The polls will remain open, but congratulations to Joe Montana as he has rolled to an impressive victory.  Maybe it's not quite an Andy Lee-esque whooping, but Montana definitely stepped above and beyond his counterparts.  Considering the talent the 49ers have produced at the quarterback position, I thought it was worthwhile to include a backup quarterback on our all-time 49ers team.

Steve Young (1987-1999): As it was fitting for Montana and Young to duke it out for the starting position, it' would be even more fitting if Young ended up as Montana's backup.  Young finished his career with the greatest QB rating in NFL history.  While he may not have had the speed of a Vick, Steve Young was one of the truly great rushing quarterbacks in NFL history.  Combine that with uncanny accuracy and you're talking about an all-around threat rarely seen in NFL history.

John Brodie (1957-1973): Brodie finished his career third in the NFL in all-time passing yards and ranks as one of the greatest players NOT in the NFL Hall of Fame.  Brodie ranks second in 49ers history in passing yards and third in touchdowns, while playing for plenty less than stellar teams.

Y.A. Tittle (1951-1960): While Tittle spent plenty of time in Baltimore and New York, his formative years came with the 49ers as a 4-time Pro Bowler.  Considering the slowly developing passing game back in the day, 16,000+ yards in San Francisco is nothing to sneeze at.

Jeff Garcia (1999-2003): While we might all agree Jeff Garcia was not the greatest quarterback on straight numbers, he certainly ranks up there for what he did in spite of his shortcomings.  Garcia was rescued from the CFL by Bill Walsh in one of his best moves since trading for Steve Young.  Garcia was a 3-time pro Bowler in his five seasons and in spite of such a short tenure, he ranks 4th in franchise history for passing yards and fifth in passing touchdowns.  While he was certainly not a scrambler the caliber of Steve Young, he was quite fleet of foot, which helped for his lack of traditional passing tools.  And the fact that he had to put up with T.O. certainly counts for something.

First off, heartiest congratulations to our All-Time Punter, Andy Lee, who absolutely ran away with the victory, getting 81% of the vote.  I think it's safe to say that Andy Lee will end his time with the 49ers as the all-time leading punter and a fan favorite.

When I was trying to decide what position to go with next, I initially was thinking something safe and non-controversial, like an offensive lineman or maybe a linebacker position or even just declaring Jerry Rice or Ronnie Lott at WR and FS.  Then I thought better of that and decided, let's get controversial and mix it up a little.  When you think of the 49ers, Joe Montana is certainly one of the guys you automatically think of.  he won Super Bowl titles while earning a clutch reputation that endures to this day.  On the other hand, Steve Young brought some sizzle that moves him to the front of the list for some folks.  People are quick to forget greats like Y.A. Tittle and John Brodie who may not have won titles, but certainly made an imprint at the quarterback position.  I'm not sure Tittle or Brodie will get many votes, but they certainly deserve consideration.

The plan is to go with a starting QB and a backup QB.  I've decided to go with five options in this poll, with the four losing options then being revoted on for the backup position.  I have a pretty good idea of how this vote will turn out, but I want to include all the potential options anyways.

Joe Montana (1979-1992): I could include absolutely nothing here and it wouldn't matter.  Joe Montana was the face of the 49ers in the 80s as they went from perennial doormat to Team of the 80s.  Montana stands #1 in franchise history in career passing yards, touchdowns, completions and of course Super Bowl rings.  In polls of who you would want leading your team down with less than 2 minutes to go, most people take Montana.  While he was surrounded by plenty of talent, he made the most of it and was a leader of his teams.

Steve Young (1987-1999): It's fitting that Young and Montana will be battling for the starting position.  After years in Montana's shadow, Steve Young got the proverbial monkey off his back in 1994 with one of the greatest single seasons.  Young finished his career with the greatest QB rating in NFL history.  While he may not have had the sped of a Vick, Steve Young was one of the truly great rushing quarterbacks in NFL history.  Combine that with uncanny accuracy and you're talking about an all-around threat rarely seen in NFL history.

John Brodie (1957-1973): Brodie finished his career third in the NFL in all-time passing yards and ranks as one of the greatest players NOT in the NFL Hall of Fame.  Brodie ranks second in 49ers history in passing yards and third in touchdowns, while playing for plenty less than stellar teams.

