SANTA CLARA – The last time Joe Staley faced Clay Matthews, Staley gave up three sacks and got his nose broken. Staley will face Matthews again Saturday night. Staley spoke about Matthews Monday in the 49ers media tent, and here’s what Staley said. Q: When you found out you were playing the Packers, what was the first thing that came to your mind? STALEY: Excited. Excited for the opportunity to…
SANTA CLARA – The 49ers’ first round pick, A.J. Jenkins, did not catch a pass in the regular season. He was not a contributor. This afternoon, Jim Harbaugh was asked if Jenkins can contribute in the playoffs. Here’s what Harbaugh said. Q: Where is A.J. Jenkins in his development? Can he contribute in the playoffs? HARBAUGH: Do I think he can? Yes. Do we need him to? Yes. We need…
SANTA CLARA – Frank Gore had a hot start to the season, but he has not rushed for 100 yards in a game since Week 7. Jim Harbaugh talked about Gore’s condition this afternoon. Q: How fresh is Frank Gore right now? HARBAUGH: I hate the word fresh. Can we go with strong? I think he is stronger than he was at this time last year. I know his legs…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers stomped the Cardinals 27-13. Here are the grades for the 49ers offense. Offensive line: B. They gave up hardly any pressure this week, which was impressive because the Cardinals defense is ranked 10th in the league in sacks. The 49ers’ offensive line did not create much running room, though, and that’s becoming a trend. The Niners gained 129 yards on 37 carries – just 3.5…
There are two reasons why this game against the Arizona Cardinals matters deeply to the 49ers. First, there are playoff implications. If the 49ers win, they’ll be 11-4-1. They’ll get the No.2 seed and a first-round Bye if the Packers lose to the Vikings. If the Packers beat the Vikings, the 49ers get the No.3 seed and they would not get a Bye. They would play the No.6 seed at…
SANTA CLARA – Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening statement: “Good afternoon, we’ve got a tough opponent this week, Arizona. Their defense, we have a lot of respect for, we know pretty well. You saw what they did to Detroit a couple of weeks ago. They’ve got good players, some guys we really think are among the…
Let’s deconstruct Frank Gore’s running and see where he’s at near the end of the regular season. Among running backs, he’s ranked fifth in the NFL in yards per attempt (4.8) and he’s ranked seventh in both elusiveness and yards after contact per rush according to Pro Football Focus. Over the first seven games, he averaged 5.8 yards per carry. Over the last eight games he’s averaging 4.04 yards per…
Brent Jones spoke on KNBR Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: On a 1-to-10 scale, how much of an alarm meter would you ring on Sunday night? BRENT JONES: I think it’s a 10. The thing that scares me the most is the defense. There have been four games this year – the Vikings game, the Giants game, the Patriots game and this game where we just flat-out got…
SEATTLE, Wa. – The Seahawks crushed the 49ers 42-13 Sunday night. Here are the grades for the offense. Offensive line: F. Even though this group only gave up one sack, they gave up pressure the whole game. Kaepernick was running for his life and he took some big hits after throws. In the fourth quarter, Anthony Davis lost his cool and took two cheap shots on 190-pound cornerback Jeremy Lane,…
Let me start by listing everything that’s working against the 49ers this week. They are trying to win their third game in a row. They haven’t won three games in a row this season. Seattle’s crowd and home field advantage – the turf – will be tough for the Niners to overcome, even more so than last Sunday night. At least the Niners won’t face a time change and will have…
SANTA CLARA – This is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. We ask you this from time to time, but after a game like Sunday’s where the Patriots had something like 92, 93 plays, how is your defense in terms of freshness and needing rest and things like that? “Well, there’s no doubt they ended that game a little more tired than a…
SANTA CLARA — Frank Gore spoke at his locker Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: Is there momentum from the win at New England? GORE: We’ve got to move forward. We can’t thrive on what happened last week. We got the win. Now we’re looking at Seattle. We know Seattle’s playing good ball. They’re a good team. We’ll be ready. Q: Does it tell you something about where you…
FOXBORO, Ma. – The 49ers beat the Patriots 41-34 and clinched a playoff berth. Here are the grades for the 49ers’ offense. Offensive line: B+. They gave up just one sack – Rob Ninkovich beat Joe Staley. Other than that, the offensive line gave Kaepernick a ton of time to throw all game. They also created huge holes in the running game in the first half when the 49ers averaged…
SANTA CLARA – This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Have you guys made a decision on the roster spot yet? “Yeah, we have made a decision. Well, no it’s not a final decision.” Will you fill it? “We may not. We may not. That’s kind of the way we’re leaning right now. But, that could change before game time. So,…
SANTA CLARA — Here is what Jim Harbaugh said about the evolution of the 49ers offense at his Monday press conference. Q: Frank Gore was saying that the offense with Kaepernick is really the same, just you do more read option. Is it essentially the same? HARBAUGH: That’s one take. I think for the most part it’s the same offense, don’t know that it’s dramatically different. I’d concur with Frank….
SAN FRANCISCO – Here is Colin Kaepernick’s postgame press conference transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. How would you assess your play today? “I think we did pretty well. We got a W.” How about yourself? Are you pleased with the way you played today? “Yeah, wish I had a few throws back. A few different decisions. But, overall, yeah.” Can you tell us just what happened on that 50-yard touchdown…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here is what Jim Harbaugh said at his post game press conference after the 49ers beat the Dolphins. Q: Can you talk about Colin Kaepernick’s 50-yard TD run at the end of the game? HARBAUGH: Great call by Greg. It was a great third down conversion. We’ve been struggling on third downs. Good to get that one to pop. To get the touchdown was great. It was…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers beat the Dolphins 27-13. Here are the grades for the 49ers offense. Offensive line: C. They’re a big, strong run-blocking line that struggles in pass protection. The 49ers came out passing in the first half and the line wasn’t up to it. Anthony Davis gave up three sacks in the first half. He was a complete liability and he forced Greg Roman to abandon the…
The 49ers play the Dolphins Sunday at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down five key matchups. DC Kevin Coyle vs. Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman, John Morton and Geep Chryst The 49ers offensive brain trust got embarrassed last week by Jeff Fisher. Kevin Coyle is no Fisher, but you can bet Coyle will try to duplicate what Fisher accomplished against the 49ers on Sunday. The Rams stopped Frank Gore and…
SANTA CLARA — This is what Greg Roman said about the 49ers running game at his Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Have you been impressed with G/T Alex Boone’s development and in particular his ability to pull and use his athleticism for a 6’7” guy? “Yeah Alex, I though, had one of his best games, if not his best game last week. Technically, from an assignment standpoint,…
