This Week in Niners Nation: OTAs are Underway (5/31)

In the wake of last week's panic-inducing Michael Crabtree injury, it's good to get back to what we do best, which is reading about people playing football. Let's face it ... we're really good at that. Instead of reading about speculation, we've been able to read about good hard facts, like Nnamdi Asomugha's understanding of the 49ers defense or how Demarcus Dobbs played an extra practice snap at DE ... Is he replacing Justin Smith?

I'm keeping this week short and simple. There's not too much to discuss. There's a little leftover fallout from the Crabs injury, more player profiles in our 90-in-90 series, and the usual FanPosts. Plus, I'm busy. Not trying to brag or nothing, but, yeah, I got things to do today ... with people.

Wide Receiver Position

One name that keeps coming up in the quest to replace Michael Crabtree with someone who had a catch last season is Brandon Lloyd. I guess he's the best of the free agent options, along with Devery Henderson. One thing that I'm not seeing mentioned is an unnamed player to be cut in the future. Every year there is a surprise receiver who everyone thinks can still bring it, but who gets cut at some odd point. Maybe we can get that guy!?! | Is Brandon Lloyd a serious option? (Hanson)

Wes Hanson looks at the merits of even signing another wide receiver. There are many out there who feel that allowing the 'next man up' to step up will let one of the youngsters shine. For a historical perspective Wally Pipp tore his Achilles during offseason OTAs and a young wide receiver named Lou Gerhig hit 30-something touchdowns that year. | The 49ers wide receiver debate: Part two (Hanson)

90-in-90 Series

The Crabtree injury brought up an interesting topic that bounced around the site and Twitter. Who is the 49er we can least afford to lose? Quarterbacks always get special attention in these matters due to the nature of the game, but the name most mentioned was Justin Smith. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Justin Smith (Fooch)

It wasn't a certainty if Ian Williams would be around much longer. Then they gave him a two-year extension. Nothing says we value your services more than money. I think my job might think I suck. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Ian Williams (Fooch)

An interesting player to watch is Daniel Kilgore. There were some thoughts that he could replace Jonathan Goodwin at center this year. Then Goodwin restructured his contract. Kilgore was presumed to be the primary backup at both tackles and center, and then Adam Snyder was signed. Everyone seems high on him; he's making the team, but this may not be his year. Besides, do you really want someone who's last name is kill-gore trying to protect Frank Gore? | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Daniel Kilgore (Fooch)

Mike Iupati took the big step from good blocker to otherworldly super-blocker with a mean Mohawk (see photo). People keep asking how long Frank Gore can keep all this up and I keep saying, as long as he runs behind Mike Iupati. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Mike Iupati (Tre9er)

Nick Moody is being tabbed as the next special teams superstar. He was drafted pretty much to fill that exact need. I read in an article that he chose to play and excel at special teams in college because he realized that would be his key to success at the next level. Machiavellian, really. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Nick Moody (Tre9er)

Adam Snyder is back! The photo in this article is one of the most badass displays of football manliness I've ever seen. That's why I'm glad he's a Niner again. He's the only backup offensive lineman to have any experience, so his spot should be pretty secure, right? Fooch isn't so sure. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Adam Snyder (Fooch)

Last up is potential No. 3 tight end Cameron Morrah, a Seadderall castaway. He's an athletic TE but he's had trouble staying healthy in his career. He's competing with the incumbent Garrett Celek. Celek should have the inside track here, but there are surprises every year. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Cameron Morrah (Fooch)

Other Stuff

I hate long-titled articles when I do the Nuggets. They're such a pain. I curse them and their writers as the scourge of the Nuggeteer. Oh, Woods and I discussed the Crabtree injury at length the other day in our #Channel49 Twitter chat. Here's the followup post. | Niners Nation #Channel49 Twitter Q&A Mailbag, Vol. 11: Michael Crabtree, How to Replace Him & More (Malone)

If I ever get married again, I want Luke Marquardt to be beast man at my wedding (slaps knee). He's a monster. Steph looks at his injury history. Might his hulking frame be too much for two feet to handle? | Examining Luke Marquardt as a physical specimen and evaluating his foot injury (SoCaliSteph)

Steph is busy, which means we're a hurting team. Gosh, I wish she had absolutely nothing to write about. Nothing personal, but ... She looks at the recent news that Kendall Hunter is pretty much ready to go. Glad to have you back. | Kendall Hunter injury update: "I'll be ready and sharp" (SoCaliSteph)

Gregory Lee has some notes from the 49ers OTAs. Lawrence Okoye's freakish athleticism would give him an edge at being a quarterback in the new, athletically gifted version of the position that is in vogue right now. I'd love to see that quarterback sneak. | Takeaways from rookie camp and OTAs: Lawrence Okoye should play quarterback (Lee)

FanPosts

The winner for this week's award for FanPost of the millennium comes from Larushka. It discusses the loss of Crabtree and what it means to the team. We pounded the crap out of a lot of teams and should still do that. It might make some games a bit harder, but we still have the deepest roster top to bottom. | Niners without Crabtree (Larushka)

Next up to bat is Mystery Meat. With Crabs out, many people think our biggest weakness is the wide receiver position. Think again. We lost the Super Bowl for a number of reasons, but the slow start killed us. | The 49ers biggest weakness is not what you think it is... (Mystery Meat)

And finally we have EastBayNinerFan with one from a series of technical questions. This one discusses formations, defenses and all sorts of fun. | Technical question #5 (Offense) (EastBayNinerFan)

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