Whitner on the Falcons’ offense: “When they come in the middle of the field, we’re going to be extremely physical.”

SANTA CLARA — Donte Whitner held court at his locker Tuesday morning. Here’s what he said about the Atlanta Falcons’ offense. Q: You guys have had success against the best quarterbacks – Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees. How will translate against Matt Ryan and the unique challenges he presents? WHITNER: First and foremost, when you play the top quarterbacks in the league, you have to understand that pre-snap is…

January 15, 2013
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Steve Young on Kaepernick: “They cannot put him in a situation where he’s deep in a hole.”

Steve Young held a teleconference Wednesday and spoke about the NFL playoffs. Here’s what he said, courtesy of ESPN.   Q.  I wanted to ask you about Atlanta and how this team seemed pretty easy to dismiss or forget about, the Falcons and obviously they have not won a playoff game with Matt Ryan and they almost lost some of the easier games at home this year.  How do you…

January 10, 2013
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Aaron Rodgers is the new Keyser Soze

This is the opening for my Thursday article on what makes Aaron Rodgers special. SANTA CLARA — The 49ers face Keyser Soze this Saturday night. I’m not talking about the mythical villain from the 1995 movie The Usual Suspects. I’m talking about Aaron Rodgers, the Packers’ quarterback, the best quarterback in the NFL. When he played at Cal, NFL scouts mistook him for Verbal Kint, Soze’s diminutive, handicapped alter ego….

January 9, 2013
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Harbaugh on Justin Smith: “God willing and the creek don’t rise, he’s going to play.”

SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a transcript of his press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.   Have you made a decision on your kicker yet? “No. Not one that we’ll have made or announce yet.”   Will you not announce it until an hour and a half before the game? “That’s possible.”   I was on a conference call with former 49ers…

January 9, 2013
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Aaron Rodgers: “Being a 49er fan, that was a team I enjoyed watching and dreamt about playing for.”

Aaron Rodgers spoke on a conference call with Bay Area reporters Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: How does this 49ers team look different from Week 1 when you saw them at Lambeau? RODGERS: Defensively it’s the same guys. One of the top defenses in the league, if not the best. They have playmakers all over the field, at every level – D-line, linebackers, secondary. The secondary can make…

January 9, 2013
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Fangio on Aaron Rodgers: “He reminds me of Dan Marino in the pocket and Steve Young out of the pocket.”

SANTA CLARA – Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said about Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers offense, courtesy of the 49ers.   You were in dime for so much of that Week 1 game. Have they been doing less with four wide receivers and just running in recent weeks? “Them?”   Yeah, them. “They’ve mixed it in there. They probably played…

January 8, 2013
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Kaepernick on his first playoff game: “It’s another game, there’s just more at stake.”

SANTA CLARA – Colin Kaepernick spoke in the media tent Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: Greg Roman said you’re approaching this as just another game. Are you? KAEPERNICK: Is it just another game? Yeah. Q: This is your playoff debut. What did the playoff atmosphere feel like to you when you were on the sideline last year? KAEPERNICK: Just a lot more intense than a regular season game….

January 8, 2013
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Brent Jones says the Packers will not be able to run on the 49ers defense

Brent Jones spoke on KNBR Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said about 49ers upcoming matchup with the Packers. Q: Are you confident the 49ers will beat the Packers? BRENT JONES: This year there have been so many ups and downs, and there are weeks where I’m saying there’s no way this team’s going to lose, and there are weeks where I’m saying this team can’t beat anybody. That is usually…

January 8, 2013
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Cosell: “I don’t think Aaron Rodgers is playing particularly great football.”

Greg Cosell spoke on KNBR Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said about Aaron Rodgers. Q: How good is Aaron Rodgers, and can the 49ers contain him? COSELL: I’m not saying this to be bold or controversial, but I don’t think Aaron Rodgers is playing particularly great football. I think he’s so physically gifted – he can throw it on the run better than anyone in this league – but he’s…

January 8, 2013
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Why the Packers are a lucky draw for the 49ers

The 49ers are lucky they get to play the Packers on Saturday night and not the Seahawks or the Redskins. Why? Let me list the reasons. 1. The Seahawks and the Redskins have two of the best running backs in the NFL. The 49ers run defense has been mediocre to bad recently. They do not want to face Marshawn Lynch or Alfred Morris. They want to face the Packers subpar…

January 5, 2013
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Brent Jones: “I’m hoping that we get the Packers.”

