As I posted on Matt's last article about the secondary it really is going to make a positive impact if the 49ers can make a strong & more consistent pass rush this year. I think more biltz packages couldn't hurt in that department.

Read this quote from Sing:

“Adam Snyder is doing very well. I’m very pleasantly surprised with him. He is making great strides. He is doing a lot of the little things. We are going to leave him in that right tackle position and just let him blossom. What he is doing is basically what he told me he would do given the opportunity to sit there for a while.”

is there any reason not to hate Nolan, i have talked many of times on here about how bad he messed our D up by not putting players in position, but the same holds true of the offense. Wow! so your telling me when a guy gets to settle into a postion and acctually learn it and stay there he gets better... thats special , thats magic!!

I hope Den has a ranked 32 D this year!!

2ndly, what is with Norris? I really hope his family is ok. from a pure football prospective only, it sucks he cant be with the team more(or not hurt). this guy was specificly brought in to help the power running game and i think he has practiced twice!!

and if i hear about Morgan almost getting injured one more time im gonna have a heart attack!!

anyone else think its weird sing keeps saying he (morgan) cld be better but almost every writer has him as the Camp MVP??? (and that Bruce is the only WR solidified with a spot)

Ok, Matt, its gone on long enough. I have to say something about your newfound love affair wtih "deets". End it.

irritates me too but then again a lot of things do

I don't mind "deets" at all, and I'm a curmudgeon!

Is this a question of the d doing well or the Oline not picking up?

I would hope Denver is no worse than 29. I'd like to see St. Louis at 30, Seattle at 31, and Arizona at 32...

Blitz pickup has been the biggest under-the-radar problem of this offense for awhile. Blown blocks and dropped hot reads are among Gore's biggest weaknesses as a player, our linemen frequently get confused, and our QBs have not been great at recognizing and adjusting.

Long story short, this one concerns me a bit.

If our coverage can get the penetration needed from our blitzing lb's to pressure/hit/sack opposing QB's, then and only then will they stop the Warners, Hasslebecks, etc.

Damn Josh Morgan is a gutsy player (and a huge competitor), his acrobatic catches worry the heck out of me though.

-I don't think anybody can forget that scissor-kick catch Josh made against those Redskin defenders last season. :P

i got ya man, in the heat of the moment after reading that quote, i missed that one... good catch!!

i honestly think our D is going to be fine. this is our first year as a 3-4 team, we got the pieces in place, guys know their role, and we have a nice mix of vets and young potential. im VERY excited about what this D can do.

I cldnt agree more man but like my earlier post said, the guy worries me... im just sayin save it for the games too DONT GET HURT!! we need you. i dont care what the coaches say, this guy is not getting cut... thats a joke. i think we all know they are just tryin to light the fire under him

MM - from your deets...

"Nate Davis connected with Dominique Zeigler on a nice toss"

MB.....-"Smith had perhaps the prettiest catch of the day, floating a 25-yard sideline attempt over a linebacker and into Dominique Zeigler's arm

Hi Matt, Please ease our minds, PWillie has been out a long time, is there anything to be concerned about?

Alex Smith never had that "touch" on the ball to throw over linemen. He tries to throw too hard and has no arch.

Matt,

Is there merit whatsoever to Gil Brandt's comments in his latest chat that he wouldn't be surprised if Crabtree signed in a few days or so? Thanks!

We need to keep Morgan healthy. Losing Jones leaves only Morgan to attack the deep seam from the wr position. Battle and Hill have not shown they can get there. Def coordinators will put 8 in the box and all of Gore's cutback lanes will have bad angles. Crabtree is not an answer this year. Methinks all of the bluffing is a screen for a foot that hasn't healed...or he has the stupidest agent around.
All of this opens the way for Davis to have a career kind of season. Can he grab the opportunity? He'll have to strap on, an attitude we haven't yet seen.

Oneniner, you and I have been on this blog since the Dennis Erickson era. You have got to join me in stopping the "deets" madness. I'm begging you.

...lol...i am with you....

"Hill airs it out 40 yds downfield for TD to Morgan, who got behind Clements and Lewis."

One of the "deets" from MM's tweets. Can we officially retire the "S.Hill has a weak arm/no deep ball/down field challenged" talk please?

Isn't DEET that stuff that is in mosquito repellant???

*ALOHA*

C'mon Stampede you know I'm a fan of your boy. But a couple of practices & Hill's lifetime MO of having a weak arm is 100% solved?? Let's not get ahead of ourselves like a lot of media & Niner fans do. (ie. the way too early hype on Goldson, Morgan, Smith's comeback as ex's).

Let's be real here. I dunno what he's doing. Specific arm exercises at home &/or in the gym, extra practicing on the int/deep ball, whatever. But it's awesome news to hear. But it will take a FULL SEASON of him proving he can do that for me to buy he's "over" that weakness. Man, I hope he could prove everyone wrong but I have my doubts. If he could grow into being a legitimate winning franchise QB that would be the story of the league. One thing for sure he's proven to me he's NO DOUBT a legit #2. Before last season I wasn't even sure of that. Dude's a flat out gamer & got to give him his props.

