Roman on Alex Smith: “He’s just gotten better incrementally in everything we ask him to do.”

Greg Roman’s Thursday press conference transcript, courtesy of the 49ers.   Opening Statement: “Good afternoon. Didn’t take our players long watching the film of cleaning up the Detroit game, moving on to Minnesota and seeing that these guys are a very, very good defense. They’re well coached. They’ve got a diverse scheme. They’ve got [Vikings DE] Jared Allen, who some regard as the best pass rusher in the National Football…

September 21, 2012
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Lions-49ers matchups: Part II

The 49ers play the Detroit Lions Sunday night at Candlestick Park. In the meantime, I’ll break down one key matchup per day. Alex Smith vs. the Lions’ secondary: CB Drayton Florence, CB Chris Houston, CB Jacob Lacey and FS John Wendling. The key for Alex Smith is to avoid obvious passing downs, like third and 9, because the Lions can put a ton of heat on him with only four…

September 13, 2012
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Packers-49ers matchups: Part III

The 49ers play the Green Bay Packers in three days. In the meantime, I’ll break down a few key matchups a day. ROLB Aldon Smith: 6-4, 258 pounds, 22 years old, 35 3/8-inch arms. vs. LT Marshall Newhouse: 6-4, 319 pounds, 23 years old, 34-inch arms. This is the key one-on-one matchup and if Aldon Smith dominates it, the 49ers should win. Marshall Newhouse got manhandled last season by defensive…

September 6, 2012
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Preseason Week 3 grades

Here are my grades for the 49ers preseason game against the Denver Broncos. QUARTERBACKS: B. Alex Smith and the first-team offense was 1-for-4 on third down and 0-for-1 in the red zone (Peyton Manning was 2-3 on third down and 2-2 in the red zone). Smith did complete 5 of 7 passes, including a deep TD to Vernon Davis. Smith also had one fumbled snap, one delay-of-game penalty and two…

August 26, 2012
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5 keys vs. the Broncos

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers play the Denver Broncos today in their third preseason game. As you already know, the third preseason game is typically the most serious preseason game, the “dress rehearsal” before the regular season – starters play into the second half and coaches game plan for the opponent. But Jim Harbaugh said this preseason game would be no different than the other Niners preseason games. He doesn’t…

August 26, 2012
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Niners media tent schedule

Here is the Niners’ current weekend interview schedule, which is subject to change. If you have any questions you would like me to ask, please leave them in the comment section below.   Friday, July 27 between 12-1pm Head Coach Jim Harbaugh QB Alex Smith WR Randy Moss   Saturday, July 28 between 12-1pm Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio DT Justin Smith LB Patrick Willis   Sunday, July 29 between 12-1pm…

July 27, 2012
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Assorted Niners stats

Although many of you disagree with Football Outsiders projections for the upcoming season, their 2012 almanac has some interesting stats from last season I’d like to share with you. “Alex Smith was out of the pocket on 19 percent of pass plays, fifth in the league, and was pretty bad on these plays, with just 4.4 yards per play and -25.1% DVOA.” What this means to me: Quarterbacks usually ad-lib…

July 17, 2012
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49ers unsung heroes

We often talk about the same few guys around here – Jim Harbaugh, Trent Baalke, the Smiths. But for the most part, the entire organization is thriving, and many 49ers don’t get the credit they deserve. So let’s address that. Here are five unsung heroes. Joe Staley – He struggled at the beginning of last season, but so did the entire 49ers offensive line. They didn’t have an offseason, so…

July 3, 2012
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Ranking the Niners best players: Nos. 11-15

This is the third installment of my series on the Niners best players. To read the first two installments, click here and here. Today I’m ranking the 11th through the 15th best players on the roster. I’m eager to read your lists. 11. Ted Ginn Jr., PR. – Averaged the 2nd most yards per punt return in the NFL last season (12.3) of all players with more than 25 returns….

