The 49ers are set at running back and new offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz thinks that Frank Gore can have a few seasons like Marshall Faulk did for him in St. Louis.  Gore isn’t the receiver that Faulk was but he has more power between the tackles.  Gore played in 15 games (all starts) for the 49ers last season and he carried the ball 260 times for 1,102 yards (4.2 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 53 passes for 436 yards (8.2 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  The biggest issue with Gore is just keeping him healthy as he has had a lot of surgeries in the past.  Hopefully, free agent signee DeShaun Foster will be able to give Gore a break once in a while.  Gore has now played in 45 games (32 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 699 times for 3,405 yards (4.9 ypc) with 16 TD runs.  He also has caught 129 passes for 1,052 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his career.

DeShaun Foster will give the 49ers a solid backup running back who should help keep Frank Gore fresh.  Foster has a lot of things in common with Gore as they both have had problems with injuries in the past and they are both power runners.  Foster is also pretty fast which should help benefit the whole offense when he is on the floor.  Foster  played in 16 games (all starts) for the Panthers last season and he carried the ball 247 times for 876 yards (3.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Don’t look for Foster to put up big numbers unless Frank Gore gets hurt in 2008.  Foster has now played in 63 games (40 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 851 times for 3,336 yards (3.9 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also has caught 126 passes for 996 yards (7.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his NFL career.

Michael Robinson has turned into a decent running back who specializes in trick plays as he played QB at Penn State.  Robinson has enough speed to get to the corner on sweeps but he needs to work on his hands a little bit in the passing game.  Robinson played in 15 games (1 start) for the 49ers last season and he carried the ball 26 times for 121 yards (4.7 ypc) and he also caught 11 passes for 73 yards (6.6 avg) but he didn’t score a TD.  Look for Robinson to get a little more playing time than he has in his first two seasons.  Robinson has now played in 31 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 64 times for 237 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also has caught 20 passes for 120 yards (6.0 avg) without a TD reception in his NFL career.

Thomas Clayton was a rookie in 2007 but he never made it to the field for the 49ers.  He will be a longshot this season to help out the 49ers much.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A-

The 49ers have signed 33-year old offensive tackle Barry Sims to a 2-year contract.  The 6′5″, 300 pound Sims will likely be a starter for the Niners in 2008.  He played in 16 games for the Raiders last season (all starts).  Sims has now played 9 seasons in the NFL covering 136 games (119 starts) in his NFL career.  This was a good move for the 49ers.

It will be interesting to see if Alex Smith can excel in new offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz’ fast break offense.  The 49ers surely hope so or Smith might find himself on the bench after Shaun Hill’s emergence late last season.  Smith has a good arm and he’s mobile in the pocket but he often throws the football to the other team and that won’t be tolerated anymore.  Smith played in 7 games (all starts) last season for the 49ers and he completed 94 of 193 passes (48.7%) for 914 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 interceptions (57.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 89 yards (6.8 ypc).  If Smith doesn’t improve his game soon he might get banished to the bench for good.  Smith has now played in 32 games (30 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 435 of 800 passes (54.4%) for 4,679 yards with 19 TD passes and 31 interceptions (63.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 87 times for 339 yards (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

Shaun Hill will battle Alex Smith for the starting job on the 49ers and he might win it based on how well he played last season.  Hill might not be the most athletic QB but he knows where to go with the football and he could excel in the Niners’ new offense.  Hill played in 3 games (2 starts) last season for the 49ers and he completed 54 of 79 passes (68.4%) for 501 yards with 5 TD passes and 1 interception (101.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 14 yards (1.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Hill only played in 1 game in his NFL career before last season and he didn’t attempt a pass.  He ran the ball 2 times for -2 yards (-1.0 ypc) in his only game before last year.

J.T. O’Sullivan came west to the 49ers with offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz from Detroit where he was the backup QB last season.  O’Sullivan is clearly the third best QB on the 49ers’ roster but he will at least have the edge of knowing the playbook.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Lions last season and he completed 13 of 26 passes (50%) for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions (48.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for -10 yards (-2.5 ypc).  O’Sullivan only had played in 1 game (0 starts) in his career before last season and he did not attempt a pass while carrying the ball 2 times for -2 yards (-1.0 ypc).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D

Larry Grant benefitted from playing with a lot of great players at Ohio State.  But he didn’t take advantage of all of the help as he didn’t make a lot of big plays.  Grant is 6′1″, 235 pounds so he should be able to handle the heat around the corner.  He played in 25 games (14 starts) for the Buckeyes and he made 69 tackles, had 5.5 sacks, 10 tackles for a loss and he has 2 interceptions.  Grant will likely have to make the team playing on special teams.

Josh Morgan is a great athlete and the Niners need help at receiver so they might be able to overlook how selfish he is.  Morgan is 6′0″, 218 pounds but he runs a 4.49 40.  Morgan played in 51 games (24 starts) at Virginia Tech and he caught 122 passes for 1,817 yards (14.9 avg) with 16 TD grabs.  If Morgan can just get a team first attitude he will be able to help out the Niners big time in Mike Martz’ new offense.