SB Nation - Nick Harris

San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions: A Prospector's Guide

Fooch — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:00:29 -0000

vs.

The 49ers come down the final stretch of their season with nothing to play for but pride. Ok, that's not entirely true. The 49ers may be eliminated from playoff contention this season, but the building and learning process does not end with two games to go in the season. The 49ers are still assessing their offensive "identity" and what the current mix of players and playcalling can do on the field. And of course, the team is looking to get to .500 for the first time since 2002. Some folks would prefer the high draft pick, but I'll take the psychological value of getting .500 (at least my own psychological value).

The 49ers host the Detroit Lions in what will be the 63rd meeting between the two teams, with San Francisco holding a 34-27-1 advantage in the series. The last time the two teams matched up was in 2008 when San Francisco defeated Detroit, 31-13. The 49ers enter this weekend’s game with a 6-game win streak against Detroit.

San Francisco has won 8 of its past 10 games played at Candlestick Park, outscoring opponents 235 to 161 in those games (+74). During that span, the 49ers defense has allowed the fewest passing touchdowns (5) of any NFL team at home, while ranking fourth in league with 25 takeaways. Head coach Mike Singletary is undefeated in the month of December when playing at Candlestick Park, notching three wins dating back to 2008.

The 49ers defense enters this week’s game ranked 5th in rushing defense, allowing only 96.5 rushing yards per game. The 18 forced fumbles by the defense this season rank tied for 2nd in the NFL and are tied for the most by the team in a single season (1996 - 18), dating back to 1992.

49ers-Lions Connections
Coaching Connections
• 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye and Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham coached together during their time with the Kansas City Chiefs. Both served in the same capacity during the ‘98 season. Raye remained in the same position during the next two seasons (1999-2000) when Cunningham was promoted as head coach.
• 49ers WR coach Jerry Sullivan and Lions special teams coordinator Stan Kwan coached together on the San Diego Chargers staff from 1992-96 and on the Arizona Cardinals staff when Sullivan was WR coach/offensive coordinator and Kwan was an assistant special teams coach.
• 49ers QB Shaun Hill was coached by Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan from 2002-05, when Linehan served as offensive coordinator/QB coach, for the Minnesota Vikings.

FORMER LIONS - Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye served as RB coach for the Lions for two seasons (1978-79) ... WR Coach Jerry Sullivan served in the same capacity for Detroit from 1997-2000 ... RB coach Tom Rathman served in the same capacity with the Lions from 2003-05 ... CB Dre’ Bly played for four seasons with the Lions 2003-06 ... FB Moran Norris played through the 2008 season with Detroit.

FORMER 49ERS - LB Julian Peterson was originally drafted in the 1st round (16th overall) by San Francsico in 2000 and played six seasons with the 49ers (2000-05) ... DT Joe Cohen was originally drafted in the 4th round (135th overall) by the 49ers in 2007 ... WR Bryant Johnson played for the 49ers during the 2008 season ... TE coach Tim Lappano served as RB coach with the 49ers from 2003-04 ... Regional scout Cary Conklin played QB for the 49ers in 1995.

LIONS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS - FB Zack Follett a native of Clovis, CA, played his college ball at Cal-Berkeley ... P Nick Harris played at Cal-Berkeley ... Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham held several coaching positions at the collegiate level in Northern California, serving as DB coach in 1977, LB coach in 1978, and defensive coordinator/DL coach from 1979-80 at Cal-Berkeley. Cunningham’s previous experience was at Stanford, where he coached the DL from 1974-76

PLAYER CONNECTIONS
• 49ers T Barry Sims and Lions QB Daunte Culpepper were teammates with the Oakland Raiders during the 2008 season. Sims also played with Lions CB Phillip Buchanon in Oakland from 2002-04.
• 49ers QB Shaun Hill and Lions QB Daunte Culpepper were teammates with the Minnesota Vikings from 2002-05.
• 49ers LB Takeo Spikes and Lions RB coach Sam Gash were teammates during the 2003 season with the Buffalo Bills. Spikes started all 16 games at linebacker while Gash was the starting fullback on Buffalo’s offense.

