SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the pregame of the 49ers Week 10 home game against the St. Louis Rams. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis.
11:01 Pregame question: Which player will lead the 49ers in receptions today and why? I’m saying it will be Mario Manningham. He’s facing rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins. I think Greg Roman will want to challenge him instead of Cortland Finnegan, who will be covering Michael Crabtree. I think Vernon Davis will catch two passes at the most.
11:14 I have a fantasy football question: Unfortunately, I have to start one of the Rams’ running backs this week – Steven Jackson or Daryl Richardson. I’m leaning towards the backup, Richardson, because he catches more passes and I’m expecting the 49ers to take an early lead. What would you do in my position?
11:53 Brandon Jacobs is inactive yet again. So is A.J. Jenkins, LaMichael James, Scott Tolzien, Trenton Robinson, Joe Looney and Ian Williams.
11:54 Who thinks Jacobs will eventually play at least one down for the 49ers?
11:55 Here are the Rams inactives: QB Austin Davis, WR Chris Givens, S Darian Stewart, CB Janoris Jenkins, G/T Chris Williams, DE Eugene Sims.
11:57 Bradley Fletcher will start for the Rams at right cornerback in place of Janoris Jenkins, who is inactive. Danny Amendola is starting at flanker instead of Chris Givens, who is inactive, too.
12:00 Givens and Jenkins are inactive because they broke team rules, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
12:18 John Harbaugh is embarrassing the Raiders. He just called a fake field goal up 41-17. The Ravens scored, and now it’s 48-17. Harbaugh must be trying to get Dennis Allen fired. Do you have a problem with what Harbaugh just did?
12:29 Jim Harbaugh just picked up some grass and dropped it to see which way the wind is blowing. Now he’s talking to Alex Smith as he throws his warmup passes at the west 25 yard line. Jonathan Goodwin is snapping the ball. Now Harbaugh is clapping. He’s coaching an hour before the game starts. He’s wearing a black sweatshirt and he talks to Alex as he throws.
12:31 Kendall Hunter and Kyle Williams are on the field. Those two have transformed their bodies more than any other 49ers this year. They are two of the most muscular players on the team. A.J. Jenkins and LaMichael James have to do a lot of weight lifting to pass Hunter and Williams on the dept chart.
12:38 I’m watching the Raiders game in the press box. Oh Gosh. The score is 55-20, and counting.
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Hey Grant,
Good Sunday morning to you. Question, MSando will be at the Stick this afternoon in the press box, do you ever talk to him?
Good morning to you, too.
I do talk to Mike. He’s a nice guy. I don’t see him yet, though. He must be on his way.
Actually, Ray Ratto just said he saw him earlier. Sando must be down by the field.
Grant, thanks. Please let him know that on your blog, he has a lot of fans/followers! Even though he writes for the NFC West as a former beat writer for SEA, he is fair and balanced.
I sure will.
I remember the great RRatto when he worked for the Peninsula Times Tribune! Tell him that! LOL
You could learn a thing or two from that guy. Not a dig, just an observation. Already lauded your admirable first half work.
JC, nothing wrong with being diff/unique. MS, EB, MM, MB, and GC have different styles…not a bad thing when reading them all.
Agreed Hofe, should have been more specific. Sando’s use of stats and trends, displayed in charts and presented fairly, are good for everyone to emulate.
JC, I like that aspect of his writing also.
He is already in the house.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest
Neal,
Know of any good lunch spots in Santa Clara?
Birks?
MacDonalds, where he works. I’m sure he can get his Dad a deal.
Thanks Hofer. Big day ahead for Crabtree!
101 Bowers, which is the other side of Great America has the El Torito’s, Sizzler, and the Pepper Mill. Birks is really good, took my older son their for dinner , kind of expensive, about $80 or $90. Their is a big shopping center their on 101 and Bowers too, with more choices.
I thought the PMill closed??!! What a place for a Club Sandwhich or Cobb salad. You thought you were in a Reno casino (which is how the PMill started) but in SC they didn’t have the slot machines. LOL
HoF,
I have not been there for years but past it on the freeway and it still had a sign the PepperMill, but you are right, you feel like your in Reno, not sure if it is still open.
I just googled it, it has closed but the sign is still up
Can’t watch the due to having to work. Let’s win big today Niners. I also want to give a shout out to all of the veterans out there past and present. Words cannot express the gratitude and respect I have for you guys and gals. Thank you for all you’ve done.
+1
My Dad, My wife, and My Uncles. Thankyou for serving.
Den 17 – Car 7 @ 2 min warning 1st half.
Good Morning from 1 of the few Niner fans here in the Bronx, NY,
Whats Brandon Jacobs status today, and how much action will LaMichael James get and lets hope the Niners win like there supposed to and keep improving.
