49ers Blog and Q&A

The odd man out in the 49ers' quarterback competition turned out to be the new guy. The 49ers this evening announced they had cut 21 players in an effort to trim their roster to 53 men, and the most prominent name was Josh Johnson's.

The quarterback had by far his best effort of the exhibition season Thursday in throwing for 125 yards and two touchdowns and adding 50 yards on the ground. Still, the 49ers will go into the season with the same three quarterbacks from a year ago: Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick and Scott Tolzien.

The 49ers' initial cuts also leave them with just three outside linebackers for the second straight season. Among those cut Friday were seventh-round draft pick Cam Johnson, Erik Bakhtiari, Kenny Rowe and Ikaika Alama-Francis. The three surviving outside linebackers are Aldon Smith, Ahmad Brooks and Parys Haralson.

The 49ers will go into the season with five safeties: Dashon Goldson, Donte Whitner, C.J. Spillman, Darcel McBath and sixth-round pick Trenton Robinson. Also making the initial roster was tight end Garrett Celek, the younger brother of Eagles tight end Brent Celek. An undrafted rookie, Celek caught a touchdown from Johnson Thursday night.

The 49ers are engaging in a bit of gamesmanship.

All the players who were released on the eve of the 6 p.m. cut-down deadline appear to be earmarked for the practice squad. That group includes safety Michael Thomas, wide receiver Nathan Palmer, offensive linemen Al Netter and Mike Person and inside linebacker Michael Wilhoite.

The team has yet to send out the full list of the players that have been released. All 32 teams can start signing the players that were cut today at 9 a.m. Saturday, at which point they also can begin building their eight-man practice squads. The 49ers' strategy - as well as that of several other teams - appears to be to give their competitors as little time as possible to evaluate recently released players.

The 49ers are poised to enter the season with eight offensive linemen after having nine on the 53-man roster a year ago. They are: Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Jonathan Goodwin, Alex Boone and Anthony Davis. The backups would be Leonard Davis, Daniel Kilgore and draft pick Joe Looney.

Person was a seventh-round draft pick in 2011. He made the final roster a year ago but was not active for any of the games. He can play both tackle and guard, and the 49ers intend to sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. The 49ers plan to do the same with Netter, an undrafted player out of Northwestern, who can play tackle and guard.

-- Matt Barrows

Scott Tolzien had the roughest finale of all the 49ers quarterbacks, but his body of work has carried him onto the 49ers' final roster, according to a league source. Tolzien spent the 2011 season on the 53-man roster as San Francisco's third quarterback behind Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. That appears to be the order this year as well.

There is no word yet on Josh Johnson's fate. He and Kaepernick had excellent nights Thursday against the Chargers. Johnson was 9-14 for 125 yards with two touchdowns and a 132.4 passer rating. He also ran the ball five times for 50 yards.

Tolzien, meanwhile, has been steady throughout the preseason but stumbled against San Diego. He was 3-8 for 42 yards and threw an interception. An undrafted free agent in 2011, Tolzien spent his rookie training camp with the Chargers. San Diego cut him at this time last year in an effort to put him on the practice. That's when the 49ers picked him up.

Tolzien is eligible for the practice squad; Johnson is not. As is the case every year, the 49ers' 53-man roster likely will be tweaked over the next few days.

-- Matt Barrows

Eric Bakhtiari did everything right this offseason. He played special teams. He led the 49ers in sacks during the preseason, including a half sack in Thursday's exhibition finale. And he was second on the team in tackles with 15.

Still, Bakhtiari was one of the players released today as the 49ers continue their march toward 53 players. Most of the players let go today are youngsters, who are eligible for the practice squad. Bakhtiari, however, has bounced around the league since coming out of The University of San Diego -- where he played for Jim Harbaugh -- in 2008, and his practice-squad eligibility ran out.

Bakhtiari started two preseason games for the 49ers as they dealt with an array of injuries at outside linebacker this summer. Bakhtiari was hurt himself on Sunday when Will Tukuafu's knee slammed into the side of his helmet. Still, Bakhtiari started Thursday night and played throughout the game. He also was credited with a quarterback hurry.

-- Matt Barrows

Here's the list of 49ers transactions today as the team removes 22 players from its roster to get down to the final 53. Those moves do not have to be completed until 6 p.m. And like every year, there likely will be fine-tuning/adjusting to the roster in coming days. That is, if a player is safe today, it doesn't necessarily mean he's safe tomorrow.

Practice squad:
DL Tony Jerod-Eddie (not official yet)
OL Al Netter
WR Nathan Palmer
S Michael Thomas
OT Kenny Wiggins
LB Michael Wilhoite

* Former 49ers Chris Owusu is now a member of the Chargers practice squad. Ex-tight end Konrad Reuland was claimed off waivers by the Jets, the SF Chronicle reports.

Released:

OLB Ikaika Alama-Francis
OLB Eric Bakhtiari
RB Rock Cartwright
OL Derek Hall
LB Joe Holland (SF Chronicle)
DL Tony Jerod-Eddie
OLB Cam Johnson (CSN Bay Area)
QB Josh Johnson
DL Matthew Masifilo
CB Anthony Mosely (CSN Bay Area)
LS Kyle Nelson
OL Al Netter
WR Chris Owusu (SF Chronicle)
WR Nathan Palmer
OL Mike Person (CBSSports.com)
TE Konrad Reuland
OLB Kenny Rowe
WR Brett Swain (Sirius XM)
S Michael Thomas
T Kenny Wiggins
ILB Michael Wilhoite

Traded:

Colin Jones (to Carolina for a future 7th-round pick)

-- Matt Barrows

The 49ers parted ways with one of their special teams aces from last season, trading Colin Jones to the Carolina Panthers for a seventh-round pick, according to a league source. It's not know whether the pick is in 2013 or later. News of the trade was first reported by Scout.com.

The speedy Jones, 24, was a sixth-round pick out of TCU in 2011. And while he received scant playing time at safety as a rookie, he became a big part of the 49ers' coverage units. He finished the season with eight tackles, and seven so-called "big plays" as determined by special teams coordinator Brad Seely and his assistants.

Jones began the 2011 season on the 49ers' practice squad. When the Panthers showed interest in signing him, the 49ers elevated Jones to the active roster before Week 5.

The 49ers promise to keep several special teams aces on the roster, including safety C.J. Spillman and linebacker Tavares Gooden. Anthony Dixon, another solid special teams player, also figures to make the squad.

Running back Rock Cartwright, however, did not make the final cut. The 49ers waived the 11-year player, a special teams standout for the Raiders the last two years, at around noon. The 49ers signed Cartwright, 32, in March with the thought that he could lead the special teams coverage units the way Blake Costanzo did in 2011.

Dixon played well during the preseason, and at age 24 was a younger and cheaper alternative to Cartwright.

"Wanna thank the 49ers for the opportunity..," Cartwright tweeted at 12:30 p.m. today

-- Matt Barrows

The contrast couldn't have been more stark.

Josh Johnson finished Thursday's preseason finale 9-14 for 125 yards and a 132.4 passer rating. He threw two touchdowns, and was the game's second-leading rusher (behind Anthony Dixon) with five carries for 50 yards.

Meanwhile, Scott Tolzien, Johnson's competition for the No. 3 role, had his roughest outing of the preseason. On one series he severely under-threw receiver Chris Owusu, who had two steps on his defender. Two players later he was intercepted by a Chargers defensive lineman. He finished 3-8 for 42 yards and a 15.6 rating.

Still, Jim Harbaugh wasn't showing his cards on where the competition stands. "It's been tight, it's remained tight and we'll have discussions on that," Harbaugh said.

Asked if he made a statement Thursday, Johnson said, "I'm not sure. We'll just have to find out. My biggest thing was just coming out and playing football, just being a football player."

You know a team has high expectations when more than half of its starters emerge from the locker room at the start of the exhibition finale without their helmets.

The 49ers who sat out Thursday against San Diego included the entire starting defense, running back Frank Gore and receivers Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams.

Quarterback Alex Smith and the starting offensive line began the game. But Smith left after five plays, all of them handoffs that assured that Smith, who absorbed some wicked hits in the first three preseason games, would remain untouched in this one.

From there, Colin Kaepernick took over the 11-play opening drive, which ended with Anthony Dixon plunging into the end zone from one yard out. The 49ers ran the ball nine times on the opening drive.

For the last decade or so, the 49ers were a rebuilding team that needed to give their starters a lot of snaps in the fourth preseason game. Their usual fourth-game opponent, San Diego, typically would sit quarterback Philip Rivers and their starters.

Five 49ers are not in uniform for tonight's preseason finale, including one, Demarcus Dobbs, who plays multiple positions. The others are receiver Mario Manningham, who is attending his grandfather's fuineral service today, running back Brandon Jacobs (knee), receiver Ted Ginn (ankle) and outside linebacker Parys Haralson, who missed practice this week.

Eric Bakhtiari, who suffered a head injury Sunday, is in uniform and figures to play with the second-team unit with Haralson absent. Another outside linebacker, Cam Johnson, also is in uniform. Johnson, who had knee surgery in June, has yet to take a preseason snap for the 49ers.

LaMichael James (ankle) also is in uniform and likely will handle punts along with Kyle Williams tonight.

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Dobbs changed his number ... again. Dobbs went into the offseason wearing a defensive end's number, No. 96. Then he changed it to No. 40 to better suit his other position, tight end. On Thursday he changed it to No. 83.

-- Matt Barrows

Allow me to begin this post by saying I don't know who the 49ers like more, Scott Tolzien or Josh Johnson. I suspect it's Tolzien, but only because the 49ers truly pursued him, first after the 2011 draft and then again after he was waived by the Chargers a year ago. I also think that Jim Harbaugh loves having a workaholic, gym rat, study freak like Tolzien at the bottom of the roster because it pushes everyone above him. Tolzien sat down with a bunch of undrafted rookies this week and told a story of how important Exhibition Game No. 4 is. Harbaugh must have loved that. I picture a tear trickling down his cheek as he read the accounts.

But I also doubt, if the 49ers waived Tolzien in an effort to get him on the practice-squad roster, whether he'd be the red-hot commodity everyone thinks he'd be. There's a sense that the Chargers, still smarting from seeing Tolzien stolen away by the 49ers last year, would return the favor this year.

Nah. The Chargers have gone with just two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster in recent years - which is the reason they waived Tolzien last year - and probably will do so again this year with Phillip Rivers and Charlie Whitehurst. They also have their own Tolzien this year in Jarrett Lee.

In fact, most teams have their own Tolzien on the roster, and in many cases they used a cherished draft pick to acquire that developmental quarterback. The Chargers are part of a league-wide trend of keeping two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster and developing the third on the practice squad. Which is to say, if the 49ers really believed they had four starting-caliber quarterbacks, they probably could keep all four around in 2012.

-- Matt Barrows

The 49ers made a roster move today, releasing former Stanford center Chase Beeler and re-signing former Stanford defensive lineman Matt Masifilo, who was cut on Monday. The team may have found itself light along the defensive line after Demarcus Dobbs' recent injury -- he was on crutches this week -- and after cutting Masifilo and fellow undrafted rookie Patrick Butrym.

The starting units are not expected to play long in Thursday's preseason finale and there likely is a reluctance to expose starters and key backups to injury. Behind starters Justin Smith, Isaac Sopoaga and Ray McDonald are Ricky Jean Francois, Will Tukuafu, Dobbs, Ian Williams and Tony Jerod-Eddie.

The 49ers also released center Jason Slowey on Monday. Daniel Kilgore is the No. 2 center behind Jonathan Goodwin; Derek Hall also played some center this offseason.

-- Matt Barrows

Ninety four of the precincts are reporting, but this race still is too close to call. According to my eye, 47 players are locks to make the 49ers' final roster. That means six spots are still up in the air, including the No. 3 quarterback, which promises to be the focus of Thursday's preseason finale.

Also, Demarcus Dobbs' recent injury complicates things. He was seen on crutches this week, and the severity of his injury is unknown. Dobbs is a three-way player now - offense, defense, special teams - so his injury, if serious, has impacts across the roster.

2 Quarterbacks: Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick.
The quandary is whether the 49ers keep Scott Tolzien or Josh Johnson. Or both. It's hard to see the 49ers keeping four quarterbacks on the active roster, but Jim Harbaugh also isn't shy about bucking convention. Tolzien is the only one of the group with practice-squad eligibility. But the 49ers would have to expose him to waivers before getting him on the squad.

4 Running backs: Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, Brandon Jacobs, LaMichael James.
Anthony Dixon or Rock Cartwright or both? Dixon has been getting heavy praise in recent weeks and is a stalwart on special teams. If Brad Seely gets to keep a few core special teamers, Cartwright could get the job.

