27-year old Frank Gore is the only legit RB on the 49ers’ roster heading into training camp.  He played in 14 games (all starts) for the Niners last season and he carried the ball 229 times for 1,120 yards (4.9 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  Gore also caught 52 passes for 406 yards (7.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs last season.  He has now played in 73 games (60 starts) in his five years with the 49ers and he has carried the ball 1,168 times for 5,561 yards (4.8 ypc) with 32 TD runs.  He has also caught 224 passes for 1,831 yards (8.2 avg) with 7 TD grabs in his career.  The 49ers better pray that Gore stays healthy in 2010 or the offense is going to be in bad shape.

23-year old Glen Coffee will likely battle 6th round pick Anthony Dixon for the #2 RB job in 2010.  Coffee was a rookie for the Niners last season.  He played in 14 games (2 starts) in 2009 for the Niners in which he carried the ball 83 times for 226 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 11 passes for 76 yards (6.9 avg) last season.  Coffee better step up this season or he will have a short career with the 49ers.  Dixon will have a good shot of beating him out for the job in training camp.

27-year old Michael Robinson will be around for another year for the Niners.  He played in 15 games (0 starts) for the 49ers last season and he carried the ball 3 times for 2 yards (0.7 ypc).  Robinson also caught 6 passes for 24 yards (4.0 avg) and he returned 18 kickoffs for 414 yards (23.0 avg) last season.  Robinson has now played in 62 games (2 starts) in his four years with the Niners and he has carried the ball 86 times for 289 yards (3.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 43 passes for 346 yards (8.0 avg) and he has returned 30 kickoffs for 673 yards (22.4 avg) in his career to date.  Robinson is a valuable player to have on the roster as he was a college QB who can throw the ball downfield on a trick play or he could run a Wildcat Formation.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ers RBs in 2010:  B

The 49ers traded Shaun Hill before the NFL Draft and they signed David Carr to replace him as Alex Smith’s backup.  That means the 49ers need to keep Smith healthy in 2010.  Smith played in 11 games for the 49ers last season and he completed 225 of 372 passes (60.5%) for 2,350 yards with 18 TD passes and 12 INTs (81.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 24 times for 51 yards (2.1 ypc) last season for the Niners.  Smith has now played in 43 games in his career with the 49ers and he has completed 660 of 1,172 passes (56.3%) for 7,029 yards with 37 TD passes and 43 INTs (69.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 111 times for 390 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career so far.  Smith has a 16-24 (40%) record as a starting QB for the 49ers.  The 49ers hope that Smith builds on his success of last season in 2010.

30-year old David Carr always has looked the part as he has a good throwing arm and enough mobility to take off and run or buy more time in the pocket to throw the ball.  But the light just hasn’t turned on for him in his career yet.  Carr played in 6 games for the Giants last year and he completed 21 of 33 passes (63.6%) for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (93.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 27 yards (3.0 ypc) with a TD run last year.  Carr has now played in 91 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,346 of 2,251 passes (59.8%) for 14,366 yards with 65 TD passes and 70 INTs (75.2 QB Rating).  Carr has also carried the ball 302 times for 1,331 yards (4.4 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his NFL career.  Carr has a 23-56 (29.1%) record in his career as a starting QB.

2nd year QB Nate Davis out of Ball State will battle undrafted rookie Jarrett Brown out of West Virginia for the #3 job in 2010.  Davis has the upper hand here as he was on the 49ers all of last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ers QBs in 2010:  C+