This weekend, 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown will be hosting his second annual “Tarell Brown Football Camp” for his community in Mesquite, Texas.  The camp is associated with Brown’s, Born Again Foundation.

Several of Brown’s teammates with the 49ers and University of Texas Longhorns will be in attendance to help out Brown’s cause.  Fellow Texas native, 49ers wide receiver Dominique Zeigler will be on hand. In addition, Brown’s college teammates like New York Giants defensive back Aaron Ross, Oakland Raiders safety Michael Huff and others will be there too.

“It’s going to be good for my community,” Brown said. “Just to get some of the guys to come out to our city and interact with the kids will be fun. They’re going to try to put a smile on the kid’s faces and hopefully everyone will have a good time.”

Brown expects 265 kids to attend the fun-filled camp. He also plans to make a donation to his former high school to help out North Mesquite High School’s athletic department.

“We’re going to try and make it bigger and bigger every year. Hopefully it keeps getting bigger and better for years to come. My main focus is to go out there and show the kids what I’ve learned. It’s important to give back and have a fun time with the community.”

The 49ers will again be holding their training camp at team headquarters in Santa Clara and it’s now been confirmed as to when the players will be reporting.  Rookies are scheduled to arrive on July 28 with the rest of the team checking in to the team hotel on July 30.

That gives the team just over two weeks to prepare for its first oppenent, the Denver Broncos, on August 14 at Candlestick Park.

Following his fourth and final day of the NFL’s “Broadcast Boot Camp” 49ers offensive lineman Tony Wragge called 49ers.com to share his experiences on Thursday:

Today was probably my best day so far. We started this morning with a production meeting. The emphasis was on play-by-play and game analysis. The discussion was led by James Brown of CBS, Dick Vermeil, who was a Super Bowl winning coach with the St. Louis Rams and the head producer of NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast. They talked about production and what it takes to do play-by-play and analysis and how it works together with the production side of broadcasts. They talked about how commentators work with directors to put on a quality show.

Then, we broke into groups and my group went to analysis prep and learned how to produce a game board with Vermeil. I’ve never met coach Vermeil, but I was extremely impressed with the man. I guess you still call him “coach.” I still called him that, even though he’s been doing broadcasting for awhile. I don’t know him as a coach, but I’ve heard very good things about him. His broadcasting approach is so professional. He took the time to talk to us about how it’s just like being on a football team. You have to work together as a team to pull out a quality product or broadcast.

He’s been working a long time and he showed us how he sets up a game board. The game board has all the players listed. It has who’s starting and quick references for each player. The card or game board looks just like an offensive or defensive play card that you would see on gameday. It’s huge. It has everyone’s name and information on each player. It’s laid out very well.

And then we went to a production meeting. We were going to talk about the Philadelphia/Chicago game from this year in Chicago. We sat down with a producer from CBS and we went over what our game analysis for the Bears/Eagles game would be like. We developed ideas on certain storylines involving guys on each team. Most prominently, Donovan McNabb and Brian Urlacher of the Eagles and Bears respectively. It was interesting to see how the producers develop stories and use their research for what they want to talk about on the broadcasts. We talked for 40 minutes about all the things the public could potentially want to here.

After that we met with a producer from the NFL Network and two former broadcast boot campers from previous years. Ross Tucker, one of the former campers has a radio show with NFL SIRIUS Satellite radio and he explained how he works with his producers. They talked about building their relationships with their producers and how important it was to their careers.

The best part of the day was our play-by-play analysis meeting. Paul Burmeister of the NFL Network and Gerry Sandusky who does radio play-by-play of the Baltimore Ravens spoke to our group about their play-by-calls. We did a simulation where they did the play-by-play call and then we did the secondary analysis. It was a lot of fun to find out how they got started and how they paid their dues.

After the meeting we broke for lunch and then came back to do our own six-minute color commentary analysis of the Philadelphia/Chicago game that we met about earlier in the day. Gerry did the play-by-play and I got to do the color commentary. It was awesome! I didn’t even know it, but my producer who was sitting in the other room would cue me in on certain things like instant replays. I got so comfortable I started using the button to turn your microphone off and switches so you can talk to your producer. I clicked my button and I’d say, “Mark (the producer), I want another replay on that.” I’d ask while Gerry was doing the play-by-play and the producers would say, “I got it on the way man.” I got to breakdown plays, talk about them and it flowed so well.

