49ers vs. Broncos: Five players to watch Saturday

On the Denver side, Trevor Siemian and Mark Sanchez are fighting for the position. Von Miller and company showed that during the Super Bowl against the Carolina Panthers last season. “That was good”, defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil said, “because the one thing that people would question about Ray is his ability to play in the box, just given his history being a secondary guy”. Siemian should easily get his most playing time of the preseason and will get to game plan for his opponent – something teams rarely do during the first or second preseason game.

Christian Ponder ran for a touchdown and threw for another in the fourth quarter and San Francisco pulled away to beat the Denver Broncos 31-24 in an exhibition Saturday night. At best, Lynch is buoyed by the confidence and turns moments like his rollout touchdown pass in the third quarter into something more consistent.

We should look at what the three have done in two preseason games. He’s certainly a lower-ceiling option than Kaepernick, who at one time flashed top-10 quarterback potential.

Ted Ginn led the Panthers past year with 10 receiving touchdowns.

Two hours before kickoff on Saturday, Kaepernick participated in a 30-minute throwing session that included more than 50 throws. It seems inevitable that whoever wins the job to start the season is destined to eventually lose it. He took three sacks and had a final drive interception on an overthrow forcing it down the field. And so the defending Super Bowl champions appear likely to replace a near-certain Hall of Famer in Peyton Manning with a guy whose National Football League career amounts to exactly one official snap: a kneel-down to close the first half of a game last December. “I trusted the read, took a chance and broke on the ball”, Reid said.

Kelly had no injury updates to offer after the game; he will hold a conference call with the media Sunday afternoon. These pre season games are important, the 49ers are a rebuilding team and the more game tape on players the better. Bellore had four tackles, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery before exiting the game.

Dec 13, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree (15) is brought down by Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris (25) during the second half at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Clowney abused New Orleans Saints tackle Andrus Peat to sack Drew Brees in the second quarter of the 16-9 win. Treggs caught a 25-yard pass from rookie quarterback Jeff Driskel in the second quarter. After letting free agent lineman Malik Jackson walk in free agency, a reasonable financial decision, his ostensible replacement Vance Walker tore an ACL and won’t play this year.

And even the rookie, Lynch, who was a clear No. 3 when camp started, now may factor into the mix. He remained sidelined for the remainder of the game. By releasing Caldwell with an injury settlement, it potentially allows the Lions to re-sign him later in the year. Driskel’s numbers almost mirrored Gabbert’s, going 6 of 7 for 66 yards. Paxton Lynch is your quarterback of the future Broncos Country, but the fact is, he should be the quarterback of the present as well.