http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/2776 Recent articles about Shaun McDonald en-us And training camp looms! It's time to step up my game as the 49ers open camp this Thursday at 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara. Here's what's been going on around the Internets: The Sacramento Bee leads off its preview by profiling the biggest 49ers issue of the offseason: The Martz effect. Martz helped the Lions become a much more dynamic offense the past couple seasons, but the Lions' personnel was almost nothing like what the 49ers have. Firstly, Jon Kitna was pretty firmly entrenched as the Lions starter when Martz arrived. The 49ers starting quarterback position is as unclear as ever, with Alex Smith and Shaun Hill (and, possibly, J.T. O'Sullivan) battling for the top spot. The Lions also had a natural number one receiver in Roy Williams, something the 49ers lack. Calvin Johnson was an immense threat last season, although he didn't have the impact many thought he would. But even Shaun McDonald and Mike Furrey are seemingly more reliable receivers than anyone the 49ers have. Now, on the flip side, the 49ers do have the type of talented tight end (Vernon Davis) and productive running back (Frank Gore) that the Lions never had in Martz's tenure… Here's a pleasant story from Daniel Brown about how Fred Dean discovered the pot of gold that is the 49ers franchise… Here is an excellent quick review of the 49ers full roster… Cornerback Reggie Smith, a third-round draft pick in April, was signed on Tuesday. Terms of the contract were not announced… Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:05:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294152 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294152 The 2007 fantasy football season may be over, but it's already time to be thinking about 2008. The Fantasy Football Experts are already hard at work completing a 2008 Fantasy Football Mock Draft. Here are the contestants: 1. Rob Shaw, Lead Expert for FantasyFanatics.com 2. Dan Cypra, Marketing Director for FantasyFanatics.com 3. Phil Jean, Fantasy Football Expert for FantasyFanatics.com The rules are simple: 1. This is a standard Yahoo scoring league. 2. Each Expert is responsible for four teams, so there are 12 total teams in the league. 3. Rookies were not eligible to be drafted since their NFL teams and use are unknown. 4. Each roster consists of one quarterback, three wide receivers, two running backs, one tight end, one kicker, and one defense. 5. There are 13 rounds total. Here are Rounds 7-9! Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:37:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/78666 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/78666 Hard to believe. The fantasy football finals are here, and you would not believe the names that are finding their way into the starting lineups for teams that have endured a long season and made it to the final round. For more on this article, see www.roto-world.com Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:13:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/49000 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/49000 Another one of FIO's weekly fantasy football columns, co-founder & NFL head Adam Allen clues you in on some possible fantasy free agents to lookout for in Week 14, including "Plug and Play," the Rookie Radar and some long stretches that could pan out. Check this article each and every week on Wednesdays. Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:22:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40974 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40974 The Chicago Bears eye the .500 mark with another matchup against the Detroit Lions in week 8. Here's how I see this game... Fri, 26 Oct 2007 03:09:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32941 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32941 Another one of FIO's weekly fantasy football columns, co-founder & NFL head Adam Allen clues you in on some possible fantasy free agents to lookout for in Week 2, including the Rookie Radar and some long stretches that could pan out. Check this article each and every week on Wednesdays. Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:53:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/26921 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/26921 The Lions offense was moving the chains the whole game as they threw for over 500 yards. Jon Kitna played a few series in the first quarter and went 3 for 5 with 52 yards. J.T. O'Sullivan who the Lions got off waivers a few weeks before the game looked very sharp going 12 for 19 with 225 yards and a touchdown. The weakness of the Lions offense though is definitely the running game. The Lions only ran the ball 19 times and gained 67 yards. That won't win you to many games in the NFL. Tatum Bell started as Kevin Jones was still nursing his broken foot. Bell looked very quick and ran for 19 yards on 6 carries. Bell's only problem was he didn't hit the holes the line opened for him and danced around most of the plays. T.J. Duckett didn't look that impressive either as he 19 yards on 5 carries and fumbled at the Bengals 1 yard line. Duckett was supposed to be the teams goal line back so he could be gone if he does that again. The receivers though looked great as Roy Williams caught one pass for 23 yards. Williams looked unstoppable on his route which was a 20 yard slant and then he does the rest. Considering he should get single coverage due to Calvin Johnson and Mike Furrey's presence, Williams could be in for a great season. Furrey had 1 catch for 24 yards which was on the exact same route as Williams. Calvin Johnson came in late in the second quarter but played well. Johnson had two passes thrown his way and caught them both for a total of 45 yards. Johnson made a spectacular leaping catch over Bengals 1st round corner Leon Hall and showed that he is ready to play. The Bengals defense was also very worried about Johnson getting lose. On one play Johnson was getting double teamed which led to a wide open Shaun McDonald who scored from 83 yards out. So all and all the Lions can really pass the ball but won't win to many time of possession battles. The Lions might not win that much this year, but they should be fun to watch. Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:53:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23599 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23599 Can the Rams regain their high-powered offense and once again rule over the NFC West? From my season previews, we take a look at new head coach Scott Linehan and his system going into St. Louis. Can he utalize Steven Jackson? Will the defense improve with their key additions? Sat, 16 Sep 2006 18:38:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2406 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2406