49ers Camp News and Notes

Once upon a time, the San Francisco 49ers ruled the National Football League. That has not been the case for more than a decade. The team ‘By the Bay’ is in the middle of yet another rebuilding effort with a new head coach (Mike Singletary), unproven receivers, an average offensive line, a weak pass rush and a quarterback unit that makes Jeff Garcia look like a Hall of Famer. In fact, the only thing the Niners has going for them is their running game.
This is the picture San Francisco took into the 2009 exhibition season. Now, that picture seems to be morphing. Singletary has shown a good he can get the best out of a talent-starved roster. Now he needs to translate that success into wins. The receiving corps is still a work in progress, at best. The only sure thing appears to be TE Vernon Davis who quietly is becoming a go-to-guy. He always had the talent, but due to a lack of maturity, he was never able to show it. Now he is finally displaying the line separation and hands scouts raved about when he came out of Maryland.
The much mélange offensive line is steadily improving. Tackles Joe Staley and Adam Snyder, center Eric Heittman and right guard Chilo Rachal all are having solid camps. As for the pass rush, although LB Patrick Willis continues his ascension to the upper echelon of NFL linebackers, there still a need for more options. Jeff Ulbrich, who started in place of Willis against the Raiders this past week, has looked sharp. He, promising rookie Scott McKillop and Takeo Spikes should form a nice combo. What still lacking is depth at defensive tackle.
The QB situation is the deicer of them all. Projected starter Shaun Hill has a good fell for the game. Unfortunately for the 49ers, he is not a playmaker by any stretch of the imagination. That distinction belongs to Alex Smith. But the former #1 overall pick lacks pure passing skills. He is more of an athlete than a passer and the Niners will be wise to grasp that fact soon. It’s a good bet Hill will be the starter this year, if by no other reason because of Smith. Lurking in the shadows is fifth round selection Nate Davis. The former Northern Illinois star is having a very, very good camp. He has displayed good escapability in the pocket and a nice passing touch to go along with a big, powerful arm. He is now the future of the franchise, at least for this year.
The one area that San Fran is more than adequate is at running back. We all know about Frank Gore and what he can do. His hard and explosive running is well documented. Now we are finding about that this is not a one man gang. Former reclamation project, Michael Robinson is running wild, bulling over defenses and presenting mismatches on the passing, while two rookies, third rounder Glen Coffee and undrafted free agent Korey Sheets, are making strong cases for playing time. Coffee, the preseason rushing leader, has shown the explosiveness the team covets in a third down back.