Brent Jones spoke on KNBR Thursday afternoon about who he hopes the 49ers play in the second round of the playoffs. Here’s what he said. BRENT JONES: I think we’ll get the Packers and I think we match up pretty darn well against the Packers, unless Aaron Rodgers just goes nuts – and that, obviously, will be determined by how much pressure we can put on him. The team I’d…

January 4, 2013
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Kaepernick cracks Berry’s top-10 fantasy QBs

ESPN’s fantasy football guru Matthew Berry just posted his top-10 fantasy quarterbacks for Week 12. They are: 1. Aaron Rodgers 2. Peyton Manning 3. Robert Griffin III 4. Matt Ryan 5. Tom Brady 6. Andrew Luck 7. Drew Brees 8. Colin Kaepernick 9. Cam Newton 10. Andy Dalton Who’s not on the list: Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Matthew Stafford, Alex Smith.

November 21, 2012
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Which 49ers made Pro Football Weekly’s midseason All-Pro team?

Pro Football Weekly just announced their midseason All-Pro team. Considering how good the 49ers defense is, you’d expect a few those players to make it. They didn’t. Surprisingly, two players on the offense made the team – Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis. Punter Andy Lee also made it. PFW named Aaron Rodgers the midseason All-Pro QB, Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch the running backs and Rob Gronkowski the tight end….

November 6, 2012
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Alex Smith says arm strength is overrated

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…

November 2, 2012
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Alex Smith: “Sometimes the best thing is to protect it in the pocket and take a sack.”

SANTA CLARA – Alex Smith’s Wednesday press conference transcript, courtesy of the 49ers.   How’s that gash doing? “Doing alright. Healing up hopefully.”   Kind of makes you look like a football player. “It’s tough for me to look any tougher, but I guess it does.”   Is it sore? “Pretty cosmetic, not too bad. Just kind of a surface thing.”   Has T Joe Staley been swapping tales about…

September 19, 2012
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How the 49ers got the Packers in checkmate

Some things I forgot to mention about the 49ers’ performance against the Packers: Alex Smith and Greg Roman called brilliant running plays. What Smith did: Each time the Packers brought an extra linebacker or a cornerback to the line of scrimmage, Alex Smith audibled to a running play away from the blitz. These audibles worked beautifully. Peyton Manning couldn’t have made better pre-snap adjustments. Smith’s were near perfect. Before the…

September 13, 2012
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Tarell Brown on covering Calvin Johnson: “If you jump off the ground quicker than he gets up, you’ll be OK.”

SANTA CLARA – Tarell Brown spoke in the media tent on Wednesday. He discussed how to cover Calvin Johnson and what “the look” from Aaron Rodgers means. Here’s a transcript. Q: How do you prepare for Calvin Johnson? BROWN: He’s a great player and he does a lot of great things for their team. I think the biggest thing for us is just to go out there and play our…

September 12, 2012
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Letter to Jim Schwartz, not pertaining to The Handshake

Dear Jim Schwartz, You want to call a running play against the 49ers, but it doesn’t exist. Il n’existe pas. Justin Smith will stop it while thinking of other things. Take your running plays and throw them away. They’ll only help you lose on Sunday. You have to pass against the 49ers. Remember how Bill Walsh used to set up the run with the pass? You have to set up…

September 11, 2012
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Chris Culliver, and The Look from Aaron Rodgers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – It was fourth and ten with 54 seconds left, and the Packers had to convert the first down or they’d lose. Aaron Rodgers saw Jordy Nelson single-covered by Chris Culliver. Rodgers stared at Chris Culliver. Culliver stared back. Rodgers lifted one eye-brow, as if to say “I hope you’re ready,” and then he called hike and chucked it deep to Nelson, going for it all, not…

September 9, 2012
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Prediction: Packers defeat 49ers

The Packers will beat the 49ers Sunday, 34-23. The Packers are going to double-team both Justin and Aldon Smith. The left guard and center – T.J. Lang and Jeff Saturday – will take Justin Smith, and the left tackle and running back – Marshall Newhouse and Cedric Benson – will take Aldon Smith. Aaron Rodgers will have enough time to find open receivers and exploit the 49ers secondary, which is…

September 8, 2012
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