to make him significantly less useful.  He'll always have a use, but in the Martz offense it might not be enough for a roster spot.

Over the course of training camp I've occasionally chimed in with some of Mike Nolan's answers from post-practice media sessions.  I think Nolan's Nuggets is a quality title for this piece.  While he's the master of "coach-speak," I still like to throw out some of his thoughts.  One reason is the chance to try and read through the lines and figure out what he's "really" saying. 

For this particular week, we're focusing mostly on the wide receivers.  As previously stated, injuries have complicated things there.  I'll be doing one last 53-man projection later today and that is certainly one of the bubble-ish positions.

Nolan was asked about the starters for this Friday's game against the Chargers.  Josh Morgan is out with what sounds like a really bad illness.  Must be a nasty flu bug or something.  On who would start otherwise:

“It will be between Bryant Johnson and Ashley Lelie. Bryant Johnson, if he’s well, looks like he was able to go today pretty good, so it’ll be nice to see him, and at the other position it will be Isaac Bruce and Arnaz Battle, three wide receivers. Obviously all three receivers will be in the game at the same time.”

On how much time Johnson and Lelie might see:

“Yes, those guys haven’t played much, so a quarter, if not a half. I hope to see more of them. Some of the [reps] will depend on them. If they start to feel it tightening up or whatever, they absolutely won’t get as much. I hope that does not occur because, just liked we talked about, we want to get in that first [season] game with that healthy group.”

On work outside of the game:

“We did put a lot of emphasis these practices this week. We went good against good the entire week, which is not typical for this week, so we got a lot of good work and that was exactly what you guys were talking about. J.T. [O’Sullivan] got a lot of work with those guys that you were talking about in practice. Even though it maybe limited in the game, like I said, we tried to get in three days here this week as opposed to one game and I thought that was more important.”

Best answer of the day came in response to: Getting back to the receivers, during the offseason, you cut ties with Darrell Jackson and you kept [Ashley] Lelie around. You could argue that Jackson was more productive last year than Lelie. What is it about Lelie that you saw in him, that maybe this guy is going to be a worthwhile 49er. Was it Jerry Sullivan chiming in on that?

Nolan response: “I can’t recall.  I can’t answer that.”

Considering Lelie was in Sullivan's doghouse for parts of last season, the whole thing just blows my mind.  Maiocco made an excellent point when discussing his own 53-man roster projections:

If the 49ers keep five receivers, Lelie does not make it. But the 49ers proved Monday that Lelie is still in the game. If they had written him off, they would not have allowed him to practice. But they want him to make this team because he gives them a proven speed element. If they were set on cutting him, they would've cut him as soon as he passed the physical. Instead, they're taking a chance that he'll get reinjured, and then they'd owe him a good chunk of change in an injury settlement.

Is his speed element truly worth all this hassle?  He's a burner but is it possible Josh Morgan could bring a legit deep threat to the team?  Lelie's best season was in 2004 and his numbers went down every season since.  If he could stay healthy I suppose the speed is there, but we also have to consider who would be cut in his place.

So I guess burning question we're left with is simple: If healthy, is Ashley Lelie that good?

So, SB Nation has a fantasy sports blog called Fake Teams.  They came up with a good idea of having each team throw up a Fan Post about their best player and their sleeper pick for fantasy purposes.  Today is NFC West day and I threw up my Fan Post about the 49ers fantasy options.

Nothing too shocking as it's obvious Frank Gore is the best fantasy option.  I went with Josh Morgan as the sleeper.  He was shutout last week, but clearly he's shown the goods.  I don't think a guy like Vernon Davis would be a sleeper simply because people around the country know about his abilities. 

Any other sleepers you'd consider "sleepers" on the 49ers for fantasy purposes?  If we're to believe Mike Martz, Delanie Walker could be a possible bye week TE option.  It sounds like he'll be lined up all over the field, like the Duke, so that opens up some options.  Isaac Bruce is always a safe 3rd or 4th receiver to have, as is Arnaz Battle.  Bryant Johnson could be a sleeper 1 or 2 if he steps up his game.

