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 Greg Roman’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening Statement: “Good afternoon. Everybody is working hard, everybody is focused. We know how good Seattle’s defense is. I think they are statistically the third ranked defense in the league in yards given up. But the reality of it is, they’re good at every position, safeties do a great job of covering…
SANTA CLARA — Vernon Davis spoke in the locker room Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said about how much the 49ers have improved over the last few years. Q: Do you ever stop and think about how far this team has come in two years with Jim Harbaugh? VERNON DAVIS: We started from zero and just kept building. We brought guys in like Michael Crabtree. In the beginning it was…
FOXBORO, Ma. – The 49ers beat the Patriots 41-34 and clinched a playoff berth. Here is the grade for the 49ers’ coaches. Coaching: C-. The offensive and defensive game plans were aggressive and terrific. Greg Roman called passes on four of the first five plays, and the 49ers easily marched down the field for a touchdown. On defense, Fangio was calling plays that resulted in unblocked pass rushers. He was…
SANTA CLARA – I spoke to Vernon Davis at his locker on Friday. Here’s what he said about his level of involvement in the 49ers offense. ME: What do you think of the Diamond formation? The offense used it 17 times last week, and it doesn’t feature a tight end. You lined up at wide receiver and fullback. VERNON DAVIS: It’s fine. I’m pretty much a supporter of anything the…
As good as the 49ers are on defense, just remember the Patriots’ first three offensive series Monday night against the Texans. The Patriots emasculated Houston, sliced them and diced them, put them through the Veg-O-Matic. Their defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips, stood there in awe. It was a masterful production. Tom Brady was brilliant. Can New England do that to the Niners? The Niners have a better secondary than the Texas…
Steve Young spoke on KNBR Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the 49ers’ use of Vernon Davis. Q: Should the 49ers do a better job getting Vernon Davis open and part of the game plan? YOUNG: I haven’t seen the explosiveness, and he’s an explosive player, so if part of this switch to Colin is to be more explosive then let’s get [Davis] out on the short motion. If…
SANTA CLARA — This is what Greg Roman said about Vernon Davis Thursday in the media tent. Q: What are the common elements defenses are doing to take away TE Vernon Davis? Three catches the last three games total, so what’s going on? ROMAN: I’m not going to get into the X’s and O’s of things, but every team’s different, every situation’s different. I’d say that they’re paying a lot…
SANTA CLARA — This is what Greg Roman said about the Pistol Formation Thursday in the media tent. Q: I don’t remember you guys practicing the Pistol too much during training camp. Is that something that you’ve really started doing over the last month now that Kap’s been in? ROMAN: We’ve done some Pistol in training camp. We did it at Stanford some. It’s just another formation and it’s really…
SANTA CLARA — This is what Greg Roman said about the Patriots defense Thursday in the media tent. ROMAN: Good afternoon. Got a great challenge this week, going to play the New England Patriots. As you look at them on defense, they’re as physical a defense as we’ve seen since we’ve been here, as fundamentally sound a defense as we’ve seen. And they present you just a multitude of things…
People are criticizing Colin Kaepernick, saying he really isn’t any different than Alex Smith, whose performance until the concussion was pretty darn good and whose QB rating was in the top 5 of the league, and, frankly, there are valid points there. Even though Kaepernick is a different player with a different skill set than Smith, why are the performances so similar on the field? In other words, by going…
Greg Roman spoke on KNBR Tuesday morning. Here’s what he said about Colin Kaepernick, LaMichael James and the philosophy of the 49ers offense. Q: What have you seen from Colin Kaepernick that has improved and needs improvement? ROMAN: Anytime, especially at the quarterback position, you go in there for the first time and you get the teams reps and you’re the starter that week, it’s kind of like a pitcher…
I wrote a blog yesterday on the 49ers Full-House Pistol formation. It’s actually called the Diamond formation. The Oklahoma Sooners run it, the West Virginia Mountaneers run it, and now the 49ers run it. It’s a run-based shotgun formation. There are four players in the backfield, and therefore nine players in the offensive box. It’s supposed to confuse the defense with misdirections and multiple options. It invites the defense to…
I keep reading from scribes and bloggers all over the country that, despite Colin Kaepernick’s arm strength, he is not getting the ball down the field. This is meant as a criticism of Kaepernick and it usually accompanies the question: Why did Jim Harbaugh choose Kaepernick over Smith because Smith is better? Number One: Kaepernick cannot throw what Greg Roman doesn’t call. Number Two: if Roman continually calls for the…
Now that Alex Smith has been benched and Kendall Hunter is out for the season, Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman are changing the 49ers offense to complement the skill sets of Colin Kaepernick and LaMichael James. The 49ers used a full house pistol formation 17 times against the Dolphins on Sunday – six times in the first half and 11 times in the second half. The full house pistol formation…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers beat the Dolphins 27-13. Here is the grade for Colin Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick: A-. He put the game away with a heroic 50-yard TD run on third and three late in the fourth quarter. He was extremely accurate, completing 18-of-23 passes for 185 yards – 8 yards per attempt. His only bad plays were a fumble in the first series of the game which the…
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…
SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers beat the Dolphins 27-13. Here is the grade for the 49ers coaches. Coaching: C-. Both the offensive and defensive game plans were weak. On offense, Greg Roman tried to come out passing. Unfortunately, the offensive line – Anthony Davis in particular – was horrendous in pass protection. So the 49ers accomplished next to nothing on offense in the first half. On defense, the 49ers struggled…
The 49ers will beat the Dolphins 24-9 on Sunday. The 49ers defense will not give up a touchdown for the second game in a row. The Dolphins defense will play the 49ers offense almost the exact same way the Rams defense played them last Sunday, and the 49ers will be ready for it. Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman, John Morton and Geep Chryst will have a creative, aggressive game plan that…
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…
