Posted By: Dave in Boise (30/07/2008 4:18:51 PM)
Comment: IS it a mistake to have Ari speak to the team? It depends what your definition of IS IS. C

Posted By: PT Barnum (30/07/2008 7:59:59 AM)
Comment: Krimzen--Fleischer, 47, made a presentation at the annual NFL meetings in April that apparently left an impression with Nolan... Obviously Fleisher made an impression with the entire NFL, calling out Nolan for bringing him in to talk with the team seems naive and stupid. You're a clown!

Posted By: NotBob (30/07/2008 6:15:01 AM)
Comment: Don't you mean "hypocritical tendencies"?

Response: I'm going to have a talk with the person who wrote that headline. Oh, yes, heads will roll. --Matt M.

Posted By: oneniner (30/07/2008 5:42:57 AM)
Comment: "It helps the players realize there is a REAL WORLD out there instead of the game that they play.".....the political world?...Are you serious!!!...oooh dammit i forgot you r Bush.

Posted By: George Bush (30/07/2008 12:23:52 AM)
Comment: I think the 39ers are going to the World Series! Yee Haw! All Kidding aside, I don't mind the Fleischer thing at all. So, he was the liar in chief at the podium. Yea, well. Do we expect Obama's guy to be any different. I am sure he had some interesting things to say to these guys and different perspectives don't hurt. It's actually neat for a guy from the political realm to show up. It helps the players realize there is a REAL WORLD out there instead of the game that they play. And by the way, I don't care Democrat or Republican, whoever builds the stadium in SF will buy my vote.

Posted By: ninermaniac (29/07/2008 11:31:13 PM)
Comment: I guess Bruce is just a quiet guy or something. I dont remember him talkin about anything too much with the Rams. Although I do remember he shed a tear or 2 when he scored a TD beating the 49ers twice during their SuperBowl season.

Posted By: petro skinano (29/07/2008 10:17:10 PM)
Comment: why does isaac hate you guys?

Posted By: oneniner (29/07/2008 10:07:48 PM)
Comment: ..... to prevent the DILFER MISTAKE, coach is trying get his number 2 qb as much reps just in case history repeats itself.....the good thing is Alex and Hill are friends. .......i am not knocking Hill,... you just dont give up on your true QB, especially if there isnt a reason to. The truth is I dont know what A.Smith "is", his he like montana, his he like young, marino, aikman, etc,.....I really dont know, but i do see flashes of something....that thing i dont know yet........one thing i have learnt through my experience with sports/competition is the best feeling is wen you WIN and able to say I TOLD YOU SO..........A.Smith final story mirrors that.

Posted By: oneniner (29/07/2008 9:59:06 PM)
Comment: first of all warner, garcia, brady etc had success somewhere (college...etc) before they got to the nfl................second it does not take a more than 1% of a brain to know there is no way Hill can survive a whole season. The guy has been in this league so long, he never made 2nd back up on the teams he was on. Again, maybe nolan is looking back to last season DILFER MISTAKE,.....dilfer's body was really not ready to take over....the truth/facts is Dilfer did not play a snap in 2006 season, he came into the 2007 feeling fresh but his body was not. You just don't jump into a NFL game without achieving some prerequisites. Hill's body cannot be ready for a whole season, its just not possible.....Hill-"I've never thrown this much during training camp before." - What other proof do you need to convince you his is not ready to be number 1..........

Posted By: Mike in Sac (29/07/2008 9:17:35 PM)
Comment: Oneniner....get a clue. Brady was a 7th round pick, was he not? Talent evaluation in this league is not a science it is a crap shoot, if it was a science Brady should have been the #1 pick that year, oh wait, maybe it is that system? That system comment might even be said about Montana? Was he great or was the system great. We will never know, but I do know he was very fun to watch. Unfortunately there is a lot of luck in picking up talent. How many guys in the league might flourish if given the right opportunity? I bet a lot, but for numerous reasons it never happens, they miss the window, are not properly utilized, a coach has an ax to grind, who knows what. As one guy on this blog said, if Colston would have been drafted by the niners he would have been on the practice squad. All I know, I am not going to write some dude off because he throws short routes or "dump offs." I am also not sold on Smith despite all his hard luck issues. Heck our "other" QB choice that year did not go until the twenties to the packers. What does that say about the QB talent the year Smith was drafted? He has never shown that "it" quality. He never looks fluid. It always looks hard or like work when he is behind center. I am not a believer Hill will take us to the promised land or even the payoffs but he moves the chains, looks comfortable behind center and there just seems to be "something" going on when he was in the game. The other players seem to be engaged. This will all play out in the coming weeks but I can't take another painful year of watching a QB look as if he is a deer in headlights whoever that may be.