1 Fullback: Bruce Miller
With Will Tukuafu and Isaac Sopoaga able to play the position, there's no need for two pure fullbacks. The 49ers kept both Miller and Moran Norris last year, so this will be a roster savings.

6 Wide receivers: Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss, Mario Manningham, Ted Ginn, Kyle Williams, A.J. Jenkins.
No, fan favorites Nathan Palmer and Chris Owusu will not make the list, but either could go on the practice squad. Brett Swain is quiet but productive. He could be this year's Lance Long. He is not practice-squad eligible.

2 Tight ends: Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker
With so many other players capable of playing tight end, will the 49ers feel secure with just two? That would be bad news for Konrad Reuland, who is eligible for the practice squad. Does Dobbs' injury affect this position (and others?)

It's good news, bad news when it comes to the 49ers' ever-changing situation at outside linebacker.

First the bad: Parys Haralson, who has started the last two preseason games, was absent for the start of practice as was Eric Bakhtiari, who took a knee to the side of the helmet on Sunday and left the game. It's not known what prevented Haralson from attending.

The good news is that Aldon Smith (hip) is moving a lot better than he was last week and that rookie Cam Johnson (knee) was back at practice for the first time since Aug. 8. Johnson said he planned to play Thursday; Jim Harbaugh said that Smith would play.

The other players at the position are starter Ahmad Brooks, Kenny Rowe and Ikaika Alama-Francis. Rookie Kourtnei Brown was cut Monday.

The other practice absentees were Ted Ginn (ankle), Brandon Jacobs (knee), Demarcus Dobbs (leg) and Mario Manningham (death in the family).

LaMichael James, who missed Sunday's game, was seen fielding punts and showed no ill effects of the sprained ankle he suffered Aug. 18. NaVorro Bowman (knee) and Chris Culliver (knee) also were back.

-- Matt Barrows

Scott Tolzien had a sit-down with the 49ers' rookie receivers and offensive linemen recently. His message:

"This isn't just the last preseason game before the regular season," the quarterback said of the upcoming preseason finale. "This is big for us. And this is our chance to get a lot of playing time and really show what we've been preparing for."

Tolzien also could have showed his game film from last year's fourth preseason game. Despite constant pressure from Aldon Smith, Demarcus Dobbs and co., the then Chargers quarterback was 16-23 for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran one time for 18 yards and finished with a 97.4 passer rating. The Chargers intended to put the undrafted rookie on the practice squad. But when they released him to do so, the 49ers pounced and placed him on their 53-man roster.

There's a considerable difference in salary between the practice squad and the active roster, and perhaps more important, in stature. Jim Harbaugh today said the 49ers had Tolzien on their radar before the fourth preseason game and intimated they would have grabbed him had he not had an eye-popping performance. But his outing certainly didn't hurt.

Whenever he's asked about the 49ers' problems in converting third downs, Alex Smith says it has everything to do with first down. That is, the 49ers offense needs to have solid gains on first downs in order to make the third downs more manageable, Smith says.

Case in point: the 49ers' opening drive in Denver. On the first snap, Smith handed off to Frank Gore on a run to the left. The Broncos - crowding the line of scrimmage like every 49ers opponent - overwhelmed that side. Fullback Bruce Miller could not get Von Miller on the ground with a cut block and the outside linebacker stretched out the play and Gore lost five yards. Smith and the careful 49ers offense were not good at (or willing) overcoming those deficits, especially deep in their own zone, last year, and they went three and out on Sunday.

Contrast that with the Broncos' second drive. They, too, lost five yards on first down when Ahmad Brooks took down Willis McGahee in the backfield. Peyton Manning and the Broncos, however, were able to make that up in two plays on their way to a nine-play touchdown drive. That's not a slam on Smith, who showed last year that when he has the license, he is able to convert those types of situations. (See: @ Philadelphia, @ Detroit, vs. New Orleans, etc.) Instead, it shows a difference in philosophy.

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A lot was made of the big hit Manning absorbed from Parys Haralson. Otherwise, he had a very clean pocket throughout the first quarter. And when a quarterback of his caliber has time, he throws perfect passes like he did on touchdowns to Eric Decker and a nice sideline pattern to Demaryius Thomas. That is, a big part of the 49ers' defensive struggles were due to the fact they were playing a very good quarterback. The Broncos also often left six blockers to defend four 49ers pass rushers.

The 49ers began reducing their roster this morning, cutting 12 players and placing two others, rookies Darius Fleming and Jewel Hampton, on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.

Among those who were cut were sixth-round pick Jason Slowey, who was converting from college left tackle to center, and receiver Joe Hastings, who spent most of last season on the practice squad before being elevated to the regular roster late in the year. Cory Nelms won the 49ers' Thomas Herrion Award for his work on the practice squad last year.

Slowey and Hastings had battled injuries this offseason. So had undrafted rookie outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown, who suffered a hamstring strain in the second preseason game. All of the released players are eligible for the practice squad, which the 49ers can begin building on Saturday.

RB Cameron Bell
OLB Kourtnei Brown
DL Patrick Butrym
WR Ben Hannula
WR Joe Hastings
DL Matt Masifilo
S Cory Nelms
K Giorgio Tavecchio
CB Deante Purvis
TE Joe Sawyer
OL Jason Slowey
WR Brian Tyms

-- Matt Barrows

DENVER -- After his second look at Peyton Manning this offseason, Jim Harbaugh should have no doubt: the quarterback's surgically repaired neck is just fine.

The condition of Harbaugh's first-team defense, however, is more iffy.

The unit, which finished second in points allowed last season, offered little resistance as Manning's three drives resulted in a 17-0 Broncos lead. The 49ers' second- and third-stringers came back in the second half for a 29-24 win, but there was concern afterward that a 49ers defense that was dominant in 2011 has been merely so so this summer.

"There was some spotty play," Harbaugh said afterward. "And we gave up some easy yardage and found ourselves, for whatever reason, not in good football position when it came to making an attack or a break up ... so fundamental-type things that we need to look at."

Harbaugh noted that key players from the defense have been missing through the first three exhibition games. Starting linebackers Aldon Smith and NaVorro Bowman, for example, sat out Sunday's game with injuries that are not expected to last until the regular season opener.

Manning and his new favorite target, wideout Eric Decker, scored the first touchdown of the exhibition season against the 49ers' first-string unit. But teams have been marching down the field since the Aug. 10 opener.

Ted Ginn, who's absence at the end of the 2011 season had major ramifications for the 49ers, left Sunday's game and did not return. X-rays taken on his right ankle were negative, Jim Harbaugh said.

That put Kyle Williams under the spotlight against the Broncos and perhaps for the season opener Sept. 9 against Green Bay. Williams fielded three punts for 30 yards after Ginn left the game in the third quarter. In addition, he fair-caught another attempt while also forcing a fumble while playing gunner on punt-coverage at the end of the game.

Both of Williams' miscues on punt returns in January's NFC Championship led to scores by the New York Giants, including the game-winning field goal in overtime. Since then Williams has been on a mission to absolve himself. He took only a week off during the offseason and returned to the 49ers 12 pounds bulkier than he was at the end of last season.

His mindset if he's the one returning punts at Lambeau Field: "Let's go."

"My confidence level is always at 100 percent," he said. "I don't feel uncomfortable at all back there." Williams also had the longest reception of the exhibition season for the 49ers after catching an out route from Colin Kaepernick on the sideline. The Broncos defensive back broke on the ball, missed it and Williams gained most of the yards on the run.

'He said he probably should have stayed along the sideline instead of breaking the run to the middle of the field. "I definitely have to score on that play," he said. "I should have scored."

Ted Ginn, who's absence at the end of the 2011 season had huge ramifications for the 49ers, left Sunday's game with a right ankle injury and did not return. Ginn hobbled off the field after gaining nine yards on an end around in the third quarter.

He limped into the x-ray room and did not return. Kyle Williams took over punt return duties and fielded four punts cleanly for the 49ers. If Ginn does not recover in time for the Sept. 9 season opener in Green Bay, Williams would return punts while Kendall Hunter likely would handle kick returns.

-- Matt Barrows

Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers got a long look at Peyton Manning in the first quarter Sunday. This time they didn't have to hide themselves in hoodies.

Manning, who is coming off of multiple neck surgeries, completed 10-12 passes in the opening quarter and threw two touchdown passes to wideout Eric Decker as Denver took a 24-10 lead into the half.

Manning also led an eight-play drive on Denver's opening possession that ended in a 53-yard field goal. Mannning's passer rating is 148.6. he was hit only once -- by Parys Haralson as he completed a 38-yard pass to running back lance Ball, his longest pass of the game.

Opposing offenses have scored on six of the first seven drives this year against the 49ers' vaunted first-string defense. However, several notable defenders have been missing over that span. Right outside linebacker Aldon Smith and inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman missed today's game. Manning's 10-yard touchdown to Decker was the first touchdown surrendered by San Francisco's top unit this year.

Meanwhile, Smith took two more hits but looked solid in going 4-4 for 65 yards in the opening quarter. His biggest pass was a 44-yard touchdown strike to Vernon Davis, who had gotten past outside linebacker Von Miller. It was the 49ers' longest pass of the preseason.

Still, the first-team offense didn't operate smoothly. Smith burned all three timeouts and the 49ers were penalized on three straight plays. Following a timeout, Smith was flagged for delay of game after a mix up in which personnel should be on the field.

Colin Kaepernick entered the game late in the second quarter to run out the clock before the half. Smith left the game 5-7 for 69 yards and a 142.3 passer rating.

Notes:

With Chris Culliver (knee) hurt, Tramaine Brock entered the game as the No. 3 cornerback. However, it was Perrish Cox who had his second interception on the preseason.

Outside linebacker Eric Bakhtiari took a knee to the side of the helmet and did not return. Newcomer Ikaika Alama-Francis filled in for him at left outside linebacker with the second-team defense.

Will Tukuafu, who's been nursing a knee injury, had a sack from his right defensive end position. Larry Grant leads all tacklers with nine.

Offensive guard Leonard Davis entered the game as an extra tight end on several plays, an indication he could be part of the 49ers' "heavy jumbo" packages this year.

-- Matt Barrows

Randy Moss is scheduled to make his first-ever start with the 49ers, according to the lineup card for today's game. Moss has played in the first quarter of the last two games, but has yet to start.

Michael Crabtree and Ted Ginn started the first preseason game against Minnesota; Crabtree and Mario Manningham started Aug. 18 against the Texans. Manningham, however, did not make the trip to Denver. Presumably, Moss and Crabtree will be the starters today.

The 35-year-old Moss caught three passes for 24 yards against Houston. He dropped a fourth pass from Colin Kaepernick that would have gained about 25 yards.

Jim Harbaugh has said that he has five No. 1 wide receivers on the roster. After today, four of them will have started an exhibition game. The only one of that group of five not to start is Kyle Williams, who is listed behind Crabtree on the depth chart.

-- Matt Barrows

Neither receiver Mario Manningham nor running back LaMichael James made the trip to Denver, according to the 49ers. Manningham sent out a one-word tweet on Saturday: "hurting," in reference to his grandfather, who passed away last week.

"Lost for words," Manningham wrote Friday. "I just lost a man that knows me better than anyone can imagine 🙏 have mercy on me!!! Rip Big Daddy 👑"

Meanwhile, James suffered an ankle injury late in last week's game against Houston. However, he returned to practice Tuesday and seemed to be operating without a limp. Running back Brandon Jacobs (knee) also did not make the trip, meaning that backups Rock Cartwright and Anthony Dixon promise to get plenty of action today in Denver.

The other players who did not make the trip are receiver Joe Hastings, outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown (hamstring), outside linebacker Darius Fleming (knee), running back Jewel Hampton and cornerback Chris Culliver. Culliver said he is dealing with a right knee injury suffered in last week's game. Either Tramaine Brock or Perrish Cox will step in as the No. 3 cornerback.

Both Aldon Smith and NaVorro Bowman went through warm-ups as the 49ers prepare to take on the Broncos in Denver. Smith (hip) returned to practice this week but was not a full go throughout the week. Bowman, meanwhile, has an apparent knee injury and did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday.

It's not known if either will play. If Smith sits out this game, Parys Haralson likely would start at right outside linebacker. Bowman's absence would mean that Larry Grant starts next to Patrick Willis at inside linebacker. Also, rookie outside linebacker Cam Johnson (knee) did not warm up with the 49ers and is unlikely to play.

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Randy Moss will start at wide receiver for the 49ers, according to the pre-game report. Presumably, Michael Crabtree will start at the other receiver spot.

-- Matt Barrows

Demarcus Dobbs holds the fate of two positions. As everyone knows by now, the second-year defensive end has been playing tight end this offseason, and he even changed his number - 40 - to the tight end range.