Series Highlights
Matchups: 62
49ers Home Record vs. Lions: 49ers Lead Series 21-10-1
First Meeting: 10/8/50, Lions win, 24-7, at Detroit
Last Meeting: 9/21/08, 49ers win, 31-13, at San Francisco
Current Streak: Won 6
Longest 49ers Win Streak: 6 (12/23/96 - Prsent)
Longest Lions Win Streak: 6 (9/23/62 - 12/13/64)
Most 49ers Points: 55 (12/19/93), 55-17, at Detroit
Most Lions Points: 48 (11/14/54),48-7, at Detroit
49ers Shutouts: 2, Last: 10/1/61, 49ers win 49-0, at Detroit
Lions Shutouts: 1, 11/6/60, Lions win 24-0, at San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO 31, DETROIT 13
At San Francisco, CA, September 21, 2008

The San Francisco 49ers scored over 30 points for the second consecutive week to improve to 2-1 with a 31-13 victory over the visiting Detroit Lions. RB Frank Gore gained 130 yards on the ground, and QB J.T. O’Sullivan threw 2 touchdown passes to lead the 49ers to the win. The 49ers offense chalked up 370 yards of total offense, including 182 yards on the ground, while San Francisco’s secondary shut down the Lions big receivers in front of the home crowd at Candlestick. Detroit gained just 124 yards in the air, and receivers Roy Williams (two catches for 18 yards) and Calvin Johnson (four catches for 40 yards) were non-factors.

The 49ers scored on three straight possessions to take a 21-3 halftime lead. A 33-yard run by Gore positioned the 49ers for O’Sullivan’s 6-yard TD pass to WR Isaac Bruce for a 7-0 first quarter lead. An 18-yard run by WR Arnaz Battle on a reverse on the next possession helped get the 49ers in Detroit territory, where they took a 14-0 lead on a 4-yard TD run by Gore. After spotting the Lions a FG, O’Sullivan connected on a 25-yard pass to WR Bryant Johnson, followed by an 18-yard pass to WR Josh Morgan and then a 24-yard TD pass to TE Delanie Walker for a 21-3 advantage.

The only scoring in the 3rd quarter was a FG by Detroit to close the lead to 21-6 before the 49ers had a 10-point 4th quarter to seal the victory. The 49ers moved to the Detroit 1-yard line early in the 4th quarter and were faced with a 4th-and-1 situation. Head coach Mike Nolan elected to go for the TD rather than attempt a field goal. 11-year veteran CB/PR Allen Rossum took a handoff and scored a TD on a 1-yard run for 28-6 49ers lead. Detroit responded on the next series when QB Jon Kitna scrambled on a 4th-down play to help set up a 34-yard TD pass to RB Rudi Johnson. The Lions attempted an onsides kick on the ensuing drive that Battle picked up and returned 28 yards to the Detroit 12-yard line to set up a 25-yard PK Joe Nedney FG for a 31-13 lead. DE Justin Smith intercepted a Lions pass with 1:50 left to play to seal the victory for San Francisco.

2009 Statistics

49ERS (rank)		LIONS (rank)
6-8 (2nd NFCW)	Record	2-12 (4th NFCN)
20.1 (t-18th)	Points per game	16.6 (27th)
286.6 (28th)	Total Offense	296.1 (25th)
99.4 (26th)	Rushing Offense	100.1 (24th)
187.3 (24th)	Passing Offense	196.0 (22nd)
29:28 (17th)	Possession Avg	28:47 (22nd)
19.8 (t-8th)	Points allowed/gm	31.2 (32nd)
344.6 (19th)	Total Defense	396.1 (32nd)
96.5 (5th)	Rushing Defense	127.6 (24th)
248.1 (28th)	Passing Defense	268.6 (32nd)
34 (t-8th)	Sacks	23 (29th)
47.9 (2nd)	Punting Avg (Gross)	43.1 (19th)
+4 (10th)	Turnover Differential	-11 (30th)

Friday Notes: FitzSimmons Misses Practice; Gronkowski to Get His Shot at TE on Sunday?

Sean Yuille — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:03:52 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

3 months ago: Detroit Lions tight end Dan Gronkowski (47) catches a 21-yard touchdown reception from Drew Stanton as Indianapolis Colts safety Travis Key defends during the fourth quarter of an exhibition NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Dan Gronkowski may get a chance to play tight end on Sunday because Casey FitzSimmons is suffering from concussion-like symptoms. FitzSimmons missed Thursday's practice, and if he is unable to play, Gronkowski will see his first regular season action at tight end. Quite a few friends and relatives of Gronkowski will be at the game since he played college football at the University of Maryland, so it would be pretty cool if he got to play at TE this week.
Ernie Sims could return against Baltimore.
Louis Delmas and DeAndre Levy have the third- and fourth-most tackles, respectively, out of all the NFL's rookies.
Gunther Cunningham loves Levy.
Kalvin Pearson was back at practice on Wednesday and should play this week.
There was some talk that the Lions might bring in a few punters for a workout in case Nick Harris is too injured to play this week, but considering I haven't heard anything about a tryout yet and that no punter has been signed, I'd imagine that Harris will play.
Some Lions players shared their thoughts on who should win the Heisman Trophy.
Chris Spielman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this week.
Chad Ochocinco was fined $30,000 for the sombrero celebration he did during last Sunday's Lions-Bengals game.

