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?

425 yards of total offense by the 49ers tonight against the Chicago Bears.  Last week, 355 yards of offense against the Green Bay Packers.  Take a minute to soak those numbers in.  While it is only the preseason and backups were in for significant chunks, we can still enjoy ourselves on occasion. 

While the 49ers only won by 7 tonight, I really don't think the game was that close.  Even when it was tied 20-20, I actually felt like the 49ers offense could pull this thing out.  I can honestly say I don't remember the last time I had that feeling with the 49ers.  Even when they were 2-0 last year, the team had struggled in victory.  The year before most of us were surprised when they were 7-9 so we didn't expect anything.  The two previous years they were 4-12 and 2-14, nuff said.

The Bears defense finished up pretty abysmally last season and they look well on their way to another horrid season in 2008.  The way I look at it, the 49ers offense is clearly not 34 or 37 points a game good, but they're clearly not as bad as they were last year.  If the defense can get some teeth, a league average offense could be more than enough to make some noise.

So, preseason game #3 is in the books and we had some more questions answered.  Some questions will not be fully answered until the season starts, but we're getting some nice hints of things to come.

QB situation: It's official.  J.T. O'Sullivan is the starting quarterback for this team.  Maybe he loses the job midseason, but on September 7, O'Sullivan will be leading this offense against the Arizona Cardinals.  Whether you still prefer Alex Smith, I think it's safe to say that O'Sullivan has not done anything to lose the job.  Maybe he didn't deserve all the #1 snaps initially, but he showed he can make plays.  He won't throw the prettiest pass and I'm sure he'll make at least one vomit-inducing poor decision every game.  However, he knows this offense and will move the chains.  I've got thoughts on Alex Smith, but I'm going to leave them for another post involving a whole lot of film breakdown.  Suffice to say, his accuracy (or lack there of) is the death of him in the Mike Martz offense.

And briefly as to Shaun Hill.  I realize he has a sizable fan contingent.  As Rishi pointed out in the game thread, he was one of the lone bright spots in a season of crap.  I do agree that he deserved better.  At the same time, the physical attributes simply aren't there.  I realize you don't need to have all the physical tools as many professional athletes have shown.  At the same time, I think JTO has done enough for now to hold onto the job.  I'm sure he'll have me eating my words within the first two quarters of the regular season.

Offensive Line: They only gave up one sack and O'Sullivan et al. seemed to have enough time in the pocket most of the time.  I do need to rewatch the offense again to verify my thoughts.  This is more just insticts (which have been wrong many times).  I'm still anxious to see how they perform once the regular season gets here, but this is one question that I feel is hinting towards a rebirth.  I think Eric Heitmann needed last season to reach a full recovery and should be solid this year.  I'd like to keep De La Puente but I don't think the numbers will allow it.  As for their abilities in the running game?

Running Backs: Thomas Clayton is officially THE MAN against backups!  While partially joking, I'm serious in the fact that I really don't know what he'll be for the 49ers.  If he goes back to the practice squad he can be signed by any other team.  If your running backs are banged up, or you lack depth, wouldn't you take a flyer on the second year Clayton?

And what else needs to be said about Frank Gore?  Frank the Tank looked to be in midseason form.  I believe he shed some weight and he definitely seemed to have a little extra shiftiness tonight.  He was bobbing and weaving and finding holes like the Pro Bowler that he is.  Throw in the succesful screen plays and it's safe to say that Frank Gore is due for one hell of a season.  Martz may be a passing fool, but his use of Gore has me excited.

Wide Receivers: After back-to-back impressive performances, Morgan was thrown to three times tonight and had no receptions.  He got creamed on one over the middle play so I won't go calling him Alligator Arms (like our boy B. Lloyd).  He's a rookie so there will be the occasional regression.  He has no worries about a roster spot but this certainly didn't help his bid to score a starting spot.

