The winner of Monday’s 49ers-Vikings game will be…

This is my Sunday column. In their season opener Monday night, the San Francisco 49ers will play one of the up-and-coming teams in the NFL — the Minnesota Vikings. Here are five reasons the Vikings will win. If I’m wrong and the 49ers win, I know you’ll go after me and I’ll deserve it. This is how I see it. No apologies. 1. San Francisco’s pass protection On certain days…

September 12, 2015
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Which QBs are surrounded by the most talent on offense?

Does Colin Kaepernick have more offensive talent around him than any other quarterback in the NFL? He may. According to Pro Football Focus, Kaepernick is surrounded by six high-quality players (Bruce Miller, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Joe Staley, Mike Iupati), and four good players (Frank Gore, Stevie Johnson, Alex Boone and Anthony Davis). Nick Foles is surrounded by a lot of talent, too: Three elite players (LeSean McCoy,…

June 23, 2014
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Top-five QB prospects in the draft

Jim Harbaugh says David Fales is a top-five quarterback prospect in the upcoming draft. I agree with Harbaugh. Here is my full top-five list. Please leave yours’ as well. 1. Blake Bortles, UCF 2. David Fales, San Jose State 3. Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville 4. Derek Carr, Fresno State 5. Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois

April 28, 2014
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Ted Tollner Q&A

I interviewed former USC and San Diego State head coach Ted Tollner last week. Here is the transcript. Q: Why do smaller schools like Fresno State and San Jose State have a pedigree for producing NFL quarterbacks, and bigger schools like Alabama and USC don’t? TOLLNER: You can recruit the most physical players in the country at some big schools. Other schools, you’re not going to get all of those…

April 28, 2014
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NFL draft prospects at QB shine spotlight on smaller schools

This is my feature on the allure of quarterbacks who went to non-major-conference colleges. For the past five years, every quarterback who was chosen in the first round of the NFL draft went to a major-conference college. Meaning a college in the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC or ACC. Forget that trend. Draft gurus expect three quarterbacks who went to non-major-conference colleges to get drafted in Round 1 this…

April 25, 2014
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NFL’s impressions of the top-50 draft prospects

One of the best reporters in the country, Bob McGinn, spoke off the record with NFL personnel executives and scouts and got their impressions of the top-50 prospects in the upcoming draft. Here is a brief excerpt about cornerback Bradley Roby from McGinn’s report: “When you talk about quickness, speed, athletic ability, change of direction, he’s got all that. Then he just gets beat every game. It’s mental.” To read…

February 23, 2014
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49ers need Kap insurance

This is my column for Wednesday. The 49ers need a new quarterback. This is not to say the 49ers should give up on Colin Kaepernick — with the right coaching he may still have a future. But they shouldn’t go all in with him, either. The 49ers should hedge their bets, draft a quarterback who could back up Kaepernick as a rookie and could eventually take over as the starter…

January 22, 2014
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Rebuilding Raiders, a blueprint

Here is my Wednesday column explaining how to rebuild the Raiders. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. TO: Reggie McKenzie, general manager, Oakland Raiders FROM: Grant Cohn Reggie, as a favor, I want to help you rebuild the Raiders’ roster. First, let me commend the job you’ve done the past two years tearing down Al Davis’ and Hugh Jackson’s expensive mess. You’ve made the…

December 18, 2013
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