***Given the lack of stories about the Niners in this semi-dead period between the draft and training camp, I thought I would share this anecdote from this past weekend. I dont comment on here much, but I do read the site almost everyday and broke the story here that Frank Gore was on his way back to SF during his holdout last summer.

So on Friday my buddies and I took off from SFO to Cabo, and as I'm boarding a Virgin America flight, I see a familiar face in first class...Vernon Effing Davis! I say his name to confirm its him, and we make some small talk before the line clears up and I'm forced to go to coach. I reconnect with a few of my friends on the flight and text a couple others before takeoff to tell em the news. My buddy and I are geeking on the flight, figuring out a way to casually stroll into 1st class so we can grab a picture. Upon landing, we see VD and a friend in a kiosk filling out their customs forms...the friend turns out to be none other than Michael Crabtree. Having filled ours out on the plane, we immediately get in line and they follow soon after, and given the way the line winded we ended up face to face. My buddy says wassup to them and given that they were next to us in line and moving slowly, I went for it and asked for the pic...to which VD politely declined. We went our separate ways after customs, when VD was greeted by a female friend with a hug, Crabs shook her hand and went his own separate way immediately. VD hung out in this arrivals area for a while, and a buddy of ours came in 20 mins later, coincidentally wearing his Crabtree jersey. When Vernon finally came outside, this friend of ours went up to him, flashed the jersey, asked for a pic (and got rejected), and said good luck this season. Yet another friend came 30 min later and said Ochocinco was on their flight, and we briefly saw Ocho and thought there was some post-OTA celebration that wknd going on in town.

We thought that was the end of it, that they would be whisked to some magical VIP part of town and that would be it. Not in Cabo, where all the nightlife is confined to a one block stretch downtown. We go out the first night to Squid Roe and low and behold, guess who walks in together. I point to one of my diehard niner fan friends that VD was right behind him, and he immediately begins geeking like no other. Crabtree is up on a platform talking to girls and dancing a little, and this guy goes up there pretending to dance just to talk to him. Apparently he busted out stats and started talking about routes, which I guess caught Crabs' attention and they chatted a little. Him and yet another friend started playfully bowing down to them, which gave them a good laugh before they left the spot. The friend that was chatting with Crabs was so excited to see them that right after they left he threw up, something ive never seen him do in 11 years of knowing him. The next day we had a table reservation to the day party at Nikki Beach, and once again we see them stroll in. They werent part of the pool party scene, but rather spent a ton of time in the adjacent outdoor restaurant. However we made it a point to walk by their table and sing "Tony Montana" which I think they took note of. We saw them at one of the places we went to later that night, but did not see them around time on Sunday or Monday.

What was kind of odd was that all weekend it was just the two of them, no other teammates, no entourage, nothing....just VD, Crabs, and several girls at all times. Even Ochocinco was nowhere to be seen all weekend. My buddies joked that maybe Harbaugh forced them to be friends by providing an all expenses paid trip for the weekend, but upon thinking about it you realize that besides Delanie, these two guys are the longest tenured WRs/TEs on the team, so maybe that animosity that came to a head two years ago is now a distant memory. Overall they were cordial in all the instances we came across them, and while they dressed flashy they didnt have they over the top attention seeking swagger that you would often hear associated with athletes.

Not sure if its been mentioned before, but 95.7 "The Game" relaunches today with new bigger name personalities and a set schedule. I know KNBR is the Niners flagship station and this station vows to be a bit more balanced in covering both teams, but personally im sick of KNBR only covering the Niners exclusively for maybe a month of the season and them doing things to the Giants that cant be described here because I'd violate site decorum rules. Not to mention the radio personalities whose knowledge of current-day sports is suspect at best (you know who you are). I'm also intrigued by 95.7 having Eric Davis as a co-host of their drive time show and Maiocco being a recurring cohost for their 10-2 show. 

Before you start hatin', hear me out here...

Dallas is 1-4, and could very well go 1-5 after this evening. We know the team has an eccentric owner who would love to rip the team apart and replace as much as he can, and is also an owner that loves the U of Arkansas. What if Jerry Jones falls in love (if hes not already) with Mallett and wants to use his #1 pick or trade up to select him? In that case, I could see us taking Romo off the Cowgirls hands for a 3rd or 4th rd pick. I know Romo is widely considered to be overrated, but he is a more than capable to get us an NFC West title, allows us to finally win now, and provides the buffer needed to develop a young QB for a couple years. I dont mind a lost season like this one is turning out to be, but my biggest fears are that guys like Frank Gore, Justin Smith etc arent getting younger and a new regime that wants to "rip and replace" may put us on yet ANOTHER 5 yr plan that may or may not yield results. Id rather take the talent we have now, get a qb like Romo (or Kolb) that can get us 20-24 points a game consistently, and use the draft to shore up the D so that they can continue to stop the run but also have elite talent at CB. Id use an opportunistic approach to find a QB in 2011 or 2012, as there wouldnt be a huge rush to get one as there is now.

