The San Francisco 49ers trimmed their roster to the required 53 men. Most moves were expected but some were surprising. In a conference call with the media head coach Jim Harbaugh gives his view on it.

Harbaugh on quarterback situation

By releasing Josh McCown and McLeod Bethel-Thompson the 49ers currently have two quarterbacks on their roster. “We feel confident in Colin [Kaepernick],” Harbaugh said, but it doesn’t preclude the franchise from doing anything that helps the football team, including going after a young quarterback. Asked whether there will be a third quarterback before the regular season starts, Harbaugh replied that he anticipates that there will be one in the building, practice squad or other. The head coach didn’t explain why he cut Josh McCown, but said it’s possible that he’s available if the 49ers need a third quarterback.

Harbaugh on backup running back situation

“I think that’s an ongoing decision, who’s playing better. And there will be a rotation. All three of those backs will play. Right now, Kendall Hunter is ahead on the depth chart.”

Harbaugh on tight ends

It is a possibility to add a third tight end but Jim Harbaugh also acknowledged that Bruce Miller can do some of the things a third tight end can do. “Yes, he can, as well as play on special teams. He’s definitely going to be a swing guy in that regard.”

Harbaugh on keeping seven defensive linemen

“Demarcus Dobbs and Ian Williams, we felt, earned a spot. We feel they have a good upside. That’s a tough position to find in the National Football League, those big bodies. We were pleased.”

Harbaugh on special teams

Jim Harbaugh expects C.J. Spillman, Blake Costanzo and Colin Jones to be on all special teams units. “In the National Football League, you have to win two of three phases to win a game. We want to be strong on special teams. And that’s a sign that we want to be strong on special team.”

The San Francisco 49ers finished trimming their roster from 80 players down to 53. These are the players who were cut today:

QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, QB Josh McCown, RB Xavier Omon, FB Jack Corcoran, WR Joe Hastings, WR Chris Hogan, WR Ronald Johnson, WR Lance Long, WR Dominique Zeigler, TE Nate Lawrie, TE Konrad Reuland, C Chase Beeler, G Tony Wragge, T Derek Hall, T Kenny Wiggins, DT Brian Bulcke, NT Sealver Siliga, LB Alex Joseph, LB Kenny Rowe, LB Monte Simmons, CB Phillip Adams, CB Phillip Davis, CB Cory Nelms, S Chris Maragos, S Curtis Taylor, DB Anthony West

If you count only 26 players, that’s because tight end Nate Byham was placed on the injured reserve list.

San Francisco has currently 10 rookies on the team. Bear in mind that this is not the final roster. A lot of changes are still going to happen. By releasing Josh McCown and McLeod Bethel-Thompson, the 49ers will most certainly look to add another quarterback to their 53-man roster. The search is back on.

It may have been a fair competition but there could never be a doubt about the outcome. Alex Smith will be the starting quarterback against the Seattle Seahawks when the regular season kicks off on 11 September.

It was always Smith’s job to lose but the competition never challenged him seriously enough. Rookie Colin Kaepernick finished the preseason with 24-of-50 for 257 yards, 0 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a passer rating of 23.9. Josh McCown played only once, and completed all his pass attempts, but he needs a lot more reps to be a challenger. McLeod Bethel-Thompson was always headed for the practice squad at best.

Alex Smith didn’t have a very good preseason himself but he led two offensive drives on Thursday, which gave the 49ers a 14-0 lead against the San Diego Chargers. In four games he completed 20 of his 36 pass attempts for 198 yards. He threw 2 interceptions and finished with a QB rating of 48.1.

Jim Harbaugh’s West Coast Offense may be a good fit for Alex Smith, though a lot of work still needs to be done. San Francisco’s pass offense failed to score in the preseason and ranked last with 108.8 yards per game.  

It is official, the Jim Harbaugh era begins like Mike Nolan’s and Mike Singletary’s, with Alex Smith as the number one quarterback. Let’s hope he has more success than his predecessors, and I think he will, though rest assured, the 49ers will browse the waiver wire after today’s roster cuts.

Once again the 49ers bounced back from a previous disastrous preseason game and showed that they can make the right adjustments, when they beat the Chargers 20-17 in the fourth and final preseason game of the season.

On the first drive of the game Alex Smith led the offense 80 yards across the field and Anthony Dixon ran for a 1-yard touchdown to open the score at Qualcomm Stadium. This drive took 7:56 minutes off the clock.

