Posted By: Indiana Jim (29/07/2008 12:20:12 PM)
Comment: Don't let 'em get you down about the shirt, Maiocco. It's a nice shirt. Very tasteful by Hawaiian standards. They should see some of mine. Love the beard, too.

Posted By: Logan (29/07/2008 9:34:16 AM)
Comment: Matt - You mentioned that Jay Moore is playing behind Manny Lawson, but I don't recall hearing much about Manny so far in camp or OTAs... How does Manny look?

Posted By: stampede (29/07/2008 9:26:40 AM)
Comment: This is why only a limited number of practices are open to the public. Yes, you practice how you play. But we must be reminded by the immortal words of Allen Iverson, "we talkin' bout practice yall, practice...NOT THE GAME, but practice. Practice??? Practice...practice!" Niner fans, relax. Great post Matt!

Posted By: woodside gil (29/07/2008 6:46:56 AM)
Comment: Matt, you may have answered this question previously but what's the deal with the 9ers seemingly bypassing Roderick Green? Every time I've seem him play he looks like their best pass rusher. He always puts pressure on the q-back and that's something I've not seen from any other defensive player. What is your take on that situation?

Posted By: ninerbob (29/07/2008 5:18:12 AM)
Comment: Well, I got to the tail end of afternoon practice and here is the good and bad of what I saw. Good: the defense looks ready to punce on mistakes made by the quarterback, I saw V.Davis moved around in formation (at one point he was in the backfield). Bad: neither Hill nor Smith looked impressive. Smith seemed late on his passses and when he finally threw it would be into double coverage. Hill was consistently throwing to the check-down reciever as soon as he took the snap from center (he got the ball out really quickly, but what's the point in sending out the other recievers?); it didn't seem like he looked down field once. I didn't see tha ball thrown to Davis while I was there (once again I got there late).

Posted By: Marc - NJ49er (28/07/2008 10:22:29 PM)
Comment: To the Smith Bashers et al, he gets paid a kings ransom for being a 1 overall pick in a weak class. His salary brings a lot of expectations and we all know the revolving door of OCs he's lived with. His biggest problem is not getting comfortable in the job. Granted he's got issues to correct and most of that is between his ears, but, he's got the best opportunity of his career to have Mad Mike at his side now, if the light doesn't come on this year, I too will label him a bust. For now, I'm more concerned for the cap implications of his salary. Perhaps the camp comp will produce the option to restructure and, as Matt correctly reported, allow the team to pull the trigger on his contract before the big money phase. Upside? he's young, unsure, and too timid, but Eli fits that desciption and he's wearing the bling now. Go Defense.

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (28/07/2008 10:20:33 PM)
Comment: dmatt: a strained calf does not look like a healthy calf on an MRI. The major differences to remember are that an x-ray is going to show bone, an MRI is going to show soft tissue. There are various grades of sprain (ligament)and strains (tendons/muscles) from slight, few muscle fibers tears, to complete rupture of the muscle body (think David Baas. Grade one is the mildest to a sever Grade 3. What they are going to look for is a couple of things. Is the muscle detached from the bone. Is there a slice that shows the muscle body detached from itself - hard to see. A strained calf is going to have some swelling and blood in the area. That'll show up on the MRI. But an injured area does not look the same as a healthy area. Otherwise the docs have no reason to do the diagnostic test

Posted By: LodiGrapePicker (28/07/2008 10:08:17 PM)
Comment: dmatt, FYI....a strain will show up on an MRI. A legitimate strain is actually microscopic tears in the muscle which will show as enhanced (lighter) areas on an MRI due to fluid accumulation at the site. The important point is that he actually does have an injury, although a minor one.

Posted By: ninermaniac (28/07/2008 9:56:30 PM)
Comment: That sucks, why is it mostly knee injuries that plague the 9ers, or maybe the NFL, they should come out with some kind of knee brace or something for the speedy players. By the way I like the shirt Matt, but its a little to early to dress for the ProBowl.

Posted By: Global Nomad (28/07/2008 9:17:44 PM)
Comment: Matt I thought I saw a 4-3 formation today with the LBS: B. Moore, Willis, Lawson and the DL: McDonald, Fields, Soap, Haralyson. Does that sound right to you? And if so, why wasn't J. Smith in the front 7?

Posted By: dmatt (28/07/2008 8:58:59 PM)
Comment: Any chance you could get a copy of the MRI showing a strained calf posted here? My guess is that a strained calf looks a lot like a health calf on an MRI. However, I am not a doctor and could be wrong. I doubt it though.