Posted By: 49ersRus (29/07/2008 9:05:39 PM)
Comment: The Tampa 2 Defense was designed to stop the short passing attack of the WCO. Which explains why Tampa shut Hill down when we played them, particularly in the first half. I think he only completed 2 passes against the starters. Not impressive. We need a QB that can make not only short, but intermediate and deep passes. Hill has to show he can do this, or he has no chance of being the starter IMO. If he can, great. The more competition the better.

Posted By: Krimzen&Gold (29/07/2008 9:04:09 PM)
Comment: Matt, I wanted to know what you thought about the earlier report that Nolan is thinking bringing in Ari Fleischer to speak to the team. It seems both odd and highly naive of Nolan to bring in such a controversial political figure to speak to a team. It seems like a public relations flub of the first order. The team plays and is attempting to get a new stadium in an overwhelmingly liberal area. Why would you piss on your supporters by bringing in a neocon who was the mouthpiece of the lies leading to the Iraq war? Fleischer also is part of the group "Freedom Watch", whose goal is to press forward on the continuation of the Iraq war and ran political ads in a number of states featuring Fleischer to support the "surge". Plus, what could Fleischer possibly tell a football team? How to lie to the media? It just seems to be an incredibly stupid move by Nolan.

Posted By: BrodietoParks (29/07/2008 8:22:06 PM)
Comment: You guys need to quit making comparisons to the Niners of the 80s. Montana had so much talent at the reciever position which was double coverd all the time so often Montana would check down just to open it up. Dont forget he also had talented running backs such as Craig and Tyler and others for the defense to contend with. This team is differnt and so is the coaching staff. Even tho Mike in Sac makes some valid points concerning Hill I tend to agree that he is not a starter and never will be. He will do fine in a few games but the defense will adjust to him and he will be doomed. Its easy to check off but it isnt easy to throw down the field. If Smith doesnt pan out this year we need to another quaterback for sure.

Posted By: ninerindallas (29/07/2008 8:17:24 PM)
Comment: i meant to say he wasn't an all pro

Posted By: ninerindallas (29/07/2008 8:16:00 PM)
Comment: ok can we all agree to forgive alex smith in his rookie year for being a rookie right? year number under norv turner, he showed a huge amount of improvment. was he an all-pro?..no, but he did look good for a 2nd year qb, especailly compared to his rookie year.....year three under hostler was just horrendus. but the whole offense was horrendus, not just alex smith, only gore and vernon looking halfway decent at all. in year 3 he also took his 1st big league injury{youtube that sack and watch the offense line}. shaun hill had a few decent games AFTER hostler was put in the booth and tollner sat right next to him and helped on every play. not only did that affect how shaun hill played but it affected the entire offense. so now we have a qb competition between smith and hill. now as you can tell i am one of the few {aparently} alex smith and mike nolan supports here, and i wanna say i do not care what the number are on either guy, whomever wins games should be the guy. but i do have this question....in SEVEN YEARS shaun hill has NEVER thrown more than 5 days in training camp, oh yeah, spliting the time with another guy?what will he look like in nov or dec?...preventative measure...hopefully but even shaun hill himself doesn't know? that kinda concerns me

Posted By: gw2 (29/07/2008 8:04:19 PM)
Comment: Don't even ask me. I liked Cody Pickett. All he needed was some reps, and a decent opportunity! No really!

Posted By: Wilson (29/07/2008 7:34:10 PM)
Comment: oneniner: Kurt Warner, the MVP a few years ago under Martz, was in arena football. Jeff Garcia was in Canada. Neither of them could make an NFL team. Nah, nobody ever overlooks real talent.

Posted By: Lunaman (29/07/2008 7:31:09 PM)
Comment: Any chance of Michael Robinson(when he's back) moving to H-back or fullback. I've seen him light people up on special teams so I know he can block and he has good hands and played a year of receiver at Penn State. I like him better than Keasey and he would be a good sub for Delanie Walker.

