SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers beat the Seahawks 13-6. Here are the grades for the 49ers’ defense. Defensive line: C+. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 103 yards on this group, which has given up 100-yard rushers two weeks in a row. However, when Lynch came Justin Smith’s way, Smith stopped him most of the time. Smith finished with a team-high 9 tackles, but he did get planted on his back by…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers beat the Seahawks 13-6. Here are the grades for the 49ers’ offense. Quarterbacks: D. Alex Smith did not have a good game, but he did lead one touchdown drive in the third quarter and that was all the 49ers needed to beat the Seahawks. Smith was five-of-five on that drive for 60 yards and a touchdown. On the other drives, he was 9-of-18 for 90…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the 49ers Week 7 Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. I’ll update this frequently with observations and analysis from the press box. 7:40 On second and 12, Frank Gore runs up the middle for a 37-yard gain. Wow. 7:41 Hunter gains two yards and Kaepernick subs in for Smith. 7:42 Kaepernick runs to the left and gets smaked, losing a…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the third quarter of the 49ers’ Week 7 Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. I’ll update this frequently with observations and analysis from the press box. 7:06 Seahawks’ slot receiver Doug Baldwin has an ankle injury and will not return. 7:09 Wilson hands off to Lynch the first three plays of the drive. Lynch picks up 20 yards and comes…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the 49ers’ Week 7 Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. I’ll update this frequently with observations and analysis from the press box. 6:08 Alex Smith’s first-quarter stats: 4 for 9, 46 yards, 1 sack, 60.4 QB rating. 6:12 The 49ers just used their final timeout of the half. That means they can’t challenge any plays in this quarter. 6:13 The Seahawks…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the first quarter of the 49ers Week 7 Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. I’ll update this frequently with observations and analysis from the press box. 5:27 The Seahakws won the toss and elected to defer. Very interesting. I think the 49ers would have deferred if they had won the toss. 5:29 Ted Ginn Jr. will handle kickoffs this week….
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog from the pregame of the 49ers Week 7 Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. I’ll be updating this frequently with observations and analysis from the press box. 3:28 The 49ers are on the field warming up. Brandon Jacobs is not wearing cleats. I do not expect him to suit up for this game. 3:46 I was wrong: Brandon Jacobs will suit…
The 49ers will beat the Seahawks 12-6 tonight. If the game was in Seattle on turf, I would have to favor the Seahawks in a short week. But the game is at Candlestick, and the grass field will negate the great quickness and speed of Seattle’s defensive front. Both the 49ers and Seahawks will run more than they pass. Marshawn Lynch will carry the ball 30 times for 80 yards, Frank…
SANTA CLARA – Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll spoke to Bay Area reporters Tuesday on a conference call. Here’s what he said. Q: What are you impressions of your rookie QB, Russell Wilson? CARROLL: He’s an amazing young man. He has been impressive since the first the first time we ever talked to him. Russell’s never taken a step sideways. He’s just been right on point with his identity, with…
On Sunday, the New York Giants defense sacked Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick 6 times, hit them 3 times and hurried them 18 times according to Pro Football Focus. On Thursday Night, the 49ers have to face an even better pass rush. Seattle’s defense has 19 sacks through 6 games. Chris Clemons has 7 sacks. Bruce Irvin, the nickel pass rusher, has 5 sacks and he’s played less that 50…
The 49ers play the Seahawks at Candlestick on Thursday night. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups every day. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter vs. The Seahawks run defense This is the key matchup of Thursday night’s game. The Seahawks defense allows 3.3 yards per rush and 70 rushing yards per game. The 49ers offense gains 5.9 yards per rush and 176.5 rushing yards per game….
SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Greg Roman said Tuesday about his game plan against the Giants. Q: After the game, Jim Harbaugh said the game plan wasn’t the best. Did you feel that way after the game? ROMAN: The responsibility of the offense falls on my feet, and when we don’t produce enough, that falls on me. Obviously we need a better plan, we need to coach the plan better…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Vic Fangio said Tuesday about the 49ers pass rush. The sack numbers are down, but yet you guys rank, I think, second in the league in passing defense. How do you view how things are happening up front as far as the pressure on the quarterback? “Well, I think you answered your own question there when you said we were ranked second in pass…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Greg Roman said about the Seattle Seahawks defense at his Tuesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening Statement: “Good afternoon. We’re back in the division. The Seattle Seahawks defense, I think, they’re ranked fourth overall statistically. Pretty high against the run, they play a lot of man coverage outside, their corners are doing a real good job. Their secondary has great length. They’re…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Vic Fangio said about the 49ers’ upcoming opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, at his Tuesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. What are you doing over in the meeting room this week? Is it less about the Giants and more about the Seahawks? “Yeah. Very little about the Giants game. We spent 10 minutes on it yesterday in the meeting and moved right on to…
Tuesday morning on 95.7 The Game, Matt Millen called out Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman for their performances against the New York Giants on Sunday. “That’s the worst I’ve seen those two play,” Millen said. As you may remember, Millen played inside linebacker for the 49ers in 1989 and 1990. Before that, he played inside linebacker for the Raiders from 1980 to 1988. He was a good inside linebacker, but…
SANTA CLARA – At his press conference Tuesday afternoon, I asked Greg Roman five questions about Colin Kaepernick. Here’s what Roman said. ME: Why are you playing Colin Kaepernick so much? What are you hoping to get from him that you aren’t getting from Alex Smith? ROMAN: Colin’s doing a nice job in his understudy role. There are times when Colin can bring in a different dynamic to the game,…
SANTA CLARA – Seahawks’ rookie quarterback Russell Wilson spoke to Bay Area reporters on a conference call Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: You’re playing the 49ers on a very short week. What are you trying to focus in on? WILSON: I watch the players and see who’ve moving around well. More than anything I watch their coverages, watch their pressures and just try to get an idea of…
I’ve been thinking a lot about how the 49ers should use backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick. I think he deserves playing time. He’s one of the best weapons on the offense. I don’t think he’s going to play much against the Seahawks, though. I expect Jim Harbaugh to go conservative, rush Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter more than 30 times combined to get the offense back on track, so to speak….
The 49ers play the Seahawks at Candlestick on Thursday night. In the meantime, I’ll break down a few key matchups every day. Right tackle Anthony Davis (6-5, 323 pounds) vs. Left defensive end Bruce Irvin (6-3, 248 pounds) Before the Giants game, Davis hadn’t given up a single sack through five games. But he gave up 3 on Sunday, as well as 1 QB hit and 6 QB hurries according…