If coaches feel comfortable with him as the No. 3 tight end behind Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, that could cost Konrad Reuland a spot on the 53-man roster. Reuland is eligible for the practice squad.

What was interesting in the most recent game in Houston was that Dobbs entered as a defensive end when the first-team defense went to its nickel formation. That's the position outside linebacker Aldon Smith - who missed the Texans game - played last season. Dobbs looked good there, and why wouldn't he? He's one of the team's more talented pass rushers. (Smith (hip) is unlikely to play against the Broncos).

That gives the 49ers more wiggle room at outside linebacker. Last year, the 49ers went through the season with four players at the position and noted afterward that it was a risky move.

They bulked up the position by drafting Darius Fleming and Cam Johnson. Both, however, have been injured through most of the offseason and neither figure to be on the 53-man roster on Sept. 9. Dobbs could serve as an emergency fourth outside linebacker or at least someone who could provide relief on passing downs.

"Heck yeah," Jim Harbaugh said when asked if Dobbs could be worked into the regular-season rotation as a third-down pass rusher. "He's coming along real nice. I'd anticipate using him in the regular season in that regard."

The 49ers followed in the footsteps of the San Francisco Giants by becoming the first team in their league to record an "It Gets Better" video condemning anti-gay violence and bullying. The minute-long segment features defenders Donte Whitner, Ahmad Brooks, Isaac Sopoaga and Ricky Jean Francois.

The video, which was filmed in the spring, came about after fan Sean Chapin gathered more than 16,000 signatures on Change.org that encouraged the 49ers to become the first NFL team to make a video. Chapin also petitioned the Giants to become the first MLB team to film an "It Gets Better" spot. Since then, nine other teams, including the Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox, have filmed their own videos

"With their 'It Gets Better' video, the 49ers are shining a golden beacon of hope to LGBT youth, and as a gay man, I enthusiastically applaud their courage and leadership," said Chapin in a press release. The It Gets Better campaign began in 2010 in response to a rash of suicides by students after they were bullied in school.

The 49ers have released the video on YouTube and Facebook, but there are no plans at this time to play it during a game. A team spokesman said the anti-bullying message fits the mission of the 49ers Foundation to "Keep kids safe, on track and in school."

The 49ers have a history of being socially progressive. Former coach Bill Walsh, for example, pioneered a program in the 1980s to help minority coaches get a foothold in the NFL.

As far as gay issues, however, the team's past is more checkered. In 2002, the 49ers made national news when then-running back Garrison Hearst used a slur when telling The Fresno Bee that he didn't want gay players in the team's locker room.

Long-time trainer Lindsy McLean publicly revealed he was gay upon his retirement in 2004. McLean's sexual orientation was an open secret at the 49ers facility. He has said he mostly was treated with respect during more than two decades as the team's top trainer, but he also has spoken about incidents of taunting and harassment by players.

*** In fairness to the 49ers' NFC West rivals, Seahawks receiver Mike Williams took part in an "It Gets Better" video a year ago alongside athletes from Seattle's MLB, WNBA and MLS teams.

-- Matt Barrows

Cut-down day cometh. Over the next week, the 49ers must lop 36 players off their roster in order to reach the 53-man limit. Ah, but eight of those players can be brought back to the practice squad. Generally speaking, here's who is eligible:

• A. Players who do not have an accrued NFL season of free agent credit; or
• B. Players who have one or more accrued seasons, but who were on the 45-player Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during each of such accrued seasons; or
• C. Players who have not been on a practice squad more than two seasons

Who will make the squad? Obviously, the 49ers will want to keep players they think can be developed with time. Outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown, for example, might be intriguing. They also obviously like players who can fill multiple roles when preparing for an opponent. Cory Nelms - cornerback, safety, receiver - fits that description.

Receiver was a difficult spot to gauge last year. I would not have picked Joe Hastings from the group of young receivers in the 2011 training camp. But Harbaugh and co. loved his pluck and kept him around. Hastings - who's been slow to recover from a leg injury -- is eligible this year as well. So are rookies Nathan Palmer, Chris Owusu and Brian Tyms. Who makes it is anyone's guess. Also, if the 49ers keep six receivers on the 53-man squad, they may keep fewer on the practice squad. They had two on the squad last year.

Broncos linebacker Von Miller will earn about $1.3 million in base salary this year. It might be just enough to repay his parents' grocery bills.

When Miller was in high school, his family took in three other players on the DeSoto (Tx) High football team, including 49ers defensive lineman Tony Jerod-Eddie. "It was like a sleepover every day," Miller said by phone Thursday.

Jerod-Eddie, an undrafted rookie the 49ers acquired in April, said it goes deeper than that. Friends since they were little boys, he said he considers himself Miller's little brother, and he refers to Miller's parents, Gloria and Von, as mom and dad.

Jerod-Eddie said he's close to his biological mother. But when she was poised to move from DeSoto, a suburb of Dallas, before Jerod-Eddie's sophomore year of high school, Miller asked his own mother if the big defensive linemen could stay with them. Two other high school teammates, including current Kansas City Chiefs running back Cyrus Gray, joined the group.

"We're more than friends. It's more like a brotherhood," Miller said. "You know you're close when you can go into someone else's refrigerator and it's not a problem." Jerod-Eddie, who was a year behind Miller, lived with the Millers even after Von left for Texas A&M. The following year, he joined Miller and Gray on the Aggies football team.

A red and gold, 49ers-themed Indy car was on display outside of the team's locker room today. It's driven by J.R. Hildebrand, but it's got Jim Harbaugh's old number - 4 - because he's part owner of the racing team, Panther Racing, that runs it. Hildebrand, who is from Sausalito, will be driving the car at Sunday's GoPro Indy Grand Prix in Sonoma.

Harbaugh said he fell in love with Indy racing when his dad took him and brother, John, to a time trial at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1976. Harbaugh said an Indy Car team's goal is to go one mph faster all the time, and he's brought that philosophy out of the pits and onto the practice field.

"How can we get better, what facet can we tweak to get a little faster, where to reduce drag, where can we save time, where can we be more efficient?" Harbaugh said. "That's the whole operation of racing. They do it as a team. Everybody's doing a little. And that adds up to a lot."

When it came to other lines of questioning, Harbaugh pumped the brakes.

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman is looking forward to a Sunday matchup that will pit his offensive line against one of the top pass rushers from 2011, linebacker Von Miller. Miller finished last season with 11 ½ sacks and was named the defensive rookie of the year. His counterpart on the Denver defense is Elvis Dumervil, another undersized but quick pass rusher who had 9 ½ sacks last season and 17 sacks in 2010.

"They're really good, productive players," Roman said. "... They can run that hoop pretty well and trim the fat on the edge good. With the crowd noise behind them - it will be great work for us. We've got to be on our A game."

The competition between Miller and right tackle Anthony Davis will be particularly interesting. The 323-pound Davis has a decisive edge on Miller - he's listed as 6-3, 237 pounds -- in run blocking. But he's struggled in the past against quick outside pass rushers. Davis allowed 9 ½ sacks last year, according to STATS, LLC.

"I think everybody in the NFL is pretty quick," Davis said. "But I know what you mean. He's exceptionally quick."

Cornerback Chris Culliver said he injured his right knee in Saturday's preseason game against the Texans and would not take part in Sunday's game against the Broncos. Culliver said the injury was not long term, but he has missed the two practices earlier this week, and he'll likely be out for today's session as well.

The injury probably is no big deal in the long term, but it may reveal the 49ers' depth chart at cornerback. Culliver comes into the games when opponents send three wide receivers onto the field. He was in on 41 percent of San Francisco's defensive snaps last year. Against the Texans', he was in on nearly every play.

In those situations, Carlos Rogers slides into the nickel position and Culliver fills in on the outside at cornerback. With Culliver out against the Broncos, it will be interesting to see whether ex-Bronco Perrish Cox or Tramaine Brock, who struggled on two deep passes Saturday, takes over his role.

Brock was the No. 4 cornerback last season. Cox has had an impressive offseason and also likely will be the 49ers' No. 2 nickel cornerback. He had a diving interception against the Vikings Aug. 10.

-- Matt Barrows

"Greatest quote ever," Jim Harbaugh said as he strode through the 49ers locker room around 12:30 p.m. today.

The 49ers head coach wasn't commenting on the interviews that were ongoing. Instead he had just passed the team's quote board, which had a classic from Paul "Bear" Bryant: "Show class, have pride and display character. And if you do, winning will take care of itself."

Harbaugh loves inspirational quotes. He can tick off a half dozen by Winston Churchill at the drop of a hat. The walls of the 49ers weight room and locker room are covered with quotes. He also has the players choose a quote of the day, which gets written on a white board outside the locker room.

Every day, one of the players' names is drawn from a hat, and it's their responsibility to find a quote. "Crab's our official drawer," Harbaugh said, referring to wideout Michael Crabtree.

The 49ers starters may see more playing time in the all-important third preseason game Sunday, but it's the backups that are under the most pressure to perform in Denver. One day after the Broncos game, the 49ers must reduce their rosters to 75 players. Four days after that, rosters will be trimmed to 53 players.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio today cited backup safety as one of the positions he hopes will be cleared up in the next two games. (The finale is Aug. 30). He said both the No. 3 and No. 4 spots are up for grabs among a group of five players.

"We'd like to see somebody step forward and make the decisions easy for us, particularly at the safety position," Fangio said. "We know we've got (Donte) Whitner and (Dashon) Goldson. But we're looking to see who's our third, fourth and possibly fifth safety, and we need for that to clear itself up. Hopefully guys will step forward and make it easy. Right now it hasn't been an easy decision for us there."

C.J. Spillman appears to be first in line for the third safety spot. He practiced with the first-team unit when Goldson was unsigned this spring, and he is perhaps the 49ers' top coverage player on special teams. "He's definitely improved from where he was a safety," Fangio said. "He still has to get better, but he is definitely improved."

The 49ers defense seems to be getting healthy just in time for Sunday's showdown in Denver with Peyton Manning.

Starters Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith, who did not play Saturday in Houston, were in uniform for the start of today's practice. Smith, who suffered a hip pointer Aug. 10, appeared to be moving a bit more slowly than his teammates and he may not go through a full practice.

Also in uniform were cornerback Perrish Cox (hamstring) and tight end Delanie Walker, who suffered a knee injury on Aug. 12. Running back LaMichael James (ankle), outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown (hamstring) and outside linebacker Cam Johnson (knee) were not practicing today.

Cornerback Chris Culliver was not on the field for the portion of practice that is open to reporters.

-- Matt Barrows

The 49ers' two injured running backs were in high spirits today but are getting around in different ways.

LaMichael James, who injured his ankle late in Saturday's loss to the Texans, walked off the field following a morning walk-through without a limp. James insisted after the game that he'd be ready to take part in today's afternoon practice. Jim Harbaugh, however, said, "we'll see" when asked about James' availability. The bottom line is that it doesn't seem like James will miss any significant time.

Brandon Jacobs, meanwhile, was getting around with the help of a pair of crutches. As he passed through the locker room, Jacobs said, "I'm doing good. I can't complain." Teammate Frank Gore said that Jacobs would probably miss "a week or two" after taking a hit to his left knee in the first quarter Saturday. Harbaugh, meanwhile, was asked if Jacobs would be ready for the Sept. 9 season opener.

"Brandon for the opener?" he said. "It's possible. Again, we just have to see how the treatment goes, how the body responds."

Jacobs is unlikely to play in the 49ers' final preseason games - in Denver and at home against the Chargers. Through two weeks, the 49ers lead the league in rushing in the preseason, averaging 189 yards per game on the ground.

The team's depth at running back also is evident. The 49ers may lead the league in rushing overall, but their highest individual running back, Kendall Hunter, ranks 18th overall. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had a 78-yard touchdown run against the Vikings, is tied for fifth overall among all rushers.

-- Matt Barrows

An MRI of 49ers running back Brandon Jacobs' left knee showed no serious damage, a league source said on Sunday. The 49ers would not confirm the results.

Two tweets Jacobs wrote just after Sunday's MRI seemed to convey the same thing.
The first came in at 4 p.m.: "Yeeeeaaaa," it read.

The second arrived 41 minutes later: "Good Good Good."

The running back had to be carted off the field Saturday in Houston after a tackler slammed into his left knee following an eight-yard run. X-rays taken at Reliant Stadium showed no damage to his ACL or his patellar tendon, and Jim Harbaugh said it was not going to be a season-ending type of injury.

The MRI was designed to see if there was anything amiss with the MCL, which is in the inside of the knee where trainers appeared to be probing after the hit. Images taken Sunday showed no significant damage there, either. The time table for Jacobs' recovery is not known at this point and his availability for the 49ers' first regular-season game Sept. 9 in Green Bay is up in the air.