Posted By: oneniner (29/07/2008 7:21:34 PM)
Comment: you guys have lowered the niner qb expectations its making me wanna PUKE....when did we start settling for a career back-up has our starting qb. You guys need to get your heads out of your asses......this guy has been in the league this long and this is the first time he his getting this kind of reps....Anybody who is a student of the game?....you are kidding right! HaHaHa

Posted By: Sean (29/07/2008 6:25:43 PM)
Comment: Matt, it seems to me reading the play breakdowns that Hill is often throwing to the short guy. Does that seem accurate, and any takes on that?

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (29/07/2008 5:48:42 PM)
Comment: Gio: That's the reason they drafted Reggie Smith. McNolan said that because Clements is a shutdown guy who doesn't need help, they wanted a big, physical CB who could play press coverage with saftey help over the top...enter the other Mr. Smith. Just another thought. Last year Nolan was collecting guys named Zac, Zak or Zach, that obviously didn't work. So this year he's collecting guys named Smith. Hopefully that plan will work out better.

Posted By: endcapitalism (29/07/2008 5:25:29 PM)
Comment: My understanding is that NFL teams are allowed to start training camp a specific period before their first pre-season game. Am I wrong on this? The Niners play the Raiders as the first pre-season game for both teams. So how come the Raiders started their camp one day earlier. Are the Niners good enough to blow off a day of training camp?

Posted By: Mike in SF #2 (29/07/2008 5:06:16 PM)
Comment: Mike Sando over at ESPN could not even begin to hold Matt's jock (or his awesome shirt for that matter) but I do know that some of you are like me and you read everything you can about the Niners camp. Here is his report for ESPN while visiting today's practice: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcwest

Posted By: stampede (29/07/2008 5:01:13 PM)
Comment: Condolences to Mr. Robert Jordan and his family. These posts are great, especially since some of us aren't fortunate enough to attend the practices. But please fellow fans, lets keep it real, this is practice. Hill proved he's a gamer, A. Smith is raw talent, with some adequate structure in the offense and guidance he could be somethin' (ref. 2006 season under Norval). The way I see it, we have 3 capable QB's. Can't wait for Sept. 7th.

Posted By: Indiana Jim (29/07/2008 4:45:17 PM)
Comment: Matt, you're not a hypocrite, just a football nerd. I'd probably be doing the same thing if I was there ;)

Response: How dare you call me a nerd! Didn't you see that shirt I was wearing. (Or are you using that as Exhibit A in the case against me?) --Matt M.

Posted By: Wilson (29/07/2008 4:40:07 PM)
Comment: oneniner, we get it that you don't like Hill for some reason. You do realize that Hill looked better in his three games last year than Smith did in any game in the last two years. There were differences in the opposition, I guess, but those were NFL teams, and Hill was over 100 on his QB rating for those games. Anybody who is a student of the game could see that Hill looked in charge, he had pocket presence, he got the ball off in time and was accurate. And this was with a broken finger. What in the world is wrong with you that you don't even want to give the guy a chance? It's true that Alex is a better physical specimen but decision making is the most important quality a QB can have, and Hill definitely looks like a more instinctive player. Why don't you wait and see how they look in preseason?

Posted By: Mike in Sac (29/07/2008 4:37:38 PM)
Comment: Please quit assuming Martz is Mr. vertical. We do no have that type of talent. If I am not mistaken he is on recond for saying he will mold the offesne to the talent. Did not not notice Walker and VD have some of the highest catch totals in TC?

Posted By: Mike in Sac (29/07/2008 4:34:48 PM)
Comment: So when all the big fat linemen sit in the ice tub after practice are you telling me they can't play or are doomed to be hurt? I am pretty sure he was doing the ice thing as a preventative measure as stated in the comment. I think you are reading way too much into some ice. If you want to worry then what about Smith's reconstructed shoulder? One Rocky B. sackwich and he is screwed. How about that tendonitis in Smith's forearm? When will it rear its ugly ehad again? I am guessing Smith is doing stuff to prevent that thing from falling off as well. All I am saying is if a defense is giving you short passes, take it. As has been written; that is what this Martz offense is all about. That is how you beat that damn Tampa 2 defense, but most teams do not have the patience or ability to execute flawless short passes consistently, and they get greedy or break down and whammo the Tampa 2 defense crushes you because you are now in second or third and long. Martz has already said he will design the offense for the talent. We don't have the WR's the Ram's had in their prime, so if you think we are going to the be the greatest show on turf version number two you are delusional. I think we are much better off hoping for an offense that can execute and generate long sustained drives, in small chunks thus slowly nicking the opposition to death one little cut at a time. Last time I checked having a cannon arm is not the key success factor to QB in the NFL. Making good decisions and completing the pass is key. Well, Smith has not demonstrated the ability to make good decisions. However when Hill was on the field, good stuff just seemed to happen and the players appeared to respond. I don't know, but this year is going to be very interesting.