I’m guessing neither guy plays today. I’ll know for sure in about 10 minutes.
Thanks Grant, gotta wonder why they dont use Jacobs in short yardage situations
To all vets – “In honor of who you are” Thanks for serving. Go Niners
Big game for Jarius Wright!
Grant, when is Radnich going to have you on KRON again? BTW, how did you get the invite initially? LC should get you on Chron Live.
It looks like the Chargers dug up the corpse of 2010 Rivers. He’s going nuts against the Bucs.
hah! As soon as I type that Rivers reverts to 2012 form and tosses a pick 6.
For your questions. Agree with the reception numbers.
Jacobs will play a snap or two in week 17.
Giants are officially in their annual 2nd half swoon.
Eli is doing his Jekyll and Hyde routine. He’s either very good or absolutely horrible. Doesn’t seem to be an in-between with him.
He had a lot of help today. Cruz dropped a perfectly thrown TD pass…. An int on a deflection…. A Bradshaw fumble… Why can’t *this* team play against us?
I don’t accept excuses for Alex. No way in h-e-double-chopsticks will I accept them for Eli, lol.
Two of those picks were horrendous decisions.
MStrahan on pre-game just said EM should have taken the sacks instead of making those two throws!! Take the sacks!!!?? Don’t here that much on here!!
PManning is having a very efficient game with 19/24 172 yds and 1 TD.
EManning numbers: 17/26 132 yds O TDs and @ INTs. Can you say elite??!!
*2 INTs*
lol Hofer – you get so excited when another QB has an Alex Smith type game.
It only validates the point that the NFL is a roller coaster ride! It happens!! Maybe you should go to the NYG blog and see if you can promote your “precious” analogy over there and get more hits/responses/followers!! LOL
Let’s go 9ers everyday all day!!
I am rooting for Roman to get the Cal job, if they let go of Tedford, which is unlikely because he is owed a ton. Thoughts?
???
Maybe they go after Mooch. LOL He was only there a year!
Good one Hof. Don’t think so. Mooch and Gruden are on the shelf.
Mooch yes, but Gruden will be hired again.
It would be pretty cool if Roman and Shaw were rival coaches.
That would be cool situation. I still be rooting for Stanford.
Was GR ever an option for HC at Stanford when it was known that JH was moving to the 9ers?? Anyone?
Shaw had it in the bag. Roman was never a coordinator in any position he had.
Does anyone know??
Shaw was the favorite all along, I believe.
Grant, that would have been a good question for the blog, who would have been better for the 9er offense, GR or DShaw?
I’ll make it a poll question tomorrow.
Most would take Shaw as Roman is inconsistent , just like his QB.
If I’m Roman I wouldn’t consider a school like Cal. The roster doesn’t fit his style of play. The rebuild required to turn that into a team that can run his style of game would take several years and coaches these days don’t have that kind of time. I would think Roman might be a better fit at a place like Texas Tech or maybe Auburn.
Do you think that Roman is respected enough to go to Texas Tech?
Yes I do. It’s well known that Tuberville wants out of Lubbock. They will want to make a splash and landing Roman would be a big deal. You may also see Bobby Petrino land in Lubbock. Tech isn’t averse to hiring a coach that may have a little baggage – see Bobby Knight.
So the million dollar question is where will Chip Kelly coach next year?
Philadelphia’s roster would seem to fit Chip Kelly to a tee.
MSC, yup I can see that!
What about Arizona for Kelly?
I think AZ would be a great fit for JGruden with Fitz, etc. He get that offense humming with either KK or JS or he draft or get someone through FA.
Arizona has Fitz and … umm… not much else. I can’t see either Skelton or Kolb running Kelly’s panic-attack offense.
I think Kelly is an innovative football mind – I’d rather not see him in the NFC West, heh.
JG could help that team. On offense you could beef up that OL and get one of the QBs they have to perform until they get better or are replaced. JG would do an outstanding job there!!
With a new coach I cant imagine that either Kolb or Skelton will still be around other then maybe Skelton being kept as a backup. They would definitely trade or draft someone for Kelly. They have Fitz and Floyd and Roberts and whomever they draft as well. His biggest challenge wont be in finding a QB and WR’s that can play his game it’ll be fixing that OL.
Pre-built teams are not as easy as they seem (see Philly) because of attitude, talent, or whatever. They often need to be gutted to have success. I would rather start with a team like AZ and build from scratch (their offense) plus their D is solid – has most key positions in place. The D can keep you in games until the offense catches up. Much better scenario!
Kelly to Carolina and Cam Newton.
Work for that owner??
That owner is supposed to be great. Did you watch the game? Greg Olsen named his son after the owner. He is vocal in the labor situation but from what I hear, players love him.
