SB Nation - Takeo Spikes

49ers-Bears Tuesday Injury Report

Fooch — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:00:33 -0000

I know all of us were a bit concerned by all the players on yesterday's injury report. However, as today's report shows, virtually all the "limited" and "non-participants" were full participants today. Yesterday's report was a projection because there was no actual practice, so I'm guessing the team was just being a bit more conservative. Of course, Glen Coffee is not going to be playing, and given that we haven't seen any transactions today, it looks like Gore and Robinson will be handling the load at running back.

After the jump we've got press conference transcripts for OC Jimmy Raye and Alex Smith.

49ers
Out (Definitely Will Not Play)
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
DE Demetric Evans (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Full Participation in Practice
S Michael Lewis (quadricep)
RB Michael Robinson (stinger)
G David Baas (stinger)
CB Tarell Brown (rib)
RB Frank Gore (eye lid)
S Curtis Taylor (shin)
TE Vernon Davis (shoulder)
WR Jason Hill (ankle)
TE Delanie Walker (shin, knee)

Bears
Out
LB Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee)

Did not Participate in Practice
S Al Afalava (shoulder)
S Kevin Payne (back)
RB Garrett Wolfe (back)

Limited Participation in Practice
TE Desmond Clark (neck)
DT Tommie Harris (knee)
CB Charles Tillman (shoulder)

After the jump we've got transcripts for Jimmy Raye and Alex Smith...

Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye
Post-Walk Thru November 10, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On why WR Jason Hill received more playing time against the Titans:

"He has been practicing well since his hamstring injury and making progress. That coupled with the fact that [WR] Isaac [Bruce] had a tender ankle and ran a seven route over on the left boundary and rolled his ankle, tweaked it a little bit. So, we were down in numbers in the three-wide package and Jason was the next guy up. We were fortunate that we had him up for the game because he was the guy who had gotten the work as all three backups going into the game. It turned out that he was able to play and he made some plays for us."

On his background with the shotgun:

"Quite a bit, I would say extensive. There was a period of time where I coached with a couple of disciples of the Bill Walsh system that didn't believe in the gun that we didn't use it. But, in New York, Oakland, Atlanta and L.A. with Jim Everett, all of that was gun. I don't know if you want specifics, I don't know how to answer that question."

On whether you are limited in the types of runs you can call out of the shotgun:

"Somewhat, but it depends. When you make that decision, the kinds of runs that you are running, most of the time, are not direct runs because you don't have a lead blocker. But, they are runs that take advantage of the front and the alignment of the defense. They give you the same that is the likeness of pass and pass protection. They come not only in the draw variety, but across the formation kind of runs. We did have some success Sunday running the trap, but we had to relocate the back in order to do that."

On what QB coach Mike Johnson learned from watching college spread offenses in the offseason:

"You would have to ask Mike that. We discussed it in the offseason. I think what you need to understand is what we did Sunday has always been a part of what we do. We didn't invent the runs we ran Sunday out of the shotgun. We have had, and been practicing, our third down, our quarterback-not-under-the-center offense and runs since March. So, it wasn't something where, all of the sudden three weeks ago, because everyone thought we should be in the spread, that we went and looked at someone running the shotgun and came up with plays. It is a part of the offense that we have. What we did Sunday is a part of what we do."

On why he called it a third down offense:

"It is applicable to all downs, but what you had seen previously was when we were in the gun was basically on third down."

On the two interceptions QB Alex Smith has thrown when targeting WR Michael Crabtree:

"The one in Indianapolis was a tipped ball, and Sunday the one was a tipped ball that probably would fall to the ground harmlessly. The ball was thrown near the boundary and it was tipped and the linebacker came back within an eyelash of stepping out of bounds and got the rebound of the ball. I think tipped balls, you can't practice tipped balls. If the receiver and the defensive back are in a close confrontation, and they both get their hands on the ball at the same time, and there are other defenders near, that's why defensive backs work the tip drill. And, unfortunately for us, we've had two, not two but three deflections that have gone up in the air and the defense capitalized on them."

On whether he's comfortable going forward with the kind of offensive emphasis he showed on Sunday:

"I don't know that. I think sometimes the perception is that I should answer questions that give the defensive coordinators of the teams that we play a pre-game scouting report on what we're going to line up in. We have, as I said early on, the contingencies of what we do offensively to take care of the defenses that we play. If that is in fact the case that what we carry into the game is available for us and it helps us win the game, then I guess the answer to that would be yes."

On where the offense is as a unit:

"I think our record is 3-5. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. We're 3-5. I would say we're not near where we need to be. If it was better, I think we would have won more games or helped our cause in terms of winning more games. I think we made improvement, but there were areas of the game Sunday that were outstanding. The play was exceptional, was outstanding, but it's very difficult to overcome four turnovers."

On whether it's been difficult to find improvement given the changes in the offense:

"Yes and no. Continuity is very difficult to come by. We've changed a lot of places, and that's the nature of the NFL. If there's one thing that is constant about the NFL, it's change. And, unfortunately for us, in the first seven or eight weeks, we've had to change the quarterback. We've had to change the right guard. We've had to change the left guard. We've had to change the running back. We've had to change the wide receiver. We've had an onslaught of changes, but the way we manage that is a benefit to us if we can do it in an expeditious fashion so we can get on with winning games. It's been difficult, but we're probably going to have more changes going forward."

On the first touchdown pass from QB Alex Smith to WR Jason Hill in the back of the end zone:

"Well, what they did right was they applied the scramble rules that are in place that were taught in the red area, and Alex remained a passer. And, in most situations like that, the quarterback leaves his passer mentality and becomes a runner. But, he kept his eyes downfield and drifting and he was in a position where he could either throw or not take a negative and throw the ball out of bounds, and he remained a passer. That was the best thing about it. And then Jason applied his onside scramble rule, and we were able to get a completion for a touchdown, which gave us a completion of a T-2 at the end of the half and got points. And then we had a T-4 at the end of the game that got points. So, those things are very gratifying."

On whether he has met with head coach Mike Singletary about the receiving corps and WR Isaac Bruce's role:

"No, that meeting, I don't think has happened, unless I was excluded from it. We will visit that - we wanted to get through today and see where he is tomorrow, and in the meantime, we will increase the activity of [WR] Josh Morgan and [WR] Jason Hill. We'll see where he is, where his foot is or his injury is. And then we'll make a decision going forward."

On Bruce's injury:

"We'll see where he is physically. See where he is physically and then we'll make a decision going forward."

On the areas of the offense in Sunday's game that he was pleased with:

"Well, as I mentioned, I was pleased with our, as we refer to it, T-2 offense, which is our offense before the half, which was very good in Indianapolis that went down and got a score also. Our T-4 was very good, which we went down at the end of the game and got a score and an opportunity to onside kick the ball and have another chance to put the game into overtime. We were five for five in the red zone, three touchdowns and two field goals. We had a 19-play drive in that game that overcame three or four penalties and a negative that went down and got points. I thought our ‘me-to-you' factor was very good. Is he open? The pass to [TE] Vernon [Davis] was a great adjustment and throw. We threw the ball - he complete 29 balls, and we showed some ability in our deceptive game with our arounds and handing the ball to the wide receivers that made yards. So, I thought the playing area was very good. I was very disappointed that we had the mishaps that we had that led to 24 points for them, because, I think, without the turnovers, it would have been a different outcome."

On whether the T-2 and T-4 are similar plays:

"No, they're not."

On whether he can explain the time at the end of the half and the time at the end of the game:

"It changes because at the T-2, any points are good. When you're playing T-2 and you have the ball before the half, whether you get a field goal or a touchdown, any points you get are good. And, T-4, you're in a T-4 situation, you're either in an offense to try to either extend the game or win the game. So, the impetus of the play is totally different because you're operating against the timeouts. You're operating against a defense that's trying to prevent you from either extending the game or prolonging the game or, in a T-4 situation, winning the game at the end. That would be the difference."

QB Alex Smith
Post-Walk Thru - November 10, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On which package does he like better, the T-2, or T-4:

"It's pretty similar. You hope not to be in the T-4."

On why he performs well during the end of halves and games:

"I have no idea. I don't know."

On a theory that he performed better in a spread-offense similar to his college playing days at Utah:

"Spread out? Maybe, perhaps, I don't know. It could be you think that anytime that you are spread out and you're in the gun, all quarterbacks are going to see things better. I don't know, I'm not sure."

On his experience running the two-minute drill at Utah:

"It was more T-2's than T-4's."

On whether he likes playing better in a shotgun formation:

"In certain situations, yes, if there is no threat of a run. Sometimes is nice to mix it up and get back there. I think that in third down situations, pressure situations is when you get back and see it and maybe buy yourself half of second to get the ball out. Other than that, you'd like to keep a balance between the run and pass situations in the game to keep that and be under center."

On either having the opportunity to review film from the Tennessee game or going straight to game film to prepare for Chicago:

"I watched it quickly yesterday morning, then you move on pretty fast. I watched a lot of Chicago yesterday and it's such a short week."

On having one of his best offensive performances overshadowed by his interceptions:

"I felt that, in a sense, that I saw things well. You turn on the tape and it wasn't like I saw anything new. When I rehashed the game in my mind, it looked very similar to what I looked at when I turned on the tape which is a good thing. I felt like I saw everything well. A couple of balls were thrown tight - there was one on the boundary the safety was coming trying to make a play on it, it gets tipped in-bounds and the one that [WR] Josh [Morgan] had tighter coverage. There those are kind of the job hazards that kind of come with the territory. That is going to happen, I think that as a quarterback the important things are if you are making good decisions, are you throwing the ball where you want to throw it, are you getting the ball out on time, those are the types of decisions that you're looking at. That's how you prevent turnovers from the quarterback's perspective, by making sound decisions and throwing the ball accurately on time."

On whether he was relaying his throwing tendencies to the opposing defense with his eyes:

"The one on the boundary could have gone up. That half second maybe allowed that safety to come over and make a play that allowed that ball to stay in-bounds. The other two didn't feel like I was late at all. But the first one I could say, critically looking at it, I could have gone up quicker."

