49ers 41, Chargers 6: Grades

Here are my grades for the 49ers in their 41-6 preseason win over the San Diego Chargers. QUARTERBACKS: B+. Colin Kaepernick completed three short passes and then left the game. Colt McCoy was decent, completing 8-of-15 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.  His longest completion was a 12-yarder. B.J. Daniels played well, better than McCoy. Daniels completed 5-of-9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown, and he ran 6…

August 29, 2013
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Harbaugh says he “believes” Patrick Willis will start Week 1 against the Packers

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers.   Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was telling me that you guys decided on S Eric Reid as the starting safety. What has he shown you to earn that role heading into the regular season? “Just everything we talked about, he’s been good. He’s shown that he’s picked up the system…

August 27, 2013
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Vic Fangio names Eric Reid the 49ers’ starting free safety

SANTA CLARA – Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. FANGIO: I just want to let you guys know we’re going to miss Parys (Haralson) here. I want to laud his career here and his stay here. He was a great teammate, a great friend of the organization, a really good player and we’re all happy for him that he’s going to be able…

August 27, 2013
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49ers trade Haralson to Saints for conditional seventh round pick

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers just traded outside linebacker Parys Haralson. The San Jose Mercury News tweets the 49ers traded him to the Saints. Haralson just walked through the 49ers’ locker room, said goodbye to his teammates and declined all interviews. Here’s a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Kaplan: “Don’t know what the 49ers got in return for Haralson, but talk in league circles is he would have been released by…

August 26, 2013
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Fangio on Reid: “We’ll probably start him in this game coming up and we’ll see how he does with that.”

SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers.   What’s your feeling about this depth? It seems to be developing across the board. In these first two preseason games it seems like everybody you put in will do well defensively. “Yes, we’ve been able to develop some good depth at some places, other places not as quality as…

August 19, 2013
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49ers 15, Chiefs 13: Grades

My grades for the 49ers’ 15-13 preseason victory over the Chiefs: QUARTERBACKS: D. Colin Kaepernick completed one of two passes for negative three yards. He overthrew the one pass he attempted downfield. Colt McCoy and Scott Tolzien were horrible. McCoy threw an interception and Tolzien averaged just 3.8 yards per pass attempt. If those two keep playing like that, the 49ers won’t be able to trade either one for a…

August 16, 2013
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Training camp report: Jenkins shut out, Brown moves to nickelback

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me during Monday afternoon’s padded practice. THE GOOD 1. Tarell Brown – He returned to practice after missing the last two and was the starting nickelback in place of Carlos Rogers. Brown gave up just one catch while playing nickelback – a 15-yard completion to Austin Collie. 2. Aldon Smith –He sat out for an hour during the middle portion of team…

August 12, 2013
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Too early to worry, but 49ers show they have issues to solve

Here is my Friday column about what we learned in the 49ers’ first preseason game. It’s almost impossible to evaluate the 49ers’ starters after their first preseason game. We don’t know how much the 49ers game planned for the Broncos – probably not very much. And the starters played just one series. Frank Gore and Justin Smith did not play at all. That should change next week. Gore should get…

August 9, 2013
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Fangio says Brock has “been doing OK” in training camp

SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the 49ers’ media tent Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers.   What have you seen from CB Tramaine Brock here since he’s taken over that number thee job? “He’s been doing OK. He’s had some plays that he’s missed on his assignments and exact pickups, but, he’s been improving on that as we go through this whole entire week….

August 6, 2013
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Fangio on Justin Smith: “He looks fine.”

SANTA CLARA – Vic Fangio spoke to Bay Area reporters Friday morning. Here’s what he said. Q: How does it feel to start training camp and have everyone back? FANGIO: It’s good. All offseason we didn’t have Ahmad, Justin and Aldon out there. It was limited what Ray did, so it’s nice to have them all back out there playing real football, although we don’t have the pads on. We…

July 26, 2013
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How will 49ers react to Ahmad Brooks situation?