On a related note, we've got 3 Niners Nation leagues through Fleaflicker.  Right now I've got 8 people interested in a 4th league, so if I could get 4 more people that'd be awesome. 

Why should you take part?  Well, it's free but you'll be able to win a prize if you win your league.  The tentative prize plan is a gift certificate for the 49ers online store.  If we got to a 4th league the gift certificate will be in the $80 range, meaning you could conceivably get one of the $75 replica jerseys the team sells.  Or you could get a few items that add up to the $80.  I'd order them online and ship them to you (rather than you buy and me reimburse you).  If that's not reason enough to join, I don't know what is.

So, the first 4 people to express in the comments will be included in this fourth league.  If there is sufficient interest (10-12 people) I'll even create a fifth league.  If the fifth league is created it would lower the prize value for each league, but would allow more people in obviously.

San Francisco 49ers Best Fantasy Player:

Joe Nedney, Fantasy God....ok I'm just kidding.  Without a doubt, Frank Gore is the man that makes this offense go and the man who will provide the greatest fantasy production.  Gore struggled a bit last year due to an otherwise inept offense and a particularly bad offensive line.  Many fantasy magazines have predicted less than stellar things from Gore.  In my last fantasy draft he dropped to the 2nd round. Well, take my word on this, Frank Gore is going to have a monstrous fantasy season for two reasons:

1) The offensive line's poor 2007 performance was an aberration.  Eric Heitmann was coming back from a broken leg and Larry Allen struggled with the big fork sticking out of his back.  The offensive line has shown cohesivness not see since the dominant 2006 o-line.

2) Four words: Mike Martz/Marshall Faulk: Gore has been the leading pass-catcher for the 49ers the last two years and this figures to go up with the Martz offense.  If you're in a point per catch league, I think Gore is up there with a guy like Westbrook in terms of overall value.  I don't think 2,000 total yards of offense is out of the realm of possibility.

San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Sleeper:

Josh Morgan is a guy you can take with your last pick or snag off waivers without any problems (until people read this of course).  Morgan was a 6th round draft choice out of Virginia Tech who slipped due to some character concerns.  While he was shutout in the 3rd exhibition game, he was the 49ers leading receiver the first two weeks and has shown a great chemistry with new 49ers QB J.T. O'Sullivan (possible another sleeper).

Morgan went from fighting for a roster spot in July to fighting for the starting split end position now.  Bryant Johnson was brought in to be the X receiver opposite Isaac Bruce but he just returned to practice yesterday, for the first time since August 4.  Even if he starts the season at the X, it's entirely possible Morgan is starting at some point this season.  Morgan has the combination of size and speed to be an impact receiver in this league.  It's too early to say he's the next Marques Colston, but if it does happen, you heard it here first.

We'll be keeping plenty of tabs on Morgan, Gore and everybody else over at Niners Nation.

So first a little background.  Last week I received an email from Jason Jenkins, the 49ers Director of PR Operations.  He mentioned seeing the site and wanted to see if I could make it down to training camp on Saturday.  Naturally, I was very much down for that.  So, I took Cal Train down and spent Saturday afternoon at 4949 Centennial Boulevard.

I made it down to practice a couple times last year, but they were pretty limited and I was just sort of on my own.  This time, I had a PR person with me who was very open to discussing the team and where things stood.  While PR folks can certainly throw some spin, Jason seemed to be genuinely psyched for the season.  Also, it was a closed practice so there were only a few of us there.  As the interview below indicates I was with a couple fellows from 49erswebzone.com.  So it was the two of them, myself and Jason with practice all to ourselves.

Before hitting the practice field we got a tour of the facilities.  The locker room is rather large and with the 81 (and now 75) men on the roster, a bunch of temporary lockers are set up for all the rookies and training camp bodies not likely to make the roster.  This picture shows the temporary lockers for the youngsters.  This was shortly after the five cuts were announced and I kinda wish I had gotten a chance to take a picture of Kyle Wright's locker.  Just to show the transition and whatnot.

The first locker I saw coming in was the memorial locker to Thomas Herrion.  Herrion was the offensive lineman who collapsed and died after an exhibition game wiht the Broncos.  The 49ers have kept Herrion's locker as it was when he passed away.  I definitely wanted a shot of this.

