SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Is there any question in your mind which quarterback you’re going to be facing on Sunday? “Well, it seems like it’s going to be [Cardinals QB John] Skelton based upon the reports and the comments.” What about him and is there anything about him that stands out? He’s obviously had a couple of nice…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday afternoon press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. As you reflect on that game last night, what was the thing that stood out to you that you guys did particularly well? “The thing that stood out to me the most was why you love football. It was competitive, it was two really good teams with really good players that were playing…
SANTA CLARA – Here is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. How good of a test is this Giants offense in terms of evaluating your entire defense? “It’ll be a great test because the one thing about the Giants offense that I think you can say, it strikes you right from the start of looking at them, is their balance. A lot of times…
SANTA CLARA — Here is the transcript of Eli Manning’s Wednesday afternoon conference call with Bay Area reporters. Q: When you come to the line of scrimmage how long is it going to take you to try to find No. 52? E. MANNING: (Laughs). Not very long. You usually have a pretty good idea of where he’s lined up. Me and Patrick, we go back a long way, back to…
SANTA CLARA – Here is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Vic, [LB] Aldon Smith was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month, is he just providing everything you could have hoped he would at this point? “He’s played well in this last month. His pass rush has really picked up. He’s had games where he’s had opportunity to play more because the type…
SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference. Enjoy. Q: What’s W.I.N. stand for? (Sign on the wall.) HARBAUGH: What’s important now. Q: What is important now? HARBAUGH: Today? Reviewing the film, learning from that, players getting treatment, day off for the fellas. And preparing for the Redskins. Q: On running plays, your offensive linemen are often well down the field at the end of the…
Here’s the transcript of Murph and Mac’s Q&A with NFL Film’s analyst Greg Cosell from this morning on KNBR. Murph and Mac asked Cosell about Carson Palmer first and then the 49ers second. I’m giving you the whole interview, but I’m putting the Niners stuff at the top. Q: Jim Harbaugh and Vic Fangio called the 49ers defensive performance in Detroit last week the best one they’ve ever coached. Did…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers Are you guys staking a concert, a rock concert out there (on the practice fields)? “We’ve upgraded our sound system.” Is that after watching the Bears game the other night? “No, we’ve been trying to get that done for about eight weeks, so we finally got it done.” So you want a louder practice…
Here are my week 5 grades for the 49ers. Quarterbacks: A. Here’s Alex Smith’s stat line: He completed 11 of 19 throws for 170 yards, 3 TDs and QB rating of 127.2. His first TD throw – the long one down the seam to Delanie Walker on the Niners first drive – was perfect. His screen pass to Joshua Morgan in the third quarter was perfect as well. He also…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the complete transcript of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference in the media tent, courtesy of the 49ers. Do you know or expect what the status of DT Isaac Sopoaga will be on Sunday? Do you expect to have him ready for the game? “I think right now it would be highly unlikely that he’ll play this Sunday.” What have you seen from his replacement…
Here’s what NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell said about the 49ers this morning on the Murph and Mac Show. Q: Did you have any inkling that the 49ers could pull off that comeback? COSELL: The best way to answer that would be I was surprised Alex Smith started the second half. Q: I’d say the same thing, and that’s coming from a fan. COSELL: I’ve got to tell you, I…
SANTA CLARA — Drew Rosenhaus is here at 49ers facility. That much we know. He’s here on behalf oh his unhappy client, running back Frank Gore. Gore wants a contract extension, and Rosenhaus wants to get him one now. But it is unclear whether the 49ers really want to give him one. Either way, there are no updates on the contract negotiations at this time. Patrick Willis spoke to Associated…
SAN FRANCISCO – Here are in-game quotes from Patrick Willis, courtesy of the 49ers. Talk a little bit about the defenses performance so far: “We always want to come out and play well. They pretty much drove the ball on us, but with every game there’s something to learn from and I think this is a good game. You never want anything bad to happen to us, but I think…
SANTA CLARA – Patrick Willis spoke for a few minutes after practice. He had big praise for two of the starting linebackers, and for a surprise backup cornerback as well. Here’s a transcript of that interview. Q: Would you say the team has worked harder this year than last year? WILLIS: I would probably say so. With Coach Harbaugh, everything we do is quick tempo. It’s his way of getting…
SANTA CLARA – Last week Anthony Dixon had two showdowns with Patrick Willis on the practice field. Dixon won the first one, giving Willis a hard helmet-t0-helmet hit, but Willis won the second, stripping the ball from Dixon in the backfield and seemingly twisting the backup running back’s ankle. Today, Dixon shed some light his injury, or non-injury, and his confrontations with Willis. He also compares the coaching styles of Jim…
SANTA CLARA – After warm-ups and drills, the real practice started with a 9-on-9 goal line scrimmage. It was the first team offense against the first team defense, but backup Anthony Dixon lined up at tailback instead of Frank Gore. Alex Smith hiked the ball and handed it off to Dixon, who chose to bounce his run outside to the left. This was a bad move. Patrick Willis caught him…
Niner42 and mcniner felt I skimped on the practice notes, and I aim to please, so here’s some more. Most of training camp has been fully padded but light on tackling. The lineman bang into each other, but the skill positions basically play two-hand-touch. Jim Harbaugh constantly reminds the players to “Keep them up! Keep them on their feet!” He doesn’t want any injuries. Today was a full-on tackling day,…
SANTA CLARA – Players will be available for interviews at noon, so I’ll have some transcripts up around lunch time today. Before I go, here’s a taste of what it’s like to conduct an interview here at the 49ers practice facility. It is about five miles away from San Jose International Airport, so every time we’re interviewing someone there’s a twenty-second period when a plane flies overhead and we can’t…
SANTA CLARA – Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke to the media after today’s practice. He’s a blunt guy and he explained, among other things, there are only two positions set on his defense. You figure that out for yourself, and I’ll give the answer below. He also implied his defense is not ready for prime time. Q: What do you know about your defense two days into practice that you…
SANTA CLARA – Rapid fire, here are selected quotes from four different group interviews from this afternoon. They feature Josh Morgan, Shawntae Spencer, Patrick Willis, and Taylor Mays. The first practice of the season starts at 2:30 and goes to 5:30 and I am not allowed to tweet but I will take diligent notes and report back to you tonight. After practice we will interview Coach Harbaugh, Vernon Davis, and…