One Twitter addendum: Jacobs revealed that the Texans defender who tackled him, Kareem Jackson, was concerned that he had injured the big 49ers running back. Wrote Jacobs last night: "Big ups to Kareem Jackson from the Texans he is a classy guy, he came to the X-ray room to wish me a speedy recovery."

-- Matt Barrows

NFL coaches like to say that, after examining the film, games are never as good or as bad as they suspected they were leaving the field. The feeling following Saturday's game in Houston was pretty bleak, especially with injuries to Brandon Jacobs and LaMichael James adding ominous notes to the tone of the game.

But the 49ers didn't play as terribly as you might suspect. For the second straight game, the starting defense - it was playing without OLBs Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith - gave up yards but not touchdowns.

When Matt Schaub and the Texans drove for a touchdown midway through the second quarter, it was against the 49ers second-team defense. Houston's first-team offense also got a field goal against the second-team defense. The defense would have gotten off the field early on the drive that ended in a touchdown. But Larry Grant overran a short pass to the tight end on the opening sequence, which allowed the tight end to get up off the grass and run for a first down that kept the drive alive.

On the offensive side, there were some issues with pass protection, which were documented in a previous post. But the run blocking again was excellent. The first-team offensive line played well into the second quarter, and the 49ers had 94 rushing yards at the half. Kendall Hunter, Frank Gore, Colin Kaepernick, Brandon Jacobs and LaMichael James had runs of 17, 14, 12, 8 and 8 yards respectively. There was a bogus holding call on Anthony Davis in the second quarter, which negated another nice run by Hunter near a first down. Instead it was just dominant blocking.

It's a good thing Alex Smith wore his mouthpiece Saturday. It wasn't as bad as his mouthpiece-less outing in New Orleans last year, but Smith took several big shots against the Texans, all of them in the opening quarter. Last year, all-out blitzes by the Saints flummoxed a still-jelling offensive line. Today, the line mostly, but not always, was sound. Smith, and the play calls, accounted for most of the hits.

Hit 1: 1st & 10 at SF 24. Smith rolls to his right before hitting Michael Crabtree on a short pass. Right tackle Anthony Davis blocks Connor Barwin, who had 11 1/2 sacks last year, but Barwin runs through it and crashes into Smith as the quarterback released the pass. Barwin pancakes Smith and drives his own weight on top of the quarterback..

Hit 2: 1st & 10 at SF 42. Smith drops back against a four-man rush by the Texans. He finds no one open to his left, then starts to take off to his right where he runs into Barwin. Davis seemed to be doing ok against Barwin, and Smith's mental clock may have ticked down to zero before he actually had to take off.

Hit 3: 3rd & 5 at SF 47. The Texans rush five and Smith starts to roll out to his left. The offensive line initially does a nice job picking up the rush but as Smith begins to throw, right guard Alex Boone's man, Antonio Smith, shoves Smith while Smith was off balance, causing him to fall to the grass. He completed the pass for 24 yards to Ted Ginn

Hit 4: 3rd & 7 at HOU 26. The Texans rush five. Kendall Hunter initially picks up blitzer Brian Cushing but Cushing shakes him off and Smith again tries to run forward through the pressure. Instead he runs into No. 96, Tim Jamison, and Antonio Smith joins the pile and gives the quarterback an additional twist of the helmet as he's going down. Boone sees this and gives Antonio Smith a hard shove.

Hit 5: 3rd & 10 at SF 45. This was the least harsh of all the hits Smith absorbed, but it drew a penalty. The Texans only rush four but Antonio Smith easily sidesteps Mike Iupati's block -- Iupati is leaning too far forward as he sometimes does -- and Smith has a free shot at the quarterback. Alex Smith ducks as Antonio Smith came up the gut and Smith hits him in the helmet.

-- Matt Barrows

The two running backs the 49ers brought in this offseason to bulk up their running game were carted off the field into the Reliant Park X-ray room. But the early indication is that neither Brandon Jacobs' nor LaMichael James' injuries will end their seasons.

Jacobs suffered what appeared to be the more serious injury of the two. He left the game in the first quarter after absorbing a hit to his left knee on an eight-yard run. Jim Harbaugh said afterward that there was no damage to Jacobs' ACL or his patella tendon and that it was not a season-ending injury. He said he would miss some time, however, and a league source said Jacobs would have an MRI on Sunday to see whether Jacobs' MCL was intact.

LaMichael James, meanwhile, went down in great pain in the fourth quarter after guard Derek Hall appeared to roll up on his left ankle. James had hurt the ankle earlier in the week, a league source said. There has been no update as of yet on James' diagnosis but James was able to put some weight on his left foot as he was being taken in for X-rays.

An hour after the game, James tweeted: "I will be 100% at practice Monday In full force believe that go 9ers thanks for all the support I love you guys!"

Before the game, the 49ers' biggest problem at the position was what to do with all of the talented players at their disposal. The 49ers have six tailbacks on the roster right now, including special teams ace Rock Cartwright.

Starter Frank Gore had two carries for 12 yards against the Texans and made a quick exit. Top backup Kendall Hunter, meanwhile, had a strong night, carrying the ball six times for 46 yards. After Jacobs left the game, Anthony Dixon was given a chance to carry the ball in short-yardage situations. He converted one first down but not the other and finished the game with 12 yards on five carries.

-- Matt Barrows

The 53-man roster is starting to come into focus. But there still are a handful of fights for the last few spots on the roster. One of the interesting aspects of today's game in Houston is that several of the players contending for those precious few spots promise to see a lot of action, often against the Texans' starters.

OLB Eric Baktiari. - Injuries to Aldon Smith (hip) and Ahmad Brooks (knee?) mean that Baktiari (No. 44) will start the game, probably at left outside linebacker where he will face Derek Newton and Rashad Butler, both of whom likely will be worked in with the Texans starting line. Bakhtiari's story is one of perseverance as he's been cut eight times over his career. He had an excellent game against the Vikings last week and another solid outing would put him a step closer to wrapping up the No. 4 outside linebacker spot. That he also plays special teams is a help. So does the fact that rookies Darius Fleming and Cam Johnson aren't healthy. Fleming is likely headed for injured reserve; Johnson could land on the practice squad or PUP.

TE Konrad Reuland - An injury to Delanie Walker (knee) and Nate Byhams's release mean that the Garbage Man likely will play from the first to the fourth quarter today. Nobody has been more sure-handed in practice than Reuland (No. 88) over the last two years, yet his spot on the 53-man roster is still very shaky. That's because of the difficult numbers game the 49ers face this year. They promise to keep six receivers and six running backs, which means other positions will drop from last year. (see below) With Demarcus Dobbs playing defensive end and tight end this year, that hints that the 49ers only will keep two true tight ends on the 53-man roster. Reuland could be relegated to the practice squad and would be battling newcomers Garrett Celek No. 48), Kyle Nelson (No. 47) and Joe Sawyer (No. 83) for that spot. Nelson is a backup longsnapper whom the 49ers may want to develop.

S Michael Thomas - Perrish Cox will be held out of today's game with a hamstring injury. That means that Thomas (No. 36) will be the No. 2 nickel back as well as the third-string safety. The 49ers love players that can perform multiple functions, and Thomas certainly seems like someone they might want to keep on the practice squad this season.

Who's starting Saturday's game against the Texans? Who cares?

"I'll go as far to say as whoever's name is on the list as having started the game accounts for nothing," 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said this week. "It means nothing. ... The No. 1, No. 2 starter, non-starter -- if a guy is playing, that's all that matters to me."

Indeed, San Francisco's starting offensive lineup last week against Minnesota had little correlation to playing time. Kendall Hunter started at tailback, but on second down Rock Cartwright was in. Two plays after that, it was Brandon Jacobs.

The question is whether those ever-shuffling personnel packages will continue into the regular season. Coach Jim Harbaugh has been vague (imagine that!) on the subject, saying that it's possible the rotations will continue and that the 49ers are still trying to pinpoint their most effective combinations.

Alex Smith might be throwing a pass to any of six wideouts in Saturday's game. The 49ers list Michael Crabtree a starter at one spot. At the other, the team lists either "Ted Ginn Jr. -- or -- Randy Moss -- or -- Mario Manningham." Crabtree and Ginn started the game against Minnesota. But by the end of the opening drive, Kyle Williams and Brett Swain were in.

Cornerback Perrish Cox, who is on track to make San Francisco's 53-man roster, can go into the season confident he won't face any suspensions from the NFL. A league source said today that Cox won't be disciplined in relation to a sexual assault case from 2010 and that the 49ers and Cox have been notified of the decision.

The 49ers signed Cox in March shortly after he was found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at his Denver apartment in 2010. The woman has since filed a civil suit against Cox and former Broncos teammate Demaryius Thomas, who was at the apartment the night of the alleged incident.

Under the league's personal conduct policy, players can be disciplined even if they are found non-guilty in court. The NFL was reviewing Cox's case until recently.

Cox has been the most impressive newcomer to a defensive unit that returns all 11 starters from the 2011 season. He's been playing with the second-string defense -- he had an interception in Friday's preseason opener -- and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has liked what he's seen from Cox as a nickel cornerback as well. The 49ers this season will face several teams that like to use four-receiver sets, and an extra nickel back will be needed in those cases.

Last year Alex Smith was elite. This year he's an expert.

This, according to Jim Harbaugh, who today noted Smith's excellent week of practices and said that the quarterback has mastered the 49ers' playbook.

"He already has great ideas, he's already creative, already very knowledgeable on how to use everything in the system," Harbaugh said of Smith. "I think after a year, you really know (an offense). But it takes about two years to become a real expert at it in the quarterback position. But he's cut that in half."

The comment is significant because it touches on the point Smith's former coach, Urban Meyer, made after Smith was drafted No. 1 overall in 2005. Everyone, of course, remembers Meyer saying that Smith would be "non functional" until he completely learned the system. After that, he would flourish, Meyer said.

"He is so careful with the ball," Meyer said at the time. "His touchdown to interception ratio the last two years has been phenomenal. That is because, unless he knows exactly what's going on, he won't throw it. He won't just try to guess and take a shot. He has to know. That is why, early in his career, and early in our career with him, that first spring; he was not a very effective passer, because he really didn't understand. Once he understood it, there was no one better."

Smith, meanwhile, sloughed off Harbaugh's praise, saying only that his expertise "is better than it was a year. I feel like I've progressed. When you play quarterback, I feel like you're always working to get better and working to learn. It's never-ending."

Asked, however, if he knows this offense better than any previous NFL offense, he was more absolute. "Yeah, for sure. No question," he said. Until this season, Smith has had a different offensive coordinator every year he was in the league.

****************************
Perhaps the biggest 49ers news of the day: Aldon Smith walked out to observe practice Thursday and he didn't have a cane or a crutch. In fact, Smith didn't have a limp, a sign that his hip pointer was healing nicely. Smith could hardly walk hours after the injury occurred last week.

The 49ers today waived injured tight end Nate Byham, a former sixth-round pick who tore his ACL last August and has been slowed in his comeback from the injury. Byham missed Friday's preseason opener and all of this week's practices.

At the close of the 2011 season, which he missed, Byham said that he was ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and was eager to return to the practice field. A league source, however, said that Byham's injured knee has not responded well in recent weeks and that he was hoping that time away from practice could help it regain its strength. Byham had an MRI earlier this week.

If Byham clears waivers, the 49ers can place him on injured reserve for the second straight season. The two sides also could reach an injury settlement, which would allow Byham to become a free agent.

An excellent blocker, Byham was competing to be the team's No. 3 tight end. Now it appears that Konrad Reuland, a member of the practice squad last year, is in the lead for that spot. Or it's possible that the 49ers go into the season with only two true tight ends: Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker.

Several defensive players, such as Demarcus Dobbs and Will Tukuafu, have been playing offense this offseason, and it's possible that one can be brought into the game when it calls for a third tight end. Dobbs has shown promise at tight end, and he's even changed his jersey to No. 40 to accommodate the move. Tukuafu has lined up as a fullback/H-back. The other tight ends on the team are undrafted rookie Garrett Celek, longsnapper Kyle Nelson and newly signed Joe Sawyer.

Another tight end, Gijon Robinson, was cut yesterday after he didn't show up for practice, according to a team source.

-- Matt Barrows

Day 15 of 49ers training camp saw some hard hitting by the second- and third-team units as well as a couple of nicely thrown passes. The best may have been from Josh Johnson, who saw that Chris Owusu had a step on first-string cornerback Tarell Brown, then feathered the ball in over Owusu's shoulder before safety Dashon Goldson could arrive for help. Owusu made several nice catches during the team portion of practice, including two from Scott Tolzien.