After the tour we went out to practice.  Unfortunately I could not take pictures at practice because the team was implementing their offensive and defensive game plans for Friday's game against the Chargers.  Apparently in the recent past, some clown video-taped one of these types of practices and had it up on the 49ers Message Board.  It was not up for very long.

Josh Morgan was out (I think the illness that has kept him out this week as well).  I was disappointed as I wanted a chance to see him on the practice field.  However, I saw plenty of other things that excited me. 

Frank Gore was involved in some running and passing plays and he is looking unbelievable.  There was mention of him shedding some weight, which I noticed on tv and on the practice field.  He was flying around the field and squeezing through some really tiny holes.  A lot of publications are down on Gore this year, in part because I think they're down on the 49ers o-line.  However, I think the line will surprise folks and Gore is due for a monster season.

Additionally, and I know this is stating the obvious, but Vernon Davis is just a physical beast.  The team was running a red zone drill and Davis ran a corner pattern.  I think it was O'Sullivan (not 100% sure) who threw up a pass and Davis went up over the corner covering him to make the catch.  He looked like he was a solid head length plus above whomever was trying to cover him.  I realize some people have labeled him a workout or practice warrior, but I honestly think there's just too much talent and ability for him not to pan out as a great pass-catching tight end.

One thing I did really enjoy watching was some passing drills with Mike Martz looking over things.  O'Sullivan, Hill and Smith all took reps with the receivers with no defense.  Martz was taking the entire time, whether it be to the receiver or the quarterbacks.  He'd emphasize a specific location on the field or a harder cut a receiver needed to make.  After a QB would overthrow or underthrow a receiver, Martz would take the QB aside to discuss the mistake.  At the same time he threw out encouragement on solid performances.  It's hard to get a read on a guy standing across the field and yelling, but I liked what I saw.  I got the proverbial "good vibe."  I'm sure this will be discussed in the future depending on the outcome of the offense's season.

The same could be said of Mike Nolan during team drills.  You can see how much he loves the defensive side of the ball.  After a play would be run he was out giving some hands-on coaching to a defensive player.  Usually it was with the defensive backs, particularly the younger ones.  He must have called out DJ Parker's name five or six times in the space of five or ten minutes.

After practice and the interview with Scot McCloughan, I definitely had to get pictures with the Super Bowl trophies.  The first is just me and the second is me with Jason Jenkins.

I really want to thank Jason for reaching out to me and providing this opportunity.  A lot of my fellow SB Nation Football writers have had a difficult time getting in touch with their respective teams.  A lot of professional sports franchises are not what you'd call "blogger-friendly."  In reaching out to me and to some of the other 49ers blogs, they're clearly much more accepting of the proverbial "alternative media."  Thanks again to the 49ers.

After being dogged by a calf injury the last few weeks, Ashley Lelie was finally back in full practice yesterday.  The emergence of Josh Morgan, coupled with Lelie's injury has pushed Lelie to the cusp of being cut.  Including yesterday's practice, Lelie has 4 practices and 1 game to show he can bring something to the table.

However, we've gone over Lelie's situation enough to know what's what.  He's down to battling with Dominique Zeigler for consideration as a 6th receiver and that's that.  Other injuries have raised additional questions that are more important than the 6th receiver.

The question for the 49ers is who will be starting where and who will be coming off the bench to start the season.  The guys who entered training camp as the favorites to be the #2 and #3 receivers were Bryant Johnson and Arnaz Battle.  I qualify Bruce as the #1 more out of seniority than anything and really it's just a hypothetical. 

Anyways, Johnson and Battle have spent much of training camp dinged up.  From earlier reports, Johnson was performing quite well in camp before going down with a hamstring injury during the combined practice with the Raiders.  Battle on the other hand seems to be nicked up every offseason before coming in and producing as usual.

Josh Morgan has had ups and downs in training camp, but has shown serious talent.  He's got size, speed and good chemistry with J.T. O'Sullivan.  He didn't produce much against Chicago, but we know rookies will have good and bad moments.  However, his performances to date have created a tough situation for Mike Nolan, which he has readily acknowledged.

