Carlos Rogers is having a bad season. He used to be a premier slot corner in the NFL, but he’s 31 years old, he’s lost a step and he can’t keep up with the quick slot receivers anymore. The 49ers signed Rogers to a four-year, $29.3 million contact in the offseason. On Sunday night, Rogers dropped an easy interception and gave up a touchdown to Doug Baldwin. Rogers has not…
FOXBORO, Ma. – The 49ers beat the Patriots 41-34 and clinched a playoff berth. Here are the grades for the 49ers’ defense and special teams. Defensive line: B. Justin Smith did not play particularly well, and then he left the game with an elbow injury. On the other hand, Ray McDonald played his best game of the season. He had half a sack all season, and he had two Sunday…
SAN FRANCISCO — Donte Whitner spoke at the podium after the 49ers beat the Dolphins on Sunday. Here’s what Whitner said. Q: Can you talk about your body slam of Reggie Bush? WHITNER: We just want to be physical any way we can. When you’re physical as a defense, it gives the offense something else to think about – not just your scheme, not just your pass rushers, but they…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here is what Jim Harbaugh said at his post game press conference after the 49ers beat the Dolphins. Q: Can you talk about Colin Kaepernick’s 50-yard TD run at the end of the game? HARBAUGH: Great call by Greg. It was a great third down conversion. We’ve been struggling on third downs. Good to get that one to pop. To get the touchdown was great. It was…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers beat the Dolphins 27-13. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense and special teams. unable to get the football to the best tight end in the NFL. Not good. Defensive line: B. Justin Smith had five tackles, a QB hit and a leaping pass deflection at the line of scrimmage. He’s getting better as the season moves forward. Ray McDonald got pressure on Tannehill…
SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the 49ers media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is what he said, courtesy of the 49ers. What kind of problems do the Dolphins present? “Well, they’ve got a talented young quarterback who’s a good athlete, runs well. He’s a scrambler, got a strong arm. I think he’s gaining more and more confidence with every game that he’s played. I think they’re a much…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers lost to the Rams 16-13. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense. Defensive line: A. Justin Smith may have had the best game of his season. He had a team-high 8 tackles, including three for losses, 1 sack and 1 QB hit. Isaac Sopoaga and Ray McDonald helped limit Steven Jackson to 48 yards on 21 carries. Linebackers: A-. Aldon Smith had a sack…
NEW ORLEANS — The 49ers just beat the Saints 31-21. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense and special teams. Defensive line: B+. Justin Smith had 1.5 sacks – he’s coming on at the end of the season, just like he did last year. Ray McDonald almost sacked Brees on the first play of the game. McDonald didn’t do much the rest of the game. And Isaac Sopoaga was…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers destroyed the Chicago Bears 32-7 Monday night. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense and special teams. Defensive line: A. They held the Bears rushing attack to just 3 yards per carry. Justin Smith got consistent pressure on the quarterback for the first time this season. Ray McDonald tackled Chilo Rachal in the end zone for a safety. Linebackers: A. NaVorro Bowman had a…
The 49ers play the Bears Monday night at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. Brandon Marshall vs. the 49ers secondary Like Crabtree, Marshall lines up all over the Bears formations – left receiver, right receiver and the slot. So he will face all three 49er cornerbacks – Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown and Chris Culliver. Marshall does not have the quickness to separate from any of them….
SAN FRANCISCO — The 49ers tied the Rams 24-24. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense. Defensive line: D. Isaac Sopoaga was a liability at nose tackle. He actually got planted on his back by Steven Jackson in the first quarter. Sopoaga was briefly benched for Ricky Jean Francois. Ray McDonald was flagged for a 15-yard helmet-to-helmet hit on Bradford. Justin Smith finished with eight tackles and two pressures….
SAN FRANCISCO — The 49ers tied the Rams 24-24. Here is the grade for the 49ers special teams. Special teams: F. Let me count the ways the 49ers special teams failed against the Rams. They gave up two fake-punt passes for first downs. The first time, the Rams were backed up into their own end zone. Special teams coach Brad Seely called an all-out blitz to block the punt, so…
Chris Culliver was the best 49er cornerback in training camp, and he’s been the best 49er cornerback the first half of the season, too, but he still doesn’t start. That should change. He might be the best cornerback in the NFL. He’s picked off two passes and knocked away five. According to Pro Football Focus, Culliver has allowed the lowest percentage of completions of all NFL cornerbacks who have played…
Here are the grades for the 49ers defense from their 24-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Defensive line: A. They completely shut down the Cardinals run game, holding it to 7 total yards. The defensive line often tackled running back LaRod Stephens-Howling five yards behind the line of scrimmage. Justin Smith got consistent pressure on a quarterback for the first time this season. Linebackers: A. The outside linebackers had dominant…
Here’s what Cardinals cornerback and punt returner Patrick Peterson said about returning punts Wednesday afternoon to Bay Area reporters on a conference call. Q: The 49ers did a good job limiting your punt returns last year. Do you remember what they did and how much punter Andy Lee had to do with it? PETERSON: Andy Lee, he’s probably the best punter in the National Football League right now, but those…
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 — Here are the Week 6 grades for the defense and special teams. Defensive line: D. They got zero pressure on Eli Manning. They held Ahmad Bradshaw to 23 yards on 11 carries in the first half, but they gave up 93 yards on 16 carries to Bradshaw in the second half. At one point in the fourth quarter they gave up almost 70 rushing yards on 7…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Vic Fangio said about Justin Smith in particular and the 49ers pass rush in general at the Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. How has DT Justin Smith been playing this year? And how do you expect the Giants to counter him? “He’s been playing the same that he always has at a very, very high level, Pro Bowl level. He’s one of…
The 49ers play the Giants on Sunday at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups per day. TE Martellus Bennett (6-6, 265 pounds) vs. Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and Donte Whitner With Dashon Goldson and Chris Culliver taking away the deep passes, Eli Manning probably will have to throw short and over the middle against the 49ers. That’s where Martellus Bennett comes in. We know…
The 49ers play the Giants on Sunday at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups per day. CB Chris Culliver (6-0, 199 pounds, 4.36 40-yard dash) vs. WRs Domenik Hixon (6-2, 197, 4.39) and Rueben Randle (6-3, 208, 4.43). When the 49ers played the Giants Week 10 last season, Culliver mostly matched up man-to-man against Mario Manningham, who caught 6 passes for 77 yards and…
