SB Nation Bay Area: All Posts by David Fucillo

What's the biggest question mark on the 49ers roster?

2013-05-19T15:56:04Z

Earlier this week, Andy Benoit of Football Outsiders put together an article for ESPN looking at the biggest remaining issue for each team (Insider protected). In looking at the 49ers, Benoit pointed to nose tackle as the biggest red flag on the team. He was a little off-base in pointing to nose tackle because he believes Glenn Dorsey is meant more for a Ricky Jean Francois utility role, and Ian Williams is likely ending up in the starting nose tackle role.

Matt Maiocco wrote about the 49ers defensive position battles and he looked at Glenn Dorsey as the apparent starter. We'll find out a lot more in training camp, but it still remains a question mark, even if Dorsey is locked in as the starter. The 49ers are looking at two guys without the experience Isaac Sopoaga brought to the table. Some may be pleased for a change, and others may be questioning what will happen.

Given all that, I was curious what people thought was the biggest concern for the 49ers heading into training camp. Free safety is an easy one given that rookie Eric Reid is the likely starter. He could prove great, but anytime you slot in a rookie, questions arise.

Aside from that, the questions seem to be as much about depth as anything else. Will Mario Manningham be healthy for the start of the season, and if not, who if anybody will emerge in his place? Will the 49ers use their defensive line and outside linebacker depth as more than window-dressing? What do we make of the cornerback position in its entirety? Does Phil Dawson have another good year in his leg? Will Vance McDonald be able to secure that No. 2 tight end role?

These are just some of the many questions, but which is the biggest? I think Eric Reid and the free safety position are the obvious big ones. After that, I think it's a question of which outside linebacker will emerge behind Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks.

What do you think?

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Michael Crabtree makes appearance on "The Sports Car" with Dave Dameshek

2013-05-19T13:00:11Z

Michael Crabtree talks all sorts of topics with Dave Dameshek on NFL Network.

49ers Roster, 90-in-90 breakdowns: Joe Looney

2013-05-18T23:31:47Z

Here at Niners Nation, we're presenting a series called "90-in-90". We'll be looking at every player on the 49ers offseason roster, one player per post, from now until the start of training camp.

More: Quinton Patton LaMichael James Patrick Willis Parys Haralson NaVorro Bowman

A year ago April, the San Francisco 49ers used a fourth-round pick to select Wake Forest guard Joe Looney in the 2012 NFL Draft. Looney was a talented offensive lineman, but he slipped in the draft because of a Lisfranc injury suffered in the Senior Bowl. He was unable to take part in some Combine drills, and this kind of nagging injury meant teams were left wondering what he would be worth.

Looney started training camp on the PUP list, but within a week he was removed after passing his physical. Although he passed the physical, Looney spent the entire season inactive on game days. That didn't stop him from getting in whatever work he could, as he and practice squad linemen Al Netter and Kenny Wiggins were put through game simulations during pregame warmups.

According to the 49ers, Looney spent his rookie season working at both guard spots and center with the scout team. Obviously that is not the same as in-game action, but it's a learning experience, and one that could prove valuable sooner rather than later.

What to expect in 2013

This is where it gets interesting. I do think Jonathan Goodwin is on the hot seat sufficiently enough that the center position is up for grabs. That being said, Daniel Kilgore would seem to be the favorite to unseat Goodwin, if anybody was going to do so. Last year I read reports that Looney might have been a second round pick without the Lisfranc injury, so it is entirely possible the 49ers could see him leapfrog Kilgore on the depth chart. That being said, my guess is he ends up in that Leonard Davis, extra lineman role. Daniel Kilgore will be the primary backup interior lineman, but Looney will be right behind him, and getting some opportunities when the 49ers go with their particularly heavy formations.

Odds of making the roster

While Looney might not be a lock, he is about as close as one could get. The 49ers do face some interesting decisions with the offensive tackles they have added, but I don't see them squeezing out Looney at this point. He faces a tough battle for playing time, but I think the plan is to develop Looney and Kilgore to basically each move up a spot when the team is ready to replace Jonathan Goodwin.

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49ers rookies enjoying NFLPA Rookie Premiere in LA

2013-05-18T20:34:20Z

The NFLPA Rookie Premiere weekend is currently going on down in Southern California, and some of today's events took place at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The weekend is a chance for rookies to meet the media, get pictures taken for football cards, and generally have a good time.

49ers wide receiver Quinton Patton, tight end Vance McDonald and running back Marcus Lattimore are all down for the event. They will return to Santa Clara for OTAs this coming weekend, but for now they get a little fun time.

SB Nation is helping the NFLPA promote this event, and so some of our people have gotten some great access. SB Nation's Ryan Van Bibber (who also runs Turf Show Times) is interviewing a variety of players. Additionally, Dan Rubenstein, who does a lot of video content for SB Nation, is down there helping on the video end.

Ryan shot a few videos using the Vine app. For those who have never used it, you can take up to six seconds worth of video. You obviously can't get much content from six seconds of video, but it is great for Twitter. Ryan shot some videos and I thought they would be fun to share. Scroll your mouse over the videos and you'll see an option to unmute them.

