SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening Statement: “Want to start off and just say how saddened we are as a team with the passing of Chester McGlockton. Chester’s been a very close and dear friend over the last four years. Was a part of our team here with the 49ers and also at Stanford. Chester worked with the defensive…
SANTA CLARA — I just got back from the practice field, and Braylon Edwards wasn’t on it. I expect the Niners make him inactive for this Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams. I also expect Brett Swain to take his place at receiver on the active roster. And finally, I expect Ted Ginn Jr. to start opposite Michael Crabree, not Kyle Williams. Adam Snyder was on the practice field…
SANTA CLARA – Right guard and wide receiver are two of the Niners biggest needs. They will most likely draft towards the end of the first round in April, and the University of Wisconsin has a pair of late-first-round prospects Trent Baalke and the Niners might covet – interior offensive lineman Peter Konz (6’5” 315 lbs.) and wide out Nick Toon (6’3” 220 lbs.). I asked former Wisconsin Badger Scott…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what backup running back Kendall Hunter said at his locker today. Q: Now that you’ve been around Frank Gore for a few months, what have you learned from his game? HUNTER: Frankly, everything. The way he runs, the way he blocks. He helped me with some of the techniques he uses and what he looks for and stuff like that. Q: Can you feel the difference…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what right tackle Anthony Davis said at his locker today. Q: How do you guys look at this game, since Thursday night’s game didn’t go as well as you’d hoped it would. ANTHONY DAVIS: It’s our next game. I wouldn’t give it a title. It’s our next game. Q: Joe Staley and Jonathan Goodwin have both said some of the breakdowns on the offensive line are…
Here’s what St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo said on a conference call with Bay Area reporters this morning. Q: You’ve seen the 49ers quite a bit over the years. Could you talk about differences you see this year with their offense? SPAGNUOLO: A lot of the personnel’s the same. I know I counted up a lot of guys, same guys we played in the second-to-the-last game of the…
Some of you have expressed frustration with the local media’s line of 49ers questions. So, here’s your chance to submit a question for me to ask. I’ll choose as many or as few of the good ones as I want. St. Louis Rams’ head coach Steve Spagnuolo has a conference call at 9:30 a.m. Do you have any questions for him? Jim Harbaugh speaks in the media tent at Noon,…
These are my Week 13 NFL power rankings of the top ten teams. A few weeks ago I ranked the Niners No. 2 and I asked this question: can they beat the Packers? That may have been a bit ambitious for the Niners, who haven’t shown they can beat the top-tier of teams in this league yet. So I’m ranking them in the second tier. I’m dropping them four spots…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. How are you guys treating the extra day this week? Another game planning day for the Rams? “Yes. Players will be in today lifting and getting treatment. Coaches (are) game planning. We’ll view the Ravens game and preview the Rams.” The fact that you can clinch on Sunday, does that affect the way you…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Braylon Edwards said at his locker this morning. Q: Are you healthy? EDWARDS: I’m playing through a football season. No one is ever going to be fully healthy, but just fighting every day. Q: Do you have a shoulder injury as well? EDWARDS: Injury means you can’t play, but I do have a shoulder ailment, I’ll say. Little bit of AC joint. Nothing super serious,…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s what Alex Smith said at his locker this morning. Q: How close was your offense to making big plays on Thursday? ALEX SMITH: I think when I turned on the film, there were some opportunities I think to push the ball down the field a few times. Get those one-on-one matchups down the field and try to take advantage of them. I think that’s definitely what…
Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Friday conference call. Q: After watching the film, what was your general impression of the breakdowns and why they occurred and what you can do to get it all fixed? HARBAUGH: First of all as I said last night it was a competitive game. Thought it was very evenly matched. The game turned on every play of the game, but there was also some…
Here are my Week 12 grades for the 9-2 Niners. Alex Smith: D. His primary job on this team is to not turn the ball over, and he failed at that assignment tonight. With eighteen seconds left in the first half Smith was supposed to throw a pass to Braylon Edwards’ back shoulder in the end zone, but instead he threw the ball short and towards the middle of the…
This is the live blog for the Niners’ Week 12 Thursday night game against the Baltimore Ravens — The Harbowl. I will be updating this frequently from my bedroom in the Oakland hills. 4:18 Moran Norris will start in place of Bruce Miller (concussion) at fullback, and Brandon Ayanbadejo will start in place of Ray Lewis (toe) at inside linebacker for the Ravens. Here are the Niners inactive players: Bruce…
Here’s the transcript of NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell’s interview from this morning on KNBR’s The Murph and Mac show. Q: Do the Harbaugh brothers coach in similar ways? Do their teams show similar tendencies? COSELL: There’s a toughness, a physical and mental toughness that is instilled in both teams, and that comes from the brothers. That would be the similarity. I think the difference is John Harbaugh is not…
This Thanksgiving, among other things, I’m thankful for Vernon Davis. He’s my favorite 49er, and here are the top five things I like about him. He’s always available to talk. Some star veterans insist they talk only once a week, after they’re fully dressed, after they’ve put in their ear rings. Vernon Davis is not that kind of guy. If you go up to Vernon Davis and ask if you…
If you like taking things one game at a time, this post isn’t for you, so turn back now. For those that like a big picture perspective, here you go. The Niners have achieved a 9-1 record in 2011 on the back of the fifth easiest schedule in the NFL. They’ll most likely win the NFC West, and if they do, they’ll have to play the other division winners in…
49erGirl, Where’d you go? We miss you. Was it something I said? Please come back. Grant
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Greg Roman’s Tuesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening Statement: “Obviously playing a really tough team defensively. The front seven is extremely good, very well coached. You have [LB Terrell] Suggs on one side, [LB Jarret] Johnson on the other. Probably set the edge as good if not better than anybody in the NFL. You’ve got [DT Haloti] Ngata and the D-Linemen…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Tuesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Vic, what was kind of your role in Baltimore, I know you were sort of a nebulous consultant? “The first few couple years I was there, I was special assistant to the head coach and basically did a lot of work with the coaches, both sides of the ball, and worked with the head…