Tuesday Notes: Lions Claim Maurice Williams, Release Ephraim Salaam

Sean Yuille — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:48:47 -0000

The Lions have claimed offensive lineman Maurice Williams. Williams was waived by the Jaguars over the weekend after playing for them since 2001. He is from the city of Detroit and went to the University of Michigan, where he started at right tackle alongside the likes of Jeff Backus and Steve Hutchinson. Williams was also a member of the Wolverines when Jon Jansen started at right tackle. In the NFL, Williams has started 100 of the 105 games he's played in, and it seems like he is a good addition for depth purposes if he can stay healthy. The Lions don't exactly have the best situation at guard, so it looks like Williams could help at that position.
To make room on the roster for Williams, the Lions released offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam.
The Lions might work out punters this week because Nick Harris hurt his knee while making a tackle against Cincinnati.
Jim Schwartz was understandably pissed off over some of the costly and stupid penalties the Lions got on Sunday.
Bryant Johnson's eyes looked a little odd on Sunday, but that was just because he wears tinted contacts.
Louis Delmas went into Sunday's game ready to talk trash with Chad Ochocinco, and considering Delmas knocked #85 out of the game with a big hit, I think he has definitely earned the right to. Delmas went over to Ochocinco to make sure he was alright after the hit, and they had a nice exchange. Ochocinco wasn't out for long and continued to improve on his big game, but overall I thought Delmas did a great job on Sunday.
The Lions' road losing streak is up to 18 games.

The Monday Morning Microscope: Week 13

DrewsLions — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:22:39 -0000

More photos » by Tony Tribble - AP

17 days ago: Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz yells to his team during the first half of their NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Tony Tribble)

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Okay, so four games have gone by since my last post. Doesn't seem like that long, but it has been. I apologize for my lack of presence on the site lately, but when you take a two week vacation, you then have two weeks worth of work stacked up that you have to dig out of when you return. That sometimes makes vacations not worth taking. What a ridiculous world we live in. Absolutely zero work/life balance out there. Everyone is just work, work, work. Does no one care about their families anymore? Sorry, just venting a little. As you can tell, my initiation back into work the week after my vacation was less than pleasant. And forgive me for complaining, because I know that I am supremely blessed to even have a job in this unforgiving economy, let alone a good job. It's just that with all the happenings of this year that have shaped my life's current perspective, I wish to spend a little more time with my family and a little less time with the triviality of my company's finances... especially around the holidays. Whew... okay, I feel better. Let's say we talk a little football, eh?

Because I'm playing a little catch-up, this week's edition of MMM might be a little longer than usual. I'm not going to go into a ton of detail for any one of the past games, but more or less just sum up where we are as a team at this point in the season and talk about where we need to go from here. I'll finish it up with some specific thoughts about the Bengals game.

With only four weeks left, there are few surprises anymore. The Lions are what they are... a struggling team with lots of holes and a few bright spots to pin future hopes upon. They will most likely lose the remainder of their schedule and be back into familiar territory... competing with the bottom of the NFL's barrel for draft position. I see that the draft has once again become the popular topic of conversation here at POD. You'll have to forgive me for not joining in that one quite yet. For me, at least the regular season and bowl games need to be over before joining the cacophony of useless fun that is mock drafting. I'll say this much though, I believe that the Lions are very much in the running for the number two or three overall pick in the draft. That just might be enough to net us Suh. But back to the season at hand...

Through Week 13, the offense can pretty much be characterized as inconsistent and mostly ineffective. At times, they can take your breath away and at others, they make you scratch your head, wondering if we'll see another first down the entire game. To get in a little more detail, I'll break it down by area:

Quarterback: Well, Matt Stafford single-handedly created one of the most memorable games in Lions history and showed why he was drafted first overall against Cleveland. But that was against Cleveland. He has subsequently stunk it up two games running and showed that he still has a long way to go to become a great quarterback in this league. He has no doubt played hurt the last two weeks and I'm sure that's affected him somewhat, but his decision making has to get better if the Lions are to become contenders. I choose to look at it this way... he's a typical rookie. He's going to make good plays and he's going to make some really bone-headed plays. That's what you get with young players. We've seen it with them all... Pettigrew, Delmas, Levy... all of them. Stafford, as talented as he is, in not immune to the huge learning curve that all rookies who start in this league have to go through. Couple that with a poor offensive line, suspect receivers aside from Calvin and a struggling running game... well, you get the mish-mash performances we've seen from Stafford. Bottom Line: Matt will be fine. He's getting some great experience and if he's really "the one", we will see many of these mistakes start to go away over the course of the 2010 season.
Backs and Receivers: I think we've all learned an inconvenient truth about the Lions' receiving corps... it is once again an area of need heading into the off-season. With as much money as we've thrown at this position in the past, this is a true exercise in frustration. Without Calvin Johnson, the offense just dissolves. The reality is that Calvin gets hurt a little too much for comfort and we must have some reliable talent behind him. That means we have to yet again focus on this position in the draft and free agency. The good news is that, before the season ending injury, Pettigrew really started to blossom. That is one position that appears to be solidified (unless this injury lingers into the 2010 season). I also disagree with all of the fans clamoring for the Lions to use a draft pick on a running back. Kevin Smith has not been great this year, but as shown by his efforts in yesterday's game, he is a hard runner and when given adequate blocking, is shifty enough to be a more than serviceable back in this league. Both Brown and Morris are valuable back-ups and add to the offensive versatility. Bottom Line: One of the more important acquisitions for the coming off-season is a complementary wideout opposite Calvin. They must find this player next year, both for the development of Calvin and Matt and for the progress of the offense as a whole. With better blocking, the running backs in our stable should be more than sufficient.

