First-rounder has something to prove

A year out of the NFL gate, the 49ers' Kentwan Balmer has yet to start a game or get his first sack. He made a total of seven tackles as a rookie. Fairly or not, people expect more out of first-round draft picks, and nobody knows that better than the former North Carolina lineman who was the 29th player drafted last year. The only thing quick about his development was the speed with which some fans and analysts jumped to conclusions about the wisdom of that draft selection. It didn't help that one of the players the 49ers overlooked in taking both Balmer and second-round pick Chilo Rachal was Cal's speedy receiver and return threat DeSean Jackson. "When they tell you Kentwan Balmer and Chilo Rachal have to work on technique," a fan wrote to The Chronicle, "that's code for, 'They're not very good.' " Balmer admitted after a practice this week that he has something to prove. "You're damn right, and you can quote me," he said. "I've never been big on talk. I can tell you a million things I've been doing. What's important is what you see on the practice field, what you see in camp, what you see on Sundays." Many defensive linemen before Balmer have needed at least a year to work on technique before making any impact. In that sense, this brutal game is a little like ballet. You can't do it on talent alone. "The first year for D-linemen is so much technique," general manager Scot McCloughan said. "In college, you can get away with speed, quickness and power. In the NFL, you can't do that. The linemen are too good." McCloughan said defensive coordinator Greg Manusky told him Balmer was his most improved player from last year to this. McCloughan said he's "very excited at what he's going to bring this year." One difference in Balmer this year is that he has trimmed nine pounds, down to 306, on his 6-foot-5 frame. He's not beefy enough to play nose tackle, but during 11-on-11 drills he rotated through all three line positions in the 3-4 defense, then switched sides entirely to play left end on the field goal kicking team. On one play at left end, back on defense, he burst to the inside and was tackled by rookie tackle Kyle Howard. "It was an honest mistake on his part," Balmer said. "I'm not mad at him. It was actually kind of fun. I told him I haven't been tackled like that since college." He can afford to laugh off that kind of thing, but he says the criticism last year bothered him. "Of course," he said, "but I didn't have any control over that. I just put my nose to the grindstone and kept working." He pointed out there's a long list of defensive linemen who struggled in their first year. "Michael Strahan the ex-Giant didn't make the Pro Bowl till his fifth year," he said. But 49ers fans can remember when another first-round defensive lineman, Bryant Young, started right away in 1994 and had six sacks as a rookie. Balmer didn't see extensive action until after Mike Singletary took over from Mike Nolan as head coach at midseason. Was that a break for him? "I don't think so," he said. "I think they just got more comfortable with me. I started off slow." Singletary was impressed when Balmer recently attended the rookies camp after the first veterans minicamp. "He was the only veteran that I couldn't run off," Singletary said. Singletary said Balmer's coach at UNC, John Blake, told him that Balmer had plenty of potential but "he's very raw." Singletary said, "That was an understatement." By the end of the season, though, he said he understood what McCloughan saw in Balmer. "He has a heck of a package and a lot of ability," he said.