The 49ers play the Packers Saturday at the Stick. In the meantime, I’ll break down the key matchups. WR Randall Cobb vs. CB Carlos Rogers and CB Perrish Cox The 49ers have struggled to cover the best slot receivers all season. The 49ers faced Randall Cobb, Percy Harvin, Victor Cruz, Danny Amendola, Chris Givens, Wes Welker and Doug Baldwin. Against those receivers, the 49ers gave up 55 catches on 70…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Carlos Rogers said Friday afternoon in the media tent about the Bears wide receivers and how they compare to Danny Amendola and Victor Cruz – two receivers Rogers has struggled to cover. Q: What makes Brandon Marshall stand out at wide receiver for the Bears? ROGERS: That guy’s big – 230, 240 [pounds], 6-3, 6-4. And he’s got a quarterback who can get him the…
SANTA CLARA — Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent on Thursday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the New York Giants offense, courtesy of the 49ers. Can you point to some of the major differences with the Giants offense from when you played them nine months ago? “There’s not much difference. No sense for them to change a successful formula. They have a real good offense, starting with…
SANTA CLARA – Dashon Goldson spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon and he wore Patrick Willis’ jersey as he answered questions at the podium. Here’s everything Goldson said. Q: How much of a threat is Eli Manning? GOLDSON: Eli’s a very good quarterback, very accurate, tough guy. We faced him twice last year, and what I got out of those games is he’s really tough. He’s tougher than he…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Victor Cruz said about the 49ers-Giants matchup to Bay Area reporters Wednesday morning on a conference call. Q: The Niners have shut down some good QBs and limited opposing passing games. How have they done that? CRUZ: I think it’s their aggressive play. I think their safeties do a good job of being heavily involved in the run. Dashon Goldson, he covers a lot of…
SANTA CLARA – Victor Cruz spoke to Bay Area reporters Wednesday morning on a conference call. Here’s what he said about his rivalry with Carlos Rogers. Q: Do you have a rivalry with Carlos Rogers? CRUZ: I guess so. That’s what the media likes to call it, but I think it’s just friendly competition. Q: Do you have a friendly competition with a lot of cornerbacks? CRUZ: I think it’s…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Tom Coughlin said to Bay Area reporters about the New York Giants Wednesday morning on a conference call. Q: How much of the success of your defense is related to your abilities to get pressure on the quarterback with just four guys? COUGHLIN: That’s always been our strong point. We haven’t gotten much pressure this year comparatively. Obviously it’s something we’re trying to regenerate. Hopefully…
The 49ers play the Giants on Sunday at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups per day. TE Martellus Bennett (6-6, 265 pounds) vs. Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and Donte Whitner With Dashon Goldson and Chris Culliver taking away the deep passes, Eli Manning probably will have to throw short and over the middle against the 49ers. That’s where Martellus Bennett comes in. We know…
The 49ers play the Giants on Sunday at Candlestick. In the meantime, I’ll break down a couple of key matchups per day. CB Chris Culliver (6-0, 199 pounds, 4.36 40-yard dash) vs. WRs Domenik Hixon (6-2, 197, 4.39) and Rueben Randle (6-3, 208, 4.43). When the 49ers played the Giants Week 10 last season, Culliver mostly matched up man-to-man against Mario Manningham, who caught 6 passes for 77 yards and…
The 49ers play the Giants at Candlestick on Sunday. In the meantime, I’ll break down one key matchup a day. CB Carlos Rogers vs. WR Victor Cruz When the 49ers and Giants played last season, Rogers covered Cruz on almost every pass play. That’s because the Giants like to line up Cruz in the slot in three-wide receiver formations and the 49ers counter with their Nickel defense, in which Carlos…
SANTA CLARA – The Niners free agent cornerback Carlos Rogers spoke at his locker this afternoon and here’s what he said. Last night in my grades I said I didn’t think the Niners would resign him. After listening to Rogers speak today, I’ve changed my mind. I think he’ll be back. Q: Why was Victor Cruz so effective in the first half? ROGERS: “That man runs around so much. He…
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat’s sports section is doing a special playoff package every day this week, and for Wednesday we’re focusing on the Giants and 49ers wide receivers. The great Phil Barber was assigned to write on the Giants wide outs. I got the Niners wide outs. Quite a contrast. To read about the Bi-Coastal Battle of the Wide Receivers, please click on the following two links. Phil on…
SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Carlos Rogers said this morning at his locker. You should know that he was wearing an Adidas track suit, a diamond necklace, and a watch with a diamond bezel. Q: Your first pick – did the Giants run the same play as they had run the play before? ROGERS: (Laughs) The same one. The play before I played off and he kind of gave me…
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…
