Now that training camp, all sorts of information is popping up. I thought I'd use this edition of Golden Nuggets to cover some of them, as well as give a little wrap up of the first day of training camp.
We're a day down in training camp and thankfully no injuries to report. Matt Maiocco had some day 1 QB stats: Alex Smith was 19-30 with 1 interception and Shaun Hill was 20-27 with 3 interceptions.
Matt Barrows said that in the afternoon practice, Delanie Walker was very solid after an early drop. I'd say I'm excited to see what Walker does in the preseason, but last year he was 10th in the league in receiving yards in the preseason and that certainly didn't get him anywhere. We know Martz likes him and we know he'll make the team, so we're really going to have to wait for the regular season before knowing what his role really will be. The exhibition games might give us an idea but I'd expect the team to hold back a lot of offensive options so as not to give too much away too early.
Barrows had a comment at the end of the above post that stuck in my mind:
One of the biggest dogfights in camp could be for the final defensive backs spot. The two contenders - early on, at least - are Keith Lewis and Marcus Hudson. Both are special teams aces (we'll give the nod to Lewis) but the team might feel that Hudson has more potential as a DB. It's something to keep an eye on this summer.
In our 53-man projection, we slotted in Keith Lewis initially without Marcus Hudson. There was discussion initiated by sfgfan that he has shown an ability to contribute. It certainly has me wondering what might possibly happen with that particular roster spot. Would they conceivably keep both Lewis and Hudson, or are they battling for a single spot?
49ers Webzone posted a couple pages of training camp photos in photobucket.
In the quotations I posted earlier, Nolan discussed Patrick Willis's expanding role. The Contra Costa Times went a little more into that in discussing the void created by Bryant Young's retirement.
As they did last year, sf49ers.com is putting together camp spotlights on players. They don't give a ton of information, but rather quick-hitting stories about players. Today's is about Walt Harris. One of the funnier parts:
All-time Best Prank: In Chicago, guys would set this huge thing of water so that it would lean up against the door of the rookies. The older guys would start banging on their doors and when they came to open it, a bucket full [of water] would spring into their room. It was always amusing.
The 49ers MVN site takes an in depth look at the question marks surrounding the team's 3-4 defense.
For those who hadn't noticed, ESPN has created a sort of blogosphere within their network. For the NFL they've got a blogger for each of the divisions. Mike Sando is covering the NFC West. He previously covered the Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. His latest post discusses the 49ers position battles. His post looks at the QB and Ted positions, although we see no mention of Larry Grant. I'd imagine most people probably consider him a long shot due to his 7th round status.
A couple days ago, USA Today had the generic Nolan and the 49ers expect to move beyond last year's turmoil.
Unrelated to training camp but interesting nonetheless: Jim Tressel is apparently friends with Ohio native Eddie Debartolo. So, after his Ohio State Buckeyes were picked to win their 4th straight Big Ten Title, Tressel had Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott come talk to his team about not letting up.