Road game on a Thursday is not the scenario for a 49ers recovery

Here is my Tuesday column on the upcoming 49ers-Rams game. You don’t have to look hard to find reasons to pick the 49ers to beat the Rams Thursday night in St. Louis. Here’s one: The Rams stink. Last Sunday they got destroyed by the Cowboys, a .500 team the past two seasons. And the Rams showed no emotion while they got stomped. It was like they expected it and didn’t…

September 24, 2013
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Bears-49ers matchups: Part I – Charles Tillman vs. Michael Crabtree

The 49ers play the Bears Monday night at Candlestick.  In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. CB Charles Tillman vs. WR Michael Crabtree Greg Roman likes to move Crabtree around the formations and match him up against the opposing teams’ No.2 or No.3 cornerback. Roman can do this because most cornerbacks play a specific side of the field, so he knows where the No.1 CB is going to…

November 18, 2012
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Roman on Chris Long: “He’s a rolling ball of butcher knives.”

SANTA CLARA – Greg Roman spoke in the 49ers media tent Thursday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the Rams defense.   Opening Statement: “Good afternoon. Getting ready to play the Rams. It was good in the bye week, got a chance last week to really kind of analyze ourselves and start to get to work on the Rams, a team that’s ranked on defense in the upper half of…

November 8, 2012
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Rams-49ers matchups: Part II – Finnegan vs. Crabtree

The 49ers play the St. Louis Rams Sunday at Candlestick Park. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups every day. CB Cortland Finnegan (5-10, 188 pounds) vs. WR Michael Crabtree (6-1, 214 pounds) Finnegan is the kind of cornerback that gives Crabtree problems. But regardless of matchup, Greg Roman wants to feature Crabtree in the 49ers pass game. Crabtree has received at least five targets in…

November 8, 2012
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Alex Smith: “Love getting everybody involved, for sure.”

SANTA CLARA — Here is what Alex Smith said at his locker Wednesday afternoon, courtesy of the 49ers.   You talked to Peter King about WR Randy Moss’ influence on the team. Have you seen his work ethic rub off on the other receivers? Have you seen his influence in action? “All of our guys work hard, I didn’t mean it in a sense like that. Here’s a guy that’s,…

November 7, 2012
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Fisher on Rams: “Still feel like we have a fine quarterback in place here.”

St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher spoke on a conference call with Bay Area reporters Wednesday morning. Here’s what he said about the Rams. Q: When you were considering the Rams job, did you look at the NFC West and analyze it, and if you did, what did you see from that division? FISHER: Certainly very, very impressed with what took place out there and the great job that…

November 7, 2012
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Cosell impressed by Crabtree’s explosiveness and short-area quinkness vs. Cards

Here’s what Greg Cosell said on the Murph and Mac Show Thursday Morning about Michael Crabtree’s two-touchdown game against the Arizona Cardinals last week. COSELL: “[Crabtree] was impressive in this game. The three-yard touchdown was just a great throw and catch. It wasn’t as if he beat Peterson in the corner of the end zone. It was a great throw, incredibly accurate, and Crabtree went up and got it and…

November 3, 2012
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Preview: How the Niners match up against the Rams

This is the final installment of our NFC West matchup preview. Today we’re breaking down how the Niners match up with the St. Louis Rams. Tomorrow we’ll break down their matchup with the New England Patriots. 49ERS DEFENSE VS. RAMS OFFENSE: This matchup isn’t close. The Niners have a great defense and the Rams have a terrible offense. St. Louis got shut out twice in their final five games last…

May 30, 2012
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