Alex Smith seems to hook up with Vernon Davis on a daily basis, and Wednesday was no exception. Davis beat safeties Trenton Robinson and Darcel McBath on another deep sideline route. Smith had another solid throw to Mario Manningham in seven-on-seven drills in which Manningham made a nice double move near the goal line. Manninghham, who is perhaps fully healthy now after being slowed at the start of camp, has looked very good this week and has been a popular target.

Some other nice plays: Ben Hannula juked cornerback Deante Purvis after catching a pass from Tolzien, then broke several tackles for a big gain during live-tackling drills. Hannula was a jack of all trades for Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego - he was even the backup quarterback - and he has that ability for the 49ers. He's very much a Harbaugh-type guy in that regard, and while dark horse, he is a possibility for a practice-squad spot because of his versatility. ... It was another rough day for Purvis. He crashed into Ginn on a deep pass, drawing a pass-interference penalty.

Tight end Demarcus Dobbs made a nice catch at his hip on a pass from Tolzien. ... Fellow tight end Konrad Reuland caught an ugly pass in traffic while draped by two defenders and while falling onto his back. That's sooo Garbage Man. ... LaMichael James showed his speed and play-making ability on an outside run in which OLB Kourtnei Brown was pinched inside.

Two days after signing Gijon Robinson, the 49ers parted ways with the tight end and signed a linebacker instead. The team today added Ikaika Alama-Francis (6-5, 290), who originally was a second-round pick by the Lions in 2007. He was released by the Dolphins in March, which means that he'll have to have a three-day acclimation process before he joins practice.

Alama-Francis played in 35 games (two starts) and recorded 24 tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery during his five-year career. The 49ers are light at both tight end and outside linebacker with Aldon Smith (hip), Ahmad Brooks (knee?), Cam Johnson (knee) and Darius Johnson (knee) all currently out with injuries.

The 49ers also signed Joe Sawyer to play tight end, and Sawyer will join practice today.

-- Matt Barrows

Michael Crabtree and Carlos Rogers compete against each other every afternoon in training camp. And Crabtree is keeping score.

"I've got a little tablet on my locker, of how many days I won, how many he lost," Crabtree said. "So I'm keeping tabs. I'm winning right now. I'll try to keep it like that."

Rogers alluded to their rivalry earlier in training camp when he was asked which 49ers receiver does the most trash talking. His answer - Crabtree, and he regretted at the time that Crabtree went down with a calf injury just when the competition was heating up. Meanwhile, Crabtree will tell you that the biggest trash talker among the defensive backs is Rogers.

There's mutual admiration behind the zings and one liners.

Rogers today said that Crabtree was faster than he was last season and is more savvy when it comes to reading defenses. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman agreed with that assessment, noting that Crabtree is quicker because he's far more healthy than he was a year ago when he was just recovering from a broken left foot. "I would say so and I would hope so," Roman said. "He was playing last year with a bad wheel."

Rogers also weighed in on Jim Harbaugh's stance from earlier in the offseason that Crabtree had the best hands the coach had ever seen. Rogers agreed, although he said he'd have to put Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald at the top of the list, too.

"It's snagging a ball that comes into their area," Rogers said when asked how he rates an opponent's hands. "And it seems like, when we're talking about hands, that they don't put much effort into it. A lot of guys struggle with certain balls. Crabtree - I've seen sometimes he'll be running across the field and the ball comes. He can catch it, and then he can change direction to make another move. ... he's one guy that has a gift at that."

The Rogers-Crabtree competition continues today with a twilight practice from 5 to 7 p.m. Crabtree says he makes sure to alert Rogers to the score every day before they leave the locker room.

"It's a friendly competition," he said. "Making each other better, making practice more enjoyable."

-- Matt Barrows

Don't go awarding Scott Tolzien a roster spot just yet.

Jim Harbaugh today said that Josh Johnson, not Tolzien, would be the third quarterback to enter Saturday's preseason game against the Texans. Tolzien was the No. 3 quarterback in the preseason opener against Minnesota and played well in completing 10-13 attempts.

Harbaugh has said all along that the situation behind Alex Smith is fluid and that a combination of practices and exhibition games would determine the final order. He did say, however, that Colin Kaepernick has "emerged" recently as the No. 2 quarterback, a role he had against the Vikings and one he'll retain Saturday in Houston.

"It's been very good," Harbaugh said of Kaepernick. "Nothing's set in stone in that regard, but there's been some emergence."

Harbaugh has consistently praised all four quarterbacks and said that practices are crisp because each knows the offense very well. "It's been of great value that we don't take a bad repetition in practice," he said.

Asked if it's possible that the 49ers keep four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster this season, Harbaugh essentially said, we'll see.

"We'll do what's best for our football team, what we feel like helps be a better team and win games," he said. "This is one of those things that was foreseen that we have four very good quarterbacks. These are four quarterbacks who'll play a very long time in this league. We knew it would be very competitive."

Keeping four quarterbacks, however, would be difficult. The 49ers are deeper at running back and receiver than they were a year ago, and they have several young offensive and defensive linemen they want to develop.

-- Matt Barrows

Eric Bakhtiari's self-assessment from Friday night: "I did alright."

Eric, you're being a bit modest. The outside linebacker led the 49ers in tackles against the Vikings, had two sacks and otherwise was around the football all night. When a Vikings pass catcher thought he hadn't been touched down after a modest reception, got up and started running down field, it was Bakhtiari who tackled him 20 yards down field. (He actually was down, but Bakhtiari was Johnny on the Spot all evening).

"For a guy that's only got one year in the league or whatever, he's got a lot of experience because he's been in a bunch of camps," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio noted. "He's a smart player. He's experienced and it showed in that game there. He took advantage of his opportunities."

When I spoke with Bakhtiari in June, he said he needed to earn his way onto the 53-man squad by excelling at special teams and showing the 49ers he could rush off the edge if they called on him. Bakhtiari certainly demonstrated the latter in getting past a tight end on one play and a right tackle on the other.

"The calls were amazing, my teammates did their part ... I was just fortunate enough to make a play," Bakhtiari said.

Aw shucks.

Bakhtiari promises to see plenty of time Saturday in Houston, too. With Ahmad Brooks (knee), Cam Johnson (knee) and Darius Fleming (knee) all out of action Monday, he was the starter at outside linebacker opposite Parys Haralson.

There were more absentees today than in any other day of 49ers training camp. Defensive starters Ahmad Brooks, Aldon Smith and Isaac Sopoaga sat out the session. Books and Sopoaga walked onto the field midway through the session, and neither injury appears serious.

Parys Haralson lined up in Brooks' spot at left outside linebacker while Eric Bakhtiari stepped in at right outside linebacker; Ricky Jean Francois took over at nose tackle. The others who were missing were tight ends Nate Byham and Delanie Walker, inside linebacker Tavares Gooden and outside linebackers Darius Fleming and Cam Johnson.

The 49ers signed Kenny Rowe to add some numbers at outside linebacker. However, the new collective bargaining agreement says players signed off the street must wait three days before donning pads and practicing with their new team. That also was the case for tight end Joe Sawyer, who was signed today. Another new tight end, Gijon Robinson, had already taken park in Jacksonville's training camp and was able to participate.

In addition, nose tackle Ian Williams went down early in practice after what appeared to be a blow to the head. Williams did not return.

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A day after he was dubbed "Baby Drew Brees" by safety Donte Whitner, Scott Tolzien had an up-and-down afternoon. His main scourge was cornerback Chris Culliver, who knocked away three passes, including one in the end zone. Perrish Cox, meanwhile, intercepted an over-the-middle attempt by Tolzien to A.J. Jenkins. Tolzien also had a few nice throws as well, including one deep down the sideline to Jenkins and another to rookie Brian Tyms.

The 49ers have signed not one, but two, tight ends to address their recent shortage at the position. The team today inked both Gijon Robinson, who played at Missouri Western, and Joe Sawyer, who played at Southwest Missouri State, to deals. To make room on the roster, they cut guard Garrett Chisolm.

Nate Byham, who is coming back from an ACL injury, and Delanie Walker, who suffered a knee injury Sunday, are not practicing today. Because they are recent signees, neither Robinson nor Sawyer can practice in pads initially. Robinson is wearing No. 43; Sawyer has No. 83. Another newcomer, outside linebacker Kenny Rowe, is wearing No. 41.

Robinson played three years in Indianapolis (2008-10) and caught 31 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown in that span. He was most recently part of the Jaguars' training camp. To learn more about Sawyer, a big-bodied tight end with intriguing skills, click here.

The 49ers are now at the 90-man roster limit.

-- Matt Barrows

Vic Fangio had a sense that it was coming.

For weeks and months - all the way back to last season - writers, observers, pundits have been lobbing sweet words of praise atop his defensive unit. The saccharine mountain only grew in recent weeks as the 49ers defense thoroughly outplayed its offensive mates in practice.

So Fangio knew a letdown was possible. And he got just that Friday night as Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder and backup runner Toby Gerhart engineered two long drives against the 49ers' mostly first-team defense.

Ponder completed a long pass on the second play of the game against a busted coverage. Gerhart broke tackles and dragged defenders in the first quarter. Both Minnesota drives ended in field goals, but Fangio knows his unit can play better.

"I just think we got a little full of ourselves," Fangio said.

Is he glad in any way that the letdown occurred in the preseason opener and can serve to refocus his defense?

"Sometimes as coaches - we even said it before the game that it might happen - and then you kind of think 'That's be good for us,'" Fangio said. "But while it's happening and even afterward, I don't agree with that, no. I didn't like looking at it."

***********************
With Nate Byham and now Delanie Walker out with injuries, the 49ers today signed tight end Joe Sawyer, a 6-3, 260 pounder from Southwestern Oklahoma State. Sawyer broke his foot before the draft in 2010 and had difficulty recovering from the injury, but he passed a physical this morning. He was observed catching passes from Colin Kaepernick after the morning walk through. Walker's injury is not believed to be serious, but it's unknown how long he'll be out.

The highlight of Sunday's 49ers practice at Candlestick Park may have been the 12th man on the field.

Toward the end of the session, a shirtless, shaggy-haired fan ran from the north end of the field and made his way, amid a roar from the crowd, to where the 49ers were stationed on the south end. His journey ended two feet from none other than Jim Harbaugh, who seemed like he wanted to clock the intruder but ended up allowing security to take him away.

"He called me coach or something, but I didn't say anything," Harbaugh said afterward. "Glad he was clothed. Glad he wasn't naked." Other than that, the 49ers' annual Fan Fest went smoothly. The team reported it had sold approximately 32,000 tickets to the event, four times the number that showed up last year.

That uptick in attendance likely is due to two things: 1.) The high interest and expectations in the 49ers after their 13-3 season last year and 2.) The fact that Sunday's session was the only training-camp practice open to the public.

In a normal summer, fans have the opportunity to attend one of dozens of open practices at the team's headquarters in Santa Clara. This year, however, 1 ½ acres of practice fields there were lost to stadium-related construction, which meant there was no room for bleachers or for public practices.

The 49ers lost 1 ½ acres of practice-field space this year due to stadium-related construction, which means there's no room for the bleachers that have lined the field in recent years or for the parking spaces that used to surround the facility. That means none of the team's training-camp practices are open to the public ....

... except today's. The 49ers will hold their annual fan fest at Candlestick Park from 11:30 a.m. to about 4:45 p.m. Tickets cost $5 - they are still available on the team's website, 49ers.com -- although kids 12 and under get in free. Parking also is free and tailgating is permitted.

The main attraction, of course, is a 49ers practice that begins at 2 p.m. Afterward, attendees will be able to get autographs from coaches and players. I'm being told that Matt Maiocco also will make a brief appearance. So bring a pen.

Because of the new space restraints in Santa Clara, it's hard to see any training-camp practices being open next year, either. The year after that, however, the new stadium is expected to open, which would allow the 49ers to have a few fan-friendly practices there.

-- Matt Barrows

Amid dwindling numbers at outside linebacker, the 49ers have signed Kenny Rowe (6-3, 235), who spent training camp with them last year. Rowe, a defensive end at Oregon, joined the 49ers as an undrafted free agent following the end of the lockout.

The team entered Friday's game with two outside linebackers in street clothes - fifth-round pick Darius Fleming and seventh-rounder Cam Johnson. They also lost starter Aldon Smith to a badly bruised hip during the Vikings second offensive series. It's not know when Smith will return, but the injury is not believed to be serious.

Jim Harbagh said the 49ers "dodged a bullet" with the injury. Smith also indicated in a tweet last night that the injury was not severe. "Just a heads up I'm doing ok," he wrote. "Thanks."

The 49ers ended the game with four healthy outside linebackers: starter Ahmad Brooks, Parys Haralson, Eric Bakhtiari and undrafted rookie Kourtnei Brown. Haralson and Bakhtiari, who had two sacks, stood out on Friday.

