PREVIEW

[ibeckhami]

By Gil Brandt:

San Francisco 49ers
I feel sorry for Dennis Erickson because he's a very good coach -- he's won or improved teams everywhere he's gone. But the 49ers have a lot of dead money on their salary cap. Nonetheless, the focus is on players who are there now. Starting quarterback Tim Rattay got hurt on the first play of minicamp and there's a question on his return. His backup, Ken Dorsey, will have to carry the load for them. He may have played for the Hurricanes in college but he has no pro experience. I think 2004 will be tough for the 49ers because they're rebuilding without a lot of building blocks.