SAN FRANCISCO – Here are my grades for the 49ers in their 34-14 preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings. QUARTERBACKS: B. Colin Kaepernick played 17 snaps and played well, although he failed in his first appearance in the red zone, getting his pass tipped away on third-and-11 from the 12 yard line. But Kaepernick succeeded in his second red zone appearance. On third-and-goal from the five, Kaepernick rolled right, spotted…
SANTA CLARA – Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Monday morning. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening comments: “Good morning. First game week of the season. Very exciting, it’s a chance to get with our young players and start to prepare for a game. As we all well know, there are 16 regular season games and every week is really a season onto itself. The…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me at Tuesday morning’s padded practice. THE GOOD 1. Colin Kaepernick – All of his passes have been on the money this training camp, especially the deep ones. This morning, Kaepernick was on fire in 11-on-11 drills against the first-team defense. First, he hit Anquan Boldin on a post route for a 20-yard gain. Next, Kaepernick threaded the needle between two defenders…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me at Saturday’s padded practice. THE GOOD 1. Ahmad Brooks – The 49ers practiced situational football near the end of the afternoon. Jim Harbaugh placed the ball on the offense’s goal line and gave them three downs to make a first down. On third and seven, Brooks beat Anthony Davis around the edge and sacked Kaepernick. 2. Ian Williams – He was…
SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Saturday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Opening statement: “It’s just hitting afternoon, good afternoon. It’s exciting to be back, start training camp, a chance to build a great foundation and build the keel of our ship. The first week or two, we are totally focused on ourselves and getting out there practicing, teaching and putting ourselves through the paces….
SANTA CLARA – Here is what stood out to me at Day 2 of the 49ers’ mini-camp. If you have questions about anything else that happened at practice, ask me in the comment section. THE GOOD 1. Nnamdi Asomugha – Played left cornerback for the first team defense and did not give up a completion in full-speed team drills. Asomugha broke up two passes from Colt McCoy in a three-play…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the good and the not-so-good from the 49ers’ Wednesday OTA session. THE GOOD 1. Craig Dahl – He was the starting free safety, and he had the best day of all of the 49ers’ defensive backs. Dahl almost picked off Colin Kaepernick twice. First, Kaepernick tried to fire a pass to Chad Hall in the end zone in a 7-on-7 drill. Hall was running straight down…
Here are the top-10 position battles on the 49ers I’m looking forward to this offseason. Which battles interest you the most? 1. No.2 and No.3 cornerback: Carlos Rogers vs. Nnamdi Asomugha vs. Chris Culliver. Tarell Brown probably is a lock to start, so Rogers, Asomugha and Culliver will compete for the other two cornerback spots in the 49ers’ Nickel defense. Rogers and Culliver will compete to cover the slot. The…
SANTA CLARA — Here is what Jim Harbaugh said about the evolution of the 49ers offense at his Monday press conference. Q: Frank Gore was saying that the offense with Kaepernick is really the same, just you do more read option. Is it essentially the same? HARBAUGH: That’s one take. I think for the most part it’s the same offense, don’t know that it’s dramatically different. I’d concur with Frank….
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Jim Harbaugh said Monday afternoon about the 49ers upcoming Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. Q: What kind of challenges are there for you guys on the short turnaround? HARBAUGH: What they are is a short week for both teams. We’ve just got to go. We’ve got to go right away starting today. Q: Does that give you enough to time for Joe Staley…
SANTA CLARA — It’s very early in training camp, and I’m no expert, but the undrafted rookie wide receiver from Northern Illinois, Nathan Palmer, is good. He may be better than A.J. Jenkins right now. Palmer caught five passes today by my count, including one 50-yard reception in a seven-on-seven drill. In a one-on-one drill he beat Pro Bowl cornerback Carlos Rogers. After the play, Rogers walked over to Palmer…
With rookie mini camps around the corner and OTAs around the bend too, let’s rank the Niners top-10 offseason battles in reverse order. 10. Michael Crabtree vs. his left foot. Will Crabtree win the battle against his left foot this offseason? He’s 1-2 in his professional career when he’s faced the foot in the summer. It beat him in ’09 when it sustained a stress fracture and held him out…
Before: Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Jonathan Goodwin, Adam Snyder, Anthony Davis, Alex Boone, Chilo Rachal, Daniel Kilgore and Mike Person. Grade: C+ Why: LT Joe Staley was a Pro Bowler and LG Mike Iupati was very good, but the mere presence of RG Chilo Rachal in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season nearly sunk the entire offense. Harbaugh benched him for Adam Snyder, who upgraded the right…
Here’s how the 49ers 2012 draft will play out. 1. They’re going to draft the best player available in the first round, and he will be Stanford TE Coby Fleener. He will instantly improve the Niners’ biggest weakness – their passing attack – and he will eventually replace Delanie Walker, who will be a free agent after this season. 2. They’re going to trade up in the second round for…
Trent Baalke, obviously, is at least mildly irritated by the suggestion that the 49ers will be trying Chris Culliver out at a new position in the NFL. He did play cornerback as a senior – just ask Baalke – but he only made seven college starts at the position (and 24 at safety).
Hunter and eight other rookies have their jersey numbers and a few, Hunter included, have some legacies to uphold. First-round pick Aldon Smith has not selected his number (decisions, decisions).
During an interview on KNBR on Monday, ESPN draft analyst Trent Dilfer gave San Francisco’s draft a thumbs-up and discussed some of the picks.
