SAN FRANCISCO – Here are the 49ers’ grades for their 23-13 win over the Rams. KAEPERNICK: A-. This was the most accurate Kaepernick has thrown the ball since Week 1 against the Packers. Kaepernick completed 68 percent of his passes for 9.8 yards per attempt against the Rams. My only knock on him is he did not play well on third down – the 49ers converted just 4 of 12…
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…
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…
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…
Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 42-10 win over the Jaguars. Quarterbacks: A. One of the best games ever by a quarterback who completed just 10 passes. Kaepernick scored three touchdowns, one passing and two rushing, and he averaged 10.2 yards per pass attempt and 9.3 yards per rush attempt. He made 10 breathtaking plays in the first half alone – designed runs, scrambles, pump fakes, passes on the…
Here is my Thursday column on the 49ers’ upcoming game against the awful Jaguars. Beating the Jaguars is way down the list of important things the 49ers must accomplish this weekend. Beating the Jaguars isn’t even top-three. Beating the Jaguars is expected. Everyone beats the Jaguars. The Jaguars are the worst. The 49ers should treat this game like an exhibition or a scrimmage. There is no way the 49ers lose…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jim Harbaugh made an interesting digression in his postgame interview. Here it is. HARBAUGH: Great road win. Had a lot of families here for this game. Daniel Kilgore had close to 100 friends and relatives. Patrick Willis’ family was here. Quinton Patton is from here, his mom came over and cooked for us last night. It was a neat day. You could see it brewing when we…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 31-17 win over the Titans. KAEPERNICK: A-. He threw some extremely accurate passes and ran exceptionally well. His passer rating was 93.2 and his yards-per-carry average was 6.2 – the highest in the game. He gets an A- and not an A because he made two poor throws in the second quarter when the 49ers were up just 3-0. First,…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the defensive meeting room Monday afternoon. Here is a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. Were there a few more people getting treatment today after having such a physical game yesterday? “It was normal, a normal day.” Did it seem like a more physical game than usual? “It was very physical.” On the 18-play drive in the fourth quarter, how well-executed…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 32-20 win over the Cardinals. KAEPERNICK: C-. He was 8-for-11 passing to Vernon Davis and 8-for-18 passing to everyone else. The Cardinals absolutely could not cover Davis and Kaepernick took advantage. Kaepernick also threw an interception in the red zone, fumbled the ball in the pocket and fumbled a snap which he recovered. He was 1-for-8 on third down until…
SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. How do you feel just about the way the defense has rallied these last few weeks with a couple very significant guys out of the lineup? “Well, the guys that have come in and replaced those guys have played well enough for us to keep playing the way we like…
SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon. Here’s a transcript. Q: What’s the outlook for Patrick Willis for Sunday’s game? HARBAUGH: We’ll see. He’s progressing good every day. We’ll see what the chances are tomorrow and the next day. Q: How did Michael Wilhoite look this week in practice? HARBAUGH: Good, good. He’s done a nice job in games and practice. Q: Is he at…
SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. When you look at the Texans, what sort of jumps out at you about the challenge that they present to you guys? “Well, balance number one. These guys are committed to running the ball and they have a play-action passing game that works directly in conjunction with their running game….
Here is my Tuesday column on the upcoming 49ers-Rams game. You don’t have to look hard to find reasons to pick the 49ers to beat the Rams Thursday night in St. Louis. Here’s one: The Rams stink. Last Sunday they got destroyed by the Cowboys, a .500 team the past two seasons. And the Rams showed no emotion while they got stomped. It was like they expected it and didn’t…
SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent Tuesday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers. We saw CB Darryl Morris got promoted to the active roster. Is that a sign that CB Nnamdi Asomugha won’t be able to play Thursday? “Well, we had the opening with the roster, and we do have some questions with our health at the corner position. So, we just felt it…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 27-7 Week 3 loss to the Colts. KAEPERNICK: D-. His second horrendous game in a row. He completed just 13-of-27 passes for 150 yards. He also threw an interception and fumbled. Kaepernick is the kind of quarterback who wants to feed the ball to the receivers he trusts but he trusts just one receiver – Anquan Boldin. Kaepernick hardly looks…
SAN FRANCISCO – My grades for the 49ers after their 34-28 win over the Packers: KAEPERNICK: A. He outplayed Aaron Rodgers and shredded the Packers’ defense despite having no rushing threat, one wide receiver and one tight end. Kaepernick may be the only quarterback in the NFL who can pull that off. Here’s his final stat line: 29-of-37 for 412 yards, 3 TDs, a 129.4 passer rating, 9-for-18 on third…
Here is my Friday column previewing the 49ers-Packers game. Jim Harbaugh has to understand Clay Matthews isn’t bluffing. Matthews wants to take out Colin Kaepernick. Every Packer does. Matthews said so. If the 49ers run the read-option, the Packers will try to hurt Kaepernick. They’d be nuts not to. It’s legal. It’s smart. Knocking him out is the Packers’ best chance to win, and the read-option play is the best…
SANTA CLARA – Chris Harper spoke at his locker Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: Is H-back a new position for you? HARPER: Yeah, I’ve never gotten in a three-point stance before. That’s going to be different for me. Q: Did you do a little bit of that today? HARPER: Yeah, I did. A lot of it today, actually. Q: Has the name Delanie Walker come up? HARPER: Nah,…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was telling me that you guys decided on S Eric Reid as the starting safety. What has he shown you to earn that role heading into the regular season? “Just everything we talked about, he’s been good. He’s shown that he’s picked up the system…
