Training camp report: Wednesday, the not-so-good — Harbaugh ejects Kyle Williams for fighting

SANTA CLARA – Kyle Williams dropped two passes in practice today, but that’s not why Jim Harbaugh ejected him. Toward the end of practice, Williams caught a pass with undrafted cornerback Deante Purvis draped all over him. It seemed like Williams felt Purvis took too long undraping himself, so Williams head butted him. Then Purvis swung a punch back at him. Harbaugh ran in to break it up. He was…

August 8, 2012
Read More >>

Harbaugh: “Kendall Hunter is having an exceptional training camp.”

SANTA CLARA – On Monday, Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent and discussed the current quarterback depth chart, Michael Crabtree’s injury status and why Kendall Hunter is having a great training camp. Here’s a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening Statement: “Hello. I want to send our condolences to the Reid family on their loss. We’re saddened with grief for them. Our prayers are with them and Garrett, at…

August 6, 2012
Read More >>

Training camp report: Wednesday, the good – Kyle Williams and more

SANTA CLARA – Kyle Williams had his best practice of the offseason, and he was the best wide receiver on the field today. I saw him catch nine passes, including the catch of the day – a diving 20-yard reception over the middle in front of Perrish Cox. Williams also beat Tramaine Brock for a deep touchdown in one-on-one drills. If Williams dropped a pass, I didn’t see it happen….

August 1, 2012
Read More >>

Training camp report: Monday, wide receivers

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what I saw from the wide receivers at Monday’s practice: A.J. Jenkins played better – he caught four of the five passes thrown his way. In one-on-one drills, he lined up twice against undrafted rookie Anthony Mosley (from the University of Kentucky). The first time, Jenkins ran an intermediate route and telegraphed his cut. Mosley jumped the route and batted the pass away. In the second…

July 30, 2012
Read More >>

Training camp report: Manningham and Bowman shine

SANTA CLARA – Here are my observations from the second padless practice of the Niners training camp. THE GOOD Mario Manningham – Four catches (two against the first team defense), no drops. He could have had five catches, but Alex Smith overthrew him deep when he had beaten Perrish Cox down the left sideline. Manningham beat Culliver short towards the end of practice. Culliver was so frustrated he slapped Manningham…

July 28, 2012
Read More >>

Is the Niners offense evolving?

Greg Cosell just wrote a blog on football theory which I find interesting, and you can read here. He asks why NFL teams don’t structure their offenses around great running backs anymore. As we know, the 49ers spent much of the last decade building an offense around a great running back – Frank Gore. Gore rushed 282 times last season for 1,211 yards and eight touchdowns. The Niners offense attempted…

July 10, 2012
Read More >>

A.J. Jenkins by the numbers

Some readers have expressed concern regarding my minicamp analysis of Niners rookie wide receiver, A.J. Jenkins. I called him the biggest letdown of minicamp and one of the worst wide receivers on the field for those three days. Some readers said those statements were hyperbolic and lacked evidence. Below are my unofficial stats from last week’s minicamp. Hopefully, they clear up my statements from my minicamp review. Keep in mind…

June 19, 2012
Read More >>

Minicamp review

Here’s my minicamp review. Keep in mind, it was a non-contact minicamp. No pads, no tackling. It was basically two-hand touch. So I’m focusing on the players involved in the passing game – quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, cornerbacks and safeties. BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS Vernon Davis: He got open almost every time in one-on-one drills. He caught a few touchdowns every scrimmage. After he scored I often heard defenders say…

June 16, 2012
Read More >>

Minicamp notes: Kaepernick’s big day

SANTA CLARA – Yesterday Alex Smith was the star. Today it was Colin Kaepernick. The Niners backup quarterback threw three touchdowns and only a few incompletions all practice. His best pass was a 20-yard line drive to Kyle Williams in the end zone. Williams was tightly covered by Donte Whitner. Kaepernick threw the ball so hard Whitner didn’t have a chance to bat it away. Earlier in a red zone…