I didn’t know it at the time, but all the executives from the major networks were sitting in the production room on the other side and when I came out of the booth I was pretty confident that I did a great job. One of the producers said to me: “That was outstanding!” I was just thinking he was being nice but he reiterated it. “Tony, I don’t hand those compliments out very often. Your take was excellent.”

They said that was by far the best thing I had done all week and I have the talent to do that in the future. Some guys weren’t comfortable doing the play-by-play work, I heard a couple people say it was the hardest thing they did all week. I had the most fun with it out of all the activities at camp. It was definitely the highlight of my experience.

Thanks for reading my boot camp blog, I can’t wait to get back to practicing with my teammates. I’m super excited about the upcoming season. See everyone at training camp shortly…

After his third day of the NFL’s “Broadcast Boot Camp” 49ers offensive lineman Tony Wragge took time out of his hectic schedule to talk with 49ers.com about his experiences on Wednesday:

We started out with an informative speech by James Brown of CBS Sports. His message was focused more on the production side of the broadcasting business. He spoke about how he got involved with his producers and where he stands with them today. He talked about their involvement in boosting his career because how close they are associated with each other. A great producer is going to boost your career just as much as any other associate can.

Later, Brian Baldinger and Solomon Wilcots of the NFL Network talked about their dealings with producers and how they helped the two on-air personalities get to where they’re at right now. Following the first three speakers, a former NFL player spoke to the group about his experiences. He currently works as a producer for one of the local networks in Philadelphia. He talked about what it’s like to get into the producer side of the business.

We did Q&A sessions after each speaker and the rest of the day consisted of two activities.

The first involved each camp member writing their own script to read off a teleprompter on air. I wrote a script on the kickoff return wedge rule change. Starting this year you can’t use two, three or four-man wedges on kickoff returns anymore. Our presentation had to be 40 seconds for a TV sound bite and it was a lot of fun.

At lunch we talked about agents with the head of ABC Sports and James Brown. Specifically, Brown talked about his agent to us. They spoke about how agents can help you tremendously in sports broadcasting, and how they also can steer your career in the wrong direction. Also, one of the former broadcast boot campers of 2007 visited us and spoke on how his agent impacted the current path of his career. Overall, it was fun to hear how agents have an impact on the sports and entertainment business.

After lunch we went to the Sports Authority and did an interview in the field. I had to do an interview with Thomas Williams who is a linebacker of the Jacksonville Jaguars.  I interviewed him at the Sports Authority about the NFL’s “Play 60” initiative to get the youth active in various activities. We did back and forth impromptu interviews and we did it in a minute-and-a-half. It was a lot of fun to be put on the spot like that.

Now we’re back at the hotel relaxing. I know later tonight we’ll be critiqued again by the talent producers and then we’ll call it a night.

It’s been a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I’ll tell you what, I thought the in-the-field interview would be harder than the in-studio presentation because I was reading material I wrote myself. I thought reading off a teleprompter would be so easy. I was feeling confident because I wrote it, but when you get up there and you read it you kind of sound like a robot. Then once you realize it, you have to give your own personality while readying what’s on the teleprompter. You can’t act like you’re reading and it’s actually really hard. I did a couple of takes, and I got better the second time around. It’s not like how you see it on TV – it’s tougher than it looks!

I’ve been getting so much valuable feedback from all the producers here. They’ve talked to us all about how to use our expressions and our personalities to the camera or when we’re on the radio. I was told by one of ESPN’s talent scouts that I have the ability to show a conservative side and I’m also able to let loose. He said the conservative side allows fans to see the compassion involved in a particular story. He said they don’t find that very often and that I got what it takes to succeed. When he said that, I was like, “Wow!” That was encouraging to me.

The critiquing has been just like American Idol. You present your work, and they just tear you apart and see how you take it.

Thursday is the last day of boot camp, but I’ll be sure to keep everyone informed of what happened here in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey…

Twenty-four current and former NFL players including 49ers offensive lineman Tony Wragge are participating in the NFL’s third annual “Broadcast Boot Camp.”

The program, which runs from June 22-25, is directed by the NFL Broadcasting Department and covers a wide range of topics with instructors from each of the NFL’s broadcast partners – CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, NFL Network, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Westwood One Radio, plus local radio and TV. 

