I worry about the way that Tim Rattey is regarded as the obvious number two QB by the team and most fans. Remember the pre-season game he was in charge of last year? I have always regarded him as too short, lacking in mobility and not great in terms of accuracy. The good news is Brandon Dolman. The little he played in post season caused me to be greatly impressed, particularly by his long-range throwing acccuracy. I watched every post-season All Star game and have found them to be highly predictive of play in the pros. Gio Caramazzi has a lot more potential than I originallyt hought when he was drafted. He is tall, has a big arm and is fast, if not agile. There is another potential candidate from a backup QB position that, as far as I know, hasn't been picked up by any U.S. pro team, is that fellow Godsoy from Georgia Tech who beat Stanford in their bowl game and then went on to distinguish himself in several All Star games. He is a real winner, with an accurate arm on short in intermediatepasses. Despite having the rap against him that he has a weak arm and is too small, I saw him throw deep with accuracy several times and he's 6' tall. He has a stronger, more accurate arm than Garcia did when he started out with the Niners, and Godsoy is almost as mobile in the backfield, if not as a ground gainer through the run. There still seems to be two players I targeted as rookie free agent deep ends who haven't been signed, again, as far as I can tell by looking through the list: Akbar Gabala-Biamila from San Diego St., who distinguished himself in this year's Shrine Game. The U of Oklahoma's D.E. Heineke, who also played very well in one of those Hawaii bowls. It seemed to me that he could also be a middle linebacker.

The Tight End is in a state of flux behind Johnson and Justin Swift. I can't figure why Anilli was picked in the Draft. He certainly was a reach. Ben Steele , who is playing for us in Europe, originally from Mesa State, looked really good in his first game, but then was injured. I'm glad to see the Niners giving the once highly touted Mike Hart from Duke a look but why not try out Stanford's Fullback Brandon Moore at tight end. There ought to be quite a few gems appearing on the waiver wire as well.

The Niners ought to cut Okeafer, Parker, Magrew and Schlecht. In the figuring of who makes the team, I would include Al Blades as another undernoticed defensive speedster. Robertson is obviously running well in Europe, but he does seem to lack sufficient bursts of speed when beginning running plays.

Jerome Davis and Scott Cloman, Defensive End and Wide Receiver, respectively, have also played well in Europe along with aforementioned Steele. Andrew Bayes may well be our punter of the future judged by his performance there (averaging 44.5 yards per punt).

I agree that the Niners are strongest at running back depth, and it doesn't seem like there will be any room for Paul Smith on this year's squad. Since he is fast and athletic, he ought to begin shedding his fulllback weight and attempt to become a receiver. Alternatively, leaving on that weight might make him a potential line backer. He and Quincy Stewart could battle for the 6th position there. I like Stewart from what I saw of him last pre-season, but the way Smith likes to hit people when he plays on special teams indicates that he might be misplaced as a running back. Another line backer, Cornelius Anthony, is also coming on strong in Europe, putting him in the running for sixth man.