On whether working on his body language could have prevented that turnover:

"That was a third-and-long and we were trying to ‘hi-lo' the corner on the boundary. It was a matter of trusting what you see from that defender and letting the ball go."

On what Jason Hill did right on his first touchdown:

"The great thing he did - initially he started back down towards me, trying to give me a throw and saw that the inside receiver was kind of running in the flat there and a lot of passing is about spacing, so I think he immediately saw that, put his foot in the ground, turned and ran upfield, at least giving me two throws. Once he came down a little bit, his defender bit and he turned and slipped upfield and was open in the back of the end zone."

On whether defenses are playing WR Michael Crabtree differently:

"I guess I don't know. We are moving on so fast from this Tennessee game, it's hard to look at things like that. I think the more he plays, the more he is going to give people to think about, the more routes he's going to give corners to think about and the more comfortable he is going to be with things."

On why he hasn't been able to develop much chemistry with WR Josh Morgan:

"I don't know. It's a matter of what the defense is giving us sometimes, maybe sometimes what we are asking him to do. I think it's a combination of things."

On his ability to draw offsides penalties and whether it is something he has worked on a lot:

"It was something I never did as a younger guy. I never did it in college. I never did it much my first couple years. I just think I'm more conscious of it now in certain situations. I'm more conscious of using it to your advantage."

On how difficult it is to develop a rapport with WR Michael Crabtree:

"I think the thing you miss when he comes in like that is you miss the training camp practices where you can really build the fundamentals of your routes together. It's timing. When he comes in within the week we are doing our game plans and he is doing a great job of getting himself up to speed and not missing a beat and it's just a matter of us all working together to get that done."

On whether there is any sense of significance to this game:

"Every game is the biggest game at that point. That's the truth of it. This week, you play and you learn from it and you move on already and we're on to Chicago. Yes, this is the biggest game of the season and the next week that will probably be the biggest game. Right now, the focus is on Chicago and that's it. It's them coming in and getting a win and it is the biggest thing."

On how much losing four in a row weighs on the team:

"It might, but we can't let it weight on us. We have to continue to work to play harder, to execute better, and to win a game and that's what we have to get done."

On whether building a rapport with Crabtree is just a matter of time:

"I think so. Time and repetitions, but it's different. I think there are things that we ask him to do that he may be more comfortable with because he has a history with them. Yes, a little bit of that is just going to be time and repetitions."

Lambasting the cheaters: More from Colts win over the 49ers

BigBlueShoe — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:23:32 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

9 days ago: San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary watches from the sidelines in the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Browse more photos »

Well gosh, it looks Colts radio announcers Bob Lamey and Will Wolford weren't the only ones who caught the San Francisco 49ers cheating on Sunday. From Niners Insider, the San Francisco Chronicle's special section devoted to 49ers football, and their writer Kevin Lynch [emphasis mine]:

Colts Drive: Joseph Adai just threw a TD pass to Wayne. Great play by Wayne with a diving catch which looked good and the 49ers aren't challenging. Manning missed on the two-point conversion. Jeff Ulbrich made the trip. Nate Clements is out with a shoulder contusion. The last time they said shoulder contusion, it was Tony Pashos who's on injured reserve with broken scapula. The 49ers might have just faked a cramp by Parys Haralson to prevent being in the wrong defense

...

Colts drive: Another fake of a cramp, this time by veteran linebacker Takeo Spikes. Big pass play to Dallas Clark, 40-yarder. The Colts did the same thing that the Texans did last week on a 42-yard TD pass to Owen Daniels - play action with a throw across the field. This time Clark just beat Michael Lewis on man coverage I believe.

I wonder if some of the same people who were "disappointed" with me and others in this thread will saunter on over to Kevin Lynch's place and tell him he shouldn't write such things unless he has full, definitive proof... like, I guess, a signed confession from Mike Singletary, or a player acting as a "Deep Throat" informant, providing quotes from the early week meetings: "OK guys, if Peyton and their offense start getting on a roll, we want you to CHEAT!"

Honestly, folks. That's now two separate sources, both covering two different sides of the game (one the Colts announcers, the other a writer for the SF Chronicle) who saw the same thing: Cheating. If you need more proof than that, then I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you think the Earth is flat as well.

Mike Singletary is a cheater. Thousands of fans at Lucas Oil saw him cheat, and booed. Three members of the media are on record as seeing him do it. He did it. He tried to cheat to win a football game. Say that to yourself, and if you are STILL defending the actions of the 49ers head coach, then you are someone who lacks any kind of moral compass.

Obviously, if the "cramps" were real, then I will apologize to Singletary and the 49ers and take my lumps accordingly. However, the "cramps" didn't look real to me. They didn't look real to thousands of fans at The Luke. They didn't look real to Lamey and Wolford. They didn't look real to the SF Chronicle.

Here at Stampede Blue, we have no tolerance for cheating. None. And I defy anyone who says "It's part of the game." No, it isn't. People who cheat belittle and demean the game. Cheaters spit in the faces of John Unitas, Bart Starr, and the greats of the great. More importantly, we fans do not pay over $100 a seat, $30 for parking, and ungoldly amounts for hot dogs, popcorn, beer, and soda just so we can watch cheating.

We pay to watch football. REAL football. And real football does not involve cheating, like what we saw Singletary attempt Sunday.

Again, if you don't have the stomach to read this blog when we call a spade a spade, read something else. I'm serious. I am not someone who will hold your hand and softly explain why we chose to call an NFL head coach a "bum." If you don't get the reasons by now, I really can't help you. At this blog, we call it as we see it. We don't hold back, ESPECIALLY when cheating is involved. And since Kevin Lynch saw what Lamey and Wolford saw, 49ers fans can't simply dismiss the claim, saying "it's only the other side that's saying it." Hell, I heard even one commenter say that it wasn't Singletary who cheated, but it was likely the 49ers defensive line coach.

Really? I mean... honestly?

Make no mistake about it people, and loyal readers of this blog know this is true, if Jim Caldwell had tried to do what Singletary did during this game, I would call him a bum as well. I'd call my friends at West 56th Street and scream at them "WHEN DID IT BECOME OK TO HIRE BUMS AS THE HEAD COACH!"

Thankfully, Jim Caldwell is not a bum. He is someone who believes in the integrity of the game. Mike Singletary doesn't. Throw him in the same category as Bill Belichick, a man we Colts fans lambasted for years because he used to do the same cheap tactics with the New England Patriots. If Belichick was a cheater for doing that (and other things), then so is Singletary. If Belichick is a bum for instructing Willie McGinest to take a dive in the 2003 regular season game at Indy, then Mike Singletary is a bum for doing the same (or allowing the same) to happen yesterday with Takeo Spikes.

A spade is a spade.

Don't like it me writing that? Read something else. We call it as we see it here. If you'd prefer something else on the Internet that dodges or glances away from the truth, kindly venture to Google.com, type in "Colts blog," and have fun. I'm sure you'll find something that suits you. For everyone else here, we prefer our truth honest and without pretense. No sugar coating. No white washing. A spade is a spade.

And yes, Mike Singletary is indeed still a bum. Go Colts!

Recap Week Eight: Colts 18 - 49ers 14

BigBlueShoe — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:44:42 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

9 days ago: Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell looks on during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. Indianapolis won 18-14. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Browse more photos »

Fans and media have grown accustomed to seeing the 2009 Indianapolis Colts blowing out teams left and right on route to a 6-0 start, winning 15 straight regular season games (dating back to last season). Against the San Francisco 49ers, we were promised some "real" competition.

And the game did not disappoint.

The 49ers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, the result of a 64 yard Frank Gore TD in the first quarter. The Colts struggled to respond on offense, scoring only field goals rather than touchdowns when their team was in the redzone. And because we are all so very, very SPOILED this year, with offense exploding out of nearly every game the Colts have played, there were many Colts fans who spent halftime wringing their hands, wondering if the Colts were as good as advertised. Some fans were ready to "jump off the ledge" after Alex Smith drove the 49ers offense 89 yards in 1:11, capping the drive with an 8 yard TD pass to Vernon Davis with roughly 30 seconds left in the half.

However, at the end of the TD, Davis was flagged for excessive celebration, and 15 yards was tacked onto the end of Indy's kick return. In 25 seconds, Peyton Manning drove the Colts to the 49ers' 13 yard line. Matt Stover then kicked a FG to cut the lead 14-9.

From that point on, the Colts shutout and shutdown the 49ers, and exposed SF's coach Mike Singletary for the petty, immature bum he really is.

The 49ers did not score a single point in the second half. Their running game was stuffed and their passing game smothered. Frank Gore ran for 91 yards on 13 carries. That's 7 yards a carry. But, this is one time where the stats really lie to you. 64 of those 91 yards came on one play, which featured normally sure tacklers Jerraud Powers and Antoine Bethea attempting to "hit" Gore rather than "tackle" him. After that play, the Colts held Gore to 9 carries for 20 yards. To put it mildly, Gore got lucky on his 64 yard run. The rest of the game, he was stuffed. The Colt then turned their pass rushers loose on Alex Smith, who was decent on one series and terrible throughout much of the game.

In a nutshell, this was a game that really showcased the Colts defense, who helped make up for the lack of cohesiveness from the offense. Again, these are the new Colts. These Colts don't just play defense.

They dominate with it.

Let me first say the obvious one more time: Mike Singletary is a bum. I said it in my quick recap. I say it again. BUM. For all his silly talk of "playing tough" and being "tough minded," this schmuck is nothing more than a poser. In the third quarter with the Colts driving to gain the lead, Indy started gaining success by running a hurry-up offense. From the booth, Colts radio announcers Bob Lamey and Will Wolford noted that 49ers players were receiving signals from 49ers coaches to "go down" and "fake an injury" in order to stall the Colts offense. This was a tactic used by Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots years ago, and it was dusted off and used liberally by Mike Singletary and his cadre of puppets on the sideline. The tactic designed to stop the game, rest the defense, and disrupt the Colts offense all while not sacrificing a time out.

In other words, it's cheating.

Mike Singletary. Bum.