Posted By: SunsetDistrictMatt (28/07/2008 8:55:47 PM)
Comment: Also: Frank Gore busted his tail two years ago for the big dough. He didn't have quite the urgency last year, did he? Can you say "overrated" ???

Posted By: SunsetDistrictMatt (28/07/2008 8:54:15 PM)
Comment: Can SF sports get any worse? We have baseball's number one bust (Zito) and football's (Alice Smith). As Al Gore once told Eric Cartman -- "Jesus on ice skates!" I hope Maiocco is right and that Alice doesn't make the team and ends up with her azz on the street.

Posted By: Fresno 9er (28/07/2008 8:10:42 PM)
Comment: Hey Mike in SF.I think your just the type of "idiot" dose of reality was talking about.Youd think a guy who has played football all his life and was drafted #1 overall would have some kind of natural ability and not have to be tought everything like a robot.Excuses Excuses you guys will never learn,maybee you and one niner can have a tug of war with A Smiths jock strap once hes gone..And uh GO NINERS SCREW SMITH!

Posted By: gw2 (28/07/2008 7:44:50 PM)
Comment: Mike, I'm not a Jets fan. But what were they, 4-12? You wanna take tips from them?

Posted By: Mike in sAC (28/07/2008 7:28:09 PM)
Comment: Mike in SF#1, If you noticed earlier, Martz outlined the QB's don't get to force anything. The scheme the defense presents automatically dictates where the ball should be delivered. Smith's obvious screw-ups indicate he has not mastered the system. I feel this is irrelevant however because even if Smith "masters" the system his delivery is so slow he will never be successful. The NFL moves at a blistering pace. Smith has never demonstrated with any significance he can play at NFL speed. We are screwed. Oh yeah, Oneniner drop the cheerleading. This team is a long way from good....

Posted By: Mike in Glendale (28/07/2008 7:23:58 PM)
Comment: gw2 - The Jets canceled BOTH of their Monday practices. Head on over to one of their blogs and scream for Mangenius's head, 'k?

Posted By: Rich, DE (28/07/2008 7:18:56 PM)
Comment: The amount of information you provided today is incredible. Also, that play by play style is a great rundown of the days events.

Posted By: gw2 (28/07/2008 6:57:07 PM)
Comment: When questioned about it, Nolan replied to the effect that it isn't the quantity of practices that counts, it's the quality. Now why didn't Holmgren think of that?

Posted By: gw2 (28/07/2008 6:53:38 PM)
Comment: On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle players had their first practice in pads. The 49er players were signing autographs, because they needed to be in pads but the brass had not planned for it. How long is it going to take for Mike Nolan to learn this job?

Posted By: Mike in SF #1 (28/07/2008 6:45:57 PM)
Comment: Dear "A dose of reality ". First, Nobody thinks Smith is the next coming of Montana/Young. At best we're just hoping he can be an average NFL QB. Second, it's the first week of camp and interceptions mean nothing. Give the QBs & WRs another 2 weeks to get on the same page before you go bragging about how right you were. Obviously QBs force throws more in practice more than in the game. FYI, You come off as completely ignorant in your little rant. We're all frustrated because the team has been garbage for so long, but calling people "idiots" isnt the way to deal with your frustrations. I can only assume that you're ranting like you're the only voice of reason so that instead of feeling bad when the niners lose, you can get a sense of pride from being right about Alex. Maybe it'll work for you, but you're not the type of fan I want to spend my Sundays with. Go Niners.

Posted By: Jonas Ymir Jonasson (28/07/2008 6:11:58 PM)
Comment: Amazing work as always Matt, thanks

Posted By: A dose of reality (28/07/2008 6:10:35 PM)
Comment: What? Alex "the bust" Smiths passes were being intercepted?Breaking news from Matt..ALEX SMITH STILL SUCKS!When will you idiots learn?I cant wait to see your faces when Smith is the worst starting quarterback in the league,AGAIN!I hope Smith miserably fails himself out of Frisco and 90% of Niner fans feel that way,its just to bad its gonna hurt my favorite team.Alex do us all a favor and get the hell out of here and quit wasting my fellow 9er fans and your teammates time.And no, S Hill is not the answer either.Just watching the "Catch pt 2" on NFL network and boy is it depressing to see what has happenned to this team.

Posted By: LodiGrapePicker (28/07/2008 6:05:50 PM)
Comment: First!!! My day is now complete!! Thanks Matt for all the hard work.