NFL Arranges San Francisco 49ers' Mentoring by the New Orleans Saints

The NFL did coach Harbaugh and the 49er organization a solid favor by scheduling them to play the New Orleans Saints in the first preseason game.

The "game" was, after all, only the 13th practice session since the NFL lockout ended.  

By throwing the 49ers right into the lion’s den in their first full-speed scrimmage, the Saints graphically demonstrated to every 49er player and staff member just how much work is needed to compete in today’s NFL.

The unprepared play-time aptitude of many players invoked a rude surprise.

The Saints defense obliged by mentoring the 49ers in defensive tactics. Throwing multiple blitzes in various designs at the 49er offensive line early and with vigor, they proved that the 49ers offensive line was not ready for prime time. 

The Saints first-string starters acted like it was another playoff game left over from last year's season. The backups came in after the first few aborted drives and continued the lessons.

The strategy worked to catch the sluggish 49ers off guard and to bloody their noses, introduce the emotion of humility and prove the 49ers’ inadequacies before they could catch their breath.

Alex Smith had no time to throw and suffered sack after sack. Almost all of his passes were rushed. Even so, his stats matched those of Saints quarterback Drew Brees—the one bleak spot in the Saints' first preseason game. As I mentioned, it was only the 13th practice of the season.

The second-round draftee quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, did little better to start off with. Changing quarterbacks does not automatically improve the offensive line. But his native skills did flash from time to time. 

His scrambling from scrimmage served notice that opposing defenses will have to keep someone back to shadow him, or else he can sting quickly and run strongly. He demonstrated a rifle arm, sending the ball downfield with speed and a flat trajectory several times. 

He also revealed his novice status by throwing interceptions. But that is part of the training regimen. Mistakes are learning opportunities in the NFL.

So, what do we know now that we did not know last week?

We know the offensive line needs extensive work to gel and become a cohesive unit.

We know Alex Smith can still be rattled a bit by constant blitzes.

We know, or at least have a hint, that Colin Kaepernick someday may be a very good quarterback.

We know a team needs more than 12 practices with a new coach, a new system, a new center and new players before they can compete effectively.

We know the team has some real quality players. Even with the rout Friday night, there were flashes of greatness. I kept hearing Taylor Mays' name mentioned over and over. 

We know the defensive line is ahead of the offensive line in preparation, which makes sense. The defensive line was ahead of the offensive line nearly all of last year.

We know the corners seemed to be almost up to speed, batting balls away and generally frustrating the Saints receivers.

We know the 49ers have a field goal of power and strength, as they made a 59-yard field goal.

We know the punter has talent, kicking some mortar-type missiles.

We know a team needs more than 12 practices to get their act together.

And we know there is a mountain of work left to do before this San Francisco team can compete at the NFL level.