McDaniels addresssed this in his discussion, however briefly. He said that he will be plugging different people into different slots to familiarize them with the schemes, but indicated that nothing was etched in stone yet, so there isn’t much worry about what a depth chart does or doesn’t say right now. Since this is the first year of a new ‘regime’ relatively few players have a defined position compared to a normal training camp. When they have the pads on for a few practices and the coaches get to see how players hit, more will become established, but right now, most of the battles that all of us are interested in – DL, safety, CB, LB – are just beginning. Man, this is exciting!

I don’t envy the guys who have to write that way and ignore anything negative…

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ninerinsider/detail?&entry_id=44396

A little more from that article:

The 49ers have the leverage here. They already have Josh Morgan, Isaac Bruce, Brandon Jones, etc. They functioned just fine in OTA’s with Crabtree on the sidelines with a foot injury. There’s no rush on the 49ers’ part to get Crabtree signed. Crabtree’s asking price is also a little bit of a slap in the face for the 49ers and somewhat disingenuous. Obviously, agent Eugene Parker believes he can get the 49ers to capitulate. After all, many would argue they over paid for Alex Smith (twice) Justin Smith and Nate Clements to name a few.

Another question seems relevant – why would Crabtree make such a stand? Particularly after Mike Singletary told the media the story of pulling Crabtree out of practice because he wasn’t yet medically cleared to participate. Singletary said Crabtree nearly teared up after being told to sit by Singletary. If Crabtree is so emotionally eager to play, why would he make such high contract demands? How is that going to play in the 49ers’ locker room?

Why is it always the WRs?

Is this Crabtree guy setting himself up to fail or what. I heard he wasn’t too popular in San Frans locker room before this contract mess. At this rate, that dude stands as good a chance of getting tattooed in practice as he does in week one.

There is no shortage of WR drama in the NFL.

I may be making this up; however, I think I read somewhere that part of the problem is that all these players have the same agent/agency representing them. Therefore, it’s not the teams or players holding things up but rather the agents, who may not be too concerned with ‘rational agreements’.

We need a rookie cap ASAP!

Totally agree. The rookies will come to their senses as real training camp approaches.

I thought the idea of a rookie camp would prompt rookies to sign on time. Instead, it looks like the rookie camp is viewed as nothing more than optional orientation for the 1st rounders. If the 1st rounders start missing regular training camp, then its time to worry.

A rookie cap will solve all these problems.

tailor their game plans to defend against him, I mean.

Draw some personal fouls…distract the child to know end.

Chibronx did an excellent analysis of Marshall’s On-Field Problems that discusses that very thing- great read.

McG, I know you enjoy throwing us all into certain buckets, but it’s not that simple. Banks is good at his job and takes it seriously. And who in the world puts stock into the power rankings of sportswriters?