47-year old head coach Jim Harbaugh is getting his first chance to be an NFL head coach in 2011.  Harbaugh was a very successful head coach at Stanford the last four years.  But, college coaches usually get chewed up and spit out at the NFL level.  But, Harbaugh is quite a bit different than most college coaches taking a shot at the NFL.  He was the Raiders’ QB coach in 2002 and 2003.  He also had a 14-year career as a pretty decent QB in the NFL.  I think he has the experience and know how to be a pretty good head coach as long as he has enough talent on the roster to work with.

The Niners signed 27-year old QB Alex Smith to a 1-year deal.  He will have rookie  Colin Kaepernick breathing down the back of his neck this season.  Smith played in 11 games (10 starts) for the 49ers last year and he completed 204 of 342 passes (59.6%) for 2,370 yards with 14 TD passes and 10 INTs (82.1 QB Rating).  Smith also carried the ball 18 times for 60 yards (3.3 ypc) last year.  Smith played probably the best football of his career last season and the Niners are hoping for a repeat performance in 2011 out of him.  Smith has now played in 54 games (50 starts) in his first 5 years in the NFL and he has completed 864 of 1,514 passes (57.1%) for 9,399 yards with 51 TD passes and 53 INTs (72.1 QB Rating).  Smith has also carried the ball 129 times for 450 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his career.  He is now 19-31 (38%) as a starting QB for the Niners.

23-year old rookie Colin Kaepernick was the Niners’ 2nd round pick last April out of Nevada.  He is clearly the QB of the Future for the Niners and that could start before the end of the 2011 season.  He has a much stronger arm than Alex Smith does and he is also a very mobile QB.  Head Coach Jim Harbaugh picked Kaepernick to be his guy under center and it will happen sooner rather than later.

23-year old McLeod Bethel-Thompson and 22-year old Jeremiah Masoli are going to battle it out in training camp for the #3 QB job for the Niners in 2011.  Bethel-Thompson is a local boy as he is a undrafted rookie out of Sacramento State.  He probably has the slight edge right now as Jeremiah Masoli is also working out an RB.  Masoli is a undrafted QB out of Mississippi.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ERS QBS IN 2011:  C

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-

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

51-year old head coach Mike Singletary seems to be getting more out of the 49ers than a lot of people thought he would.  The 49ers were 8-8 last season and Singletary even coached up Alex Smith (which was thought to be near impossible).  The Niners are 13-12 (52%) in two years with the Niners.  With the NFC West now open due to the retirement of Kurt Warner in Arizona it will be interesting to see if Singletary can get his team to the playoffs in 2010.

37-year old kicker Joe Nedney still appears to have life in his left leg.  He played in 14 games for the Niners last season and he made 17 of 21 field goals (81%) and all 33 of his extra points good for 84 points.  Nedney has now played in 167 games in his NFL career and he has made 245 of 306 field goals (80.1%).  He is also 328 of 331 on extra points as he has 1,063 points in his NFL career.  The Niners are hoping that he can stay healthy in 2010.

29-year old Shane Andrus is also in camp for the Niners and he could wind up being a kickoff specialist to save wear and tear on Nedney’s leg.  Andrus played in 5 games for the Colts, Bucs and 49ers last season and he was 0 for 1 on field goals and 10/10 on extra points.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ERS KICKERS in 2010:  B-

It all starts with 22-year old, 2nd year WR Michael Crabtree.  Crabtree played in 11 games (all starts) last season for the 49ers and he caught 48 passes for 625 yards (13.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  I expect Crabtree to break out this season now that he had a full off-season to prepare for 2010.  He held out last season missing the first five games of the year and it hurt his development.  One other thing that Crabtree will need to improve on is that he needs to get rid of the alligator arms going over the middle.

25-year old Josh Morgan will likely start opposite of Crabtree this year.  Morgan played in 16 games (15 starts) last season for the Niners and he caught 52 passes for 527 yards (10.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 61 yards (12.2 ypc) last season.  He has now played in 28 games (16 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has caught 72 passes for 846 yards (11.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  I look for Morgan to have the best year of his career in 2010.

25-year old Ted Ginn Jr. will likely be the #3 WR for the 49ers in 2010.  He has speed to burn but he doesn’t like to go over the middle as he is soft as a roll of Charmin.  Ginn played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he caught 38 passes for 454 yards (11.9 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 48 yards (6.9 ypc) last season.  Ginn has now played in 48 games (35 starts) in his three years in the NFL and he has caught 128 passes for 1,664 yards (13.0 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 124 yards (7.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career. 

25-year old Jason Hill has talent but he needs to step up.  Hill played in 11 games (0 starts) last season for the Niners and he caught 9 passes for 90 yards (10.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 32 games (2 starts) in his three years with the 49ers and he has caught 40 passes for 413 yards (10.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Hill will likely be the #4 WR for the Niners in 2010.

27-year old Brandon Jones played in 8 games (0 starts) last season for the Niners and he caught 1 pass for 18 yards.  He has now played in 59 games (27 starts) in his five years in the NFL 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 avg) in his career.  Jones will need to step up if he’s going to win a spot on the roster in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ers WRs in 2010:  C

26-year old Vernon Davis had a true breakout season for the Niners in 2009 making his first Pro Bowl.  Davis played in 16 games (all starts) for the 49ers last season and he caught 78 passes for 965 yards (12.4 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  He has now played in 56 games (54 starts) in his four years with the Niners and he has caught 181 passes for 2,097 yards (11.6 avg) with 22 TD grabs.  Look for him to be targeted even more in the passing game this season for the Niners.  I expect him to be right back in the Pro Bowl in 2010.

25-year old Delanie Walker is a very solid backup.  He played in 16 games (8 starts) for the 49ers last season in which he caught 21 passes for 233 yards (11.1 avg).  Walker also carried the ball 3 times for 34 yards (11.3 ypc) last season.  Walker has now played in 54 games (21 starts) in his four years with the 49ers and he has caught 54 passes for 592 yards (11.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 5 times for 21 yards (4.2 ypc) in his career.

26-year old Tony Curtis will be #3 in line at TE if he makes the team.  Curtis last played in 2008 with the Cowboys.  Curtis has played in 36 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 11 passes for 50 yards (4.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ERS FBs in 2010:  A

The 49ers want their fullbacks to block in the running game and that’s about the extent of it.  32-year old Moran Norris will be the starter once again in 2010.  He played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Niners last season and he carried the ball 14 times for 41 yards (2.9 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  He also caught 7 passes for 31 yards (4.4 avg) last season.  Norris has now played in 119 games (45 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 25 times for 67 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 34 passes for 178 yards (5.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.  Norris is a very solid all-around fullback who excels at blocking.

23-year old Brit Miller played in 5 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Niners last season but he didn’t touch the ball.  He will battle Jehuu Caulcrick for the backup job at fullback this summer.  He has yet to play in a regular season game in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 49ERS FBs in 2010:  B

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