SANTA CLARA – NaVorro Bowman spoke in the media tent Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: How much has Michael Wilhoite improved this offseason? BOWMAN: He’s definitely a lot more focused. He understands that he has a chance to be the next guy up. I think that’s what he’s been waiting for. He’s definitely earned it with giving us everything he has on special teams. Now that he’s playing…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the 49ers’ media tent Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said, courtesy of the 49ers. How many of the vets do you expect to just get the night off tomorrow? “Just a few.” Which ones? “[LB] Patrick [Willis] for sure and possibly [RB] Frank [Gore]. We’ll see.” What about DT Justin Smith? “We’ll see. But I think the bigger, rather than go…
Here is my Friday column on the recent rash of NFL offseason and training camp injuries. Have you noticed how many NFL players already have torn ACLs or Achilles’ tendons this offseason? We’re not even two weeks into training camp, and already nine NFL players have torn ACLs and three have ruptured Achilles, and most of these injuries involved no contact. So far, 14 49ers have injured themselves and they…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent after Thursday’s practice. Here’s a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. Can you give us any indication on how serious CB Chris Culliver’s knee injury is? “No not yet. He’s up at Stanford getting an MRI.” How about LB Patrick Willis’ hand? “Yeah, he’s got something he’s going to be working through with his hand.” Do you expect…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me at Thursday’s padded practice. THE GOOD 1. Vernon Davis – He lined up everywhere – tight end, in the backfield and out wide. In a red-zone drill, Davis lined up at split end across from Tarell Brown. Davis beat Brown on an inside move and caught a touchdown pass from Colt McCoy. 2. Nnamdi Asomugha – He was the second-team right…
ESPN just reported Patrick Willis slightly fractured his right hand yesterday in practice. Willis apparently broke his hand when he crashed into Bruce Miller in a blitz pickup drill. Chris Mortensen tweeted Willis will be “ready for regular season.” Do you think this injury could affect Willis’ season in any way? Why or why not?
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me at Wednesday’s padded practice. THE GOOD 1. Marlon Moore – He was the starting split end and he caught five passes and a touchdown during team drills. He also made the catch of the day, as he’s done every day of training camp. He ran a fade route against Tarell Brown, Kaepernick threw a back shoulder pass but it was at…
SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent after Tuesday’s practice. Here’s what he said. How has NT Ian Williams looked with the first team handling the nose tackle responsibilities? “He’s doing very well. He’s having a good camp, so far. Ian’s worked extremely hard since he’s gotten here from day one but really kicked it up this offseason and he’s had a very good camp up…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me at the 49ers’ Thursday afternoon pad-less training camp practice. THE GOOD 1. Kyle Williams – He looked as explosive and fast as he did last offseason. In 7-on-7 drills, Williams blew past Marcus Cooper on a deep route and easily caught a 40-yard toss from B.J. Daniels. 2. Anquan Boldin – He snatched a sure interception away from Tarell Brown on…
SANTA CLARA – Here is what stood out to me at Day 3 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. Colin Kaepernick – He hadn’t done anything spectacular this offseason until this afternoon. He’d been mostly dinking and dunking. Colt McCoy had been more aggressive throwing downfield. Alex Smith had been more aggressive…
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…
SANTA CLARA – Carlos Rogers spoke to Bay Area reporters this afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: What’s the mood like on the team right now? ROGERS: It’s always every team’s goal to win the Super Bowl. This is where it starts. Preparing, getting stronger, learning the offense, defense and special teams. Q: What kind of role do you think Nnamdi Asomugha will have this year? ROGERS: I don’t know….
What’s the correct name for the 49ers’ base defense: 3-4 or 4-3 Under? If you’ve never heard of the 4-3 Under, click here to read a detailed explanation of it. The article says George Seifert used the 4-3 Under when he was the defensive coordinator for the 49ers. His defense looked like a 3-4 because the weakside defensive end rushed from a standing position, a two-point stance. Here’s a description…
Many of my readers have been comparing and contrasting the 49ers and Seahawks this week, so I thought it would be interesting to break down the two clubs by offensive, defensive and special teams units. In other words, at this point in free agency which team has the better starting QB? Which team has the better backup QB? Which team has the better group of running backs? And so on….
The 49ers lost the Super Bowl 34-31 on Sunday. Here are the grades for the defense and special teams. Defensive line: C. Ray McDonald got pressure and recorded a sack, but the other defensive linemen were invisible. It was hard to tell Justin Smith was even on the field most of the time. He had almost no impact on the game, finishing with just three tackles. Linebackers: C. Credit the…
This is my Saturday article on the gradual construction of the 49ers’ roster. By GRANT COHN After the 2004 season, the 49ers were the worst team in football. They had practically no talent, they had won two games, and they had one Pro Bowler, long snapper, Brian Jennings. This season, the 49ers are going to the Super Bowl and they have arguably the most talented roster in the NFL. Nine…
Warren Sapp spoke on KNBR Thursday afternoon. Here is his breakdown of the 49ers and Ravens defenses, as well as his scouting report of the 49ers’ offensive line and the Ravens’ defensive line. Q: What do you think of the Ravens’ defense? SAPP: We love the Baltimore defense because of Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata, T-Sizzle – the names roll off the tongue. And everything they’ve gone through this…
Patrick Willis explains why he chose jersey No. 52 — and why it’s never a good idea to tell a high school player he isn’t as good as your son.
Before leaving for New Orleans, I spoke by phone with Matt Millen, who has been doing TV work for both ESPN and NFL Network of late. It was for a story I wrote on the 49ers linebackers. Here are excerpts:
SANTA CLARA – Aldon Smith spoke in the 49ers’ locker room Wednesday afternoon. This is what he said. Q: Have offenses been double-teaming you more and more as the season has progressed? ALDON SMITH: Yeah, I’ve gotten doubled a lot more. Quarterbacks are doing a good job of getting the ball out of their hands. Stuff like that. Q: How do you deal with that? ALDON SMITH: It’s freeing somebody…
