San Francisco 49ers: Stock Up, Stock Down for Every Positional Unit in Preseason

If the San Francisco 49ers were a viable entity on the New York Stock Exchange, the positional units would garner both favorable and not so favorable attention.

The hypothetical financial adviser dealing with these NFL stocks would have some positive, and not so positive reports for his or her prospective clients.

Moving to the actual football field, the respective play of each 49ers positional area in preseason action deserves both praise and negative reviews. This applies to the entire roster—from quarterback Alex Smith, all the way down to kicker Giorgio Tavecchio.

Well, perhaps not to the Italian-born special teamer.

The primary focus lies on the first-team players, draft picks and underrated, yet necessary backups.

Randy Moss, LaMichael James, Aldon Smith, Demarcus Dobbs—these players represent an assortment of positions within the concentration of this article.

Let’s now grade each positional unit in a stock up, stock down fashion for the San Francisco 49ers.

Stock Up: Quarterbacks

When grading the Niner quarterbacks, it really all comes down to Alex Smith. He is and always was the man for the job.

The trio of Colin Kaepernick, Josh Johnson and Scott Tolzien will produce a serviceable backup at the end of the day.

Smith, though, has impressed throughout the preseason. From hitting Kyle Williams in stride on a deep sideline pass on Day 3 of training camp, to throwing a beautiful touch-pass for a score against the Vikings, he’s been consistently money.

CSNBayArea’s Matt Maiocco supplied perhaps the best encapsulation of the quarterback’s performance when he noted that “Smith looks to be better at every aspect of his game.” This extends from throwing accuracy to mastery of the playbook.

Each of the backups, on the other hand, has been largely inconsistent.

Kaepernick showed off his obvious abilities as a runner with a 78-yard score against Minnesota. As observed by The Sacramento Bee’s Matt Barrows, however, he nearly produced two turnovers via the interception in Houston. The talent is clearly there; he just needs to improve his fundamentals as a passer.

Johnson and Tolzien, meanwhile, have had their good and bad outings. With his poise and accuracy in the first preseason game, it seems Tolzien is currently in line for the No. 3 position on the depth chart. Johnson did help his own cause with a 4-for-6 day against the Texans after previous up-and-down showings.

Taking into account Johnson’s veteran experience, Tolzien’s elevated play and Kaepernick’s physical talents, the 49ers have more than enough behind Alex Smith.

Stock up for the quarterbacks in San Francisco.

Stock Up: Running Backs

This group overall is as deep as any in the National Football League. From Frank Gore down to Rock Cartwright, this is a supremely talented and complementary set of backs.

There’s just one potential problem: the injury bug.

Both Brandon Jacobs (knee) and LaMichael James (ankle) left Saturday’s game early with injuries. Thankfully, James returned to the practice field on Monday (albeit in limited fashion) and Jacobs’ tweet revealed plenty of positivity regarding his setback.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh said himself that each first-year 49er avoided a serious injury (h/t CSNBayArea.com). Jacobs could indeed return in time for the Packers game.

That said, the prospect of further injury will remain in the back of our minds, even when each newcomer has looked strong when on the field. At present, however, the 49ers evaded long-term consequences with these encouraging prognoses for Jacobs and James.

The other reasons for this stock-up grade are Gore’s fine work in limited action and Kendall Hunter’s continuing emergence as the team’s No. 2 back.

We all know that Gore will be ready to rock come the start of the regular season—regardless of how many touches he receives in preseason games.

Knowing that his primary backup is firing on all cylinders, though, is the more topical news coming out of 49ers camp.

“You can tell – from the first year to this year – that he grew a lot…He’s not thinking; he’s just playing football,” said Gore on Monday (via Alex Espinoza of 49ers.com).

And pretty darn good football at that.

Stock Down: Offensive Line

The men up front have done a good job in their run-blocking assignments.

Through the first two preseason matchups, the offensive line has propelled the running backs to 378 yards and nearly six yards per carry.