Isaac Bruce appears locked in at the flanker (Z) position as the "featured receiver."  Johnson is probably more talented at this point, but the Hall of Fame receiver with something left in the tank will get his crack as the #1.  Personally, I think one of the other receivers will surpass Bruce as the go-to guy, but for now, Bruce is in that role.

The split end (X) position is the one creating headaches (but I think a good kind of headache).  On the one hand, Bryant Johnson is the guy they brought in to be the man opposite Bruce.  Johnson is supremely talented and wants a chance to prove that and net a big money contract.  Unfortunately, he's been MIA the last few weeks as Josh Morgan has impressed the coaches.  And, you certainly can't forget Arnaz Battle.  He's been out of commission much of camp but if healthy I think we can safely assume another solid season.  The final option that really hasn't been discussed is Jason Hill.  He had a nice little game against the Bears but is still developing his skills.  If he finished up with a big game against the Chargers it wouldn't mean a heck of a lot but it would give him an equal number of quality games as compared to Morgan (just a thought).

So, assuming everybody is relatively healthy at the start of the season (e.g. Bryant Johnson is playing although he might not be quite 100% come week 1), who is in the starting lineup at split end for the early part of the season?  I'm not including Ashley Lelie because even if he does make the team he is in that specialized deep threat role and not the normal starting role in my opinion.  If you disagree, let me know.  A quick review of the candidates:

Bryant Johnson - Brought in to fill this very role and while he hasn't matched expectations he brings a ton of talent.

Josh Morgan - The rookie has shown incredible talent and had some of us thinking Marques Colston after two exhibition games.  We'd clearly have to temper expectations but to quote Hubie Brown, there is some tremendous upside here.

Arnaz Battle - May not be the most talented receiver, but he's the most consistent and will bust his butt every play.

Jason Hill - Like Morgan we're thinking upside with him.  If he were to end up as the #2 it would take some development over the course of this season.

After answering the poll, I'd be curious how you see the position shaking out completely.  If you vote for one, feel free to mention in the comments where you think everybody else falls.

As we approach the last game of the preseason, it's all about keeping guys healthy.  The 49ers have done fairly well in keeping healthy (KNOCK ON WOOD) and they're taking serious precautions this Friday against San Diego.  The first-team units will apparently only play a series or so.

Of course, with some of the recent injuries, the question becomes who will be out there and who will be on that first unit.  Brian De La Puente has an arm injury that has sidelined him recently.  Today saw Tony Wragge move over to left guard and Chilo Rachal took over at right guard.  However, David Baas is due back to the practice field this week, so we could see the Baas-Wragge combination at guard.

Some folks who missed practice include Keith Lewis and Josh Morgan due to illness.  On the other hand, Arnaz Battle and Ashley Lelie were finally able to take part in team reps today.  I'll have a bigger post about the wide receivers tomorrow, but Lelie certainly has his work cut out for him in the next five days.  Nolan has said he's on the fence about keeping 5 or 6 receivers so Lelie needs to give him a reason if he wants to stick around.

As for Friday's game, Nolan has indicated Adam Snyder, Jonas Jennings and Allen Rossum are all likely out.  Robert Ortiz will be returning punts, with Michael Robinson and Delanie Walker getting some action in the kick return game.  It's good to see Robinson back on the field.

In a somewhat related note, the final cutdown to the 53-man roster has to happen by Saturday.  Since that's the day after an evening game, I'm planning on doing a final 53-man projection on Wednesday or Thursday.  If there is anything that could dramatically affect a given player I'll throw up a post but if nothing big happens I probably won't since cuts could happen pretty quickly, making a same-day post rather dated.  Game-time decision.

So, over the weekend I mentioned that I had scored an invite to the 49ers practice this past Saturday.  I'll have some pictures up later in the afternoon, but here's the juicy part.  Thanks to the assistance of 49ers Director of PR Operations, Jason Jenkins, I was the given the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes with 49ers GM Scot McCloughan.  In addition to myself, James Darnell of 49erswebzone.com was on hand.  We got about 10 minutes with Scot and got some interesting information from him.

