Eric Mangini says Marshawn Lynch is hard to deal with

SANTA CLARA This is the transcript of Eric Mangini’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “We’re following our normal procedures. So, we’re on to third down, red zone today. A little bit more familiarity with Seattle the second time around for our young guys and for everybody in general. So, it will be an exciting game to play, as it always is with these guys.”…

November 19, 2015
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Vic Fangio on the Seahawks: “They’ve evolved into a really good offense.”

This is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ p.r. department. Last week, obviously, we saw that LB Ahmad Brooks was on the sideline. How difficult of a decision was that for you to make? “It was difficult to do, but it was an easy decision. He missed an entire meeting on Tuesday and then was 20 minutes late on Wednesday, so, at that point,…

December 11, 2014
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49ers 3, Seahawks 19: Grades

SANTA CLARA – Jed York can’t blame Vic Fangio for this one — the 49ers’ defense gave up just one touchdown. It was the offense that failed to show up for the third game in a row. Here are the grades. KAEPERNICK: Z. Worst game of his career. His passes were inaccurate, his downfield vision was poor and he forced passes to covered receivers. Is there any doubt which team…

November 27, 2014
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Fangio: “When Wilson has the ball in his hand, he’s like defending Barry Sanders.”

SANTA CLARA — This is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Tuesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. How is DT Justin Smith, his health? “Good.”   He was listed with a back injury. Is that a minor thing? “News to me.”   Do you expect him to play on Thursday, no questions? “It’d be news to me if he didn’t.”   His snaps are a little bit down…

November 25, 2014
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Why mute Marshawn is wrong

This is my Thursday column on Marshawn Lynch. Should you care that Marshawn Lynch refuses to talk to the media? Yes, you should. He’s not honoring his contract, the standard player contract which mandates talking to the media. I understand not caring. Fans don’t like the media. If Lynch wants to bail on interviews, that’s his business. He earns $5 million per year. He can afford to pay the fine….

January 29, 2014
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Fangio on Lynch: “He’s just a great back.”

SANTA CLARA — Here is a transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.   How did CB Carlos Rogers look to you during yesterday’s practice? “He did fine in yesterday’s practice. He took part in about half of it, opened up a few times, looked good running and then we shut him down at that point and hopefully he’ll be able to do a…

January 16, 2014
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A stat to consider about the 49ers

Week 2 when the 49ers played the Seahawks in Seattle, Russell Wilson completed just eight passes and his passer rating was an abysmal 63.9. But the 49ers defense allowed 104 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 read-option runs. Russell Wilson averaged 5 yards per carry (10 yards on 2 read-option runs). And Marshawn Lynch averaged 8 yards per carry (73 yards and 1 TD on 9 read-optoin runs). His backup,…

January 15, 2014
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49ers 19, Seahawks 17: Grades

SAN FRANCISCO – Here are my grades for the 49ers’ 19-17 win over the Seahawks. KAEPERNICK: D+. He was pretty good in the first half and awful for most of the second half until his 8-yard run to seal the win on third-and-7 at the end of the fourth quarter. That’s why I give him the “plus.” He missed wide open receivers all game and completed just 52 percent of…

December 8, 2013
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49ers have home field and motivation — will it be enough?

Here is my Saturday column previewing the upcoming 49ers-Seahawks game. I think the Seahawks will beat the 49ers on Sunday. But I’m going to make a case for the 49ers because they are a good team with a good chance to win. And it’s important to look at an issue from all sides. Almost everything works in the 49ers’ favor: The Seahawks could have an emotional letdown after Monday night’s…

December 7, 2013
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Fangio says Wilson “can run any offense.”

SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript.   How much of Seattle’s success is success on first and second downs to stay in manageable situations, third and short? “Well, it’s a big part of their success. Basically, the big part of their success is they’re balanced. They run the ball on first and second down as much as anybody in the…

December 5, 2013
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49ers flaws were exposed and the rest of the league was watching

Here is my Tuesday column on the issues the 49ers currently face. The Week 1 win against the Packers masked issues on the 49ers, but the Seahawks just tore off the mask. What do we see? The offense is worse than it was last season. Let’s start there. They’re missing key players: Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Delanie Walker and Frank Gore. Yes, Gore is missing. More on him later. Crabtree…

September 17, 2013
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Harbaugh: “We feel like we have a good plan.”

SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon. Here’s a transcript. Q: Are you satisfied with the week of practice? HARBAUGH: Yeah, I think it was a real good week, both teams ready to play. Excited to go up to Seattle and get this game going. Q: What did B.J. Daniels offer as the scout team quarterback this week? HARBAUGH: He did a real nice job….

September 13, 2013
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49ers-Seahawks prediction

I’m saying the Seahawks will beat the 49ers Sunday night and here is why: 1. Vic Fangio’s 49ers defense, avec Justin Smith or sans Justin Smith, has not been able to stop Marshawn Lynch the past two seasons in Seattle. Lynch has averaged 4.64 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns in those two games. 2. Frank Gore hasn’t had a 100-yard rushing game in Seattle since 2006. Over the…

September 13, 2013
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Harbaugh: “I get a kick out of every week, watching our team compete.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers.   WR Kassim Osgood is back on the team, what do you expect from him? “He is. I expect major contributions on special teams.”   Will he be a gunner? “He’ll be a core player.”   What weighed into the decision to put LB Nick Moody on short-term IR rather than…

September 11, 2013
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Is Harbaugh correct about the new read-option rules being “flawed and biased”? Carroll says, “No, not at all.”

SANTA CLARA – Pete Carroll spoke to Bay Area reporters on a conference call Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: What were your impressions of the 49ers’ Week 1? CARROLL: They couldn’t have been much more explosive in the throwing game. It was a fantastic day for the quarterback, a great breakout day for Anquan Boldin in the new uniform. Vernon Davis was no surprise, he did great. They…

September 11, 2013
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Seahawks-49ers unmatched as rivalry

Here is my Tuesday column on the Seahawks-49ers rivalry. The 49ers and the Seahawks have the best rivalry in sports right now, and it isn’t even close. Here are the top five reasons why: 1. They are two of the best teams in the NFL. 2. They are in the same division. 3. Their head coaches hate each other. 4. Their players hate the other team’s coach. 5. Their players…

June 18, 2013
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49ers vs. Seahawks: Which team is better right now?

Many of my readers have been comparing and contrasting the 49ers and Seahawks this week, so I thought it would be interesting to break down the two clubs by offensive, defensive and special teams units. In other words, at this point in free agency which team has the better starting QB? Which team has the better backup QB? Which team has the better group of running backs? And so on….

March 19, 2013
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Cosell: “Crabtree has become a big-time NFL receiver.”

Greg Cosell spoke on KNBR Thursday morning. Here’s what he said about the 49ers and the Falcons. Q: Was Kaepernick’s record-breaking performance aided by an awful Packers defense? COSELL: I think that’s fair. I think the numbers reflect that. He had three scrambled in the first half for 53 yards. All of them came against man-to-man coverage concepts. Two of those plays they doubled Michael Crabtree. I think that playing…

January 17, 2013
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Why the Packers are a lucky draw for the 49ers

The 49ers are lucky they get to play the Packers on Saturday night and not the Seahawks or the Redskins. Why? Let me list the reasons. 1. The Seahawks and the Redskins have two of the best running backs in the NFL. The 49ers run defense has been mediocre to bad recently. They do not want to face Marshawn Lynch or Alfred Morris. They want to face the Packers subpar…

January 5, 2013
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