On the other hand, it has surrendered five total sacks in those games. Right tackle Anthony Davis is once again a primary reason for 49er QBs hitting the turf.

Alex Smith deserves some blame as well, but Davis’ penalty issues are still a concern.

Sixth-round pick Jason Slowey has missed time and appeared a bit overwhelmed in certain instances when on the field. He is very much a work in progress and will likely end up on the practice squad, as Kyle Bonagura of CBSSports.com notes as well.

Projected starting right guard Alex Boone and the remaining first-teamers have been solid. The same goes for backups Leonard Davis, Daniel Kilgore and third-round selection Joe Looney.

This is by no means an overly glaring stock-down grade for the O-line. But as one of 49ers’ greatest deficiencies in 2011, the sacks given up thus far are reasons enough for a negative evaluation.

Stock Up: Tight Ends, Wide Receivers

Vernon Davis has been his usual astonishing self throughout training camp.

He’s provided highlight-reel type grabs and has seemingly been every 49er quarterbacks’ best friend in the passing game. His touchdown catch last week against All-Pro Patrick Willis was one of many examples of Davis’ prowess on the practice field.

More positive news emerging from the tight-end front is Demarcus Dobb’s jump into the No. 3 role behind Davis and Delanie Walker. His abilities to play in all three areas of the field gives the coaching staff much help in assembling the final 53-man roster.

Only Walker’s injury (has since returned to practice on Monday) has led to any consternation among the coaching staff regarding this positional group.

Concerning the wideouts, Randy Moss and Mario Manningham have produced fantastic training camps.

Moss has provided exceptional leadership, has been completely fluid with the first-team offense and looked solid in a three-catch performance against the Texans.

Manningham was mainly invisible in his only live action on Saturday, but has developed great rapport with Smith throughout camp. He’ll serve as a highly valuable target moving forward.

A couple sour notes with this unit include Michael Crabtree’s extended absence due to injury and rookie A.J. Jenkins’ consistent inconsistency.

(To be fair, Jenkins’ numbers in the box score didn’t accurately reflect what he produced on the field over the weekend. His 32-yard sideline catch was thoroughly impressive.)

Yet, the 49ers’ stable of receivers is thoroughly stacked. Jenkins does not need to fulfill a significant role in Year 1 with veterans Kyle Williams and Ted Ginn ahead of him on the depth chart. Heck, even fellow rookies Chris Owusu, Nathan Palmer and Brian Tyms offer noteworthy abilities on the back end.

And with Crabtree’s two catches through the first half of the preseason, 49er fans became witnesses to the former No. 10 overall pick’s first exhibition playing time. That’s not something to take lightly considering Crabs’ prior summer practices (or lack thereof).

Stock Down: Linebackers

Injuries, injuries and more injuries—such has been the case for outside linebackers wearing the Red and Gold.

There are not any concerns over the inside contingent of Patrick Willis, Navorro Bowman, Larry Grant and Tavares Gooden.  All have remained healthy and executed their respective duties (minus Davis burning them a time or two on seam routes).

The outside backers are another matter entirely. Fourth-rounder Darius Fleming tore his ACL in rookie minicamp. Fellow rookie Cam Johnson has missed extended time himself, including the latest preseason game.

Injuries to starting left OLB Ahmad Brooks and undrafted free agent Kourtnei Brown have compounded this issue even more.

Most worrisome is that Aldon Smith, the 49ers’ leading sack artist of last year, suffered a bruised hip in the first quarter of the preseason opener. He was back at practice yesterday (as was Brooks), but needs all the reps he can get to become fluent in his coverage responsibilities as an every-down player.

Only the contributions of UDFA Eric Bakhtiari as the leading tackler for consecutive games have provided any semblance of good news at this position.

Stock Up: Defensive Line, Secondary

Justin Smith isn’t even required to play in much of the first two preseason games to earn a certain scribe’s nod for Defensive MVP of the 49ers preseason (per CSNBayArea’s Maiocco).

