SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. Here is a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. staff. What’s the WR Michael Crabtree update? “Good meetings this morning. Good sessions there. Bright-eyed and ready to go. Is he ready to play on Sunday? “Wednesday, he’s ready to go on Wednesday it looks like. So, we’ll go out and take a look.” When he practiced last week,…
Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton spoke about Colin Kaepernick Friday on KNBR. Here is what Tarkenton said. TARKENTON: “I see a guy that looks confused, and I’ve thought about that because I really like this young man. I love your team. I just love everything about it, and I picked them to win this year. “If I were Jim Harbaugh – he doesn’t need any advice from me, he…
Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 27-6 win over the Redskins. KAEPERNICK: B. He fumbled a snap, forced two passes into tight coverage and almost got intercepted both times, and converted just 29 percent of his third downs. That was not so good. But he did some good things – 134.5 passer rating, 3 touchdowns, no picks. In comparison to the opposing quarterback, Kaepernick looked like John Elway. WIDE…
Here is my column previewing the 49ers-Redskins Monday Night game. Sure, the 49ers should beat the Redskins Monday night, should blow them away. The 49ers are a good team fighting for a playoff spot and the Redskins are 3-7, going nowhere. I just can’t help noticing a few factors which work in the Redskins’ favor against the Niners. Take this one, it’s the craziest thing: During the Jim Harbaugh Era,…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript. Q: How is Tarell Brown doing? HARBAUGH: Good. Walking around and getting better every day. Q: Did he have cracked ribs? HARBAUGH: He’s working through something. I wouldn’t call them cracked ribs. I’m not going to define it. He’s got an issue he’s working through. It’s going to take him a little bit of…
Here is my Tuesday column on Kaepernick’s season of regression. The following play epitomizes how inept the 49ers’ offense has become: Eight minutes left in the second quarter against the Saints. Play No. 2 of drive No. 6 for the Niners. Colin Kaepernick lines up under center and waves his left arm to silently signal the third-string tight end, Derek Carrier, to shift to the slot. Carrier isn’t looking. Kaepernick…
NEW ORLEANS – Here are my grades for the 49ers’ 23-20 loss to the Saints. KAEPERNICK: C-. Kaepernick passed the ball well. He was 6-for-15 on third down and 2-for-3 in the red zone. His worst pass was an interception, but it didn’t cost the team anything. Kaepernick ran down the defender and made him dive for the end zone and the defender fumbled the ball out of the back…
Here is my Thursday column explaining how to improve the 49ers pass game. SANTA CLARA – What would you say Eric Mangini does for the 49ers? They hired him in the offseason to be an offensive consultant, but the offense keeps getting worse. I asked Jim Harbaugh what the Mangenius does and Harbaugh said, “Several things,” and listed none of them. So I assume Mangini does nothing. Jim, you need…
SANTA CLARA – Greg Roman spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here is a transcript. ROMAN: I know how hard it is to play down there in the dome. They’ve been very successful down there. Their defense is playing at a very high level right now, ranked very high in a lot of different categories. They play complementary team football with their offense and an aggressive scheme. They’re very…
I just had a brief exchange with Jim Harbaugh at his Wednesday press conference. Here is a transcript.
Wednesday morning on KNBR, Greg Cosell discussed the 49ers’ upcoming game against the Saints. Here is a transcript. COSELL: “When you start to play better teams, you’re going to have to have the passing dimension, and right now (the 49ers) are a one-dimensional offense with almost no passing dimension. It came back and it caught them this week against a better team. “You’re dealing with an extremely talented kid (Kaepernick)….
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the defensive meeting room Monday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. How do you explain what’s happened, as far as the passing game goes, last ranked in the league coming into this game and just really not ever being able to get anything going against the Panthers? “Well, if you look at the last four quarters of…
SANTA CLARA — I asked Jim Harbaugh three questions at his Monday press conference. Here are those questions and his answers. I’ll post the rest of the transcript shortly. GC: The offense ran one screen – it was a pass to Kyle Williams in the second quarter on a third-and-twenty-something. Why not call screens more often in this game and in general? HARBAUGH: That’s not a bad point. Point well…
SAN FRANCISCO — Here are my grades for the 49ers’ 10-9 loss to the Panthers. KAEPERNICK: F+. He completed just 11 passes and converted just 2 of 13 third downs. He had 46 net passing yards. That’s pathetic. He took 6 sacks and he threw an interception to seal the defeat. His passer rating in the fourth quarter was 0.0. But I give him an F+ and not an F because…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department. Can you talk about your days as teammates with Carolina Panthers WR Steve Smith back in 2001, what you remember from those days with him? “We were both on the look team. I got there about seven, eight weeks into the season and just really enjoyed throwing…
Here is my Thursday column on the Cam-Kap conundrum. SANTA CLARA – “Merrill Feuerborn was adamant that we had to get Cam Newton and he was the future of the NFL,” Jim Harbaugh said at a recent press conference. Who in the world is Merrill Feuerborn? He is Harbaugh’s father-in-law. “You’ve got to give him credit, he saw it,” said Harbaugh, grinning. “I think the whole football world saw it…
SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. Here is a transcript. Q: What strikes you most about having Aldon Smith back? HARBAUGH: I wouldn’t say one thing strikes me most other than it’s good to have him back, good to be around him again. Q: Patrick Willis and Ahmad Brooks said they got pretty winded in a drill the other day and Aldon wasn’t even…
Here is my Wednesday column on how to stunt a quarterback’s growth. SANTA CLARA – Here is how you throw a quarterback under the bus: Last Sunday, the Raiders had an 18-point lead over the Steelers at halftime. In the second half, Raiders’ head coach Dennis Allen went ultra-conservative, letting his quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, pass the ball just six times. As you might expect, the Raiders scored zero points in…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the defensive meeting room Tuesday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. Are you feeling fresh or are you feeling a little jetlag? “I feel great. I feel great. One of the other bonuses of a long stay away, you get nine days away, is just how fresh your facility feels when you get back and the practice fields, the…
Ronnie Lott spoke about the 49ers Friday on KNBR. Here’s what he said. LOTT: “The fascinating thing about faith and champions and knowing what it’s like, which I think the 49ers have, is all of a sudden they know they can get back there. Then the question is can they close? Can they finish? That’s what I’m trying to look at right now. “I’m looking at the characteristics of what…
