Bay Area Sports Blogging

On Day 2 of the 2008 NFL Draft, San Francisco went with safe picks and also grabbed a couple local kids.

With the 75th overall pick in the 3rd round, the San Francisco 49ers selected DB Reggie Smith out of Oklahoma. This pick was the one swapped with the Chicago Bears as a penalty for the Lance Briggs tampering.

Reggie Smith is a CB-FS tweener. His speed is not that fast for a corner so he may end up as a free safety in the end. Someone to compete with Mark Roman.

With the 107th overall pick in the 4rd round, the San Francisco 49ers selected C Cody Wallace out of Texas A&M. Wallace would still have been available in the 5th round, but without a 5th round pick due to the Briggs tampering, the team was forced to pick him 4th.

Day 1 of the NFL 2008 Draft had one less than the record number of draft deals. Some teams moved up to grab their coveted players while other teams moved down to grab more picks.

Not surprisingly, no WRs were drafted in the first round as the draft class was stocked full of good offensive and defensive linemen. Eight offensive linemen and seven defensive linemen were taken in the first round.

The Niners did not stray from the trend of the day. With the 29th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers took Kentwan Balmer out of North Carolina.

The NFL Draft is a time of the year when fans of sucky NFL franchises can get excited about football. The draft gives teams with losing records a chance to turn their franchise around with some solid scouting and drafting. Unless you're the Niners, and you end up trading away your top pick to the New England Patriots, then get docked a draft pick because you got caught tampering with Lance Briggs' contract.

The San Francisco 49ers have 6 draft picks this year, with their first pick being the 29th overall pick. The Oakland Raiders have 5 draft picks, but only one pick within the first three rounds.

The San Francisco 49ers will have an interesting preseason this year. Each game carries a backstory that helps raise the game from a mere meaningless preseason game. The 49ers preseason will have the team facing off again the Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and the San Diego Chargers.

The week 1 preseason game against the Oakland Raiders is a fan favorite. Bay Area fans love to see the San Francisco teams battling the Oakland teams, whether it be the 49ers vs the Raiders or the Giants vs the As. The cross-town rivarlies always sell out, even for exhibition games. Both teams are equally matched (equally sucky) so this should make for an exciting football game. Because of the close proximity of the two teams, fans from both teams should be well represented in the stands.

The San Francisco 49ers picked up the options for the 2009 and 2010 seasons for quarterback Alex Smith. What a dumb move, considering that Smith has not been named the starting quarterback for next season. Alex Smith will actively compete against Shaun Hill in training camp for the starting position.

This San Francisco Chronicle story reports that 2008 could have been Alex Smith's last season if the team had not picked up the option. Man, we were this close to getting rid of the chump. When the team drafted Smith, there were high hopes. There were also a lack of good quarterback choices in the draft. It was Alex Smith, or perennial benchwarmer Aaron Rodgers.

Shaun Hill had another good game for the San Francisco 49ers, leading the team to their second straight win. Shaun finished the day 11 of 24 for 123 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. That's good enough for a passer rating of 83.9.

I said it last week, but its worth mentioning again: dump Alex Smith. Shaun Hill represents the future of the franchise. With Hill at QB, the 49ers have a chance to win every game. Let's throw these Niners against the New England Patriots!

The San Francisco 49ers just won over the Cincinnati Bengals at home. Leading the Niners to the win tonight was quarterback Shaun Hill. Even as a Bay Area resident, I had no idea who he was. It seems Hill has been bounced around the practice squads of various NFL teams. His career stats show 2 rush attempts at -1 yards each for the Minnesota Vikings in 2005. A -1 yard rush attempt for QBs is usually a kneel down.

Shaun got his first playing time last week, after Trent Dilfer got knocked out of the game with a concussion. Shaun would complete the rest of the game with a 106.9 quarterback rating on 22 of 27 for 181 yards and 1 TD. Getting his first ever start at QB, Shaun completes 21 out of 28 for 197 yards, 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD. That's hot.

49ers win! It has been so long since the Niners have won a game, I forgot what it feels like to win. This is the turning point for the San Francisco 49ers season. Undefeated from here on out, baby!

The San Francisco offense came alive today, scoring over 30 points, their highest scoring output this season. Frank "The Tank" Gore account for half the offense, with two touchdowns, 116 yards rushing, and 98 yards receiving.

The defense came in ready to play, sacking Kurt Warner four times and picking him off twice. Patrick Willis is a fast, fast linebacker. He chased down the Cardinals' WR Sean Morey down the field to prevent a game-ending touchdown. The SF defense came up big again, forcing a Kurt Warner fumble and subsequent fumble recovery in the end zone in overtime.