49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman chatted with the media at lunchtime today and addressed this Friday's preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. When asked about Michael Crabtree's availability, Roman declined to comment, although he subsequently said it would likely be a "last minute decision."
It should surprise nobody that Roman indicated the offense would very basic. The team will not be rolling out their fly sweeps and fake field goals quite yet. The team has game-plan for the week, but it is not nearly as opponent-specific as it would be in the regular season. Players got their first game-specific playbook today, but it features more basics to get people understanding how things work in the heat of the game.
For the 49ers offense, it will be interesting to see how the Vikings defense approaches them. The New Orleans Saints blew out the door with blitzes and it's safe to say the 49ers were not prepared for that. Greg Roman mentioned coming out of the locker room and talking to Joe Staley about how things went. While they were happy with their game plan, they obviously were not quite as happy with their execution. Although the final score doesn't matter, improved execution is always welcome.