Here’s what Greg Cosell said on the Murph and Mac Show Thursday Morning about Michael Crabtree’s two-touchdown game against the Arizona Cardinals last week. COSELL: “[Crabtree] was impressive in this game. The three-yard touchdown was just a great throw and catch. It wasn’t as if he beat Peterson in the corner of the end zone. It was a great throw, incredibly accurate, and Crabtree went up and got it and…
Here’s what Greg Cosell said on the Murph and Mac Show Thursday morning about the 49ers outside linebackers – Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks. COSELL: “I’ve got to tell you, I was talking to my guys about this here at NFL Films – I think with [Aldon] Smith and [Ahmad] Brooks, [the 49ers] have the most athletic outside linebacker duo in a Base 3-4 in the NFL. “And of course,…
NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell spoke on the Murph and Mac Show Thursday morning. Here’s what Cosell said about the match up between the 49ers defense and the Arizona Cardinals offense last week. COSELL: “It’s a game the 49ers needed to win. They dominated the game. We haven’t even talked about the other side of the ball, which was just unfair. That side of the ball was probably more like…
Jim Harbaugh has the 49ers in control of the NFC West at the midpoint of the season for the second season in a row. The 49ers are 6-2. They have a two-game lead in the division. If they go 6-2 the second half of the season, they probably will earn a first round Bye. Harbaugh gets credit for putting the 49ers in a good position for the playoffs. Harbaugh also…
Randy Moss is on pace to catch only 26 passes for 510 yards. He’s listed as a starter on the team’s official depth chart but he’s started only one game and he plays a little less than a third of the offensive snaps. Mostly, Greg Roman uses Moss as a decoy off the bench. To Moss’ credit, he’s caught two touchdown passes. He also got himself open for a touchdown…
Carlos Rogers has given up short passes at a high rate this season. He’s allowing a 70.6 percent catch rate – 21st– highest in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. In 2011, he allowed a 52.8 percent catch rate, which was 26th-lowest in the NFL. Rogers is getting beaten more often, but he’s allowing just 8.5 yards per completion – almost five yards per completion lower than last season….
Michael Crabtree is the 49ers leading receiver for the second season in a row. He seems slightly faster and quicker than he was a year ago. On the other hand, his yards per catch average are down to 11.3, 85th-best in the NFL and more than a yard lower than his career average. AdvancedNFLstats.com ranks Crabtree as the 42nd-best wide receiver in the NFL this season. They credit adding a…
Dashon Goldson is the best safety in the NFC and the MVP of the 49ers secondary this season. The 49ers were reluctant to give Goldson a five-year contract extension before the season. He played well in 2011, but did not play well in 2010. The Niners wanted Goldson to become more consistent, so they gave him the 1-year Franchise tag. They’re probably going to have to give him that five-year…
Mike Florio interviewed Alex Smith on Pro Football Talk Live Friday morning. Florio asked Smith if the 49ers are better this season than they were last season, and here’s what Smith said. ALEX SMITH: “Definitely better. I think we got better in the offseason, through free agency and the draft as well. Better I think for the experiences last year, not just the success during the season, but the experience…
Mike Florio interviewed Alex Smith on Pro Football Talk Live Friday morning. Florio asked Smith what the 49ers learned from their losses to the Vikings and the Giants, and here’s what Smith said. ALEX SMITH: “What it takes to win. I really feel like before those weeks we were feeling good, we had won back-to-back games, we got off to a great start against Green Bay and Detroit, and then…
Mike Florio interviewed Alex Smith on Pro Football Talk Live Friday morning. Florio asked Smith what is the biggest difference between playing quarterback in college and in the NFL, and here’s what Smith said. ALEX SMITH: “For one, decision making. It starts there. You have to be able to make the decisions. You have to be able to process fast. There’s so much more volume offensively and defensively. You have…
Frank Gore is having a very good season. He’s on pace to rush for 1,300 yards and 8 touchdowns. He runs behind the best run blocking offensive line in the NFL. Still, he’s looked like a premier running back at times. He sealed the win over the Packers with a beautiful 23-yard touchdown run. He also sealed the loss against the Vikings with a fourth-quarter fumble. He can no longer…
The 49ers rushing offense ranks No.1 in yards per game and yards per carry. That’s great, but the offense is scoring half-a-point less per game than last season. Why is that? One of the reasons is Greg Roman. He doesn’t get the ball enough to his best skill player and biggest scoring threat – Vernon Davis. Davis scored 4 TDs the first three games. He has scored zero since then…
The 49ers defense ranks first in both yards and points allowed. They haven’t given up a touchdown in four of their last five games. Give Vic Fangio credit. The defense’s statistics have improved since last season even though they’re not getting as lucky forcing turnovers, they’re not getting as much pressure on the quarterback, and Justin Smith and Carlos Rogers have declined a little bit. The 49ers defense has weaknesses…
Over the next few days, I’ll give midterm report cards for the 49ers starting players and coaches. Let’s start with Alex Smith. His completion percentage is 69.4. That’s the best in the NFL and 10 points higher than his career average. His TD percentage – 5.7 – is 7th-best in the NFL and 2 points higher than his career average. His interception percentage is 2.4, which is close to his…
Here are my Power Rankings at the midpoint of the 2012 season. New York Giants (6-2). They lost the first game of the season by 7 points, and they lost to the Eagles by 2 points. They dominated the toughest game on their schedule, beating the 49ers 26-3. The Giants have everything a team needs to win a Super Bowl: An elite coach (Tom Coughlin), an elite quarterback (Eli Manning),…
Some of you may be wondering why Aldon Smith and Dashon Goldson were not finalists in my midseason defensive player awards. Let’s be clear – they’re both having Pro Bowl seasons. Dashon Goldson is having the best season of any safety in the NFC. He’s defended two passes, intercepted two passes and scored a touchdown. He also made the hardest hit of the 49ers season Monday night on Early Doucet….
Some of you may be wondering why Frank Gore and Alex Smith were not finalists for my midseason offensive player awards. Afterall, they are both having the best seasons of their careers. First, I’ll address Gore. He’s excellent, but he’s benefitting big-time from the 49ers offensive line. He’s regularly running through gaping holes at the line of scrimmage. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry, and that’s impressive, but Kendall Hunter…
The 49ers are halfway through their season. Today, I’ll give midseason awards for the best offensive and defensive players Best defensive player – Patrick Willis. Willis started the season slow against the Green Bay Packers, recording six tackles – low for him – and giving up four completions while playing man coverage. He’s been on a tear since that game, racking up 59 tackles, breaking up 6 passes and forcing…
The 49ers are halfway through their season. Today, I’ll give midseason awards for the best offensive and defensive players. Best offensive player: LG Mike Iupati. Iupati arguably is the best guard in the NFL. He’s definitely the best offensive linemen on the best offensive line in the NFL. Two weeks ago, Iupati ruined Seahawks DT Brandon Mebane – a top-5 defensive tackle. Iupati planted Mebane on his back all night,…
