SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh spoke about his plans for the team's third exhibition game on Saturday. The Houston Texans come into Candlestick Park playing solid football. Here are some notes on Harbaugh's plan.
- QBs Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick will both get opportunities with the first team unit. That means Smith will start but not play the entire first half but could re-enter the game later on if a certain situation comes up in which Harbaugh sees fit.
- The backup players will get an opportunity to play against Houston's first team unit.
- WRs Dominique Zeigler and Chris Hogan are expected to get playing time. This will be Zeigler's first opportunity to really show what he can do for the team.
- QB Josh McCown might also get into the game. Harbaugh said he wasn't committed to keeping three quarterbacks on the roster, so all backup quarterbacks are on the bubble.
- Harbaugh said he's approaching this game the same way he's approaching the last game. He's going to try to get the team ready and see which players are best fit for the roster.
- Harbaugh plans to make team cuts on Tuesday (trimmed down to 80) and Saturday (trimmed to 53).
- The locker room is set up where players from offense and defense are mixed in on locker room assignments. He said it was to build team harmony. (This is the kind of stuff that reminded me of Remember the Titans).
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Quick practice notes:
- WR Michael Crabtree, CB Shawntae Spencer and S Reggie Smith were not out for practice.
- RG Chilo Rachal was back in practice after sitting out yesterday. CB Carlos Rogers also was in practice.
- At the beginning of practice, C Jonathan Goodwin was working with snapping drills with QB Alex Smith. C Adam Snyder was working on snaps with QB Colin Kaepernick.
- During punt drills, Ted Ginn, Phillip Adams, Kyle Williams and Ronald Johnson were the punt returners.
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The Dixon family and their nicknames
Running back Anthony Dixon was excited to be getting some playing time against the Houston Texans' first team defense.
"Coach already made it know that the backups were going to compete," Dixon said. "I know me, Kendall (Hunter), Xavier (Omon) and Seth (Smith) are battling for the No. 2 spot."
And what does this opportunity against the Texans' first unit mean to Dixon?
"I want to prove against them that I can hang pretty much get the job done," said Dixon. "I can be effective on the ground, blocking, I can pretty much show that I can handle whatever they're going to throw at me."
Dixon also talked about his nickname "Boobie". He said that he was a big back with quick moves in college and he was called "Boobie" after James "Boobie" Miles, a real-life tailback that was the feature in the book turned film Friday Night Lights. It was a name that stuck with him. He even uses that name for his Twitter handle (@Boobie24Dixon). It was a name he didn't resist.
"I didn't," Dixon said when he was given that name. "I just kept making plays and they kept hollering out 'Boobie'."
Nicknames also run in the family. Dixon's brother Rashun also has a unique nickname. Rashun, an outfielder for the Stockton Ports minor league team (Oakland Athletics Single-A affiliate), goes by the name "Peanut". Anthony went to see his brother play the San Jose Giants last night at Municipal Stadium in San Jose. The outfielder went 1-4 with two strikeouts.
"He made a good catch in the outfield, but that's about it," Anthony said. "He isn't hitting too good right now, he's struggling. I got on him after the game and hopefully he'll get it turned around tonight."
And why does your brother go by the name "Peanut"?
"He's got a big head," explained Anthony about his younger brother's nickname. "When we were little, we used to call him 'Peanut'. First thing you saw was the head, the big fat part back there (on the skull). It's a peanut. You've got a peanut."
Anthony said that he's probably seen his brother play around 20 times this year -- most of it due to the free time he had during the lockout. Now with the NFL back, his only chance to see his brother are when they're in town to face the Giants. Tonight is the last scheduled game the Ports will have against the Giants.
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