This first video features Quinton Patton shouting out a quick line from one of the funniest movies of all time.

I'm not quite sure what Quinton Patton is doing in this second video. I'm trying to find out, but it seems funny anyway.

This third video is apparently Marcus Lattimore providing a Jim Harbaugh impersonation.

Dan took several pictures of the players. This first one is Marcus Lattimore coming out in his 49ers uniform with pads.

This second picture is Quinton Patton in his uniform. I'm still not sure why he goes with the vertical eye black instead of horizontal. Any ideas?

This final picture features Quinton Patton and Landry Jones "just cuddlin' in a cabana and stuff".

This is another picture in the cabana!

You can follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the rookie premiere at this link.

49ers position battles: Which will entertain, which will surprise as we enter OTAs?

2013-05-18T16:23:06Z

The 49ers will start up their "Organized Team Activities" (OTAs) on Tuesday, which moves us that much closer to training camp. We will not see padded practices yet, but we get more team offense vs. defense drills, which means more implementation of the playbook in advance of training camp.

The rookies spent last weekend in rookie-only minicamp, and then got their introduction to "football school" over the last week. "Football school" got the rookies working with the veterans, but OTAs will take this to a whole new level. In doing so, the position battles we will see over the next three months will start to take shape.

We'll be going into position battles in plenty of detail over the next three months, but with OTAs getting started in a few days, I thought we'd put together a rundown of position battles to watch, and consider which might end up most intriguing in the coming months.

Here is a rundown of the positions I see significant battles for playing time, and I think there would be limited disagreement. This is not about the bubble watch, so much as just where we'll see particular competition:

Second and third quarterback: Colt McCoy, Scott Tolzien, B.J. Daniels
Backup running back: LaMichael James, Kendall Hunter, Anthony Dixon, Jewel Hampton
Third and fourth wide receiver: Mario Manningham, Kyle Williams, A.J. Jenkins, Quinton Patton, Ricardo Lockette, others
Second and third tight end: Vance McDonald, Garrett Celek, Cameron Morrah, Demarcus Dobbs?
Cornerback: Everybody
Backup outside linebacker: Parys Haralson, Corey Lemonier, Darius Fleming, Cam Johnson
Nose tackle: Glenn Dorsey, Ian Williams
Defensive line: Cornellius Carradine, Quinton Dial, Glenn Dorsey, Will Tukuafu, Demarcus Dobbs, Tony Jerod-Eddie

I suppose "Everybody" is a bit of a cop-out at cornerback, but is any one particular position locked down? There's a reasonable argument that Tarell Brown is going to be starting, but beyond that, I think anything is possible. Matt Maiocco believes Glenn Dorsey is likely set at nose tackle, with Williams as his backup.

I did not include the safety position because I think there is some debate to be had about how likely it is that Reid slots right in at free safety. The 49ers obviously liked him, and they don't just give jobs to anybody. He will have to prove he belongs, but would it be an upset if he wasn't the starting free safety come September? I think this is one position where we might have a decent amount of disagreement, but I'm honestly not sure.

I also did not include any offensive line position battles on here, because I am curious where people fall with the interior options. Jonathan Goodwin is currently the starting center, but given his cap figure, and the work the 49ers have done at center with Daniel Kilgore and Joe Looney, could we see one of them snatch the job from Goodwin by the end of August? Daniel Kilgore would appear to be the favorite for that, but are we underestimating Jonathan Goodwin's contributions?

Any other position battles we should be considering?

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Patton and McDonald are making a good impression

2013-05-18T14:12:06Z

Patton and McDonald are making a good impression

Ryan is representing SB Nation at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere event. He is getting a chance to speak with a variety of rookies, and it sounds like Quinton Patton and Vance McDonald have made a good impression.

Frank Gore remains a boss

2013-05-17T22:06:12Z

It's the dead days of May right now, so little things like this tide me over:

The 5 RBs drafted before Frank Gore: Brown, Cedric Benson, Cadillac Williams, J.J. Arrington and Eric Shelton. #49ers
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) May 17, 2013

Ronnie Brown went No. 2, Benson went No. 4, Cadillac went No. 5, J.J. Arrington went No. 44 and Eric Shelton went No. 54.

Frank Gore was coming off serious knee problems at Miami, so it was no surprise he dropped in the draft. Obviously it worked out great, as Frank Gore has been an absolute force at the NFL level. Even after two college knee surgeries, and then a pair of shoulder surgeries after his rookie year, Gore has turned into an all-time 49ers great. Not too shabby.

And now, the 49ers might have a chance for history to repeat itself to a certain extent. The selection of Marcus Lattimore is not quite the same storyline as Frank Gore, but there are enough similarities with the injury angle. So much so that Lattimore has already had a chance to interact with Frank Gore. Eric Branch had a chance to talk with Lattimore, and the former South Carolina running back is already latching on to Gore.

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Craig Dahl weighs in on Bruce Irvin

2013-05-17T21:29:03Z