Singletary interviews Kurt Schottenheimer for ST position

Kurt Schottenheimer, who served as an NFL defensive coordinator for five seasons with three teams, is the latest candidate to interview with 49ers coach Mike Singletary for the team’s vacant special-teams job, the team confirmed.   Singletary last week informed Al Everest that he would not be retained for the 2010 season. Schottenheimer is the third person to interview for the vacant job. He follows Larry Mac Duff, who served from…

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Willis near-unanimous pick for AP All-Pro team

UPDATE: The Eagles have hired Bobby April as special-teams coordinator. Niners coach Mike Singletary interviewed April for the team’s vacant position on Tuesday. Singletary also interviewed Larry Mac Duff last week, after Singletary informed Al Everest he would not be retained for the 2010 season. * * * Niners linebacker Patrick Willis was a nearly unanimous pick for The Associated Press All-Pro team, which was announced this morning. Willis received…

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A look at all 53 from 49ers’ loss in Seattle

There were a lot of plays to dissect from the 49ers’ 20-17 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, but we’ll go behind the scenes to pay particular attention to two critical third-down pass plays late in the game.   Third-and-4 from Seattle 16 with 3:06 remaining, 49ers down by 3: With the naked eye, it looked as if Michael Crabtree alligator-armed Smith’s on-target pass in the end zone. The fact…

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Singletary discusses offense and questionable officiating

There’s plenty to discuss from the 49ers’ loss yesterday to the Seahawks, and coach Mike Singletary had a lot of explaining to do during his Monday press conference.   Afterward, Seattle coach Jim Mora intimated that it worked to the Seahawks’ advantage that the 49ers leaned so heavily on the pass and got away quickly from giving the football to running back Frank Gore.   “I think there were several…

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Looking ahead to 49ers’ 2010 schedule

Is it too early for the 49ers to look toward next season? Sure, but that’s not going to stop us from peaking into the future. In 2010, the 49ers already know 14 of their 16 opponents.   Home games vs. New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Denver, Oakland, Arizona, St. Louis, Seattle and the team from the NFC East that finishes in the same position in the division standings.   Road games…

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49ers botch their big chances in loss to Seattle

The 49ers had their chances. They had all kinds of chances. And they botched them.   “Today we just found a way to screw it up,” 49ers coach Mike Singletary said. “It’s as simple as that. Every situation, we just found a way to screw it up. Championship teams can’t do that. Teams that talk about going to the playoffs cannot do that. We did.”   The 49ers were hoping…

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49ers can’t afford to look ahead to next week

Looking ahead a week, it could be the biggest December game the 49ers have played in a long while. But, first, the 49ers have to take care of business today against the Seattle Seahawks.   It’s 35 degrees here at Qwest Field, where the 49ers face a crucial NFC West game against the Seahawks. There is not much wind, so I don’t expect the elements to be much of a…

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Walker is big cheese in game of cat-and-mouse

In the game of chess that takes place between offensive and defensive coordinators, Jimmy Raye will make the first move. Then, the 49ers will eagerly see how the Seahawks respond.   That action and reaction might shape tomorrow’s game.   You see, 49ers tight end Delanie Walker should be a big factor in the game tomorrow. And it might not even be so obvious. After all, Walker‘s statistics this season…

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Growth of Nate Davis continues behind the scenes

Alex Smith is making huge strides in the minds of the 49ers’ decision-makers toward entrenching himself as the starting quarterback in 2010. But there are plenty of folks who liked what they saw from rookie Nate Davis in the exhibition season. Just to refresh, Davis showed a certain knack for playing the position after being a fifth-round draft pick from Ball State. He completed 29 of 49 passes for 314…

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49ers-Seahawks injury reports

There were few changes on the 49ers’ injury report today. Running back Michael Robinson went from limited practice to full practice. Almost everything else remained the same.   Left tackle Joe Staley is not officially “out,” but he will not play this week. Likewise, Isaac Bruce will not suit up for the game. Kentwan Balmer, Michael Lewis and Takeo Spikes are day-to-day with their injuries.

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O-line faces tests against Seahawks and their fans

The 49ers’ offensive line will face a nice challenge Sunday against the Seahawks, who rank 17th in the league in sacks per pass play. Since the beginning of the 2002 season, the Seahawks leads the NFL in home sacks.   Also, the Seahawks’ fans are known for being among the loudest in the league. From the beginning of 2005, there have been a league-leading 91 false start penalties called on…

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Gore is the answer for any offensive system

Is Frank Gore a good fit for the spread? That’s the question of the week. And my answer is . . . Frank Gore is a good fit for any offense that requires a running back to catch, block and, of course, run with the football.   On his KNBR radio show this week, Steve Young opined that Gore “needs to be traded” if the 49ers decide to stick with…

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Goodell adopts new NFL policy on concussions

There was some discussion about concussions in the comments section of this blog yesterday. In an unrelated event, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell today took a stand on the issue.   Goodell informed NFL teams of stricter guidelines for allowing players to return to play after sustaining concussions. The new policy will take affect with this week’s games, the NFL announced.

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Singletary knows how to read the room

Mike Singletary was immensely popular in the locker room when the 49ers hired him full-time as head coach at the end of last season.   And Singletary has mostly remained a very popular coach among the players. But in recent weeks, his popularity rating inside the locker room began to drop. Guess who was the first to recognize that?   Mike Singletary, of course.

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Latest 49ers hire is quite The Catch

Dwight Clark does not have an office at 49ers headquarters, but he has returned to the organization after being away for a decade.   Clark is best remembered, of course, for “The Catch.” But he also presided as de facto general manager over the 49ers’ continued run of success through most of the 1990s. He left the 49ers during the 1998 season to follow Carmen Policy to the expansion Cleveland…

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