Image: 4.bp.blogspot.com

The strategy didn't work, as Indy scored the go-ahead TD on a 22 yard pass from Joseph Addai to Reggie Wayne to start the fourth quarter. Yes, I did type that correctly. On first and 10 from the SF 22, Addai ran left and threw to a wide open Wayne in the endzone. The score gave Indy the lead for the first time in the game, and they would hold on to win.

Later on in the game, with the Colts driving in the fourth quarter, looking to run out clock or (possibly) pad the lead and ice the contest, they went hurry-up again. The 49ers countered with signals from the sideline, and down went Takeo Spikes. Spikes complained of "cramps." He was helped off the field by training staff after a significant delay. A few plays later, Spikes was back out on the field, making tackles and seemingly a-okay.

Despite the cheating, the Colts drove the length of the field, converted a fourth and inches deep in 49ers territory, and ran out the clock. Ball game. Colts win.

When the chips are down, when things look bleak, when the game is getting out of hand, some teams and their head coaches respond with guts, determination, and courage. When the game was getting out of hand for Mike Singletary, he opted to cheat. Tells you something about the man.

For all of Singletary's bravado, all his speeches and all his pants dropping antics to motivate grown men who make millions of dollars playing a game, Singletary is nothing more than a coward. When you have to resort to cheap tactics in order to win, you are not "tough." You are not a "winner." You are a "cheater." And for all of Singletary's shenanigans, for all his last minute defensive adjustments, for all of his tricks... his team surrendered 410 yards of offense and lost the game. They are now 3-4 and have lost three in a row. Nice work, Mike. Keep it up, ya bum!

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne celebrates a fourth-quarter touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. The Colts defeated the 49ers 18-14. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Switching gears from the fake head coach to the real won, for the first time since the NFL merger, a rookie head coach has started 7-0. That coach is Jim Caldwell. And unlike Singletary, Caldwell did not have to resort to cheating in order to extend Indy's regular season winning streak to 16 games. He didn't even need a TD pass from Peyton Manning. What he needed was some outstanding defense, some excellent special teams play, and a little flare from Tom Moore, who made a brilliant play call on the Addai to Wayne TDs. Here are some more observations:

Once again, the Colts struggled to run the ball consistently against a tough run defense. However, when the Colts needed some tough, short yards, Joseph Addai came through. He carried for 21 of Indy's 22 carries. The only other carry not made by Addai was done by Chad Simpson, who lost a yard on the carry.
Where was Mike Hart? I saw him on some passing downs, but he did not carry the ball at all Sunday.
The Colts held the 49ers to 5.1 yards a pass.
With the Broncos losing to the Ravens 30-7, the Colts are the lone undefeated team in the AFC. They also will likely have the #1 scoring defense after 8 weeks.
Matt Stover was 4-4 on FGs, and Pat McAfee was outstanding using his big leg to reverse field position. In the past, former-Colts punter Hunter Smith would not be able to make the kinds of kicks McAfee is making.
Peyton is the fastest player ever to 4,000 career completions.
Reggie Wayne tied a career high with 12 catches. He also gained 147 yards and 1 TD. He did it all on a gimpy leg. Reggie Wayne is the best WR in football. Period.
Dwight Freeney recorded a sack, which is now at least one sack in 8 straight games. The sack came when the 49ers were driving to re-take the lead. It came on third down. It knocked them out of FG range. It was a big time, clutch sack.
Bob Sanders got an INT. Welcome back Bob.
Mike Pollak was replaced in the second half by Kyle DeVan. I think the Colts have given up on Pollak.
After the game, Bill Polian praised Jamie Silva for "hanging in there" as a kick returner, which is "not his strong suit," according to Polian. Silva was excellent on kick coverages, registering 4 tackles.

Many thanks to Fooch and the 49ers fans at Niners Nation. While I'm sure some of them will not take kindly to me calling their coach a bum, I'll just say that Singletary is not good enough for the storied franchise that is the 49ers or their great fans. They deserve a classy coach. Not a cheating punk.

Back to the game, for me personally, I think these kinds of games are important. The 49ers are not a bad football team. Even though their coach is a laughable faker, they have a good defense and some solid pieces to build on with their offense. So, for the Colts to overcome their offense's problems and win the game shows me something. It should also show YOU something, and to the people complaining at halftime that the Colts "should be winning," shame on you. This is the NFL. Nothing is guaranteed. Anyone can beat anyone, any given Sunday. One week you're great. The next, you suck. The key is not getting caught up in the hype or the hate.

This is an excellent Colts team, and if you are too spoiled to enjoy wins like this, then watch something else. I LOVE wins like this. I LOVE watching our defense eek out a gutty win. I LOVE watching two, key late game drives to ice a game. I love it. I Love it. I LOVE IT!

And you should too. Go Colts!

49ers-Colts Final Injury Report

Fooch — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:52:59 -0000

We've got the final injury report for the week, but there remain a lot of question marks. The Colts have listed Dwight Freeney and Reggie Wayne as Questionable, which means there's a 50-50 chance they'll play. I'd imagine most folks are anticipating they'll play, because the "Questionable" designation is more or less a joke in the NFL. Both Freeney and Wayne were full participants in practice today. Had they missed practice again I'd be wondering, but at this point I'd be stunned if they didn't play.

As for the 49ers, Mike Singletary has indicated Takeo Spikes will be a game-time decision. Given how much time the team will likely spend in the nickel defense, and given that Takeo Spikes usually comes out of the game in those situations, one has to wonder if he'll be active on Sunday.

49ers
Out
S Reggie Smith (groin)

Questionable
DE Ray McDonald (ankle)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Probable
CB Marcus Hudson (shoulder)
RB Michael Robinson (shoulder)
OT Adam Snyder (calf)

Colts
Out
WR Anthony Gonzalez (knee)
DB Marlin Jackson (knee)
K Adam Vinatieri (right knee)

Doubtful
RB Donald Brown (shoulder)

Questionable
DE Dwight Freeney (knee)
WR Reggie Wayne (groin)
DT Eric Foster (shoulder)
TE Jacob Tamme (hamstring)

49ers-Colts Thursday Injury Report and practice transcript

Fooch — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:32:00 -0000

A day later and the Colts non-practice list continues with a couple of small additions. No further word on Reggie Wayne, although Colts President Bill Polian said he still expects Wayne to start on Sunday. This will make tomorrow's final injury report all the more interesting. I still see no reason not to expect Wayne on the field, but it's something to pay close attention to. We'll definitely have some kind of update tomorrow afternoon. After the jump we've got post-practice press conference transcripts for Manusky and Raye.

49ers
Did not Participate in Practice
SS Reggie Smith (groin)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)
DT Aubrayo Franklin (not injury related)

Limited Participation in Practice
DE Ray McDonald (ankle)

Full Participation in Practice
CB Marcus Hudson (shoulder)
RB Michael Robinson (shoulder)

Colts
Did not Participate in Practice
RB Donald Brown (shoulder)
DE Dwight Freeney (knee)
DT Eric Foster (shoulder)
WR Anthony Gonzalez (knee)
CB Marlin Jackson (knee)
K Adam Vinatieri (right knee)
WR Reggie Wayne (groin)
TE Jacob Tamme (hamstring)
LB Ramon Humber (illness)

Remember to check out Manusky and Raye transcripts after the jump...

Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky
Post-Walk Thru - October 29, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On the assignment of facing the Colts:

"Peyton [Manning's] a very good player, has been for a number of years. He's like a coach out there. He knows exactly what he's doing. We've got to do our job."

On Manning:

"Just from quarterback-wise?"

On how Manning plays:

"All those Pro Bowls. He's a talented guy. I have the utmost respect for him. He's played a lot of football in this league. He's like a coach, actually. He's out there coaching up his guys, and he's doing a good job of it week-in and week-out. He's been doing that since his second year in the league."

On preparing for all of Manning's signals and changes pre-play:

"I think you've got to kind of just sit back and watch what he's doing and take it from there. He's seen thousands of looks, and we're just going to try to play our defense and hopefully everything will work out."

On how much of the signals are for show and how much are actual adjustments:

"I'll tell you the truth, I'm not in their meetings. I don't know. Maybe it's show. Maybe it's not. He continues to do that, and it gets defenses a little bit flustered because they think one thing is coming and another thing is coming. He does a good job of it. He handles the pace and execution pretty well."

On whether he warns his guys to stick with the play and not pay attention to those signals:

"I think you've got to. He'll change calls at the line of scrimmage, which he always has. Everybody knows that. You've just got to adjust and overcome it."

On whether he anticipates being in nickel or dime often:

"Yes, pretty much because of their 11 personnel package that they have."

On whether all those adjustments happen after the helmet radio is turned off and whether the team has to counter-adjust on their own:

"Yes, I think Peyton has been with Tom Moore there a long time. They feel comfortable with Peyton taking control of it and rolling with it. I don't know how much they use the headsets. Peyton needs to look and see what he's looking at on the field and then go on from there."

On whether FS Dashon Goldson will counter what Manning does at the line, in terms of adjustments:

"You've got to move around. You've got to move around the safeties and show them - you can't show them. You've got to play your defense though. That's what you've got to do. You've got to go in there and have confidence in what you're playing and going through with it each and every snap."

On what changes with Goldson having the green dot on his helmet and calling the plays in the huddle:

"I think it just helps him out a little bit on the back end from a communication standpoint. [Secondary coach] Vance Joseph will be talking to him a little bit about certain situations. I think that will help us out, at least on the back end."

On who talked to LB Patrick Willis:

"Vance."

On the writing on his arm on game day:

"It's just is for personnel and stuff, personnel that they put in the game and sometimes they don't signal. So, I don't know where else to put it. I don't have another place so I just put it one my arm."

On whether that's something he's always done:

"Yes. Pretty much."

On whether you can fool a quarterback like Peyton Manning or whether you have to out-execute him:

"I'd love to fool him. I think both. I think you've got to out-execute him. He's a talented quarterback. He's seen all the looks. He knows what Cover 2 looks like. He knows what Cover 4 looks like. He knows what man looks like. He's pretty good at it and he's talented. He's been doing that for a long time. So, I'd love to."

