SB Nation - Demetric Evans

Friday Injury Report: 49ers at Packers

Brandon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:26:28 -0000

It's a long list for each team this week. The Green Bay Packers have 17 players listed, and the 49ers 13. But most of the injuries are not serious, and nearly everyone is expected to play.

For the Packers, it's been a rough week of practice. Both RT Allen Barbre and OL Evan Dietrich-Smith were injured during practice, and I'm not expecting either of them to play. C Scott Wells reported a concussion on Wednesday, though the injury likely happened during the game last Sunday. Mike McCarthy expects Wells will start. RB Ahman Green injured his groin late Thursday during practice, and it's not clear whether he'll play. Every other player should be available to play, including three guys who didn't play last week: LB Brandon Chillar, TE Jermichael Finley, and RT Mark Tauscher.

Tauscher will start the game, but he will rotate with OL T.J. Lang, depending on Tauscher's endurance.

For the Niners, only CB Nate Clements and LT Joe Staley are out. Those are two of their big name players, but they missed last week's game too. Fooch said their replacements have played really well. The only other player who could miss the game is LB Takeo Spikes who's day-to-day with a hamstring injury.

Overall, both teams are relatively healthy and injuries shouldn't play a major role. The complete injury list for both teams is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Allen Barbre	T/G	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Desmond Bishop	LB	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Brandon Chillar	LB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Not Inj. Related	Limited Participation	N/A
Evan Dietrich-Smith	G/C	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Ahman Green	RB	Groin	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Back	Full Participation	Probable
Brad Jones	LB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Aaron Kampman	LB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
John Kuhn	FB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Clay Matthews	LB	Jaw	Full Participation	Probable
Brady Poppinga	LB	Quadricep	Full Participation	Probable
Mark Tauscher	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Scott Wells	C	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Charles Woodson	CB	Hip	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Isaac Bruce	WR	Ankle & Elbow	Full Participation	Probable
Nate Clements	CB	Shoulder	Out	Out
Glen Coffee	RB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Michael Crabtree	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Demetric Evans	DT	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Aubrayo Franklin	NT	Not Inj. Related
Michael Lewis	S	Quadricep	Full Participation	Probable
Michael Robinson	RB	Not Inj. Related	Did Not Participate	Probable
Mark Roman	S	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Justin Smith	DT	Back	Full Participation	Probable
Adam Snyder	T/G	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Takeo Spikes	LB	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Joe Staley	T	Knee	Out	Out

49ers-Packers Final Injury Report

Fooch — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:08:35 -0000

We're two days away from a monstrous game for the 49ers and we've got our final injury report of the week. A whole lot of probable players, but not much beyond that. Barrows thinks we'll see Matt Wilhelm starting at the Ted linebacker spot over Takeo Spikes, who remains "day-to-day." Wilhelm was solid last Thursday as a mid-game replacement for Spikes, so let's hope it carries over to Sunday.

49ers
Out
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Questionable
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Probable
WR Isaac Bruce (ankle)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)
S Michael Lewis (quadricep)
RB Michael Robinson (stinger)
WR Michael Crabtree (knee)
DT Demetric Evans (shoulder)
S Mark Roman (knee)
DE Justin Smith (back)
OT Adam Snyder (shoulder)

Packers
Doubtful
OT Allen Barbre (ankle)

Questionable
G Evan Dietrich-Smith (ankle)
RB Ahman Green (groin)

Probable
LB Desmond Bishop (ankle)
LB Brandon Chillar (hand)
TE Jermichael Finley (knee)
DE Cullen Jenkins (ankle)
DE Johnny Jolly (back)
LB Brad Jones (concussion)
LB Aaron Kampman (concussion)
RB John Kuhn (hand)
LB Clay Matthews (jaw)
LB Brady Poppinga (quadricep)
T Mark Tauscher (knee)
C Scott Wells (concussion)
CB Charles Woodson (hip)

49ers-Packers Wednesday Injury Report and coordinators' transcript

Fooch — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:48:13 -0000

After last week's short week, we return to a fairly normal practice report (instead of Monday being the Wednesday injury report). The biggest non-practice info for the Packers is that defensive end Cullen Jenkins sat out practice today. He played last week and I think it's safe to say he's getting some veteran's rest. Other than that, the Packers had some limited guys, but most of those folks usually end up playing.

The 49ers get Demetric Evans and Glen Coffee back this week, but neither has been quite the impact player some folks might hope for. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. After the jump, I've posted both coordinators' post-practice transcripts.

