Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Attention San Francisco 49ers fans, Colin Kaepernick has arrived as a quarterback in the NFL.  In what is usually the most boring and least watched exhibition game of the preseason, there was plenty of excitement on the 49ers side of the football.  Kaepernick and fellow quarterback Josh Johnson combined for 283 passing yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Kaepernick was by far the star of the game, showing pose in the pocket and laser like accuracy in the 49ers 35-3 win over the Chargers.

Even though Kaepernick played against mostly second-stringers, he did what he was supposed to do for someone who considers himself ready to be a starter for the 49ers.  He finished the game 12-of-18 passing with 158 yards, two touchdowns and a 131.2 QB rating.  For the first time in his young career, he looked comfortable passing in the shotgun formation, rolling out and most importantly, passing from the pocket.  In the first quarter, Kaepernick showed his arm strength by rolling left and throwing across his body to tight end Delaine Walker for a 32-yard touchdown, giving the 49ers a 14-0 lead.  In the second quarter, the quarterback led another drive ending with a touchdown pass.  Similar to the first touchdown pass, Kaepernick rolled out again, this time to the right and threw on the run to A.J. Jenkins, who was wide open in the end zone for a touchdown.  Kaepernick’s throw was a bullet and perfectly hit Jenkins in the hands.

Without a doubt Alex Smith is the 49ers starting quarterback and no controversy was created with Kaepernick’s performance.  But Smith is now on notice.  Should he not perform at least up to how he played last season, Niner fans will quickly call for Kaepernick to enter the game.  And if that happens, the 49ers will be in good hands.

Most of the attention for the 49ers was supposed to be on the other backup quarterbacks, Johnson and Scott Tolzien.  Both are competing for the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart.  Johnson entered the game after Kaepernick in the third quarter and out played Tolzien.  Needing to have a big game to ensure a roster spot, Johnson completed his first seven passes for 102 yards, which included a 51-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nathan Palmer.  His second touchdown pass was a 3-yard lob to tight end Garrett Celek, giving the 49ers a 35-0 lead in the third quarter.  Johnson finished with 125 passing yards and ran for 50 yards on five carries.  In comparison, Tolzien was 3-of-8 passing with 42 yards and an interception.  There is a slim chance Jim Harbaugh could keep four quarterbacks on the regular season roster.  If there will be one quarterback cut from the roster, it will Tolzien because of Johnson’s performance in the game.

Other highlights in the game included the backup safeties finally stepping up in the preseason and nose tackle Will Tukuafu.  Let’s start with Tukuafu.  In the third quarter he entered the game as a fullback on offense and used all of his 293 pounds to block Chargers linebacker James Mouton.  It was more than your typical block, but as Harbaugh described it, “one of the best isolation blocks I’ve ever seen”.  Indeed, the block was impressive and it allowed Anthony Dixon to rush for a six-yard gain.  The way Tukuafu played last night and in the other preseason games at nose tackle and fullback, has assured him a spot on the regular season roster.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has said in the past he is waiting for a backup safety to emerge out of the pack.  In the win, three safeties provided a spark in the first quarter with a strip, fumble recovery and an interception.  C.J. Spillman stripped Chargers tight end Antonio Gates after an 11-yard reception and Trenton Robinson picked up the football returning it 22-yards.  This led to Kaepernick’s first touchdown pass.  On the next drive Darcel McBath intercepted Philip Rivers and returned it for 19 yards.  All of this took place in a four-minute span in the first quarter.  The three backup safeties answered Fangio’s call and thus made the task of who to keep and who to cut harder for the coaches.

The 49ers will release their regular season roster at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.  Check back to Niner Noise for the full roster and comments on who was cut.         

Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Less than 24 hours after the 49ers ended their third exhibition game with a win over the Broncos, Jim Harbaugh and his coaches cut 12 players from the roster to reach the NFL mandated 75-player maximum.

There are no surprises with the 12 Niner players cut, however recent sixth-round draft pick Jason Slowey was among the casualties.  Slowey was trying to make the 49ers’ roster at center and was a long-shot after playing at a Division II college at Western Oregon.  He was one of six players drafted in April who played at a Division II college and was the only player cut from the 49ers 2012 draft class.

The center position is anchored down by incumbent starter Jonathan Goodwin who is entering his second season with the 49ers and played well last season.  Slowey was in a backup battle with Daniel Kilgore at center, who was drafted in the fifth-round last season.  The 49ers were trying to convert Slowey from a guard to center which slowed his progress.  Not helping the situation was Slowey dealing with an injured leg that caused him to miss practices and contributed to him not seeing much action in the preseason.