On the Colts playing in 11-personnel most of the time:

"A little bit of 12, a little bit of 11, some 22 as well. They're mostly 11 personnel, I think, for the majority of the game. That's what we're going with."

On 11-personnel:

"Three wide receivers, one tight end and one back."

On 12-personnel:

"Two tight ends and two wide receivers."

On whether he gives the play to Vance Joseph, who then calls it in to the player:

"Yes."

On how that is different than hand signals:

"I think it's a situation where you can give them a little bit more information, ‘Be alert to such and such' based upon situations that teams have had in the past. So, you can give them a little bit more information. With [LB] Patrick [Willis], taking that out of Patrick's hands and putting it into Dashon's gives Pat a little bit more freedom to get the closed call, get all that thing settled down and playing the game. Letting Dashon do it is a good thing."

On LB Takeo Spikes' status:

"We'll see today. We don't have practice until later on today, but it seems like he'll be going."

On why CB Shawntae Spencer guarded Texans WR Andre Johnson last week:

"Well we just played left and right. That's what we did. We played left and right and the majority of the time, [Spencer] was on that side. So, that's how it kind of worked out."

On who is grading as the team's best pass rusher:

"I think [LB] Parys [Haralson] is a violent guy. [LB] Manny [Lawson] - I'm just talking from a linebacker's perspective. [LB] Ahmad [Brooks] looks like he's been picking up his game. We'll try to get a little bit more reps out of him. [DT] Justin [Smith] is a pretty good guy inside. Across the board, the more we can get pressure on the quarterback, that's what we're looking for."

Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye
Post-Walk Thru - October 29, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On whether the offense has changed philosophically with QB Alex Smith:

"None."

On whether that was a no:

"None."

On whether quarterbacks with different talents change the offense at all:

"No."

On what WR Michael Crabtree does for the offense:

"Well, I think he played well in his first outing last week. I think he was somewhat of a - he had some chemistry with Alex Smith, obviously, because he had been here the week during the bye and they had thrown together, and he demonstrated an ability to catch the ball when he's in close confrontation with a defensive back. He has good burst off the line of scrimmage. I think it will help our perimeter game, which will, going forward, be necessary because of the effectiveness of the tight end inside. So, I think what he showed or demonstrated in the game Sunday will help us on the edge and the horizontal stretch of the defense will give us another avenue, another outlet to be able to get the ball and make them defend the whole field."

On whether the team becomes more pass-oriented with Crabtree and TE Vernon Davis:

"I think so. I don't want to give you a misguided opinion that - what we were striving to do all along is to create balance. More passes or more of a running, whatever that connotation is, I think the apt description of where we would like to go with the changes that we've made, which will take some time to achieve more balance."

On whether the team will go with more of a spread look:

"Maybe, but if you remember the game, that's what we opened the game in Sunday with [QB] Shaun Hill. We opened the game against Houston in three wide receivers, a tight end, one back and spread. We went three-and-out and punted the ball. We could. I think it depends on the opponent that we're playing. We're not going to be stubborn and try to jam a square peg into a round hole. But, that would be something that we would mix in because of the people that we have. We would mix that, and it wouldn't only be the way it has been in the past, only a third-down part of what we do. It could become a part of what we do early on as we see the opponent that we're playing, if it fits the plan that we have going forward."

On whether the implication of "square peg and round hole" is not trying to force the run:

"Yes."

On if he believes the team can still run the ball against eight-man fronts:

"Yes, I still think there are some elements of the run that you can still have. I think that the illusion of what happened in the second half of the Houston game has everybody, or most people, thinking that we've discovered this new Mecca or utopia kind of deal. I have to remind you, Alex Smith has been here all along, and the direction that our intent was to go was to help that position and our team with [RB Frank Gore]. That hasn't changed to the extent that we would become a one-back football team and create some other problems for ourselves that, outside of the locker, we are aware of that may not be apparent to the defensive teams that we're playing."

On what QB Alex Smith changed in the game when he came in:

"He was the life. What he did, what he infused in the psychic of the team offensively, the way he threw the ball and the way Frank was able to, in the second half, get some openings in the running game, I think we have to be careful to understand the structure and the circumstances of it was a 21-0 ball game when he entered it. His first drive, and maybe even his second drive, went for scores. Then we had a backed up situation and we had to punt. Then the third time he was in it went for a score. Then we had the ball with 1:38 and one timeout and a chance to put the ball in and get the game into overtime or win it. There was a foul on the preceding kick and we started at the 5-yard line, which made it a little more difficult. The things that he did, have to be weighed a little bit with the score and the time of the game. Not minimizing what he did, because that is a half of football that most quarterbacks in the NFL would love to have."

On what Smith brings that Hill did not:

"He is more comfortable in a drop situation, throwing the ball to all areas of the field, horizontally and vertical. I don't know if they knew that before they saw him play because they didn't have any tape on him to prepare for him because all they had seen was Shaun. To flip the script and go play different than they had practiced in preparing for Shaun Hill, all of a sudden they were playing with a guy that is comfortable reading out their entire play and playing to his strengths, which is throwing the big ends, throwing the ball up in the vertical crease and throwing the ball to the boundary. It was a little bit different for them."

On whether he would like continuity at the quarterback position the rest of the season:

"It seems like since we started there has been a different back, a different wide receiver, a different quarterback, a different tackle, a different guard. There has been a different something all the time. I think continuity, different form the way you all think and the way you all see it, continuity is very important to playing offensive football. Familiarity and continuity are things you are striving to get. So to answer your question, I would like to see us get to a point where we have a functioning five guys that have played together and are working cohesively together, a healthy situation in the backfield, wide receivers who have been here and have some cohesiveness and coordination with the quarterbacks. Going forward, that is what we hope to achieve. That would be nice."

On what the Colts defense presents:

"They present a defense that prides itself on rushing the quarterback. They play the run on the way to the quarterback. They are structured and built to play with the lead and they are in a building where they have an advantage with the noise and the snap count, so it has a bunch of problems that it creates. They have two defensive ends that are truly outstanding rushers. They have a perennial Pro Bowl guy on our offensive left and they play on the artificial surface inside where they have a little bit more of an edge because of that. So, we'll have a bit of a challenge ahead of us trying to be able to negate and slow that down and do the things that we want to do to attack them the way that we'd like to."

On whether it is a priority to get QB Alex Smith acclimated with two minute situations because of the delay of games during the Houston game:

"It was a problem on Sunday, yes. He wasn't the only problem. He hadn't had a competitive two-minute situation since awhile back because during this time of year, you get one on Thursday and a half of one Friday, you have to let the starting quarterback get those, but also in there, was a wide receiver that had no idea, that had not been in a two-minute situation before. He didn't know the alignments and calls and had to be coached through some things. Some formation things got screwed up, but we have addressed that this week and hopefully going forward, we will be a little bit better operating in that situation, but it was a problem last week because there were some people there that hadn't physically, even though they'd heard the words, hadn't physically been in that situation before and Alex hadn't had one - if I had to go back and check, I think since probably the week that we played Dallas, in the exhibition season."

On the final delay of game and the timeout was called:

"Critical. That's the mechanics of it. If you notice, [Coach] Sing on the sideline, asked the official for the timeout and I think Alex saw that and turned to walk and didn't turn himself to Mike Carey and asked for the timeout and this official, if you don't turn and get your hands over your head and ask for it, you didn't get it. So that was a critical point. At that point, there was 47 seconds to go. On third down we clocked the ball on the chunk play. Prior to that, we were operating in a three down deal with one timeout. It was third-and-six that went to fourth-and-six that went to fourth-and-11, which was the difference between us converting and being able to add on and get the ball in a position to kick. We should have used the timeout because the time was more important at that point than the timeout. The coach asked for the time from the boundary which he's allowed to do and that wasn't acknowledged and then when Alex saw the clock and turned and saw Mike doing [timeout signal] to the official, he didn't turn to Mike Carey and ask for it, so we got a five-yard delay and that five was big because now you are trying to convert fourth-and-11 as opposed to fourth-and-six."

On them taking a chance downfield on 4th-and-11:

"Yes, you had to throw it. You had to try and get in the air and hope to make a play. Then we would have been in another clock situation and then trying to get to the boundary to be able to get into range that we could get our kicker on the field."

49ers-Colts Wednesday Injury Report and practice transcript

Fooch — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:37 -0000

We're back with the first injury/practice report of the week. At this point it's too early to get particularly worried about given injuries, but it's still something to pay attention to. For example, neither Dwight Freeney nor Reggie Wayne practiced today. However, it sounds like both guys are not expected miss time on Sunday. On the other hand, Donald Brown did not practice and yesterday Bill Polian apparently indicated that Donald Brown is likely to miss 2-3 weeks with a shoulder contusion. You don't want players to be getting hurt, but Brown has been playing well this season, so that certainly is a plus for the 49ers.

On the 49ers side of things, Reggie Smith has gone from being declared out from the very beginning, to just not participating in practice. So I suppose that's at least an improvement. Takeo Spikes banged up his shoulder on Sunday and sat out practice today. We'll keep on eye on him as the week progresses.

49ers
Did not Participate in Practice
SS Reggie Smith (groin)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Limited Participation in Practice
DE Ray McDonald (ankle)

Full Participation in Practice
DT Aubrayo Franklin (knee)
CB Marcus Hudson (shoulder)
RB Michael Robinson (shoulder)

After the jump we've got Coach Singletary and Alex Smith's post-practice transcripts.

Head Coach Mike Singletary
Post-Walk Thru - October 28, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

Opening statements:

"I'm very excited this week to go to Indianapolis for a great football game, a tremendous challenge, obviously. We're just going to have a good week's practice and get ready for the challenge at hand."

On whether he changes his coaching at all based on margin of defeat:

"I don't really have a philosophy about if you lose you do this. Each week is a new week to me, and we've got to go out and get ready to play the next game. Every game has its own set of issues and parameters as to why you played the way you played, why you did what you did. But, I think it's as important that as you move to that next week, you continue to learn from week to week. But, in terms of being nice, being hard - no, I'm going to be myself week-in and week-out and have our staff go accordingly."

