The team announced today that Mike Singletary has appointed his team captains for the 2010 NFL season. The captains are Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, Patrick Willis, Eric Heitmann, Takeo Spikes and Justin Smith. It's good to see Alex Smith make that list. He was being vocal this offseason and training camp with a good command over the offense, and even showed a lot of fire in trying to challenge the defense.
Vernon Davis is not a surprise, nor are Willis, Spikes, J. Smith and Heitmann. Those are all guys who, for as long as they are here and starting, they will be the captains. Spikes is respected by everyone, Justin Smith is Justin Smith, and Heitmann making captain, to me, is big. A few of the other beat writers made notes that Heitmann's return didn't necessarily spell that he'd be inserted right into the starting lineup if Baas was playing well. I say that this move assures that he definitely does.
The surprise here is the lack of a special teams captain. This continues to be an area that gets to me just a little bit. I don't want to say that Mike Singletary doesn't care about special teams, because I doubt he doesn't have a plan, of course he does. But is it a good one? Is there a backup plan? I'm not so sure and I'm questioning it. No, not all teams have a special teams captain, I'm just referring to all of these moves together.
Still, you have to like this group of captains. Some great players right there, all vocal and ready to lead.