San Francisco 49ers

By erickson@49ersnews.com After last Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, in another very winnable game, I find myself ignoring the good points, something I normally do to keep a positive attitude.  I felt like Dennis Green after his Arizona Cardinals “let them (Chicago Bears) off the hook.” For the second week...

By Fooch The 49ers are partnering with Dreamstar Properties, Inc, to provide its character entertainment services at the 49ers "Faithful City" prior to all 49ers home games throughout the 2009 season.  Faithful City is an area at Candlestick Park where families can enjoy interactive games in a...

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) SANTA CLARA – Jimmy Raye has been taking plenty of heat during the 49ers' recent three-game slide, but the veteran offensive coordinator had a loyal defender watching from the sideline during Friday's practice. • The NFL fined Colts linebacker Clint Session $5,000 for hitting Alex Smit...

By jcrumpacker@sfchronicle.com (John Crumpacker) As someone who played for Jimmy Raye and was a teammate of Greg Manusky's, Rich Gannon is well qualified to comment on the 49ers vis-a-vis the team's offensive and defensive coordinators. The former NFL quarterback was at practice Friday in preparation for...

By Josh Dhani I was talking about that Colts game. That was the Game of the Week to me. The 49ers could’ve easily won this, but the Colts fought back hard and never gave up. It showed that Alex Smith can be the QB of the franchise for San-Fran. Cardinals Over Bears Ravens Over Bengals Colts Over Texans

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) The 49ers' previous offensive coordinator, Mike Martz, was ambitious to the point of being reckless. Raye is the opposite. He is careful to the point of being fearful. When Raye speaks, he always seems to note the perils he sees looming down the road. His glass is half-empty.

By Tim Kawakami The trickiness of this contest, other than, of course, the relentless difficulty of picking against the spread, is that we also have to pick all 49ers and Raiders games vs. the spread. They are not easy. Well, maybe they’re easy for you, dear reader, but they are not easy for us. We all got...

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) SANTA CLARA – The 49ers' top offensive lineman, left tackle Joe Staley, is out for six weeks because of a sprained knee, but the only compensation the team made for the loss this week was adding another tackle to the practice squad. There's confidence to rely on Barry Sims to get it done," Dav...

Bobby Lutz opens his 12th season as the Charlotte 49ers head coach with an exhibition game against crosstown foe Johnson C. Smith, Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m. The 49ers have a slew of new faces including probable starters Shamari Spears, a 6-6 junior power forward who transferred from Bosto...

By Ninjames The 49ers did indeed release Spurlock, and signed a CB to make up for Nate Clements and his injury. (MercuryNews.com) Some moves were already made due to injuries such as the CB signing, but others may be forthcoming. I'm personally excited for Ricky Jean-Francois, that is, if the 49ers aren...

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) In addition to losing their third consecutive game and falling under .500 for the first time this season, starting left tackle Joe Staley was lost for the game on the first offensive play and Nate Clements, who entered the season billed as the 49ers' top cornerback, could be lost for the sea...

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) On the next play, defensive end Robert Mathis sacked Smith for an eight-yard loss. The 49ers were forced to punt and didn't enter Indianapolis territory again. • He had to wait until the 49ers' final possession, but Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney recorded a sack in his eighth consecuti...

By Josh Dhani The Colts have gotten lucky throughout the whole game. Next week, the Colts will be facing the Houston Texans. If the Colts play like they did against San-Fran, this game is not going to look pretty. But Manning is facing a 4-3 defense, thank God! The Colts will have to improve their game big.

By John Crumpacker Game review Offense RATING: (SNOOZING VIEWER) Aside from Frank Gore's 64-yard dash up the middle for a touchdown and Alex Smith leading a successful 2-minute drill in the first half, the 49ers had little to...

