Improved depth should help 49ers in ‘07

By Douglas Sulenta  |   Tuesday, May 08, 2007  |  Comments( 17 )

San Francisco 49ers
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During an era in the NFL that has seen players get bigger, stronger and faster at every position, the threat of injury looms larger than ever before.

And with all of these new injury concerns, there is now an increased premium on depth in today's NFL. And depth, at all positions, is something that the San Francisco 49ers have sorely lacked of late.

In each of the last two seasons, the 49ers' defense was so decimated by injuries in the defensive backfield that it was literally bringing guys in off the street to play.

And it seems a key to every good NFL team is depth. No team is going to make it through an entire 16-game schedule without an injury to one of its top players, and the most important part of a season is having a player who can step in and maintain a quality level of play.

In 2007, it seems the 49ers might be more equipped for the adversity of a devastating injury than they have been in years past.

Granted, there is no replacing a player like Frank Gore, but there is a certain comfort in having a quality backup for that player. That No. 2 man is Michael Robinson, entering his second year.

Though starved for carries last season, Robinson showed signs that he can be a solid reserve when needed.

Being used primarily in short-yardage situations because of Gore's propensity to fumble in such instances, Robinson averaged a respectable 3 yards per carry and showed that he is both fast and strong.

At the quarterback position, the 49ers have retained the services of Trent Dilfer, who mostly plays the role of a leader and extra coach. Not only is Dilfer a quality character guy to find sitting on the bench, but he's a capable backup if called upon.

At wide receiver, the 49ers find themselves with a handful of apparent wild cards. Nobody quite knows what to expect from the recent acquisitions of Ashley Lelie (wildly inconsistent) and Darrell Jackson (injury prone). But if they fail in their duties, waiting in the wings are veteran Arnaz Battle and rookie speedster Jason Hill.

The offensive line is as deep as it has been for the 49ers in years. With recent first-round draftee Joe Staley expected to jump right into a line already featuring Larry Allen, Jonas Jennings, Justin Smiley and Tony Wragge, the Niners should see their depth improve with versatile players such as David Baas and Tony Snyder to fill in the gaps where needed.

Oh yeah, and there's that Kwame Harris guy, too.

On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers have plenty of secondary depth. With new acquisition Nate Clements and returning starter Walt Harris controlling two corner spots, the solid Shawntae Spencer is the third man.

At the safety position, Michael Lewis and Keith Lewis will be supported by Mike Adams and Mark Roman, both of whom proved capable and competent in extended playing time last season.

Linebacker would seem to be the 49ers' strongest and deepest position on defense. In the 3-4 scheme that head coach Mike Nolan will employ this season, opposing offenses should see Patrick Willis, Brandon Moore, Manny Lawson and Tully Banta-Cain start and be backed up by Hannibal Navies and Colby Bockwoldt.

Jeff Ulbrich and Derek Smith could prove to be reliable backups on the linebacking corps if the 49ers choose to keep them and their aging bodies around for another season.

Though it's hard to be entirely sold on the 49ers' defensive front, they do have several options there. Bryant Young, Isaac Sopoaga and Melvin Oliver should get the bulk of the starting snaps with Aubrayo Franklin and Marquez Douglas getting a lot of time, as well.

And with several rookies vying for time on the D-line, there should be plenty of motivation for San Francisco's backups to perform.

Daily San Francisco 49ers insight, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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CommentsComments: 17  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Edward		02:48 AM
05/08/2007
Trent Dilfer may not be a stud QB, but he definitely has the ear of Alex Smith and Alex's improvement last year had as much to do...
No.2
Mad Mardigan		09:14 AM
05/08/2007
Mike Adams is no longer with the team, it's Adam Snyder, not Tony Snyder and Michael Robinson is a good 3rd down/ goal line back....
No.3
jeremy		10:03 AM
05/08/2007
i think we will only go as far as Alex Smith takes us Alex has to be ready and has to want to step up and be the leader of this...
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