The 49ers also cut safety Mark LeGree, who spent some time on the practice squad last year. Rookies Trenton Robinson and Michael Thomas have played well at safety, as has recent acquisition Darcel McBath. The 49ers are still at 89 players, one below the maxiumum.

-- Matt Barrows

A couple of big-picture items before getting into the nitty gritty from Friday's 17-6 win over the Vikings.

Jim Harbaugh said he was pleased with a lot of facets of the game, one of which was that the 49ers were very efficient on bringing players in and out of the game. The team used A LOT of different personnel groups, especially in the first half, and there were no snags or timeouts needed because of substitution snafus. That's important for a team that promises to give opponents an avalanche of different looks in the regular season.

Here's the breakdown as far as how many snaps the skill position players played in the first half:

WR A.J. Jenkins: 17
WR Kyle Williams: 13
WR Brett Swain: 13
WR Brian Tyms: 13
TE Konrad Ruland: 19
TE Vernon Davis: 11
TE Delanie Walker: 7
TE Garrett Celek: 6
RB: LaMichael James: 11
RB Rock Cartwright: 7
RB Brandon Jacobs: 7
RB Kendall Hunter: 6
RB Anthony Dixon: 1

It also should be mentioned that the replacement officials did a fine job. As a reporter working on a tight deadline in the preseason, I'm very conscious of the flow of the game. The officials weren't perfect - there was a reversed call in the fourth quarter - but it was a quick game that didn't feel disjointed.

************************
On offense, I thought Brandon Jacobs and Rock Cartwright jumped out, as did the entire starting offensive line. Vikings starters Jared Allen, Kevin Williams and Antoine Winfield did not play. Still, the 49ers offensive line was aggressive and precise. Anthony Davis had a false start, but I thought he otherwise looked very good. He had a great block on his defender on Colin Kaepernick's long touchdown run. Cartwright may have been the busiest man of the night. He ran the ball eight times, had two catches and also played on special teams.

Kyle Williams returned his first punt at Candlestick Park since his infamous outing in the NFC Championship game Jan. 22. Williams not only fielded it cleanly, he returned it 22 yards, hurdling Vikings safety Andrew Sandejo along the way.

"I was calm," Williams said of the first punt return, which was made in a swirling wind. "I've been waiting for this for a long time and I couldn't wait to do it, but I wasn't jumpy. I wasn't nervous, anxious. I just couldn't wait to get it going. Couldn't wait to get the ball and try to score. I was trying to take it to the house."

Did he think he could reach the end zone? "Well, yeah," Williams said. "Every punt returner, every kick returner will tell you if there's a little crevice, if there's a little lane, you want to make the most of it. ... I think I could have capitalized on it more because those guys blocked their tails off up front."

Williams received two other punts, returning one six yards and fair-catching the other.

************************
The 49ers gave veteran defensive end Justin Smith the day off. Smith, an 11-year veteran, was one of six 49ers not in uniform for the game. The others were recovering from recent injuries. They included rookies Cam Johnson and Darius Fleming, defensive lineman Will Tukuafu, tight end Nate Byham and wide receiver Joe Hastings.

Aldon Smith, who flirted with an NFL rookie record for sacks last season, left Friday's game in the first quarter with a hip injury and did not return. Smith left the stadium with the assistance of two canes, but coach Jim Harbaugh said it could have been worse.

"Still waiting," he said when asked about Smith. "Preliminary -- looks like we'll be alright. Looks like we dodged a bullet there."

Smith appeared to suffer the injury on the first play of the Vikings' second drive, a three-yard run by Toby Gerhart to Smith's side of the field. Smith was cut down by a blocker and got to his feet slowly.

He remained in the game for another play, but then jogged gingerly to the sideline. He had a pronounced limp while walking into the training room. The 49ers characterized the injury as a hip bruise.

Undrafted rookie Kourtnei Brown filled in at right outside linebacker on the first play that Smith missed. Veteran Parys Haralson, however, soon replaced him with the first-team defense.

Finding depth at outside linebacker was a goal for the 49ers in the offseason. They made it through the 2011 season with only three players at the position but admitted it was a gamble. They drafted two outside linebackers in April, but both players, fifth rounder Darius Fleming and seventh rounder Cam Johnson, did not dress for the game.

Smith finished with 14 sacks last year, coming within a half sack of Jevon Kearse's rookie record set in 1999. Smith had a quarterback hurry on the drive before he was injured.

-- Matt Barrows

Aldon Smith injured his hip late in the first quarter on a run by Vikings quarterback Toby Gerhart. Smith, who is starting at outside linebacker this year, was cut down by a Vikings offensive player on the play and got up slowly. After the next play, he gingerly ran to the sideline and did not return.

On the first play that Smith missed, rookie Kourtnei Brown filled in at right outside linebacker. Veteran Parys Haralson, however, soon replaced him with the first-team defense.

Smith was diagnosed with a hip bruise and is questionable to return. He had a pronounced limp while on the 49ers sideline. Considering that the rest of the starters are not in the game, Smith's return is very unlikely.

-- Matt Barrows

It looks as if Justin Smith is getting the Han Solo treatment* after all.

The defensive lineman is one of several 49ers not suited up for today's game. The others, however, either are coming back from injuries or suffered minor ones in recent practices.

They are outside linebackers Cam Johnson and Darius Fleming, defensive lineman Will Tukuafu, tight end Nate Byham and wide receiver Joe Hastings.

Smith is the only starter in that group, and it appears as if Ricky Jean Francois will line up in his spot.

... In other news, Demarcus Dobbs officially has changed his number to 40 (from 96) and is listed as a tight end. He is likely to play both tight end and defensive end today.

* The Han Solo treatment involves freezing a man in carbonite to preserve him. See: Strikes Back, The Empire.

-- Matt Barrows

Gregg Williams taught Alex Smith a valuable lesson last year: Always wear your mouthpiece.

Smith said he entered the 2011 preseason opener in New Orleans without one. It was hardly two weeks after the lockout ended, after all. It wasn't as if Williams, the Saints defensive coordinator at the time, was going to call a series of jail-break blitzes against the 49ers' still-forming offense, right? ... Right? ... Right?

"That was a bad decision last year," Smith said Thursday. "Be ready for anything -- it's football." He said he wasn't wearing one because he didn't expect a lot of hitting and because he had gotten used to playing without one in practice.

"The whistle blows out here at practice and as a quarterback you don't get touched," he said. "This (the preseason) is real ball and it's been, for all of us, a while since we've had that, and it'll be fun."

Quarterbacks are notorious for not wearing their mouthpieces, which help prevent concussions and keep dental work intact. Some stash them in their socks; others attach them to the side of their helmets.

Not only will Michael Crabtree play in his first-ever NFL preseason game, Jim Harbaugh on Thursday said that Crabtree will be one of the starters Friday against the Vikings. The receiver's participation was in doubt after he injured his calf on the first day of training camp. But he returned to practice earlier this week and has been ramping up his participation over the last three days.

Another mild surprise is who the other starting wideout will be Friday night. Ted Ginn edged out newcomers Randy Moss and Mario Manningham for the start, although Harbaugh said that Moss and the others would see action. Ginn, Moss and Manningam are listed at the same receiver position on the 49ers' depth chart; Crabtree and Kyle Williams are the most prominent players listed at the other spot.

Ginn's start did not surprise quarterback Alex Smith, who said the receiver has had an excellent raining camp since coming back from a leg injury last month. "He's made a lot of plays with the ball in the air," Smith said. "He's made a lot of tough catches."

Crabtree missed the preseason his rookie year because of a dispute over his contract that lasted well into the regular season. He missed 2010 after suffering a neck injury early in training camp. He was returning from a broken foot last year. He said Tuesday that he thought he'd play, but noted that the starters probably wouldn't be in the game for long.

Harbaugh said that Williams also will see action. Asked if Williams also would return punts against Minnesota, Harbaugh said, "Most definitely."

Asked how long the starters would play, Harbaugh was characteristically vague. "We've got a number in mind," he said. "I'd rather not (pin) myself down to a number right now."

-- Matt Barrows

The 49ers today announced they had released cornerback Curtis Holcomb, 23, a seventh-round draft pick in 2011 who only Wednesday returned to practice after missing the previous seven sessions with a hamstring injury.

Holcomb, from Florida A&M, was the team's final pick in the 2011 draft. After arriving in Santa Clara following the lockout, he ruptured his Achilles tendon during a pre-training camp conditioning drill and spent the season on injured reserve.

Holcomb, fellow seventh-round pick Mike Person and sixth-round pick Ronald Johnson were the only members of the 2011 draft class not to play a snap last season. That class is one of the 49ers' best in recent memory. Two players, Aldon Smith (1st round) and Bruce Miller (7th round) will start this season while running back Kendall Hunter (4th round) and cornerback Chris Culliver (3rd round) will have large roles.

Johnson, a receiver, was cut last year; Person, an offensive lineman, was on the 53-man roster but was never active for a game.

The 49ers now have an extra roster spot. After 11 training-camp practices, they are remarkably healthy and don't have any glaring needs.

-- Matt Barrows

Demarcus Dobbs says he's fine with wearing No. 40. But what's he supposed to do with all that No. 96 gear?

"My family was a little upset because they just went out and got some 96 stuff," the defensive end/tight end said as he walked off the practice field Wednesday.

Like the rest of the 49ers' defensive players, Dobbs was wearing a white jersey. (The offensive players wear red). But his new number, 40, is in the tight-end range. That will allow Dobbs to enter games as a pass catcher without having to check in with the officials first.

Jim Harbaugh likes players who can fill multiple roles. If fact, if you're trying to figure out who will earn the last few spots on the 53-man roster - as well as spots on the practice squad - take a good look at the players pulling double duty.

Cory Nelms, for instance, last year won the team's Thomas Herrion Award because, as a member of the practice squad, he was willing and able to fill a number of roles - from cornerback to safety to wide receiver.

For the second time in training camp, Jim Harbaugh had to send an overly feisty wide receiver off the practice field. This time it was Kyle Williams, who got into a scuffle with rookie cornerback Deante Purvis late in the session and then spent the last 15 minutes of practice on his knee away from the action. A furious Harbaugh sent Williams off the field; Purvis stayed in practice.

On the third day of training camp, Harbaugh sent rookie Brian Tyms into the locker room after he threw down an opponent on punt coverage during a non-contact drill. Today Harbaugh and Williams huddled for a minute after practice before shaking hands. Neither spoke to the media.

Williams, of course, became a household name on Jan. 22 when he muffed two punts in the NFC Championship game against the Giants. Both miscues led to New York scores, including the game-winning field goal in overtime. Message boards filled with hateful comments about Williams, including death threats.

But he also received an outpouring of support from public figures like Deion Sanders, Kurt Warner and Earnest Byner, who had his own famous fumble in a championship game. Harbaugh also has been an ardent supporter.

Ian Williams admits it wasn't pretty last year in training camp when 331-pound left guard Mike Iupati came his way on a down block. This year, he's better prepared for the avalanche.

Williams, a nose tackle, said Wednesday that he's up to 320 pounds, 10 pounds heavier than he was at this point a year ago. "I just feel better," he said. "I'm actually heavier, but I feel lighter on my feet. My technique feels better, and that's from all the sessions with the strength staff and coach T."

Coach T is assistant coach Jim Tomsula, who once again has a full stable of talented youngsters along the defensive line. Last season the 49ers kept seven linemen on the 53-man roster. That's a lot for a 3-4 defensive team, and the 49ers have been looking for creative ways to keep them all this year.

Demarcus Dobbs and Will Tukuafu, for example, have spent big chunks of the spring and summer practice sessions on offense. Dobbs has even gone so far to change his practice jersey from No. 92, a defensive lineman's number, to no. 40, which tight ends can wear. He's looked comfortable at his offensive position, so comfortable, in fact, that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked if he was worried about losing the second-year player to the offense.

What I consider the scariest sentence in the English language was uttered to me on Tuesday: There's a stomach bug going around 49ers training camp. One of the victims of said bug apparently was running back LaMichael James, who took part in the morning walk through but who was not on the field for the afternoon practice.

James is one of the more intriguing players to watch in Friday's preseason opener. If healthy, he promises to see a lot of action at running back in the second half. He's also listed as the No. 3 punt- and kick-returner behind Ted Ginn and Kyle Williams. Hopefully, it's the 24-hour kind of bug.

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On the practice field, it wasn't as if the offense has flipped the script against the dominant defense. But the last couple of practices haven't looked as one-sided as they had a few days ago. At the end of a two-minute drill, Alex Smith plunged into the end zone against the first-team defense with four seconds remaining.