I see Fangio getting hired away before Roman anyway.
He has better players than Roman does.
The rumor is that Gruden is setting up to coach the Eagles next year. He’s apparently putting a group of assistants together and telling them if it happens it’ll be in Philly.
oops replied in the wrong place. this was meant as a reply to Msc.
I would love to see Gruden coach again on the sidelines with that intense face.
Fangio may have crossed the Monte Kiffin line. Widely respected as a coordinator but not seen as head coach material.
To me, AReid and JGruden are interchangeable. Very similar. I don’t see a good fit for him in Philly. But who knows…?
I’ve seen the Gruden rumors too and they make sense. But Kelly with those offensive skill players would be fun to watch.
I wonder if Spanos would be ballsy enough to hire Kelly if and when Norv finally gets the axe.
IMHO, it’s going to be a fist fight today. That’s how Fisher operates. The 9ers are the big boys on the block so the Rams will be hitting late, picking guys off piles, and pulling every delta bravo tactic they can today. Look for Crabtree and Finnegan to mix it up a few times. Hopefully, Crabs can keep his cool and do his talking on the scoreboard.
Fischer coached teams always get under opponents skin. Always. I’m expecting some fisticuffs, playing till the echo of the echo of the echo of the whistle, and shoving skirmishes today.
They need to start the game now, let’s get this party started.
CNewt trying to pass from the pocket and is getting sacked/hurried/beat up!
I don’t get why jacobs is not active. At least give him 5 carries a game now so he can be in better condition in the future
agree, but I guess its a numbers issue. who do you de-activate for him?
Grant
The ethics rules while playing the Raiders are different. In the way that there are no rules.
The Raiders don’t deserve any kindness thrown their way. Destroying them is the only acceptable rule.
My comment yesterday wasn’t cool and I apologize.
Someone call the cops. The Ravens are murdering the Raiders.
WTH happened to Miami’s defense today? I started them in two leagues and am getting slayed.
Not really the defense’ fault. Tannehill keeps tossing the ball to the Titans. 3 INTs, one of them a TAINT.
True, but c’mon giving the Titans 37 points? How about holding them to a couple FG’s on those turnovers.
Does Detroit win the award for taking the biggest step backwards this year?
I’d fire Schwartz if I owned the Lions.
Who would you replace him with?
does his name rhyme with jelly?
http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww264/Jhereg-HG/schwamac.jpg
The Raiders are still the laughing-stock of the NFL.
Commitment to Petulance!
On the Gruden topic.
There’s no questioning his ability to coach. The problem with Gruden is he desires to be the ‘face’ of the team. His propensity to lose the locker room after 2-3 years puts him in Billy Martin status.
Oooh! Good comparison!
And it’s “Commitment to Excrement” man.
Exactly, AZ needs a face(lift)!! LOL
Ok, I was wrong. I thought the Panthers would give Rivera another year. After watching them play the Bronco’s today I’m changing my opinion. That team looks like they’ve completely given up. For Cam Newton’s sake they need to make a change. He looks completely deflated. Roman going to the Panthers would be a scary thing. I think his brand of football would be great in Carolina. Let’s hope the Panthers don’t think the same thing.
The QB is who we thought he is. A run first QB. He needs to learn to play from the pocket (see SYoung).
He just tossed a nice pass just now…LOL
Agree right now. Newton has everything to be great. He needs a coach with the right scheme to put him in the best position to succeed.
I think Vernon will get at least twice your expectation Grant, maybe more. I’ll go with 5 catches as an exact prediction. They’re not trying to hide him on purpose, they’re just not going out of their way to feature him when teams take him away. I don’t think the Rams are a good enough team to take him away using the same playbook as the Cards and Seahawks, and Vernon will make some plays today.
Falcs lose!!!
Drat, I needed the Atl win.
Not quite yet…
I didn’t think I’d ever put the 2012 Saints and “great defensive stand” in the same sentence. Ever.
The Giant’s loss helps. Let’s hope we don’t look past St. Louis today.
9ers better not be flat!!
Falcons loss helps too. We need them to lose 1 more. I think for homefield in the playoffs division record is the first tiebreaker. We do not want to play Atlanta in Atlanta
The falcons just lost to one of the worst defenses in the nfl and eli manning looks like david carr. another day in the nfl
Great zinger from our old pal Phil Barber on Twitter:
RT @JoshDubowAP: #Raiders allowing 31.6 ppg. Only 4 tms since merger have allowed more >> Magnitude of Shawntae Spencer injury now apparent
Holy crap, what a throw from the midget in Seattle.
why are the rams players de-activated? Jenkins and givens? I just heard them mention team rule violations…
Probably getting stoned in the locker room.
lol
Flat after bye week.