Offensive Line: The most disappointing and biggest problem on our offensive line right now is Gosder Cherilus. We all know that the Lions need a big-time upgrade at left guard... that's a given. In my mind, at some point between the second and fourth round, the Lions must take an offensive lineman. The problem is that Cherilus' poor play throws a massive wrench in the gears of the Lions' long term strategy here. Do the Lions take a guard or will they have to take a tackle to replace Cherilus? Can they move Cherilus to left guard and draft a good young right tackle? If so, how will his play translate to guard and will he simply be the next useless player in the revolving door at that position? See... he creates a pickle for the front office. We were supposed to be able to forget about the right tackle position for the next twelve years, yet here we are once again... questioning the ability of a Millen-drafted first round pick. Forget about even attempting to replace Backus or Raiola. We NEED them. How's that for a cold prickly? Bottom Line: The coaching staff needs to determine if Cherilus still has enough potential to waste time with him at right tackle. He is so inconsistent - will it end at some point... who knows? At the very least, the Lions' need to draft a guard. But is that enough? In my opinion, they need another tackle. I'd try Cherilus at left guard and draft a new right tackle that has the ability to move to left in a few years to replace Backus. Anyway you slice it, the line has not played well consistently and something has to be done. Finding a working combination of players will be the biggest off-season challenge for the front office offensively.

As weak as this defense is roster-wise, I think they've played surprisingly well at times. There just isn't enough talent to fend off opposing offenses if our own offense can't score a lot of points. This gives me hope that with sufficient talent, Schwartz and Cunningham can put together a defense worth fearing. I'll break the defense down by area as well:

Defensive Line: One word... ineffective. Much more so against the pass than the rush, but we cannot expect to get pressure against any team in the league with any combination of four players on our current roster. There's simply not enough talent. I wish there was an elite pass rusher at the top of the draft this year. I know we are all salivating over Suh and there is no doubt he would be a valuable addition to the Lions, but an elite pass rusher is probably the biggest need on the entire roster. It would fix so many problems. The defensive line and secondary have a cause and effect relationship. The defensive line pressure, or lack thereof, causes the quarterback to either be rushed or to have time. That effects the play of the secondary and how much time they are asked to cover. Our line gives the quarterback all day, which causes the virtually talent-less secondary to have to cover much longer than they are capable. Bottom Line: This year can be scrapped for our defensive line. No one capable of coming close to double-digit sacks is on this roster. Unless they can find that guy in the later rounds of the draft, I'm not sure where the upgrade is going to come from next year. Maybe free agency... ala, Aaron Kampman or someone like that? Either way, this has me very nervous.
Linebackers: I think most of us agreed before the season that this was going to easily be the strength of the entire team and we were right. Really, we have five good linebackers on this team. Foote and Peterson are solid, not spectacular players that have been one of the big reasons why the defense has played well at times. Regardless of ranking last in a lot of defensive passing categories, there is no denying that this group has played better this year than last. We've had many more stops on third downs, tackling has been good at times and play against the run has definitely improved. Now, this is all relative to what the Lions were a year ago, but progress is progress. The key decision heading into the off-season will be what to do with Ernie Sims. It should be a no-brainer to try to resign both Foote and Peterson in my opinion. I think it would be a step backwards not to try. For once, there is an area of our team that we shouldn't have to worry about going into next year. Bottom Line: Although Peterson and Levy started slow, both have joined Foote as quality additions to our defense. I believe that we should hold on to all five linebackers next year (Peterson, Foote, Sims, Levy and Dizon) and allow the front office to focus elsewhere. Even though they can't be considered the best corps in the league, they are a vast improvement over what we've had in the recent past. Paris Lenon anyone?
Defensive Secondary: Ugh... where to start? Well, Delmas was a home run hit in the second round for Mayhew. Anyone want to argue that? Didn't think so. Beyond that? Nothing. Not sure if there is anyone even worth keeping for next year besides Ko Simpson. James? Maybe as a nickel. Buchanon? Played well sporadically, but we know that he is nowhere close to a great player. Henry? Even the interception yesterday doesn't help mask the fact that he's pretty much washed up. We know by this point in the season what our secondary is... the worst in the league. It's going to be hard to find a good starting corner in the upcoming draft, too. That is disheartening. Hopefully, Mayhew can work his magic and find a late round gem. This is a passing league and if we can't cover or get pressure, we can't compete. The front office has its work cut out trying to piece together a foundation that will be able to dramatically increase production in the secondary next year. Bottom Line: Aside from Delmas and Simpson, they will basically have to start over in the secondary. Our foundation should have been on guys like Keith Smith, A.J. Davis, Gerald Alexander, Daniel Bullocks and Stanley Wilson. What a shame. It's just too much to do in a year. The more I look at it, the more it looks like it might take two more drafts to put this secondary together.