It includes hands-on work in areas such as tape study, editing, show preparation, radio production, control room operation, studio preparation, production meetings, field reporting and game preparation. Following his second day of the boot camp, Wragge was gracious enough to give 49ers.com a rundown of his experiences so far:

On the first day of broadcast boot camp, I had a chance to get my schedule and a portfolio from the NFL Films crew here in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. I met quite a few players who were here for the camp like Matt Light of the Patriots, Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars and Antwaan Randle-El of the Redskins to name a few. It’s funny there were a couple of Raiders there and myself and then everybody else was from the East Coast.

When we first met we had a meet and greet and we all talked about where we’ve come from and what we’re all looking to do in the broadcasting business. We sat down in the NFL Films studio and got a formal introduction from the NFL Films crew. Steve Sabol couldn’t make it, I think he’s in San Francisco. I was really looking forward to meeting him, but I guess that’ll have to wait.

We got a raw introduction to the broadcasting/media world by Ron Jaworski of ESPN’s Monday Night Football and James Brown of CBS and Curt Menefee of Fox, who are all well-known broadcasters. They welcomed us and told us what their expectations were for us and what the boot camp entailed. Then they gave us a pile of homework to go through. It reminded me of training camp, when you’re given your playbook and each day they give you an install sheet of plays for the next day. They did the same thing with us!

Then we broke off into four groups and we got to watch how the on-air personalities break down NFL Films tape that they use on the various TV shows. Jaworski sat right in front of me and he broke down what he’s looking for in the film to explain to the fans.

After our tour of the NFL Films facility, we met all of the various analysts for most of the day. One of the highlights of the day was doing a NFL SIRIUS Satellite radio interview. I interviewed one of my fellow classmates, La’Roi Glover. He just retired after a successful career, so I asked him about his playing days and his plans for the future. I had to give the interview and then Gibran Hamdan, a quarterback of the Buffalo Bills interviewed me. It was fun switching roles and being able to experience both sides of the interview process.

Later, I did my on camera scenario with Menefee. I was asked about Detroit Lions quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford. Specifically I was asked about his initial role with the Lions and if he would be the immediate starter. We did a three minute segment and later I was critiqued by the NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger.

They gave us a breakdown of different scenarios we’d have to potentially talk about on camera the next day. I was up until 1 A.M. reading my scenario sheet for what we’re going to be “quizzed” on. When I got back to my hotel room, I immediately started reading my case studies.

I had six different scenarios ranging from gun control in the NFL to the new wedge-blocking rule on kickoff returns. They informed us that one of the stories they picked, we would have to have an on-camera conversation with Menefee about it.  I definitely wanted to be prepared for it, so I made sure I looked over as much information on each subject as possible.

I got up the next morning early and I was at the studio ready to discuss what I had rehearsed the night before. We had a short meeting with the various TV personalities I mentioned earlier among many other talented on-air football personalities. Then they talked about their experiences and how they got to their current broadcasting jobs. They told us they would critique us and let us know what it really takes to get in the media business. It was really in depth!

All of the talent scouts for the major sports networks will be critiquing the videos we put together and I’m really looking forward to that too.

It’s an awesome experience so far. I’ve been busy since I got here until about 20 minutes ago. It’s different being on the other side of the media process. I’m looking forward to Wednesday, because we’ll be doing play-by-play analysis. I get to be on camera and do play-by-play which will be interesting. It’s something I’d like to do in the future for sure.

I’ll have more updates after Wednesday, thanks for reading about my experiences so far here at the NFL’s broadcast boot camp!

If several Santa Clara restaurant owners have their way, 49ers fans will be dining on cleverly named dishes like “Niners Nachos” and the “Singletary Sampler” while en route to 49ers games at a new stadium in Santa Clara.

“When we first announced that we were considering building a stadium in Santa Clara, local businesses approached us and told us how excited they were about the news and how it would create jobs and potential business for their organizations,” 49ers Vice President of Communications Lisa Lang said.

After practice on Wednesday, players were given a special taste-test to sample some of the proposed new menu items for local restaurants. The idea for the event came from Steve Dutra, the owner of Santa Clara’s “Mondo Burrito” restaurant, and the president of a coalition of restaurant owners called “Diners for Niners,” that supports the team’s effort to build a new stadium in Santa Clara.

“I lived in San Diego and I saw how Petco Park revitalized restaurants in the Gaslamp District, and I have no doubt that a new 49ers Stadium will have a positive impact on our restaurants as well,” Dutra said.