Posted By: Giovanni Carmazzi (29/07/2008 4:29:48 PM)
Comment: If we had a more physical corner opposite Clements it would help J. Smith and that side of the defense from the threat of a pass to the RB in the flat. Smith's too slow to catch the RB and Harris will get hurt.

Posted By: mike in MD (29/07/2008 4:25:32 PM)
Comment: Speaking of Heitman..Matt, do you notice if he's playing any better/stronger than last year with 1 year under his belt recovering from his leg injury? Would be a big plus if he has a good year. Also..more HOT READS!! We need the practice. I think I've heard of only 1 completion by Hill. I want that blitz to PAY this year. How bout turning this around on our favor for a change?? Practice, practice, practice...more hot reads....

Response: In my humble opinion, the two most impressive offensive linemen through five days of camp have been Jonas Jennings and Eric Heitmann. --Matt M.

Posted By: Mike in SF #2 (29/07/2008 4:23:02 PM)
Comment: Mike in Sac - You are missing one major point: You are perfectly describing the 49ers West Coast offense of old. That's not the offense the Niners run under Martz who is all about the vertical threats and stretching the field. While you might have a good point it does not apply to the current Niners systems or offensive coach. To me, those comments alone are enough to realize Martz is going to greatly favor Smith as his quarterback. Knowing the Martz offense, its obvious to me that Hill is throwing to the wrong primary receiver and instead choosing to check down.

Posted By: Miami49er (29/07/2008 4:17:54 PM)
Comment: Mike in Sac Hill's shoulder is already bothering him and he's splitting reps. he's not even getting all of the reps in TC. how is he supposed to hold up in a full 16 game season? and the reason Montana, Young, and Garcia made a living with those passes is because that is what the WCO is. it was really the offense more than the player. but Montana, Young, and to an extent Garcia were able to throw down field without any problems. in Martz's offense, the qb will be throwing down field a lot and Hill just isn't cut for it. he's a great back up, but that's all he is.

Posted By: Mike in Sac (29/07/2008 4:10:29 PM)
Comment: Remember that guy Montana, oh yeah Young and Garcia did not suck either. They made a living throwing flat passes, slants, middle routes to the TE and check downs. The ball was usually caught, we picked up gobs of 1st downs, the clock was moving, the defense was getting tired, and then would start to make mistakes leading to big plays. Seems like that strategy helped grab 5 titles. I will take Hill and his check downs over Smith and his long incompletions any time!! Our best defense is a running clock and long sustained drives. We have not had that in years! Oh yeah, this type of play usually results in scores and a lead. A decent defense is really hard to beat when they play with a lead. I think Hill is the better choice.

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (29/07/2008 4:07:05 PM)
Comment: Oh, Heitmann graduated from Stanford with a degree in Public Policy. His dad is a DVM and his mom is an RN. He's also pretty smart (most OL are)...that's why he'd know Ari

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (29/07/2008 3:52:59 PM)
Comment: Sympathies and prayers to the Jordan family. I hope he comes back, I thought he was the second best receiver at Cal after Hawkins. Does it suprise anyone that Hill is tired and a sore? It's not like he spends the offseason running hills with Jerry Rice. The only thing different than him and and a guy sitting on the porch drinking a beer, is that Hill puts the beer down more often.

Posted By: oneniner (29/07/2008 3:51:11 PM)
Comment: interesting catch...with all the exciting news about niner training camp, the most read news is "Gay newlywed dies".....

Posted By: oneniner (29/07/2008 3:43:34 PM)
Comment: "Hill throws significantly more often to RBs and TEs, while Smith tries to go downfield more.".......no need for thoughts, that is the TRUTH.....Hill is a career back-up. He his just not wired for the starting position.

Posted By: Derek (29/07/2008 3:33:34 PM)
Comment: I was wondering if you have any idea how much Justin Smith is weighing in at these days. I gathered from reading your posts that Justin has spent a large portion of his time at WOLB, but recent training camp photos make him look 300 pounds. I know that Olb in the 3-4 are tweeners and can easily be 270, but he looks every bit as big as RayMac right now. That is a big lb, should he see significant time at that position this year. It also leads me to believe that if the team can drop him to linebacker and we get another big body on the field, our run defense may greatly improve from the already impressive showing last year.