Quick note on Special Teams: I don't believe I've ever written anything negative about Jason Hanson, but I'm about to. His kickoffs are getting shorter and shorter each game. With poor special teams play to begin with, the opponent's returner fielding the ball between the 10 and 20 is not acceptable. For the first time, I believe his age is showing and affecting his kicking power and subsequently, his distance. As for Nick Harris... I believe he's having one of his most inconsistent seasons. For every two good punts, it seems like he's having a horrible one. That's not good. We might have to replace both of these iconic players soon if these trends continue. How do you guys feel about this?

Thoughts About the Bengals Game:

As usual, I'll start with Stafford's performance. In a nutshell, it was another sketchy outing by the rookie. The big TD pass to Johnson was a thing of beauty, but that's where the love affair ends. He seemed okay at the start of the game, but during one of the many hits he took, he re-aggravated that shoulder and it seemed to affect him the remainder of the game. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but it might be time to sit him for a game and let that shoulder recuperate. I want him to have as many opportunities as possible to get valuable experience, but if that experience is hampered by injury, then it's time to sit him down.
Kevin Smith had a fantastic game yesterday. Yeah, maybe the numbers don't say "fantastic", but in my opinion, it was his best performance of the year. He ran hard and with purpose. He showed his ability to be shifty, nimble and powerful at the same time. He made quicker decisions and made a few cuts that gave me goosebumps. He needed that game, because he's a good back and has taken a lot of heat for the ineffective play of the line.
Speaking of offensive line... Gosder had another horrible game yesterday. I forgot to DVR it, so I can't watch it back to see how bad it really was, but I spent a fair amount of time cursing his play yesterday. I thought that the interior, with Gandy and Ramirez, held up fairly well... especially against the run. The blitzing is where the Lions fell apart and part of that was on Stafford to get the ball out quicker. All-in-all, not the worst day for the Lions' O-line... which still isn't saying much.
Defensively, it was a decent performance. The Bengals by no means blew out Detroit. We stopped them on several key third downs, forced turnovers and pretty much kept them in check for most of the game. The offense was the real problem yesterday. I think Cunningham and Schwartz have really made the best of this unit. I think the scheme is sound, but the talent is what is missing. Like I've said before, I believe wholeheartedly that once the talent is in place, Schwartz will give Detroit an outstanding defense.

So, there's four games left in the season. Any winnable? Maybe the Bears game at home. Does it matter? Not really. We will have another 10+ loss season written down in the annuls of Lions history and another top 5 draft pick on the way to further destroy our salary cap. For me, this season is and continues to be about the progression of the young talent. More and more, it looks like - realistically - that we will be waiting until 2011 to really be able to compete in this league. There are simply too many holes to repair in the upcoming off-season. That's a discouraging thought, but the front office does appear to have a plan in place and another two drafts like 2009 and we will be an up-and-coming powerhouse in this league. Unfortunately when you are building a team, the last thing to come is the wins.

Go Lions!

Friday Notes: Kevin Smith Returns to Practice

Sean Yuille — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:24:21 -0000

Kevin Smith returned to practice on Thursday, splitting No. 1 reps with Maurice Morris. Calvin Johnson also practiced again on Thursday. It appears both will be game-time decisions for Sunday's game, but if I had to make a prediction right now, I'd say that the Lions will have all of their offensive weapons against Seattle.
A lawsuit against Dennis Northcutt that brought about some pretty serious accusations was dropped.
Although twins are on the way, Nick Harris will be with the team in Seattle this weekend.
Unlike Julian Peterson, Sunday's game is not circled on Cory Redding's calendar.
Chris Osgood used to be a Seahawks fan, but the Lions are his favorite team now.
This year's Thanksgiving game halftime show will be "A Motown 50th Anniversary Tribute." For more information, click here.
The 49ers signed former Lions cornerback Keith Smith and already released Carson Butler from their practice squad.
SB Nation's mid-season studs and duds awards are out.