Y.A. Tittle (1951-1960): While Tittle spent plenty of time in Baltimore and New York, his formative years came with the 49ers as a 4-time Pro Bowler.  Considering the slowly developing passing game back in the day, 16,000+ yards in San Francisco is nothing to sneeze at.

Jeff Garcia (1999-2003): While we might all agree Jeff Garcia was not the greatest quarterback on straight numbers, he certainly ranks up there for what he did in spite of his shortcomings.  Garcia was rescued from the CFL by Bill Walsh in one of his best moves since trading for Steve Young.  Garcia was a 3-time pro Bowler in his five seasons and in spite of such a short tenure, he ranks 4th in franchise history for passing yards and fifth in passing touchdowns.  While he was certainly not a scrambler the caliber of Steve Young, he was quite fleet of foot, which helped for his lack of traditional passing tools.  And the fact that he had to put up with T.O. certainly counts for something.

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.

Editor's Update 5/5 @ 10:10am: I've got final #1 coming up in a couple hours, a new post will come up tonight after some decompression time.

I'm guessing most of you check out other team sites on SB Nation.  For those that don't, as sites develop they'll often add additional writers to bring unique views to the respective team.  Over at Athletics Nation, they've added some other story writers, but also a specialist for a "Staturday" column, which discusses some aspect of statistics in relation to the team and their performance.  Over at Mile High Report, they've got a writer who looks at Broncos history and another who explains a different aspect of football each week (whether it be explaining the cover-2, zone blocking, etc...).

And that brings us to the reason for this column.  First, I'm posting this on a Sunday because I'm guessing it'll be read by more of the hard-core fans.  Since there are plenty of mid-week hard core fans I'll be updating this later this week.  In the meantime, I am indeed looking for to bring on a writer, maybe more than one if the situation is right.  What am I looking for specifically?  Well, I'm not just looking for somebody to write a random post when I'm not feeling like writing.  Rather, I'd like someone who can fill a need by bringing a unique story angle to the site.  Some examples:

1. A weekly look at some aspect of statistics and 49ers performance (or a more generic look at statistics and the NFL as a whole).
2. A weekly (or bi-weekly or whatever schedule we work out) look at something in 49ers history.  Maybe one week you talk about John Brodie.  Another week you post about a specific game in 49ers history.  Another post discusses the 49ers 1981 draft.
3. A detailed looked at some aspect of football similar to "Football University" over at Mile High Report, but more specific to the kind of stuff the 49ers run.

There are plenty of ideas, and those are just a few of them.  As far as scheduling goes, while I'd like a weekly post, we can work just about anything out.  I'd prefer some sort of frequency (even if it's once every 2 or 3 weeks), so people know when to expect the feature.  But that's something we can discuss if you're interested.

So if you are interested in writing (no need to be a professional to apply), either post something in here indicating so (and maybe what you'd like to contribute) or email me using the link at the bottom.  If you post your interest in the thread, there's no need to include your email for public viewing; I'll contact you.  This is primarily meant as an offseason thing, but if people enjoy it, we can certainly carry it over into the season.

It's official: The new 49ers are in uniform for the first time since free agency and the draft.  The May mini-camp is underway and I thought I'd set this thread up for any articles or thoughts people may have.  There are plenty of places to find eyewitness information.  Rather than link to every post by Maiocco or Barrows check out:

Matt Maiocco's Blog

Matt Barrows' Blog

Niner Insider

The most interest information is of course who has been lining up with the first team offense and defense:

offense
LT: Joe Staley
LG: Adam Snyder
C: Eric Heitmann
RG: Tony Wragge
RT: Jonas Jennings
TE: Vernon Davis
RB: Frank Gore
FB: Moran Norris
WR: Isaac Bruce
WR: Bryant Johnson
QB: Alex Smith

Defense
RDE: Justin Smith
NT: Aubrayo Franklin
LDE: Isaac Sopoaga
OLB: Tully Banta-Cain
OLB: Parys Haralson
ILB: Patrick Willis
ILB: Jeff Ulbrich
SS: Michael Lewis
FS: Mark Roman
CB: Walt Harris
CB: Nate Clements

With Baas injured, it makes sense for Wragge to get the initial start at right guard.  I would assume training camp will see Chilo Rachal getting playing time with the first string offense.  Apparently Dontarrious Thomas and Brandon Moore lined up as inside linebackers with the second team.  Reports after the draft
indicated Moore would back up Willis, while Ulbrich and Thomas would split time at the Ted.  And with Manny Lawson rehabbing his injury, Haralson gets the first team nod for now.

