Jerry Rice demonstrates how to practice like a winner, but the 49ers don’t follow his example

SANTA CLARA This is what stood out to me during practice Monday morning. THE AMAZING 1. 54-year-old Hall-of-Fame WR Jerry Rice. The 49ers invited Jerry Rice and Steve Young to speak to the players before practice. After they spoke, Young watched practice from the sideline for 15 minutes then left, while Rice joined the players on the field and practiced like he was a member of the team. Rice wore…

August 14, 2017
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Brian Hoyer has a perfect practice at 49ers training camp

1 SANTA CLARA Here’s what stood out to me during practice Saturday morning. THE GOOD 1. QB Brian Hoyer. As far as what Hoyer could control, he was perfect. Of his six incompletions, one was a drop by Pierre Garcon, two were throw-aways and three were pass breakups by cornerbacks. Hoyer threw zero bad passes. Overall, he completed 13 of 19 (68 percent), and he wasn’t just dinking and dunking….

July 29, 2017
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49ers 13, Seahawks 29: Grades

SEATTLE Here are the grades for the San Francisco 49ers’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. GABBERT: B. Played better than he did during his first start for the Niners two weeks ago against the Atlanta Falcons. This week, Gabbert faced a top Seahawks defense, threw for 264 yards and a touchdown while making no major mistakes and getting sacked only twice even though he had no running game. RUNNING…

November 22, 2015
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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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Eric Mangini on defending the Seahawks: “It’s a question of how much of the dime packages would you want to be in.”

This is the transcript of Eric Mangini’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “We are full-bore moving along, short week, a lot to do, a lot to do today. Trying to get as much as we can in the classroom and then as much as we can through the physical activity that we’re doing, but obviously it’s tempo’d down. We’re only a couple days out…

October 20, 2015
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49ers’ NaVorro Bowman a shell of his former self

This is my Wednesday column. SANTA CLARA NaVorro Bowman is not good anymore. This is the saddest story on the San Francisco 49ers. It’s painful to watch this proud warrior play like a scrub. Bowman used to be the Niners’ best player. When they would use their “dime” defense — six defensive backs and one linebacker — Bowman was the one linebacker. Patrick Willis, one of the greatest linebackers of…

October 13, 2015
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Eric Mangini: “We try to give sameness and likeness every week.”

SANTA CLARA — This is the transcript of Eric Mangini’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “So, we are full-go on Green Bay. Obviously, another really, really good quarterback, another really, really good offense, very effective in running. What they do, and I’m sure you watched the game Monday night, he’s so effective with cadence, with his pre-snap reads in terms of evaluating what you’re…

October 1, 2015
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49ers 7, Cardinals 47: Grades

Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 47-7 meltdown against the Cardinals. KAEPERNICK: F. Killed his team’s spirit by throwing two pick-sixes to start the game. You could see it in the 49ers’ faces on the sideline during the first quarter – they had no energy, no emotion, no belief in their ability to win. And no belief in their quarterback. After the second pick-six, the coaching staff didn’t let…

September 27, 2015
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Eric Mangini on the 49ers defense: “It’s a group of guys that are, for the most part, new to each other.”

This is the transcript of Eric Mangini’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Good morning everybody. We are deep into Arizona, another challenging opponent coming up here, leading the league in scoring at this point and good group of skill players, good backs, good quarterback. The line has done a really nice job protecting the quarterback, so it’ll be a good challenge for us.”  …

September 24, 2015
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What we learned about the 49ers in Week 1

Here’s my Thursday column. Breaking down the 49ers before Week 1 this year was like trying to see San Francisco through the fog. It’s Week 2 now, and the fog has lifted. What do we see? 1. NaVorro Bowman is NaVorro Bowman Apparently, NaVorro Bowman is not a human being. He’s some other life form, perhaps from the NaVorro Galaxy. A human being wouldn’t be able to play every snap…

September 16, 2015
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Jim Tomsula: “I’m excited about the energy level, the attention to detail. The practices have been crisp and sharp.”

