Week 6 grades: Defense & special teams

SAN FRANCISCO — Here are the Week 6 grades for the defense and special teams. Defensive line: D. They got zero pressure on Eli Manning. They held Ahmad Bradshaw to 23 yards on 11 carries in the first half, but they gave up 93 yards on 16 carries to Bradshaw in the second half. At one point in the fourth quarter they gave up almost 70 rushing yards on 7…

October 14, 2012
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Preseason Week 1 grades: The offense

SAN FRANCISCO – Here are my preseason Week One grades for the Niners’ offense. Offensive line: A. In the running game, they completely pushed the Vikings’ defensive line around. The 49ers averaged 6.3 yards per rush because the offensive line created gaping holes all night. Rock Cartwright gained 44 yards on 8 carries. When was the last time you saw Cartwright do that? In pass protection, the offensive line looked…

August 11, 2012
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Harbaugh breaks down the Niners running backs, plus more

How did your thud-ball session go yesterday? “Good. Lively, hard-hitting, aggressive, but I thought we worked well together and got a lot out of that first day in pads.”   There was one incident on the field where it appeared as if you sent off WR Brian Tyms. Can you explain what happened out there? “Yeah, it was an incident that, just the way we do things, how we do…

July 30, 2012
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Training camp report: Vernon Davis runs great routes, Crabtree injures ankle

SANTA CLARA – The Niners first practice of the 2012 training camp was padless – full contact doesn’t start until Sunday. Keeping that in mind, here are my impressions from Friday. THE GOOD TE Vernon Davis – Twice the coaching staff raved about the routes Davis ran. Last year, Harbaugh mentioned he wanted Davis to improve his route running, to make his movements more precise. Today, Davis was the most…

July 27, 2012
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Why the 49ers will not draft a running back

I say the Niners will not take a running back in the upcoming NFL Draft, and here’s why. This season, Frank Gore will be the starter and Kendall Hunter will be the backup. Any running back the Niners could draft would be a third-stringer this season (with the exception of Alabama’s Trent Richardson. He’d be the Niners’ best RB right now, but they’re not getting him – he’s a top-five…

March 26, 2012
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