SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers destroyed the Chicago Bears 32-7 Monday night. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense and special teams. Defensive line: A. They held the Bears rushing attack to just 3 yards per carry. Justin Smith got consistent pressure on the quarterback for the first time this season. Ray McDonald tackled Chilo Rachal in the end zone for a safety. Linebackers: A. NaVorro Bowman had a…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers destroyed the Chicago Bears 32-7 Monday night. Here are the grades for the 49ers coaches. Coaching: A. The entire world expected the 49ers offense to come out running against the Bears. After all, the 49ers are a running team and they were playing their backup quarterback. They’d be nuts to come out passing. But passing was exactly the game plan Greg Roman drew up. He…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the fourth quarter of the 49ers Week 11 Monday night home game against the Chicago Bears. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box. 7:55 Kaepernick just escaped the defensive end, rolled right and threw a perfect pass to Delanie Walker at the goal line, but Walker dropped it. 7:56 On third and 12, Kaepernick hits Davis…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the third quarter of the 49ers Week 11 Monday night home game against the Chicago Bears. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box. 7:12 The Bears have the ball to start the second half. Let’s see what adjustments, if any, Tice makes. 7:14 Big surprise – Tice makes zero adjustments. He calls runs on first and…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the second quarter of the 49ers Week 11 Monday night home game against the Chicago Bears. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box. 6:16 On second and three, Kaepernick hits Davis for an easy gain of 32 yards. Kaepernick’s first half stat line: 12 for 15, 184 yards (12.3 yards per attempt), 1 TD, 140 QB…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the first quarter of the 49ers Week 11 Monday night home game against the Chicago Bears. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box. 5:34 The Bears win the toss and choose to defer. The 49ers will start the game with the ball. 5:44 Kaepernick completes his first two passes – first to Manningham and then to…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for Colin Kaepernick’s pregame warmup before the 49ers Week 11 game against the Chicago Bears. I’ll update this frequently with everything Kaepernick does on the field before the game. 3:38 Kaepernick just stepped onto the field, and the first thing he does is stretch his hamstrings. Now he’s stretching his quads. Interesting that he warms up his legs before he warms up…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the pregame of the 49ers Week 11 Monday night home game against the Chicago Bears. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box. 3:17 Mindi Bach is reporting Colin Kaepernick got the majority of the practice reps toward the end of the week. 3:21 Scott Tolzien is on the field throwing warm up passes to Garrett Celek….
Jeff Garcia spoke on 95.7 The Game this morning. Here’s what he said Colin Kaepernick should expect and needs to do against the Chicago Bears tonight. Q: What does Colin Kaepernick need to do tonight? GARCIA: I think the one thing he has to really do is play within himself. This is the thing about the Chicago Bears – they are an outstanding football team, especially on the defensive side…
Obviously, if Colin Kaepernick has a great game against the Bears, we’re looking at a full-on quarterback controversy. And if Kaepernick falls on his face, there will be no QB controversy. But what if he has a middle-of-the-road game? He manages the game as well as Alex Smith, has some good runs and wins. Would there be QB controversy then? I think there would be. I’m eager to read your…
As I wrote earlier in the week, this is an epic moment in 49ers history. Chris Mortensen of ESPN just reported that Alex Smith has been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Chicago Bears. Smith failed the final concussion contact test and was not cleared to play by an independent neurologist. Colin Kaepernick will start for the 49ers at quarterback. John Madden said earlier in the week that Kaepernick matches…
Here are three things I learned Sunday: 1. The Saints are on fire. They dominated the Raiders offensively and defensively. The Saints have won five of their last six games. Their offense looks balanced and explosive and nearly unstoppable, and they’ve been without RB Darren Sproles, who will most likely return from a hand injury against the Niners Week 12. That’s going to be a tough matchup for the Niners,…
The 49ers are going to beat the Bears 19-6. The Niners’ defense is going to have a huge bounce-back game. They’re going to make the Bears offense look completely inept. The Niners defense will stonewall Bears RBs Matt Forte and Michael Bush and harass backup QB Jason Campbell. The Niners defense is going to force a turnover, return it for a touchdown and limit the Bears offense to just two…
The 49ers play the Bears Monday night at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. Offensive coordinator Mike Tice vs. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio This matchup isn’t even close. It’s like Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks. Fangio is a good defensive coordinator and Tice is not a good offensive coordinator. Tice isn’t going to have anything creative or unusual in the Bears offensive game plan. He’s going…
The 49ers play the Bears Monday night at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. LB Brian Urlacher and LB Lance Briggs vs. TE Vernon Davis Briggs and Urlacher are two of the best linebackers in the NFL, but they are not fast enough to keep up with Vernon Davis. The Bears play a Tampa 2 defense, so their linebackers – Briggs and Urlacher – will match…
The 49ers play the Bears Monday night at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. DE Julius Peppers vs. OT Joe Staley and OT Anthony Davis Peppers had a terrific game against the Texans last week, recording 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 2 hurries. Peppers is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. He rushes from both the right and left defensive end positions….
The 49ers play the Bears Monday night at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. Brandon Marshall vs. the 49ers secondary Like Crabtree, Marshall lines up all over the Bears formations – left receiver, right receiver and the slot. So he will face all three 49er cornerbacks – Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown and Chris Culliver. Marshall does not have the quickness to separate from any of them….
The 49ers play the Bears Monday night at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. CB Charles Tillman vs. WR Michael Crabtree Greg Roman likes to move Crabtree around the formations and match him up against the opposing teams’ No.2 or No.3 cornerback. Roman can do this because most cornerbacks play a specific side of the field, so he knows where the No.1 CB is going to…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Vic Fangio said at his Saturday press conference about the 49ers defense’s recent struggles covering slot receivers. ME: Your defense has struggled to cover quick inside receivers. What do you attribute that to, and has it had an effect on the overall defense? FANGIO: Everybody has a little bit of a hard time covering some of those guys. It’s just a tough position at times…
SANTA CLARA – Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Saturday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the 49ers run defense, which has not performed well in three of their last four games. Q: The run defense hasn’t been as good as it was last year. What do you attribute that to, and does it concern you? FANGIO: Obviously it’s always a concern if you’re not playing something as well…
