SANTA CLARA – Here is what stood out to me at Day 2 of the 49ers’ mini-camp. If you have questions about anything else that happened at practice, ask me in the comment section. THE GOOD 1. Nnamdi Asomugha – Played left cornerback for the first team defense and did not give up a completion in full-speed team drills. Asomugha broke up two passes from Colt McCoy in a three-play…
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 – Here is what stood out to me at the 49ers’ Tuesday mini-camp. THE GOOD 1. Anquan Boldin – He was every quarterback’s favorite target, as usual. Five-of the-first-nine plays during 7-on-7 drills were passes to Boldin. He finished competitive team drills with seven catches and two touchdowns. He lined up at flanker and split end, but before the snap he usually went in motion and ended up…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what A.J. Jenkins said Tuesday afternoon. Q: Did your mindset change when Michael Crabtree got hurt? JENKINS: My mindset going into this offseason was just trying to play more, regardless of whether Crabtree was hurt or not. It’ s unfortunate that he got an injury, but my mindset didn’t waver at all because he got hurt. Q: Roman said last week was the best you’ve practiced…
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…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me from the 49ers’ second open OTA. THE GOOD 1. Anquan Boldin. He lined up in the slot about 90 percent of the time in 7-on-7 drills and 11-on-11 drills, and he caught 10 passes on 11 targets. He was the best offensive player on the field today by far. Every time he ran a route it seemed the quarterback threw it…
Jim Harbaugh spoke on 95.7 The Game Friday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the 49ers’ wide receivers. Q: Who do you expect to fill the void at wide receiver? HARBAUGH: “We’ll put (A.J.) Jenkins, (Quinton) Patton and Ricardo Lockette at the same position and let them compete and emerge. And the good news is somebody will emerge because they have to. And then the other side – Anquan Boldin,…
There’s been a great deal of debate over how big of a loss of Michael Crabtree is to the 49ers. Some people say the loss is no big deal, others say it’s quite a big deal. To inform the debate, let’s look closely at Crabtree’s 2012 stats. Michael Crabtree Catches: 85 (tied for 13th best in the NFL) Yards: 1,105 (14th) Touchdowns: 9 (tied for 11th) Deep catches (passes traveling…
This upcoming season, the 49ers arguably will have the slowest base offense in the NFL. I’m talking 21 personnel – Frank Gore at tail back, Bruce Miller at fullback, Vernon Davis at tight end, Michael Crabtree at flanker and Anquan Boldin at split end. When those players are on the field for the 49ers, their fastest players are the tight end and the quarterback. If the 49ers want more speed,…
Here are the top-10 position battles on the 49ers I’m looking forward to this offseason. Which battles interest you the most? 1. No.2 and No.3 cornerback: Carlos Rogers vs. Nnamdi Asomugha vs. Chris Culliver. Tarell Brown probably is a lock to start, so Rogers, Asomugha and Culliver will compete for the other two cornerback spots in the 49ers’ Nickel defense. Rogers and Culliver will compete to cover the slot. The…
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,…
Accord to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the 49ers are one of five teams interested in free agent return man Josh Cribbs. Cribbs, who will be 30 years old next season, was a Pro Bowl return man in 2007 and 2009, when he averaged 30.7 and 27.5 yards per kick return, respectively. Last season, he averaged 27.4 yards per kick return. Cribbs could be a replacement for the 49ers’ free agent…
The 49ers have four picks in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft: The 31st, the 61st, the 74th and the 93rd pick. How would you like the 49ers to use those picks? Should they package them or some of them in a trade for an elite player, like Jets’ cornerback Darrelle Revis? Or should they package the picks to trade up in the draft? Or should they stand…
As you all have probably heard, Mario Manningham tore the ACL and PCL in left knee against the Seahawks and he’s out for the rest of the season. The 49ers now have lost their No.2 and No.3 wide receivers (Kyle Williams tore up his knee against the Saints). The remaining wide receivers on the 53-man roster are Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss, Ted Ginn Jr. and A.J. Jenkins. How do you…
SANTA CLARA – This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. I heard you say yesterday that the Cowboy will ride. Do you expect DT Justin Smith to play Sunday against Seattle? “If it’s humanly possible.” Is it going to be humanly possible? “We’ll see. We’ll see how he feels today and tomorrow.” How do you feel about just the overall…
The 49ers announced this afternoon they’ve moved undrafted rookie Jewel Hampton from the non-football-related injury list to the active roster. With Kyle Williams and Kendall Hunter on the injured reserved list, Hampton becomes the 52nd man on the 49ers roster, which means they can still sign another player at any time. They were spotted working out kickers at their facility this morning.
Monday morning on Twitter, Kyle Williams confirmed he tore his ACL Sunday against the Saints and will miss the rest of the season as he rehabs. Kendall Hunter hurt his ankle on the same play, but the extent of his injury is currently unknown. Due to these injuries, first and second round picks A.J. Jenkins and LaMichael James may be activated next week against the Rams, but I do not…
NEW ORLEANS – The 49ers just beat the Saints 31-21. Here are the grades for the 49ers offense. Offensive line: B-. These guys gave up pressure all game, but did not surrender a single sack because Kaepernick escaped every time. Anthony Davis was flagged for a hold which negated a beautiful throw by Kaepernick and a beautiful catch and run by Michael Crabtree which would have been a 35-yard gain….
NEW ORLEANS — The 49ers just beat the Saints 31-21. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense and special teams. Defensive line: B+. Justin Smith had 1.5 sacks – he’s coming on at the end of the season, just like he did last year. Ray McDonald almost sacked Brees on the first play of the game. McDonald didn’t do much the rest of the game. And Isaac Sopoaga was…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here is the complete transcript of Colin Kaepernick’s postgame press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. When were you told that you were going to be a starter? “Last night was when they officially told me.” Did you have an inkling that was the way it was going as the week went on? “I started getting more reps on Friday and Saturday. We really didn’t know…
