I’ve posted the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers, below. Here are the salient points: The Niners never “pursued” Peyton Manning, they merely “evaluated” him. If they had signed Manning, they wouldn’t have paid nearly as much as the Broncos paid – $96 million over five years. If they had signed Manning, they still would have signed Alex Smith, and the two would have competed…
This is the final installment of our NFC West matchup preview. Today we’re breaking down how the Niners match up with the St. Louis Rams. Tomorrow we’ll break down their matchup with the New England Patriots. 49ERS DEFENSE VS. RAMS OFFENSE: This matchup isn’t close. The Niners have a great defense and the Rams have a terrible offense. St. Louis got shut out twice in their final five games last…
We’ve broken down the Niners matchups with the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. Now let’s break down their matchup with another rival – the Arizona Cardinals. 49ERS DEFENSE VS. CARDINALS OFFENSE: The Niners pass rush is young, excellent and improving, and the Cardinals pass protection is no good. They gave up 52 sacks last season, 2nd worst in the NFL. They gave up four to the Niners –…
If you don’t know about the Alex Smith-Cam Newton-Jon Beason brouhaha, you can read the full story here. Let me share the main points: In response to a question about passing yards this week, Alex Smith got a bit defensive and out of character when he said this: “I could absolutely care less on yards per game. I think that is a totally overblown stat because if you’re losing games…
Yesterday we broke down how the Niners match up with the Green Bay Packers. Today, let’s check out how they match up with their main NFC West rivals – the Seattle Seahawks. 49ERS DEFENSE VS. SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: Seattle signed Aaron Rodgers’ backup and Mike McCarthy’s newest quarterback protégé, Matt Flynn. Although he’s only started two games in his NFL career, he’s performed marvelously in both of those games and many…
Here is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Recently Harbaugh’s had the pattern of pumping up certain players. Last week he announced that Michael Crabtree has the best hands he’s ever seen on a wide receiver. Last season he called Alex Smith a Pro Bowl quarterback. Today, he’s pumping up his right guard, right tackle and backup quarterback. I don’t know why Harbaugh chooses…
As we examine the details of team building this offseason, let’s also look at the big picture, just for fun. How do the Niners match up against the Green Bay Packers, their first opponent next season? NINERS DEFENSE VS. PACKERS OFFENSE: Green Bay may have the best offense in the NFL, but it doesn’t match up well with the Niners defense because Green Bay’s offensive line simply isn’t good enough….
Kyle Williams spoke today outside of the 49ers locker room in Santa Clara. If you’d like to read the entire transcript of what he said, you can read it over at Matt Barrows’ blog. Williams addressed his two lost fumbles against the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game. He said he’s put them behind him because he’s focused on the upcoming season and his teammates have supported him….
Last season it was a fact of life that the Niners had a great defense and the Raiders had an atrocious one. The Niners ranked fourth in yards allowed and second in points allowed. Exemplary. The Raiders ranked 29th in yards allowed and 29th in points allowed. Putrid. But there was one key stat in which they were similar – opponents’ passer rating. The Niners graded out towards the top…
This is a companion piece to the blog I wrote yesterday on how offenses might try to attack the Niners defense. I write this to start discussion. I am not giving away any secrets, not that I know any secrets. NFL teams already know these things, and so do the Niners – they self-evaluate all the time. Now that the 49ers are not sneaking up on anybody, here are five…
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…
Who are the top-five head coaches in the NFL? Let’s start the discussion by listing coaches who used to be in the top-five but aren’t any more: Jeff Fisher, Mike Shanahan and Sean Payton. Am I leaving anyone out? Fisher’s a defensive guy who hasn’t coached a dominant defense in quite a while. Shanahan’s an offensive guy who hasn’t coached a dominant offense since John Elway was a quarterback. And…
Nothing’s going on at Niners headquarters this week, we’ve broken down the offense, now let’s talk about the defense. It’s the best defense in the league – we know that. It has no weak links. Last year I wrote that Dashon Goldson was the weak link, and that was pretty silly, I admit. The entire starting lineup is strong. We know there are two great players – Justin Smith and…
I’m waiting to hear from the Niners about media availability this week, but as a prelude to that here’s something for you to think about. We don’t know if the offense will be better this year, but let’s assume it is indeed better. How will it be better? Here are five ways. 1. The Niners got fast receivers who can beat single coverage – Randy Moss and Mario Manningham. At…
1. New York Giants Key losses: WR Mario Manningham, RB Brandon Jacobs, TE Jake Ballard (microfracture knee surgery). Key additions: RB David Wilson, WR Rueben Randle, WLB Keith Rivers, TE Martellus Bennett. Forecast: The champs got better. Wilson is an upgrade over Jacobs, and Randle is an upgrade over Manningham. 2. New England Patriots Key losses: DE Andre Carter, DE Shaun Ellis, DE Mark Anderson, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB Kevin…
I’m linking to my dad’s Saturday column. He drove down to Santa Clara with me this morning and he wrote on A.J. Jenkins’ decision to skip graduation and participate in the Niners rookie mini camp. I thought you’d find the column interesting. To read it, click here.
SANTA CLARA – At certain points in this morning’s Rookie Mini Camp, first round draft pick A.J. Jenkins looked like the best receiver on the practice field by far. At other points he got outclassed by undrafted players like Stanford’s Chris Owusu. Here’s what I mean. All the players raced this morning, but they didn’t run straight. They ran 20-yard figure-eights around giant hoola hoops. This drill tested quickness –…
SANTA CLARA – The Niners called today’s practice a Veteran Football School On-field session. Most of the veterans showed up. Frank Gore didn’t, and neither did Mario Manningham or Brandon Jacobs, but that’s OK because VFS is voluntary. But Alex Smith showed up. He stretched with the offensive lineman and chatted with Alex Boone, one of his good friends on the team. Michael Crabtree showed up, too. He stretched next…
With rookie mini camps around the corner and OTAs around the bend too, let’s rank the Niners top-10 offseason battles in reverse order. 10. Michael Crabtree vs. his left foot. Will Crabtree win the battle against his left foot this offseason? He’s 1-2 in his professional career when he’s faced the foot in the summer. It beat him in ’09 when it sustained a stress fracture and held him out…
Rather than grade the different areas of the Niners defense – which would all get varying degrees of A – I’m going to predict the Niners 53 man roster and depth chart. QUATERBACKS 1. Alex Smith 2. Josh Johnson 3. Colin Kaepernick Analysis: I expect Johnson to win the battle for the backup quarterback job in training camp, and Scott Tolzien to be the odd man out. RUNNING BACKS 1….