Posted By: Meana (29/07/2008 3:24:34 PM)
Comment: I think that all of this talk about the 49ers is wonderful because it is giving other people the chance to see that there are people who care whats going on wirh the 49ers.

Posted By: Joe (29/07/2008 3:17:01 PM)
Comment: What, Matt, no yardage totals? Come on!! Just kidding. You do a great job and thanks for all the hard work. For those of us not fortunate enough to live in the Bay area, you are a Godsend.

Posted By: captnkos (29/07/2008 3:09:22 PM)
Comment: What's up with Ziegler? He gets no love. When I saw practice last year he looked good. Just wondering.

Posted By: G )))) (29/07/2008 3:00:37 PM)
Comment: If the 49ers played the A-11 offense, which would be the line up? I know, they won't play it but it's fun to think about it.

Posted By: Matt (29/07/2008 3:00:15 PM)
Comment: See, Greg knows where its at.

Posted By: Matt (29/07/2008 2:58:35 PM)
Comment: I think a big area when comparing the two, and which doesnt show up on the stat sheet, are the type of throws that the qbs are making, and completeing. Matt had said, and I saw on Friday, Hill doing a good deal of checkdowns, etc, whereas Smith seemed more willing to let it fly downfield. Usually the checkdowns result in higher completiong percentage whereas long passes are anyones game. Would be interesting to see how the stats of the different throws compare, 10yard, 20yard, and beyond, and who completes which more.--Matt

Posted By: Greg (29/07/2008 2:55:10 PM)
Comment: Matt, thanks for the stats, though like you I'm a believer that in and of themselves they don't mean much. My impression from my own observation (went to camp Saturday) and reading the reports is that Hill throws significantly more often to RBs and TEs, while Smith tries to go downfield more. Any thoughts? Martz's comments from yesterday made me think Smith is the more likely choice. He seems to be trying to make the "right" throws while Hill is more set on checking down to the open man.

Posted By: vdix (29/07/2008 2:49:55 PM)
Comment: Such a shame about Josh Morgan who looks very promising but probably wont have a chance to play much just because he is a rookie and a 6th round pick. Similar to Dashon Goldston last year and maybe even this year... I think, if the niners had drafted Marques Colston back in the 2006 draft, he would've been put on the practice squad here instead of going to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season.

Posted By: Gabe Cizzle (29/07/2008 2:46:05 PM)
Comment: I've ALWAYS been extremely high on D.Walk, even to the point where I thought we could let VD go without too much dropoff. Even picked him up in fantasy leagues past. According to your stats Delanie is putting up the most in terms of receptions. Is this indicative of VD being the vertical (lower %) option, while D.Walk has been of a checkdown (high %)? Maybe it's me, but I think I've noticed that Alex is very comfortable and can tend to target Delanie at times.

Posted By: oneniner (29/07/2008 2:26:46 PM)
Comment: "Yesterday, I saw Shaun Hill walking around the locker room with a huge bag of ice on his right shoulder. He said he's just taking routine measures. Then, he added, "I've never thrown this much during training camp before."".......................He his splitting reps and he his already feeling the pressure ....and this guy is suppose to be a starter. What a JOKE........if the point is to get him ready in case A. Smith goes down durin the season, YES Nolan is a genius, if it is truly competition then i am sorry coach "THIS IS DUMB".....Give Alex all the reps, we need him ready......

Posted By: 49ER FOR LIFE (29/07/2008 2:25:15 PM)
Comment: Matty, I like how you signed off. After all of the coverage you have given us, We do not need to know the "hang time of Andy Lee's punts". Have a good night off!

Posted By: Nevyn (29/07/2008 2:14:03 PM)
Comment: Apologies if you've covered this Matt, but when they are getting their first team reps, do Hill and Smith have the same receivers in that unit? In other words, does it look like who gets playing time at WR will be affected by who wins the starting QB job, or is the receiver depth chart going to be set regardless of QB.

Posted By: Cyrus (29/07/2008 2:13:03 PM)
Comment: And the pass rush?

Posted By: Joe (29/07/2008 2:12:00 PM)
Comment: I hope Robinson is okay. We need that warrior spirit