And so the 49ers first mini-camp is in the books.  Seeing as that's a sizable chunk of the offseason, now seemed like as good a time as any to check back in with Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.  Matt covers the 49ers for the Bee, including an fun blog at the Bee's website, and he's been very willing to provide his insight when Niners Nation has questions.  We still have the team's training activities in June, followed by training camp, but now seemed like a good time get a lay of the land.  Thanks again to Matt for taking the time to answer my questions.

NN: One of the reasons I wanted to talk with you is there has been a lot of questions at Niners Nation about Manny Lawson and the timetable for his return.  You mentioned in your post Sunday that Lawson feels ready but the team trainers wanted him to wait another month.  Does that mean he'll be full go at the beginning of the organized team activities in June?

MB: Lawson certainly feels like he’s at, or at least very close to, 100 percent. But it’s up to the training staff and they’re obviously taking a cautious approach. If Lawson does take part in the OTAs, I expect him to be eased in – not full bore from the beginning. In the meantime, Tully Banta-Cain and Parys Haralson have been manning both outside linebacker positions. That’s good. Haralson improves with every repetition he gets…

NN: It sounds like Dashon Goldson made a nice little impact over the weekend.  Obviously it's a small sample size and still way too early to infer anything, but what kind of role do you see Goldson fitting into in 2008?

MB: Well, he’s part of the team’s dime coverage package. But the fact that Mark Roman got the lion’s share of the work with the radio receiver (green dot on the helmet) over the weekend appears to be a signal that he’s set as the starting free safety.

NN: Since draft day there have been discussions about where Kentwan Balmer would be playing.  He was listed as a nose tackle by ESPN, they've said he'll play some end, and now I've read he'd start at end but transition to nose tackle.  Any ideas or is it going to be a process that will develop as Balmer shows the team what he can do?

MB: Balmer practiced exclusively at left defensive end over the minicamp. Nolan said they didn’t want to throw too much at him too early so they kept him at one spot. Nolan also said the techniques at all three d-line positions are essentially the same and that once Balmer picks up LDE he should be able to learn NT fairly quickly. This is just my reading of the situation, but the fact that Nolan talked so much on draft day about Balmer playing NT may have been a message to Aubrayo Franklin. Franklin hadn’t been part of the offseason conditioning program, and that obviously didn’t please Nolan.

NN: Speaking of the draft, some people were surprised at the decision to not take an outside linebacker prior to the 7th round.  That raised some questions about how much 4-3 we might see mixed in with the 3-4 currently in place.  You had discussed on Friday that Justin Smith lined up a little bit at outside linebacker, but that he didn't know how often that would be happening.  Any word from the coaching staff on that?

MB: Well, the 49ers actually didn’t draft an outside linebacker at all. The seventh rounder, Larry Grant, will play inside for the 49ers. To me, that was surprising. A 3-4 defense depends on its outside linebackers to pressure the quarterback and the 49ers didn’t upgrade that position at all – neither in free agency nor the draft. The hope is that better play along the line will allow the OLBs more room to make plays. … As far as Smith playing linebacker, the coaches did not say how much that would happen. I think the minicamp was designed to see if Smith could do it. To my admittedly untrained eye, he looked kind of slow, or, exactly how you would expect  a 282 pounder to play when asked to stand up.

NN: Along the same lines, it seems like the team will be throwing a lot of different looks at opponents.  Justin Smith is certainly-cut starter.  After that the team has Franklin, Sopoaga, McDonald and Balmer as guys that would seem to have a shot at a lot of playing time.  Then factor in guys like Melvin Oliver and Joe Cohen, among others, who could cut into that.  On the one hand the team will have plenty of opportunities to keep guys fresh, but there's also the question of guys not getting into sync and developing in-game chemistry.  Any ideas on how the team might address that in training camp?

MB: The 49ers will be very chameleon-like this year and they will throw all sorts of fronts at the offense. One of them is a four-man front with Ray McDonald as the right defensive end and Justin Smith next to him at defensive tackle. What I’m saying is that there will be lots of combinations of defensive linemen. I think Oliver and Cohen, however, are going to have a hard time making the final roster. Once they return to action, they will be at the very bottom of the depth chart and would have to play brilliantly to climb it. One of the advantages of a 3-4 defense is that a team doesn’t need to keep as many linemen. I figure the top six right now are Smith, McDonald, Franklin, Fields, Balmer and Sopoaga.