Menu items at the event included: 

“Chicken Taquito Spikes,” a Mexican dish prepared by A Catered Affair in honor of linebacker Takeo Spikes. 

“Chi-Lo Mein,” a Chinese noodle dish prepared by China Stix in honor of offensive lineman Chilo Rachal.

 “Baby Zak Ribs,” a BBQ dish prepared by Andy’s Bar-B-Que in honor of fullback Zak Keasey.

 “Jed New York Steak Au Poivre,” a French dish prepared by David’s Restaurant in honor of team president Jed York.

“The Super Pasta Bowl,” an Italian dish named in honor of the 49ers Foundation’s annual charity event.

“The chefs thought creating some player-inspired dishes would be a great way to showcase the potential dishes to the team,” Lang said. “They came up with a lot of clever ideas to help show their support for the 49ers and their hope that the project moves forward here in Santa Clara.”

Spikes liked what he tasted: “A few people have come up to me and told me they named their dog “Spike” after me, but this is the first time a restaurant has named a menu item after me. I’m honored.”

Be sure to visit DinersForNiners to cast your vote for your favorite dish name, or to submit a name for a new 49ers-inspired dish. Winners will get dining certificates and other special awards.

Minutes after he stepped off the practice field, 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill spoke with the media on a number of subjects. Here’s the transcript of his conversation:

On how he feels he did today:

“Today, just like every day, some good and some things that needed to be corrected. But, for the most part, I felt like the whole offense is starting to get it, starting to click a little better. And it does, it takes time on the offensive side of the ball.”

On how the quarterback competition is different for him this time around:

“To be honest with you, I try not to think about it too much. I’m just going out there and trying to improve every day. Do whatever I have to do to be the best I can be. I’ve really tried to put that thought on the backburner and just try to concentrate on myself and what I’m doing out there.”

On the fact that he’s never been handed the No. 1 job anywhere else:

“Ever. Ever, anywhere.”

On whether he’s used to the insecurity:

“Well, there really is no insecurity. You’re talking about insecurity with the position, not internally?”

Yes:

“I’m definitely used to that. Every single level I’ve been on, that’s the way it’s been. I’m kind of used to that I guess.”

On what he feels he’s proven thus far on the field:

“Well, what I’ve proven on the field? I feel like I’ve proven that I can win, and I can win with this team. Obviously, winning is the most important thing.”

On whether he thinks the QB competition is starting to heat up:

“I don’t know where everybody is, as far as making a decision. I think that’s where you’re going with that. Like I said, I don’t feel it any different. I’m just trying to concentrate on myself out there. But, that might be. You’d have to ask somebody else.”

On whether he feels the reputation as a poor practice player is unfair:

“I don’t care too much about it. I don’t think about it. Whenever I am asked the question, I always think back to, well, I never would have made it in the NFL if I was a bad practice player. That was the only way I was ever able to prove myself and make teams. So, I personally don’t buy into it too much.”

On whether he ever goes out there with his shoes untied just to look bad:

“Just to look bad? On purpose, definitely not.”

On how important it is to show what he’s got in practice:

“It’s very important. Right now, this is the only place that we can show anything. There’s no game for a few months, so this is the only place where we can show what we have. Obviously, practices are very important.”

On whether it’s hard not to look and see that Alex Smith is throwing the ball well:

“No. I like seeing him throw the ball well. He is. He’s throwing it well. It’s got a lot of zip on it right now, and his accuracy is coming back. He’s looking good out there. I like what I see out there.”

On why he likes what he sees in Alex Smith:

“Because he’s a teammate. I like to see my teammates do well. He’s a friend and all of those things. We are competing against each other, but we’re also rooting for each other out there. I don’t go out there wishing ill will on him, by any means. I like to see our offense go out there and execute. Obviously, he’s a big part of that.”

On what he thinks of the 49ers ruling out the possibility of singing Michael Vick:

“I didn’t even know where we stood on that, to be honest with you. I guess that’s good.”

On what he thinks his intangibles are:

“I think intangibles as its defined are the uncoachable aspects of the position, the things that aren’t measured. So, I think that’s what they’re talking about. Leadership and just being able to move the ball, move the offense and going out and winning, those are things I’ve always prided myself on. Obviously, I’m not the most gifted guy out there, not one of the most gifted guys at the position. So, intangibles are very, very important to me.”