Here is my Wednesday column on Ahmad Brooks. Dear Jed York, We understand the population of NFL players is no different from the general population. There are people who do bad things. One of your players did a bad thing around 2 a.m June 8. Two of your rookies, Lawrence Okoye and Michael Purcell, according to the Sacramento Bee, saw Ahmad Brooks hit your practice squad player, Lamar Divens, with…

July 3, 2013
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49ers’ mini-camp: Day 2 – Asomugha dominates, Boldin does not finish practice

SANTA CLARA – Here is what stood out to me at Day 2 of the 49ers’ mini-camp. If you have questions about anything else that happened at practice, ask me in the comment section. THE GOOD 1. Nnamdi Asomugha – Played left cornerback for the first team defense and did not give up a completion in full-speed team drills. Asomugha broke up two passes from Colt McCoy in a three-play…

June 12, 2013
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Fangio on Carradine, Reid, Asomugha, Rogers and more

SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Vic Fangio said Wednesday afternoon, courtesy of the 49ers.   So, offensive coordinator Greg Roman had said yesterday, obviously he’d been through two offensive installs already and it was more for him about execution. What is it about for you during this mini-camp with the defense? “Well, the mini-camp is just a continuation of the OTAs where we’re installing our defense. Teaching the assignments, the…

June 12, 2013
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Projecting the 49ers’ DL depth chart in 2013 and 2014

What will the 49ers’ DL depth chart look like in 2013 and 2014? Here’s my best guess, and I’m interested to read yours as well. 2013 BASE ROLB, or “Leo” or standing rusher – Aldon Smith (although Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio could choose to play Parys Haralson here to keep Aldon Smith fresh for the sub packages, like 2011). RDE or Under tackle – Justin Smith, Glenn Dorsey NT or…

April 30, 2013
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Grant’s 49ers mock offseason: 1.0

Many of you have asked me for my best guess about what the 49ers will do in free agency and the draft. This is my first best guess. I’ll make subsequent best guesses in the coming weeks. The 49ers will cut David Akers and Parys Haralson to create cap space to give the franchise tag to Dashon Goldson. Goldson probably wants a five-year contract worth about $8 million per year….

February 19, 2013
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49ers sign Haggans, put Haralson on IR

The 49ers announced today that they’ve signed 35-year-old outside linebacker Clark Haggans to a one-year contract. He will take Parys Haralson’s roster spot, because Haralson was placed on the Injured Reserve list this afternoon. Haralson seemed to injure his left arm against the Denver Broncos in the third preseason game, but his specific injury is unknown. Haggans will have a hearing with the NFL on Wednesday for a 2011 DUI…

September 3, 2012
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Fangio says the defense can be as good or better than last year, “but it might not show on paper.”

SANTA CLARA – Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio talked about what makes NaVarro Bowman and Carlos Rogers so good, the Niners cornerback competition and how good the defense can be this year. Here’s a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. What are some of the things that have allowed LB NaVorro Bowman to emerge as an All-Pro, as such a young player, in his second year, last year? And also, you have…

August 1, 2012
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Vic Fangio on the state of the Niners defense entering training camp

SANTA CLARA – Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent today, and here’s a transcript of what he said, courtesy of the 49ers.   How much more of the defense are you going to be able to install with this training camp compared to last year? “Not much more. We pretty much got everything we wanted to put in last year. And then as a matter of fact,…

July 28, 2012
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Aldon Smith on learning new positions

SANTA CLARA – Last season, Aldon Smith played about half of the Niners’ defensive snaps and recorded a whopping 16 sacks. This offseason he’s working to become an every-down player, and today he talked to reporters about his progress. Here’s what he said. Q: How’s the transition going to being an every-down guy? ALDON SMITH: It’s going good so far. I’m enjoying the learning process and the watching-myself-get-better process. Q:…

June 13, 2012
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How NFL offenses might try to attack the Niners defense next season

If you were the offensive coordinator for another NFL team, how would you try to attack the 49ers defense next season? There may not be a good way to attack them – they’re the best defense in football – but I came up with a list of do’s and don’ts. Tell me if you agree or if there’s something you’d add. Do not attempt to establish the run first because…

May 20, 2012
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