Thomas Clayton News

Coming into the 2009 offseason, NFL analysts were dissecting the San Francisco 49ers and the various holes on the roster.

The running back position will be a big focus for the new offense this year. With the offense focusing on ball control, running back Frank Gore has said he likes the new offense.

May 23, 1:58 AM Add a Comment Feed San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis runs during NFL football practice at 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

Can you say platoon? That is the strategy you may see employed at the position of running back by the 49ers next season... Race for the NFC West Title: 49ers Running Backs Ready to Rumble by Ken Stansell 9 reads Can you say platoon ? That is the strategy you may see employed at the position of running back by the 49ers next season.

The 49ers will open up their first OTA today and there are a lot of questions that could be answered here.

The 2009 OTAs kick off this coming Monday, so it seems as good a time as any to move on to our next set of offseason roster projections.

"When you're in a leadership position, it's important to be here," Shaun Hill said Friday on the first day of a weekend camp.

Glen Coffee, headed out West... When I spoke to former Alabama running back Glen Coffee on Thursday, I asked him if he had any regrets about leaving a year early to enter the NFL Draft.

Alex Smith may have the big contract -- but they don't know him at the market near the Cathedral of the Resurrection a shovel pass from the Griboyedov Canal.

10 pick in the first round of the NFL draft Saturday, what the club does in the middle rounds - two through four - could be more significant.

With Bills RB Marshawn Lynch's supsension for the first three games of the season and backup RB Fred Jackson not under contract, the Bills will be in need of a running back to start the season.

Do you remember when one of your buddies would hold three fingers up, like this , and say, "Read between the lines..."? That's what I feel like the 49ers are doing to me this offseason.

Was the signing of Brandon Jones the answer to the team's questions at wide receiver? With the 49ers preparing for their off-season workouts on Friday, there are a lot of questions that the team has to answer.

Early last month we discussed the 49ers running back performance in 2008 and what to look for in 2009.

The NFL Combine workouts officially start today. Offensive linemen, kickers, punters, long snappers and tight ends will report to the field and work on various drills in front of coaches from different teams.

The NFL Combine began on Thursday, providing the media an opportunity to talk with some of the draft-eligible players .

At the beginning of 2008 training camp I threw together a post about how Mike Martz had never had particularly good tight ends .

So there's not a whole lot to work with today, a couple interesting articles but there's a lot that wasn't worth reading either.

Question: Seems like the top teams historically have a top-notch safety and that 49ers stood out with Ronnie Lott.

One of the links to the team's glory years, Rathman came in Wednesday morning for an interview with coach Mike Singletary for the position of running backs coach.