Trent Baalke’s pattern with running backs

Trent Baalke has a pattern when it comes to drafting running backs. One year Baalke spends a second-round pick on a running back, and the next year he spends a fourth round pick on a running back. Then he repeats the pattern. In 2011, Baalke drafted Kendall Hunter in the fourth round. In 2012, Baalke drafted LaMichael James in the second round. In 2013, Baalke drafted Marcus Lattimore in the…

February 25, 2015
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Top-four questions the 49ers face against the Bears

We all know the 49ers will beat the Bears this Sunday Night. I’m saying the final score will be 24-13. The game will not be close. That said, these are the four questions that interest me most about this game: 1. Who will lead the 49ers in rushing, Frank Gore or Carlos Hyde? The Bears gave up 7.3 yards per carry on 21 read-option runs against the Bills last week….

September 13, 2014
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Greg Roman says LaMichael James is a really good football player

SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman was interviewed in the 49ers’ auditorium Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “It was great to start off the season with a win. We moved onto a Chicago Bears team on Monday that has a very experienced defense. Starting with their front four, they’ve got one of the best pass rushers over the last decade in [Chicago Bears DE] Jared…

September 11, 2014
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Jim Harbaugh on Daniel Kilgore: “He’s done a very good job with making the calls.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh was interviewed in the 49ers’ auditorium Monday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. staff. Do you have an update on C Marcus Martin yet? “Yeah, it’s coming in. He had an MRI this morning and, can’t go into all of the details because I don’t know them all, but it doesn’t appear that it’s an ACL.” Two months, is that the timeframe…

August 25, 2014
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49ers 21, Chargers 7: Starters’ grades

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers beat the Chargers 21-7 Sunday afternoon. Here are the grades for the Niners’ starters. KAEPERNICK: D-. Fumbled twice and committed one turnover. Completed 50 percent of his passes. Completed zero percent of his passes in the red zone. Posted a 64.2 passer rating. Performed poorly in areas he needed to improve this offseason – accuracy, touch, footwork and red-zone passing. RUNNING BACKS: C. Carlos Hyde…

August 24, 2014
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Kenneth Acker picks off two passes, Devon Wylie beats Jimmie Ward three times in team drills

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me during Wednesday afternoon’s padded practice. THE GOOD 1. Colin Kaepernick. Completed 22 of 32 pass attempts during team drills. He threw two touchdowns during an 11-on-11 goal line drill – one to Anquan Boldin and one to Asante Cleveland. Kaepernick also got intercepted on a deep pass in the end zone – Perrish Cox jumped and caught the ball over Quinton…

August 13, 2014
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Harbaugh on Lattimore’s injury: “It’s not yet 100 percent, and I say that more from a physical aspect than from a mental.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh was interviewed Sunday morning in the 49ers’ auditorium. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. Yesterday, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said that with RB Marcus Lattimore, it’s as much the mental barrier trying to get back into the swing of things than the physical barrier. How would you assess how he is mentally as far as trying to come back from that knee…

July 27, 2014
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LaMichael James says he weighs 208 pounds

SANTA CLARA – LaMichael James was interviewed Saturday afternoon by Bay Area reporters outside of the 49ers’ locker room. Here is a transcript. Q: Bruce Miller said you’ve been nothing but positive. Is that the mindset you’re taking coming into camp? JAMES: Yeah. If you don’t take that mindset, (training camp) will eat you alive. You come out here, long days – there is no reason to be upset. You’ve…

July 26, 2014
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Bruce Miller on Kendall Hunter: “This year we were really looking to bust him out and use him a lot early.”

SANTA CLARA – Bruce Miller was interviewed Saturday afternoon by Bay Area reporters outside of the 49ers’ locker room. Here is a transcript. Q: Does your heart sink for what happened to Kendall Hunter? MILLER: Yeah. One, just being a close friend, a teammate, a brother – you don’t ever want to see that happen to a guy, especially a guy like Kendall who puts in so much work, so…

July 26, 2014
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Harbaugh: “Kendall Hunter had a great camp.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh was interviewed by Bay Area reporters Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. How would you asses this three-day minicamp? Did you guys get out of it what you wanted to? “Outstanding. Really pleased. Thought our players are getting better and better at multiple positions on our team. Coming out of this feeling really good that we improved as a football team…

June 19, 2014
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LaMichael James’ future with the 49ers

Predict LaMichael James’ future with the 49ers. Does he have one? Will he make the team next season? Will the 49ers trade him during the offseason, or will the 49ers cut him? I don’t think any team will trade even a seventh-round pick for James. Maybe some team will offer one of their busts to the 49ers for James, like when the Chiefs gave Jonathan Baldwin to the Niners for A.J….

