Several readers have asked me for a list of 49ers who are on Twitter. Here are the guys I’m currently following:
49ers educate the media (slightly)
We’ll see if the 49ers’ coaching staff can school the Cardinals and Seahawks this season. We now know they can school the media.
Head coach Mike Singletary and coordinators Jimmy Raye, Greg Manusky and Kurt Schottenheimer spent about 2½ hours cluing in local writers on the team’s basic on-field goals, the installation of game plans and the complexities of terminology. It was billed as 49ers Football 101.
These tweets are dangerous
Something strange, even sinister, seems to be happening to your 49ers.
It started on May 18, when rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams sent out this message via Twitter: “so pissed… this bird really just tried to swipe my beats by dre clean off my head!!!”
Followed less than a minute later by: “now they broke best buy better gimme a refund for this sh*t. hahah cant even be mad tho hella funny”
And it was funny. A bird swooping down to attack Williams’ high-end headphones? What could you do but laugh it off?
Seifert to Shanahan: ‘second place, you’re fired’
The 49ers are in Y2Raye, the second year under offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, and with it come certain expectations. With dangerous weapons in Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, an offensive line bolstered by two highly touted rookies, and finally some continuity in play-calling, the Niners have every reason to believe they will improve upon their No. 27 ranking in total offense from a year ago.
But pressure? No. Mike Shanahan can tell you about pressure.
Nate Davis wants to know playbook ‘like it’s my name’
On the surface, Nate Davis wouldn’t appear to be in any better position right now than he was a year ago. Last May, Davis was firmly entrenched behind the guys competing for the starting quarterback job, Alex Smith and Shaun Hill. Flash-forward a year and Davis is still No. 3 – now behind Smith and his primary backup, David Carr.
Speaking last week at the 49ers’ OTAs, however, the second-year QB said the feeling was a night-and-day difference.
Davis, Iupati craving action
Rookie tackle Anthony Davis was sitting on a low stool in front of his locker Tuesday, talking to reporters with a towel draped across the appropriate area when, about two questions into the interview, his 323 pounds suddenly toppled backward and off the stool.
There was a split-second of concern, but Davis quickly erupted into squeals of high-pitched laughter. “That’s a blooper, right?” he said.
Yes, and probably not the last for him or any other NFL rookie.
Let’s talk 49ers offensive line
A lot of readers have been asking (breathlessly, in some cases) for some evaluations of the offensive line – specifically, of first-round rookies Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati.
Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the linemen while watching a practice. (I know, these guys weigh 300 pounds, but still…) So I trained my eyes on the big men this morning, and came away with a few observations.
Notes and observations from Day 4 of Niners’ OTAs
Enough with machinations of the guys in suits! Here, finally, are some random notes, observations, little hairlines and drops-and-rolls from the fourth and final day of OTAs this week:
• Rookie RB Anthony Dixon did not participate in practice. Coach Mike Singletary: “Some of these young guys, we’ve pushed them pretty hard so far. Anthony is a guy where everything he does, he does full speed, whether it’s running in the morning, running after practice, running the plays during the drills. I just think that he ran out of gas a little bit.”
York and Baalke, the full story
The 49ers have decided how much they value Trent Baalke. They like him enough to keep him in charge of drafting and signing talent, but not enough – at least not yet – to let him succeed Scot McCloughan as general manager.
Baalke’s deal is for 4 years
Trent Baalke told reporters via conference call that he signed a four-year deal as the team’s new VP of player personnel. He also acknowledged that he will now relocate from Colorado to the Bay Area – though first he has to wait for his daughter to graduate on Saturday.
Asked whether he had to go through much of an interview process for the new title, Baalke said, “It’s been a 5 ½ to six-month interview, so that’s more than what most people endure.” The message was that he was being intensely evaluated even before Scot McCloughan left the organization in March.
Baalke named VP of player personnel
The 49ers liked their draft process so much, and presumably the picks it netted, that they have formally promoted Trent Baalke from director of player personnel to vice president of player personnel.