On who the starting right tackle and right guard will be:

"[T Adam] Snyder and [G] Chilo [Rachal]."

On whether Snyder moved back to right tackle:

"Yes. Right tackle."

On whether he will still alternate right guards:

"No."

On whether Rachal is the starter:

"Chilo is the guy."

On whether he considered T Barry Sims at right tackle:

"Did not, no."

On whether Sims is solely the backup:

"Yes."

On whether WR Brandon Jones will play this week:

"Brandon will be active. He will be active this week. In terms of playing time, we just have to wait and see on that, but he will be active."

On what position Jones will play:

"He's right behind the X, [WR Michael] Crabtree."

On S Michael Lewis' status:

"Michael Lewis is fine, ready to go."

On whether Lewis will help in covering the tight end this week:

"I'll put it this way: As far as the tight end is concerned, it was more about our technique than the tight end. So, rather than saying Michael Lewis is going to come in and help us with the tight end, the guys that we had on the tight end have to do a better job covering the guy. It's as simple as that. But, Michael will certainly help when he has a chance to cover the guy, but that's really what it came down to."

On whether Colts TE Dallas Clark is similar to Texans TE Owen Daniels:

"They're different in their own way. I think they're both guys that the quarterback has formed a relationship with, sort of like our quarterbacks with [TE] Vernon [Davis]. The tight end and the quarterbacks always have that relationship, and that's certainly the same situation."

On whether Lewis will start:

"Yes."

On whether he has given any thought to playing LB Ahmad Brooks more:

"I don't know about more, but we're always looking to try to get him in more. I think he's a full go right now. His knee is a little banged up and he's trying to get back, but I think he continues to get stronger, and that's good for us."

On whether he considered G Tony Wragge at all for right guard:

"No."

On Colts DE Dwight Freeney:

"He's a guy that just comes off the ball. You talk about reckless, relentless. He is the ultimate pass-rush guy. So, we're going to have our hands full trying to protect against him. You've got the guy on the other side as well. Both of those ends come up-field extremely well, spinning and turning and fighting and everything else. So, we'll have to do our job on them"

On how the team prepares for Colts QB Peyton Manning changing the play at the line of scrimmage and whether the team will have anyone try to mimic that:

"We may do a little bit of that, but all the gestures and stuff is for you to get caught up in it. Sometimes, it doesn't mean a thing. I just think it's important for us as we go into this game is really to focus on our technique and really focus on the communication, and I think we'll be fine. We'll let all of the other stuff take care of itself."

On whether he has thought of doing anything different with calling in the play:

"We have."

On who will call the plays in the huddle:

"It will be [FS] Dashon [Goldson]."

On whether he could sense that QB Alex Smith can do the job:

"Absolutely. Yes."

On what Smith has shown in terms of poise:

"Alex is a totally different guy today than he was even six months ago. He's just a totally different guy. I think his mindset is clear. The thing that spoke volumes to me about him was in the offseason he had a chance to move on and go to another team and make more money. But, he decided to stay because he felt that he wanted to be a part of what was here. He wanted to finish what he started. To me, that speaks volumes for who he is and the kind of person that he is. So, I'm excited for him going forward and I'm not going to build too much into it. I'm going to let Alex's play speak for itself as we go forward. We'll go from there."

On whether he has to do anything to help build up Smith's confidence and establish a relationship:

"I think, first and foremost, with all of our players, one of the things that I always strive to do is build relationships with them so that they have an idea of who I am and I have an idea of who they are. I think the better the relationship, the better you understand when something's not right. If Alex is not looking right, if his eyes aren't right, if his body language isn't right, you have a better idea of feeling that and trying to get ahead of it and being proactive rather than waiting until something happens. I just think that it's extremely important that with the quarterbacks, with your skill people, really, as much as I can try to have them understand that this is the way I want our relationship. This is what you can expect from me, this is what I'd like to be able to expect from you and let's go forward with that. I try to be the same person every day, and consistency, I think, is huge. When you have players out there playing and they don't know what you're thinking, what you're feeling or whatever, I don't really want anybody to ever think twice about where I'm at. If there's something there, Alex knows that I'm going to tell him, ‘You know what? I don't like that,' or, ‘This is good,' or ‘I'd like to see you do that more.' I think we have an open-dialogue relationship, as well as [QB] Shaun [Hill]. It's the same with both of them. I'm very open and honest with them and expect that to reciprocate itself."

On him building a natural rapport with Smith:

"It's just a very natural thing for me, to me it's as natural as with your own kids, with your own family. It's very important to me, if I'm going to be the coach, I need to know how I am responsible for ‘okay, these 53 guys, then these 53 guys in some way, somehow, at different times I'm going to establish a relationship with every one of them. That's very important to me. Relationships is what makes everything go."

On what S Dashon Goldson gives the defense with the helmet radio that LB Patrick Willis didn't:

"I think what happens is that you have responsibilities. There's one guy that's responsible for the ‘Close' call which is [LB] Takeo [Spikes] and another guy that's responsible for making the calls, that's [LB] Patrick [Willis]. Then you've got a guy that's got to relay the information on the back end to the defensive backs, and sometimes when Pat gets it, sometimes he's in his game here and you're talking to the D-line and the DB's are so far back and then maybe on the headset the last thing the guy sending the call in said is, ‘make sure you watch this, make sure you watch for the bang-8, make sure you watch for the deep route and that's the one bit of information that you don't get out. I think it makes it difficult, so I think that it's one less thing that Pat will have to think about. I think he understands the importance of those guys having it back there because if there's a mistake back there, then nine times out of ten it's going to reveal itself on the scoreboard. If there's a mistake on the front line, hopefully somebody can go and make a play and make a tackle and we'll talk about it. If it's on the back end, then it's hard to recover."

On whether the communication is even more important facing Indianapolis this weekend:

"Yes it is, absolutely. Yes indeed."

On whether there was a specific moment when you noticed a change in Smith's body language:

"No, I just think that during training camp, during the season when I named Shaun the quarterback, I told Alex at that time ‘I don't want you to lock yourself in a barn,' or say ‘Shaun is the guy-get out.' It is that I want to continue to develop a relationship. It's a long season; you never know when you're going to need the other quarterback. I just wanted to, every chance that I got, tell him, ‘hey, are you continuing to develop here? How is that going,' and the answer was yes every time. To me, he's been a true team player, the ultimate team player throughout the whole process."

QB Alex Smith
Post-Walk-Thru October 28, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On what he remembers about his first career start against the Colts in 2005:

"That was a good game. I think it's just coincidence, back starting again against the team I got my first start against. A lot has changed since then."

On whether the Colts run the same defense now that they did in 2005:

"There are some things similar, but I wouldn't call it the same defense. They have kind of changed from what I remember, a lot more of the Tampa 2 in the pass than you see today."

On whether Coach Singletary told him to stay ready when he was the backup:

"I never got the barn quote. But this is the NFL, if you're a backup quarterback and you think you're not going to play, you're in a dreamland. How many QBs go through a season and take all the snaps and can handle that? It's not a lot. I think you have to have the mindset, you have to have the expectations to play. The question is, when does it come? You have to be ready for that because you don't know when it is going to come."

On when he got his confidence back:

"I don't think I ever lost confidence. It had been two years almost since I played in a live game, yeah I had played in some preseason games but that is always different. I think it is more just getting back out there. It felt the same. It always did, especially when you get in the rhythm of things out there playing."

On Singletary saying his personality changed over the years:

"I guess it is always different. People might perceive things different than you might. I feel like I have always approached this game the right way. I have always worked incredibly hard, put a lot of time in. I knew that counted and made a difference. I think the thing is over time you get smarter about it, you are more efficient with your time, you are doing better things with it. I think you understand how to prepare yourself a little better for games, those types of things. In a sense, that might have changed. I think in the last couple of years my mindset has definitely changed and progressed just from being around the game more, especially having sat out for a couple of years."

On whether this is when he should truly start being judged:

"Yeah, I think it is playing ball right now. You are always being evaluated in this game, constantly. I mean I guess, I haven't really thought about it at all. I'm just going out there and trying to play quarterback the best I can."

On whether he can no longer be judged on potential:

"Yeah, I guess. I probably had that excuse when I was younger. Now I have to go out there and produce, go out there and play. There's no more wait and see."

On how his relationship with Singletary helps:

"He is so direct, puts everything out on the table, I think, which is a good thing. You don't ever wonder what he thinks about you or what's going on. He lets you know what he expects. For a coach, I think that is a good thing from a player's perspective. You like that. Other than that, it was just getting back to playing. Having been out a couple years with injuries, I think it was just getting back out in the game and doing. I don't think I ever lost confidence in myself, in fact I know I didn't. I think it is just a matter of getting back out there and getting the opportunity."

On how his technique has changed since he last played:

"I think technique is something you work on in practice, something you work on in drills, and when you play the game, you go play. That is how technique shows up on game day, by repping it in practice, by working on it in the offseason. That is how technique is developed. When you go out there and take snaps, you don't want to be thinking about your feet or your shoulders. When you're out there playing, things happen too fast to be thinking about that. I think those are the things I have constantly tried to work on in the offseason. It can be difficult at times when you are learning playbooks, technique sometimes goes out the window or takes a backseat. We work out here every day on technique; footwork, posture, the mechanics of throwing the football, decision making. Those are all things we go through every day in practice. The next step is having it show up on film on game day."

On QB coach Mike Johnson:

"Mike is great, especially in that area of technique and really drilling that in drills and having it show up in live situations."

On Singletary's assessment that Smith is as confident as ever:

"It probably comes from a little bit of everything. Being around the game more, you know more about it, a better understanding of it. The last couple of years put things in perspective for me, especially with football and what is important, what you really miss when you get away from it."

On what he needs to do to take the offense to the next level this week:

"Every game is different. Every defense presents a new challenge, a different challenge. For us, I would really emphasize that it is on the offensive unit to score points. It is on us to find a way to move the ball, whatever way that is. We have to find a way to be successful. We have to be balanced, we have to be able to throw the ball, run the ball. We have to do all the things it takes to be successful, in the end that's all that really matters. If I can bring anything extra to the table, I guess I might, then all the better. But in the end you have to be able to do everything."