I actually flipped on the recorder as Scot had already begun speaking in general about the QB decision.  I've also distinguished my questions from the 49ers Webzone questions.

SM: We’re ready to go.  Now that we’ve got one identified, it’s good for everybody around the offense to know who it is.  Plus, it’s also important to have somebody in the wings you know can also do it – you guys have seen very seldom does one team make it through the season healthy 16 games starting at quarterback.  If you do, you usually see them in the playoffs.

For us, two of the three years we’ve been here we’ve gone through four starters in one year . . . I was thinking about bringing Chris Weinke back – he’s one that’s actually my age.

49ers Webzone: I was talking to Frank earlier.  He came into camp in really good shape and he’s had a few good preseason games. Do you think he’s poised for his best season so far?

SM: From the standpoint of poise, himself, most definitely.  You’ll never find him short of thinking he’s not the best back in the league, he’s not gonna have the best year in the league.  There’s no doubt about it.  I think the key thing is the health’s huge.  He’s the type of guy that needs to practice even in training camp, just to get in his groove, see what the o-linemen are doing.  But, the key factor as everybody’s well aware is what happens up front with the o-line and how the quarterback plays. 

The NFL and defenses in the NFL are good enough nowadays that they can take one guy out of the picture.  And if all we can do is run the football, meaning if our game plan is Frank-Frank-Frank, good defenses, average to good defenses will stop us no matter what.  The offensive line is huge as we saw last year.  And the year before it was great and the quarterback played well and our offense wasn’t predicated on just running.  Teams had to worry about us throwing the ball and that opened up holes for Frank.  He, from a standpoint of third year in the NFL, really second training camp being 100% healthy, I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t have his best season yet.

Fooch: How’s Adam Snyder looking?

SM: You know what, he’s gotten better and better in each game.  The thing that’s been great is we’ve finally left him at one position so he can just learn that.  The injury came at a bad time, nothing you can do about it, it’s not a severe injury which is great.  It would have been really good to see him versus Chicago because he started off through camp early in camp struggling and I really don’t know why.  It wasn’t an injury issue, it wasn’t a weight issue.  Maybe he as just surprised he was at one spot, staying at one spot.

But he was getting better and better in both games and showed it and it would have been nice if he had played on Thursday.  But he’ll be fine.  The thing we have now, and I got this question the other night about Larry Allen, is with our health along the o-line inside right now at guard and center, we feel really good.  We’ve got the guys that we know can come in here and play and signed guys like Tony Wragge that we know can play. Are they superstars? No, but they’re good football players.  That’s what you need on the o-line.

49ers Webzone: [On J.T. O’Sullivan] How do you guys feel about him moving forward to start the season?

SM: We feel good.  You know the one thing that’s very important is the offensive coordinator, position coach have to have a comfort level with the quarterback.  Especially with Coach Martz and his system (about 10 seconds muffled by plane flying overhead).  [J.T. didn’t win the job just because he knew the offense], he won the job outright but he gives us the opportunity to put more offense in for week 1.

49ers Webzone: You were talking about comfort level.  You know J.T.’s bounced around the league, bounced around the world.  But he’s from this area – Have you noticed a certain comfort level with him as an individual just being here?

SM: I don’t think so.  The thing that’s great and Alex and Shaun, all 3 of them have had adversity in their lives, from a football standpoint.  Shaun and J.T. have never really been the guy in one place.  Look at J.T., he’s bounced around and what you hope for is they learn why they weren’t the guy.  What can I improve on to become the guy?  You’re around a good quarterback you study what he does.  I think he’s been through enough, I think all 3 of them have been through enough, that a bad day on the football field’s not gonna crush them.  They understand that you go out and just compete and do your job you’re gonna be fine.  I don’t think him being back in the area that he’s from it’s a comfort level.  I think the fact that he’s been around football a long time and feels comfortable that he can be the guy is the comfort level he has.

Fooch: Before training camp started, Coach Martz was talking about the excitement of having a guy like Delanie Walker.  He hasn’t really been featured a whole lot.  Is it just a matter of implementing more of the game plan?

