Tuesday Niner News & Notes - Oct.16th

49ers' Smith: 'The shoulder feels great'

By Dennis Georgatos, Mercury News

Alex Smith will return to practice Wednesday with the hope of playing Sunday against the host New York Giants, as his right shoulder separation continues to heal. Smith threw on the side Monday and only reported minor forearm soreness from the constant gripping of the ball in recent days after initially resting the shoulder that he injured Sept. 30 against Seattle. Over the weekend, Smith said he gained confidence that his passing shoulder was at or near full strength by testing his velocity and range with throws as long as 55 yards. "I tried to air it out, throwing some long balls, stretching it out," Smith said as the 49ers reconvened for practice after Sunday's bye. "The shoulder feels great. We'll continue to rehab it and, hopefully, it's full-go on Wednesday." Coach Mike Nolan said he's been told that Smith should be able to return to practice Wednesday. Nolan added he was hopeful that Smith would be able to play Sunday but continued to describe his status as questionable.

Smith suffered the shoulder separation when he was sacked during the opening series in a 23-3 loss to Seattle. Trent Dilfer started in the place of Smith in a 9-7 loss to Baltimore the following week. He'll start again if Smith and Nolan, in consultation with team doctors and the training staff, determine Smith needs additional time to heal.

49ers' rookie finds footing for excellence

Gwen Knapp, San Francisco Chronicle

Turn on a 49ers game these days and Patrick Willis will hog the camera. He turns up so often, you half expect his No. 52 jersey to pop up in the commercials. He does not take over a microphone the same way. When the rookie linebacker starts talking, he likes to hand off attention. He'll rave about his coach, explain how much he didn't know about playing his position when he joined the team and describe how his little sister sent a text message after his first game, teasing him for letting the Cardinals' Edgerrin James run over him.
Willis had 11 tackles in that game and forced a fumble, winning the NFL's Rookie of the Week honors. He won the award again the following week, with eight tackles against the Rams. Five games into the season, he has 50 tackles, 35 of them solo. Willis leads the runner-up on the 49ers' list, Marques Douglas, by 18 tackles. He has 10 more solo tackles than anyone else, and he's playing with some of the best defenders the 49ers have had in ages.

Is Smith prepared to take Giant leap?

By Matthew Barrows - Sac Bee Staff Writer

Alex Smith sat in front of his television Monday night, remote control in hand, TiVo primed for plenty of use, and watched the two men who pose the biggest threat to his fast-healing separated shoulder.On one side of the New York Giants' defensive line, he saw end Osi Umenyiora, who entered Monday night's victory over Atlanta with a league-leading seven sacks. On the other, he watched Michael Strahan, whose 134 career sacks are the most among active players. Indeed, the biggest question mark surrounding Smith this week is not whether he'll be able to squeeze a pass between two defenders Sunday, but whether the shoulder can absorb a hit. Coach Mike Nolan stopped short of declaring Smith ready for the Giants game, estimating his availability as "questionable." He did say, however, that the fero-city of the Giants' pass rush would have no bearing on the decision. The Giants had 17 sacks going into Monday night, ranking fourth in the league. They had four sacks Monday night. "It'll be a factor in the game plan, but it won't be a factor in whether (Smith) plays or not," Nolan said.