With 4 Pitt players on the SF 49ers roster, and all starters to boot, they do get something of a rooting interest from me.

Right now there’s a lot of attention on Antonio Bryant, who despite not actually causing any problems in Cleveland for 2 years, is still considered something of a junior T.O. because of the jersey toss incident in the face of Bill Parcells. That seems to be the theme in discussing him.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Antonio Bryant and head coach Mike Nolan approach their relationship with honesty. Both recognize that Bryant’s intensity is likely to be displayed in unprofessional ways and disrupt team chemistry.

“It’s not an easy thing for us or for him,” Nolan said of Bryant’s competitiveness. “But it’s a good thing.”

Bryant once fired a sweaty jersey into the disapproving mug of Cowboys coach Bill Parcells. Bryant was traded to the Browns soon after that. After a year-and-a-half in Cleveland, the Browns had little interested in re-signing him, despite Bryant’s 1,009 yards receiving season last season.

Nolan has issued proclamations about accountability and zero tolerance for dissension, but he signed the admitted malcontent anyway. Bryant has a four-year, $15 million deal with $6 million in guaranteed money.

Bryant showed up at 49ers camp in Santa Clara wearing No. 81, the same jersey that once belonged to the crown prince of sporting infamy, Terrell Owens.

Of course by the end of the column it’s noted that Trent Dilfer of the “flawless reputation” completely encouraged the ‘Niners to sign him.

The reality of the situation is that the 49ers needed Bryant. They had no other receivers who can be a game breaker for their 2005 1st round QB, Alex Smith. So far things look very good between the two.
Then there is Kevan Barlow, going into a big year as far as expectations and whether he will be with the team next year.

“You’re in the ‘Burgh?'” Barlow asked via cell phone during my recent tour of Pittsburgh’s Garfield district. “Oh man, you’ve got to go up the hill now and see the real bad stuff. Turn right on Atlantic and go a block to where the projects are. Then go over to Fort Pitt Park and see where my uncle was shot and killed.

“I’ll call you back in an hour to make sure you made it out of there safe.”

Yes, he called back. He did so in between practices at 49ers training camp, checking not only if I survived, but if a new appreciation was born for his rags-to-riches story.

“Growing up in that environment, it was a tough neighborhood. A lot of guys in the NFL go through the same stuff,” Barlow said last week during a sit-down interview outside the 49ers locker room. “In my neighborhood we had Bloods and Crips. I’ve seen some of my best friends murdered.”

There was Darrell, shot dead in a confrontation with police. And Dorion, his best friend on the Peabody High School football team who fell victim to a drive-by shooting just for wearing a red polo shirt to Wendy’s. Worst of all was uncle Sidney, just 35 when, Barlow says, “a dude on dope” shot him to death at a 1999 Thanksgiving Day football game at Fort Pitt Field.

Barlow, like many athletes, has overcome challenges, that’s for sure. Can he do it yet again? Not the rough childhood part, but the beating-the-odds part. Can he stiff-arm his doubters, stay in the starting lineup and produce the truly big season that’s escaped him to this point?

He swears he still has the drive to succeed, that the 49ers’ recent failures haven’t dragged him into an abyss of despair.

That had better be the case, for this is probably his make-or-break year, to prove he’s a starting-caliber running back worthy of the five-year, $20 million contract that has three pricey seasons remaining on it.

“Every year I come back motivated and I’m still optimistic, still hungry, still wanting to be successful. That’s something God gives you,” Barlow, 27, said. “I still feel I can be the best at what I do. When I lose that, then you’ve got something to worry about.

“But I still feel I can go out there and be one of the best backs in the league. Guys like Larry Johnson and Clinton Portis, I feel I can do everything they do. I just haven’t been in the position or had the opportunity to be successful like them.”

Barlow is being pushed by Frank Gore, drafted out of Miami in 2005.

Still waiting for profiles on Punter Andy Lee and Cornerback Shawntae Spencer.