Preseason Week 1 Preview – Denver @ San Francisco

The Broncos won’t get the trial by fire they may have gotten had Gore been game ready. Photo Courtesy

With less than 2 minutes to go in Overtime on December 31, 2006, San Francisco 49ers Kicker Joe Nedney decided he had just about had enough of the Denver Broncos 2006 season. His field goal went straight through the uprights, and just like that, the year was over. Fast forward eight and a half months, and the teams will be staring at familiar faces as they embark on their respective 2007 seasons.

Week 1 of the Preseason is admittedly dull – nearly as bad as Week 4 – and even Coach Mike Shanahan has said that tonight hardly means much. Maybe it doesn’t mean much as far as points scored and the win-losses column, but it’s most fans’ (including myself) first chance to see our 2007 Broncos in action. Every week I’ll be posting these game previews, and I thought I’d get the party started with the first game of the preseason this year.

INJURY REPORT
OUT – SF – Frank Gore, RB; Aubrayo Franklin, NT; Walt Harris, CB; Bryant Young, DE; Maurice Hicks, KR; DEN – Matt Lepsis, OT; Ben Hamilton, OG; Warrick Holdman, OLB; Brandon Marshall, WR; Tony Scheffler, TE
PROBABLE – SF – Ashley Lelie, WR; Jonas Jennings, OT

STORYLINES
The teams will face each other in a rematch after the 49ers knocked the Broncos out of the AFC Playoff hunt in Week 17 last year after an Overtime field goal. … San Francisco WR Ashley Lelie will face off against his former team, against whom he held out during last year’s Training Camp. It is the first time the player and teams have faced off since Lelie was traded to Atlanta last year after a disgruntled holdout. Lelie is currently slotted 5th on the 49ers Depth Chart. … Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan is a former San Francisco Assistant, also learned under legendary coach Bill Walsh‘s “Coaching Tree.” … Other players facing their former teams include Broncos DE John Engelberger and 49ers Kicker Joe Nedney.

WHAT TO WATCH

The short answer is the first quarter, as this will be fans’ only chance to catch their favorite players in action. Shanahan has said that Jay Cutler and Travis Henry will appear for a series or two – meaning if they score on their first possession, that would probably be all for most of our starters. Patrick Ramsey will be under center for the majority of the game, along with 49ers backup quarterback Trent Dilfer.

PREGAME – PAYING TRIBUTE
Both the Broncos and 49ers have reason to be mournful as the preseason opens. I expect some tribute to take place in some form or another, for the late Bill Walsh and fallen Broncos Darrent Williams and Damien Nash.

BRONCOS DEBUTS
When you think about all of the moves we made this offseason, this game will be the official Broncos debut for all of these players: Travis Henry, Daniel Graham, Brandon Stokley, Dre Bly, Jarvis Moss, Sam Adams, Tim Crowder, Jimmy Kennedy, Marcus Thomas, Montrae Holland, Ryan Harris, Patrick Ramsey, Andre Hall, D.D. Lewis, Alvin McKinley, Paul Smith, and Selvin Young (among others, possibly – I ran this list off by memory, possible someone significant fell through the cracks). That’s a lot of new Broncos to watch tonight.

QUARTERBACK
We’ll only get a glimpse or two of Cutler – if the first team offense can march down the field and put up 6 points, that will probably be all we’ll see of our young QB. Patrick Ramsey will see the field more than anyone, and I’m looking forward to see his reported improvements come to life. Everyone’s excited about Darrell Hackney – well, not I. Have to root for my boy Preston Parsons, who hails from NAU, my current school. Once either of these guys sees the field, it’s all about third stringers desperate to impress… often boring if you don’t know what to look for.

RUNNING BACK
Travis Henry will see the first few series, along with Cutler and crew, and it will be interesting to see how well he can do. Remember that our left side is full of backups tonight… The real interesting watch will be the backups, as Cecil Sapp and Mike Bell try to outdo each other for the coveted #2 spot. Andre Hall will look to distance himself from Selvin Young, as well.

WIDE RECEIVER
The starters will be Javon Walker and Domenik Hixon… Hix could see a few more series, but the main backups will be Quincy Morgan and Brian Clark. Sorry, Kircus fans, it seems he’s falling down the depth chart… Marshall will be sat out as he continues his rehab, and I haven’t heard any news on Stokley entering this game yet…  The 49ers are excited about the additions of Nate Clements and Michael Lewis to their secondary, hopefully improving their porous pass defense of a year ago.  It’ll be worth watching if Javon and Domenik can find separation against these guys in their preseason 49er debut.

TIGHT END
With Scheffler out, Nate Jackson gets the nod. Daniel Graham’s debut could be exciting, although I’ve never had all that high of expectations for Graham as a pass catcher. I’d love to see a crushing block, though.

OFFENSIVE LINE
I am REALLY looking forward to dissecting Montrae Holland and Chris Kuper… if the last week of training camp are any indication, Holland will get the start and Kuper will play behind him. Watching Pears on the right side will be interesting too, as well as how Meadows can back up Lepsis.

DEFENSIVE LINE
How will John Engelberger fare as a starter against his former team? Forget the former team… I just want to see him snag a few tackles. I was really looking forward to starting out the season against Frank Gore, if only to see how our front seven could handle a premier rusher. With Gore out from a broken hand, we won’t get quite the test I had hoped for. I’m looking forward to seeing all of our rookies in action, and I’m hoping to see SOMETHING from Kenard Lang. His career as a Bronco is on the line, and I just want to see him push someone currently slated above him.

LINEBACKER
It’s all about the SAM… or is it? D.J. Williams makes his debut at MIKE, and I’m looking forward to watching him through the first few series. Will he pick up where Al Wilson left off and lead this defense? But SAM will be more interesting because the plays we see on the field will have a direct effect on how our roster shapes out in the weeks to come. I’m hoping either D.D. Lewis or Nate Webster can pull ahead and show us all they deserve the job.

SECONDARY
Just try and throw anywhere, Alex Smith. I would love to see Bly get his first pick as a Bronco, and seeing Champ do his thing is always worth the price of admission. Nick Ferguson‘s return will be welcomed, and I’m looking forward to seeing John Lynch knock the crap out of somebody. Just don’t get anyone hurt – no one wants an injured preseason player on either team.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Our Special Teams will be a ton of fun to watch (hopefully) – this is where someone can pull a Terrell Davis and really make a name for himself. With all the improvements this year on ST, and all of the people who want to prove themselves, Special Teams is traditionally the best part of the Preseason because you get the best competition and no-holds-barred hits.

And one thing definitely not to watch: The Score.

I’ll have an open game post probably fifteen minutes before kickoff; feel free to post your comments along with mine as I blog live during the game. See you tonight at 5 PM PDT!!