As more information comes up I'll do what I can to get it posted here.  In the meantime, feel free to use this as a thread for mini-camp discussions (and anything else really).  I'd expect that we wouldn't see anybody getting much of a bump in the depth chart after a weekend mini-camp, but I'd imagine crazier things have happened.

It took me a couple days to realize I had not even looked into the drafts of our NFC West rivals.  While it's important for the 49ers to improve their own team, the drafts and free agent performances of the rest of the division can play an equally important role in 2008 results.  As my knowledge of many of the late round picks is not superb, I've supplemented some of my thoughts with some of the impressions of the well-coiffed one.

Arizona Cardinals

Picks: 1(16) - CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie; 2(50) - DE Calais Campbell; 3(81) - WR Early Doucet; 4(116) - DE Kenny Iwebema; 5(149) RB Timothy Hightower; 6(185) - DE Christopher Harrington ; 7(225) - OT Brandon Keith

Analysis: Considering the Cardinals defensive issues, I think they made some solid additions in DRC and Campbell.  I think I'm most intrigued by Doucet in part because of the early season projections.  He was projected as a fringe first rounder heading into the offseason, but as was the case with all the wide receivers, his stock plummeted.  If Doucet can stay healthy, he could be a solid replacement for Bryant Johnson.  And as a 3rd round pick, there is less risk than if he had gone on the first day.  Mel Kiper gave them a B- in part because they didn't get somebody to complement Edgerrin James.

Seattle Seahawks

Picks: 1(28) - DE Lawrence Jackson; 2(38) - TE John Carlson; 4(121) - DT Red Bryant; 5(163) - FB Owen Schmitt; 6(189) - LS Tyler Schmitt; 7(233) - RB Justin Forsett; 7(235) - K Brandon Coutu

Analysis: Two things strike me right off the bat.  First, as a Cal fan I'm rooting for Justin Forsett to make the team (minus any impact against the 49ers of course).  Beyond that, I'm intrigued by their selection of a long snapper and a kicker late in the draft.  Considering how often 6th and 7th round picks don't make the team, maybe it's worth the flier.  The Seahawks are rolling out Olindo Mare at kicker, and he has definitely lost some of the proverbial zip on his fastball.  If Kiper is right and Coutu proves to be this year's Mason Crosby, I'd say it's a great selection.  Bryant was a guy discussed here but it seems like he underperformed in college.  Considering what he was playing for, you'd like to see a better performance.  If Jackson can take the step up to the next level, that'd give Seattle a pretty sweet pair of defensive ends to bookend their 4-3.

St. Louis Rams

Picks: 1(2) - DE Chris Long; 2(33) - WR Donnie Avery; 3(65) - OT John Greco; 4(101) - CB Justin King; 4(128) - WR Keenan Burton; 5(157) - OG Roy Schuening; 7(228) - ILB Chris Chamberlain; 7(252) - OLB David Vobora

Analysis: I'll say right off the bat that my favorite Rams pick (aside from Mr. Irrelevant of course), is Keenan Burton.  Burton struggled with injuries but made some big plays for the upstart Kentucky Wildcats and I think he could become a player in the NFL.  He is only helped by getting the chance to learn from one of the best in the league.  Chris Long will definitely give that defense a lift and paired with Adam Carriker, provides a nice foundation for the future.  Kiper thinks Schuening could start at guard as soon as this season.  If that's the case, that is certainly a nice value in the 5th round.

Looking at those three drafts, my personal opinion is that the Cardinals had the best draft, the Rams are second and closing and the Seahawks bring up the rear, although it's a pretty packed bunch.  Every team certainly added some talent, so we'll see whose 2008 draft class has the biggest impact this year and into the future.

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.

Editor's Update 8:27am: Indeed Gary Guyton has officially signed with the Patriots, so I changed the poll and crossed out his info.

