49ers - Texans, Who to Watch

By Kalen Patrick

A week ago I talked about which players to keep an eye on for the 1st preseason game. I'm going to essentially be doing the same thing for tomorrow's game against the Texans. Typically with Preseason it is the 2nd and 3rd games where you get to see a little more from the team, not only this, but you get to see the guys who are fighting to make the 53 man roster push it to the limit. So here are the guys to watch.

Eric Bakhtiari OLB/DE - Bakhtiari has been the talk of 49ers Training Camp so far. With the injuries to Aldon Smith and with Ahmad Brooks and Parys Haralson seeing only limited time so far, Bakhtiari has made the most of his opportunities. With 2 sacks in game 1 against the Vikings, look for him to be going all out in game 2 to continue his impressive offseason. Keep in mind that not only is Bakhtiari fighting for a spot on the very talented 49ers defense, but he is also on display for the entire NFL to watch. There will be another team ready to snatch him up should he not make the 49ers roster.

49ERS OLB ERIC BAKHTIARI - MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

AJ Jenkins WR - Jenkins has definitely had his ups and downs early in his 49ers career, and the same could be said for his performance against the Vikings. Jenkins had 2 nice catches and 2 bad drops, so I would definitely love to see some more consistency out of AJ. One of his strengths is definitely his speed so I would like to see him use that and maybe make a big play.

ALEX SMITH QB 49ERS 

Demarcus Dobbs TE/DL - Up to their tricks again the 49ers have tried using Dobbs on the offensive side of the ball at TE. With the injury to Delanie Walker at Training during 49ers FanFest and with Nate Byham out for the season, this is the perfect chance for Dobbs to prove his worth and earn a spot on the roster.



Alex Smith QB - Everything I have heard about Alex's performance in Training Camp has been very positive, I saw for myself at FanFest and I believe Alex was definitely the most impressive QB. I am looking for him to play the entire 1st quarter, I really don't care about stats or whatever, I'm just looking to see him have command of the offense, make smart decisions, and above all I would love to see accuracy and consistency on the deeper passes.

These are the guys I will be watching in particular, Overall I really don't put too much stock in to preseason games with regards to players who basically have their starting positions locked down. It's in the backup position battles where you see the real good stuff.