NINERS SLIP PAST RAIDERS IN BATTLE OF THE BAY

The San Francisco 49ers nipped the Oakland Raiders in the NFL preseason ‘Battle of the Bay’, winning by a 21-20 final score.  Shaun Hill also won the starting QB job in San Fran as he outplayed Alex Smith, who is still trying to play himself back in shape after losing much of last season due to injury.  The Niners improved their NFL preseason record to 2-0 while the Raiders fell to 1-1.

NFL bettors who took the +2’ points with the Raiders did salvage a pointspread win.  Despite their 2-0 straightup record, the Niners are now 0-2 against the spread.  The Raiders, conversely, have covered both of their preseason games.  The 41 combined points went OVER the posted total of 35’.  The Raiders have gone OVER in both of their NFL exhibition contests, while the Niners evened their O/U mark at 1-1.

Despite the fact that San Francisco coach Mike Singletary said that he’ll have to ‘look at some more film’ before making the final call on the starting QB, most insiders suggest that Hill will be the choice.  Smith threw an interception, and completed only three of his nine pass attempts.  Hill was solid, though not spectacular, in his reps.  While he didn’t produce much offense, he didn’t make any mistakes either.

Raiders’ starting QB Jamarcus Russell was likewise just “OK”.  He finished 7 of 11 for 76 yards, but completed only one pass to a wide receiver.  Jeff Garcia came on in relief and threw an interception on his only drive of the game.   Most of the offense was generated by the third string, with the Raiders’ Bruce Gradkowski and the Niners’ Nate Davis each throwing for touchdowns in the second half.
 
The biggest offensive star of the game was San Francisco rookie running back Glen Coffee, who played his college football at the University of Alabama.  Coffee replaced starter Frank Gore after one series and finished with 129 yards on 16 carries.

Oakland had an opportunity to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but opted to go for a two point conversion and the win rather than kick the extra point.  The attempt was denied, and the one point provided the final margin of victory.

The Raiders will host the New Orleans Saints next Saturday night, while San Francisco will travel to Dallas for a game against the Cowboys in their posh new stadium.  Oakland will begin their regular season at home against the San Diego Chargers on Monday, September 14.  San Francisco will kick off the 2009 NFL regular season on the road at Tempe, Arizona against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, September 13th.