I couldn’t agree more with all that I’ve seen so far from the beastly man. The starting defensive end recently kept Houston’s running attack in check during his limited snaps.

Smith has also continued to push the men around him to greater heights. Starting left end Ray McDonald feeds off his counterpart and continually shines in his accustomed underrated way. Nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga dominated the interior of the line in his latest preseason action as well.

Equally noteworthy is the great depth behind the starting three. Ricky Jean Francois has made his case for the No. 4 position on the depth chart, while Dobbs and Ian Williams have also put forth impressive showings in live action thus far.

Having quality personnel in this positional unit is a huge advantage. Smith, McDonald and Soap missed essentially zero time last year. It is unlikely that they can duplicate such an injury-free campaign.

Meanwhile, the defensive secondary is another area of strength for the 49ers.

The top-three corners in Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown and Chris Culliver have all solidified their spot in the pecking order.

Rogers has consistently sought out matchups against the 49ers best wideouts in practice and has shut down opposing receivers in live action. The latter two have matched that consistency with excellent work in coverage in practice and on the playing field.

A stock-up mark also applies to first-year Niner Perish Cox. The former Broncos corner recently learned that he will not be suspended by the NFL due to his involvement in a sexual assault case in 2010 (via The Sacramento Bee). The legal courts acquitted him back in March. 

This is particularly important with regards to the gridiron because Cox has produced one of the better camps among all 49ers.

He’s excelled in all assignments at cornerback and has contributed in a variety of special teams roles as well. His performance against the Vikings has served as the latest piece of evidence.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio concurs (courtesy of The Sacramento Bee).

"

We like Perrish...We've got him playing nickel and corner…and he's done well learning both those positions. He's given us added depth and he's going to push for added playing time…

"

That depth will be paramount in games against the powerhouse offenses on the 49ers’ schedule this season.

As far as the safeties are concerned, Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner have had their lapses at times. Goldson failed to provide help over the top to Rogers in a 52-yard pass to a Vikings receiver. Whitner surrendered a third-down completion as well.

More significant is that they bounced back in the Houston matchup. Each recorded a tackle and provided tight coverage. They have also been vocal leaders as veteran members on the squad.

Lastly, the 49ers are pretty well set for backups at safety.

C.J. Spillman has improved his work in the secondary and continued his stellar play on special teams. Trenton Robinson has performed admirably for Brad Seely, but has shown some rookie inexperience on defense.

And former Stanford Cardinal Michael Thomas recorded a sack in the Texans matchup and offers another potential option at nickel back.

Stock Up: Special Teams

So, how can we make this section compelling?

Let’s just keep it relatively brief for the time being.

David Akers booted all three field goal tries through the uprights on Saturday. Two of them went for 50-plus.

Tavecchio appeared competent in kickoffs in the second preseason game and in his one field goal attempt in the first. He’s proven himself as a serviceable kicker if Akers ever goes down.

Seely will jot down his home phone number before cutting him at the end of camp. There just isn’t any room for two kickers on the roster.

Andy Lee has done his thing with three punts inside the 20, two over 60 yards and a 50-yard average. The one blemish for him and the rest of the coverage unit is the 87-yard touchdown they surrendered to the Texans’ Trindon Holliday.

Finally, stock is way up on the bevy of returners on the 49ers roster. I say this even with Ginn not having returned any kicks through the first two games.

James has received invaluable experience in the return game and looked fairly comfortable in that role. Williams reported having full confidence in himself after his infamous miscues in the NFC Championship game last year.

Moreover, Hunter has had some of the better returns, while guys like Culliver and Jenkins could conceivably step up if the need ever arises.

One way or another, there isn’t any reason for San Francisco not to dominate on special teams once again.

They replaced ace Blake Costanzo—their only loss—with another one in Rock Cartwright. Ginn is back and there’s even more depth behind him. Akers and Lee aren’t going anywhere, either.

The Tony Montana Squad will be in full force in 2012.

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