Jason Hill on the other hand made some nice plays and combined with Morgan leaves me somewhat excited about the future of the wide receiver position for now.  One disappointment will be if Zeigler doesn't make the team.  I'm going to put together a 53-man roster look tomorrow or the next day and see what it would take to get him on the roster.  He's been really consistent receiver with 4+ catches each game and making plays at opportune moments.  They keep saying he'll be easy to slip through waivers to the practice squad, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Special Teams Coverage: Like clockwork, the 49ers had major headaches on special teams.  The Bears averaged 40 yards per kick return and 20 yards per punt return.  If this keeps up, the 49ers will be in trouble because the defense can't constantly defending only 50 or so yards per series.  I honestly have no answers for these problems.  Any ideas?  I'm going to see what I can dig up.

Pass Rush: After a pass rush run wild against the Packers, the front seven was contained this week.  I think this preseason sums up what we can expect from the pass rush.  There will be some truly amazing performances, but there will also be some wild inconsistencies that make us want to pull our hair out.  Ray McDonald ripping a couple sacks, followed by a couple offsides penalties.  Hopefully it's more of the former, but we'll see.

General Thoughts: Normally I would say to myself, oh don't get too excited about high scoring in the preseason.  However, I do NOT think this is a complete aberration.  The running and passing game will lead to some high scoring games.  While there will be struggles, the offense is clearly better than last season.  In last year's preseason, the 49ers scored 13, 26, 28 and 13 points.  So far this preseason it's 6, 34 and 37.  Preseason is clearly the ultimate in small sample sizes, but nonetheless I'll take what I can get to stay excited.

Participation: Finally, another SB Nation site came up with an interesting website that allows me to plug in the game thread and figure out who commented in the thread and how many comments they posted. Aside from myself, bondslegend had 216 comments, 49ersLou had 98, Cruithear had 43, 408 had 26, CB30 had 6, Muy Macho had 4, and Rishi, gatling, jtoj and metal_militia all had 1 comments.  Thanks to all for participating.  Always good to get everyone's insights on the game.

  vs. 

Date: August 21st, 2008
Time: 5:00pm PST
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Records (2007): 49ers (5-11) Bears (7-9)
ScoresandOdds.com Spread: Bears -3.5; Over/Under 36.5; Money Line: 49ers +160, Bears -180 - And if you're betting on preseason football, I suggest visiting this site.
Weather: 75 degrees, 50% chance of showers, wind SSE 4 mph
TV Broadcast: Fox - Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver, Chris Myers
Radio: 107.7 The Bone, 680/1050 KNBR - Joe Starkey, Gary Plummer, Rod Brooks
Spanish Radio: KIQI 1010-AM, KATD 990-AM - Fernando Arias and Ambrosio Rico
Bears Coverage: Windy City Gridiron

Injuries
49ers: Out - WR Arnaz Battle, WR Bryant Johnson, WR Ashley Lelie, S Lewis Baker, G David Baas, RB Michael Robinson, G Adam Snyder, T Jonas Jennings ; Gametime Decision: CB Tarell Brown

Bears: Out - T Chris Williams, G Terrence Metcalf, TE Desmond Clark

The Bears struggled last season but are still a defensive force to be reckoned with.  This is might be the most important game of the preseason considering we'll see the most playing time for the first teamers.

The 49ers have plenty of issues to resolve but they are definitely starting to get some answers.  Even as an "Alex Smith guy," I think the best bet right now is for J.T. O'Sullivan to have a solid performance and lock down the #1 job.  He's spent the most time with the first team offense and has hopefully developed some nice chemistry.  And if he struggles, well hopefully Smith has a good performance.

One quick unrelated point, I've gotten interest from 6 folks for our 4th and final Niners Nation Fantasy Football League.  If you aren't in a league and haven't let me know of your interest, either leave a comment in the game thread or email me at ninersnation@gmail.com.  I'd like 6 more people to make it a 12-team league so hopefully we can get 6 more folks.  And remember, there WILL be prizes (and not just a front page post!).

