Defensive line:

LDT: Isaac Sopoaga

NT: Aubrayo Franklin

RDT: Justin Smith

Reserves: Ray McDonald, Ricky Jean Francois, Demetric Evan.

The 49ers defense ranked 15th overall in the NFL last season.  The D ranked 21st in passing and sixth against the rush.  The defensive line was at fault for being ranked in the bottom of the NFL against the pass because they could generate a rush without a blitzing linebacker or a corner/safety.  This left the secondary exposed who also shared the blame for giving up big passing plays.  The defense made up for their weak pass defense by being studs against the rush.  And this was in part because of the defensive line.  Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin had a career year last season which lead to him wanting a new contract and sitting out almost all of the preseason.  Franklin was a big reason for the D’s success against the run recording career highs in tackles (88), tackles for a loss (8.5), sacks (2) and INTs (1).  Franklin is good enough to miss almost all of the preseason and still be effective in the regular season.

Age-less wonder and right D-lineman Justin Smith has proved at 30 years old he is not slowing down.  Smith is gifted with the ability to explode off the line and beat the offensive tackle to pressure the quarterback.  Smith was the best D-lineman in pass rushing on the roster last season as he tied for second on the team with six sacks.  He will need to increase his sack total this season if the 49ers are going to get better against the pass.  He earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season with a team-high 78 quarterback pressures and 52 quarterback hits.  Smith will put up similar numbers this season and should earn his second straight Pro Bowl appearance.  Smith has a streak of 139 consecutive starts.

Left defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga size and strength (he works out with 200-pound dumbbells) is perfect for the 49ers 3-4 defense base.  Sopoaga started all 16 games last year, a first in his career, and had 69 tackles.  He will rotate with backup Ray McDonald this season but will get the majority of the snaps.  Sopoaga needs to be quicker off the line this season to give Smith some help with the pass rush.

With McDonald rotating with Sopoaga don’t expect RDT Demetric Evan to do the same with Smith.  He will get his playing time but not as much as McDonald.  Keep an eye on Ricky Jean Francois this season.  With Franklin missing the preseason Francois took advantage of working with the first-team defense and expanded his knowledge and experience.  The 49ers will showcase Francois throughout the season as he may become the starter at nose tackle next year if Franklin signs elsewhere.  Francois is developing into a great nose tackle.

(more…)

The match-up between Lewis and Mays has many factors.  Most importantly is Lewis’ health.  He suffered three concussions last year, two in the preseason and the last one in week 5.  Even though Lewis only missed one game his health will be a concern as the next concussion he suffers could be the end of his career.

Taylor Mays is a hard hitting physical stud but needs to better develop his coverage and footwork.  The 49ers brought in Ronnie Lott in the off-season to help Mays with his development.  Lewis just needs to stay healthy through training camp and the preseason and he will win the starting job.  If Mays is not the starter he will contribute on defense as the blitzing safety and on running downs when the D stacks the box to prevent the run.

Free Safety: Dashon Goldson vs. Reggie Smith/Curtis Taylor

The 49ers were known for giving up big pass plays last season.  This however had more to do with a lack of getting a pass rush without using the blitz which left the secondary exposed.  Dashon Goldson had a break out year last season recoding 94 tackles, 4 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 sacks.  Unless Goldson has a horrible training camp he is a lock for the starting job.  I hope Reggie Smith and Curtis Taylor have a great training camp because it will bring depth to the secondary that was beat deep often last season.  Goldson is in a contract year so we should see another good year out of him as NFL players bring out everything they have to get awarded with a new hefty contract.  Smith and Taylor know that if they have a solid training camp the 49ers can look to them in the future as starters if Goldson does not sign a contract.  Smith can come in and make an impact right away if Goldson goes down to injury.