Nah you're right, I was just trying to be a wise guy. But I will say this; S.Hill is capable of more than folks give him credit for (i.e. bad practices, weak arm, etc). And there's more to offensive success than the "deep ball," esp. when you have Frank Geezy toting the rock.

I'm with you there. But I think he's won over more than you think. Hill's got a solid following here. We know what he's about. He's way more than exceeded his expectations. Much respect for the patience & hard work to get where he is now.

BTW this is off topic but here's my 2 cents on Morgan. He was a late RD'er, 6th I believe right? So the question mark for me is how MENTALLY strong is this kid? I want him to succeed BIGTIME. I love what I'm hearing about this kid. It's still early but what I'd like to see is more confidence of him knowing yeah I AM a stud top receiver in the league & belong here. Kind of some more Crabtree swagger in him. (Not overboard though or based on the mocks I'm the best BS.) So when he's in the games he doesn't doubt himself because in the back of his mind he was a 6th RD pick. I'm just saying that's my question mark about him. The way I see that coming for him is to continue succeeding, making plays, & having his confidence grow. That's why I'm saying it's still too early yet for fans to say we don't need this receiver or that VET 'cause we have Morgan. He's hasn't ESTABLISHED himself yet.

Last year that Staph infection took him out 90%. But that didn't enable him to start getting over that breakthrough hump. Morgan seems well on his way. I hope he continues to handle it well & keeps developing. Having Bruce come back for another year & him looking awesome in practices is HUGE I believe to still have some Vets take some of that limelight & pressure off. Same with Battle if he plays well & makes the cut. Crabtree when he finally gets his a** in here because of his now desperate agent playing the ultimate "hope for the worst with the WR's in ALL the pre-season games" finally signs, which is the latest news I heard, should help there too. (I hope the WR's shine bigtime & really BURY this EParker.) All that said keep up the good work Morgan. I hope he tears it up!

Speaking of receiving and getting hurt..does anyone share my concern about VD? I know he's one of the most fit players in the league and that his heart drives him to do better. But I've seen frequent occasions where he'll catch a ball, fight for that little bit extra and put himself in some straneg positions. I have a vivid memory of a game with the NYG. Franco Harris got the rep of ducking out of bounds a lot; I'm not suggesting that VD not play with courage, but I hope our coaching staff can teach him to better protect himself.

Oh yeah, and on the tweet, tweet, deet issue--if that's the biggest complaint I'd say Matt's doing a pretty good job.

Question: Is there merit whatsoever to Gil Brandt's comments in his latest chat that he wouldn't be surprised if Crabtree signed in a few days or so?

My response: The sides are not negotiating. The 49ers have made their offer, and it's far less than what Crabtree desires. I would be SHOCKED if Crabtree eats crow and signs the contract in the next few days. --Matt M.

Stampede: We all know that Smith has a stronger arm and throws a pretty spiral (sometimes) BUT...
We also know (if we watched all the games) that Huill probably completes a much higher % of long passes than Smith ever dreamed of doing. Hill does throw a wobbly duck all too often BUT it gets to his target and is completed more often than Smith's deep spirals,that are almost always behind,or short or over thrown and seldom delievered on time.
(I am speaking of real games here,where the pass rushers are actually allowed to hit the QB,lol,not practice ,where Smith is allowed to still throw the long pass and call it complete,even though he held it too long and the pass rusher would have already sent him into his usual panic.). Hill is clearly superior to Alex in almost every way a QB can be judged(in games) ,even in throwing and completing the long ball !
Of course I hope alex is learning from the staff and from watching Hill perform and will be the best he can be. After all ,Smith is a Niner and we fans should all hope for him to do better and advance himself up to a real NFL caliber QB level. It should not come down to two factions of fans,one that wants Hill to do well and Smith to fail,or that wants Smith to do well and Hill to fail. Real fans want every player in a Niner's uniform to excel !

I've been thinking about the story where Smith turned the ball over and it was considered not his fault. I don't understand this. The QB has the responsibility to deliver the ball. "Short" QB's, in order to make it in the league, must learn to compensate the the wall of people in front, I don't see how this can easily be written off. I probably would not have posted this today except for Matt's message about Balmer tipping a Smith pass. According to NFL.com Smith is 6'4". I know there's DL guys on our team that are 6'7". But Hill is 6'3", Montana & Young were 6'2" and Garcia was 6'1," now I don't have their stats but I don't recall these guys having problems getting past the DL. I know it's not fair to compare Smith to Montana or Young but I see no problem comparing him to Hill and Garcia. The QB has to be accountable to throw a catchable pass.

I've always rooted for A.Smith, I've been wanting to see him be successful from jump street. But now that we know a little bit more about him, I've come to the conclusion that A.Smith could benefit from watching a little longer, and let S.Hill take the wheel. I'm glad to read he's looking a whole lot better and is healthy. But I don't think there should be any question on who the starter should be.

Imagine this for a second. What if S.Hill DOES practice below his actually game-playing ability. He's having a pretty good camp in '09. If he's playing like this in camp, how will that translate to the regular season? Well, history tells us that he plays a lot better in real games than in practice. The sky's the limit with S.Hill right now.