What you saw from the 49ers in the practice games, on offense and defense, was pure vanilla. What you’ll see in Sunday’s opener against the Seattle Seahawks at Candlestick will be quite different. Read More

At least for the 49ers, there’s a glimmer of hope. It took until the final opening quarter of the preseason for the 49ers to provide the first piece of evidence that could be parlayed into a possible recipe for success in 2011. Unfortunately, a single quarter against a group of half-hearted San Diego Chargers does little more than edge the 49ers from no-shots into long shots. Read More

Yes, as Jim Harbaugh pointed out, we love talking about the quarterback position. Why wouldn’t we? Arguably, it’s the most important in any team sport. It’s the position that wins games. Or loses them. We know quarterbacks. We’ve watched Joe Montana and Steve Young and Jim Plunkett. What we don’t know, after six seasons, is whether Alex Smith is the quarterback who will win games for the Niners. Or whether the less-publicized Jason Campbell will win them for the Raiders. Read More

The 49ers brought FanFest to Candlestick Park and unveiled new amenities to the stadium, but what stood out was the dislike for quarterback Alex Smith. Smith, the much-maligned signal-caller entering his seventh season with the Niners, has had to adjust to a new offensive coordinator in each of his pro seasons. Smith has also had to work through several shoulder surgeries, but none of that seemed to matter to most of the 49ers faithful in attendance Sunday. Read More