Saints-49ers matchups: Part I – Roman Harper vs. Vernon Davis

The 49ers play the Saints Sunday at the Superdome. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. SS Roman Harper vs. TE Vernon Davis The Saints absolutely cannot leave Harper one-on-one with Davis in this game. Steve Spagnuolo must devote two defenders to Davis. In the playoffs last season, Gregg Williams thought Alex Smith wouldn’t make the Saints pay for single covering Davis. Davis beat Harper for 180 yards…

November 24, 2012
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Whitner on the Saints bounty scandal, and more

SANTA CLARA – Donte Whitner spoke about everything from Randy Moss to the Saints’ bounty scandal this afternoon. Here’s what Whitner said: Q: Did the level of practice intensity go up a notch when the pads went on? WHITNER: Yeah, I think that’s natural. Whenever you have a bunch of competitive guys who want to get better, once the pads go on the intensity will be automatic. You don’t even…

July 30, 2012
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Is Gregg Williams’ rant business as usual in the NFL? (Lowell column)

I’m linking to my pop’s column on Gregg Williams’s pre-Niners-playoff-game rant, which I posted earlier. Some of my readers argued that it wasn’t so different from other defensive coordinator speeches – that it was business as usual in football. My dad, who’s been covering the sport for over 30 years, vehemently disagrees. To read his column, click here.

April 5, 2012
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Gregg Williams’ 49ers bounty

If you haven’t heard Gregg Williams abhorrent, vile, criminal rant he gave before the Niners-Saints playoff game, I’m linking to it here. Warning – the audio is profane and disturbing. Michael Silver broke the story this morning. He’s a great reporter, and the NFL is a more honest institution because of him. Thank you, Michael. Williams needs to be banned for life and brought up on criminal chargers. Sean Payton…

April 5, 2012
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Why Saints case matters (Lowell column)

My dad followed up and wrote a second column about the Saints bounty scandal. This one directly addresses many arguments he received from readers on behalf of the bums – Sean Payton, Gregg Williams, and NFL rule-breakers in general. These readers blame the league, or “the system,” and prefer not to single out. That’s football, they say. It’s a violent sport. Nonsense. It’s supposed to be civilized, too. It’s not…

March 6, 2012
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NFL should ban bounty hunters (Lowell column)

My dad wrote his Sunday column for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat about the New Orleans Saints and their bounty program for knocking opposing players out of the game. My dad doesn’t think this scandal is overblown – he thinks it’s serious. I do, too. Football is supposed to be a sport, not war. It’s physical, not dirty. There’s a difference. My dad proposes lifetime banishment from the NFL for…

March 4, 2012
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