Greetings from Candlestick .The sun is out, but the forecast calls for more rain.
I haven’t been downstairs, but the field, which was covered by a tarp until about 10:30 a.m., doesn’t look soggy.
I’ll be posting notes here up until kickoff:
• Not confirmed, but amazing if true: The Niners haven’t committed a turnover in two straight games. Preliminary research by the PR department indicates that the 49ers haven’t committed a turnover in three straight games in the franchise’s 65-season, 937-game history.
• Niners inactives: David Carr (3rd QB), CB Tramaine Brock, CB Will James, T Alex Boone, LB Thaddeus Gibson, LB Keaton Kristick, T Joe Staley, K Joe Nedney.
James is out due to the concussion he suffered on the opening kickoff last week. Tarell Brown, who faced Josh Freeman in college at Texas, will see more action today.
WR Kyle Williams is active, suggesting he could return kickoffs or punts.
• Tampa Bay inactives: QB Rudy Carpenter, FB/TE Eric Lorig, LB Quincy Black, T Will Barker, Derek Hardman, WR Preston Parker, DE Kyle Moore, DT Ryan Sims.
Black and Moore are starters. Black will be replaced by rookie Dekoda Watson, a seventh-round draft pick, for the second straight game. Watson had three tackles in his first career start last week. (CORRECTION: Adam Hayward will start, not Watson. Hayward will be making his second career start. He was a sixth-round pick in the ’07 draft from Portland State).
• Tampa Bay’s rush defense ranks 31st in the NFL (143.8 yards a game), which qualifies as really quite terrible.
The Bucs have allowed 100-yard games to established stars (Steven Jackson), up-and-coming stars (Rashard Mendenhall), pretty good RBs (Michael Turner, Cedric Benson) and guys you wouldn’t recognize if they were sitting next to you (Mike Goodson, Chris Ivory).
• I’m guessing Tampa Bay coach coach Raheem Morris has been tsked-tsked
in some circles for starting Mike Williams after the rookie wide
receiver was arrested for a DUI early Friday morning in Florida.
But is it possible Williams really is being punished? Playing at
Candlestick while wearing a Buccaneers uniform? That hasn’t been a
pleasant experience the past 30 years. I touched on some of the gory
details in my game advance here.
• Niners starting quarterbacks haven’t thrown an interception in their
past four games, a streak of 99 pass attempts that dates back to Alex
Smith’s final-drive pick in the 27-24 loss to the Eagles in Week 5.
Smith didn’t throw an interception in the next six quarters prior to
being injured against Carolina and Troy Smith hasn’t thrown an
interception in his two starts.
David Carr’s pick against the Panthers has been the 49ers’ only
interception — actually, their only turnover — in their past
four games.
• A Niners quarterback hasn’t gone three straight games without throwing an interception since Alex Smith did it in 2006.
• I inadvertently cut off a black Mercedes on my way into Lot A this
morning. I think Anthony Davis was driving. I’m quite certain Mike
Iupati was riding shotgun. That’s 654 pounds of offensive linemen I might have ticked off. Sorry, fellas.
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