Fangio on Justin Smith: “He looks fine.”

SANTA CLARA – Vic Fangio spoke to Bay Area reporters Friday morning. Here’s what he said. Q: How does it feel to start training camp and have everyone back? FANGIO: It’s good. All offseason we didn’t have Ahmad, Justin and Aldon out there. It was limited what Ray did, so it’s nice to have them all back out there playing real football, although we don’t have the pads on. We…

July 26, 2013
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Harbaugh praises lots of players, including Kaepernick, McDonald and Patton.

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Jim Harbaugh said after practice Thursday afternoon. Q: You ended practice early. Why? HARBAUGH: I really liked the practice today and the entire offseason. It was a great effort by our team. I like our team. I like where we’re at right now. It was a good camp. Q: It seemed like Colin Kaepernick and the first team offense really ended practice with a flourish….

June 13, 2013
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49ers’ mini-camp: Day 3 – Kaepernick’s best practice of the offseason

SANTA CLARA – Here is what stood out to me at Day 3 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. Colin Kaepernick – He hadn’t done anything spectacular this offseason until this afternoon. He’d been mostly dinking and dunking. Colt McCoy had been more aggressive throwing downfield. Alex Smith had been more aggressive…

June 13, 2013
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Fangio on Carradine, Reid, Asomugha, Rogers and more

SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Vic Fangio said Wednesday afternoon, courtesy of the 49ers.   So, offensive coordinator Greg Roman had said yesterday, obviously he’d been through two offensive installs already and it was more for him about execution. What is it about for you during this mini-camp with the defense? “Well, the mini-camp is just a continuation of the OTAs where we’re installing our defense. Teaching the assignments, the…

June 12, 2013
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49ers’ mini-camp: Day 1 – The good and the not-so-good

SANTA CLARA – Here is what stood out to me at the 49ers’ Tuesday mini-camp. THE GOOD 1. Anquan Boldin – He was every quarterback’s favorite target, as usual. Five-of the-first-nine plays during 7-on-7 drills were passes to Boldin. He finished competitive team drills with seven catches and two touchdowns. He lined up at flanker and split end, but before the snap he usually went in motion and ended up…

June 11, 2013
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Daniel Jeremiah on Eric Reid, Tank Carradine, Vance McDonald and Corey Lemonier

Here’s what Daniel Jeremiah, former NFL scout and current NFL Draft analyst for the NFL Network, tweeted before the draft about Eric Reid, Tank Carradine, Vance McDonald and Corey Lemonier. Jeremiah on Eric Reid: “5 game study and I can’t get excited about Eric Reid. Love size/speed but he misses too many tackles and he’s late off the hash too often.” 18 Mar “Teams are split on Eric Reid. He…

June 10, 2013
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Eric Reid: “Every day we’re installing new plays, so sometimes it’s hard to remember.”

SANTA CLARA – Eric Reid spoke to Bay Area reporters Tuesday after practice. Here’s what he said. Q: How complex is the 49ers’ defense? REID: It’s more complex than college, but it’s something I think I can handle. It’s a challenge, but it’s something I like to challenge myself with. I’ve got to study my plays every night. Every day is a new day and I’ve got to come out…

June 5, 2013
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Harbaugh on Mangini: “I was watching him on TV and he’s got a great reputation.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke to reporters Tuesday after practice. Here’s what he said.   How’s LB Darius Fleming? “How is he?”   Yeah, we saw him go down with an apparent knee injury out there. “Didn’t see that.”   OK. Well, tell us about 49ers senior offensive consultant Eric Mangini then and— “Are you sure it wasn’t [WR] Kassim [Osgood], when Kassim went down?”   No, Fleming definitely…

June 4, 2013
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49ers rookie mini-camp stats

Here are my unofficial rookie mini-camp stats for Quinton Patton, Vance McDonald, Eric Reid, Marcus Cooper and Daryl Morris. Quinton Patton, WR 1-on-1: 3-for-4. (1. Beat Marcus Cooper short 2. Beat Cooper short again but the throw was behind Patton 3. Could not beat Brodrick Brown deep 4. Beat Cooper short) 7-on-7: 5 targets, 4 catches (1. Beat Darryl Morris over the middle for 15 yards 2. Beat Morris short…

May 13, 2013
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49ers rookie mini-camp: Day 2 – B.J. Daniels plays like Russell Wilson

SANTA CLARA – Before I get into the good and not-so-good of the second day of the 49ers’ rookie mini-camp, I want to share that I noticed three players playing two positions today – Eric Reid played free safety and strong safety, Al Netter played right guard and center and Andre Davis, Anthony Davis’ older brother, played right tackle and tight end. All three players seemed comfortable playing two positions….