First off, big thanks to Saint from Silver and Black Pride for the FanPost with the undrafted free agents signed by the 49ers.  Who says 49ers fans and Raiders fans can't get along?  Well I suppose in the offseason it's easier.  But big thanks nonetheless.

And maybe calling it miracles is a bit overdone.  Plenty of undrafted free agents have made a name for themselves in the NFL and I'm certainly rooting for these guys.  We all want to see the 49ers sign the next Tony Romo, Kurt Warner or Priest Holmes.  While the odds are quite slim, it's still worth checking out who we signed and what kind of impact they might make.  Additionally, I know people have mentioned how they have heard stuff about certain guys, so I want this to be considered a sort of open thread/link dump for info on the undrafted free agents the 49ers appear to have signed.

Robert Jordan, WR, California - Obviously many folks around here are fans of the Golden Bears.  Jordan was wildly overshadowed by Desean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins.  If Jackson was the sizzle and Hawkins was the steak of the Cal receiving corp, Jordan would be the mashed potatoes (not sure how that analogy works, but whatever).  He had a consistent but quiet regular before exploding for 6 catches, 148 yards and a touchdown in Cal's Armed Forces Bowl victory.  He had a better senior season and career than Josh Morgan AND he hasn't been taken down with pepper spray.  Morgan is a bigger guy, but I'm gonna go on record as saying Jordan makes the team and Morgan does not.

Gary Guyton, OLB, Georgia Tech - Guyton's intriguing because he was projected to actually get drafted somewhere between Round 4-6.   I've checked out some mock drafts and reviews and the general consensus is that he looks to be a super special teams guy, with the upside of being a contributing every down linebacker.   Scout's Inc ranked him 14th among outside linebackers and says:

While he wowed front offices with his impressive combine, it's clear on film that Guyton needs to develop a mean streak and work on his man-to-man cover skills. That said, numbers don't like and there's no question he's got a great deal of upside because of his blend of size, speed and athletic ability. At the very least Guyton projects as an excellent special teams' player and at best he emerges as a productive every-down outside linebacker.

He sounds like Larry Grant but with more every down upside.  Assuming Guyton and Grant both make it to training camp and the preseason, we could see a very interesting battle between them.

Ezra Butler, OLB, Nevada - Like Guyton, Butler was projected to be drafted as well, but for some reason or another, teams passed on him.  Any info would certainly be appreciated by everyone.  Apparently he was suspended for the Wolfpack season opener for "rules violations."  Scout's Inc ranked him 18th among outside linebackers and said:

Butler doesn't have great cover skills and he needs to work on his technique but he has the size, burst and toughness to develop into an effective reserve or adequate starter in a 3-4 scheme so he projects as a mid-to-late round pick.

Throw him in with Guyton and Grant and we might have some decent competition for OLB depth.  I don't see why 2 of the 3 can't make the team.

This is going a little longer than I thought, so the remaining guys are going to be discussed after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

I figured that with all the questions surrounding the draft yesterday, it was easier to roll out answers and try and at least allow for some clarity. We didn't answer a ton of questions, but there are some things we can be safe in knowing going into the season.

However, the grayer area comes when we start discussing the questions raised as a result of the draft. There are questions raised on both sides of the ball and I'll do my best to answer them for now. However, it's pretty clear the answers won't come until training camp at the very earliest.

1. What defense will this team be playing?

This draft leaves me wondering whether we'll see the 3-4, a 3-4/4-3 hybrid, a bit of the old 3-3-5, or some combination of everything.  The team did not address the supposed outside linebacker need (especially considering Larry Grant will be competing at the inside linebacker position along with special teams).  They've added Balmer to the mix and he appears like he could fit in as an end, a nose tackle, or a defensive tackle if they roll out the 4-3 on occasion.  Justin Smith can play end, but could get into that elephant role discussed previously.  I have no problem with a mix of defenses but it still leaves me curious.