The next and final round of roster cuts before the regular season is on Friday with the 49ers having to trim down to 53 players.  Here are the rest of the players cut from the 49ers’ roster: receivers Joe Hastings, Brian Tyms and Ben Hannula; defensive linemen Patrick Butrym and Matt Masifilo; cornerback Deante Purvis; tight end Joe Sawyer; linebacker Kourtnei Brown; fullback Cameron Bell and kicker Giorgio Tavecchio.

Here are the current players on the 49ers 75-man roster for Thursday’s game versus the Chargers:

Quarterback

Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Josh Johnson, Scott Tolzien

Running Back

Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, Brandon Jacobs, LaMichael James, Bruce Miller, Anthony Dixon, Rock Cartwright

Wide Receiver

Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss, Mario Manningham, Ted Ginn Jr., Kyle Williams, A.J. Jenkins, Nathan Palmer, Chris Owusu, Brett Swain

Tight End

Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker, Demarcus Dobbs, Konrad Reuland, Garrett Celek, Kyle Nelson

Offensive Line

Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Jonathan Goodwin, Alex Boone, Anthony Davis, Leonard Davis, Daniel Kilgore, Joe Looney, Mike Person, Al Netter, Chase Beeler, Derek Hall, Kenny Wiggins

Defensive Line

Ray McDonald, Isaac Sopoaga, Justin Smith, Ricky Jean Francois, Will Tukuafu, Ian Williams, Tony Jerod-Eddie

Outside Linebackers

Aldon Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Parys Haralson, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Eric Bakhtiari, Cam Johnson, Kenny Rowe

Inside Linebackers

Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Larry Grant, Tavares Gooden, Joe Holland, Michael Wilhoite

Cornerbacks

Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown, Tramaine Brock, Perrish Cox, Chris Culliver, Anthony Mosley

Safeties

Dashon Goldson, Donte Whitner, C.J. Spillman, Trenton Robinson, Colin Jones, Darcel McBath, Michael Thomas

Special Teams

David Akers, Andy Lee, Brian Jennings

Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

In the 49ers 29-24 victory over the Broncos on Sunday, San Francisco was down 17-0 in the first quarter.  The 49ers first-team defense was shredded by Peyton Manning who finished 10-of-12 passing with 122 yards and two touchdowns.  Manning threw two touchdown passes of 10 and 5 yards to wide receiver Eric Decker prior to leaving shortly before the first quarter ended.

The 49ers first-team defense continued a trend in the preseason against the Broncos, allowing the offense to score on them.  The first-team defense has given up a total of 24 points, four field goals and two touchdowns, and has been scored on in six of the seven drives they have been on the field in three games.  Manning picked on cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Tramaine Brock who were lost in coverage on multiple plays and missed tackles.

There was some spotty play. I thought we gave up some easy yardage and found ourselves, for whatever reason, not in good football position when it came to making a tackle or break-up. So fundamental type of things we’ll look at. Jim Harbaugh

We should expect some rust from the defense, but after last season’s performance I don’t think anyone thought they come out in the preseason and play like they have.  Despite the defenses poor play this preseason, they have not recorded a sack or forced a turnover, Niner fans should not be too worried.  For starters, this is the preseason and defensive coordinator Vic Fango is running a very conservative defense. Plus, many of the starters are injured with Aldon Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Justin Smith and NaVorro Bowman missing a combined five games.  Bowman, Aldon Smith and third string cornerback Chris Culliver missed the game on Sunday because of injuries.  A big key is getting all of the defensive starters healthy in time for the regular season in two weeks.  The second play after Manning exited the game, Broncos backup quarterback Caleb Hanie threw an interception to Parrish Cox and the 49ers started their come back.

Quarterbacks Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick played really well, combining for 149 passing yards.  Smith, 5-of-7 passing for 69 yards, had a 44-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis.  As Davis was open on the outside all alone, Smith lobbed the pass perfectly into his hands and he sprinted off to the end zone. Kaepernick showed progress passing in the pocket and completed all four of his passing attempts for 80 total yards.

Fighting for a roster spot, running back Anthony Dixon had his best game of the preseason.  He rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries and had a 26-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.  Dixon might have played his way onto the roster in Sunday’s game.  If he can repeat his performance next week in the preseason finale, the coaches will forced to add him to the regular season roster.  He also has versatility going for him, in that he can play fullback and on special teams.

The 49ers did suffer one major injury in the win over the Broncos.  Ted Ginn Jr. limped off the field in the third quarter after being tackled by Broncos linebacker Steven Johnson.  Ginn Jr. gained 9-yards on a reverse sweep.  Ginn Jr. might not be ready by the regular season with a hurt right ankle.  Should he miss the opening game, Kyle Williams will take over as the punt returner.  Keep an eye on Ginn Jr.’s status.

Next Up:

@home vs. Charges (Final preseason game)

Thursday, August 30

7:00pm (PDT)