I didn't notice this during the game, but apparently Jay Moore tore his right bicep tendon.  At least that's the report according to Maiocco, Barrows and Kevin Lynch. 

It sounds like the 49ers have two options.  The first is to place him on the Injured Reserve (IR) list and keep paying him for the second straight year.  The other option is to work out an injury settlement and release him.

Jay Moore was a guy I was intrigued with before the 2007 draft and was excited when the 49ers drafted him.  I think it was more because I had done the scouting report on him in January, so it felt sort of like a "find."  However, his brief NFL career has had some pretty significanty setbacks.  Considering the 49ers have him under contract I say let him spend another year on IR and give him one last chance to win a job next season.  In the meantime, I need to do a little more research into the intricacies of the injury settlements.

Best of luck to Jay Moore and hopefully he has a speedy recovery.

Well, that was certainly an interesting ending to the game.  After a relatively bland first 3+ quarters, the game reached a fevered pitch in the final two minutes following a Robert Ortiz fumble on a punt return (thank you for playing Mr. Ortiz, you may have cost yourself some parting gifts).  The Chargers had a first and ten on the 49ers 17 and won the game notwithstanding a mostly great job inside the five yard line.  For those who missed the game, here's how the Chargers final four plays worked out:

If you missed the last drive, Buckley's touchdown reception was one-handed as he was being interfered with by Marcus Hudson (Hudson had hold of his right arm before the catch).  A stop there would have been a nice capper to the preseason, but such is life.

We'll have plenty of in depth analysis on winners and losers in the coming days, but for now, here's who helped and hurt their cause in this final game.

HELPED
Jason Hill - The leading receiver for the second straight game, Hill made some quality catches while appearing in all four quarters of play.  One thing I am definitely excited for in the coming season is the use of 4-receiver formations, for two reasons: 1) We've got a very solid crew of receivers, all of whom can make plays anywhere on the field and 2) Spreading out the defense will soften up middle of the field for Frank Gore if they decide to run some draws from the formation.

Shawntae Spencer - Spencer was not in danger of missing the 53-man roster, but with the starting DBs getting a breather, he stepped up with some big plays.  When healthy, Spencer is an extremely talented cornerback.  He might not have #1 talent, but I think he is as good a 3rd corner as there is in the league.  Hopefully he can stay healthy this season and provide a lift to the defense.

Michael Robinson - Welcome back #24.  While Robinson is not a star on this team, he showed why he's an integral part to the special teams and offense.  He threw up a nice block (not quite the de-cleater the announcers would have you think) to bust open Delanie Walker's kickoff return.  He made some very good runs and had three good catches.  69 total yards on 15 touches (rushes and receptions) is certainly a nice welcome back for Robinson who did not seem to have any after effects from his injury.

Special Teams - It's certainly a small sample size, but the special teams coverage was much improved this week, with no big run backs.  Throw in Nedney's booming field goal and Walker's touchdown and it was a solid performance to close out the preseason.

HURT
Ashley Lelie - He had 3 balls thrown in his direction and finished with no receptions.  If he's been phenomenal in practice then I suppose they can justify keeping him for now.  However, even if he didn't hurt his cause tonight, he certainly did nothing to help himself, aside from not actually hurting himself.

Alex Smith - If there was any debate over O'Sullivan getting the starting nod, Alex Smith did nothing to increase that debate.  Smith was given the start to protect JTO and given somequality weapons with which to work (no Bruce, Morgan or Gore).  He did have the touchdown but that was more due to Billy Bajema snatching it from the DB.  He hit some wide open receivers and he overthrew some wide open receivers.  It wasn't an atrocious game, but his mistakes were pretty ugly.

Nate Kaeding - He's not a 49er but I have to admit it was pretty weak when he let Delanie Walker run right by him.  I realize he doesn't want to get hurt but can't you at least stick an arm out and pretend you're trying to stop him?  Or at the very least don't be sauntering towards the sideline at a less than brisk stroll.  Woulda been nice to see someone roll up and just de-cleat him.

All in all, not the prettiest way to end the preseason.  The defense didn't give up a ton of points but was definitely struggling to stop the running backs.  Missed tackles was the primary culprit.  Nonetheless, they battened down the hatches in the second half and in spite of the loss, things could have been worse.

So, we'll be back tomorrow with news of the 49ers final roster cuts.  Now that there are no more roster projections to be done or exhibition games to be played, we can finally get settled down for some actual meaningful football.  Arizona comes to town in nine days and the road to the Super Bowl (or at least respectability for the 49ers) begins.  Let the J.T. O'Sullivan era begin (and yes a chill just went down my spine).

EDITOR'S UPDATE 10:35PM - Considering people made comments to appear in the roll call, I almost forgot about it! Thanks to the following folks for joining in the discussion.  This week's winner with 10 comments is StrictlyFootball.  Thanks also to myself with 5, bayboy with 4 and 408, BawLa, howtheyscored, jjham15, tanos135 and 49ersLou with 1 each.  Without bondslegend, it was a pretty quiet night.  Once the regular season starts I'm aiming for us having to open multiple threads each game.

  vs.

Date: August 29th, 2008
Time: 7:00pm PST
Location: Bill Walsh Field @ Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
Records (2007): 49ers (5-11) Chargers (11-5)
ScoresandOdds.com Spread: 49ers -3; Over/Under 36; Money Line: 49ers -160, Chargers +140 - Probably should have looked at this at the start of the preseason
Weather: 77 degrees, 0% chance of showers, wind W 7 mph
TV Broadcast: CBS-5 - Dennis O'Donnell, Eric Davis, Kim Coyle
Radio: 107.7 The Bone, 680/1050 KNBR - Joe Starkey, Gary Plummer, Rod Brooks
Spanish Radio: KIQI 1010-AM, KATD 990-AM

Injuries
49ers: Out - WR Josh Morgan, SS Keith Lewis, G Adam Snyder, OT Jonas Jennings, KR/PR Allen Rossum

Chargers: Out - OT Marcus McNeil, RB Ladanian Tomlinson, TE Antonio Gates, LB Shawne Merriman, DT Jamal Williams

Well, this is it.  It's the last game of the exhibition season and the real games are just around the corner.  The first team units will not get much playing time, although I'd hope Bryant Johnson, Arnaz Battle and Ashley Lelie get a little bit of time with the second team as well.  While they've been judged in practice, a game situation, ANY game situation provides a better backdrop for assessments.

Final cuts are tomorrow and the bubble battle is down to a few players.  On offense, Zak Keasey and Moran Norris are battling for a spot and Dominique Zeigler, Ashley Lelie and the loser in the fullback battle are battling for another roster spot.  On defense, Keith Lewis is looking to lock things up with some solid special teams work tonight.  Jay Moore seems to be on the outside looking in, while Tully Banta-Cain seems to have done enough to get a spot on the 53-man.

While the fourth exhibition game is usually the least interesting, there will still be plenty to discuss.  I'll be around with a quick recap after the game and then more follow-up in the coming days...particularly with the cuts tomorrow.

GO NINERS!

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.