The San Francisco 49ers start 15 players who were on their roster prior to Jim Harbaugh's arrival.

The 49ers started the 2010 season with an 0-5 record, but Jed York still predicted that they would win their division in a vote of confidence for his organization.

"If a Fortune 500 company fires its CEO, they don't fire everybody in the organization and start fresh," York said in Santa Clara last week. "They might cut out some of the dead weight. But they keep the top performers, they keep the people that are part of the fabric of the company. And that's what I looked at here."

Instead of hiring an outside general manager after that season, York promoted Trent Baalke.

Aldon Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Bruce Miller, Jonathan Goodwin, Carlos Rogers, Donte Whitner and Randy Moss are the 49ers' seven players acquired with Harbaugh.

Jim Harbaugh credited Alex Smith for his impact in coaching and preparing Colin Kaepernick.

“He’s prepared and been involved in the game planning, in preparations, he’s prepared himself as the starter each week,” Harbaugh said of Smith. “That’s what he’s done, that’s what we expect of him and that’s what he has delivered. Another person really to credit in Colin’s success because Alex has really helped coach Colin and has been right there by his side. Sitting there in meetings every single day. He coaches Colin now more than I do, and that speaks high of the kind of person and teammate that Alex Smith is.”

The Oakland Raiders will give Terrelle Pryor an opportunity to win their starting quarterback job.

Pryor started for the Raiders in Week 17, going 13-for-28 for 150 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

“He needs to see if he can take a game over in the preseason, make some plays and carry out a game plan,” McKenzie told me and co-host Jim Miller on Sirius XM NFL Radio. “Let him compete. That’s what it’s all about. If it looks like he can help us win, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what we want.”

Carson Palmer is a potential candidate for release because of his scheduled $13 million salary in 2013.

Bruce Arians plans to revive the career of Larry Fitzgerald as he did with Reggie Wayne in 2012.

Fitzgerald had just 75 catches for less than 1,000 yards in 2012.

“As a receiver, you can’t hand it to them, you have to throw it to them,” Arians said. “They can double-cover him, and you don’t throw it to him if he is double-covered and someone else is single-covered. You’ve got to take what is there as a quarterback, but you do have to get him the ball because he is such a tremendous talent.

“When I first met with Reggie, Reggie had been on the left side for 10 years. The first day of spring I put him over there on the right, and he looked like he had palsy. I said, ‘It’ll come. You have to retrain your body here. Wait until I put you in the slot.’ There was buy-in.”

Jim Schwartz dismissed rumors that the Detroit Lions may switch to the 3-4 defense.

"We're not going to a 3-4," said Schwartz on Monday.

As for the Wide-9, the extra wide, angled defensive end alignment the Lions use on most downs, Schwartz didn't see it as the problem last year.

"We didn't have enough sacks this year," he said. "To be able to blame that on the Wide 9, the people that say that really don't know what they're talking about. Every team in league, when it's third down, lines up exactly the way we do it. It puts guys in the best position to rush the passer."

Andy Reid will be the Kansas City Chiefs' primary play caller on offense instead of offensive coordinator Doug Pederson.

The Chiefs will also continue to use the 3-4 defense.

"There's been time invested in the 3-4 here," Reid said. "The 3-4 gives you some flexibility. I've run both (defensive systems). I've been involved in both so I understand how they were. The 4-3 is good if you have the right coaches in place and the team is invested in it. But this team here is invested in the 3-4, so let's continue to build it and get better at it."

The Denver Broncos suffered a difficult 38-35 double-overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens where three turnovers by Peyton Manning and blown coverage by Rahim Moore were frequently cited for the reason.

But future Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey also struggled badly.

"The most surprising note of a great weekend of football? Champ Bailey played his worst game in five years and really hurt the Broncos Saturday in their 38-35 loss to Baltimore. The look on Bailey's face as time and again he was beaten deep by Torrey Smith made the Broncos plan of matching him up, one on one, with the speedy wideout seem like the height of optimism. Clearly it didn't work."

Frank Gore averaged 5.4 yards per carry in the nine games started by Alex Smith.

But with Colin Kaepernick starting, Gore has averaged just 3.9 yards per carry.

Gore is more comfortable in power sets, but the San Francisco 49ers have used more shotgun and Pistol formations.

Urban Meyer believes Tim Tebow could still become a successful NFL quarterback, particularly due to the success seen by Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick.

“We watched RGIII at the Washington Redskins, Wilson at the Seahawks, the new quarterback at the 49ers, and Carolina, and they are actually running a spread offense in the NFL,” Meyer said. “So my hope is, and I’m sure Tim feels the same way, is to go play in one of those systems where they let him play.”

Meyer says Tebow is upbeat and ready to play somewhere.

“I talk to him every week, and he’s still the most positive guy I’ve ever been around,” Meyer said. “He was so excited to go to New York and play for coach Ryan and the whole situation there. It didn’t turn out, but you have to move on.”