We just got off the line with club president Jed York, who is in New York for NFL owners’ meetings, and he said that the communication between Baalke and coach Mike Singletary before and during the draft was the primary reason the 49ers bumped up Baalke’s duties.
Kyle Williams’ very good day
“Today was a good day,” rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams said in the locker room after practice today.
The on-field session had ended with punt returns, and that didn’t go particularly well for Williams and his cohorts as the ball moved and twisted in the breeze. So why was he so jazzed about the day? Three reasons:
Jean Francois sees good and bad in Franklin’s absence
When Aubrayo Franklin, the 49ers’ incumbent nose tackle, finally signs his $7 million franchise tender and rolls into town, he’ll encounter happy teammates, relieved coaches – and one very long list, courtesy of Ricky Jean Francois.
“Oh yeah, I got a book for him,” Jean Francois told me with a laugh after practice today. “Like I’m already telling coach (D-line coach Jim Tomsula), just get all the OTA tape together so when it’s time for him to come back: ‘Tell me what I should’ve did on this, and tell me that one.’ ”
Thoughts and observations from Day 3 of 49ers OTAs
Random thoughts, observations, pee tests and wind-affected punts from Day 3 of this week’s voluntary practices in Santa Clara…
•CB Karl Paymah, who is getting first-team reps in the absence of Shawntae Spencer and Nate Clements, jumped a slant route from Alex Smith to Ted Ginn and intercepted early in practice. Overall, though, Smith looked pretty sharp throughout the day. He looped a deep pass into the arms of Dominique Zeigler as Tarell Brown tried to defend in dime coverage, and later he found Josh Morgan in front of Dashon Goldson on a deep crossing route. Smith did leave one snap on the ground, when Tony Wragge was in at center.
49ers’ offense feeling good in Y2Raye
I know some of you are going to get tired of hearing this, especially in the absence of actual victories, but the 49ers are feeling great about going into the 2010 season with the same offensive system. Take quarterback Alex Smith, whose burgeoning confidence was on display shortly into this morning’s practice in Santa Clara.
Notes from Day 2 of this week’s OTAs
Random thoughts and observations from this morning’s voluntary practice in Santa Clara…
• More or less the same lineup from yesterday, meaning no NT Aubrayo Franklin, LB Manny Lawson, CB Shawntae Spencer, CB Nate Clements, DT Kentwan Balmer, RB Michael Robinson or LB Keaton Kristick. WR Jared Perry resolved his travel hang-ups and was on the field for his first full practice as a 49er. Wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan quickly welcomed Perry by ripping him a new one for leaning with his shoulder while running an out route during passing drills.
Practice defined by 49ers’ absences
The first day of full practice – veterans and rookies, free-agent acquisitions and rehabbed medical patients – is generally a happy day for an NFL team. It’s like a glance at the future, if through a very hazy piece of glass. But fairly or unfairly, Monday’s practice in Santa Clara was defined as much by those who were absent as those who were in attendance.
Thoughts and observations from this morning’s practice
Random thoughts and observations from this morning’s chilly voluntary practice in Santa Clara…
• Tough day for the passing game. Alex Smith started the day with a completion to Michael Crabtree, but was generally up and down, floating a few deep balls. And even when Smith hit the target, the football didn’t always stick. TE Delanie Walker had a pass bounce off his chest. Dominique Zeigler saw one go through his hands. So did Ted Ginn, and that one was intercepted by rookie CB Phillip Adams.
Why 49ers’ receivers had advantage today
Mike Singletary told his captains, and the captains passed the directive down the chain of command this morning: When the ball’s in the air, let the offensive player catch it. No reason to get tangled up and risk an injury this early in the campaign. “Obviously, it did not sink in deep enough,” Singletary said after practice.
49 questions heading into OTAs
Excitement is building for the four consecutive days of organized team activities that begin Monday in Santa Clara. And I don’t mean Alex Smith’s excitement, or Taylor Mays’, or Mike Singletary’s or yours. I mean MY excitement. I need some live football to report and analyze. To set the mood, here are 49 questions I hope to be able to answer after the dust settles Thursday.
