The San Francisco 49ers will be sending out an email to all the season ticket holders today that will be telling them that they are welcome to signup for some free tickets to eight of the 49ers training camp practices.  Tickets are limited to the first 3000 people however so you will have to act fast once you receive your information.

The open practices are scheduled for Saturday, July 26 (9-10:30 a.m.), Sunday, July 27 (9-10:30 a.m. and 4-5:30 p.m.), Monday, July 28 (4-5:30 p.m.), Wednesday, July 30 (4-5:30 p.m.), Friday, August 1 (4-5:30 p.m.), Saturday, August 2 (9-10:30 a.m.) and Sunday, August 3 (4-5:30 p.m.).

So do you plan on going?  If so, let us know as we are not able to make it and would love to post some pictures right here on the blog.

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The San Francisco 49ers are entering their third day of OTA practices and still Arnaz Battle is no where to be seen.  Coach Mike Nolan or general manager Scot McCloughan have talked with Battle, and his agent is commenting on the situation.

Battle is really missing out on learning the new offense.  He needs to get his butt into practive if he wants to have any playing time this season.  Other players are going to pass him on the depth chart if he doesn’t show up soon.  He will be just like a rookie holding out because of a contract, and then have such a poor rookie reason they wished they would have just signed early on in the process.

It appears that the 49ers are going to be heading into mini camps with a three race battle for the quarterback situation.  Everything is wide open as Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, and J.T. O’Sullivan will all see time with the first teams through OTA practices.  Smith is expected to be the starter, but it is nice to have an open competition so one guy doesn’t get to setteled in and get to relaxed.

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Undrafted free agent Ezra Butler has already been released by the San Francisco 49ers after they learned that he had been stopped over the weekend in Reno, Nevada and charged with DUI drugs and possession of a controlled substance (marijuana).

This could have been Butler’s only chance at an NFL roster after all the other teams including the 49ers passed on drafting him beven though he is a pretty good player.  Off the field incidents were why he was not drafted in the draft and it looks like those will also keep him from earning an NFL paycheck.

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The 2008 draft has come and gone and now it is time to blog about the 49ers selections and what we all think of them.  In a kind of suprising move, the 49ers did not draft a skilled postion until the sixth round when they grabbed wide receiver Josh Morgan from Virginia Tech.  The 49ers will still need to get a free agent wide out to help out the passing game.

Kentwan Balmer was the 49ers first round pick at number 29 overall.  Balmer is defensive tackle from North Carolina who was coached by John Blake and really became a great player for the Tar Heels in his last season.  Some people are wondering if it was a one year wonder for him, time will tell but hopefully he will be able to slide into the defensive line and be a good player.

In the second round ther 49ers selected Chilo Rachal who is an offensive guard from USC.  People question Rachal’s athletic ability so he will have to improve on that because he won’t be able to just push around NFL defensive linemen like he did in college.

Reggie Smith a cornerback / safety out of Oklahoma was the 49ers third round pick.  Smith was once thought to be a late first round / secound round guy that slipped to the 49ers at the 75th overall pick.  Smith will need to bulk up a little bit, but I like him a lot.

The fourth round seen the 49ers grabbing another offensive linemen as they selected Cody Wallace out of Texas A&M.

The 49ers did not have a pick in the 5th round, and in the 6th round they drafted Josh Morgan a wide receiver from Virginia Tech.  Morgan is a quick reciever, but does take some plays off if the ball isn’t coming his way.  He is going to have contribute on special teams to have an impact with the team I think.

In the 7th round, Larry Grant a linebacker from Ohio State was selected by the 49ers.  I think Grant can be a decent player, but is going to have to really work his butt off in mini camp and show the coaches that he can get off blocks and make a play at the NFL level.

We will get onto the free agents that the 49ers have signed later today.  What do you think of the 49ers draft?  I know they didn’t get a big playmaker, or someone that you might have noticed, but these guys can be role players that should help the team out.  Hopefully they will atleast help out at the offensive and defensive line positions.

The NFL released the San Francisco 49ers 2008 schedule on Tuesday and just like last year the 49ers will be opening up against the Arizona Cardinals.  The 2008 season will kick off September 7th when the 49ers and Cardinals tangle.

Non-conference and non-divisonal games for the 49ers in 2008 will include the Lions, Saints, Patriots, Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, Bills, Jets, Dolphins, and Redskins.  I look for the Patriots, Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, and Redskins to give the 49ers some trouble.

What do you think 49ers fans?  Any predictions on the 49ers 2008 record now that the schedule has been released?

The San Francisco 49ers got caught by the NFL for contacting Lance Brigg’s agent while he was still under contract with the Chicago Bears.  That was legal for the 49ers to do, and now they will lose their 4th round draft pick in the April draft, and also have to switch places with the Bears and their 3rd round draft pick.  Now the 49ers will draft 12th in the 3rd round, while the Bears will draft 7th.

49ers general manager Scot McCloughan said he thought the team was staying within the NFL’s guidelines when they were acquiring about Briggs.  He does respect the NFL’s decision, just doesn’t agree with it.

So now the 49ers draft just got that much worse… Good job guys

The San Francisco 49ers have signed another wide receiver.  Bryant Johnson is the newest member of the 49ers after agreeing to a one year contract with the team.

Even with the Johnson signing I expect the 49ers to draft atleast one receiver, and probably two of them in the upcoming NFL draft.

The 49ers also made a move by cutting Darrel Jackson off the roster.  Jackson was thought to be a great signee during last off season but he never did anything for the team after putting up good numbers with the Seattle Seahawks.

The San Francisco 49ers have cut ties with veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer.  Dilfer wouldn’t have seen as much as action that he did last year if Alex Smith would not have got hurt.  The 49ers would rather go with a younger group of qb’s and must not feel that Dilfer is that great of a teacher for the young guys to keep him around.

The 49ers have also signed wide receiver Bryant Johnson.  Terms of the deal have not been released as of Friday morning.

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The San Francisco 49ers are hitting the free agent market hard this offseason and really spending the dollars to show for it.  On Friday, the 49ers signed Isaac Bruce and Justin Smith to multi-year  contracts for total of $52 million dollars.

Bruce signed a two year contract and will be paid $6 million.  He will make $4 million of that in 2008 and $2 million in 2009.  He can still play the game even though he is getting up there in age.  He can also help out some of the younger receivers to get better.  It doesn’t hurt that his ex headcoach Mike Martz is on the 49ers staff either.

Justin Smith is a big time signing for the 49ers.   Smith was the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft to the Cincinnati Bengals.  He has played all 16 games every year of his career except his rookie year when he only played in 15.  That is great production year in and year out.  I think he will really help out the 49ers defensive line, and get pressure on the quarterback.  Smith will be paid $45 million dollars with $20 million of that being guranteed money.

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The San Francisco 49ers have signed DeShaun Foster to a two year contract that will be worth $1.8 million dollars.  Foster will serve as the primary backup at the running position.  Frank Gore is still the number one guy, and unless he get hurt, Foster will just be used as a backup every game.

Foster is a better option then Michael Robinson or Mark Clayton so I like this signing.  Foster is capable of having some nice runs and I think he will fit into the offense nicely.

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