Good morning, people. Is everyone getting excited about the upcoming season? Can't wait. Last year was such a roller coaster of emotions. Well....no expectations going into the season. Then a massive upsurge of surprise and joy. Then one of the biggest letdowns I can remember as a football fan. The only thing I can compare it to in sports is my beloved Sacramento Kings not beating the Lakers that year when the crooked ref gave the Lakers the title (at least that's how I remember it). It's not as though I thought we should have won the Super Bowl last year, but the manner in which we were defeated still leaves a sour taste in my mouth. On to this year and some of its links...
ProFootballFocus, along with many varying media outlets, is doing a tour of the different training camps and published details from their visit to Santa Clara yesterday. They note how unconventional our offense can be and that Randy Moss is looking like the old Randy....old as in his old form....not old like ancient. Notes abound here. | PFF at Niners training camp. (ProFootballFocus)
Peter King was also in Santa Clara and Santa Declare-as that 49ers look like a Super Bowl favorite again (I hate myself for writing that...). The key is the defense, with all 11 starters returning. The front office is finally legit after years of being in shambles and he, like us, likes what he sees. | Peter King visits camp. (King)
Whew!!! I'm not sure if that's how you spell that word, but you know how to say it. That's the sigh of relief we're breathing as rookie G Joe Looney has been activated from the PUP. With the signing of Leonard Davis, it appeared as though Looney's foot injury was worse than expected. Now we'll see how long it takes to get him up to speed. | Looney passes physical, activated. (Branch)
Cam Inman has a ton of notes here from camp. Patrick Willis looks like he's already at full-speed and Colin Kaepernick looked good during an accuracy drill, which is good because that is his perceived weakness at this point. | Inman's notes. (Inman)
Jim Harbaugh discusses how to temper praise in one of the best-titled articles I can remember. Eric Branch details our Coach's strategy in dealing with the media. | Jim Harbaugh vs Honeyed Words of Praise. (Branch)
Frank Gore took the podium today and said all the right things. He's happy to have help at RB...it makes the team better. I'd expect nothing less from a consummate professional. Some video of his media session is embedded here. | Gore is happy with role. (SF Gate)
Matt Barrows has a depth chart based on where people have been lining up so far in camp. There's no real surprises at this point. | Depth chart based on camp to date. (Barrows)
Live chat replay: Who looks good so far? (Barrows)
Matt Maiocco examines the battle for the no 3 safety spot between C.J. Spillman and Trent Robinson. Spillman would appear to be the favorite after taking most of the first team snaps while Dashon Goldson was holding out. We're going to need stellar play from the secondary as our schedule this year includes some of the games most prolific passers. | Spillman vs Robinson. (Maiocco)
Delanie Walker proud of his toughness. (SF Gate)
Niner talk: training camp special. (49ers.com)
Donte Whitner has started a Twitter war after claiming that good defenses don't need bounties. Well...duh. | Whitner criticizes Saints. (NFL.com)
Don't know if you noticed, but a Saints player by the name of Scott Shanle has been ripping the 49ers via Twitter in response to Donte Whitner's comments. Among his many ridiculous statements were "most of the people on Twitter weren't alive the last time the 69ers won a Super Bowl". Clever. BASG gives the guy the what-for. | Another Saint fights back. (BASG)
Alex Smith excused from jury duty. (NBC Sports)
Being a Sheep
Be sure to follow @NinersNation on Twitter as well as on Facebook. You can follow SB Nation Bay Area on Twitter @sbnbayarea and also on Facebook.
If you're new here, you can register for a free account to participate in the discussion and create your own fanposts here at Niners Nation and across our entire network of 300+ sports blogs.