June 14, 2012
Read More >>

Minicamp notes: Alex Smith shines in Wednesday’s afternoon practice

SANTA CLARA – Here are some unofficial stats from today’s minicamp. Alex Smith completed 27 of 32 passes. In red zone drills he completed two touchdowns. For about an hour he didn’t miss a single pass. Most of his throws were short and intermediate ones to open receivers. Smith is clearly the most confident Niners QB when it comes to making decisions in the pocket. He was throwing the ball…

June 13, 2012
Read More >>

Kyle Williams speaks

Kyle Williams spoke today outside of the 49ers locker room in Santa Clara. If you’d like to read the entire transcript of what he said, you can read it over at Matt Barrows’ blog. Williams addressed his two lost fumbles against the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game. He said he’s put them behind him because he’s focused on the upcoming season and his teammates have supported him….

May 22, 2012
Read More >>

Moss steals the show

SANTA CLARA – The Niners called today’s practice a Veteran Football School On-field session. Most of the veterans showed up. Frank Gore didn’t, and neither did Mario Manningham or Brandon Jacobs, but that’s OK because VFS is voluntary. But Alex Smith showed up. He stretched with the offensive lineman and chatted with Alex Boone, one of his good friends on the team. Michael Crabtree showed up, too. He stretched next…

May 10, 2012
Read More >>

The 49ers top-10 offseason battles

With rookie mini camps around the corner and OTAs around the bend too, let’s rank the Niners top-10 offseason battles in reverse order. 10. Michael Crabtree vs. his left foot. Will Crabtree win the battle against his left foot this offseason? He’s 1-2 in his professional career when he’s faced the foot in the summer. It beat him in ’09 when it sustained a stress fracture and held him out…

May 4, 2012
Read More >>

Grading the 49ers: Punt returners

Before: Tedd Ginn Jr. and Kyle Williams. Grade: B- Why: Until December, Ginn was one of best punt returners in the league and Kyle Williams was a talented backup. Then Ted Ginn Jr. injured his ankle and Kyle Williams sustained a brutal concussion, and punt returner became the Niners biggest weakness. Williams recovered and Ginn didn’t, so Williams had to return punts in the playoffs. The Niners forgot that Williams…

April 29, 2012
Read More >>

Grading the 49ers: Pass catchers

Now that the draft is over, I’m going to grade each area of the Niners offense, starting with the pass catchers. Before: Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Delanie Walker, Kyle Williams, Ted Ginn Jr., Brett Swain and Joe Hastings. Grade: C- Why: Vernon Davis is a stud, so this group couldn’t have a failing grade. But everyone else is ordinary at best. Swain and Hastings probably won’t be in the league…

April 29, 2012
Read More >>

49ers need Mike Wallace

The NFL draft combine starts today, and as soon as something happens I’ll break it down for you. Stanford tight end Coby Fleener will not run this week because he has a high ankle sprain, so we won’t know how fast he is until he runs at Stanford’s Pro Day on March 22. If he runs a 4.5 40-yard dash, he would be a good pick for the Niners with…

February 22, 2012
Read More >>

Cosell clarifies

Greg Cosell expanded on his NFC championship commentary Thursday morning on KNBR’s The Murph and Mac Show. Here’s what he said. Q: For everyone who didn’t read your blog, tell us your evaluation of the game. COSELL: “Let me just start with this: It was 49ers football. They played true to their character. It’s a run-based offense. It’s a high percentage of two backs, two tight ends, two backs and…

January 26, 2012
Read More >>

Poor Kyle Williams

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat just posted my sidebar on poor Kyle Williams, who’s been getting death threats on twitter since he fumbled the NFC championship away. I feel sorry for Williams. He’s sixth months younger than I am and now he’s the Bay Area’s Bill Buckner. I’m not friends with him but I’ve gotten to know him over the season and I think he’s a nice guy, and I…

January 22, 2012
Read More >>

Grades for the NFC championship game

SAN FRANCISCO – Here are my grades for the 49ers, who lost 20-17 to the New York Giants in the NFC championship game. Alex Smith: D. Most of his 196 passing yards came on two long completions to Vernon Davis. Besides those two plays, Smith completed just 10 of 24 passes (42% – a Tebowesque percentage) for 95 yards. That’s awful. His best plays came when he scrambled – he…

January 22, 2012
Read More >>