This Week in Niners Nation: Calm Before the Storm Edition (7/12)

We're mere weeks away from having this nonsense all behind us. We've been forced to fight SeaTrolls, discuss our quarterbacks choices in clothing (or lack of clothing), Ahmad Brooks' legal troubles and much more. None of it is fun. It's like the people in a horror film who know the monster's out there and are waiting in the cabin in the woods in the fog with that look of paranoia setting in. That's a football fan in mid-July. Give us football already!

For those of you who are losing your minds waiting for training camp, don't fret, you're in good company. Psychiatrists will always tell you it's OK to stress when life is stressful and it's OK to cry when you're sad. It's also OK to go bonkers when life is absolutely, painfully boring. Here's a bit of a guide to get through it. | The offseason doldrums (Lee)

90-in-90

Seeing as Lamar Divens had his name thrust into the spotlight by a certain bottle-based incident, Fooch was inclined to get his breakdown done. He's about as far away from a spot on the 53-man roster as one could get, which is sad, considering that he's had a stressful stretch. All he wants to do is put his head down and compete for a spot. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Lamar Divens (Fooch)

After Lawrence Okoye, the second-most talked about UDFA was possibly Luke Marquardt. He's a beast of a man, coming in at 6'8, 315 lbs. He's also fairly raw, and we may see him spend the season inactive. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Luke Marquardt (Fooch)

Carter Bykowski was an under-the-radar selection by the 49ers in the 2013 draft. He's tabbed by many to be our swing tackle of the future. Depending on his showing in camp and preseason he should be a nice addition to the practice squad. But if one performs well, another team may come a knocking. | 90-in-90 breakdowns: Carter Bykowski (Fooch)

Roster Turnover

The 49ers offensive line was one of the strengths of the team last season. All five players received recognition for their play in one form or another. Fooch takes a look at the interior line. We've added Adam Snyder, who started in '11 for us at right guard. You have to think we're better off than last year. | 49ers roster turnover: Has the interior of the offensive line improved? (Fooch)

I feel like the team has gotten better at most position groups. The two groups I'm most concerned with are wide receiver and cornerback. Wide receiver would be a no-brainer as an improvement had it not been for the Michael Crabtree injury. Now, not so sure. It will likely depend on the development of our younger players. | 49ers roster turnover: Have the wide receivers improved? (Fooch)

And here goes that aforementioned cornerback group. Everyone thinks Nnamdi Asomugha is the savior, here. I'm still not convinced he's got much left. I'm hoping to be corrected. The main hope I have for this unit to perform better is that Tarell Brown goes bananas in his contract year. | 49ers roster turnover: Have the cornerbacks improved? (Fooch)

Other News

Steph lays down the law when it comes to loyalty, labels and Cap-gate. The younger generation loves labels. I, personally, hate them. She puts the whole issue to rest, and I have to say, if any single one of you raises the issue again, you'll have her to deal with. | Do labels define the loyalty of Colin Kaepernick? Really? (Steph)

Understandably, most of last weeks chat session was taken up by the Ahmad Brooks story. It really was the only headline from that oh so long ago time in our lives. There's also some serious comments going on. One fan accuses me of trying to get Brooks suspended for suggesting that a suspension is probably in order. The Seahawks fans would never do that! | Niners Nation #Channel49 Twitter Q&A Mailbag, Vol. 17: Ahmad Brooks, Cap Space and more (Malone)

In the wake of Colin Kaepernick's electrifying run to the Super Bowl, people began to speculate what his next contract might look like. A person we should not compare him to is Matthew Stafford. One thing I learned from this article is that Stafford is actually younger than CK7. Shocking, I know. | Matthew Stafford contract extension and looking ahead to Colin Kaepernick's next contract (Fooch)

More abuse for Donte Whitner. OK, it's not abuse. He sure does receive a lot of negative attention. I, for one, think it is merited. James does as well. How many times do we have to watch him get beat in big games? The way our secondary performed at the end of the year was scary and is a big concern going forward. | Is Donte Whitner a cause for concern for the 49ers' defense? (Brady)

Liberty_JAC is beginning his series of All-22 tape reviews of some of the more noteworthy performances by 49ers players according to Pro Football Focus' player grades. He begins in Week 1 with Perrish Cox getting abused by the Packers. He saw the most time he'd see all year, due to Green Bay's multiple receiver sets, and was graded poorly. | Caught on Tape! Perrish Cox - Week 1 @ GB (liberty_JAC)

Vernon Davis had always been one of the team's leading pass catching threats but in 2013 seemed to take a step back. His chemistry with Kaepernick was clearly lacking. In the wake of the Michael Crabtree injury, fans scrambled to contemplate who would pick up the slack. A return to Pro-Bowl form for Davis would be excellent. | Will Vernon Davis bounce back and become a top receiving target for Colin Kaepernick? (Brady)

How Kendall Hunter returns from his season-ending achilles injury is another important factor for the 49ers' success. Kaepernick captured all the headlines once he came on and we forget that these two only played a game and a half together before Hunter went down. What will Kaepernick's game do for Hunters, and vice versa? | One to Watch: Kendall Hunter (Busichio)

FanPosts

I've selected two FanPosts for your enjoyment. The first is a response to Colin Kaepernick's choice of caps. It's a well-reasoned response and thus deserves to be read. Some of the comments, on the other hand, WOWZERS!!! I've always maintained a 'who cares' attitude. But he has a point about a CEO for a corporation wearing a competitors t-shirt. | Kaeps Cap (Ashcampbell)

Here's a good one about what Mike Iupati brings to the team. Our o-line is the best. There's some good discussion in the comments about how to value our various o-linemen. | The Importance of Mike Iupati (Jerryriceisthebest)

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