Here is the transcript of Jim Tomsula’s Saturday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Injuries, the only guy we have to talk about is [CB] Tramaine Brock. He’s been limited. We’ve limited him the last couple of days. I feel really good about him. We’re just trying to be smart and make sure we’re ready to go.”   Would you list him as probable or questionable?…

September 12, 2015
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49ers’ third exhibition may answer questions…or not

This is my Saturday column. The 49ers’ preseason game Saturday against the Denver Broncos almost matters. It’s the third preseason game, the dress rehearsal. Both teams’ starters probably will play the entire first half so they can get in rhythm and feel confident for the regular season. Here are the top-three things to watch about the 49ers. 1. The first-string offense Twelve teams have yet to score a touchdown with…

August 28, 2015
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Jim Tomsula on Ahmad Brooks: “We’ve all known about this, the potential of things so this is nothing new to us.”

Here is a transcript of head coach Jim Tomsula’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “[S Craig] Dahl, [LB Philip] Wheeler and [TE Vance] McDonald didn’t practice. You knew that. [LB Nick] Moody got a little tweak on the knee. I just talked to him, seems like that’s fine. Haven’t gotten to the trainer yet. And [CB Tramaine Brock] T-Brock pulled a muscle, I just…

August 27, 2015
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Jim Tomsula: “Honestly, I don’t know the first thing about grass.”

SANTA CLARA — Here’s a transcript of head coach Jim Tomsula’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Good afternoon. Injury report; [DL Glenn] Dorsey we are still, we’re staying on that. Looking good though, looking real good. You see him out there running around and pushing and pulling, so feeling good there. [WR Bruce] Ellington in the process, [LB Philip] Wheeler in the process, we’re…

August 21, 2015
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49ers training camp report: Day 9

SANTA CLARA – Here are the highlights of the 49ers’ fifth padded practice of training camp. THE GOOD 1. ILB NaVorro Bowman. During an 11 on 11 fourth-down drill, Bowman tagged Colin Kaepernick for a sack when Kaepernick was scrambling toward the sideline. After Bowman tagged him, Kaepernick threw a deep pass across his body to Anquan Boldin, who caught the ball for a gain of about 40 yards. After…

August 11, 2015
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49ers training camp report: Day 5

SANTA CLARA – Here are the highlights from the 49ers’ second padded practice of training camp. THE GOOD 1. ILB NaVorro Bowman. Struggled in man coverage during OTAs and minicamp, but didn’t struggle in man coverage today. On the third play of 11-on-11’s Colin Kaepernick attempted a short pass to running back Jarryd Hayne. Bowman read Kaepernick’s eyes, dove in front of the pass and knocked it away with the…

August 5, 2015
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Eric Mangini on Jim Tomsula: “He cares deeply about (the players) and that resonates, I believe, in the locker room.”

SANTA CLARA — Here is the transcript of defensive coordinator Eric Mangini’s Saturday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. LB NaVorro Bowman prepared for this and you’ve got to be excited to see what he does back on the field? “He’s been great. He had a really good spring. I’ve gotten to know NaVorro a little bit since I’ve been here, but it’s different when you start coaching…

August 1, 2015
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Is Eric Reid the best player on the 49ers defense?

Who will be the 49ers’ best defensive player in 2015? I don’t think it will be inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman. He was the Niners’ best defensive player in 2013, but I don’t expect him to play anywhere near that level just one year after missing a season due to a torn ACL and MCL. I don’t think outside linebacker Aldon Smith will be the 49ers’ best defensive player, either. I…

July 27, 2015
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5 things to know about the 49ers before camp opens

This is my training-camp preview for the 49ers. The 49ers may be on the downswing. This offseason, they fired a top-notch coaching staff and lost almost a dozen veterans and leaders. Who will fill those voids? That’s just one key question the Niners face. Here are five more they’ll face during training camp: 1. Is Jim Tomsula a competent head coach? He’s never even been a coordinator in the NFL….

July 22, 2015
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49ers know questions, but can they find answers?

This is my Sunday column. Remember dead week in college before finals? This is dead six weeks for the San Francisco 49ers. They have the next month and a half off to prepare for the exam that will make or break their 2015 season. What questions will be on that test when the Niners arrive for training camp? In ascending order of importance, here are the top five questions the…

June 20, 2015
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