By Fooch 1 RB deep, 3 TE, 1 WR - 1 TD pass to Vernon Davis Series 2 Pass to Davis Series 3 Pass to Davis 2nd and 7 - 1 RB deep, 3 WR, 1 TE on line Gore rush 2nd and 6 - Shotgun - 5 WR set (1 TE, 1 RB, 3 WR) TD pass to Davis Series 4 1st and 10 - 1 RB next to QB, 4 WR 2 RB, 1 TE on line, 2 WR - 1 1 RB deep, 3 TE, 1 WR - 1

Related articles from All-Baseball.com and more.

By Ninjames The offense is striving for balance as a unit. (49ers.com) Could Alex Smith and Michael Crabtree be the revival of the 49ers this season? I hope so, I'm about to lose a whole lotta hope. (CBSSports.com) The Niners defense is riding on a Smith as well as the offense--Justin Smith. (SFGate.com)

By multatuli34 The 1st time the defense got on the field they went: encroachment, offsides, offsides and 29-yard TD by Vernon Davis on 3 consecutive plays. With the defense not participating in the 3rd period, the Texanns had to look to the offense. But with 3:30 left before the 4th, Steve “Here, You Ta...

Risers of the Week: Alex Smith and Vernon Davis were first-round picks of the 49ers in consecutive seasons (Smith was first overall in 2005, Davis went sixth overall in 2006). They were supposed to be the main building blocks of a highly successful passing attack in the Bay Area for years to...

By Fooch So there are two questions then: 1) Who should start between Alex Smith and Shaun Hill, and 2) If Smith, what can we expect from him with a full week of #1 practice and the Colts game-planning accordingly? Poll Who should start at QB against the Colts? Shaun Hill Alex Smith Nate Davis   2356 vo...

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) Ulbrich, 32, is one of the more popular players on the team, and he'll continue to be a locker-room presence during the season. The 49ers signed linebacker Matt Wilhelm to take his place on the roster. Wilhelm played under defensive coordinator Greg Manusky in San Diego and is familiar with...

By Fooch The other potential change is of course to fire Chris Foerster.  In most any sports, but particularly in baseball and football, when a team is struggling in a particular area of the game, that particular assistant coach is often the one who gets canned.  When a baseball team isn't hitting, a...

By Temple3 1.  Packers at Vikings. Revenge is a dish best served old.  I have this feeling that the Vikings may not be served by the spectacular success of last week’s win vs. the San Francisco 49ers.  The Niners are a team that lacks the offensive punch and balance of the Packers.  The Niners lost Frank Gore e...

I've had some hard losses. This is just another one for the list," 49ers cornerback Nate Clements said. "We just have to keep chopping away." Defensive end Jared Allen was asked what he thought when the offense set up for the final possession.

By Tony Farmer Think the potentially playoff-bound 49ers don’t have a shot at a pick that high? Think again. The Panthers remaining schedule is harder than Mike Holmgren’s arteries. Two games against the Saints and on the road against the Patriots, Giants, Cardinals, and Jets? With recent injuries to t...

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) RICH PEDRONCELLI Associated Press file, 1997 Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., left, with quarterback Steve Young in 1997, will become the first member of the 49ers Hall of Fame. DeBartolo didn't just give his money to players.SANTA CLARA – Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. prom...

Related articles from Niners Nation and more.

By mbarrows@sacbee.com (Matthew Barrows) Of course, a strong defensive effort would aid the 49ers' ball-control game plan. We know we have to pressure Kurt, and we're going to go after him," defensive coordinator Greg Manusky said. "Sometimes, we are going sit back and play some zone and play some man. You have to play the cat-and-mo...

By Drew Magary 3. Nothing beats drafting a wideout high, failing to sign him, and failing to provide a decent QB for him to work with. From Montana to Young to Garcia, no team was able to transition to new quarterbacks like the 49ers did. Now they have the delightful Alex Smith-Shaun Hill diarrhea combo plate....

By Fooch QB Alex Smith Post-Practice - 08-21-09 San Francisco 49ers On how he feels things are coming along in training camp: I feel good. I feel good about things. I feel like we’ve got a ton of work in this offseason and this camp, a ton of reps. I feel good with the offense and where we’re at."

