I hope everybody is having a good Labor Day. After the flurry of activity over the weekend, things have calmed down as we head into our first "game week." We'll have all sorts of preview features in conjunction with Revenge of the Birds as we prepare for Week 1. Also, keep an eye out later today for an open thread for our Community Power Rankings. We did our first rankings right before training camp and I thought it was a nice little success. I had initally planned one earlier in the exhibition season, but I like it better with the preseason now complete.
Tim Kawakami feels the 49ers and Raiders are looking for short term fixes to long term problems.
While most of us are high on Josh Morgan, the 49ers draft picks in general aren't expected to make a huge impact as rookies.
Ahmad Brooks is getting another second chance. Brooks has had several run-ins with the law in college and the NFL. I'd imagine he'll be on a short leash with Nolan and McCloughan.
Some dude from the Monterey Herald is raining on the JTO parade.
In case you missed it, here's ESPN The Magazine's NFC West overview. I enjoy ESPN The Magazine but I think this layout can cause seizures in some people.
It seems like every year somebody runs a feature pitting college football against the NFL. I love college sports, but without a good college team to support I don't get nearly as excited as I do for the 49ers.
ESPN is looking for people to submit videos of them tailgating. The online version of ESPN The Magazine is creating a section called In Your Grill.
Time is indeed NOT on Mike Nolan's side.
Shockingly enough, Frank Gore is really excited for the Mike Martz offense this season. Interesting stat in this article: Frank Gore had 40.5% of the 49ers net offensive yards last season, the highest percentage in the NFL. Not exactly shocking considering what was around him, but still impressive.
This SI article on the "Decline and Fall of the 49ers Empire" is a couple years too late.
Practice Squad Info
Just as I was wrapping up this linkage, I noticed the 49ers rounded out their practice squad. The final two members of the practice squad will be OT Joe Toledo and WR Chris Hannon. Hannon, 6'3 205lbs, originally signed with the Chiefs in 2006, spending a chunk of that season on their practice squad, before spending 2007 on the Panthers practice squad.
Maiocco address fans interest in Cam Colvin:
Some in the Bay Area might be disappointed WR Cam Colvin (De La Salle High) was not added to the squad. He showed some flashes during training camp, and was at his best during the team's joint practice Aug. 4 against the Raiders. However, he seemed to drop off a little after that, and did not have a reception while seeing limited playing time during the exhibition season.
I wasn't on one side or the other in the Colvin argument particularly since he didn't have much of a chance of cracking the 53-man roster. Herron had a few catches in the preseason but obviously that doesn't mean much of anything. It is the practice squad after all.