San Francisco 49ers: Position Battles Highlight Preseason Opener
By Marc Grandi
Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (left) and San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh (right) talk before Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
For the third time, the Jim Harbaugh-led San Francisco 49ers will face off against John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens. The stakes are substantially lower than the last two times these teams met, but still much is at stake.
Baltimore played host to San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day in 2011, winning the first-ever matchup of coaching brothers. The two teams met once again in the 2013 Super Bowl, in which the Ravens got out to a large lead and made a goal-line stand to defeat Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers.
On Thursday, they meet for both teams’ preseason opener in Baltimore. It’ll be exciting to see 49er football again, but perhaps more importantly, we’ll get a first-look into many of the position battles and finally get an idea who will be filling up the last spots on San Francisco’s final roster.
Here are a few positions to keep an eye on throughout the game on Thursday night.