As always, if you feel like joining the conversation, click on "Sign Up" on the top left side of the front page, or "Sign Up" at the bottom of the comments for this thread.  Either way, your opinions and insights are greatly appreciated and welcomed.

I'll be back with a recap late tonight or early tomorrow.

GO NINERS!

A month ago, as we were heading into training camp, I took a look at position battles and who the leader was at the first turn (Part I and Part II).  Although the 49ers have only played two games, the third game is really the final game of importance.  That's when you get the most snaps for your starters.  The fourth game, on the other hand, is all about staying healthy and you usually know what your roster will be at that point.

Since the 49ers and Bears are throwing down later tonight, we might as well see where we're at in the various position battles.  We've got some answers and we've got some new questions raised.

QB
Leader coming down the home stretch: J.T. O'Sullivan
I think it's safe to say that barring injury or an incredibly bad performance, "Just Touchdowns" O'Sullivan will be quarterbacking the 49ers week 1 against the Cardinals.  This has been one of the more bizarre quarterback competitions in recent memory, but we have no say in this, so that's life I guess.

Ted Linebacker
Leader coming down the home stretch: N/A
This is a unique positional battle.  Up to this moment Jeff Ulbrich has outperformed his competitors.  However, the 49ers signed Takeo Spikes to play the Ted role, not to come off the bench.  Mistakes in his first game are excusable as he is still learning the defense.  It wouldn't surprise me to see a bit of a split in playing time at the Ted initially as Spikes continues to get his feet wet.  However, even though Ulbrich has gotten the lion's share of the time there, it's Spikes's job to lose.

Right Guard
Leader coming down the home stretch: Tony Wragge
The saying goes that a veteran won't lose his starting job due to injury.  However, Wragge has been getting rave reviews and may be doing just enough to take control of the job.  In every discussion of this positional battle I've made mention of the chemistry and cohesion issue.  I think Wragge is certainly playing himself into a starting role, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Baas reinserted into the starting lineup.  Of course, with the other injuries along the offensive line, another opportunity may open up for Wragge.

3rd/Nickel Cornerback
Leader coming down the home stretch: Shawntae Spencer
The great hit on Rodgers aside, Spencer has not really done anything too bad or too good to change his status with the team.  He's done enough to maintain his hold on the third corner position, while none of the younger folks have done anything to force him aside.  I certainly wouldn't have minded Reggie Smith or Tarell Brown pushing him a little harder.  However, we all know Spencer is a solid DB when healthy so I'm not concerned.

Right Outside Linebacker
Leader coming down the home stretch: Parys Haralson
Tully Banta-Cain appeared to have the lead, but in reality I think the coaching staff realized he is better coming off the bench in a variety of roles.  TBC started the first game of the exhibition season, but against the Packers he gave way to Parys Haralson.  I think TBC will get plenty of playing time each week on defense and special teams, but Haralson seems to have a bit better motor for the job.

#2/#3 Wide Receiver
Leader coming down the home stretch: Hell if I know
I honestly don't know what is going on with the wide receivers.  Josh Morgan has clearly been the man of the hour and is pushing for starter snaps.  He's shown a chemistry with O'Sullivan, has made some seriously big plays and has shown improvement each week.  So why have I not plugged him right in?  Well I honestly don't know what the plan is with Bryant Johnson and Arnaz Battle.  Neither has seen the field in a preseason game.  Both are veterans who know how to prepare for the season, but I wonder how ready they'll be without game action? 

I'd like to hope we'll see them next week against San Diego, but even then I wouldn't expect a lot of time.  A QB and his wide receivers need to be on the same page to make things happen.  I can honestly say I don't know what to expect from those two early in the season.  So now, if Josh Morgan has another quality performance, does he get the initial starter snaps while Johnson and Battle get up to speed?  It follows the idea of "going with the hot hand."  I think I'll throw up a poll question following the Bears game on this topic.