Golden Bears in the Pros: DeCoud Shines, More Forsett, Natalie Eliminated

Avinash — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:00:33 -0000

(Video link here, hat-tip to ieeebear!)

Thomas Decoud, Atlanta Falcons

Decoud earns NFC defensive player of the week honors.

First-year starter Thomas DeCoud had the game of his short professional career at safety Sunday night for the Atlanta Falcons.

DeCoud's five tackles were fifth best on the team and he added two passes defensed, but his two interceptions helped change the game for Atlanta and won him the award.

The interceptions were the first two of his career and marked the first time a Falcons player had a multiple-interception game since DeAngelo Hall's two pick game against Tampa Bay on September 17, 2006.

More on the headlines above, plus news on one pro Bear who will be at the Wazzu game, and find out where some of your favorite Golden Bear hoopsters are now playing overseas after the jump. Also, two Golden Bears got signed to two NFL 53 man squads, find out who by checking out the rest of the post!

Justin Forsett, Seattle Seahawks

ESPN's Mike Sando reports that Forsett could be seeing more action, mainly because his pass blocking abilities might be the best of the three in the corps! Good job Coach Gould and Coach M!

Justin Forsett is earning -- and will get -- more touches in the regular offense. My take three weeks ago was that Forsett, primarily a third-down back to this point, had done enough to start getting touches on earlier downs. Seattle left Forsett alone in the backfield six times in the first quarter against the Jaguars, more than he had in the first quarters of the previous four games. Forsett is challenging to become the best pass-blocking back on the team even though Julius Jones and Edgerrin James are strong in that area. He lacks top-end speed, but he's quick and appears trustworthy in key situations. He did a nice job chipping on his way out of the backfield, helping the left tackle substantially on one play.

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons

Lots of stuff here about the matchup between Gonzalez and Dallas's returning strong safety , who is returning with a cast on one hand due to a broken thumb. He's also expected to see lots of double coverage.

"My whole career I've always tried to look at when they played against maybe Kellen Winslow, and see what they did to him, because I know he's such a threat in the receiving game," Gonzalez said during a conference call Wednesday. "But even sometimes teams will switch it up. Earlier this year we played against New England and I didn't really anticipate getting bracket coverage as much as I was that game, and because of that I only had one catch."

The Cowboys held Winslow to four catches for 30 yards and one score in the season-opener. Gonzalez has had plenty of practice adapting to varied schemes over the years.

"It's always something," Gonzalez said of the different looks he gets. "That's something I've been used to my whole career and whatever they want to do hopefully we can adjust and move the ball down the field."

Tony G was also on Pardon the Interruption for Five Good Minutes on Wednesday--check out his interview starting at about 9:55.

Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders

Asomugha was surprised at what happened on Sunday--in terms of Oakland's defense actually following through on what they run in practice.

On Sunday, the Raiders brought a different look to the Eagles game on defense. They blitzed and played zone -- a departure from the defensive scheme Davis prefers. It was something of a revolution, according to cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Asomugha said he lobbies every week for a more aggressive attack and less predictable coverage, but usually to no avail.

"We were shocked," Asomugha said, "because coaches say we're going to run it in practice, but we come to a game and that never happens."

Asomugha said defensive coordinator John Marshall finally agreed to make changes. "He said that he might get yelled at for it, but he'll keep going," Asomugha said.

When asked about Asomugha's claims, Cable evaded the issue.

"I think we'll do what we can, and what we think it takes to win every Sunday," Cable said.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Football Outsiders thinks they know why Aaron is struggling to develop a good rapport with one of his primary targets (HT Acme Packing Company):

Aaron Rodgers didn't pad his stats; after a third-quarter sack and fumble, he threw only one pass in the fourth quarter, an interception. A more important question: What's up with Greg Jennings? We thought the star wideout would have a big game against the Lions, but Jennings only ended up with 38 yards on six catches in eight attempts. Our theory: Rodgers is struggling to get the protection he needs to allow Jennings to run double moves and get open downfield.

Zack Follett, LB, Detroit Lions

At least one more time, Follett will be patrolling the California sidelines on his bye week.

Rookie linebacker Zack Follett is heading back to California. He grew up in Clovis and played college football at Cal. He said he's planning to go back to Berkeley to see Saturday's game against Washington State.

"We've got three days off. I'm going to fly home and go back to the Bay," Follett said. "Catch a Cal football game and kind of refresh the mind a little bit and get ready to get back to work.