Smith hit Vernon Davis for eight yards early in the drive, then had a nice improvisational shovel pass to Frank Gore for a big gain. As you would expect, yards were harder to come by close to the goal line. A pass was nearly picked off by Larry Grant (he was in for Patrick Willis, who was getting a rest). Another pass went off Delanie Walker's helmet. The 49ers also were flagged for delay of game.

But Smith also scrambled for some needed yardage and ran in the touchdown. This has been a recent theme in practice - a lot of running by the quarterbacks, especially Colin Kaepernick, Josh Johnson and Smith. It will be interesting to see if it continues in Friday's game.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the end of the 2011 playoffs, Michael Crabtree today said he was running well and without pain. But he didn't seem to understand all the questions about his calf and the time he's missed recently.

Asked if he was frustrated by yet another training camp "cut short," Crabtree turned into the questioner. "How short was it cut this year?" he said. "A week? I'm sure a lot of guys go through that, right? Does everybody go every day of camp? I'm here, man. I ain't missing a beat. I'm here. I don't really think about it as (frustrating). I think about it as football. And whenever I can go, I'm going."

Crabtree had his most extensive practice since injuring his right calf at the end of the first practice of training camp July 27. He was worked in during one-on-one drills, seven on seven and 11-on-11 sessions, and he caught three passes during the latter half. The only part of the practice he didn't take part in was the two-minute drill at the end of the afternoon.

He said he thought he'd be able to play Friday in what would be his first-ever NFL preseason game. "Yeah, I should," he said. "I don't think the (starters) are going (to play) that much Friday. Whatever time they give me, I'll just go out there."

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman was less revealing when asked about Crabtree's availability. "Not going to comment on that," he said. "Talk to coach (Jim Harbaugh). He'll probably say the same thing. (Crabtree's) working through something and we'll have to wait and see and evaluate it. It'll probably be a last minute decision."

Crabtree wasn't combative. But he clearly didn't agree with the line of questioning that suggested that this was the latest in a string of offseasons in which he's been sidetracked. The 10th overall draft pick in 2009 has yet to play in a preseason game. He missed his rookie season with a contract dispute, suffered a neck injury in 2010 and last year was rehabilitating from a broken foot.

Jim Harbaugh began his post-practice press conference today by offering condolences to the family of Eagles coach Andy Reid, who lost his oldest son, Garrett, on Sunday. He said the two families have been close since his brother John started working as an assistant under Reid with the Eagles. John Harbaugh spent nine seasons under Reid. "They have done nothing but good things for our family, and we're very saddened at this time," Harbaugh said.

On Sunday 49ers kicker David Akers, who spent 12 seasons with Reid in Philadelphia, Tweeted: "My deepest prayers and thoughts go out to the whole Reid family. Have no words just the deepest sympathy."

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Yes, Michael Crabtree is back. But he's not all the way back. Crabtree took part in individual drills Monday but did not do any seven-on-seven, 11-on-11 or team work. He spent some of that time running routes against strength coach Mark Uyeyama as head trainer Jeff Ferguson looked on.

Harbaugh said Crabtree - who presumably has a calf strain - would be evaluated today to determine whether to ramp up his practice routine. "We'll see how he responds, how he feels tomorrow, see what the soreness is like. We'll make a decision tomorrow where we're at." That is, Crabtree will be worked back in slowly and his availability for Friday's preseason opener is still iffy.

The 49ers released their first depth chart today in advance of Friday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. As a testament to their depth and experience this year, no rookies are listed in the starting lineups. What's more, only two - strong safety Trenton Robinson and kicker Giorgio Tavecchio - are listed as second stringers. The rest are third stringers, including first-round pick A.J. Jenkins, who is listed behind Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams at one of the wide receiver spots.

There are no surprises on the depth chart. As was the case last year, Jim Harbaugh is keeping his options open as far as the starting wide receiver spots. While Crabtree - who has not had a full practice yet and who may not play Friday - is listed as one starter, the other starter is listed as Randy Moss or Mario Manningham or Ted Ginn, Jr. Crabtree was an entrenched starter last year, which is likely why he is not in an "or" situation like the others.

At quarterback, the depth chart goes: Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Josh Johnson, Scott Tolzien. At running back, it's Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, Brandon Jacobs, LaMichael James and Rock Cartwright.

James is listed as both the No. 3 punt returner (behind Ginn and Williams) and the No. 3 kick returner (behind Ginn and Hunter). It's important to note that this is the first depth chart of the preseason and that the hierarchy is fluid.

OFFENSE

WR: 15 Michael Crabtree 10 Kyle Williams 17 A.J. Jenkins 13 Joe Hastings
89 Nathan Palmer 9 Brian Tyms
LT: 74 Joe Staley 75 Alex Boone 71 Derek Hall 69 Kenny Wiggins
LG: 77 Mike Iupati 67 Daniel Kilgore 66 Joe Looney 60 Garrett Chisholm
C: 59 Jonathan Goodwin 67 Daniel Kilgore 61 Chase Beeler 62 Jason Slowey
RG: 75 Alex Boone 68 Leonard Davis 78 Mike Person 65 Al Netter
RT: 76 Anthony Davis 78 Mike Person 71 Derek Hall 69 Kenny Wiggins
TE: 85 Vernon Davis 46 Delanie Walker 82 Nate Byham 88 Konrad Reuland
48 Garrett Celek 47 Kyle Nelson
WR: 84 Randy Moss -or- 14 Mario Manningham -or- 19 Ted Ginn Jr. 18 Brett Swain
81 Chris Owusu 35 Ben Hannula
FB: 49 Bruce Miller 24 Anthony Dixon 44 Cameron Bell
RB: 21 Frank Gore 32 Kendall Hunter 45 Brandon Jacobs 23 LaMichael James
28 Rock Cartwright
QB: 11 Alex Smith 7 Colin Kaepernick 1 Josh Johnson 3 Scott Tolzien

Jim Harbaugh today said that Colin Kaepernick would be the first quarterback off the bench when the 49ers begin the exhibition season Friday against the Minnesota Vikings.

The competition to be Alex Smith's backup is one of the few high-profile battles of 49ers training camp. Harbaugh has said that there was a three-way tie among Kaepernick, Josh Johnson and Scott Tolzien. All three get about the same amount of practice time in training camp, although Kaepernick usually gets the first chance to operate with the second-team offense.

Harbaugh said that the situation was still fluid and that he hoped the upcoming games would help sort out the depth chart at that position. He noted that Kaepernick hasn't been in a game since handling mop-up duty Dec. 4 vs. St. Louis.

"He's going to get a lot of work, a lot of game work," Harbaugh said. "They all need it. They all are fighting for that job. The competition, as I said, is very close. ... Colin, specifically, needs that work. It's been a long time since he's played in that game action. You kind of liken it to a golfer who does nothing but play the same course over and over and over again. That's kind of what practice can be like for a quarterback."

Harbaugh wouldn't commit to a total snap count for Friday's game, but he said all of the quarterbacks would play a "good amount."

All of the quarterbacks, including Kaepernick, have struggled against the 49ers defense in recent practices. Some of the defensive players have good naturedly poked fun at Kaepernick for his tendency to tuck the ball away and run with it when his first options are covered.

During a four-minute drill Monday, however, Kaepernick had the last laugh. The object of the drill was for the offense to run out the clock in an end-of-game scenario. The offense got a short gain on first down, but running back Anthony Dixon drew the wrath of coaches by running the ball out of bounds and stopping the clock.

A second-down run was foiled by defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie, who stopped the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. That brought up a crucial third-and-long scenario. Kaepernick rolled right and threw a nice pass to A.J. Jenkins on a come-backer along the sideline for a first down. Jenkins beat fellow rookie Deante Purvis on the play. After that Kaepernick and the offense went into the victory formation.

Kaepernick also had a nice throw down the middle to the Garbage Man (Konrad Reuland) in front of Donte Whitner. Whitner came up slowly after the play and was replaced by Darcel McBath. Both he and fellow starter Dashon Goldson (ankle) were nicked and did not finish practice. Neither injury appeared serious.

-- Matt Barrows

Preseason, here he comes?

Michael Crabtree is currently on the practice field for the 49ers' morning session. The 49ers wide receiver suffered an injury -- presumably to his calf -- in the team's opening practice July 27 and has been rehabbing ever since.

When practice began at 10:30 a.m., Crabtree still was working with strength and conditioning coach Mark Uyeyama. But as individual drills started, he put on his shoulder pads and helmet and joined the wide receivers for their drills.

Crabtree, of course, has never played in an exhibition game for the 49ers. He missed 2009 because of a contract dispute. The 2010 preseason was lost after he suffered a neck injury that lingered until the regular season. Last year, he was recovering from a broken foot. The 49ers open the exhibition season Friday at home against Minnesota.

In other news, Mike Iupati is back at left guard after missing the last two practices for the birth of his first child. Nate Byham also is back in uniform. Sixth-round pick Jason Slowey is not practicing. Neither are Joe Hastings and Curtis Holcomb. Demarcus Dobbs continues to wear No. 40.

******UPDATE******** Crabtree ended up taking part in individual drills but did not do any seven-on-seven, 11-on-11 or team work. He spent some of that time running routes against Uyeyama with head trainer Jeff Ferguson looking on. That is, he will be worked back in slowly and his availability for Friday is still very much iffy.

-- Matt Barrows

Eight training-camp practices are in the books. Here are some observations about the 49ers as they get set for their first exhibition game, against Week 3 opponent Minnesota, on Friday.

1.) Justin Smith has become the 49ers' Indispensable Man, the one player the team can't afford to lose. First, he looks like he did in January when he was throwing New Orleans' Jermon Bushrod aside as if Bushrod weighed 132 pounds. The defensive-line play sets the tone for the rest of the 49ers' sterling unit, and Smith sets the tone for the defensive line. We knew that already, of course. What's different is that he appears to be taking a bigger leadership role than he has in previous seasons. The 11-year veteran understands that the 49ers' window is wide open right now, and he is rallying his troops to seize the day.

2.) Perrish Cox is building on his impressive spring practices and appears more and more likely to be the sole newcomer to make an impact on the 49ers' defense this year. Cox has been playing a lot at nickel, where his aggressive style and hard hitting are put to good use. But he also showed nice speed as a cornerback Saturday in keeping pace with Ted Ginn and knocking away a deep pass down the sideline. Ginn probably isn't up to full speed after a long return from a January leg injury. But he's close, and that play only gave more confidence to Cox, who was the standout at Saturday's physical practice.

3.) The 49ers are going to have to make some very difficult decisions on the defensive line. Last year, they kept seven linemen - a big number for a 3-4 defense. It's only logical that roster space needed at running back and wide receiver this year would be taken from that unit. But who goes? All of last year's linemen are back, and undrafted rookie Tony Jerod-Eddie also shows promise. The 49ers want those players to be able to play both defensive end and nose tackle as top backup Ricky Jean Francois does. I figured that because Ian Williams is mostly a nose tackle, he might be the most at risk. Then Williams goes and has a terrific practice on Saturday. Decisions, decisions.

The 49ers went into their day off Sunday with a thump ... and a thud.

First the thump. Saturday's was a twilight practice in pads and Jim Harbaugh called for an extended "live" hitting drill around the goal line at the beginning of the session.

Some of the highlights included Alex Smith hitting tight end Demarcus Dobbs in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Dobbs, who was wearing No. 40 instead of his usual No. 96, got past the first-string linebacking corps for the score.

The biggest hitting was done by the second- and third-team units. During a goal-line stand, nose tackle Ian Williams got an excellent push while linebackers Joe Holland and Michael Wilhoite teamed to stop Kendall Hunter short of the goal line. On the next play, however, Hunter barreled into the end zone over right guard Joe Looney.

Looney hadn't lined up for a single snap this offseason until Friday. But he played extensively with the second-team offensive line today and looked very good. Looney even made a reception - albeit a short one - off a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown.

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Other players who stood out Sunday included cornerback/nickel back Perrish Cox. He knocked down fullback - yes, fullback - Anthony Dixon on an outside run, drawing oohs and ahs from his defensive teammates. On another play, he ran stride for stride down the sideline with Ted Ginn, then batted away a nicely thrown, 40-yard pass from Alex Smith.

When a player signs a lucrative, long-term contract, there might be a tendency for him to exhale, to relax and to enjoy his newfound financial security.

The six-year, $44.5 million deal linebacker Ahmad Brooks signed in the offseason has had the opposite effect, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said today. "He probably had his best offseason he's had in pro football," said Fangio, who coaches the outside linebackers. "... I think he's probably in the best shape of his life, at least his NFL life, and we're expecting a big season from him. We'd be disappointed if he doesn't."