June 26, 2012
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The 49ers top-five offensive play calls last season

Although the 49ers offensive play calling needs to improve next season, Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman called their fair share of good plays last season. Here were their top-five. Frank Gore’s 46-yard run at Detroit in Week 6 thanks to the “wham” block from Delanie Walker on Ndamukong Suh. The Niners used Suh’s aggressiveness against him, allowing him to run free into the backfield on a run play before Delanie…

June 4, 2012
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Grading the 49ers: Offensive line

Before: Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Jonathan Goodwin, Adam Snyder, Anthony Davis, Alex Boone, Chilo Rachal, Daniel Kilgore and Mike Person. Grade: C+ Why: LT Joe Staley was a Pro Bowler and LG Mike Iupati was very good, but the mere presence of RG Chilo Rachal in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season nearly sunk the entire offense. Harbaugh benched him for Adam Snyder, who upgraded the right…

April 29, 2012
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Harbaugh and 49er tradition

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat just posted the article I wrote for their Sunday paper. It’s about the art gallery that’s growing on the hallway outside the team’s meeting rooms. Not just everyone can view the gallery, though. Only players and coaches and certain football-related personnel can. 49ers public relations director Bob Lange graciously invited me in to see it this week. In my article, I describe it and I…

January 21, 2012
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How the Niners offense will attack the Giants defense

Here’s how I expect the Niners offense to attack the red hot New York Giants defense. I expect the Niners to split out Vernon Davis at wide receiver often, much more than usual. The Giants are going to double team him, probably with a cornerback and a safety. I expect the Niners to use that against them. They’ll split Davis out wide and have him run deep. Two Giants defenders…

January 19, 2012
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King Harbaugh and the Knights of the Round Table

SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh was especially talkative today. His Monday press conference transcript was almost 5,000 words. I’m focusing on about 80 of them. One writer asked Harbaugh an Alex Smith question. Harbaugh responded by calling his quarterback tough. Then he went on this tangent: “These guys are my heroes. All of them. Alex was heroic in this game. So was Justin, so was Donte, so was Aldon, so…

January 16, 2012
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How the Giants defense will play the Niners offense

Part of the reason the Saints lost to the Niners on Saturday is that their defensive game plan was too simple. They acted as if stopping Frank Gore would stop the entire Niners offense. They committed eight, nine, sometimes ten defenders to the box to shut down Gore and they left every single receiver in single coverage – even Vernon Davis. This was a bad strategy. You can’t single cover…

January 15, 2012
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Joe Staley breaks down his Monday night availability and the Steelers outside linebackers

SANTA CLARA – Joe Staley made himself available to talk at his locker this afternoon. He spoke to a group of reporters and this is what he said. Q: Where are you in your process of being cleared for Monday night? STALEY: It’s all protocol. You’ve got to go through the steps and I’ve been passing all the steps and doing well, but it’s still in the doctors’ hands. I…

December 17, 2011
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Highlights from warmups

SANTA CLARA — Here’s what I observed during today’s warmups. Greg Roman and Jim Harbaugh’s father, Jack, having a serious conversation in the middle of the practice field. Patrick Willis gingerly high stepping hurdles. I would be extremely surprised if he plays this Monday night. Joe Staley jogging back and forth across the field with a backwards cap on his head. I doubt he plays this Monday night, either. Aldon…

December 16, 2011
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Thursday’s injury report: Gore isn’t injured

SANTA CLARA — Frank Gore wasn’t on Thursday’s injury report. So, he got only 10 carries against the Cardinals on Sunday either because of a strategic choice from Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman – a choice that didn’t work – or he was dinged up during the game and now he’s fine. Either way, they’ll need to give him more than ten carries to win the game on Monday night….

December 15, 2011
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Greg Roman insists the Niners offense is not a Greg Roman offense

SANTA CLARA – Here is the transcript of Greg Roman’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening Statement: “We’ve got a tough opponent on the road. Every game is tough, every opponent is tough. These guys are really well coached. Play a 3-4 scheme, very aggressive, very physical. They had Dallas down late, haven’t won a game in a few weeks but they’re a very good team. The team…

November 3, 2011
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Staley: “Everyone was like, ‘Dude, there was a fight!'”

SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of Joe Staley’s locker room Q&A from this morning. Q: What did you make of the handshake incident? STALEY: I think it’s just two competitive guys. Obviously emotions were running high at the end of the game, the way we finished the game and the way it came down to the final drive. High emotions and two really competitive guys. Things kind of carried…

October 17, 2011
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