On Indianapolis' defense:

"They are fast and they get after the quarterback. That team is set up very well. They are good at playing with the lead. I think they force teams into playing one dimensional because they are playing from behind, then you have to throw the ball. That is what they want as far as the defense goes. They want you to sit back in the pocket and throw the ball. They like getting after the quarterback, especially the two defensive ends."

On how much family will be there to watch him play:

"Same as always. I don't have a lot of family in Indiana. Normal as always."

On how aware he expects to be of DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis:

"Not at all, I guess I expect to be. I think there might be things that we work on throughout the week to help that when it comes game time. When you are playing quarterback, you can't be worrying about defensive linemen. You are really looking downfield, you react to that stuff. So yes, I think if you are thinking about them, that's a bad thing."

On whether the 10 guys that he has around him on offense right now is the most talented group he's had since he's been a 49er:

"Since I've been here? I would, actually. In fact, I don't think it's very close. I think we have a big opportunity in front of us with the guys that we have in this locker room and the guys that we have in this huddle. This team has a lot of depth and a lot of talent."

49ers QB decision cont'd: Alex Smith and the effect on the rushing game

Fooch — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:14:35 -0000

Our discussion of the Alex Smith QB decision continues to roll along at full throttle. The 49ers do have a game this week, but I have a feeling the discussion about the QB position will not be slowing anytime soon. Accordingly, I thought it would be useful to open up a new thread. I figure that first off, the other thread is up close to 400 comments, making it harder to follow the conversation. Second, I wanted to maybe take a different angle to Mike Singletary and the 49ers decision to start Alex Smith this weekend at Indianapolis. Also, after the jump I've posted the Mike Singletary transcript from today's press conference.

Aside from two great runs against Seattle, Frank Gore and the 49ers rushing attack has left a lot to be desired after a very impressive preseason. If this team is going to be successful and potentially make the playoffs, they have to establish the run game at a greater level than where it currently resides. Will elevating Alex Smith into the starting lineup bring enough to make that happen?

The answer to the question obviously depends on Smith's performance in the passing game. However, his skills would seem to be sufficiently better than Shaun Hill to keep defenses honest. Alex Smith does not have to be a superstar in this offense for the team to move the ball efficiently. Sure he needs to be able to make big plays, but as I said at some point with Shaun Hill, the passing game does not have to be Colts-esque. The difference between Shaun Hill and Alex Smith is that Smith can make more of the deep throws necessary to keep the defense honest.

If Smith is able to find some success, even just a little bit, on the intermediate and deep passes, will that automatically translate to more success for Gore? We didn't see much in the second half from Gore, but part of that was due to the team paying catch-up. The 49ers will need to control the clock against the Colts and that is done with a solid rushing attack. The passing is necessary, but I honestly don't think the offense can roll out a spread style offense for 4 quarters without a sufficient rushing game backing it up. Maybe you disagree on that point. The 49ers do have some skilled receivers, but I just think that 60 minutes of spread doesn't fly on the NFL level.

So, for the purposes of this post, say Alex Smith sees some success in the passing game. Maybe not Peyton Manning success, but he can move the offense. If we get some success, how much will the rushing game benefit? Or are the offensive line issues going to get in the way? Or even worse, are Jimmy Raye's unimaginative runs going to get in the way (although he has started mixing up the running plays a little bit more)?

Reminder that we've got Singletary's transcript after the jump. He had several comments about the use of a balanced attack, as opposed to just rushing it up the gut every time...

Head Coach Mike Singletary
Press Conference - October 26, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

Opening Statements:

"First of all, the injury report: [T Tony] Pashos, left shoulder contusion; [LB Marques] Harris, hamstring strain; [DT] Justin Smith, left calf strain; [NT Aubrayo] Franklin, right knee sprain; [LB Takeo] Spikes, right shoulder sprain. Pashos will have an MRI today. We should know a little bit later on today. He and Takeo Spikes both will have MRIs, and we'll have further information later on.

As far as this upcoming week, in terms of the quarterback, [QB] Alex Smith will be the quarterback. As far as, will [QB] Shaun Hill be back and all this other stuff, I think I told you last night, we're not going to be a flavor of the month kind of thing, ‘Well, let's see, this guy will be this week, this guy will be next week.' One of the things I want to have you understand is I wanted to make a decision based upon who I feel gives us the best chance to win. I think Shaun Hill, at the beginning of the season - when I met with Shaun today, I told him just that, ‘I felt that you gave us the best chance to win at that particular time.' He has done a great job up to this point, but we feel that right now, we need to go with Alex. I feel that Alex Smith gives us the best chance to win, and to use the tools that we have going forward."

On why Smith gives the team the best chance to win:

"Because I think Alex has had a chance to really regain some of the confidence, not that he ever lost it, but I think just giving him a chance to settle in and have him watch Shaun Hill - and there's something about watching a guy and looking at some of the mistakes that he made and how you would do it different, looking at some of the things that he does well and maybe implement those things in your game. He had a chance to look at his decision-making process, learn the offense a little bit more, but certainly giving him a chance to develop that hunger, develop that excitement and enthusiasm for playing, ‘and, if I ever get a chance again, I'm going to do it this way.'"

On whether the team needs Smith's ability to hit the intermediate and long passes:

"I would just say this: I think, right now, overall, Alex Smith really just kind of fits the bill in terms of doing the things that we need to get done."

On whether he will open up the passing game a little more:

"I think, going forward, we'll just try to look at it and, once again, it depends on how the team is playing us and everything else. I just want to reiterate what I said from the very beginning. I have never, ever said that we're just going to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball - three yards and a cloud of dust. I have always said I want to run the ball when we want to run the ball. I want to strive more for balance, but I want to run the ball when we want to run the ball. That's what I've always said. I have not shied away from that. I want a balanced attack."

On why the team hasn't been able to run the ball when it wants to run the ball:

"We haven't been able to run the ball when we wanted to run the ball because they normally have about eight-and-a-half people in the box, sometimes nine. Sometimes, that makes it a little more difficult. When you have an offensive line that's been banged up and you're trying to get that right, it makes for not a good combination right now, but as we build confidence, as we continue to get better, it will work itself out."

On whether he is concerned with the lack of success on the ground in the second half:

"No. I think that as we go forward, things will work themselves out. Yes, we had a tough time running the ball at the beginning of the third quarter, but there were also a couple of runs we made. It's the cat-and mouse-game; if you can throw the ball then you can run the ball, if you can run the ball then you can throw the ball. As we evolve and we get more in sync with whet we are trying to do with the offense, and once again, we had a chance to see what Alex Smith can do, we are just going to continue to explore where we are going to go with his ability."

On what he will do with the offensive line if Pashos cannot play Sunday:

"You know what, I'm not going to start, ‘What about this? What about that?' If he can't go, we'll work it out. We will figure it out. There are several options that we have, whether we take Snyder back out to tackle and keep everyone else kind of the way it was. We will just have to take a look and see."

On the right guard position:

"Right now, we have to continue to help [G] Chilo [Rachal] as much as we can. I think one of the issues we have right now, some guys are really trying to play perfect. Some guys are really trying to play mistake free. When you do that, you become robotic and it takes you out of your game. I just want guys to go out and play. I think a guy like Chilo, it is like any player, when you know the spotlight is on you, when you know you have to play better, some guys respond to it very well, and there are other guys that fall prey to it. I think it is one of things where we have to help Chilo as much as we can because there are some things he does very well, but there is one particular stunt there that really gets him at times and we have to continue working on that, showing him that in practice and allowing him to work on it. He just has to mature on it."

On whether that particular stunt accounted for a sack in the game:

"Yes."

On whether switching quarterbacks was something he thought about before the game:

"When I talked to Shaun Hill this morning, it is one of the things I really wanted him to understand, this is not something that was premeditated. It is not something I talked to anybody about like, ‘Well I'm going to wait for the right opportunity to do this.' It was important for me that he understood that as the head coach, I think my most important responsibility is to put us in a position to win. I just remember at the end of the Atlanta game, we were behind, and we were trying to make some plays and it just wasn't happening. Yesterday, you kind of see the same scenario coming, and I just felt we have to do something to help ourselves, give ourselves a chance to get back in the game and try and win the game. That's really all it was. As I said before, when I look at Alex we really didn't know what we were going to get. I was hoping we were going to get what we have seen out here in practice, and that is what we got. I was excited to see that and the excitement and the enthusiasm on the sideline, and the excitement and the enthusiasm on the defensive side of the ball, the receivers, the running backs, everybody. It was just one of those things where I felt we are going to go forward with that."

On whether QB Alex Smith starting is a function of his athletic ability over what QB Shaun Hill brings:

"Athletic ability? Are you talking about having a stronger arm, maybe make the throws? I think it's probably a combination of a number of things, - just really getting settled. You have another coordinator coming in. You had an offseason where you are trying to work things through with your shoulder, finding out exactly where you are with your shoulder, and at the same time, you are just trying to get settled. We were just letting the guy get settled and getting a chance to think about some things and at the same time, there happens to be a season going on. We wanted to let him develop that hunger, let him get excited about if I get an opportunity again, let him develop some confidence. ‘I think I can do that. If it comes again, I want to do it like this or I want to do it like that, rather than just putting him in there at the beginning of the season and if you don't have success right away, then it's same old Alex. I don't think it's the same old Alex. I think Alex has matured, I think he's grown and I think he's ready to play. We're going to find out. We'll find out next week."

On where the quarterback situation falls in terms of his concern about this team:

"Quarterback is certainly one of them, but the quarterback situation, for me, has never been an overriding factor because of the way we said we had to play to begin with and that was to run the ball. But, the offensive line, we've got to continue to make sure that we get the things that we need there, the continuity in a hurry. That revolves around a number of things. So, when you are able to put eight and a half people in the box and just sit there, in your comfort zone, and stunt here and there, I mean, it's awfully hard on an offensive line that's trying to jell. You've got some young guys in there at the same time trying to make it happen. You can get awfully creative when you've got eight guys in the box. So that's certainly one concern. Hopefully, we are able to make some throws. Hopefully, we are able to make them and get the heck out of the box and hopefully we are able to make them play us right, make them play us fair. We certainly have some playmakers out there and having a quarterback that can consistently make the throws that Alex can make, then it gives us a chance to really branch out a bit and open things up a bit."

