San Francisco 49ers

By Florida Danny p.s. In the preview post, I threatened to apply for the 49ers' soon-to-be-vacant offensive coordinator position if they didn't throw the ball at least 40 times against the Jaguars. I'm seriously beginning to believe JR actually did read that post: SF threw it exactly 41 times, just enough t...

By Ninjames The win was a result of Jimmy Raye opening up the 49ers offense. Huh. (SacBee.com) Do the 49ers have a new formula for success? I guess so. (SFGate.com) Coach Singletary was very impressed with the leadership on offense. (PressDemocrat.com)

By John Crumpacker OFFENSE RATING: (SNOOZING VIEWER)The 49ers did not send out an NFL-worthy offense on Thursday night. Any offense that gets five turnovers from its defense and scores only 10 points should be ashamed of itself. On the (very minimal) plus side, the 49ers had...

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 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 samuel-lam Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky spoke the media as well and a lot of his discussion focused on the team secondary. After a terrible performance by the 49ers in thelr 45-10 loss to the Falcons,. Manusky assured that the team will be more focused for their game against Houston. CBs Nate Clem...

By Ninjames The 49ers offense needs to catch on soon, I've been stalwart in my support but I'm cracking. (SFGate.com) The 49ers had to take their practice indoors. (49ers.com) Khalif Mitchell is back on the 49ers practice squad, as an offensive lineman. (49ers.com)

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...

Rams vs 49ers NFL Point Spreads Alert The opening NFL point spreads had the San Francisco 49ers -10 point favorites against the St. Louis Rams. The best NFL point spreads to bet the 49ers is at ... Mike Blewitt's NFL Power Rankings: Week FiveBleacher Report

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 There are obviously a lot of guys left off this list.  Guys like Nate Clements and Dre Bly are going to be important.  Moran Norris will be important to the success of Frank Gore.  Aubrayo Franklin?  Yea, he'll be an important cog in the defensive front. I had to make some judgment calls and these...

By Florida Danny Well, the Niners' SOS in 2008 was an unbelievably easy 44.7%, meaning that an average Leaper improvement in SOS would take their 2009 SOS into uncharted territory. As I said a minute ago, the easiest schedule over the past 7 years was 41.4%, which the 2007 Seattle Seahawks happily converted i...

By howtheyscored Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-1 Los Angeles Rams 1-1 2-0 2-1 1-2 3-1 1-3 4-1 0-5 4-2 4-2 Green Bay Packers 1-7 4-5 2-8 9-2 New York Giants New York Jets Los Angeles Rams New York Giants Head Coach: Bill Walsh Key Losses: WR Freddie Solomon, HB Joe Cribbs, FS Dwight Hicks, FB Earl Cooper, DE Fred Dean

By Fooch Some folks compare him to Alex Smith, but given the round and cost, I'm intrigued to see if the 49ers can develop Nate Davis into a long-term answer. The 49ers went for more upside guys in the likes of Curtis Taylor and Ricky Jean-Francois, two defensive players from LSU.

DE Tyson Jackson: This guy practically screams 49ers. He's big, physical and comes from college football's best conference, the SEC. He would be a perfect fit at left defensive end on the 49ers' three-man defensive line ... if they hadn't spent a first rounder on a left defensive end, Kentwan B...

Question: What's the scoop? There hasn't been a new 49ers headline in like 3 days. Do I need to get my 49ers news elsewhere? Or is there really nothing going on? I mean didn't Sanchez visit or anything? One new headline every 5-6 days is not going to cut it. Tom, Bend OR

By Fooch A guy that has gotten a lot of ink from you guys is Ramses Barden.  The 49ers have indicated they want to get a pair of receivers this offseason and they already landed Brandon Jones of the Titans.  Given how much time has gone by in free agency, it's a safe bet to assume the 49ers will grab a wide re...

By Fooch Real quickly on Robiskie...his dad is Terry Robiskie, former interim head coach of the Redskins is now the wide receivers coach for the Falcons.  That certainly has to be a positive for Robiskie, doesn't it?  I don't know if Robiskie is worth the high second round pick (11th of the round), but h...

