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…
SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Getting ready to play a very talented Tampa team. It’s kind of an interesting season for them, certainly. It’s really been an interesting year for a lot of teams. But, they’re playing at a really high level lately. When you turn on the film, these…
SANTA CLARA — Here is the full transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Any challenge getting the guys back up for a game that doesn’t have quite the luster as this one yesterday? “Every game’s a challenge. Every game’s a big task. Tampa’s playing extremely good football right now. I’ve been following them the last month, playing good ball. So, we’re into…
SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke to reporters in the defensive meeting room Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said about Frank Gore’s 51-yard run against the Seahawks, and what Harbaugh said about Michael Crabtree. Q: What did you see when you looked at the film of Gore’s long run at the end of the game? HARBAUGH: It was one of the biggest holes we had on the day to run…
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…
SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript. Opening comments: “Afternoon. Big division game this week. Very good defense we’re about to face starting with their D-line. They’ve got a lot of depth on their D-line. They roll them through, keep them fresh. Do a nice job starting with [Seahawks DT Brandon] Mebane in the middle. Not a guy you hear…
SANTA CLARA – At his Thursday press conference, Greg Roman answered a question about Michael Crabtree. Here is a transcript. Q: On Crabtree’s long play, did you put that in especially for him coming back? Was that installed last week just for that? ROMAN: “A little bit. Yeah, we felt really good about him doing it. For sure. Really saw something that alluded to that being a good play. And…
Michael Crabtree: 6-1, 214 pounds v. Byron Maxwell: 6-1, 207 pounds Both of Crabtree’s catches last week came when the defender was playing off of Crabtree. Crabtree struggled on his releases against press coverage because he doesn’t yet have the quickness needed to beat tight coverage. He should be better against the Seahawks than he was against the Rams with another week of practice under his belt, plus the confidence…
John Clayton was interviewed on Tuesday about the upcoming 49ers-Seahawks game. Here is a transcript. Q: What do you see happening in this game? CLAYTON: I still think Seattle can win because they’re the better team at this stage. I think they go down there hitting them at a good time. Michael Crabtree is not going to be 100 percent because literally he’s having his training camp now. You can…
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…
Here is my Saturday column previewing the upcoming 49ers-Rams game. SANTA CLARA – If the 49ers lose to the Rams on Sunday, you can forget about the 49ers. The 49ers currently cling to the sixth and final NFC playoff seed. The 49ers can’t afford to lose to the Rams and fall behind in the race for the final Wild Card spot. The Rams have improved since the 49ers embarrassed them…
SANTA CLARA — Michael Crabtree spoke in the locker room Friday afternoon. Here is a transcript. Q: Did you gain anything from watching the games on the sideline? CRABTREE: It’s always good to be around the game even though I can’t play. I’m learning every day. I’m all in the quarterbacks’ ears, the receivers’ ears. Just learning. Q: Have you been able to pick up any tips from Anquan Boldin?…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon. Here’s what he said about Michael Crabtree. Q: What did you see from Crabtree this week in practice? HARBAUGH: Good practices. Q: Is he not on the injury report because he’s totally healthy? HARBAUGH: I did not see the injury report. Is he on the injury report? P.R. Director: Nope. Q: All systems go for Sunday? HARBAUGH:…
SANTA CLARA — Colin Kaepernick spoke in the locker room Wednesday afternoon. Here is a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. staff. Who’s been the biggest influence on your leadership style? “My dad.” What has he taught you about leadership? “You just have to be able to relate to people and know how to motivate them.” Any such thing as momentum or is it just game-to-game? “Game-to-game….
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. Here is a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. staff. What’s the WR Michael Crabtree update? “Good meetings this morning. Good sessions there. Bright-eyed and ready to go. Is he ready to play on Sunday? “Wednesday, he’s ready to go on Wednesday it looks like. So, we’ll go out and take a look.” When he practiced last week,…
SANTA CLARA — Colin Kaepernick answered questions in the locker room Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript. Q: The deep passing game hasn’t been effective the past two games. Why hasn’t that come through? KAEPERNICK: It’s a variety of things, whether it is how the defense is playing us or we’re just not hitting things. There is a lot of things that can go into that. Q: Did the Saints…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript. Q: How is Tarell Brown doing? HARBAUGH: Good. Walking around and getting better every day. Q: Did he have cracked ribs? HARBAUGH: He’s working through something. I wouldn’t call them cracked ribs. I’m not going to define it. He’s got an issue he’s working through. It’s going to take him a little bit of…
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…
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…
Here is my Friday column on the 49ers’ upcoming game against the Panthers. SANTA CLARA – I would feel confident picking the 49ers to win on Sunday, but offensive coordinator Greg Roman gives me pause. This is the kind of game he screws up. Roman has had extra time to prepare for the Panthers’ No.2-ranked defense because the 49ers are coming off a bye week. It’s the extra prep time…
