49ers 31, Titans 17: Grades

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 31-17 win over the Titans. KAEPERNICK: A-. He threw some extremely accurate passes and ran exceptionally well. His passer rating was 93.2 and his yards-per-carry average was 6.2 – the highest in the game. He gets an A- and not an A because he made two poor throws in the second quarter when the 49ers were up just 3-0. First,…

October 20, 2013
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Harbaugh on Bethel-Thompson: “Very good arm strength, really smart.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers.   You have a new quarterback. Why bring in QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson? “Really, always liked him. Always had a plan for him to be here. He just went to Minnesota after the first year. So, now we’re reconnected. It aligned and we had a chance to get him and put…

October 11, 2013
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Fangio on the Cardinals: “They’ve got a very talented offense in the skill positions.”

SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers.   How do you feel just about the way the defense has rallied these last few weeks with a couple very significant guys out of the lineup? “Well, the guys that have come in and replaced those guys have played well enough for us to keep playing the way we like…

October 10, 2013
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Harbaugh: “We made some big plays in the passing game.”

SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the defensive meeting room Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: Any word on Ray McDonald’s injured bicep? HARBAUGH: Not yet, no. Q: Did anything strike you on film last night about the way your team played last night? HARBAUGH: There was a lot of good, good overall play. Very disciplined, evidenced by the penalties, three penalties and one was a delay of…

October 7, 2013
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49ers 34, Texans 3: Grades

SAN FRANCISCO – Here are my grades for the 49ers’ 34-3 demolition of the entire Texans’ franchise. KAEPERNICK: F+. He gets the plus for hitting a wide-open Vernon Davis on a 64-yard touchdown pass. Besides that play, Kaepernick completed 5-of-14 passes for 49 yards. That’s a 46.4 passer rating and that’s dreadful. At least he didn’t turn over the ball. He’s still hardly looking to throw the ball to anyone…

October 6, 2013
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Fangio on the Texans: “They make their runs and play-action passes look exactly the same.”

SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers.   When you look at the Texans, what sort of jumps out at you about the challenge that they present to you guys? “Well, balance number one. These guys are committed to running the ball and they have a play-action passing game that works directly in conjunction with their running game….

October 3, 2013
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Road game on a Thursday is not the scenario for a 49ers recovery

Here is my Tuesday column on the upcoming 49ers-Rams game. You don’t have to look hard to find reasons to pick the 49ers to beat the Rams Thursday night in St. Louis. Here’s one: The Rams stink. Last Sunday they got destroyed by the Cowboys, a .500 team the past two seasons. And the Rams showed no emotion while they got stomped. It was like they expected it and didn’t…

September 24, 2013
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Fangio: “The quarterback has never gotten any special attention. The passer gets special attention.”

SANTA CLARA – Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript. Q: Nnamdi Asomugha still is in the blue non-contact jersey. What is his availability for Sunday? FANGIO: We’re confident he’ll be able to play on Sunday. Q: Is he the No.3 cornerback? FANGIO: That’s the way we’re thinking about it right now. Q: Are you going to go by matchups for the No.3 guy, or…

September 5, 2013
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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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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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Harbaugh says McCoy is Kaepernick’s backup

SAN FRANCISCO – Here’s what Jim Harbaugh said at the podium after Sunday night’s preseason game, courtesy of the 49ers.   Was that about everything you wanted to see for the third exhibition game? “Yeah. Saw a lot of good football and pleased with the way our guys worked, practiced all week and then came out and played in the game. I thought there was a lot of good football…

August 26, 2013
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49ers 34, Vikings 14: Grades

SAN FRANCISCO – Here are my grades for the 49ers in their 34-14 preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings. QUARTERBACKS: B. Colin Kaepernick played 17 snaps and played well, although he failed in his first appearance in the red zone, getting his pass tipped away on third-and-11 from the 12 yard line. But Kaepernick succeeded in his second red zone appearance. On third-and-goal from the five, Kaepernick rolled right, spotted…

August 25, 2013
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This won’t be a rehearsal, this is a game to shape the 49ers’ roster

Here is my Saturday column previewing the 49ers’ Sunday preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. If you expect the 49ers to treat Sunday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings like a dress rehearsal for the regular season, you may be disappointed. Most NFL teams treat the third exhibition game like a dress rehearsal. The 49ers did that last season – Alex Smith played the entire first half. But, I’ll be…

August 24, 2013
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Harbaugh says Wallace can “do a lot of the things a QB that can move could do in our system.”

Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.   Tell us about the addition of QB Seneca Wallace? How do you see him fitting in here over the next, whatever it is, several weeks of the exhibition season? “I think he hit the ground running. Professional, he’s played in the league, experienced guy. So, going over a lot of things that he is familiar with,…

August 23, 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: Another big practice for Collie, Gray

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me during Thursday evening’s light, non-padded practice. THE GOOD 1. MarQueis Gray – He had a monster practice for the second day in a row. Today, he caught five passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns. He hasn’t dropped a pass all week. He may earn a spot on the 53-man roster. 2. Vernon Davis – He caught five passes for 70…

August 14, 2013
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Harbaugh on Vernon Davis: “Every day he’s outstanding.”

SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Monday morning. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers.   A little bit better showing from the offense yesterday as oppose to at Candlestick? “Yeah that was a real sharp, crisp, tighter practice yesterday. We’ll see if we can’t come back and get two in a row.”   Were there certain players that kind of took responsibility for making…

August 12, 2013
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Training camp report: Kaepernick improves in the red zone

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me at Sunday afternoon’s padded practice. THE GOOD 1. Colin Kaepernick – He was on fire today. He couldn’t miss the deep passes, he had touch on his shorter throws and he scored twice in the red zone. First, he threw a touchdown pass to Chad Hall in the back of the end zone. Next, Kaepernick threw a TD pass to Frank…

August 11, 2013
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Training camp report: Huge day for Lockette and the L-Train

SANTA CLARA – Here is what stood out to me at Tuesday evening’s light, padless practice in which the first-team offense and first-team defense only faced the scout teams. THE GOOD 1. Ricardo Lockette – He had an outstanding practice. He lined up primarily at split end with the scout-team offense, meaning he faced Tarell Brown a lot. Lockette beat Brown for two touchdowns – one was a 20-yard catch…

August 6, 2013
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