On when he goes out there for games, does he react differently than when he’s in practice:

“No. I feel like I bring the same mentality to practice. The thing that’s different is when you’re in practice and you have two bad plays in a row, all of a sudden you’re whole period looks bad. In a game, you have two bad plays in a row, third down you get a completion, now you’re rolling. Now you’re rolling. It’s first-and-10. All of a sudden, those two plays are gone. You’re driving, things like that. I think, more than anything, it’s just continuing to go. I don’t ever want to take my foot off the throttle. I think that’s sometimes how I maybe get the illusion that I’m a bad practice player. There might be a couple of ugly things here and there, but in a game when you’re out there playing, one good play makes up for those and you’re driving. In practice situations, it’s not always like that.”

On the two-minute drill and whether that highlights his forte:

“I like to take a lot of pride in that and I always have. But, same thing, first and second down, might look completely ugly. Even third down might, but fourth down, you get a completion and a first down all of a sudden all of that stuff is erased, and you’re moving. So, that’s the mentality in two minute. Just keep going, keep going, keep going, and something good is going to happen. Obviously, we’re having a few, as Jimmy [Raye] says ‘self-inflicted wounds’ that we have to clean up, but, for the most part, guys are doing a great job out there just hanging in there after a bad play and just pushing through it.”

On whether his style of play is going to be any different in Jimmy Raye’s offense than last year’s:

“Yeah, there are going to be some differences. We’ve definitely mixed in our drops more: three-step, five-step, seven-step. Whereas last year was predominantly seven-step. So this is nice to be able to have all three of those, as well as play actions – every kind of play action you could imagine, we have. So, that is nice, and I think it fits us well.”

On whether that puts more of a premium on the quarterback making decisions on the fly:

“Yeah. He does ask us to take a little bit more control, a more charge of the offense than we’ve had in the past. So, that’s nice. There’s more on our shoulders, but we really like that. That’s something that quarterbacks really enjoy.”

On how important it is for the offense to know they have a good kicker on the team:

“We know that Joe Nedney, line him up for a game-winner and it’s going through. And that’s obviously very important. The guy has range too. So, when we’re in those two-minute drills right there, we kind of look over and as [Special Teams Coordinator] Al [Everest], ‘Al, what’s our yard marker? 32?’ That’s kind of the average. He’s like, ‘No, 35.’ So, that’s obviously nice. That’s a big plus.”

On what the special teams guys do during mini camps:

“I think they do more than people think they do. They put in a lot of time out here, him and Andy [Lee] and Brian Jennings, all three. They put in a lot of time together out here kicking in the offseason and things like that. Obviously, there’s not as many of the team reps for them right now, but they’re definitely getting their work in. All three of those guys are great assets to this team.”

On what he thinks Brandon Jones contributes to the team:

“Brandon is showing an awful lot there in the last few days. He’s got some wheels and he’s got much stronger hands than I thought. Coming in, he’s really surprised me with how strong his hands are in traffic, going up and making plays. So, he has some range to him, and he’s shown that the last few days.”

On the tight end being more involved in the offense this season:

“Yeah, we are very talented at the tight end group from top to bottom. So yeah they are going to be a big addition to this offense and a big part of this offense.”

On the tight end being a nice outlet compared to the wide receivers:

“No question. We feel like we can get a good matchup so they are going to benefit us, our tight ends against linebackers. They’re tacklers and they’re run stoppers first and pass defenders second. So if we can take advantage of that, then that would be a huge plus for us.”

On if running a drive feels like driving a car when he is running a drive:

“Yeah, it does a little bit. You always have to keep on the gas pedal, definitely. That’s exactly how it feels. If you get a big play and all of the sudden that accelerator hits, that’s a good analogy.”

On if it feels like he’s going really fast:

“At times, as far as my thinking as far as big plays happen, yeah. You feel like you are going fast.”

On if the thinking is slow and methodical:

“That’s the key to playing quarterback. Playing any position, especially on offense is being able to go out and play fast, but the thinking and everything like that, it’s just slow the game down.”

On if where he’s playing it’s important to slow the game down:

“Absolutely, the more you get to play, the slower it gets and things like that, without a doubt. Playing experience is huge in slowing it down for you.”

On Tuesday, June 9, Jed York, Team President of the San Francisco 49ers, and Mike Singletary, the 49ers Head Coach will be on KLIV radio (1590 AM).

