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Category Archives: Exhibition games
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This is Grant Cohn, but some people call me Iggy. You can call me whatever you’d like. I’m your new 49ers blogger. I’ll be reporting and tweeting every day from training camp in Santa Clara as soon as it opens, … Continue reading
Small school? Seventh round? Adams doesn’t care
A word to the wise: Don’t challenge Phillip Adams to a game of old maid, or Risk, or dominoes, unless you plan to bring your A game.
“I want to win,” Adams said this week, laughing at his own expense. “My brother’s the same way, my sister. If we’re gonna do something, even if we’re playing a game of cards, man, we want to win. Me and my brother play spades all the time, and he gets mad at me because I play the wrong hand sometimes. We’re mad at each other. I’m mad at myself, too. We’re just a whole competitive family.”
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Posted in 2010 NFL Draft, Exhibition games
6 Comments
Why the 49ers must beat San Diego
First, the undeniable evidence that a solid-gold preseason record means absolutely nothing in the NFL.
The 2008 Detroit Lions went 4-0 in August, then proceeded to compile the only 0-16 record in league history. Two years earlier, Art Shell’s Raiders had started 4-0 in the preseason (they played in the Hall of Fame Game) before losing their final exhibition tilt to finish 4-1; Oakland went 2-14 that regular season and seemed even more futile than that to those of us who watched the team up close.
And now, a meek rebuttal.
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Posted in Exhibition games
11 Comments
Still waiting for 49ers’ complete offense
Since the start of preseason games, the 49ers’ offense has been missing more parts than the Camaro permanently stashed in my neighbor’s driveway.
The regular season is just 12 days away, and we don’t really know what Jimmy Raye’s platoon will look like at full strength. RB Brian Westbrook joined the team late and finally saw some action against the Raiders on Saturday. TE Vernon Davis tweaked his knee in the first preseason game, at Indianapolis, and hasn’t practiced or played since. WR Michael Crabtree still has never played in an NFL exhibition game. And RB Frank Gore has touched the ball sparingly this preseason.
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Posted in Exhibition games, Injury updates
8 Comments
Dixon ducks his head and the Sluggo Seam
• After Mike Singletary urged him to do less dancing in the backfield, rookie running back Anthony Dixon (21 carries, 69 yards) appeared to get the message. At least on one third-quarter play.
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Posted in Exhibition games
2 Comments
Secondary doesn’t pass the test
As the former leader of one of the best defenses in NFL history, Mike Singletary’s standards for the Niners’ 11-man unit are slightly higher than most.
So it wasn’t a huge surprise when Samurai Mike looked personally insulted Saturday night after a reporter labeled last year’s defense, which ranked fourth in the NFL in points allowed, “good.”
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Posted in Exhibition games
8 Comments
Crabtree, Gore, Westbrook should play, not Vernon
Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree should play against the Raiders on Saturday night, according to coach Mike Singletary. Brian Westbrook probably will, too. Vernon Davis will not. Three out of four ain’t bad if you’re Alex Smith and the rest of the 49ers’ offense.
Smith was handicapped against the Vikings last week as many of his top skill-position players sat out the game. This week, we should all get a better picture of where the offense stands at the break of training camp.
Smith and his starting offensive line, by the way, should play the entire first half Saturday, and maybe into the second.
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Posted in Exhibition games, Injury updates
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Ginn wants to catch some kickoffs
I got my answer.
As I wrote here yesterday, I was eager to ask Mike Singletary why Bobby Guillory got all the punt returns (six, including a fair catch) and kickoff returns (two) against the Vikings on Sunday.
Here is what the coach had to say in response today: “We brought the kid in. He’s a quick-twitch guy out here. He caught some punts and I just felt, you know what, why don’t we let him take it? Let’s see how he does, let’s see how he handles it. It was a lot to put on a young kid, but I thought he did a pretty decent job of it.”
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Posted in Exhibition games, Special teams
18 Comments
Crabtree back. Vernon next?
Alex Smith is starting to get his weapons back. WR Michael Crabtree, who injured his neck on Aug. 11 and had been limited to individual work for about a week, was back on the field for team and 7-on-7 work today. And yes, the hands looked as reliable as ever.
TE Vernon Davis, who injured his knee against the Colts on Aug. 15, did not work with teammates. But Davis caught passes from a Jugs machine after practice, coach Mike Singletary made it sound as though he could resume work any day.
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Posted in Exhibition games, Injury updates
16 Comments
No happy returns for Ginn or Zeigler
Mike Singletary talked for about 11 minutes after the 49ers beat the Vikings 15-10 last night. I sneaked in a question or two, like most of the other reporters in the interview room at Candlestick Park.
But the Niners cut short the press session before I could ask another question: Why didn’t Ted Ginn or Dominique Zeigler or anyone who isn’t named Bobby Guillory get any punt or kickoff returns?
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Posted in Exhibition games, Special teams
20 Comments
LaBoy, Briggs making it interesting at LB
Preseason games are supposed to answer questions for NFL teams. But they can just as easily create new questions.
The 49ers went into last night’s game against the Vikings hoping to shed some light on the situation at outside linebacker. Travis LaBoy and Diyral Briggs only clouded the issue with dual-core defensive excellence.
This team will probably carry seven or eight linebackers in 2010. Barring injury, the roster should include Patrick Willis, Takeo Spikes, Manny Lawson, Parys Haralson, Matt Wilhelm and NaVorro Bowman. Assuming Ahmad Brooks hasn’t damaged his kidney more severely than anticipated – we could find out more this week – he should be there, too.
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Posted in Exhibition games
15 Comments
49ers 15, Vikings 10
In terms of getting out of the starting gate, the 49ers went from Mr. Ed to Secretariat in a week.
On Aug. 15, the first exhibition game at Indianapolis had begun comically with Michael Robinson’s lost fumble, a miscue that immediately led to a 3-0 deficit. Sunday was a stark contrast. Alex Smith and the first offense coolly marched 70 yards in a 12 plays to begin a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Candlestick Park, finishing the drive on rookie Anthony Dixon’s four-yard touchdown run.
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Posted in Exhibition games
22 Comments
49ers get another crack at Favre
Asked about Brett Favre’s return to the NFL for a 20th season, 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye upped the ante.
“I’m coming back!” Raye told reporters this week between 49ers practices.
True, Raye hasn’t played quarterback since he was a Michigan State senior in 1968, two years after he piloted the Spartans against Notre Dame in the epic “Game of the Century.”
But aren’t we already nestled comfortably in the theater of the absurd at this point? After dominating the sports tabloids for the third straight offseason, Favre – the Waffle King, the Drama Quarterback – found an even more sensational way to return to the game.
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Posted in Exhibition games
25 Comments
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