Free Safety
Leader coming down the home stretch: Mark Roman
On the one hand I love the ball-hawking skills of Dashon Goldson.  On the other hand I feel safe with the veteran presence of Roman.  The good news to come out of all this?  The emergence of Goldson makes the 49ers' six DB package that much better.  I'd be rather surprised if Goldson didn't wrest away the starting job next year, but for now, he'll be an amazing asset off the bench.

EDITOR'S NOTE - I managed to score jury duty today, so if anything comes up, feel free to use this as an open thread for breaking news of any sort.  Thanks to the power of SBN 2.0 I've managed to pre-post the #2 ILB All-Time team poll for noon pacific.  Other than that I'll be away from wireless until after 5pm.

Things along the offensive line certainly got a lot more interesting in the past couple of days.  After hearing that Jonas Jennings was having surgery on a broken knuckle, we learned today that Adam Snyder is out with what sounds like a right ankle sprain.  Thanks to sfgfan for throwing that one out below.

I use the headline "A rookie..." because there are a couple of options and no official word has been handed down as to which of the two will start.  One option would be to plug in undrafted rookie Brian De La Puente at left guard.  The other option is to move Tony Wragge over to left guard and plug in rookie Chilo Rachal at right guard.

We haven't heard a whole ton about De La Puente so I had a thought.  Maiocco has been running his day after look at all 81 players for both the Raiders and Packers games.  I'll post his comments on De La Puente and Rachal.

BRIAN DE LA PUENTE
Raiders

60-de la Puente: Nice block on linebacker Edgerton Hartwell on Hill shovel pass to Clayton helped net 14 yards. . . . Got a lot of action at LG after Snyder left the game.

Packers

60-de la Puente: Nice work one-on-one vs. DT Daniel Muir to allow Smith to deliver 27-yard pass down the field. . . . Performed very well in run and pass games.

CHILO RACHAL
Raiders

62-Rachal: Very solid job at RG after entering the game in the second quarter . . . Roughed up DT Derrick Gray in pass protection.

Packers

62-Rachal: Had some good plays, but there were some blemishes, too. . . Allowed QB pressure from Muir, who put good heat on Smith to lead to a third-down incompletion. . . . Missed a kick-out block on a 1-yard Clayton carry . . . Got low and opened the hole for Norris' 1-yard TD run . . . Got out front on screen pass to Clayton but he could not make the block on LB Abdul Hodge, who stopped the play for just 5 yards on third-and-8.

It's interesting how certain players will get a certain cache when it comes to the 53-man roster, simply because they were a draft pick.  Now I'm not jumping onto any sort of De La Puente bandwagon.  Rather I'm just intrigued by how this plays out for De La Puente.  Does he end up on the practice squad, our 53-man roster, or signing somewhere else with a chance to get some serious playing time?

According to Mike Sando, the NFC West divisional blogger at ESPN, the 49ers have kept an average of 9 offensive linemen in the three years of Mike Nolan.  Injury issues aside, the 49ers roster right now would probably include Joe Staley, Adam Snyder, Eric Heitmann, David Baas, Jonas Jennings, Tony Wragge, Chilo Rachal, Barry Sims and Cody Wallace.  Guys like Joe Toledo, Chris Patrick and John Booker are all training camp fodder.  So unless the 49ers decide to break camp with 10 offensive linemen, Brian De La Puente finds himself on the short end of the stick.

Due to the situation just described, I almost would prefer De La Puente get the start at left guard.  Chilo Rachal is not going anywhere and will get a chance to develop.  Since the starters are going into the third quarter (not sure where I read it, but I did read that somewhere), why not give De La Puente a chance to show what he can do?  An educated decision is certainly a better decision.  The first cut-down date is looming after this game and while I don't see De La Puente being in that first cut, it'd still be good to know what he's got.

During the 2007 regular season I'd throw some questions back and forth with the opposing team's SB Nation blogger.  I thought we'd get back into that for this Thursday's 49ers-Bears exhibition.  The Bears are represented by Windy City Gridiron.  If you get a chance, check them out this week to see what the Bears are up to.

