The 49ers won a hard fought game last night against the Raiders in Oakland.  Alex Smith led a conservative attack by completing 9 of 15 passes for 113 yards with 1 TD pass.  David Carr didn’t look too good when he followed Smith in the game as he completed 7 of 17 passes for 54 yards.  Rookie RB Anthony Dixon had a big workload once again last night with 21 carries for 69 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 15 yards.  Frank Gore made a brief appearance and he was outstanding as he carried the ball 2 times for 58 yards (29.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Brian Westbrook pitched in with 17 yards rushing on 2 carries (8.5 ypc) last night.  WRs Dominique Zeigler (5 rec, 47 yards) and Josh Morgan (3 rec, 31 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Niners last night.  The 49ers finished up with 165 yards rushing (5.0 ypc) and 167 yards passing last night.

LB Patrick Willis led the way as usual for the 49ers on D in this game with 8 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  CB Karl Paymah pitched in with 7 tackles in this game.  Rookie 7th round pick (CB) Phillip Adams had a night to remember.  He only had two tackles last night but he also returned 3 punts for 116 yards (38.7 avg) with a 83-yard TD return.  The Raiders finished up with 55 yards rushing (2.9 ypc) and 276 yards passing in this game.  The 49ers are now 3-0 on the pre-season.

The 49ers didn’t look too sharp on offense but they didn’t have to because of the D.  Alex Smith was solid in completing 9 of 13 passes for 88 yards on Sunday Night.  Nate Davis didn’t look so good though as he completed only 7 of 16 passes for 114 yards.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 16 yards (8.0 ypc) in this game.  Rookie RB led the way on the ground once again for the Niners with 20 carries for 51 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Ted Ginn led the way in the air for the Niners with 65 yards rushing on 2 grabs (32.5 avg).  The 49ers finished up with 80 yards rushing (2.6 ypc) and 191 yards passing in this game.

The defense was outstanding for the Niners in this contest.  ILB Patrick Willis (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) and OLB Manny Lawson (4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) both played well in this game.  Rookie 7th round pick (CB) Phillip Adams also had a solid game with 4 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  The Vikings finished up with 114 yards rushing (5.7 ypc) and 79 yards passing in this game.

The 49ers have released 27-year old WR Brandon Jones.  Jones played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Niners last season and he only caught 1 pass for 18 yards.  Jones has now played in 59 games (27 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 113 passes for 1,398 yards (12.4 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 6 times for 76 yards (12.7 ypc) in his career.  Jones will hook on with some team soon but the 49ers will be a better team in 2010 without him on it.

The San Francisco 49ers lose CB Will James (high ankle sprain) and rookie PR/KR/WR Kyle Williams (sprained big toe) for a while.  James is likely to miss the next 4-6 weeks while Williams is likely out six weeks.  James had 1 tackle and 1 interception against the Colts this weekend and he is expected to have a big role for the Niners this year.  Williams returned 1 punt for 36 yards, 2 kickoff for 42 yards and he caught 1 pass for 8 yards in the pre-season opener.  He was going to have to fight for his roster spot so this injury might have cost him a job with the Niners.

The 49ers have signed 30-year old RB Brian Westbrook to a 1-year, $1.25 million dollar deal with another $1.25 million bucks in incentives.  Westbrook played in 8 games (7 starts) with the Eagles last season and he carried the ball 61 times for 274 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 25 passes for 181 yards (7.2 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Westbrook has now played in 107 games (85 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,308 times for 5,995 yards (4.6 ypc) with 37 TD runs.  He has also caught 426 passes for 3,790 yards (8.9 avg) with 29 TD grabs.  This was a great signing for the Niners as Westbrook will be Frank Gore’s top backup as long as he can stay healthy.

The 49ers have traded 23-year old DT Kentwan Balmer to the Seahawks for a 6th round pick in 2011.  Balmer played in 11 games for the Niners last season and he had 12 tackles.  He has played in 27 games in his two years with the Niners and he had 19 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  The Niners used a first round pick on Balmer in 2008 so they have to consider him a huge bust especially when you consider that they didn’t mind trading him to a team in their own division.

The 49ers dominated this game after Peyton Manning left the contest.  Alex Smith didn’t look too good at all yesterdy as he completed 3 of 9 passes for 37 yards with 1 pickoff.  David Carr followed Smith in the game and he was outstanding completing 9 of 11 passes for 98 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 16 yards yesterday.  Nate Davis finished up the game at QB for the Niners and he looked good completing 5 of 6 passes for 84 yards.  Rookie sixth round pick Anthony Dixon really excelled in his first taste of the NFL with 21 carries for 100 yards (4.8 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg) yesterday.  Michael Robinson didn’t look too good in this game with 5 carries for 13 yards (2.6 ypc) with a TD run but he also lost a fumble.  Rookie TE (6th rounder) Nate Byham also made a good first impression for the Niners with 3 grabs for 52 yards (17.3 avg).  TE Tony Curtis pitched in with 2 receptions for 14 yards (7.0 avg) with a TD.  The 49ers finished up with 132 yards rushing (4.6 ypc) and 203 yards passing in this game.

The defense was outstanding in this game for the Niners.  Linebackers Mike Balogun (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and Bruce Davis (6 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Niners defensively.  Safety Reggie Smith also made a huge impact in this game with 2 tackles, 2 passed defensed and a interception that he returned 91 yards for a TD.  The Colts finished up with 58 yards rushing (2.4 ypc) and 177 yards passing yesterday.

25-year old WR Ted Ginn will be taking over as the Niners’ kickoff returner in 2010.  Ginn played in 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he returned 52 kickoffs for 1,296 yards (24.9 avg) with 2 TD returns.  He has now played in 48 games in his NFL career and he has returned 147 kickoffs for 3,386 yards (23.0 avg) with 2 TD returns in his NFL career.  The Niners should get better starting position for the offense with Ginn returning the kickoffs as he has blinding speed.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ERS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  A-

23-year old running back Glen Coffee has decided to retire from the NFL.  He played in 14 games (2 starts) as a rookie for the Niners last season in which he carried the ball 83 times for 226 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD and he caught 11 passes for 76 yards (6.9 avg).  Coffee also returned 3 kickoffs for 42 yards (14.0 avg) last season.  This comes as a shock to the Niners who were counting on Coffee to improve in his second year in the NFL.  Michael Robinson and rookie 6th round pick Anthony Dixon will battle it out to see who will be the top backup for Frank Gore in 2010.

The San Francisco 49ers wanted to improve the physicality of the offensive line in 2010 and I think they have achieved their goal.  LT Joe Staley is a solid all-around tackle as he’s very athletic which helps him in hitting moving targets in the running game or dealing with speed rushers.  The starting left guard will be rookie 1st round pick Mike Iupati out of Idaho.  He is a mauler in the running game which is exactly what the Niners were looking for.  Starting center Eric Heitmann is going to miss the next 6-8 weeks due to injury so last year’s starting left guard David Baas will battle Tony Wragge for the right to replace him as the starting center.  Baas is a very physical player and if he starts at center the Niners will be knocking defensive line backwards when running the ball.  LG will be a battle between Chilo Rachal (last year’s starter) and last years starting RT Adam Snyder.  The Niners will be in good hands no matter who wins the LG spot.  The Niners were very happy when OT Anthony Davis slipped to them with the 11th pick of the first round last April.  He is a huge guy at 6’5″, 323 pounds and he will likely be a road grader in the running game while learning the ropes with his pass blocking.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ERS O-LINE in 2010:  B