April 19, 2014
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Baalke: “I like long arms.”

Trent Baalke held a press conference Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine. Here is a transcript. Q: Frank Gore will count $6 or $7 million against the salary cap this season. Is that reasonable? BAALKE: The simple is there is no reason it can’t be. We’re in a good shape from a cap standpoint. There really is no decision to be made. We can move forward exactly as is if…

February 21, 2014
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49ers grades and projections

This is my Thursday column. Dear player or coach for the San Francisco 49ers, This is your final report card for the 2013 season. Show this to your mother and make sure she signs her name at the bottom. COLIN KAEPERNICK: C+. I assumed you would improve, but you got worse. Somehow you became a less accurate passer, only occasionally hitting a receiver in stride. How did you get less accurate…

February 6, 2014
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49ers 23, Panthers 10: Grades

CHARLOTTE – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 23-10 divisional playoff win over the Panthers. KAEPERNICK: A-. He played terribly before the 49ers defense made their second goal line stand but, then again, most of the Niners played terribly before the second stand. After that, Kaepernick and the rest of the Niners were just about unstoppable. Kaepernick accounted for two touchdowns – a pass to Vernon Davis while rolling…

January 12, 2014
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49ers 23, Cardinals 20: Grades

Here are my grades for the 49ers. They beat the Cardinals 23-20 on a last-second field goal by Phil Dawson. KAEPERNICK: B+. Excellent in the first and fourth quarter, bad in the second and third quarter. He was flagged for a delay-of-game penalty on the final drive of the game, but he also made two beautiful throws on that drive – one to Anquan Boldin for 18 yards and one…

December 29, 2013
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49ers 33, Bucs 14: Grades

Here are my grades for the 49ers’ 33-14 win over the Buccaneers. KAEPERNICK: B+. He was outstanding at improvising and passing on the run. He struggled in the third quarter (3-of-10 passing) when the 49ers asked him to pass almost exclusively from the pocket – his accuracy deteriorated, his passes got tipped and he stared down his first read. But in the fourth quarter, Kaepernick moved outside the pocket and…

December 15, 2013
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49ers 23, Rams 13: Grades

SAN FRANCISCO – Here are the 49ers’ grades for their 23-13 win over the Rams. KAEPERNICK: A-. This was the most accurate Kaepernick has thrown the ball since Week 1 against the Packers. Kaepernick completed 68 percent of his passes for 9.8 yards per attempt against the Rams. My only knock on him is he did not play well on third down – the 49ers converted just 4 of 12…

December 1, 2013
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49ers 20, Saints 23: Grades

NEW ORLEANS – Here are my grades for the 49ers’ 23-20 loss to the Saints. KAEPERNICK: C-. Kaepernick passed the ball well. He was 6-for-15 on third down and 2-for-3 in the red zone. His worst pass was an interception, but it didn’t cost the team anything. Kaepernick ran down the defender and made him dive for the end zone and the defender fumbled the ball out of the back…

November 17, 2013
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Roman on Kaepernick: “There is still an element of, ‘I’m seeing something for the first time.'”

SANTA CLARA – Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript. ROMAN: I know how hard it is to play down there in the dome. They’ve been very successful down there. Their defense is playing at a very high level right now, ranked very high in a lot of different categories. They play complementary team football with their offense and an aggressive scheme. They’re very…

November 14, 2013
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Does Kap struggle with progressions? Harbaugh: “I understand what you’re doing, glomming onto somebody’s opinion.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the defensive meeting room Monday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.   How do you explain what’s happened, as far as the passing game goes, last ranked in the league coming into this game and just really not ever being able to get anything going against the Panthers? “Well, if you look at the last four quarters of…

November 11, 2013
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