The 49ers play the Cardinals in Arizona Monday night. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups every day. The 49ers pass rush vs. the Cardinals offensive line and QB John Skelton The Niners have really struggled to sack the quarterback this season. They’re tied for 24th in sacks with just 11. Pro Football Focus ranks them 17th in overall pass rush. On the other hand, the…
I just want to point one thing out: Jim Harbaugh owns Pete Carroll. Harbaugh is 5-1 coaching against Carroll all-time, including a 3-0 record in the NFL and a four-game win streak going back to their collegiate match ups. It seems Carroll is always one step behind Harbaugh. Carroll brings in Harbaugh’s former players – like Braylon Edwards and Doug Baldwin and Richard Sherman – as if to get some…
Here’s the question of the week: Should Frank Gore play against the Cardinals? He bruised his ribs in the second quarter against the Seahawks last week. He practiced on Monday and he says he can play against the Cardinals, but he probably will not be 100 percent healthy. The 49ers need Gore in December and January for their Super Bowl run. It would be wise to rest him in the…
SANTA CLARA – Second-round pick LaMichael James, who has not played this season, spoke in the 49ers locker room Monday afternoon about his development. Here’s what he said. Q: You haven’t played yet this season. You didn’t play much your first year at the University of Oregon, either. Have the two experiences felt similar? JAMES: It’s the exact same thing. I went to Oregon and I had to work my…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said about a few of his own players. Q: Frank Gore has 103 carries through seven games. Is that about what you want from him workload-wise? He’s carried the ball considerably less than he had at this point last year. HARBAUGH: No, didn’t have a number in mind. Q: Generally speaking, did you want him…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Jim Harbaugh said Monday about the 49ers upcoming match up against the Arizona Cardinals. Q: Did you prepare at all for the Arizona Cardinals last week? HARBAUGH: Yeah, and it’s ongoing. We did some of it on Friday, and that continues today and tomorrow, and then the next day and the day after that. Q: Your players have four days off in a five-day period….
On Friday, Jim Harbaugh was asked about the Seattle Seahawks cornerbacks “locking up” the 49ers wide receiver with physical play Thursday night. Harbaugh answered by suggesting the cornerbacks – Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner – were holding the Niners receivers. Here’s exactly what Harbaugh said: “I wouldn’t use the words ‘locked up.’ There’s another word I would use. But, we’ll take that up with the officials in New York, and…
I’m passing along Pro Football Focus’ player rankings for the 49ers because I think you’ll find them fascinating. If you want to know how PFF grades players, you can read that here. If you want to see the grades, you have to purchase their premium stats. According to Pro Football Focus, Joe Staley currently ranks as the best run-blocking tackle in the NFL by far. Alex Boone and Mike Iupati…
There’s been a lot of discussion here the past few days about whether 49ers’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman is doing a good enough job getting the ball to his best player in the passing game – tight end Vernon Davis. When designing a passing game, an offensive coordinator has what are called “people passes,” and then he also has “patterns” that have progressions that can be influenced by coverage. For…
The 49ers’ record is 5-2, but their offense still isn’t that good – it has scored 13-or-fewer points in three of their first seven games. Which brings me to the question of the day: Who is offensive coordinator Greg Roman, and what is his coaching history? Here it is, as provided by the 49ers media guide. 2009-10: Tight Ends/Offensive Tackles/Running Game Coordinator, Stanford. More from the 49ers media guide: “Roman’s…
I’ve been watching the coaches’ film of the 49ers 13-6 win over the Seattle Seahawks this morning. I’ve been looking for the Y-Stick and the Y-Stick Lookie. Those are basic pass plays designed for the tight end – Vernon Davis. He runs a quick hitch in the middle of the field. The quarterback takes a three-step drop from undercenter and throws the ball to Davis. It’s an easy way to…
Yesterday I asked Jim Harbaugh about the percentages of coach involvement in the offensive game planning on a weekly basis, and surprisingly, Harbaugh said it’s primarily a Greg Roman production. If the 49ers offense has a bad game, that means Roman missed or misread something when analyzing his opponent during his game planning. Bill Walsh was the sole game planner in his first tenure at Stanford and for the Niners,…
SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke to Bay Area reporters in the 49ers’ defensive meeting room Friday afternoon. Here’s what he said about Vernon Davis’ performance against the Seahawks. HARBAUGH: “Vernon had one of his best games. His blocking was outstanding. Certainly, the touchdown block highlights it, but he’s blocking Red Bryant pretty consistently the entire game. He just did one heck of a job and allowed our center, our…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Jim Harbaugh said Friday about Alex Smith’s injured middle finger on this throwing hand. Not committing a turnover has been a big emphasis for this team and QB Alex Smith after being stellar in that last year, four interceptions in the last two games. What do you most attribute that to? “Well, we had one game that was out of our character, out of…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Jim Harbaugh said Friday about the 49ers’ 13-6 win over the Seattle Seahawks Thursday night. Last night you talked about it being the most physical 30 minutes. RB Frank Gore was talking about playing through bruised ribs. Can you just talk about how well he played with that injury and what you saw out of him last night? “Yeah, great game from Frank. Tough…
Vernon Davis, the most explosive player on the 49ers offense, caught zero passes in the 49ers 13-6 win over the Seahawks. Alex Smith didn’t throw it to him once. After the game, Davis told the San Francisco Chronicle: “Nothing’s there. When I run my corner routes the cornerback is dropping to the corner. They are just taking stuff away, some of my explosive routes and stuff.” Ironically, various 49er players…
SAN FRANCISCO — Frank Gore was the star of the 49ers 13-6 win over the Seattle Seahawks. He spoke at the podium after the game, and here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers. Did you have the feeling that the game was going to be like this, where you get the ball a lot? “I just felt like whenever my coach called my number, I tried my best….
SAN FRANCISCO — Here’s the transcript of Alex Smith’s post-game press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. How does it feel, taking care of the business in the division? “Yeah, great. All you care about is coming out with a W. Short week, getting ready, a division game. A lot of history between these two teams. Anyway, anything to get it done, whatever it took. ” What changed in…
SAN FRANCISCO — Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s post-game press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. What most impressed you about tonight’s victory? “That was the most physical 30 minutes of football, in that second half, that I’ve ever seen our team play. And just really, really pleased the way they covered kicks all night. The way we played defense. The way we played offense. The way we moved…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers beat the Seahawks 13-6. Here are the grades for the 49ers’ coaches. Coaching: A. The story of this game is the offensive adjustments Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman made at halftime. They only called 10 rushing plays in the first half – not enough – and as a result the 49ers were losing by three at halftime. In the second half, the 49ers ran the…