By Florida Danny If you ask me, that right there is pretty (site decorum) consistent. Comparing this table with the previous one, the overall and defensive DVOA differences are nearly identical. So what does this all mean? Situation SF Rank NYJ Rank 31 5 26 7 28 6 30 8 27 6

By Niner Pundit Source: Sporting News, Matthew Barrows & J.P. Pelzman An old nemesis visits Candlestick Park Sunday, this time dressed in a New York Jets uniform. Brett Favre has had a near mastery over the 49ers, going 11-1 against San Francisco over his career. In ...

By Rafael Vela The Cowboys have several key matchups in their favor.  When the 49ers have the ball, look for Dallas to continue blitzing and tight coverage, whether Terence Newman plays or not.  Mike Martz calls the 49ers plays, but he does not have a deep threat in his arsenal to make the Cowboys secondary...

By Florida Danny Here's how the 49ers stack up against the Cowboys in terms of DVOA: Team Total DVOA Rank Offense Rank Defense Rank Special Teams 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 Situation SF Rank DAL Rank 8 29 28 5 San Francisco 49ers 21 Dallas Cowboys

By Florida Danny 2nd down rush offense-This was a gold rush for the 49ers. They were only successful on 6 of 13 such plays, but 5 of those 6 successes (and 2 of the failures) included some really successful plays, either yardagewise or in terms of their outcomes: Gore 27 yards prior to fumble, Gore 2 yards on 2n...

By stlbloomers Rams Fans there was so much talk last week about the Jets and how they amassed 40 points against the Rams in the first half.  What a feat, hard to do, Jets must be very good, blah, blah, blah.  In actuality, the Rams are JUST THAT BAD.  The 49ers, the same 49ers struggling to stay out of the basement...

By Florida Danny As the above graph shows, Monday night was only the second time all season that the 49ers outplayed their opponent. In fact, the 49ers' game DVOA of +6.4% (which is compared to the Cardinals' +3.8% in the graph) means that we actually witnessed an above-average NFL performance from our belov...

By Matt Snyder Filed under: 49ers, AZ Cardinals, Bears, Chargers, Chiefs, Eagles, Giants, Packers, Titans, Vikings, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC West, NFL Referees

By Fooch The 49ers are 2-6 but that doesn't matter.  Mike Singletary's 49ers got beaten down by Seattle two weeks ago but that doesn't matter.  I consider that last loss the final vestige of the Mike Nolan 49ers.  The Mike Singletary 49ers take center stage tonight.  If they come out and just get smoked...

By Florida Danny SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: +25.6% OVERALL, +17.7% OFF, -4.0% DEF, +3.9% ST On red zone running plays, the 49ers offense ranks 25th while the Seahawks defense ranks 4th. There were 4 of these plays during the game (successful plays for the 49ers are italicized):

By Florida Danny 49ERS STRENGTHS 6 9 6 3 8 49ERS WEAKNESSES 4 9 3 SEAHAWKS STRENGTHS 3 4 SEAHAWKS WEAKNESSES 26 VS. 11 28 VS. 15 29 VS. 13 30 VS. 9 27 VS. 24 25 VS. 20 27 VS. 17 29 VS. 3 25 VS. 26 26 VS. 28 31 VS. 31 25 VS. 22 25 VS. 32 27 VS. 30 25 VS. 21 29 VS. 30 31 VS. 31 26 VS. 9 30 VS. 20 Seattle Seahawks            17 San Francisco 49ers        27

By Will Brinson Raiders +7 Browns +7 Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers (-5) And ... followed quickly by easily the worst game of the week. At least Mike Singletary gets to inspire in his coaching debut. This could quickly be a low point on the Mike Holmgren Retirement Party Celebration Tour. 49ers -5

By undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) Coach Mike Nolan is actively involved in the 49ers' defensive plan of attack. He leaves the offensive plan up to offensive coordinator Mike Martz - just as he trusted the judgment of his previous offensive coordinators. Question: Since you're so involved in the defensive plan, is it impor...

By Fooch This is the million dollar question.  More of the season's potential is riding on this question than anything else.  In one of his media sessions Scot McCloughan stated that if Alex Smith is still the backup at season's end, he will not be back with the 49ers in 2009.  His salary escalates too m...

By Fooch Josh Morgan has had ups and downs in training camp, but has shown serious talent.  He's got size, speed and good chemistry with J.T. O'Sullivan.  He didn't produce much against Chicago, but we know rookies will have good and bad moments.  However, his performances to date have created a tough s...

