Greg Roman: “Down-and-distance situations may have taken us out of exactly what we wanted to do.”

SANTA CLARA — I asked Greg Roman about his play-calling against the Rams Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript. ME: Greg, by my count in the Rams game, the offense gained 26 yards on three counter runs, 9 yards on two power runs and 14 yards on one wham run. The wham was called back because of a hold, but it was a good play. Why not come back more frequently…

November 6, 2014
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49ers doomed by play-calling

This is my Tuesday column. The Bears and the Cardinals and the Broncos and the Rams are not defeating the 49ers. Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman are defeating the 49ers. Before the season started, if you had known the 49ers’ defense would rank second after eight games without NaVorro Bowman and Aldon Smith, what would you have expected the Niners’ record to be? 7-1? 8-0? If anything diminished the Niners…

November 4, 2014
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49ers 10, Rams 13: Grades

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers just gave away a game to the Rams, a dreadful team that was trying its best to lose. Here are the 49ers’ grades. KAEPERNICK: D+. Was that him? Didn’t look like it. Whoever was wearing the red No.7 jersey looked timid, tentative, not explosive at all. Averaged just 7.18 yards per pass and 2.8 yards per carry, converted 3-of-12 third down and scored no touchdowns…

November 2, 2014
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Greg Roman: “Don’t buy into the fact that we’re really doing that many more things. We’re probably doing less things.”

SANTA CLARA — Here is the transcript of Greg Roman’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Good afternoon. First of all, congratulations to the Giants. What a game, huh? Some high drama there at the end. What they’ve done is pretty remarkable. I know the city’s just pretty excited, as well they should be. Here we are facing the Rams again, division opponent, very good…

October 30, 2014
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Grading 49ers at the break

This is my Sunday column. The 49ers just finished dead week. These are their midterm grades. COLIN KAEPERNICK Pocket proficiency: B. Was a C-minus last season. Completed just 57 percent of his passes and posted an 81 passer rating inside the pocket in 2013. Has completed 69 percent of his passes and posted a 90 rating inside the pocket this season. He’s finding the open receiver quickly and throwing the…

October 27, 2014
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49ers 17, Broncos 42: Grades

The Broncos eked out a 42-17 win over the 49ers Sunday night. Here are the Niners’ grades. KAEPERNICK: D. Carried the team in the first half. Posted a 140 passer rating in the second quarter. Would have been a 156 rating if Anquan Boldin hadn’t dropped a touchdown pass on third-and-goal from the 4 yard line. Kaepernick led a 7-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that took 2 minutes and 58 seconds…

October 19, 2014
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49ers 31, Rams 17: Grades

The 49ers dismissed the Rams 31-17 in St. Louis Monday night. Here are the 49ers’ grades. KAEPERNICK: A. His best game this season. The Rams stopped the 49ers’ run game and forced Kaepernick to win with his arm. He did. His deep 80-yard touchdown pass before halftime hit Brandon Lloyd in stride. On the opening drive of the second half, Kaepernick converted a third-and-12, anticipated an opening downfield and fired…

October 13, 2014
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49ers need to ride that stallion

This is my Sunday column previewing the 49ers’ upcoming game against the Rams. The final score might be closer than we expect but, come on, this game won’t be competitive. The oddsmakers in Las Vegas must be messing with us, favoring the 49ers to beat the Rams by just 31/2 points Monday night. Sure, the 49ers have kicked nine field goals the past two games and struggle to score touchdowns…

October 11, 2014
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Greg Roman on Frank Gore: “We don’t want to just ride that stallion all day everyday.”

SANTA CLARA — Here is the transcript of Greg Roman’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Afternoon. We’ve got a division game against the Rams. We know them well, they know us. [Rams defensive coordinator] Gregg Williams is back there as the d-coordinator. We have a lot of respect for him. He’s doing a great job with that defense. And, it really starts up front…

October 10, 2014
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Greg Roman on Colin Kaepernick: “He’s definitely got a much keener sense of where his bailout throws might be.”

SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of Greg Roman’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Afternoon. I think everybody saw the game on Monday night and saw the type of opponent that we’re getting ready to play. Very good on defense. Lead the league in a lot of different categories or up at the top. Very good at creating turnovers. A combination of very good…

October 2, 2014
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Full Roman transcript

SANTA CLARA — This is the transcript of Greg Roman’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “Afternoon. Getting ready to play an Eagles team that has really started the season off well. Looking at their defense, they got a lot of clubs in their bag. They do a great job. They’re very well coached. Starting up front, they play a 30-type defense, three down lineman….

September 25, 2014
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Greg Roman on the Cardinals’ D: “They were selling out. Like full waving-the-flag selling out to stop the run.”

SANTA CLARA – I asked Greg Roman a question Thursday afternoon about his play calling against the Cardinals this past Sunday. Here’s my question and his response. ME: In retrospect, do you feel you underutilized Frank Gore and the base running game, or were the matchups unfavorable against the Cardinals’ base defense? ROMAN: With what they were doing going into the game, they were selling out. Like full waving-the-flag selling…

September 25, 2014
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Chip Kelly: “I’ve had a lot of respect for Jimmy and Greg Roman going against them. They can scheme up the run game as good anybody I’ve ever seen.”

This is the transcript of Chip Kelly’s Wednesday morning conference call with Bay Area reporters. Q: Is there anything you can put your finger on for why you’ve had to come back from big deficits the first three games? KELLY: Part of it is the opponent. You’ve got to give credit to them for playing well. I think every week in this league is a battle. There aren’t many blowouts…

September 24, 2014
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Greg Roman’s mistake on the 49ers’ final play against the Bears

Before we move on to Week 3, one more thing about Week 2. I question Greg Roman’s play call on the 49ers’ final play against the Bears. The 49ers were at the Bears’ 17 yard line with 1:17 left and it was fourth-and-9. Roman called a play where Michael Crabtree ran a post route and ended up in the end zone and Anquan Boldin ran a hitch-and-go double move and…

September 20, 2014
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How 49ers can beat Cardinals

Here is my column previewing the 49ers-Cardinals game. Two things. One, the 49ers have to blitz. Two, Bruce Ellington has to carry the ball. Otherwise, the 49ers could lose to the Cardinals. Ideally, 49ers’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio wouldn’t have to blitz. Blitzing comes with risk, involves rushing a fifth or sixth defender. Better to rush with four and cover with the remaining seven. Fangio doesn’t have that option. Without…

September 19, 2014
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49ers 20, Bears 28: Grades

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers lost 28-20 to the Bears Sunday Night. Here are the 49ers’ grades. KAEPERNICK: F. His worst game since two games ago. Looked like Tony Romo looked last week. Committed four turnovers – one fumble and three interceptions. Would have been five turnovers but one of the interceptions hit the grass before a Bears’ defensive back caught it. Also committed a delay of game penalty on…

September 14, 2014
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Greg Roman says LaMichael James is a really good football player

SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman was interviewed in the 49ers’ auditorium Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Opening comments: “It was great to start off the season with a win. We moved onto a Chicago Bears team on Monday that has a very experienced defense. Starting with their front four, they’ve got one of the best pass rushers over the last decade in [Chicago Bears DE] Jared…

September 11, 2014
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Roman on the 49ers’ wide receivers: “There is a good chance you see more of them.”

SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman was interviewed in the 49ers’ auditorium Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a transcript. ROMAN: Afternoon. Had a great practice yesterday. A lot of spirit. Looking for another one today. Got a lot of things going on right now. Our offensive staff, just got to commend them. To a man they do a great job. Very fortunate to work with this group. It’s our fourth year together for…

August 20, 2014
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Greg Roman says it is “too early to tell” if Quinton Patton’s and Adam Snyder’s injuries are serious

Here is a transcript of Greg Roman’s Sunday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. staff. Opening comments: “Having a lot of good work against a very good Ravens team. Tempo is very similar to what we’d be doing against ourselves, but we get to do it against a different style of defense and certainly different style of players. Everybody’s working very well together and I think we’re getting a…

August 10, 2014
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Greg Roman says George Whitfield “communicates at a high level.”

SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman was interviewed by Bay Area reporters in the 49ers’ auditorium Tuesday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. staff. Opening comments: “Good morning. That’s a pretty nice picture of Ronnie Lott out there. What a warrior, what a competitor. We’ve got quite a few of them, too. So, we’re heading to Baltimore. We’ve got our entire offense installed. As you go through…

August 5, 2014
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