May 11, 2013
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49ers rookie mini-camp: Day 1 – McDonald and Okoye stand out

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me during the afternoon practice of the first day of the 49ers’ 2013 rookie mini-camp. THE GOOD 1. Vance McDonald, TE. The rookie tight end had the best practice of the day. He dropped the first pass thrown to him – it was a strike from B.J. Daniels – but after that miscue McDonald caught everything. During one-on-one drills, he went against…

May 10, 2013
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Eric Reid: “I’m going to try to get on the field, and when I am I don’t want to have any downfalls.”

Here’s what the 49ers’ No.1 pick, Eric Reid, said to reporters Friday afternoon on the side of the practice field. Q: What’s the biggest message you’ve gotten from Harbaugh so far? REID: Just get on the field. I’ve had my plays, I’ve studied, so now it’s just doing it, make my checks, do my job. Play football. Q: Have you watched any tape of Dashon Goldson from last year and…

May 10, 2013
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The 49ers’ top 10 offseason position battles

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…

May 5, 2013
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NFL draft: 49ers trade up to select LSU safety Reid

This is the opening to my Friday article on the 49ers’ first-round pick, Eric Reid. SANTA CLARA — The San Francisco 49ers wasted no time drafting a replacement for All Pro free safety Dashon Goldson, who signed a five-year, $41.25 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason. The 49ers traded their first round pick — No. 31 overall — and their first third-round pick — No. 74 —…

April 25, 2013
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Baalke: “This was a scenario that we were hoping would play out.”

SANTA CLARA — This is the transcript of Trent Baalke’s press conference about first-round pick Eric Reid, courtesy of the 49ers.   How did the trade go down with Dallas? Is this something you had planned the last couple of days, figuring that might be the slot where you actually go and get S Eric Reid? “Yeah, it’s something I was visiting with [Dallas Cowboys chief operation officer/director of player…

April 25, 2013
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Harbaugh says Reid was “Option A” for the 49ers in the draft

SANTA CLARA — This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s press conference about first-round pick Eric Reid, courtesy of the 49ers.   You obviously recruited S Eric Reid to try to get him to Stanford. So, how does it feel to have him come to the 49ers? “It feels great. We did recruit Eric when we were at Stanford. Got to know the family quite well. It was tough because…

April 25, 2013
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Eric Reid: “I’m a very cerebral player.”

SANTA  CLARA — This is the transcript of Eric Reid’s conference call, courtesy of the 49ers.   How does it feel to be a Niner? “It feels amazing.”   How would you describe your game to people who are unfamiliar with you? “I think I’m a very cerebral player. I pride myself on knowing the defense. I pride myself on being able to get the guys lined up on the…

April 25, 2013
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Daniel Jeremiah breaks down the best safeties in the draft

Daniel Jeremiah, formerly an NFL scout and presently an NFL.com analyst, has been breaking down the top safety prospects on twitter  recently. Here are his tweets. March 17: “Getting ready to watch a ton of safeties… This has always been my toughest position to evaluate. Can watch 3-4 games and not see much…” March 17: “RT more of a Vaccaro or Reid fan?> I love Vaccaro. I need to do…

March 19, 2013
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Who is the 49ers free safety of the future?

The 49ers signed free safety Craig Dahl yesterday, but he’s not the Niners’ free safety of the future. He may not be their free safety of the present, either. He’s probably a backup, and a mentor for whichever free safety the 49ers draft in a few weeks. Will the Niners draft a safety who is similar to Dashon Goldson – tall and hard-hitting, like LSU’s Eric Reid – or will…

March 17, 2013
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