On concerns on defense:

"Defensively, we are continuing to look at the film there and make some evaluations. We'll have to make some decisions on the defensive side, if we need to."

On whether he is talking about personnel:

"Yes, but we have to look at more film and we'll get there."

On the primary concern being the secondary or the entire defense:

"Just the defense."

On someday having CB Nate Clements move to safety:

"That's not in the realm of thinking right now.."

On his concerns of the defense in general:

"In general, my biggest concern right now is just the communication factor and we'll get that solved this week. We'll get that solved today as a matter of fact. In terms of the communication, I think that there are a few things there that we can do a lot better and I didn't know really that it was that much of an issue, the communication factor, and you know that it's just a small thing, getting the guys in there, in the huddle and having them understand whose talking, whose not, and who's giving the information from the sideline and going from there. And so, one of the things that I sat in on one of the defensive meetings this morning it's just a matter of bringing clarity to what we're doing because we are too good of defense. When I look at our defense, we're a good defense, with the opportunity to be a great defense. But right now, because of the communication factor particularly in the last couple of games, and the way those games have gone you get guys starting to do their own thing. Guys starting to think they heard this so that's when you really have to communicate very well to make sure that guys don't start doing their own thing. So, we just have to get on one page and kind of relax and settle down and let's go from there."

On whether there is a problem in logistics with LB Patrick Willis and his radio helmet:

"Maybe, we may have to take a look at that.'

On what jumped out at him after seeing WR Michael Crabtree on film after yesterday's game:

"Nothing jumped out at me that I didn't see yesterday. It was very evident yesterday, I just wanted to see it on film just like when you see a good movie. You want to see it again. But, I saw him yesterday and I made sure that I talked to him this morning and let him know that all of the hard work that he did while he wasn't here, it showed. All of the studying that he did while he wasn't here, it showed. So it was good to see."

On whether or not he was surprised to see how many total plays Crabtree was in comparison to all the receivers on the team:

"No, again he told me how much he was working and I heard from some other sources outside of the building on how hard he was working and all the route running that he was doing every day. I knew that he wasn't in football shape, but if he was doing what they were telling me he was doing, what they saw him doing, then I knew that he was going to be in pretty good shape. I didn't think about the other things, but I would say that I was a little bit surprised that he was able to go on all of those plays. But I thought for certain, maybe 30-40 plays, but to basically go the whole game, that's pretty impressive. "

On using more of a three receiver formation with Alex Smith going forward:

"We're going to do whatever we need to do win. Three receiver, four receiver, five receiver, I don't care. We're going to do whatever we need to do to win. But we're going to run the ball."

Golden Nuggets: Curse the bye week

Ninjames — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:00:30 -0000

Hey there folks, welcome to the Golden Nuggets, where I am in complete denial to both the 49ers loss last Sunday and the fact that the team doesn't have a game this week. I'm in complete football overdrive and I keep forgetting, over and over that we do not have a game on Sunday. I suppose the links tonight will set me straight since I'm anticipating only have a few for you. I suppose it'll feel a bit like the offseason--if you've been here long you'll know what I mean. Today as far as links I've got some stuff on the offensive line from yours truly, a bit about Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree and their work during the bye week, but beyond that not a lot. I'll get right to them and I'll dig deep tonight. Enjoy the links.

Head trauma is a growing concern in the NFL--just ask 49ers safety Michael Lewis. (MercuryNews.com)

Frank Gore is spending the bye week rehabbing his ankle. I sincerely hope he's ready to play against the Texans, we need him sorely. (Yahoo.com)

Ask A Player: Dashon Goldson. (49ers.com)

For lack of actual news, CB Nate Clements and LB Takeo Spikes are having a pick-off. No, they're not having an interception contest, they're picking five games this bye week and seeing who picks 'em right. My bet goes to Takeo since he's at least ten times more awesome than Clements. (49ers.com)

Maiocco answers some questions or "ties up some loose ends." (PressDemocrat.com)

Singletary's first year definitely has been lively. Definitely. (MercuryNews.com)

Here's a shorter version of the article I posted yesterday about the offensive line. (49ersMix.com)

The Niners don't seem to be trying to get any trades before the deadline on Tuesday. (Examiner.com)

Mike Singletary Approval Rating, Week 4

Fooch — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:15:21 -0000

Last week when I ran the Mike Singletary approval rating, my biggest concern was how the team would rebound from the devastating loss in Minnesota. Mike Singletary is a great motivator, but even many optimists had to be concerned following the loss.

Well so much for those concerns. The team rebounded to paste the Rams 35-0. One might initially argue that the team obviously struggled out of the gate, only leading the Rams 7-0. Offensively the struggles were certainly there. The offensive execution was a little less than stellar in the first half. However, given prior offensive struggles, I don't see that as an issue of coming out flat after the previous game. I say that in part because the defense was flying all over the field in the first half. They absolutely shut down the Rams throughout the game and were playing at an extremely high level.

The defense is certainly talented, but I'm willing to give credit where credit is due. Mike Singletary has been masterful with this team from a psychological edge. The team made some additions to the roster this offseason, but they're really not a whole lot different from last year's squad. The major variable in all this has been Mike Singletary. Bill Walsh will always be the coach on the Mt. Rushmore of 49ers legends. And yet, while it's still early, Mike Singletary seems to be on his to securing his own little spot in 49ers lore. We'll certainly have to re-address this in the future, but consider me happy so far.

I've attached Coach Singletary's Monday press conference after the jump, but I wanted to point a couple more things that jump to my attention about his actions with the team. I found his thoughts on halftime particularly interesting. It showed the level to which the players are truly buying in to the message:

On whether players have begun to take ownership of his message and he can take a step back at halftime and let the players carry on his message:
"I thought yesterday I saw a lot of guys disappointed in the way the first half went. Like I said, there were no shouting matches, it was just a matter of, ‘Guys, just remember what we said we needed to do.’ They kind of took it from there. ‘Yes, we’ve got to go out and we’ve got to do this. And, we’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to execute better.’ The coaches didn’t really have to talk a whole lot. Whenever you have that situation, you know you’re going in the right direction."

On whether he wants the players to carry out his message:
"The less I have to say the better. The less I say, the better I feel because I’m going to say what has to be said and hopefully they beat me to it all the time, so we can stay on the same page."

The team has bought into the Mike Singletary philosophy hook, line and sinker (to steal Danny's VD metaphor). This is not a team that will be quitting on their coach anytime soon. The team never seemed to quit on Mike Nolan during the down times, but in my opinion this is a different kind of buy-in. It's more of a playoff mentality (ironic enough given Mike Nolan's "Win the West" mantra!)

Head Coach Mike Singletary
Press Conference – October 5, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

Opening statements:
"Good afternoon. To start with, I’m very thankful that we came out of yesterday 3-0 in our division. I’m very proud of our guys and the way they played. To talk about some of the injuries, we still have [RB] Frank Gore and [S] Reggie Smith. They will be out. From last week, it’s just carry-over. [LB] Marques Harris has a hamstring strain. [LB] Jeff Ulbrich, concussion. [FS Dashon] Goldson just got the wind knocked out of him. He’s OK. [LB] Manny Lawson just got hit in the nose. He’s fine. Other than that, I think we’re in pretty decent shape.

Overall, our guys played hard. I think, offensively, the best thing that we did was just protect the football. I think going into every game, if that’s something, if that’s the mindset going into the game, just protect the football, I think we have a chance of being in it – as long as we don’t take ourselves out of it. I thought [QB] Shaun [Hill] did a good job spreading the ball around. He got the ball to several different receivers. I thought [RB Glen] Coffee, his first start, I thought he ran well. I thought he ran hard. He’s just going to have to continue to get in a grove and really understand exactly what he needs to do on every down. I thought our receivers did pretty well, for the most part. Obviously, there were some passes that we dropped that we have got to catch. [WR] Josh Morgan, I thought, did a good job coming back after missing the first ball, the deep ball, and coming back and catching a touchdown. That was good. Shaun just went right back to him. I thought our tight ends did a good job. [TE] Vernon Davis did a good job continuing to mature and staying involved in the offense, and I think Shaun is doing a good job of developing a rapport with him. [TE] Delanie [Walker] did well. He’s just continuing to do the things that we need to have him do, getting involved in the offense and creating mismatches. The plays like the reverse that he had, I thought he did a good job.

The o-line, we just have to continue to get better. [Offensive line coach] Chris [Foerster] and I have to sit down and look at some things we need to do in terms of what’s going to help our offense, but at the same time, there are a couple of guys who are doing a good job. [C Eric] Heitmann is working his tail off. Every down, he’s battling somebody. Thankfully, we have a center because everything wants to be from the inside out. So, if that’s where it starts, if you don’t have a problem at center, that’s a great problem not to have. I think [LT Joe] Staley is continuing to mature and get better. I think the right tackle situation, those guys are continuing to work it out over there, working together and taking plays here and there. Overall, they did a pretty solid job yesterday. I think we just have to get better overall, and we will.

Defensively, when you look at the film, the first thing that jumped out at me when I looked at the film was just guys running. Every time you looked at a play, guys were running to the ball. So, when we talk about being relentless, obviously, that’s what you see on the film. I think we had a couple of missed tackles here and there, but a lot of times, guys were just taking their shots. They were just coming in and just getting in there. That’s something that we have to continue to do a better job on. On defense, that’s something that we pride ourselves on. We have to be a good tackling football team. I think it’s very nice when you turn the film on and you see 11 guys sprinting to the ball. That’s the best thing that we have going right now. Obviously, [LB] Pat [Willis] had a nice game. He went out there and he just continues to get better. Any time you have a game like he had yesterday, that’s a great thing to see this early in the season. [LB] Takeo Spikes, also, I thought Takeo did very well, had a very nice game. Did all the fundamentals and the details of the position, did it very well. Our outside guys, [LB] Parys [Haralson] and Manny Lawson … thought they did a good job. [LB] Ahmad Brooks, continuing to come back from the knee scope, after being out a little while there are still some things that he has to get down, but he’s coming and coming fast. On the back end, we did a pretty decent job. [SS] Michael Lewis had a great game. He had several tackles, I think a couple for losses, a couple hits on the quarterback. I thought he did a nice job. So, defensively, it was a great day, and I think all of the guys get a game ball, simply because of the zero, the shutout.

