SB Nation was at the NFL Rookie Premiere last week and managed to score a lot of video from the event. 49ers rookies A.J. Jenkins and LaMichael James were on hand and the network was able to get time for Jenkins to interview James at the Rose Bowl. James' was a couple months removed from his last appearance at the Rose Bowl when his Oregon Ducks edged out the Wisconsin Badgers 45-38.

It is safe to say these are two excited rookies. They face an uphill battle to prove their worth in the coming months, but they seem to have a great attitude heading into training camp.

If you missed some of the earlier video, head after the jump to check them out. AJ Jenkins makes entertaining appearances in both. And of course, please make sure and subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube station. There is some awesome video to check out. One of our most randomly awesome? Blake Griffin highlights set up in NBA Jam (Boom Shaka-Laka!).

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San Francisco's starting quarterback Alex Smith spoke to the media this week and had some encouraging things to say about his team. Smith spoke about his new weapons, some returning ones as well as a bit about 2012. After dissecting the chat posted on CSN Bay Area (embedded after the jump), I strung together some interesting quotes made by Smith in regard to the 49ers.

Smith opened up the conversation by talking about the competition at the wide receiver position. He seemed very enthused about the amount of talent and depth at a position group that once lacked both. "It's like waking up on Christmas, you got a lot of new toys out there, a lot of new presents -it's competitive...A lot of talented guys out there, it's exciting," Smith commented.

He drifted into talking about Michael Crabtree, and how people have seemed to have forgotten about him with all of the new additions. But the feedback from Smith regarding Crabtree seemed very positive.

"Especially for Michael [Crabtree] and me, we're a little further along. I feel good about body language and things like that and really trying to take it to the next level. The thing I'm excited for him, not only is it his first offseason, but he's healthy. And I think he's excited about that," said Smith.

With new receivers in the picture to alleviate some of the pressure from Crabtree, and considering his development and first real offseason, the receiver could blossom. He'll be getting a great deal of support from new addition Randy Moss, who will demand the attention of the No. 1 cornerbacks.

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There's two prominent discussions among us 49ers fans that continue to pop up that I can't stand lately: discussions about how awesome wide receiver Randy Moss is going to be and talk of extending linebacker NaVorro Bowman. The first one because I honestly don't see it and I wonder what we'd all be saying if Moss was signed by a team that wasn't the 49ers.

Of course, the bit about Bowman drives me mad because I get more and more afraid that Bowman will find a home elsewhere when his contract comes up. I look at all these players and I'm not sure how the 49ers will afford him since he's just about on the level of Patrick Willis - or at least he was in 2011. Scary stuff. Let's get to the links for the day.

To start, not something specifically about the 49ers but still worth talking about ... the NFL passed some rules that allowed for more leg padding. Which brings up the question: why is helmet technology failing to evolve when the NFL is, on the surface, so worried about head trauma? Leg padding is hardly the issue here. | NFL moves trade deadline back, passes rule for more leg padding (SI.com)

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The 49ers took care of some big business on Wednesday as they locked up punter Andy Lee to a six year deal for a reported $20.5 million. Lee was going to be a free agent following the 2012 season, and while the team could have franchised their all-world punter, getting a deal done was likely in the best interests of both sides.

Moving forward, the most high profile player to consider for a contract extension is probably linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Guys like Ricky Jean-Francois, Isaac Sopoaga, Larry Grant, Dashon Goldson and Tramaine Brock are all expected to be free agents after the 2012 season, while Bowman is not a free agent until following the 2013 season.

The 2012 guys make plenty of contributions and there are reasons to get deals done, but given what Bowman did in 2012 and his current salary, a long term extension would seem to be in the cards. Football Outsiders took a look at 2011 defeats and ranked Bowman quite high. Defeats are defined by FO as any play (tackle, assist, pass defensed, interception, or forced fumble) that does one of three things:

1) causes a turnover
2) causes a loss of yardage
3) stops conversion on third or fourth down

Bowman ranked 11th among all players, and sixth among non-pass rushers with 27 defeats. If you go down the other breakdowns they've done, Aldon Smith had 21 defeats (thanks primarily to 14 sacks), while Carlos Rogers finished with 19 defeats.

The 49ers have done a great job securing the core of the team, with 23 of their 26 "core" players locked up through at least 2013. The key now is extending players beyond that to secure the long-term future. NaVorro Bowman is one such player, but he is in an interesting situation. After a quiet rookie season, Bowman blew up in year two. The 49ers know he is talented, but in negotiating any kind of long-term deal, the question is how you value his second year on its own in considering what he will do in the future. I don't think there's anything to indicate he won't be a long-term success, but negotiations have to be an interesting give and take given the single season body of work involved.

The Patriots are one of those annoying teams that are just run really well. As an organization, they just seem solid all around. Maybe this is all a mirage. Maybe if you put Tom Brady on any team, they all of a sudden appear to "draft well." I have no doubt that he makes everybody around him look darn good. This is a team that went to the Super Bowl with an incredibly weak defense.

