The 49ers play the Giants at Candlestick on Sunday. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups per day. The 49ers running attack vs. the Giants run defense This is a lopsided match up. The 49ers average 6.1 yards per rush – that’s No.1 in the league by almost a full yard per carry. The Giants defense allows 4.5 yards per carry – 25th best in the…
SAN FRANCISCO — Alex Smith’s post game press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. On his experience throwing out the first pitch last night for the SF Giants: “Yeah I was keeping the ball down, isn’t that what good pitchers do? I was working the count, I had an open base… Yeah, it was great. Last night was awesome, obviously. All jokes aside, it was great. Today though, this was…
SAN FRANCISCO — Greg Roman’s post game press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Feeling pretty good after that performance? “It was a good performance. I think we left some out there. We had some frustrating penalties in the first half. But, we came in at halftime, regrouped. Just decided we were going to start over. That turnover before the half I think was big, to get it in there….
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers blew out the Bills by 41 points, but the game was close late into the second quarter. With a minute until halftime the Bills were losing by seven points and they had the ball. They had just put together an 80-yard field goal drive against the 49ers elite defense. They were fighting and they were having some success. But then Patrick Willis stripped Scott Chandler,…
SAN FRANCISCO — Here are the grades for the 49ers 45-3 demolition of the Bills – a truly awful team. Quarterbacks: A. Alex Smith had the best statistical performance of his career. His QB rating was a near-perfect 156.2. He also rushed 3 times for 49 yards. He completed 18-of-24 passes, but only two passes were bad – a screen he threw too early to Kendall Hunter, and an overthrown…
SAN FRANCISCO — This is the live blog for the 49ers Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills. I’ll update this frequently with observations and analysis from the press box. 12:00 First surprise of the day: Brandon Jacobs will not play. He’s inactive. The other 49ers inactives are A.J. Jenkins, LaMichael James, Scott Tolzien, Trenton Robinson, Joe Looney and Ian Williams. The Bills inactives: Tarvaris Jackson, Johnny White, Delano Howell, Kirk…
Alex Smith will throw out the first pitch tonight at AT&T Park for the San Francisco Giants’ playoff game against the Cincinnati Reds. A few hours before the game, the Giants’ manager, Bruce Bochy, was asked about Smith throwing out the first pitch: “This club has a lot of 49er fans. We may take a look at him, too. He’s got a pretty good arm,” Bochy said, giggling.
My Week 5 NFL picks. Dolphins @ Bengals: Dolphins. Miami’s offense averages 4.6 yards per carry. Cincinnati’s defense allows a league-high 5.4 yards per carry. They won’t be able to stop Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas. Miami will win the time of possession and dictate the flow of the game. Packers @ Colts: Packers. To beat the Packers, you need a good defense. The Colts don’t have one. They give…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon. He talked about meeting Willie Mays, playing three home games in a row and the role of motivational speaking in coaching. Harbaugh even quoted Napoleon. Here’s the transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. We haven’t talked to you since you had your special visitor here on Wednesday, number 24 Willie Mays. How was that? “It was awesome. It…
The 49ers will dismantle the Bills on Sunday, just take them apart. The Bills defense can’t stop the run – they give up an average of 4.8 yards per attempt. I expect the following sequence to happen more than once: Frank Gore up the middle for five yards on first and ten; Kendall Hunter up the middle for four yards on second and five; Brandon Jacobs up the middle for…
SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman’s Thursday press conference transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening Statement: “Good afternoon. Really proud of how our guys finished out that road trip and we’re back here working on the Bills. Got a lot of respect for what we’re seeing of the Bills. They had tough second half the other day, but really it’s just as much a credit to the team they were…
SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. You played a couple teams earlier in the year that liked to spread you out, a lot of multiple receivers. Are the Bills the same way? “They play a lot of three wide receiver formations, yes. They do.” Is that similar to what the Packers and Lions did? “In some degrees, the formations are similar….
SANTA CLARA – Vernon Davis gazed at my computer screen and said, “I see I hold a lot of anger on the side of my face.” We were standing next to each other outside the 49ers locker room in the shade. I was holding my laptop in my left arm and we were looking at the self portrait he painted when he was a 22-year-old junior at the University of…
The 49ers play the Bills at Candlestick on Sunday. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups every day. Split end Steve Johnson (6-2, 210 pounds) vs. Right cornerback Tarell Brown (5-10, 193 pounds) Brown has struggled in his second season as a starter. He’s been targeted 18 times and he’s allowed 15 catches for an average of 14.7 yards per catch according to Pro Football Focus….
SANTA CLARA – Donte Whitner spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. He broke down the Bills quarterback – Ryan Fitzpatrick. Whitner discussed the keys to defending the Bills’ offensive playmakers. And Whitner explained why he knew Colin Kaepernick would play against the Jets. Here’s a transcript. Q: Who’s the guy the defense needs to watch against the Bills? WHITNER: In this game it’s Steve Johnson, No.13. He was there…
SANTA CLARA — Wednesday at his locker, Alex Smith answered questions about throwing deep passes, among other things. Here’s a complete transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. Can you talk about just the challenge that the Bills bring? Head Coach Jim Harbaugh called them the best defensive line you guys have faced. “Yeah, extremely talented on the defensive side of the ball, across the board. It starts up front with their…
SANTA CLARA – Wednesday in the media tent, Jim Harbaugh answered questions about the Buffalo Bills, Colin Kaepernick, Alex Boone, the rookies, Randy Moss and more. Here’s a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. The Bills obviously had a pretty rugged second half last week against the Patriots. What do you see from them? Obviously, they have challenging players on that side of the ball. What did you see from…
SANTA CLARA – I was standing by myself in the mostly-empty 49ers locker room at lunchtime when Jim Harbaugh walked in eating a hot dog. I had my back turned and didn’t notice when he approached me. “It’s got to be killing you to be here today,” he said. “Why’s that?” I asked. I didn’t know what he was talking about. “Don’t you want to be at the A’s game?!”…
Here’s the second installment of the 49ers team MVP standings. To read the first installment, click here. Vernon Davis: The best player on the team, but he isn’t even the leading receiver. That’s Michael Crabtree, who has been targeted 31 times by Alex Smith. Still, Davis has caught 4 touchdowns in just 22 targets, and he’s an elite blocker. NaVorro Bowman: The best linebacker in the NFL. He’s giving up…
Here’s Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. Sorry I am posting this so late. My dad and I returned from New York late last night, and I wanted to post my previous blog first. You can read it here. Opening statement: “Good morning. Good to be back, back here in our facility and back in California, and 3-1. It’s good, positive.” What was it…