"I've already been here three months. To stay another two, it would be a tough stretch, especially with this cold weather getting up on me. I'm getting my mind ready for these winters."

Other notes

Lorenzo Alexander recorded 3 tackles in a 14-6 loss to Kansas City. You can see him against the Eagles and Desean on Monday night.
Desean Jackson caught 6 passes for 94 yards (as you saw above), as well as having 4 punt returns for 43 yards.
Dante Hughes was signed by the Chargers! Hopefully now that he's right next to the Pacific coast, he'll be able to regain his "intercepting of North Korean nuclear missiles" abilities.
The Seahawks signed Mike Gibson off the Eagles practice squad...lots of Golden Bears piling up there in Seattle!
Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 19 times for 61 yards, and 2 receptions for 11 yards.
Alex Mack was sidelined by flu-like symptoms; it's not yet known if it was H1N1 that was ailing him.
Ryan Longwell kicked four field goals, including the game-winner against Baltimore.
Brandon Mebane recorded three tackles for the Seahawks in their loss to Arizona.
Tully Banta-Cain was let go by New England...and then immediately resigned for a multi-year deal, according to Adam Schefter. He recorded 3 tackles in the 59-0 dressing down of the Titans.
Apparently long snapper David Binn once dated Pamela Anderson. Wait, WHAT?
Desmond Bishop remains on the special teams with AJ Hawk still the starter, although he is in a good spot to replace him in the future if the team chooses. He recorded one tackle in that capacity against Detroit.
Kyle Boller isn't likely to compete for the starting spot with Marc Bulger in the near future; Bulger still is the de facto #1.
The Hogs, an independent Redskins site, did an interview with Andre Carter the week before Kansas City. Carter had 7 tackles and the pass deflection you saw in the video.
Scott Fujita did not practice Wednesday because of a strained right calf he suffered against the Giants. Still not sure if he will play against Miami.
Kansas City head coach Todd Haley has found his starting right tackle in Ryan O'Callaghan.
Nick Harris punted 5 times for a 39.2 yard average for Detroit.

NBA preseason

Jason Kidd is averaging 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals through five preseason games. Since the Spurs are the favorites to win the division, here's what Mavs Moneyball thinks Kidd should do to slow down Tony Parker (hint: he won't): "First Jason Kidd must force Parker into becoming a passer more than a scorer. This is not going to be easy for Kidd, in fact it may be impossible! If Kidd cannot at least slow down Parker's ability to get to the basket the Mavericks will be forced to try and win a shootout, and at this point I do not feel confident enough in their rotation defense to say they can win that type of game with these Spurs."
Ryan Anderson is averaging 14 points, 4 rebounds, and over 50 percent from downtown per game for the Magic in the preseason. According to Third Quarter Collapse, his offensive rating is an astounding 118.7 (translation: very very good) with a usage rate of 23.7%. If you haven't seen it, check out danzig's highlight reel of him against the Bulls, where he hit the go-ahead bucket in the fourth quarter. You can see Anderson in action in the final preseason game tonight on ESPN against the Hawks at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST; considering that starters usually are rested a lot in these games, this might be the most Anderson plays all year long.
Sean Marks? 2 points, 5 rebounds, 30% shooting, 4 fouls per game. We should expect a lot of updates like this; pray for a gamewinning dunk here and there.
Leon Powe met with his old Celtic battery mates during the last preseason game between the Cavs and Cs (he is of course still far away from playing). It was, in his own words, 'strange'.
Rod Benson was released by the Pacers. Sigh. He'll probably be back in the D-League soon enough. Interesting stuff about dissent between Benson and his agent from Ridiculous Upside.

Elsewhere

Week 3 - Natalie Coughlin - Dancing With The Stars (via ABCNetwork)

Natalie Coughlin was eliminated prematurely from Dancing with the Stars, because people who watch Dancing with the Stars obviously hate beautiful women and prefer C-list celebrities. For those who wanted to catch her dances (all in HD!): Week 1 with the salsa, Week 2 with the quickstep, Week 3 with the rumba (her best one) is the embedded video above, Week 4 with the bolero. Here's her post-elimination interview from Good Morning America, where they wake her up at 4 to 5 AM local time the night afterwards and drag her back to the studio for an interview to ask her how much it sucks to be eliminated. You stay classy ABC.
At least it led to this gem by one of the judges. You should spot what's wrong pretty quickly.

"Unfortunately for Natalie, I think that people didn’t know who she was," said the cheorographer, actress and dancer [Carrie Ann Inaba]. "Maybe the fan base of her sport isn’t watching our show or maybe it isn’t as big as someone like Michael Irvin’s fanbase, which is basketball."