By Fooch If - IF -- Smith can carry over his practice-field success into the exhibition games against the Broncos (Aug 14) and Raiders (Aug. 22), there is a strong chance he will be the starter when the regular season opens. Sources Matt Maiocco Recap Matt Barrows Recap Mike Sando Recap

By howtheyscored New York Giants Buffalo Bills New York Jets Los Angeles Rams 6-1 2-5 Phoenix Cardinals 6-2 2-6 7-2 3-6 8-2 7-3 Los Angeles Rams 9-2 4-7 7-5 8-5 9-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Detroit Lions Washington Redskins Dallas Cowboys Head Coach: George Siefert The 49ers would not be going to the Super Bowl.

Related articles from Blogging The Boys and more.

By Florida Danny Avg. Pass Offense DVOA 17.1% 6.0% 23.1% Avg. Rush Offense DVOA 3.0% 5.5% 8.5% Avg. Offense DVOA 10.4% 5.5% 15.9% 15.8% 0.5% 15.3% Avg. Rush Offense DVOA Improvement in Season B 5.4% 1.7% 3.7% Avg. Offense DVOA Improvement in Season B 10.7% 1.0% 9.7% DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE CHANGES

Very interesting KNBR interview yesterday with Jim Trotter, the SI reporter who, along with Adam Schefter, broke the news about the Jimmy Raye hire Wednesday evening. According to Trotter, before Mike Singletary made his final choice for offensive coordinator, he brought the two fina...

By Bowen Josh McDaniels made his first official move as head coach of the Denver Broncos yesterday when he hired former San Francisco 49ers lead man Mike Nolan to be the team’s defensive coordinator. Nolan was the head coach of the 49ers from 2005 to October of 2008 and went 18-37 in his time by the Ba...

By Florida Danny Nolan Era 2.84% 5.71% 2.02% 0.82% 6.68% 5.80% 7.94% 5.10% 4.34% 11.78% 1.46% SF RED ZONE OFFENSE VS. NYJ RED ZONE DEFENSE 31 5 SF RUSH OFFENSE VS. NYJ RUSH DEFENSE 26 7 SF RUSH OFFENSE VS. NYJ RUSH DEFENSE ON 1ST DOWN 28 6 SF PASS OFFENSE VS. NYJ PASS DEFENSE ON 3RD DOWN 30 8 SF DEFENSE VS. NYJ OFFENSE ON 2ND AND SHORT

By Florida Danny Here's how the 49ers stack up against the Cowboys in terms of DVOA: Team Rank Offense Rank Rank Rank SF 11.8% 25 14.3% 28 4.5% 15 7.1% 1 DAL 5.4% 22 5.9% 16 4.9% 16 6.4% 30 SF Rank SF DEFENSE VS. DAL OFFENSE ON 2ND AND LONG 8 29 SF DEFENSE VS. DAL OFFENSE ON 2ND AND SHORT 28 5 San Francisco 49ers 21 Dallas Cowboys

By podcasts@sfgate.com (Benny Evangelista) The San Francisco 49ers are coming off one of their most impressive wins in the Mike Nolan era, mainly due to their biggest acquisition of the off season - offensive coordinator Mike...

By Benny Evangelista San Francisco 49ers quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan looked quite relaxed this week after leading his team to the win at Seattle, beat writer Tom FitzGerald says in his weekly Niners...

By Eric Williams Seattle Seahawks Scott Johnson of the Everett Herald reports that the desperate Seahawks are happy to see the 49ers this week. gt; Read more! Here’s some reading to get you ready for today’s game against the 49ers. Seattle Seahawks Frank Hughes talks to wide receiver Courtney ...