Cornerback: Nate Clements vs. Tarell Brown

Age might be finally catching up with Nate Clements.  Clements can still get the job done as a reliable cornerback but the 49ers signed him to be a play-making defensive back.  Even as a dependable corner the 49ers had better talent on the bench last season.  Clements was benched against the Colts in week 8 last season and was replaced by Tarell Brown.  Clements did not start in another game the rest of the season.  Despite Clements big contract the 49ers seem willing to let Brown into the starting lineup if he proves to be the better of the two corners.  Brown did well finishing with 38 tackles and two interceptions after taking over for Clements.  Clements is the better open field tackler which helps with the run but he knows that Mike Singletary and Greg Manusky are willing to replace him in the starting lineup if he does not have a good training camp.  This will be motivation for Clements as he does not want to become the highest paid cornerback that is not a starter.  Regardless of who wins the starting job both will be a factor in the Nickel defensive set.

Running Back: Glen Coffee vs. rookie Anthony Dixon

Frank Gore has the starting job locked up.  The battle at running back in training camp will be who backs up Gore.  After Gore went down to injury against the Vikings in week 3 Glen Coffee had a great opportunity to show his talent but only averaged 57 rushing yards a game, 3.0 yards a rush, with one touchdown in the three games.  Coffee was still developing but not being able to take advantage of playing time last season does not make him the clear favorite to be the number two running back.  Each season the 49ers try to keep Gore’s legs fresh to avoid injury.  One way to do this is not bringing Gore in on third-and-short and goal line situations.  Coffee was not reliable last season on those plays and with the physical and blowing ball style of running Anthony Dixon showed in college he should transition well into this role.  But Dixon is a rookie and learning the offense.  Coffee has the advantage of a year of knowledge of the offense under his belt.

Quarterback: Alex Smith vs. David Carr

The training camp battle at quarterback is not one many people expect to pay attention to however the 49er Faithful showed keep an eye on this one.  Alex Smith has been named the starter, will have the same offense in constructive years for the first time in his career and is coming off last season with the most confidence in his career.  After going 5-5 as a starter Smith finished the season with 2350 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, completed 60.5 percent of his passes and had an 81.5 QB rating.  The 49ers have upgraded their offensive line with draft picks that can start right away so this will make Smith more comfortable in the pocket.  The 49ers passed up on drafting quarterbacks and trading for some of the available ones like Donovan McNabb to show their faith in Smith. They did however sign former number one draft pick David Carr.  I expect Carr to have a great training camp and give Smith good competition for the starting job.  Unless Smith has a bad showing in camp and in the preseason or if he goes down to injury, which is prone to doing, Smith will be under center at the start of the season.  Carr brings stability as a back up and will be a great mentor to Smith as he has been a back up for two Super Bowl quarterbacks.  Both Smith and Carr have a lot to prove as they have been written off by many as quarterbacks who cannot start in the NFL and lead their teams to winning records.

Starting strong safety Michael Lewis suffered his third concussion since August 18 in the Falcons loss.  For any football player to have three concussions in their career is a serious thing and for Lewis to have his third in almost as many months is not good.  I don’t expect Lewis to play the rest of the season and with strong safety backup Reggie Smith out of action in recent weeks because of a groin injury it looks like free safety Mark Roman will start until Smith comes back from his injury.  After the 49ers secondary got scorched and exposed by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and the rest of his offense the absence of Lewis and Smith does not bode well for the 49ers when they face the high powered offenses of the Texans and Colts on the road.

Coach Mike Singletary said in his news conference on Monday that there might be a change at right guard.  Chilo Rachal who has been starting at right guard did not play well against the Falcons.  Rachal was responsible for a sack when the Falcons only rushed three defensive lineman and still managed to get to quarterback Shaun Hill.  I thought Rachal was going to be solid at right guard but so far this year he has been a disappointment.  Backup guard Tony Wragge might be in the starting lineup after the bye week.  The right side of the 49ers offensive line is a mess.  Not only do we have issues with Rachal being able to block but also at right tackle with Adam Snyder and Tony Pashos who have been alternating because neither seem to be able to consistently block on any play.  As bad and slow starting the offense has been some blame can go to offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, the running game and Shaun Hill but all plays start and end with the offensive line.  If one side of your O-line is not getting the job done the defense will exploit the weakness.

Keep updated automatically through email on 49ers news at Niner Noise. Subscribe here:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/NinerNoise