On the meat behind the Bears offense
Everybody knows the names Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.  Close behind them you know Matt Forte and Kevin Jones.  If you are a big time NFL fan you may be aware of the battles between Devin Hester, Rashied Davis, Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd.

But if you want to know about the Bears you need to know about the names John St. Clair, Josh Beekman, Roberto Garza and John Tait.  They along with Olin Kruetz, who I give a pass since he is still working his way back from injury, are what we Bears fans call Chicago Swiss Cheese.  When you cannot find a guy to beat out Terrance Newman and then he goes down, it speaks volumes for your team.  Against the Seahawks, Rex Grossman never had more than a two step drop before he was seeing blue jerseys.  You cannot step up in the pocket or have pocket presence if your line never establishes a pocket.

On the QB situation
If the 49ers can bring pressure, then you can break down the running game and force whatever QB we decide to through out there into dropping the ball off for short gains.  The odds are that Kyle Orton will get the nod and start this Thursday, which gives the Bears a little better chance of making teams drop off the pressure.  Orton is much better at the short game and can find his reads faster.

On the defense and special teams
The Bears have the NFL's best combo of defense and special teams.  Both squads are extremely opportunistic, so don't fall asleep on them.  They will take it to the house on you.  To me the Bears defense has a very calm before the storm feel to them.  They still have a few spots they need to shore up, but there is just kind of a buzz around them right now.  I think they can be amazing this year.

The Bears can shut down Frank Gore and company, so if the Niners passing game can't open it up he may have some problems.  The Bears front 4, even when not fully healthy, are more than capable of creating enough pressure to shake up a QB.  The Bears still will not come at the 49ers 100% heatlhy, they may even shut a couple of guys (Mike Brown) down early to make sure they are available for the regular season.

Thanks again to Windy City Gridiron for giving us a dose of insight into the Bears.  While I might not agree with some of his thoughts, I appreciate the thought.  This will be a big test for the 49ers offense, even if some of the Bears starters get an early rest.  I'd imagine Frank Gore will not see a ton of carries but I don't think the offense will be shutdown quite like the Bears fans think.

At the same time, this will be an equally big test of the 49ers special teams coverage.  The Bears are home run hitters when it comes to special teams and the 49ers have been serving up gopher balls the last two weeks.  The 49ers have some very solid special teams players but clearly something is not right so far.  Think the Michael Robinson injury has factored into it?

EDITOR'S UPDATE 4:25PM: Jennings had surgery on his right hand for a broken knuckle (sounds painful).  He'll be out Thursday, but apparently should be back for the exhibition finale against San Diego.

On Saturday Jonas Jennings apparently injured a knuckle on his right hand.  Now it looks like he'll miss Thursday's showdown with the Bears.  There is no word on the extent of the injury, but he's definitely out.

Jennings had been having a great camp, so it's definitely not good to see him get hurt.  At the same time, he's struggled to stay healthy during his career, so this isn't exactly a shocking piece of nice.  Barry Sims will get the start in his place.  While I'd prefer Jennings be healthy, it'll be good to see what Sims can do with the first team offensive line.  When Sims was signed, the coaches indicated he'd get a chance to compete for a starting position.  In reality, I have no doubt he was actually signed as insurance for Jennings.

In other injury news, Ashley Lelie is really hoping to play Thursday.  He wore a sleeve on his left calf to increase circulation and speed up his healing process from a small tear in his calf muscle.  Barrows indicated Lelie is planning on applying some pressure to the leg to see where he's at.  You know he's feeling a lot of pressure from the younger receivers.  Josh Morgan has shot past him and it's possible this is now a competition between Lelie and Jason Hill, if even that.

Finally, Michael Robinson seems to be closer to full health.  It sounds like if this were the regular season he could definitely play in the exhibition finale, but we'll see if they hold him out.  Considering the struggles of the kick off and punt coverage units, his importance is only amplified.