The purpose of this is to rank the QB, RB, TE, WR, OL, DL, LB, CB, S, and specialists in order from worst (least confidence at this point) to best (most confidence). This doesnt look like something thats been done here on the site, but please redirect me to a thread that I might have missed. Note: this doesn't include the special team coverage/return units, since thats a position in flux at the moment and the players from these units all come from other positions. Feel free to chime in with your own renditions of the list...

10. QB

I guess its a testament to the strengths at other positions that QB is in the cellar. This could either remain at 10 next season or easily jump into the top 5. The team has given Smith everything needed to succeed (top of the line skill players, a new OL, continuity with the O-coordinator) and its up to him to show if he can finally put it all together now that there are no excuses to fall back on. Carr is nothing more than a capable backup, and hopefully N. Davis undergoes the same transformation that V. Davis went through after being publicly lambasted by Coach Sing.

9. S

There is certainly depth here by virtue of keeping 5 as opposed to 4, but the big question is who will step up and start for Lewis if he cannot make it through a full season. Reggie Smith seems like he was groomed to be more of a center field free safety rather than an in-the-box run stopper and Mays may need a yr of development like RJF received last season. However I am excited to see Smith, Mays, and Curtis Taylor used in special teams this season.

8. CB

I wanted to rank this lower, but one of the most underrated developments of last season is Shawntae Spencer's emergence into a #1 CB. He thrived while Clements was out, and im confident that Clements will be better able to handle being the #2 guy and covering #2 or slot receivers. Between Brown, Will James, and the two rookies, I'd like to think that the depth is there, but the true litmus test for that will be week 2 vs. NO.

7. OL

Again, this is a position that I would like to rank higher at season's end, but first we have to endure the growing pains, i.e. penalties  and blown assignments, of having two rookie OL start the season. Even if they thrive, the key question mark is Chilo Rachal, who may lose his spot to Baas or Heitmann by midseason. Liking the depth with Snyder/Wragge/Boone/Sims, as this year unlike previous years they are purely relegated to being backups.

6. DE

Justin Smith is the definition of dependability, Franklin/RJF represent a good transitioning at NT, and Ray McDonald has embraced his role as a 3rd down pass rusher and FG block threar on special teams. That leaves Sopowaga as the biggest question mark here, as he needs to stop getting knocked down on 1st/2nd downs. I expect Evans to rotate with him on rushing downs, and for hopefully someone like Will Tukuafu or a draft pick to learn from Cowboy and start alongside him next season.

5. WR

To think, not too long ago we had we had receivers like Jonnie Morton and Ashley Leile, and just last year our WR1 was Issac Bruce. This year, we said goodbye to Arnaz Battle (who was actually a solid over-the-middle possession receiver) and legitimately talented guys like Brandon Jones and Jason Hill. There are no weak links in the 5 guys we've kept, and although theyre only as good as their QB play they must also work on their dropped balls.

4. Specialists

Jennings is Jennings. Lee is Lee. Hopefully Nedney can still be Nedney, at least for one more season.

3. TE

We finally got the pro bowl season we wanted out of VD, though it couldve been a lot more mammoth with a few less dropped balls. Delanie Walker seems to be that safety net that Alex Smith has condifence in when he needs 8-10 yards, and is one of the longest tenured Niners so hopefully he emerges as a locker room presence. Byham must have shown a lot more than Bear Pascoe if he earned a roster spot amidst this season's talented bunch of guys.

2. RB

What more do you want? Pro Bowler in Gore who cant wait to get our there and hit and impressed us all in his brief preseason appearance. Ironically enough, the injuries throughout his career may have kept Westbrook's mileage low, and despite the age he should have enough in the tank to be a change of pace and a 3rd down back, or split carries with Dixon during the 2nd half of a huge blowout :-). Dixon looks like he can be groomed for 2-3 years (look at the kind of teachers he can learn from) and step in if Gore hits the proverbial wall at age 29/30.

1. LB

To be honest I was debating between LB and RB at the #1 spot, but hearing Willis passionately talk about hitting the QB on 49ers Total Access last night clinched it for me. We have prototypical Mike and Ted ILBs, and drafted one for depth that can eventually take over for TKO. Our ILBs quietly contributed to the team having the 4th most sacks in the league last season, with Lawson finally emerging as someone who has an outside shot at a Pro Bowl. Depth should keep everyone fresh at ILB, and should also elevate the play of Harlyson as Brooks and Laboy are now legitimate threats to his starting job.