1.  Any player who wears No. 55 at Southern Cal has to get a look-see, but is Markus Steele more like Junior Seau or Willie McGinest?

2.  DEFENSIVE LINE: Tony Casillas returns from Dallas on Monday to continue rehabilitation after back surgery and will miss at least one more month.

3.  Defensive linemen are more massive than ever and possess unbelievable quickness.

4.  Defensive tackle Chad Hennings' MRI revealed more serious results.

5.  Defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said the Panthers seemed to know a lot more about the 49ers last season than the 49ers knew about them.

6.  Defensively, new coordinator Phil Bennett has brought with him a more aggressive and attacking scheme that will be predicated on speed and quickness.

7.  Defensively, the Lakers can gamble more, and emotionally, the club will have its captain and enforcer back.

8.  Deputy John Kunkle of the Sheriff's Department is more cautious.

9.  Deputy sheriffs around the state have recently joined a union, as have more than 3,000 graduate school assistants at the State University of New York.

10.  Denk tackled him, and three or four more shots went off, hitting a back wall.