49ers
Out (Definitely Will Not Play)
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Did not Participate in Practice
DT Aubrayo Franklin (not injury related)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Limited Participation in Practice
DE Justin Smith (back)

Full Participation in Practice
WR Isaac Bruce (ankle, elbow)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)
WR Michael Crabtree (knee)
DT Demetric Evans (shoulder)
S Mark Roman (knee)
OT Adam Snyder (shoulder)

Packers
Did not Participate in Practice
LB Desmond Bishop (ankle)
DE Cullen Jenkins (ankle)
LB Brady Poppinga (quadricep)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Brad Jones (concussion)
LB Clay Matthews (jaw)
CB Charles Woodson (hip)

Full Participation in Practice
LB Brandon Chillar (hand)
TE Jermichael Finley (knee)
LB Aaron Kampman (concussion)
RB John Kuhn (hand)
OT Mark Tauscher (knee)

After the jump we've got Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye's post-practice transcripts...

Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky
Post-Walk Thru November 18, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On the Packers offense:

"They have a good running back who makes some yards. He is a hard runner. They have good wide receivers and a quarterback that is very capable of making throws across the field. That's what I see."

On whether the defense is excited to go against an offensive line that has allowed so many sacks:

"Just going into the matchups all the time, we are trying to get the best matchups we have for the guys who are rushing. So, we'll see how the game goes on Sunday."

On whether there is extra pressure on the secondary this week:

"Yeah, from the quarterback position, he does a good job of reading coverages and throwing the ball where it needs to be thrown. He is having a good year throwing the ball. We need to cover the guys up on the back end and make sure we pressure him as much as we can."

On stopping Green Bay's receivers from gaining yards after the catch:

"I think the most important thing is tackling. For the YAC yardage they do accumulate, we need to make sure we do tackle in the open field. They are strong catching the ball, but they are also strong getting away from guys and we need to make sure we tackle well in the open field."

On whether the low sack numbers are a concern:

"I always say, ‘Do you want interceptions? Do you want sacks? What do you really want from a defense?' Last week we had opportunities to hit [QB Jay] Cutler, which we did. He released the ball and we made some good plays on it. I think it is give and take. I'd like to have five sacks and five interceptions, but sometimes you just get one or the other and that is just as good. The guys are competing hard and playing hard and doing the things we need them to do. Where do we want to be for the sack total is for the end of the year. I think you figure out that more than you do during the season. You address that each and every week, but we are just looking for victories and wins when it comes to Sunday."

On the difficulty of playing at Lambeau field:

"I was at Minnesota for a couple of years playing them. It is a great crowd up there. The weather sometimes changes around now and it is a good thing we have a chilly day today, at least that will get us in that chilly mode a little bit. Great fans, a great organization. They are doing everything they can to get a win and we are trying to do the same."

On the play of Tarell Brown:

"He is playing pretty good right now, consistent and up to the challenge each and every week. It is good to see that he is picking up his game. We assumed that when he was in training camp, but he got hurt early and kind of got knocked off. Right now he is picking up his game and he is doing a great job."

On whether consistency is the biggest concern with starting young players:

"Sometimes it is. I think with T. Brown, he has been in enough game experiences, so when we went into the game it was fine and I had no concerns with it. He is a confident player who goes out there and makes plays, which he did last week as well."

On the extra work LB Matt Wilhelm is doing this week for a potential start on Sunday:

"If TK [LB Takeo Spikes] can't go then Matt will be the starter. He is a pro. He has been in some big games himself and he will do well. If TK can get ready to go, I know he is studying film and doing the most he can to get ready for the game and we're expecting him to be ready."

On why LB Scott McKillop played immediately after Spikes was injured then Wilhelm played instead of McKillop in the second half:

"Matt has been in a lot of situations in San Diego and has played a lot of games and was a starter. We just felt comfortable with Matt being in there at the time. That's why we made the transition. Nothing against Scott, it is just that right now we felt Matt had a better feel for the game and we were confident in his ability to play."

On Wilhelm's play in the second half of the Chicago game:

"He played pretty well, which we expected. That's what backup players are in this league, and you are looking at one. When you get your opportunity, you have to go in there and make the most of it. That's what we expected him to do and he did it so it was great."

On whether the cornerbacks will match up against certain receivers or just play a side of the field:

"In that game and going into this game, it is going to be very similar. We are matching up against the guys we need to match up on. He is a good quarterback and they are good receivers, so we have to make sure we have our best guys on their best guys."