In previous offseasons, the one-time University of Virginia star, who was booted off the team as a junior, would return to his hometown of Woodbridge, Va. When he'd return to Santa Clara in the spring, he'd be in less than tip-top shape.

This year, Brooks hung around Santa Clara all offseason. Not only that, he fell in with the core group of 49ers workout warriors - Justin Smith, Ray McDonald and Parys Haralson chief among them - who would show up every day to train and lift weights. Brooks even augmented that routine by buying a membership at the local 24-Hour Fitness.

"I'd go there and work out for like an hour. Do cardio, do sit-ups and stuff like that," he said. "I took cycling class. I did yoga, pilates and all of that stuff. ... It was a different experience. Just riding a bike for an hour. It hurt my butt."

The 49ers defense beat up on the 49ers offense on Thursday, but Justin Smith - who was given a veteran's day off - didn't get to take part in it. Smith today seemed quite eager to make up for the lost time, tossing both starting offensive linemen (Joe Staley) and backups (Anyone else who had the misfortune of lining up at left tackle) aside like rag dolls and otherwise making life miserable for his offensive opponents.

Afterward Jim Harbaugh noted that the 31 other teams would give their proverbial left arms to have Smith on their rosters and yet the defensive end practiced "like a guy that's fighting to make the team."

Even when he was off the field, Smith was the ringleader. During a rare live-tackling scenario, Smith couldn't understand why no one was hitting the quarterbacks, who were forced to scramble all afternoon long. One of the assistants had to inform Smith that the drill was live for everyone but the quarterbacks. (The quarterbacks were lucky he was on the sideline).

Although there weren't the same number of interceptions there were on Friday, the offense couldn't make much headway today, either. The three-hour session ended with a two-minute drill that began at the offense's 15-yard line. The drive only went three plays before Alex Smith's pass left was tipped by cornerback Tarell Brown and intercepted by safety Dashon Goldson.

"Lopsided," Smith said when asked to assess the offense-v.-defense battle from the last two days. "In all aspects - seven on sevens and teams. Obviously, there's room for improvement and we need to get better."

Communication snafus between quarterback and offensive coordinator? Sure, the 49ers have had (loud throat clear) a few.

Two years ago, when Jimmy Raye the offensive coordinator, it wasn't unheard of for the offense to burn three timeouts in the first half because it took so long for the play calls enter the radio device in Alex Smith's helmet. That led to an explosive story by Yahoo! about the communication problems and to such 2010 buzzwords as "rat" and "dadgum Yahoo."

The technological glitches came to symbolize a coaching staff that was a tad out of touch with the times.

The issues improved dramatically last season, but new offensive coordinator Greg Roman said Thursday it wasn't perfect and that there were indeed problems with the technology itself.

"To make a long story short ... you'd push the button and you've got to wait," said Roman, whose calls are made from the coaching booth and relayed through an assistant on the sideline. "You hear a beep and then you can talk. That beep would sometimes be inconsistent. There was one time when I was doing it and it happened to be on the same frequency as an airline in a certain city and it was a critical situation in the game and all you hear is Southwest pilots talking."

To the relief of Roman and every other play caller, the NFL is implementing new - and the hopefully, better - equipment this year. The 49ers will use it during today's practice, which goes from noon to 3 p.m. Roman described the new system as easier to use and "more what you would expect in the year 2012."

The big question, however, is whether Roman helped land those Southwest flights. "No," he said. "Never checked to see if it got in."

-- Matt Barrows

Score Day 6 for the defense.

That unit, which had a league-high 38 takeaways last season, picked on their own quarterbacks all afternoon Thursday. Each of the passers threw at least one pick, and Scott Tolzien and Alex Smith had multiple turnovers, though one of Smith's was off a deflections from his own receiver.

The 49ers are focusing on improving their red-zone offense this season after routinely settling for field goals last year. Today they showed there's still plenty of work to be done over the next month or so. The unit scored on a couple of occasions during today's drills, but most of the throws were batted down, intercepted or the quarterback couldn't find an open receiver.

"Were we as good as we wanted to be?" offensive coordinator Greg Roman said of last year's red-zoning output. "Heck no, heck no. We didn't have enough time on task last year to be where we wanted to be in the red zone. It was a matter of execution more than anything."

One of Tolzien's interceptions was a throw to Brett Swain that was picked off by third-string safety Colin Jones. Another occurred when an unknown cornerback - the 49ers practiced on the far field today where it's difficult for reporters to see the action - on a pass to A.J. Jenkins. The ball was grabbed by safety Michael Thomas.

Lesson No. 1 for rookie running back LaMichael James: That circular, 11-man formation before every play? It's called a huddle.

James, after all, never was part of one at Oregon where plays were called in from the sideline and the objective was to snap the ball as quickly as possible. The way they do it in the NFL is different and, well, it's a bit slow, James said Thursday.

"Just being in a huddle," he said. "I think that's slow to me because I've never been in a huddle. At Oregon, we ran plays back-to-back-to-back-to back. I never just ran a play and got in a huddle. I had to adjust to that a little bit too. ... Not slow as in the tempo but just the plays."

He said he hadn't been in a huddle since high school in Texarkana, Texas. "Ready ... break," he said. "That's about all I got from it."

The learning process has gone more rapidly. Because Oregon's school year was still in session through the beginning of June, James missed virtually all of the 49ers' spring practices. When he looked at the new playbook, well, "I'd never seen anything so different in my life," he said.

Whereas Oregon overwhelmed defenses by spreading them out and striking with lightning quickness, the 49ers' offense is predicated on power, a dizzying array of formations and running the ball between the tackles.

That would appear to make James, who stands 5-9 and weighs 195 pounds, an odd fit. But 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman noted Thursday that James was very good at running the ball inside at Oregon.

"There's a general misconception among some people who think just because a guy isn't a big guy, he can't run inside," said Roman, who watched James first hand when Roman was at Stanford. "I think we have the guy who proves that theory wrong, and that's Frank (Gore). He's not a giant, but he has such incredible vision and foot quickness, and his mind and his feet work together. LaMichael is a guy who has really good vision, as well."

James, meanwhile, has been hearing that he's too small for football since grade school. He said he's already been tested by the 49ers defense during the padded practice sessions.

"I've been knocked down ample times. It doesn't matter, doesn't hurt," James said. "We're all in it for the same goal. I'm happy it's happening. It's getting me ready for the season."

-- Matt Barrows

No, that wasn't a new, 6-4 tight end/H-back catching a swing pass along the sideline and then motoring down field earlier this week. It was a new, more svelte, more nimble Brandon Jacobs, who says he feels faster and stronger than he's been in recent years.

When Jacobs showed up for the start of spring drills, he weighed 275 pounds. Today he's down to 260 pounds, and he said he's adding muscle in his thighs and gaining some of the burst that critics say went missing from his game in recent years in New York.

"I feel faster, I feel stronger, I feel like I'm playing with better leverage," Jacobs said today. "My pads are down lower. Balance is better. I'm really looking forward to these preseason games we've got coming up here."

Jacobs said he's more than willing to catch passes for the 49ers, something he didn't do very often recently in New York. But he knows his challenge this year is to turn back the clock and regain his reputation as a menacing power runner who can gain touchdowns and first downs when everyone in the stadium knows he's coming.

Reports of Parys Haralson's demise are greatly exaggerated. At least according to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

Yes, Haralson has lost his starting job to second-year player Aldon Smith, inevitable after Smith's 16-sack rookie campaign. And Haralson has a cap number this year - nearly $3 million - that's larger than what a team would like for a backup outside linebacker.

But Fangio didn't speak about Haralson Wednesday in back-up terms. "We feel fortunate to have all three of them," he said of Haralson, Ahmad Brooks and Smith. "We feel we've got three starters there. So, he gets as much (practice) work as Ahmad and Aldon does."

Haralson has been seeing a lot of work at left outside linebacker in training camp after playing on the right side last year. In fact, he sometimes substitutes for Brooks on the left side with the starting unit.

That doesn't mean Brooks is in trouble. In fact, he's in better shape this summer than any previous summer of his career. But it does signal that Brooks, who played an impressive 93.1 percent of the defensive snaps last season, will have a lighter workload next year. Only Tarell Brown (99.31 percent), Carlos Rogers (98.72) and NaVorro Bowman (97.53) played more than Brooks. In 2011 Smith (48.22) was the No. 3 outside linebacker. But he came in almost exclusively for Haralson (49.8) on third downs and played on the right side.

Poor Tarrell Brown. Since training camp has begun, the 49ers cornerback has drawn Randy Moss an awful lot in one-on-one coverage, and on most plays that's bad news for Brown.

On Wednesday, however, Brown appeared to have the upper hand. He had Moss blanketed as the two came across the middle of the field on a crossing pattern. But as Alex Smith's pass arrived, Moss slowed for an instance, put his hip into Brown and created just enough space for the ball to slip past the defender's outstretched arm and into the receiver's hands.

That bit of magic - and veteran savvy - is why every cornerback on the roster wants to go against Moss as much as possible. Because they learn something every time. No one on the defense pities Brown. They envy him.

"We want to go against the ones (the first-string receivers) all the time," said the team's other starting cornerback, Carlos Rogers. "... We want that challenge each and every practice. The competition is big."

During the offseason, the 49ers bolstered their wide receiving corps by signing Moss and Mario Manningham. They also brought in a number of fleet-footed rookie receivers including first-round draft pick A.J. Jenkins and undrafted free agents Chris Owusu and Nathan Palmer.

While those moves were made to add punch to what was a listless down-field passing attack last year, the 49ers defense also is taking advantage this summer. "I think any time you go against quality players, it helps you improve," said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. "We added to our depth and quality on offense and it will have a residual effect on us defensively and we'll be better prepared for going against quality players."

One of the more amusing training-camp drills each day tests the agility and the hands of the linebackers. One by one the group must shuffle over a half dozen bags and then catch a pass fired at them from a short distance by defensive quality control coach Peter Hansen.

I don't know Hansen's exact dimensions, but I'm guessing he's about 6-6. He has the long, lanky profile of, say, Randy Johnson, and the balls come out of his hand nearly as fast. What makes the drill fun is that if a linebacker drops the would-be interception, he has to drop to the ground a pump out a dozen or so pushups.

The first time the crew ran the drills, there were no drops - NaVorro Bowman had a bobble but not a drop - which drew raves from linebackers coach Jim Leavitt. "Good job, everybody. Wow!"

The second time through, Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith and Parys Haralson were on the ground doing pushups. The third time through, Bowman, rookie Joe Holland and Tavares Gooden had drops. On the fourth, only Gooden dropped the ball.

The linebackers with the best hands - today, at least - were Erik Bakhtiari, Kourtnei Brown, Cam Johnson, Larry Grant, Ahmad Brooks and Michael Wilhoite. None of those guys had a drop vs. Hansen's fastball.

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The best catch of the day? It was turned in by Kyle Williams, who made a diving effort to snag a Colin Kaepernick pass over the middle during 7-7 drills. ... Kaepernick also was involved in one of the longer pass plays of training camp as he hit Chris Owusu deep down field over rookie cornerback Deante Purvis. He later hit Williams deep during team drills.

Chris Culliver has no beef with Mario Manningham. Sure, there's a history - albeit, a brief history - between them. And, yes, there's been some jawing and even some shoving on the practice field. But the cornerback this week insisted it was nothing personal.

"Mario? Nah, nah - he's my teammate now," Culliver said. "No, me and him are cool. Like I said, it's all about competition. At the end of the day, it's not personal. I don't mean to hurt him or nothing like that. Like I say, just move forward from there. Get physical sometimes."

Culliver faced Manningham twice last season when the latter was a member of the Giants. Manningham caught a touchdown pass against the then-rookie in the regular-season matchup, then nearly caught a go-ahead game-tying touchdown late in the game against Culliver. The pass, however, was overthrown by Eli Manning.

Culliver said neither Manningham nor fellow ex-Giant Brandon Jacobs likes to talk about the Super Bowl title they won in New York in February. "Nah because that's last year," Culliver said. "Like I say, they won that last year. And hats off to those guys. But they're on a new team."

Culliver, meanwhile, was limited to playing left cornerback in 2011 after the lockout-shortened offseason. This year, he's learning how to play the right side, too, and in that way is competing with Tarell Brown for the starting spot. Brown has taken all of the first-team repetitions so far in training camp. Culliver lines up at left cornerback when the first team is in its nickel formation - Carlos Rogers is the slot cornerback - and moves to the right side with the second-string defense.

That movement also allows Culliver, who had only played one season at cornerback upon entering the NFL, an opportunity to cover an array of receivers. "All the guys have something different about them," he said. "This person is quick, this person is fast or that person is experienced like Randy Moss. Like I said, they bring every different element to the table, so you kind of have to be on your ps and qs and think."

-- Matt Barrows