Tune in this Tuesday, June 9, at 7 p.m. for an engaging interview. Each Tuesday evening at 10 p.m. is an “encore performance” of the show.  In addition, visit the Silicon Valley Leadership Group web site, www.svlg.net, for podcasts of all previous shows.

On what he’s learned about his defense that he didn’t know before these practices:

“I think over the last couple weeks and with the OTAs and mini-camps, the progression that they are taking is they are taking it upon themselves to get better, learning the playbook and they feel a lot more comfortable with it. So I think that in itself is the most important thing I think, to feel comfortable in the defense. They’ve been in it for two years, going into the third.”

On Patrick’s comment about him telling the defense to ease up in practice:

“I just think being out here during mini-camps and OTAs, in regards to people getting hurt, I want them ready for the season. I don’t want any setbacks across the board and we already had one with Walt Harris. Just take it easy, especially being around the quarterbacks with our hands up because we are trying to promote knocking down balls and stuff. I just don’t want them to go the extra mile and knockdown the ball and hurt the quarterback or something, so in that regard, that’s something that I wanted.”

On if he likes saying ease up rather than speed up:

“Usually, defensively, across the board, wherever you are, they tend to go a little bit faster and the tempo that we set is what the offense usually has to match, so you don’t want them to go full speed all the time. You want them at a teaching tempo more than anything else.”

On whether he wants to see them knocking down balls:

“Across the board, from knocking balls down, to picking off passes, to stripping guys, to picking up scoops.”

On if this is a top 10 defense or better this season:

“I think time will only tell. I think it comes down to players making plays and us putting them in the right situation to make those plays. It can go as far as they want to take it and would I like to have a top five defense? Of course. I think the 49ers organization and the fans would like that and they are progressing every day and getting better at it.”

On how Scott McKillop is progressing:

“Very good. He’s a smart player coming from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. I know that area. Mostly the eastern side of the state is usually the smartest. He’s doing pretty well. He’s picking up the system pretty well. All the rookies have that tendency to sort of fall back once there’s an information overload, so we just have to keep on building and keep on working. I try to tell those guys all the time. Every practice, try to get better. If you step back a little bit, the next one try to improve two more steps.”

On what he sees from Curtis Taylor:

“Taylor has some skills from the back end. For all rookies that come in it’s hard, defensive line, safeties to a linebacker, to just get the transitioning and from the calls and the repetitions that he gets, he’s doing quite a fine job.”

On the play of rookie Ricky Jean-Francois:

“I think the hardest position coming in as a rookie is a defensive linemen because it’s all technique – not so much the calls, but more technique. It happens so fast and so quick. Just to relate two guys we have on our team, from Ray McDonald, from his first year to his second year, the improvement he made. Kentwan Balmer, from last year to this year. And they keep on getting better. So, he will. He’s trying.”

On if Jean-Francois is pretty raw:

“I wouldn’t say raw. I think he’s got some talent. He’s doing quite a fine job. What I expect a rookie to do at defensive line.”

On whether he has the people in place to generate a good pass rush:

“I think with Jim Tomsula working with them and Al Harris and Jason Tarver, getting the guys that are going to be working together all the time, especially with our pass rush. Those two guys on each side, left and right and inside working together consistently. It’s just like a basketball team, if you know where the guy is going to be and you’ve been working with them a long time, you get better and better. From the individuals up front, I think we’ll be able to put a decent amount of pressure on the quarterback.”

On his philosophy on the nose tackle:

“I think across the board you always want to have a backup player. You don’t want any letdown coming when said player gets hurt or gets dinged up. So, we always have rotations across the board, and with Kentwan [Balmer] and Isaac [Sopoaga] doing a great job behind Aubrayo [Franklin], just from a backup situation, the more players that you have at those positions helps you out.”

On whether Curtis Taylor’s progress has anything to do with the decision to let Jimmy Williams go so early:

“It’s actually good for Curtis, since the fact that he gets a little bit more reps out on the field with Mark [Roman] getting sick and Michael [Lewis] not doing anything. It gives us a good chance to take a look at him and him learning from his mistakes, or the good things that he does on the field.”

On when Michael Lewis is expected to return:

“He’ll be back here, I think he’ll be starting up in these next OTAs.”

On Dre Bly’s reputation as a gambler:

“I just want him to make plays.”

