Ian Rapoport just tweeted Greg Roman has signed a two-year extension with the 49ers, theoretically keeping him in town through the 2015 season. Do you think Roman will be a 49er through 2015, or do you think another team will hire him to be their head coach next offseason? Please explain your reasoning.
Here is my Wednesday column on A.J. Jenkins. SANTA CLARA – Apparently, A.J. Jenkins is two different people. When there are no fans or media watching him, when Jenkins is all alone with his teammates and his coaches, the former first-round pick is a fantastic receiver. That’s what Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman said Tuesday. They said Jenkins had his best practices last Wednesday and Thursday, two practices which were…
SANTA CLARA – Craig Dahl, a former St. Louis Ram, spoke to Bay Area reporters Wednesday afternoon. He was asked how the Rams’ defense played the 49ers’ offense so tough last season. Here’s what Dahl said. Q: You were on the Rams’ defense last season. Why did you guys play the 49ers’ offense so well? DAHL: We had a few tips off of film. We were able to differentiate between…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Greg Roman said about Eric Mangini Tuesday afternoon. Q: How have you enjoyed working with Eric Mangini so far? ROMAN: Great. Eric’s a wealth of knowledge. He’s a guy that’s got a great pedigree, and he’s a very hard working, intelligent man. He comes at things from a different angle than we might. It’s been great. He’s getting caught up with what we’re doing, and…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Greg Roman and Jim Harbaugh said about A.J. Jenkins Tuesday afternoon. Q: With Michael Crabtree out, have any of the young wide receivers stepped up in your eyes? ROMAN: Yeah, I think they’re stepping up and it’s a process. I think they’re working extremely hard. A.J., I thought the last two days of last week had the best days he’s had since I’ve been here….
SANTA CLARA – The 49ers new offensive consultant, Eric Mangini, spoke to Bay Area reporters Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: Can you describe the evolution of how all of this came about? MANGINI: Yeah, initially coming out here, Jim had called me. I was at ESPN driving home, and we had met in Youngstown. He asked me if I wanted to come out for a visit. I said…
Here is my Monday column on Eric Mangini and the 49ers. Why exactly did the 49ers hire ESPN analyst and former NFL head coach Eric Mangini as an offensive consultant? Conventional wisdom says Mangini will help 49ers’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman game-plan against opposing defenses. That’s what an offensive consultant is supposed to do, and it couldn’t hurt the 49ers to have a fresh set of eyes on their offensive…
The 49ers just hired former defensive backs coach, head coach and ESPN analyst Eric Mangini, according to ESPN. Mangini will be an offensive assistant for the 49ers. He will help Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman, John Morton and Geep Chryst find weaknesses in opposing defenses. Mangini’s primary background is defense, but he was an offensive assistant for the Baltimore Ravens in 1996. All credit to the 49ers for improving their coaching…
Here is my Thursday column on the 49ers’ offense, sans Michael Crabtree. SANTA CLARA –Without Michael Crabtree, the focal point of the San Francisco 49ers’ passing attack last season, the 49ers need all of their receivers to step up – Anquan Boldin, Vernon Davis, A.J. Jenkins and anyone else who can run and catch and breathe. At an afternoon OTA session this week, Boldin stepped up. He was unstoppable. He…
In my humble opinion, you’re doing pretty well so far this offseason, Trent. I’m not going to give you a final grade today. That wouldn’t be fair. You still have the draft in a few weeks, and that’s when you need to perform your best. You have 14 picks. You may feel this year’s rookies will be better and cheaper long term than what’s available on the free agent market,…
Greg Cosell spoke about the Super Bowl on KNBR Thursday morning. Here’s what he said. Q: What did you think of the 49ers’ final four offensive plays? COSELL: Here’s a perfect case where because the plays failed, everybody thinks that they’re bad play calls, therefore something was horribly wrong. The first play was perfectly understandable because Gore had just run 33 yards and he was not in the next play….
The 49ers called Sprint Right Option twice in the red zone on Sunday. Kaepernick takes the snap, takes three steps to the right and fires to the flanker, Michael Crabtree, who is sprinting to the sideline. If the quarterback doesn’t throw it by the third step, the play is over except for the QB’s attempt to run and make something happen, if he can. The first time the 49ers ran…
The 49ers lost the Super Bowl 34-31 on Sunday. Here are the grades for the coaches. Coaching: D. The 49ers got outcoached across the board. Jim Harbaugh did not prepare his team well. The 49ers were flagged for an illegal formation on the very first play of the game, a mind-boggling feat. The first play of the game is the play they practice dozens of times all week. It is…
SANTA CLARA – This is the transcript of Colin Kaepernick’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Hey Colin, what is it like to wake up as Colin Kaepernick these days, pinched yourself yet? “It’s the same as it was six months ago.” Did you expect when you took over the starting job that you’d be standing here, still playing in February? “I was hoping so.” How…
SANTA CLARA — Greg Roman spoke at the media tent Thursday afternoon. This is what he said about Vernon Davis. Q: You went to Vernon Davis quite a bit more last week than you had in a while. How much of that was the game plan, and how much of that was reacting to what the Falcons were doing? ROMAN: Everything we do in the passing game is reacting. Knock…
SANTA CLARA – This is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Can you go back to just the last game real quick. Those final two pass plays in which LB Ahmad Brooks batted down a pass and LB NaVorro batted one down, can you take us through those plays and how that defense played out? “They played out very good. It was a…
Greg Roman started the 49ers’ last two games, the playoff games against the Packers and the Falcons, with the same play – a quick pass to Michael Crabtree at the line of scrimmage. Roman called that play to start the game against the Patriots a month ago, too. Roman’s first play call has been a pass six-of-the-last-eight games. Roman has not led off with a handoff to Frank Gore since…
This is the opening to my Monday sidebar on Vernon Davis. ATLANTA — The Falcons wanted to stop Colin Kaepernick from running, and they accomplished that. Kaepernick rushed just two times for 21 yards. The Falcons wanted to stop Michael Crabtree from scoring, and they accomplished that, too. Crabtree caught six passes for 57 yards and no touchdowns; he fumbled at the goal line. Unfortunately for the Falcons, they forgot…
ATLANTA – The 49ers beat the Falcons 28-24. The 49ers are going to the Super Bowl. Here are the grades for the 49ers coaches. Coaching: A-. These guys had an “F” after the first quarter. The offensive game plan was bad, the defensive game plan was bad, and the team was flat. It looked like the 49ers were going to fall victim to Third Game Syndrome for the sixth time…
This is the opening to my Saturday article on the keys to the game for the 49ers and the Falcons. The Falcons need a miracle to beat the 49ers this Sunday. That’s the consensus of NFL critics. The Falcons need a fire alarm to go off in the 49ers’ hotel at 3 a.m. They need the entire 49ers team — players and coaches — to evacuate the building and catch…
