New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan spoke to Bay Area reporters on a conference call Wednesday morning. He talked about the key players on the 49ers’ offense, the seven blue-chip players on the 49ers’ defense and the how the Jets’ defense will adjust to the loss of Darrelle Revis. The transcript. Q: Donte Whitner said the key for him in facing the Jets offense is keeping an eye on…
My Week 2 Power Rankings, in tiers. Tier 1: The 49ers. Tier 2: Empty. Tier 3: Empty. Tier 4: The Texans and a few other teams. Tier 5: It doesn’t matter. No team ranks anywhere near the 49ers right now. They’re in another universe. They’re so good, it’s more interesting to rank the 49ers players against the other 49ers players. So let’s forget the Power Rankings for now. Let’s create…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the complete transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Harbaugh explained why he suited three quarterbacks against the Lions. He also told two Muhammad Ali stories, praised Michael Crabtree’s “frog-like” catching ability, and more. Enjoy. “Sorry I’m late. I was getting a little something to eat. A little hungrier today than normal.” Did you have a $2 steak? “No. It was…
One curious stat from yesterday’s dominating win over the Green Bay Packers: The 49ers offense converted just 2 of 9 third downs – 22 percent. That’s worse than their average last season – 28 percent. Granted, the two third downs they converted were impressive. One was a 20-yard completion to Michael Crabtree on third and 8, and the other was a touchdown to Vernon Davis on third and goal from…
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Here are my grades for the 49ers, who upset the Packers 30-22 at Lambeau Field in the season opener. QUARTERBACKS: A. Alex Smith may have played the best game of his life, even better than his comeback win against the Saints in the playoffs. Granted, the Packers secondary was horrendous, but Smith threw 2 TDs and no picks. He averaged a stellar 8.1 yards per attempt….
The Packers will beat the 49ers Sunday, 34-23. The Packers are going to double-team both Justin and Aldon Smith. The left guard and center – T.J. Lang and Jeff Saturday – will take Justin Smith, and the left tackle and running back – Marshall Newhouse and Cedric Benson – will take Aldon Smith. Aaron Rodgers will have enough time to find open receivers and exploit the 49ers secondary, which is…
SANTA CLARA – Carlos Rogers spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. He said Randy Moss looks much faster than he did in training camp, and Rogers explained what makes Packers’ wide receiver Greg Jennings tough to cover. Here’s a transcript. Q: Were you just as curious as everybody else to see what Randy Moss had left when he showed up in April? ROGERS: Yeah, I was, but once I…
SANTA CLARA – When asked whom he expects to face this Sunday, Michael Crabtree smiled, shrugged and said, “I don’t know, man. I don’t know what to expect.” Here’s what you can expect: He probably will not face much of No.1 cornerback Tramon Williams, whom the Packers list as their left cornerback. Left cornerbacks typically line up against flankers and the 49ers list Randy Moss, not Crabtree, as their flanker….
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…
Here are my preseason Week 2 grades for the 49ers’ offense. OFFENSIVE LINE: B+. They opened up big holes in the running game and played pretty well overall, but it’s important to note they didn’t have to face two of the Texans’ starting defensive linemen – Shaun Cody and J.J Watt. Alex Smith got sacked twice and took five big hits in the first quarter, but the offensive line wasn’t…
SANTA CLARA – When Michael Crabtree speaks to the media – he rarely does, but on Wednesday he did – he’s detached, like he’s watching himself talk. He keeps an ironic distance from the interview. It always seems like he has another private thought and you’d love to know what it is, but he’ll only give you 25 percent. He looks at you through sleepy, mysterious eyes. These are all…
SANTA CLARA – The first-team offense and defense mainly faced scout teams (third stringers) at today’s practice, so most of the starters looked unstoppable. With that in mind, here was the best of the best from Tuesday. At one point in a red-zone seven-on-seven drill, Alex Smith threw four touchdowns over a five-pass span. Randy Moss caught two of those TD passes. He was being covered by undrafted rookie Deante…
SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the 49ers’ media tent on Thursday. He announced Michael Crabtree and Ted Ginn Jr. are his starting wide receivers for Friday’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Here’s the transcript courtesy of the 49ers. How much do you expect to play the regulars on Friday? “Well, it’ll vary from regular to regular.” How about the starters? “The starters? We’ve got a number…
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…
SANTA CLARA – Michael Crabtree increased his practice participation on Tuesday, catching three passes from Alex Smith within the first ten minutes of team drills. Crabtree mostly watched from the sideline after those catches, but he looked like the best wide receiver on the team and Alex Smith’s favorite target when he was playing. Ahmad Brooks is having the best offseason of his career according to the coaches, and he’s…
SANTA CLARA – The 49ers’ run defense is the best in the NFL, but their pass defense stood out on Monday. Justin Smith dominated the first half of practice, sacking Alex Smith twice. He constantly forced quarterbacks to abandon the pocket and throw on the run. He sat out the second half of practice and as a result the offense played much better. Perrish Cox picked off Alex Smith. On…
SANTA CLARA – On Friday, Alex Smith discussed why the Niners defense has recently dominated the offense in practice, how the passing game has progressed what he thinks of A.J. Jenkins so far. Here’s a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. How would you describe the last two days as far as it pertains to who has gotten the better of whom out there? “Lopsided the last couple of days….
SANTA CLARA – Friday in the media tent, Jim Harbaugh explained that his defense dominated his offense in practice. He also explained why Mike Iupati did not participate and why Alex Boone did not finish the team drills. Here’s a transcript of the press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Opening statement: “Hello. [G] Mike Iupati was excused from practice today, expecting their first child, [his wife] Ashley and Mike…
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…
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…