By Adam Gretz Even though San Francisco 49ers' Head Coach Mike Nolan won't yet announce it, the competition for the teams starting quarterback position appears to be all but over. If the fact J.T. O'Sullivan started the third preseason game (considered to be the most meaningful of the meaningless games...

By Fooch When they had incidental face masks as a potential call, it seemed easy for a defensive player to get flagged on what is a very subjective play.  This change makes it a little less subjective because it seems like you really have to grab a hold of the face mask.  At the same time, there remains a l...

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 undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) The biggest audience was for Patrick Willis, whose line stretched the entire width of the field. Vernon Davis and Frank Gore also had long lines, with Alex Smith's line a distant fourth. (When I checked Shaun Hill's line, it was about 10 deep.)

By undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) Johnson said he felt comfortable signing with the 49ers because he is rejoining his former receivers coach, Jerry Sullivan, and also because of the Mike Martz factor. Receivers want to play in this pass-happy offense. Johnson and Battle were teammates at the Senior Bowl.

By undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) INSTANT 49ERS: I remember speaking with Bill Walsh about Jerry's work ethic. Walsh said that a lot of people wanted to work like Jerry but nobody could do it. That's because Rice had such incredible endurance. He could run and run and run . . . and never get tired. I've never seen anyone approaching R...

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 Samuel Lam But look at guys like Pacman Jones and Ray Lewis. Jones may find himself in Dallas, a team that might win the Superbowl after all the fiasco he went through (especially the wrestling gig). What about Ray Lewis? He basically cost someone’s life and he still has his job and is praised.

By undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) So when June rolls around, don't be expecting much help for the 49ers' roster. Joe Staley and Jonas Jennings are currently penciled in as the 49ers' starting tackles. The club plans to take a long look at rookie Chilo Rachal at right tackle during the upcoming organized team activities.

By Fooch Arizona Cardinals Seattle Seahawks St. Louis Rams Looking at those three drafts, my personal opinion is that the Cardinals had the best draft, the Rams are second and closing and the Seahawks bring up the rear, although it's a pretty packed bunch.  Every team certainly added some talent, s...

By Fooch After 2 days and give picks, the San Francisco 49ers draft is complete and the time for irrational and rational analysis is upon us.  Right off the bat, I'll say this is a very tough draft to grade.  The general consensus was the 49ers had starting needs on the offensive line, the defensive lin...

By undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) INSTANT 49ERS: Thank you for the question. When I first started writing articles about the 49ers, the following daily papers had reporters who regularly covered the team: Press Democrat, Marin Independent Journal, Oakland Tribune, Hayward Daily Review, San Mateo Times, Peninsula Ti...

By undisclosed@pressdemocrat.com (49ers) Then, the 49ers traded their second-round pick (No. 42) to the Colts, who used it to select left tackle Tony Ugoh. The 49ers received the Colts' first-round pick in 2008 (No. 29), along with the Colts' fourth-round pick (No. 126), which the 49ers used to select safety Dashon Goldson.

By 11IsDaNew16 Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Dallas Cowboys Philly Eagles NFC West St. Loius Rams Seattle Shehawks Vikings: 4-12 NFC East Eagles: 11-5.......Cowboys 12-4 Redskins: 7-9 Giants: 6-10 NFC West 49ers: 9-7.........Seahawks 11-5 Rams: 8-8...........Niners 7-9 Seahawks: 8-8......Cardinals 7-9 Cardinals: 6-10.........Rams 4-12

By James The 49ers opened the game moving the ball well.  The 49ers did a nice job hitting short passes, and handing the ball to Frank Gore.  The key play was a 31-yard pass to Tight End Vernon Davis.  Once the 49ers got into the red zone, however, the Steelers D held tight, and the 49ers kicked a field goal....

By 11IsDaNew16 Did anyone else just see what I just saw? Was that the Niners going 85 yards on a game winning drive? Was that Alex Smith leading that Drive? Did the offense actually win a game without Frank Gore gaining a single yard on the last drive? Wow that last drive was Sexay...

By 11IsDaNew16 Cardinals Grade: D+ Offensive Game Ball: Alex Smith One optimistic note going into St. Louis: Alex Smith looked like a Number 1 pick when the Niners needed him the most One Pessimistic note going into St. Louis: Alex Smith looked like a undrafted free agent the first 3 quarters.