Special teams, [LB] Scott McKillop, I thought, he came up big getting the ball in the end zone and scoring a touchdown. [RB] Michael Robinson, [P] Andy Lee and [CB] Tarell Brown did a nice job, in terms of special teams. [WR] Arnaz [Battle] fumbled one of the punts. We’ve got to work on that. It was his first time being back there in a while, and that’s just something that we can’t do and we have to get better at."

On the reason why KR Allen Rossum was inactive:
"My thinking was to get another linebacker up, a defensive player so that Parys and Manny – rushing the quarterback as much as they have to – giving them a break. And, Ahmad coming back from the knee, not giving him too many reps and hurting ourselves in the long run. So, getting Marques up and Ahmad so they could go in, as well as play special teams, just taking some of the load off. That’s really the biggest thing there."

On whether he’s thinking about personnel changes on the offensive line:
"It could. Hopefully not. Hopefully, we’re able to work it out because we do feel that our best five guys are on the field, but if it comes to that, it could. But, right now, hopefully not."

On whether he is unhappy with the offensive guards:
"I would just say that they did not play up to par. I know that whatever it is, we’ll just have to figure it out. [LG David] Baas could still be banged up a little bit. I don’t know. Sometimes, if you know a guy, when you’re playing on the offensive line, it’s just one of those things where, ‘Yes, I can go.’ But, at the same time, you’re not 100 percent. We’ll get to the bottom of it and find out exactly what it is because both of those guys, we have to have the whole offensive line in sync, and we’ll get there."

On whether it is his aim to have a 50-50 run-to-pass balance on offense:
"That’s always – that has always been, from the very beginning. I say we want to be able to run the ball, but I say we want to be able to run the ball when we have to run the ball. So far, we haven’t been able to do that, but I always want to have a balanced offense. I think people interpret what I said previously, thinking I want to be three yards and a cloud of dust. That’s not me. That’s not what I want. [Offensive coordinator] Jimmy Raye understands that, and I think our offense understands that, and that’s something that we’ll strive for. Obviously, in every game, sometimes you’re not going to be able to run as much as you want. Sometimes you’re not going to be able to pass as much as you want. The No. 1 thing is you want to be able to win the game, and we’re going to do whatever we have to do to win the game, but the goal is to be able to have a balance and do both."

On whether players have begun to take ownership of his message and he can take a step back at halftime and let the players carry on his message:
"I thought yesterday I saw a lot of guys disappointed in the way the first half went. Like I said, there were no shouting matches, it was just a matter of, ‘Guys, just remember what we said we needed to do.’ They kind of took it from there. ‘Yes, we’ve got to go out and we’ve got to do this. And, we’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to execute better.’ The coaches didn’t really have to talk a whole lot. Whenever you have that situation, you know you’re going in the right direction."

On whether he wants the players to carry out his message:
"The less I have to say the better. The less I say, the better I feel because I’m going to say what has to be said and hopefully they beat me to it all the time, so we can stay on the same page."

On who those guys are that are beating him to it now:
"Well, you can pick any guy on defense. The leadership on the defensive side of the ball has really picked up, whether it’s [DE] Justin Smith,[LB] Patrick [Willis], [LB] Takeo [Spikes], [S] Michael Lewis, all those guys are talking. On the offensive side of the ball, primarily [QB] Shaun Hill has really stepped up and has been a real bright spot in terms of the leadership and, ‘Hey guys, we have to do this, we have to do that. This is what we said we were going to do and let’s do it.’ So that’s great to see. On the offensive line, [T] Joe Staley and [C Eric] Heitmann, it’s great to see those guys step up and they will continue to do so because we will continue to get better."

On how close he thinks the team is to being one of the best teams in the NFL:
"I think we are a ways away. I won’t even go there and try and be philosophical about it. We are a ways away and I only say that because sometimes you’ll say, ‘Well, we are about this much away,’ but when you really measure that, it’s a ways away. I’m always looking at the tape and looking at other teams and looking at where I think we are compared to some of the better teams in the league. Right now, we are just trying to get better each week and that’s really the bottom line and as we go forward, that is the goal, is to go out and get better in practice, just get a little bit better in practice each day and each game we play, just get a little bit better in some area and at some point in time, it’s going to come together, but obviously right now we are a ways away from it and we are continuing to work to get there."

On what he sees in this defense:
"The No. 1 thing that I see in this defense in unselfishness. That is the number one trait in this defense. These guys don’t care who gets the credit. You don’t have guys arguing about, ‘Now, wait a minute I got that sack.’ You don’t hear that. These guys are excited, they play together, they get along together, they sit in a room together and talk about the game plan, they talk about who’s doing what. It’s just a joy to be around and normally guys that are playing defense sometimes are a little more selfish, but not these guys. That is amazing to me. Defensive line, linebackers, DBs, there’s a lot of unselfish guys. So that lets me know right now that we are going to have a great defense. How great? Some guys just have to continue to mature and get there, but its coming."

On how much credit Mike Nolan gets for the way things are now:
"It’s the big thing that I talked about last year. It’s amazing. Any success that we have here, I always attribute a large part of that to Mike because I know what he was trying to do and I know where he was trying to go and it was just a matter of guys really understanding it, guys really believing it and stepping into it this year and just taking it to the next level."

On how he has turned the team into one of the league leaders in turnover differential this season:
"One of the things we talk about as a team is not losing football games. Making other teams earn every point they get. When you turn the ball over, it is a formula for disaster, and our guys understand offensively. Our guys understand that defensively. It just takes the breath out of you. The more turnovers you get, the more it lessens your opportunity to be successful."

On the approach he will take towards Atlanta:
"When I look at Atlanta, and I have not looked at them yet on film, I am still looking at our film and trying to dissect that a little bit more, but everything I know about Atlanta, they have great personnel on offense and defense. Defensively, they are flying around. They have good rush outside linebackers. They have good inside guys. Their defensive ends, John Abraham, they are coming from everywhere. On the offensive side of the ball, they have the young quarterback Matt Ryan, who was a huge success last year. They have good receivers and good running backs. So we are going to have our hands full once again. I think when the guys talked about the week we played Minnesota, and maybe there was a difference in me. Any time we have an opportunity to get better, any time we have an opportunity to measure ourselves, I think if you’d ask them there was also a difference in me for the first game. Each and every week there are different challenges for our team. This past week, yesterday, that was a mental challenge. That was a character challenge, in terms of where are we. Are we mature enough to be able to go into a game where we are supposed to be nine-point favorites? You have a young team just starting to develop a mindset of winning, are we mature enough to go into a game like that and win and play well and continue to get better? So we have to answer something every week, and I think yesterday, that was huge for us for different reasons. So each and every week we have a challenge. When I look at the film of Atlanta, we’ll look at the challenges we have there."

On whether he considered playing QB Alex Smith at the end of the game:
"No. Not really. Probably, the biggest reason why, is I want Shaun to get all that he can right now because he needs it. And I think it would be different if he had started for a couple of years and had a lot of games under his belt, a lot of success under his belt. I think right now, he needs to see all the looks he can get because it is going to serve him well down the line."

On the hits Hill took yesterday:
"They came from, sometimes, the safety inserted late in the game. Sometimes it was just a rush from the outside. But for the most part, it was definitely too many hits. Once again, the offensive line, some was due to them. And some, Shaun got no protection-wise, where not to go after the ball is snapped. It is getting better, but is too much. We will have to keep working on it."

On whether the team needs WR Michael Crabtree:
"Same answer. Same answer. I am going to say it again Any guy that can play and that can help us win, I am never going to say no, we don’t need him."

On whether Crabtree is perhaps a diva:
"You said the key word: perhaps. I don’t know that. I don’t know that for sure. Why say no to someone who may be one heck of a kid? Like I said, I met him, I talked to him and I had a good feel for him. I haven’t been wrong too often. I think he is a great kid. But this is your rookie year, you’re just coming into the NFL, all you know is what they are telling him."

On whether he has any indications that Crabtree will sign soon:
"I just hope he is right. It would be great."

Poll

Do you approve of the job Mike Singletary is doing as head coach?

Yes

1116 votes

No

9 votes

1125 votes | Poll has closed

49ers-Rams Wednesday Injury Report

Fooch — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:50:03 -0000

The 49ers find themselves facing a rather banged up St. Louis Rams squad. The 49ers injury list includes many more players, but Frank Gore and Reggie Smith are supposed to be the only two players missing this Sunday. The Rams could be rolling out Kyle Boller at QB and one player not listed below is WR Laurent Robinson, who was placed on IR a couple days ago.

I mentioned before that the 49ers have no excuses for this game, and with many of the Rams injuries and suspensions, the "no excuse" mantra rings even louder. No Coffee? Better be no problems. We'll see how things develop, but conceivably the Rams could be without a pair of offensive tackles, their QB and half their secondary. I'd expect CB Ron Bartell to play, but we'll see about S James Butler.

49ers
Out (Definitely will not play)
RB Frank Gore (ankle)
SS Reggie Smith (groin)

Did not Participate in Practice
DE Justin Smith (not injury related)
G David Baas (biceps)
CB Allen Rossum (illness)
OT Joe Staley (thigh)
LB Jeff Ulbrich (thigh)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Takeo Spikes (shin)

Full Participation in Practice
TE Vernon Davis (shin)
OT Adam Snyder (thumb)

Rams
Did not Participate in Practice
QB Marc Bulger (right shoulder)
S James Butler (knee)
OT Jason Smith (knee)

Limited Participation in Practice
OT Alex Barron (thigh)
CB Ron Bartell (thigh)