The season did not get off to the start that everyone was hoping for as the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Arizona Cardinals 23-13 at home. Five tournovers doomed the 49ers in the game even though the Cardinals only scored once on the tournovers.  They really hurt the offense as it killed drives and allowed the Cardinals to control the entire second half.

The niners only had one possession in the first 28 minutes of the second half. You can’t win a game if your offense isn’t out on the field! The turning point in the second half was when Takeo Spikes muffed a short kickoff by the Cardinals

The 49ers beat the Cardinals on the stats sheet as theyoutgained the Cardinals, 291-285, despite running 28 fewer plays. The 49ers averaged 6.6 yards per play. The Cardinals just 4.4 yards. I can’t but the blame on the defense too much in this game as they at least kept it within 10 points despite the five tournovers.

J.T. O’Sullivan’s two fumbles were costly but he did have a quarterback rating of 80. O’Sullivan finished the game 14/20 and 195 yards while being picked off once. Frank Gore was the leading reciever and rusher for the niners as he had 14 carries for 96 yards and 1 touchdown while adding 4 receptions for another 55 yards.

The 49ers will need to cut down on the mistakes if they want to beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. It will be another tough divisional game, and the niners need to come ready to play right from the beginning.

49ers Blog

Shortly after announced the team cut players to get down to the 53 man limit, the 49ers signed Ahmad Brooks off of the waiver wire. To make room for Brooks on the roster, they released Dontarrious Thomas.

Brooks was a third round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2006 draft. Many people around the league said that Brookes had first round play making capabilities but he did have some character issues that caused his draft stock to drop. He played in 11 games as a rookie and just two last season due to a torn groin muscle.

The 49ers named RB Thomas Clayton, DL Atiyyah Ellison, TE J.J. Finley, LB Larry Grant, DL Louis Holmes and WR Dominique Zeigler to the practice squad. The team has two practice squads remaining to fill.

49ers Blog

The San Francisco 49ers have trimmed down their roster to get to the 53 man limit. Transactions could still happen however so even though a player made the cut, they could see themselves being cut or moved to the practice squad if management picks up another player via the waiver wire.

Players that did not make the cut:

WR Ashley Lelie
WR Jerard Rabb
WR Cam Colvin
WR Dominique Zeigler
WR Robert Ortiz
RB Thomas Clayton
FB Moran Norris
TE J.J. Finley
OG Brian de la Puente
OT Alan Reuber
OT Joe Toledo
OT Chris Patrick
DE Walter Curry
NT Atiyyah Ellison
DE LaJuan Ramse
DE Louis Holmes
LB Larry Grant
LB Dennis Haley
CB Markus Curry
S D.J. Parker
K/P Ricky Schmitt

OLB Jay Moore was also added to the injured reserved and will be out for the season. This was the second straight season that Moore was injured in the last preseason game of the year and will have to miss another full season.

49ers Football Blog

ESPN just reported on NFL Live that J.T. O’Sullivan is the leading candidate for the starting quarterback position.  That means O’Sullivan went from third string all the way to first string this quick in camp.  Did he have that good of a camp or did Alex Smith and Shaun Smith just suck that badly?

This comes as a shock to me but if O’Sullivan is playing that much better then Smith, then by all means give him the chance to show what he can do.  Who cares how much the 49ers are spending on Smith start the best player.  Mike Martz says that O’Sullivan knows the offense better then the other two qb’s at this point and that he will continue getting more reps with the number one offense.

So what is your take on all of this niner fans?  Smith or O’Sullivan?

Whats going on 49ers fans? You are all probably wondering where in the hell we have been lol!  Well we have been extremely busy blogging about baseball teams and keeping up on older projects.  It is about time for us to turn more of our attention to our beloved 49ers however.

Training camp has been going on for a little longer then a week now.  Alex Smith has been throwing a ton of balls early in the training camp and was given today off (Friday) to rest his arm a little bit and just give him a breather.  Shaun Hill and J.T. O’Sullivan were the two qb’s that took part in Friday’s practices.  Smith is the front runner but don’t be suprised if he is quickly pulled in favor of Hill in my opinion.

It has also been mentioned that the 49ers defense will not change as far as personnel if they are running a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense.  Justin Smith and Ray McDonald will basically just swap positions out depending on what formation the defense will be running.

I will try to have another update during the middle of next week about how training camp is going.  While I’m away, leave a comment and let us know what you expect out of the niners this season!

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.

49ers Blog

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.

49ers Blog

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.

49ers Blog

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?