Aldon Smith's snap count more than doubled from his rookie year to this season, and Jim Harbaugh said the second-year outside linebacker is one of the players who should benefit from the bye week. The players had Tuesday and today off and will not practice this weekend.
"I think Aldon will benefit from some of the rest that that he has an opportunity to take, you know to rest his mind, to rest his body," Harbaugh said this morning on KNBR. "I think watching the tape, he's somebody that can use it, that needs (the rest)."
Last year, Smith was a pass-rush specialist and played 489 of the team's 1,014 defensive snaps. He was an every-down player this season and played 1,003 snaps on defense and 68 more on special teams. Smith has gone without a sack in the last three games and didn't play well in the Week 16 loss to Seattle. That mostly has been attributed to the absence of teammate Justin Smith, but fatigue is another likely factor.
Two 49ers were on the field for 100 percent of their unit's snaps. Offensive linemen Anthony Davis and Alex Boone, a newcomer at guard, played all 1,004 offensive snaps. The snap-count winner - by a healthy margin - was safety Dashon Goldson, who played 1,147 total snaps, including 121 on special teams.
49ers top 10 snap counts includes special teams
1. Dashon Goldson 1,147
2. Tarell Brown 1,100
3. Anthony Davis 1,091
4. Alex Boone, 1,090
5. Aldon Smith 1,071
6. NaVorro Bowman, 1070
7. Mike Iupati 1065
8. Patrick Willis 1064
9. Ahmad Brooks 1045
10. Carlos Rogers 1036
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