On whether it’s OK if Bly misses a few:

“No, but I’m just saying, hopefully he gambles the right way. If he wants to roll seven, he rolls a seven. I’m happy with that. He’s trying to pick up the system out here. Different verbiage, terminology for him. Has shown some burst and speed. He’s progressing very well for right now, being a veteran cornerback in this league coming in here quite late, I guess, and picking up the system, he’s doing quite well.”

On whether the defensive philosophy on gambling has changed at all from last year:

“I think our focus this offseason has been putting pressure on the quarterback and creating turnovers so we get the ball back. I think in both situations the last two years I think we can improve on, as well as run defense. Those are our focuses for the OTAs, minicamp, going through the season.”

On if this is his first time having a pass rush coach:

“Yeah. He’s helping out the defensive line, outside linebackers, just giving them a little bit of tips and pointers. Not trying to overload them and just helping them out. Just another site line for coaches up in that room to see maybe we can beat a guy this way and that way, so it helps out.”

On the combination of Parys Haralson and Manny Lawson as a duo on the outside:

“Well I think with Manny now that his knee is 100 percent and he feels confident with it and getting him with the defensive line and rushing as much as he can helps him and benefits him. Last year he was back and forth between rushing times and playing inside linebacker in our sub package, so putting him strictly in that pass rush mode, he’s learning from his mistakes and he’s learning from his good things that he does. So I think it’s building up, number one, his confidence and building up his ability to pass rush and I think it’s a good thing.”

On if Manny Lawson putting on weight helps him in the pass rush:

“Yeah. If a guy runs a 4.2 and weighs 180 pounds it’s hard for him to rush. They have to have speed and power and I think the more speed and the more power you have the better performer you are as a pass rusher.”

On if Allen Rossum will be a part of the defensive plan:

“I think Allen right now is playing cornerback for us and right now he’s doing a pretty good job for us and we’ll see how it goes.”

On where Patrick Willis can improve as a linebacker:

“I always talk to Pat…just his progression as a linebacker as actually elevated from his first year to his second and I think it’s going to elevate even more. From his standpoint I think defensively he knows what to do and I think he’s going to try and focus on how is the offense going to attack us. And I think just from the classroom stuff I think that’s how he can improve. Start calling out plays, what he thinks is going to be coming at him.”

On if this is a cohesive defensive unit now:

“I think it’s getting to be there. It’s tight. The guys feel comfortable with one another. I think they work well together. I think just trying to promote the strips, the picks, pass rush, the run defense, and all those things, I think everybody is focused on the key of ‘Hey, let’s step it up this year and get things done.’”

On if the pieces are in place to get those done:

“Yeah, and they are trying to fit those pieces in and that’s what OTA’s, mini-camps and training camps do, is to fit that in.”

On watching the offense and what philosophy Jimmy Raye is instilling:

“I was with Jimmy Raye as a player back in the day in Kansas City and I know what Jimmy’s all about. He’s a tough, hard nose guy that’s going to get things done and that’s the type of guy he is and that’s the way he coaches and I see a lot of success from our offense coming this year and I look for our defense to continue to improve as well.”

After Saturday’s morning session of the 49ers three-day mandatory minicamp, Jimmy Raye addressed the media on the progress his unit has made since he was named offensive coordinator in the offseason.

“I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made,” Raye said. “We are behind a little bit, in terms of our situation stuff, particularly our sub-nickel protection and stuff, but we had a good start on that yesterday and we’ll have more of that going forward and we’ll get a little better as we go along with that.

“But for the most part, I think they are doing a good job of learning and applying the principles that are being talked about and they are playing faster. Each day we can see the fact that they are playing faster, so that is an indication that the understanding level has improved from the time that we started until the present time.”

One of the players who has been applying those principles and having success on the field is second-year wide receiver Josh Morgan.

The 49ers sixth-round pick from last year’s draft has been pleased with what Raye has brought to the 49ers offensive attack.

“He’s an intelligent guy, who is very detailed,” Morgan said. “He’s not going to settle for less than what he expects out of you and he always wants us to meet his standards.”

TV49 will air Raye’s press conference later today, along with interviews with veteran wide receiver Isaac Bruce and long snapper Brian Jennings, who just agreed to a five-year extension to remain with the team.

Stay tuned to 49ers.com for more updates on the mandatory minicamp and be sure to check out our official twitter page with live updates from the practice field.