SM: Know this, Coach Martz is not gonna show our real offense until the games count.  He’ll be a part of it.  The thing that’s great, the issue sometimes for the players, and the coach, is that we feel that we’ve got more than 2 or 3 weapons on offense, which is a good problem to have.  Now, a guy like Vernon, who’s so adamant that wants the ball, you love it because you want guys who want to go out there and make plays.  But you also have one ball and you only get so many people.  But Delanie will be a big part.  You’ll see, in my opinion, the best year from Frank, the best year from Delanie, and the best year from Vernon.  Especially Delanie and Vernon from a production standpoint and you’ll see the receivers have their games too.

You know I’m excited, everybody’s excited about Delanie.  We’re excited about this offense, we really are.  If the quarterbacks will stay in their talent level, instead of trying to make the plays they can’t make, let the guys around them make the plays, we’ll be just fine.

Fooch: With his big performance against the Bears, do you know what you’re gonna do with Thomas Clayton yet?

SM: No (excitedly).  Again, that’s what you want, especially with young guys you’ve drafted and brought in and kind of developed as a 49er.  You want those problems at the 53-man cut.  The thing that you don’t want to do is the tough decisions are made and you can’t make them all accurate.  But you want to try to keep the good football players around.  We’re very lucky to have a pretty talented backfield, especially adding Deshaun.  Even with Moran and Zak fighting it out.  Moran, two years ago was a very hot ticket, I was surprised he didn’t go to the Pro Bowl.  You see what Frank did when he led blocked.  The competition’s what you want.  (The end of this part of his answer was muffled but he basically said it’s a good problem showing that we’re getting good depth).

[Specifically about Clayton]: He’s a good kid who works hard.  He came out last year on the practice squad every day and that’s tough duty.  Because he’s carrying the ball in practice 20-30 times a practice and they’re knocking the crud out of him.  It’s not full contact, but they’re hitting.  It’s the first team defense and he never said a word.  Just showed up and did his job, very professional.  People had a knock on him coming out saying that he was a selfish guy and a troublemaker.  That’s so far from the truth.  The guy’s a team guy through and through and he proved it.  He deserves to have some success and he’s got some talent too.

Thanks again to Scot for taking the time to answer questions and Jason for setting all this up.  I'll have some more thoughts about the practice and a few pictures up later.  Unfortunately I couldn't get photos of the practice itself.  They were implementing the Chargers game plan and don't want anything ending up in the wrong hands!

Over the course of the preseason, the 49ers offensive and defensive units have shown important signs of life.  There have been some inconsistencies but improvement can be seen.  The offense struggled to start the season but has moved the ball well the last two weeks.  The defense started out strong but struggled a little in Week 3. 

During this same time, the "special teams" has struggled mightily in covering returns.  Each game has seen at least one return of 50+ yards, with the quality return game of Chicago just eating up the 49ers.  Most of the 49ers problems have been on kickoff returns.  Johnnie Lee Higgins had a punt return for a touchdown, but since then kickoffs have been the issue.

@ Chicago
Danieal Manning - 171 return yards on 3 kickoff returns - Manning's numbers were a little screwy in the box score because they say he only had 2 returns - the third was actually his first return in which he received a lateral from Devin Hester.

In the first return the 49ers actually had him pretty well bottled up inside the 5 yard line and missed a pair of tackles.  He proceeded to blow down the sideline for 60 yards before being forced out of bounds.  His second return was simply blowing through some folks including a big missed tackle by Donald Strickland (he also missed what looked like an easy one in the first return) for 75 yards before Reggie Smith forced a fumble.  His final return was close to being broken before Markus Curry took Manning down after 36 yards.  Considering Manning is the backup returner to Hester that's not so good.

vs. Green Bay
Jordy Nelson - 114 yards on 2 returns - Nelson is listed as the THIRD TEAM returner for the Packers.

Nelson's first return for 56 yards saw him find the first seam thanks to a great Packer wedge.  Allen Rossum had him around the legs but couldn't hold on and Nelson cut right before DJ Parker could make a move to tackle him.  When he cut back, Parker had overpursued and couldn't get back.  He was then almost horse collared before being spun around and getting 20 yards behind some more quality blocking.