That said, I think the Patriots wisely noticed this problem. After signing every wide receiver available in Free Agency (seriously - don't even look that up; it's true) they decided to draft every single defensive player possible - plus one wide receiver. So, even if this draft only halfway works out, I think it's pretty safe to say that the Patriots outlook for the next couple of years is pretty favorable.

So how did the Patriots decide to fix their defense? Well let's take a look by position group. Starting with DE Chandler Jones from Syracuse in the first round, the Patriots beefed up their d-line with a guy who has a lot of potential to be a consistent force on defense. He is joined by DE Jake Bequette from Arkansas, picked in the third round

Move up a level to the LBs, and we only have one pick: first rounder LB Dont'a Hightower from Alabama. I really like this pick, as I think Hightower can be the type of guy that instantly upgrades a LB corp. He has some slight health concerns, though.

Finally, the Patriots used the majority of their picks on the secondary, which may have been their greatest defensive need. Second round pick FS Tavon Wilson from Illinois is joined by DB Nate Ebner from Ohio State (though he looks to be more of a special teams guy) and CB Alfonzo Dennard from Nebraska, an absolute steal in the seventh round, as he was a guy I would have been happy about the Niners taking in the second round (or third).

Finally, WR Jeremy Ebert from Northwestern rounds out the draft. He was a seventh round choice.

Many of you have probably already seen the comment made by Pat Kirwan, former NFL General Manager and current radio personality for SiriusXM Radio, as well as part of CBS. He made mention to "fake [football] guys evaluating players" who "never played coached or worked in the NFL."

Tim Ryan & I are tired of all the fake FB guys evaluating players.They never played coached or worked in the NFL.. enough&stop listening!!

— Pat Kirwan (@PatKirwanCBS) May 24, 2012

This, understandably, rankled many people. There are countless men and women who put a lot of time and effort into following this sport and it's players, and a good many of them focus on scouting aspects. I wouldn't even count myself in this category as I don't spend nearly the time that so many others do.

More after the jump...

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49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh took a few minutes to chat with the media yesterday as the 49ers opened up practice for the first time in a while. We've gotten practice videos, but limited comments from Coach Harbaugh and many of the players. I've posted Coach Harbaugh's transcript after the jump, but I'm thinking we'll break down his comments into several posts since he addressed numerous topics.

Early on he chatted about the offensive line and how he believes Alex Boone and Anthony Davis are stepping up thier game:

Q: I guess the one that kind of stands out when you look at the offensive line, you have a vacancy there and you've got a lot of guys competing for that spot, for the right guard spot?

"Well, really [G/T] Alex Boone had the first shot at that and he's doing a phenomenal job. There will be competition of course, but he's doing outstanding. Another guy that's standing out is [RT] Anthony Davis. Really good with his footwork. That's been much improved. Knowing the system, veteran guy now. Seen a big jump in his play as well."

Coach Harbaugh does plenty of individual player motivation through the media, so take what you want from that comment. The right side of the line has struggled with consistency over the last few years and improvement is needed if this offense is going to take a significant step forward in 2012.

For now though, Alex Boone seems to have the leg up at right guard. Joe Looney is dealing with his Lisfranc injury, with a clearance for football activities expected no earlier than mid-June. Daniel Kilgore has been getting work at center in Jonathan Goodwin's absence, and could find himself developing into more of an interior reserve than the RG starter.

The implementation of the offense in OTAs is incredibly important, but the real battle would seem to step up in intensity when the team comes back for training camp in late July. Boone would seem to be getting momentum for the position battle, but it seems like less of a battle at this point and more of a build-up towards the eventual battle. That's obviously speculation on my part, but that is how it appears to me at this point at least.

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Yesterday we learned that the 49ers had come to terms on a six year contract extension with punter Andy Lee. Initial speculation expected a deal in the $4 million a year range, which would put Lee in the same neighborhood as fellow All-Pro punter Shane Lechler.

If the reports coming out now are true, it turns out that is not necessarily the case. Matt Maiocco tweeted out last night that a source indicated Lee's six year extension is worth $20.5 million, with $7.1 million coming in the first two seasons. That comes out to approximately $3.42 million per year.

There have been some comments that Lee is taking a hometown discount. Given what he might have scored on the open market this might be true. At the same time, I'm curious how Shane Lechler's $4M a year deal is viewed by the rest of the league. In negotiating with Lee, did the negotiations between Trent Baalke/Paraag Marathe and Lee's agent broach the idea that Lechler's contract was an outlier among punters? It obviously impacted the deal Lee got since punters don't frequently get $3M+ per year deals. But, it makes me wonder if the sides recognized the outlier nature of the Al Davis-led Lechler deal.

We don't have any further details on things like signing bonus and the like, so no word on the full future salary cap implications of Lee's deal.