49ers snap count vs. Broncos shows starters getting a lot of rest

The San Francisco 49ers are halfway through their preseason schedule, and it has not been a pretty picture to date. At the same time, we also know that the 49ers have given their starters fairly limited snaps. Many of the backups have not been overly impressive, but given that several were playing against opposing 1s, it is easy to avoid getting too concerned about the 49ers preseason performances.

The snap count is officially available (PDF), and it shows the limited number of snaps we are seeing from the starters. It follows the pattern we saw in the Week 1 snap count. The 49ers rested several players on both sides of the ball. On offense, OT Anthony Davis and RB LaMichael James, did not play. On defense, CB Tramaine Brock, CB Chris Cook, DT Glenn Dorsey, DT Ray McDonald, DT Justin Smith, NT Ian Williams, and LB Patrick Willis all sat out.

Additionally, on offense, Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore each got three snaps, Vernon Davis, Stevie Johnson, and Anquan Bolding got seven snaps, and Bruce Miller got eight snaps. From the first team offensive standpoint, the question marks strike me as fairly limited. Blaine Gabbert and the other backup quarterbacks are not doing much, but for the purposes of Week 1, the starting offense should be fine.

On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers are giving significant snaps to their reserves, while resting most of the starting lineup. Antoine Bethea's concussion will be something to track (more on that in a bit), but otherwise, this actually should be a fairly fresh unit when the 49ers head to Dallas to open the season. The reserves are getting worn down early, but even that group is mostly guys who either won't make the team, or will be getting rotated in with fresh players.

Tank Carradine, Quinton Dial, and Corey Lemonier have all gotten extensive work. Lemonier will likely split time with Dan Skuta and Aaron Lynch while Aldon Smith serves his suspension, but Tank and Dial will potentially get rotation with guys like Tony Jerod-Eddie and Demarcus Dobbs behind the normal starters. If the 49ers keep all four of those guys, the huge number of snaps Tank and Dial are getting should not be a huge deal come the regular season. And given that they did not play last season (or not much in Dial's case), it makes sense to see exactly what they can do, as much as possible.