San Francisco 49ers: What Can We Take Away from the 49ers First Exhibition Game?

While 49er fans everywhere are coming to premature conclusions, the 49ers themselves are back in Santa Clara working on getting better.

So it wasn't a pretty sight. Okay, it was damn ugly, but what did you expect?

I thought we covered this already. Rome wasn't built in a day, nothing good ever is. 

See if you guys can remember way back to two whole weeks ago. I recall a similar reaction after the first week in free agency. By the second week, people were thrilled with the tremendous job Trent Baalke had done. I sense the same thing here.

I have read a few articles about the game. A lot of people seem to be jumping the gun a bit. Let's look at what can honestly be derived from the preseason opener against the Saints.

- First and foremost, the offensive line needs to improve.

- Our first team defense looked solid.

- Aldon Smith seems to be the real deal.

- Kyle Williams is surprisingly better than I expected.

- Taylor Mays continues to look like a promising talent.

- Colin Kaepernick has a ton of natural ability and has changed the conversation.

- Delanie Walker looked freaky good. 

- Braylon Edwards has a large presence on the field.

There is not much more that I would agree to beyond that. It is extremely early—30 hours on the practice field and that's how you look, keep perspective.

Believe me, I will be the first to start the C-K chants in Candlestick, but I can't, with clear conscience, blame Alex Smith for his performance on Thursday night.

Until the line gets to playing like an NFL line, a quarterback has no chance. That goes for Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick or Joe Montana. The line doesn't have to be amazing, just good enough for the quarterback to reach his second and third receiver in the progression. 

The good news—they will be fine, even good. Just give them some time to put it all together my impatient friends. And remember, we are playing the Raiders next week. We will for sure look better.

Thank you for reading. Please join me on Twitter   @ryanthebroker