Steve Young* 11/15/87 5-6-80 1 td - Lost to New Orleans 26-24 Alex Smith 10/09/05 9-2-74 yds - 4 ints Lost to Indianapolis 28-3

By Fooch This is one thing we all have to keep in mind as we roll through training camp.  With the new offense, it will definitely take some time for the offense to come together.  Mike Martz mentioned he had never been in a situation like this with an even split of snaps between the top 2 QBs.  I certainly h...

By Fooch Not surprisingly, Frank Gore and Vernon Davis were pointed too as two extremely important guys for the offense, alongside Alex Smith.  Gore is a dual threat as a rusher and receiver, while Vernon Davis had one of the quieter 52-catch seasons in recent memory.  I think that goes to show just h...

By undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) Ouch. I told Tucker that the 49ers were very impressed with Joe Staley last season. And coach Mike Nolan has been very disappointed in Jennings' inability to remain healthy since coming to the 49ers as a high-priced free agent in 2005.

By Gonzo Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune).Yesterday, Adrian Peterson carried the ball 14 times and netted exactly 3 rushing yards.  The San Francisco 49ers had a game plan. . .to stop Adrian Peterson.  And, for the most part, they executed their game plan to perfection as #28 had his wor...

By erickson@49ersnews.com Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott was on KNBR today and was talking about the state of our beloved 49ers and he said if he were coach, he’d cut Jonas Jennings, based on things he has heard and seen. Can’t say I disagree. The sad thing is Nolan has already stated that when healthy, Jennings will get his starting spot at LT back. Lott on KNBR Share This Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott was on KNBR today and was talking about the state of our beloved 49ers and he said if he were coach, he’d cut Jonas Jennings, based on things he has heard and seen. Can’t say I disagree. The sad thing is Nolan has already stated that when healthy, Jennings will get his [...]   [read the full post]

By Ryan Divish Here's the AP story out of San Francisco for the game. This week's opponent — The San Francisco 49ers... Here's a story from the SF Chronicle on playing the Seahawks with Holmgren quotes. Here's a new story on newly acquired returner Michael Lewis. Good pass protection for the Cardinals? What?

By Ryan Divish No Vernon Davis this weekend. After a day off, the links is coming back so strong, Mike Gundy won't be able to yell about it. This week's opponent, The San Francisco 49ers.... Niners analyst Gary Plummer offers some thoughts on the match-up. Here's John Clayton's latest piece on the NFC for ESPN.

By erickson@49ersnews.com This week, the Seattle Seahawks are facing the Cincinatti Bengals, the Arizona Cardinals are facing the Baltimore Ravens and the St. Louis Rams are facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All three of those are extremely winnable games against our division rivals. If the Bucs win, that’s basically the death blow to the Rams. I think its more or less a given that the Ravens SHOULD beat the Cardinals, and the Bengals really can and SHOULD beat the Seahawks. This week, the Seattle Seahawks are facing the Cincinatti Bengals, the Arizona Cardinals are facing the Baltimore Ravens and the St. Louis Rams are facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All three of those are extremely winnable games against our division rivals. If the Bucs win, that’s basically the death...   [read the full post]

Here's some real football trivia. Doug Williams did it with the 1987 Washington Redskins. So did Jim Plunkett (Raiders), Steve Young (49ers), Brett Favre (Packers), Jeff Hostetler (Giants), Troy Aikman (Cowboys), and Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers). Dan Marino couldn't do it for the Dol...

By sam@mysportsradio.com (MSR - MySportsRadio.com) This episode of Gold Rush touches on one of the greatest 49ers and of all time, Jerry Rice, and where he ranks in history. After his hall-of-fame career, Jon and Trevor discuss whether or not Rice would have been what he was without hall-of-famer’s Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing him th...

By sam@mysportsradio.com (MSR - MySportsRadio.com) comments] After 20 years of glory, the 49ers with a rookie QB at the helm are likely in for a long season. But host Anish Shroff says at least he gives Niner fans hope. There’s finally hope that Terry Donahue is now gone and Dennis Erickson is gone, and perhaps Alex Smith can be San Fran’s [...]