His second return was for 58 yards and was thanks in large part to more great Packer blocking.  Kicker Ricky Schmitt was actually the guy to force him out in both instances.  I think this return was less 49ers problems and more quality Packer blocking.

My knowledge of special teams is rather limited.  On replay I can see where the guy finds the seam and gets a good block, but I can't figure out much in terms of busted coverage.  So, I got in touch with the Mile High Report University folks who have helped educate us in the past on matters of football.

Hoosierteacher, the man who gave us some insight on the Ted, is my go-to guy for football knowledge.  He has done some coaching but he acknowledged in his email that his special teams knowledge is somewhat limited.  I thought I'd throw up his thoughts anyways and if any of you have other insights to offer, please share them.

He suggested some possible problems include (and I'll address each in turn):

1. The team is so top heavy, that the guys playing on coverage teams are just really terrible players.  (Well balanced teams with decent depth often do better in coverage)

Fooch: I'd say I don't buy this but the missed tackles I saw were usually youngsters that may or may not make the roster.  DJ Parker was spun around by Jordy Nelson and Parker is not a guy expected to make the roster.  However, guys like Donald Strickland will need to be making plays on special teams.  Of course, if Spikes locks down the starting Ted spot, a special teams veteran in Jeff Ulbrich will be back doing what he does best.

2. Poor coaching.

Fooch: Considering the quality of the special teams last year and the lack of changes in the coaching ranks I'd say this wouldn't seem to be the reason.

3. Teams that don't emphasize speed in their systems may not have the speed in back-up players to do well in coverage.

Fooch: Not sure enough about the 49ers system to make any sort of informed comment on this.

4. If there is little hope for promotion to a starting offense or defense, motivation may be lacking with a ST.

Fooch: The starters are certainly getting more entrenched, but the 49ers coaching staff does not seem to have a problem with motivating players.

5. Poor tackling skills will wreck any coverage team or defense.  Open field tackling is the norm in coverage, but it is ironic that the guys least likely to be good open field tacklers are the guys typicaly stuck on coverage.

Fooch: Maybe some of the newer young players need to work on their open field tackling?

6. Perhaps the opponents in a given year just have great return teams.

Fooch: The Bears are certainly a great return team, but it's usually Devin Hester and not Danieal Manning.

I honestly think the special teams coverage will get it together as the season gets here.  When guys like Jeff Ulbrich and Michael Robinson are out there on special teams, I think the difference will be seen.  Ulbrich has been spending his time competing for the Ted spot and Robinson is, of course, out with his knee injury.  They're only two players, but they're two of our best special teams players.  The special teams issues may carry over a week or two into the regular season, but I don't think this is a long term problem.

Are you convinced or am I delusional?

Apologies for not having this up earlier.  I'll be posting more in the coming week, but I scored an invite to a closed 49ers practice today and have all sorts of stuff to pass along (including a brief interview with GM Scot McCloughan).  I'm actually in Mountain View waiting for Cal Train back to San Francisco and taking advantage of the free WiFi Google hooked up in Mountain View.

For now, the 49ers have cut second-year DT Joe Cohen, first-year TE Cooper Wallace, rookie S Lewis Baker, rookie QB Kyle Wright and rookie G John Booker.

I had thought they needed 6 cuts but Scot (yes we're clearly on a first name basis now) said that Ramiro Pruneda, from the International Practice Squad program, does not count against any of the roster limits, be it 53-man, 75-man or 8-man practice squad.

Joe Cohen is the only somewhat surprising cut, but he has never seemed to figure things out since the 49ers drafted him.  He spent last season on IR and just never bounced back.  Maybe they'll try and slip him to the practice squad. 

Lewis Baker is another practice squad candidate.  The PR person who was assigned to me today said the team was really high on him, but the thigh bruise he suffered was pretty bad.  We'll see what comes of that.

As I said, I'll have plenty of details in the upcoming week.  I got some pictures of the facility, but actually couldn't take any pictures of practice.  They're in the midst of implementing the game plan for San Diego, so they don't want that ending up on the Internet.

Trains here so I'll have more tomorrow morning.