NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 31-17 win over the Titans. KAEPERNICK: A-. He threw some extremely accurate passes and ran exceptionally well. His passer rating was 93.2 and his yards-per-carry average was 6.2 – the highest in the game. He gets an A- and not an A because he made two poor throws in the second quarter when the 49ers were up just 3-0. First,…
Here is my Friday column on how the 49ers are like Muhammad Ali. Of the 49ers’ remaining opponents, which ones have a defense that can cause problems for a 49ers’ offense with a spotty passing game? That is the key question. If a team can’t stop Frank Gore and Anquan Boldin, that team can’t beat the 49ers. But if a team has a good run defense and at least one…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 32-20 win over the Cardinals. KAEPERNICK: C-. He was 8-for-11 passing to Vernon Davis and 8-for-18 passing to everyone else. The Cardinals absolutely could not cover Davis and Kaepernick took advantage. Kaepernick also threw an interception in the red zone, fumbled the ball in the pocket and fumbled a snap which he recovered. He was 1-for-8 on third down until…
Here is my Friday column about the presence and absence of Anquan Boldin. SANTA CLARA – Anquan Boldin is like a hero from an Elmore Leonard novel, a modern-day cowboy. On Thursday he marched through the locker room from the shower to his locker, head high, eyes forward, and said hello to no one. He’s like a cowboy entering a saloon with the brim of his hat covering his eyes….
SANTA CLARA — Anquan Boldin spoke at his locker Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. Q: What do you think about how the offense has evolved from week to week? Is this what the 49ers’ identity on offense is, a game-plan-specific type of offense? BOLDIN: I think you have to be. Each defense that we play against poses different challenges. Some weeks we’ll throw more. Some…
SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. Opening comments: “Good afternoon. Big Division game this week. We kind of treat it as a one-game season so-to-speak against a very good defense. They’re one of the top teams in the NFL against the rush. When we turn on the film it’s pretty obvious why. They got a…
SANTA CLARA — Colin Kaepernick spoke in the locker room Wednesday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. WR Anquan Boldin, what’s impressed you through five games and how he’s able to get open out there from a quarterback’s perspective? “He’s a true professional. He knows how to prepare. He knows how to go out and get open. He knows what we’re trying to get done on…
Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Bruce Arians spoke on a conference call with Bay Area reporters Wednesday morning. Here is a transcript. Q: Do you feel like your team is getting better each week as we go along here? ARIANS: We are starting to improve each week. Offensively it’s taken a little more time than we had hoped, but special teams and defense so far have been playing pretty solid. Q:…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here are my grades for the 49ers’ 34-3 demolition of the entire Texans’ franchise. KAEPERNICK: F+. He gets the plus for hitting a wide-open Vernon Davis on a 64-yard touchdown pass. Besides that play, Kaepernick completed 5-of-14 passes for 49 yards. That’s a 46.4 passer rating and that’s dreadful. At least he didn’t turn over the ball. He’s still hardly looking to throw the ball to anyone…
Here is my Thursday column about the 49ers’ signing of John Skelton. SANTA CLARA – You think you know Jim Harbaugh, and then he goes and signs John Skelton as a backup quarterback. Signing Skelton is a defining move of the Harbaugh Era. Not because Skelton is good. He isn’t. He represents a dramatic shift in the 49ers’ offensive philosophy. Skelton does not fit into the offense the 49ers have…
ST. LOUIS – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 35-11 win over the Rams. KAEPERNICK: B+. He played very well – 115.7 passer rating – even though he rarely went through his progessions. He didn’t have to – in this game his first read usually was open. This season if his first read isn’t open, he scrambles. On one play in the fourth quarter Kaepernick started scrambling to his…
Here is my Tuesday column on the upcoming 49ers-Rams game. You don’t have to look hard to find reasons to pick the 49ers to beat the Rams Thursday night in St. Louis. Here’s one: The Rams stink. Last Sunday they got destroyed by the Cowboys, a .500 team the past two seasons. And the Rams showed no emotion while they got stomped. It was like they expected it and didn’t…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 27-7 Week 3 loss to the Colts. KAEPERNICK: D-. His second horrendous game in a row. He completed just 13-of-27 passes for 150 yards. He also threw an interception and fumbled. Kaepernick is the kind of quarterback who wants to feed the ball to the receivers he trusts but he trusts just one receiver – Anquan Boldin. Kaepernick hardly looks…
Here is my Friday column previewing the 49ers-Colts game. Even if Indianapolis hadn’t traded for Trent Richardson on Wednesday, the 49ers still would have a tough time beating the Colts on Sunday. Look at the facts: The Colts ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing yards without Richardson. They average 5 yards per carry. To beat the 49ers, you have to run the ball well and that’s what the Colts…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Vance McDonald said at his locker Tuesday afternoon. Q: After watching the film, what did this offense learn? V. McDonald: First and foremost we’ve just got to take care of the ball. That’s the most important thing. Without the ball you can’t score points. Q: We all know that’s a very physical defensive front in Seattle. Did they bring anything different than you expected? V….
Here is my Tuesday column on the issues the 49ers currently face. The Week 1 win against the Packers masked issues on the 49ers, but the Seahawks just tore off the mask. What do we see? The offense is worse than it was last season. Let’s start there. They’re missing key players: Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Delanie Walker and Frank Gore. Yes, Gore is missing. More on him later. Crabtree…
Here is what Greg Cosell about the upcoming 49ers-Seahawks game on a Sports Illustrated podcast. Q: Last year before the Super Bowl, we talked a lot about the creativity that Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman implemented in the run game. This year, they’ve taken that creativity to trips and bunch, and the way they set Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis up in those multi-receiver formations was a thing of beauty….
SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon. Here’s a transcript. Q: Are you satisfied with the week of practice? HARBAUGH: Yeah, I think it was a real good week, both teams ready to play. Excited to go up to Seattle and get this game going. Q: What did B.J. Daniels offer as the scout team quarterback this week? HARBAUGH: He did a real nice job….
Here is my Thursday column. SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh must change his offensive play-calling system this week for the 49ers’ game Sunday night in Seattle against the Seahawks. Not changing his system would be an ego-driven mistake. Harbaugh wants to be perfect on every play. As a result, his system is one of the slowest in the NFL. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman typically calls not one but two wordy…
The 49ers cannot line up Anquan Boldin at flanker across from Richard Sherman all game and expect Boldin to play well. Sherman will get the better of that matchup. Sherman got the better of Boldin two years ago when Boldin was a Raven and Sherman was a rookie. Boldin caught zero passes when he was covered by Sherman. Boldin only caught two passes total in that game. Brandon Browner shut…