Toronto FC's Stefan Frei is a dark horse candidate for MLS Rookie of the Year.
Finally, Joseph Cannon of the Daily Cal wrote up about several Golden Bear hoopsters playing overseas. Ayinde Ubaka's starring in Australia for the Gold Coast Blaze, DeVon Hardin's been hopping from Oklahoma to Greece to Turkey and now Greece again for EO Athens, and Eric Vierneisel's been everywhere (New Zealand, Syria, Jordan), before settling on Heidelberg, Germany.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Release LaMarcus Hicks

Sean Yuille — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:43:25 -0000

To make room on the roster for Daunte Culpepper, the Lions released safety LaMarcus Hicks. This tells me that Dwight Smith is healthy again, as the Lions obviously feel the added depth at safety is no longer necessary. Most figured Drew Henson would get released when Culpepper signed, but as of right now he is still on the roster, meaning the Lions currently have four QBs.
Although Rod Marinelli is attempting to keep the Jaguars unaware of who will start for the Lions on Sunday, it certainly seems like Culpepper will get the nod over Dan Orlovsky.
Best news I've heard all season: Jason Hanson wants to come back for another season with the Lions. His contract is set to expire at the end of this season, but all signs point to him coming back for his 18th season in the NFL.
Lions punter Nick Harris could have played defense in college but chose punting instead.
Dan Orlovsky actually had to call his own plays on a drive against the Bears due to a communications issue with the Lions' headsets. Orlovsky is the one that called the Calvin Johnson end-around that went for a loss of 6 yards, and the Lions ultimately went three and out on the drive. The Lions apparently had similar problems against the Texans a few weeks back.
Nicholas Cotsonika thinks the Lions should consider hiring fired Rams coach Scott Linehan to be their offensive coordinator. The main reason for bringing up the idea is that Linehan was Daunte Culpepper's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Minnesota. Anyone is better than Jim Colletto, that's for sure.
Speaking of Colletto, remember his comments from last week about how Drew Stanton would be embarrass himself if he started? Well, Rod Marinelli called the comments a "poor choice of words." Marinelli also said this about Colletto's comments:

“What he’s saying is, we want to make sure he’s got enough tools to go into a game with,” Marinelli said today.
I do think that is what Colletto really meant; he just said it in a very direct way. It's not like he wasn't telling the truth or anything like that, but Colletto probably shouldn't have been so upfront about Stanton.
Drew Stanton also spoke about the comments, and as you can imagine, he didn't exactly sound thrilled with Colletto's harsh assessment, especially since it was told to the media.

"That's fine -- he's entitled to his opinion," Stanton said Friday when asked for his reaction. "If he thinks that I (would) embarrass myself when I go out there, then that's what he believes and ultimately he's the offensive coordinator right now."

Added Stanton: "Anytime that you play for somebody that says they don't want you to go out there and embarrass yourself, obviously, that's not going to make you feel good. At the same time, that's his evaluation of me. Maybe I need to change his mind or whatever. Maybe I won't get the opportunity to. I can't worry about the words or the exact definition of what he's trying to say."
I feel sorry for Stanton simply because no player should have to be put in a position like that. Coaches need to be careful about what they say anywhere. But when they're talking to the media, they better watch every word that comes out of their mouth.
SI's Peter King thinks NFL teams should take a look at Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach.

49ers beat Lions in Former Bengals Bowl

Kirkendall — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:02:01 -0000

What you may not have known today, is that seven former Bengals players played in one NFC game now dubbed the Former Bengals Bowl; the San Francisco 49ers beat the Detroit Lions, 31-13.

Rudi Johnson rushed for 83 yards, on 14 carries, including a 27-yard rush. The last time he had a rush attempt longer than 27 yards, was December 18th, 2005 against the -- I freaking love irony -- the Detroit Lions with a 33-yard run.

That wasn't all. Jon Kitna hit Rudi Johnson on a 34-yard touchdown pass. Rudi Johnson recorded 131 total yards; three receptions and a team-leading 48 yards receiving.

Then there's Justin Smith, recording a sack, an interception and a forced fumble. Smith forced Kitna to fumble on a sack, on the Lions second drive of the game; the Lions recovered and another former Bengals player, Nick Harris, punted the ball 57 yards. Smith tackled Rudi Johnson and Jon Kitna each. Late in the game, Kitna attempted a pass to Rudi Johnson that was picked off by Smith.

Takeo Spikes recorded a forced fumble and two tackles. Mark Roman recorded two tackles and Langston Moore added another.

Former Bengals players in this game.

For the Lions
Jon Kitna
Rudi Johnson
Nick Harris
Langston Moore

For the 49ers
Justin Smith
Takeo Spikes
Mark Roman

In case I missed one, let us know.