Linebacker NaVorro Bowman sacked Billy Volek on the Chargers’ first offensive series, forced and recovered a fumble. Alex Smith started a second drive on San Diego’s 22-yard line and Anthony Dixon ran for another 1-yard touchdown to give the Niners a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. “We took the opening drive all the way down and stuck it in and were able to get the ball on the turnover and put that one in as well. So it was a great start,” said Smith.

Alex Smith’s job was done. He completed 8 of his 10 attempts for 45 yards and a passer rating of 85.4, his best performance of the preseason.

The San Diego Chargers scored on the second play of the second quarter, when Ryan Mathews ran for a 56-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 at half time.

Colin Kaepernick, who played in the second quarter and the first drive of the third quarter, wasn’t as effective as Alex Smith. He threw 2 interceptions and completed 3 of his 7 pass attempts for 36 yards and a QB rating of 19.6. He also allowed San Diego’s only sack of the game.

A 49-yard field goal by David Akers and a 23-yard field goal by San Diego’s Nate Kaeding made it 17-10 at the end of the third quarter.

Josh McCown, who entered the game late in the third quarter, brought the offense into field goal distance on his first and only series. David Akers made the kick from 26 yards to give the Niners a 20-10 lead with 9:55 minutes left to play. Josh McCown completed each of his 4 passes for 51 yards and a passer rating of 118.8.

The San Diego Chargers reduced the lead to 20-17, when Seyi Ajirotutu caught a 9-yard pass from Scott Tolzien, with 1:21 minutes left in the game. The Niners recovered the ensuing onside kick and McLeod Bethel-Thompson took three knees to seal the victory.

“I was definitely pleased with the way the ones [offensive line] played,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “I thought they played with a lot of urgency and they challenged themselves all week. It was a short week, but it was a good week.” Alex Smith said that the offensive line played great. “The guys up front, I think they got challenged this week a little bit, and they stepped up to it,” he added.

The 49ers showed once again that they can move the chain and control the clock once they have a lead. The team rushed for 160 yards and had the ball for 35:22 minutes. Kendall Hunter rushed for 57 yards and 5.2 yards per carry. Anthony Dixon ran for 45 yards on 13 attempts and Xavier Omon added 35 yards on 11 carries.

Linebacker Aldon Smith, whom I called promising but not yet NFL-ready yesterday, tried hard to prove me wrong. He finished the game with 4 tackles and 2.5 sacks for a loss of 22 yards. “I saw him play with some passion tonight, some emotion,” Harbaugh said. “The light’s coming on more and more and he’s making really good progress.” The 49ers recorded 6 sacks altogether.

If this preseason is an indicator for the regular season I’ll take it. A bad game is followed by a game with the right changes and attitude. And remember, an 8-8 record could be enough to win the NFC West.

The San Francisco 49ers will play their last preseason game at San Diego Chargers tonight. Some questions still need to be answered. Who will be the starters when the regular season begins on 11 September? Who is going to survive the cut when the rosters are trimmed from 80 players to 53 on Saturday? The 49ers hope to find some, if not all the answers tonight.

Don’t expect the designated starters to play a lot tonight. They will probably see two drives at most, as it is imperative to avoid injury. Colin Kaepernick is expected to see the most time at quarterback but we should also get a look at Josh McCown and McLeod Bethel-Thompson to see who is the number three at this position.

It would be a surprise to see Frank Gore on the field tonight but Kendall Hunter and Anthony Dixon are still battling for the backup spot, with Hunter having the slight edge at the moment.

I don’t see anyone making the roster behind tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker. Jim Harbaugh is looking for tight ends with blocking ability and the 49ers seem to be set at this position.

Jonathan Goodwin will start at center tonight and expect the starters to see a fair amount of action. They need to get as many reps as they possibly can to practice as a unit. Head coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned that he has seven starters on the offensive line. This won’t give the rest of the line many opportunities to make a case as to why they should stay on the team after the final cut.

Rookie linebacker Aldon Smith has shown promise but it is clear that he is not NFL-ready yet. Ahmad Brooks, NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis and Parys Haralson look like the starters at the season opener, though Smith will make strides to win the starter job eventually. 

Cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Tarell Brown are set to start the season opener. Shawntae Spencer may not be ready to return to action until then. This gives Tramaine Brock and Chris Culliver a lot of playing time tonight. Phillip Adams is fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster.

Madieu Williams and C.J. Spillman are the safeties who are likely going to play the most series tonight. Reggie Smith is still injured and Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson are possibly the starters in week 1 of the regular season.