NN: One last question unrelated to the team.  I noticed during the draft and since some shoutouts from Maiocco to you and vice versa.  I can certainly imagine a competition element to your relationship and covering the 49ers for different newspapers.  While you might be competing for readers, with all the time I'd guess you spend around each other is it more of a friendly rivalry?

MB: There’s definitely a competitive element to press trailer, but never to a degree where it’s uncomfortable. I hear stories every once in a while about how ultra competitive the beat used to be in the Walsh-Seifert era and how reporters (who shall remain nameless) would seethe and lash out when they got beat on a story. It’s nothing like that now. In fact, Maiocco has been incredibly generous in sharing a lot of the tricks of the trade with me. All the beat-Maiocco-at-all-costs stuff I write is done with tongue firmly in cheek.

Thanks again to Matt.  Considering the amount of time he spends covering the 49ers, he's certainly a good source for information.  Make sure and check out his 49ers blog.

One of the more amusing stories to come out of the 49ers 2008 NFL Draft (aside from pepper sprayed draft picks, because who doesn't enjoy pepper spray stories) would be the fact that Reggie Smith was woken up by 49ers scout Todd Brunner on Sunday as the 49ers 3rd round draft pick.  I think it's refreshing that the young man was busy getting sleep, rather than on the edge of his seat hoping to be drafted early on Day 2.

While discussions have centered on the Day 1 picks, Reggie Smith is an interesting pick for a variety of reasons.  While it's true that Walt Harris is growing a little long in the tooth, I think the Smith pick was clearly a best available player pick.  There were some quality talents that could fill holes in the 49ers, but the 49ers stuck to their best available draft board.  The biggest question mark about Smith is whether he'll settle in as a cornerback or a safety in the NFL.  Mark Roman is the current starting free safety and Dashon Goldson seems to be a guy who could be groomed into the future at that position.  The addition of Smith should afford the 49ers some youthful depth.  Since Smith will require some time to adjust to the NFL in terms of defense, it's probably a good fit.  He can learn from Harris and Nate Clements, two very solid corners.

I'm hoping to get a more specific scouting report from an Oklahoma blogger, but for now I've done some poking around.  He seems like a hard-hitter.  The boys at New Era Scouting refer to him as more agile than fast and in regards to his instincts and recognition:

Shaky at times in man coverage, but is very good in zone. Reads and reacts well. Comes up to the ball and makes plays. Sees the run well and doesn't bite on play action. Has a natural feel for situations and the game. Very instinctive.

he has been referred to as a better option in the Cover 2, but considering he's fresh out of school and so malleable, I'm sure we can do good things with him.  One question that requires greater football knowledge than I have is whether a guy who would make a good cover 2 corner would fit in better as a safety, or does one have no bearing on the other?

For the purposes of now though, I'm a little more interested in his special teams abilities.  He's not a blazing speedster but according to New Era Scouting, "Is a long strider. Uses his body and strength to make up for lack of elite speed."  That would remind me of more of a distance runner type guy, meaning if he could hit a hole on a kick or punt return, he could be off to the races.  Obviously Allen Rossum is going to get the first crack at returning.  However, considering he's turning 33 this season, I can't imagine he's long for this world as a return man.  I'd fully expect Smith to get a crack at returning in the preseason.  While Maurice Hicks was solid in the return game, I'd love to see a young guy like Reggie Smith step up and take control of that job.

I thought the 49ers would take a DB at some point and they decided to grab one right away on day 2 with Reggie Smith from Oklahoma.  ESPN listed him as a cornerback, but he appears to be much more versatile and can go out there as a safety as well.  While he's his own guy, this pick reminds me a little of Dashon Goldson last year.  Goldson is a DB who can play both corner and safety.  The upside to these kinds of picks is the ability to create some versatility with your defenders and use them in different packages.

The boys at New Era Scouting had Reggie Smith #2 on their safety list, which I think was due in part to his versatility:

Smith is a very athletic and talented defensive back.  His stock is aided by his ability to play both cornerback and safety,  but there are also concerns about his long-term position.

Over at ESPN, Scout's Inc said:

What he brings: Smith doesn't have great speed and can be beaten deep when left on an island. But he's a versatile playmaker who can line up at corner or safety and contribute to the return game. He's also strong in run support and capable of limiting a receiver's production after the catch.

How he fits: He is a versatile player and can give them a boost on special teams. With the age of Walt Harris and the lack of development of Shawntae Spencer, Smith can come in and contribute in 49ers' sub defensive packages.