2. What position will Kentwan Balmer play?

Depending on the defense used, he could be anywhere from a nose tackle to a defensive end in the 3-4 to a defensive tackle in the 4-3.  It didn't help that MM and Barrows mentioned him as both potentially filling Bryant Young's role to being the nose tackle and ESPN referred to him repeatedly as a nose tackle.  Any thoughts?  I'm not concerned because I think he could handily develop into any of those roles.  My issue with it deals more with the next question:

3. What of Ray McDonald?

McDonald has some work to do to get more playing time, but I was quite pleased with his development towards the end of last season.  Now, Isaac Sopoaga has been resigned to get time at nose tackle and defensive end.  If Kentwan Balmer plays mostly nose tackle, he'll be splitting time with Aubrayo Franklin meaning Sopoaga gets even more time at defensive end.  Justin Smith is clearly the man on one side.  Or maybe it turns into McDonald being in primarily on passing downs since he's more of a pass rush threat than Balmer.  The one plus to this is that you can mix and match bodies and keep guys fresh.  At the same time, I would imagine it would mess up the line's timing if you're constantly rotating bodies in and out.

4. How will the offensive line shuffle shake out?

While the offense might have issues, I don't see a whole lot of questions.  The primary one is how the drafting of Rachal and Wallace affects the rest of the offensive line.  Will the team try and get some versatility out of the draftees at different positions, or will they be there to only learn and compete at guard and center respectively?  Dave Baas is expected to miss a chunk of training camp, which definitely could help to speed along the development of Rachal.  I'm not expecting a big impact from Rachal right away, but it will be interesting to see how he handles the chance to compete for an immediate starting role.  As for Wallace, I'd expect him to get some playing time spelling Heitmann but I really don't expect to see him on the field much barring injury.  Let's hope that doesn't happen.  Of course maybe can shock us and win the job in training camp.

Feel free to throw out your own questions and answers.  I know there are plenty of them out there.

After 2 days and give picks, the San Francisco 49ers draft is complete and the time for irrational and rational analysis is upon us.  Right off the bat, I'll say this is a very tough draft to grade.  The general consensus was the 49ers had starting needs on the offensive line, the defensive line and at outside linebacker, with additional depth needs at wide receiver and in the secondary.  The prognisticators (yours truly included) felt Quentin Groves would be taken if he was there in the first or second round.  Offensive tackle seemed a sure bet to be addressed.  Many felt (or maybe it was just wanted) wide receiver would be addressed relatively early.  And the actual outcome?  No offensive tackles were taken, a short not so fast wide receiver with some issues was taken in the sixth round and they addressed OLB in the seventh round with a guy who is more likely to be a special teams start than an impact outside linebacker.

I will not say I'm disappointed or think it was a bad draft.  Aside from the usual cliches about waiting 3 years to fully evaluate a draft, I think there are some good things to come out of this, depending on how you view the players taken.  If you view this as a lot of reaches, you're going to be disappointed until they prove it on the field.  I can see how the team appeared to reach when other quality talents were still around.  I think my opinion is more of disappointment in who the 49ers could have taken, rather that who they actual took. 

While plenty of new questions arise, we've at least gotten some answers.  I'll deal with questions raised later, but for now I just want to look at questions answered.  And feel free to add any I miss.

1. The 49ers are happy with their receivers.  Yes they added Josh Morgan, but we all know how 6th rounders usually work out.  I'd say right I'm happier with Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson and Arnaz Battle as the 1-2-3 than last year with DJack, Battle and Ashley Lelie.  While it's not the greatest show on turf, I think there are sufficient weapons on the field.
2. Joe Staley and Jonas Jennings are your tackles next season.  After going guard with Rachal, I was kind of hoping the 49ers would grab OT Anthony Collins in the 4th round, but it was not to be.  I suppose they could work Rachal over to tackle, but I don't see that happening.
3. McNolan has tethered themselves to Smith/Hill (with a little O'Sullivan thrown in for good measure).  They could bring in an undrafted free agent, but I think it's safe to say the QB competition is officially set for this summerinside linebacker spot
4. Reggie Smith will be returning kicks and/or punts.  Maurice Hicks was quite solid on special teams, but the 49ers have not had the game-breaking kick/punt returning in ages.  It'd be pretty sweet to see Reggie Smith develop that aspect of the 49ers special teams. (Just corrected on Rossum.  I still think Smith will get a chance to make an impact in the return game.)
5. Eric Heitmann would seem to be a goner after this season.  Heitmann really struggled to bounce back from his broken leg at the end of 2006.  Who knows if Cody Wallace is the answer, but he'll definitely get every chance to prove it.  Heitmann had very solid stretches in his time with the 49ers, but it is quickly approaching the time to move on.