preseason game - 49ers vs. Raiders

Hey, it's always a good feeling to win! Yet I find myself myself more concerned with whether or not the 49ers are prepared as well as possible for the regular season, when the games count in the standings. Will the lessons they need to learn from their victory over the Raiders make as much of an impression on their psyches compared to had they lost instead? With all that still needs ironing out, I can't believe that the league is considering reducing the pre-season schedule to only two games. Oh alright, I already went over this in a recent entry.

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One area I do feel extremely satisfied with is how adept the team is with their late-round draft picks. Just this year, having traded away both their 4th and 5th round picks, the team still had three picks in the 6th round and one in the 7th, and it looks like they found a lot of late-round keepers: Anthony Dixon, Nate Byham, Kyle Williams, and Phillip Adams. In last night's game, Adams, a small school pick, gave every Niner fan a big sigh of relief with how well he returned punts. He looked steady and confident, sure-handed and as a huge bonus, returned a punt for a touchdown! He's a cornerback and his play there has also been superb; many fans were concerned that the 49ers didn't use any of their earlier draft picks on a cornerback, waiting until the 7th-round when they chose Adams - well, that is certainly working out so far. It also allowed them to bolster other positions with their early draft picks.

In last year's draft, the 49ers selected Ricky Jean Francois in the 7th-round and he's looking like a steal too as he's playing back-up nose guard (or is it nose tackle?) to Aubrayo Franklin. Starting wideout Josh Morgan was drafted in the 6th-round in 2008, and offensive tackle Alex Boone went undrafted altogether and he appears to be maximizing his potential now.

It's so satisfying knowing that the Niners are making good picks through all 7 rounds of the draft; having recently traded Kentwan Balmer to the Seahawks for a 6th-round pick, it's like musing whether or not one would trade him for a, say, Anthony Dixon - and the answer to that is a resounding "Yes!" So next year, let's hope that the draft goes as well again; good picks can happen up and down the draft, and undrafted players are even Hall of Fame material (John Randle).