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June 10, 2007

Can Staley unseat Harris?

Question: Kwame Harris has been a weak point in an otherwise strong o-line. He seems to get beat a lot and commits a lot of untimely penalties. Is there an upside to him that I am not seeing, or has he been the only option at his position and that's why he plays? What's the likelihood he gets beat out by rookie Joe Staley and loses his starting position? If he were to lose his starting position, would he then become an adequate backup?

Paul, Lodi

Answer: These are all good questions, Paul. As of now, Staley is getting lots of valuable playing time while Harris recovers from a back injury. If the injury continues, he definitely is in danger of being Wally Pipp-ed by the rookie. If Harris is relegated to backup duty, I'm not sure he'd be the backup at anything but right tackle. Adam Snyder has been a solid fill-in at left tackle in the past, and the 49ers likely will stick with him there.

- Matt Barrows

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 6:33 PM | Comments |