49ers

The first thing you need to know about 49ers receivers coach John Morton is that he's not Johnnie Morton, the former All-American at USC who was a first-round draft pick in 1994 and who ended his NFL career with the 49ers in 2005.

When Brandon Jacobs dreams of the upcoming season, he envisions shoulder pads crunching, helmets cracking and defensive linemen giving ground along the line of scrimmage.

Alex Smith concedes that the 49ers' passing attack could stand to improve in 2012.

In the days after the NFC Championship Game, Kyle Williams was a wanted man.

When Jim Harbaugh said on KNBR (680 AM) last week that wide receiver Michael Crabtree has the "best hands I've ever seen," it was hard not to think back to last offseason when the 49ers coach said Alex Smith was a "very accurate passer."

Rookie outside linebacker Darius Fleming, who was selected by the 49ers in the fifth round of the NFL draft, tore his ACL during last week's rookie mini-camp and likely will miss the 2012 season.

Betty James raised LaMichael, sister Tasha Galloway and a cousin in a modest wood house that was a sanctuary to any family member – anyone in the community, really – who had fallen on tough times.

Wide receiver Chris Owusu stood out Friday because he was one of the few 49ers who wasn't doubled over.

In 2007, safety Donte Whitner was part of the Bills' defense that fashioned a scheme designed to thwart the downfield success that Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss had been having that season.

Former Sacramento State quarterback Jeff Fleming will be one of the quarterbacks participating in the 49ers' rookie minicamp that begins Friday.

Do you remember the scene in "The Incredibles" in which seamstress Edna Mode ticks off the grisly demises of the superheroes whose outfits included capes?

Bee staff writer Matthew Barrows hosted an online chat Wednesday about the 49ers. Here are some highlights:

Dan Bunz sustained many "bell ringers" when he crashed into ballcarriers as a prolific tackler for Oakmont High School and many more concussions during an eight-year NFL career that included two Super Bowl triumphs with the 49ers as a linebacker and special-teams player.

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Last season, the 49ers gambled and won by making it through the year with only three outside linebackers. They're not willing to take the same risk two years in a row.

At only 5-8, LaMichael James has the small stature and the rabbit-like quickness of a prototypical third-down running back. But new coach Jim Harbaugh on Friday refused to pigeon-hole him in that role.

During last year's draft, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke oohed and aahed about first-round pick Aldon Smith's long arms, which measure 355/8 inches.

The Bee's Matthew Barrows breaks down the first round of the NFL draft.

Trent Baalke was so confident the 49ers would land A.J. Jenkins that the general manager wrote down the Illinois wide receiver's name on a card Wednesday night, stuck it in an envelope, sealed it and announced to the coaches and scouts around him:

If NFL managers collaborated on a draft horror story, it would be titled, "Flaws: When Coaches Select!"

Find out how draft picks went and how the San Francisco 49ers fared.

Bee staff writer Matthew Barrows offers his predictions for tonight.

Frank Gore can name without hesitation the five running backs picked before him in the 2005 draft.

MAX FROM ITALY: Perhaps I am wrong, but you seem skeptical about the 49ers picking Stanford tight end Coby Fleener. Why?

As team-building events go, the annual NFL draft of college players rightfully grabs the spotlight.

Not only does Amini Silatolu have the size, strength and quick feet teams want in an interior offensive lineman, he feels comfortable with – indeed relishes – the sport's brutality.

Trent Baalke gave draft sleuths across the country a tantalizing clue last week about the team's 30th overall pick when the 49ers' general manager said he's eying one player in particular he's confident will be available.

The 49ers have the 30th pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday, plus six more picks on Friday and Saturday, assuming they don't make any trades. Here are three positions the team likely will attempt to address:

One of the problems Jack Hill, the project executive for the 49ers' new $1.2 billion stadium, faces is how to transport 2,000 tons of dirt and topsoil 150 feet in the air.

By the time the NFL draft begins next week, the 49ers will have poured thousands of hours into watching, dissecting and discussing hundreds of college players.

General manager Trent Baalke said Wednesday there are no hard feelings between him and former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams despite an audio recording of Williams targeting specific 49ers players a day before the teams met in a January divisional playoff game.

The 49ers will have all but two starters returning from last year's near-Super Bowl squad, with wide receiver Josh Morgan and right guard Adam Snyder the lone significant defections. The additions of ex-Giant Mario Manningham and the unretired Randy Moss should offset Morgan's loss. leaving an interior lineman that can offer Snyder's versatility as the most prominent deficiency on the roster. Building some depth on the defensive line will also be a priority in this draft, as All-Pro tackle Justin Smith turns 33 this season, end Ray McDonald has battled knee problems and nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga is an impending free agent. The Niners applied the franchise tag to playmaking safety Dashon Goldson, but could look for a successor if unable to sign him long-term, and the team may not be finished tinkering at wide receiver in its effort to help boost an offense that finished 30th in passing yards last season.

The NFL must have faith that PG&E fixed the Candlestick Park glitches that led to two blackouts during a nationally televised game last season.

Bee staff writer Matthew Barrows hosted an online chat Tuesday about the 49ers. Here are some highlights:

Legislation to create a "ban list" prohibiting violent fans from attending professional sports events anywhere in California was shelved Tuesday by the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

Clark Pacific in West Sacramento landed a decidedly big project – a deal to supply 20,000 tons of concrete for steps, risers and other elements of the San Francisco 49ers' new $1.2 billion stadium in Santa Clara.

Sierra LaMar hasn't been seen since 6 a.m. March 16, about an hour before she left her home in Morgan Hill to go to school. Police believe she was abducted as she walked to the bus stop.

The audio of Gregg Williams' profanity-laced speech to his defensive players Jan. 13 has been called the smoking gun in the bounty case against Williams and the Saints.

Former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams should never be allowed to coach again. That's easy. But that's the least of it.

The 49ers' defense will line up across from Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in the teams' third game of the 2012 preseason.

The NFL released its preseason schedule Wednesday, excluding the annual exhibition game between the 49ers and Raiders after 11 consecutive years.

The 49ers added more muscle to their power-based offense Wednesday when free-agent running back Brandon Jacobs – the largest tailback in the league in recent years – agreed to a one-year deal.

A West Sacramento company will supply concrete for the San Francisco 49ers' new stadium – and will hire at least 80 new workers to get it done on time.

Just when the water seems to settle in the 49ers' quarterback situation, Jim Harbaugh throws another rock in the pool.

Stanford tight end Coby Fleener was running a pass route Thursday when he looked back to the quarterback and saw a wall of NFL evaluators as the backdrop.

On the same day one of Jim Harbaugh's quarterback protégés, Stanford's Andrew Luck, worked out for NFL scouts, Harbaugh signed another former pupil, Josh Johnson, to a two-year deal with the 49ers.

Not only did Alex Smith understand the 49ers' pursuit of Peyton Manning last week, he said he would have "relished" an opportunity to compete with the four-time NFL MVP for the starting quarterback job.

Alex Smith is absolutely right about one thing. He has been through a lot worse than the 49ers' flirtation with Peyton Manning and his own on-again, off-again, on-again courtship with his franchise.

He's been battered, booed, screamed at by one of his head coaches and ripped in the media, but Alex Smith always has returned to the 49ers, the team that drafted him No. 1 in 2005.

The NFL Network, following up on a report that Alex Smith and the 49ers were close to a new, three-year contract, reports that the deal is in fact complete. The 49ers do not comment on contracts until the signiatures are on the document and the paperwork is filed, and have not yet acknowledged the deal.