On whether he is satisfied with the quarterback pressures even though the sack total is low:

"Yeah, definitely. The pressure we have been maintaining on quarterbacks is pretty good. Even though the quarterback is not sacked, we are looking at that all the time. We want to get as much pressure on him as possible and sometimes those are just as good as a sack because sometimes he throws it not in the right spot, which is great for us."

Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye
Post-Walk Thru - November 18, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On the objectives facing Green Bay's defense:

"I think the No. 1 objective is to make sure you take care of the football. They are plus-13 in the giveaway/takeaway ratio. They lead the NFL in takeaways and turnovers. So, the No. 1 thing you have to do is make sure you take care of the football, and you've got to account for [CB] Charles Woodson as a secondary blitzer, along with [LB] Nick Barnett. They do a lot of different things off of the stem of their 34 defense, which I think is where they're based. They'll game plan specific teams, so we'll have to see what their defensive plan will be for us."

On how a defense accounts for Woodson:

"It depends because they do it out of a couple of different packages. We'll have to scan with the back. The quarterback will have to ID him. We'll handle him with a visual break and we'll try to block him in the scheme of our protections based on what we have called when it comes up."

On whether the corner blitz is a staple of their defense:

"That shows up quite a bit in the games that we have. It depends on how they defend us, whether they use him as a safety or whether they use him as a corner in their nickel package. So, it's a couple of different looks that they have. When he plays safety, he adds on as a rusher. In the nickel package, he plays the position where he's inside as a safety. So, he becomes a fifth rusher in a lot of the things that they do."

On the play of LT Barry Sims:

"I think I said early on, back two or three weeks ago - whenever that happened - that the history that I've had with Barry from the past, I anticipated that he would be a pro and do a good job. And, to date, he has played well, solid back up in the role that he is playing, and we're very fortunate to have him play and be playing to the level that he's playing. It's helped us."

On whether facing the team's own 3-4 defense in training camp helps at all in preparing for the 3-4 defense this Sunday:

"Somewhat. It's been so long since we've played an odd front. It's a 34 defense. It's been so long since training camp because we've been playing so many over-front teams. They actually don't play 3-4. They give you the mirror image of that. It's what they want to do. And, they use [No.] 74, the defensive end, as a big, stand-up outside backer. But, then they have all the derivatives of that defense. They play over. They play under. They play Bear. So, the amount of 34 defense you get is small in comparison to all of the other gimmick - I wouldn't say gimmick - but all of the other variations that they have off of it because of the flexibility they have with No. 74, who is a true defensive lineman playing outside linebacker. So, they're able to get to a four-down version of what they do, over and under, and then jam the front and play Bear, and then get into their nickel package without substituting. It's a little bit of a hybrid of 34. If it was just 34 like we saw in the summer against our team, it would be a little bit easier transition."

On whether No. 74, Aaron Kampman, is miscast in that role:

"They don't think so. He's a matchup problem, obviously, for a back in your protections if he's the Sam linebacker or the base-side backer. They create a mismatch over there on that side with a back trying to block a defensive lineman off of a two-point stance. They do a good job of scheming up what they ask of him to do. He's mostly the rusher, so he's not dropping into pass coverage a lot, which makes it easier for the transition for him. But, as I've said before, they have a lot of variations off of it, and most of them involve him as a rusher as a defensive end."

On whether he began preparing for this game last week given the extra time following the Bears game:

"Yes, because we played on Thursday evening, I think it was. It's run together, but I think we started Friday. So, we had two extra days and started a direction with the tape that we had, and then all of a sudden, Sunday rolls around. They play Dallas and they look like a totally different team. From looking at it on the TV copy, they were borderline dominant in that game. I think it was way deep into the game before the Cowboys even had a first down in the game. So, as we started, then we had to include how they played Dallas in the game plan that was specific for Dallas and how they played that. So, we had to make some adjustments as we went along."

On whether they were different schematically against Dallas:

"Yes. They've been different against everybody they've played. Against the Rams, they only played with three defensive backs and five linebackers. They game plan every team that they're going to play, based on the strengths and weaknesses of that offense. Tampa Bay was different than Dallas. Minnesota, obviously with [QB Brett] Favre, was different than [QB Tony] Romo with Dallas. The Rams were different than all of those. Because of, as I've said before, the flexibility of the things they are able to do with their front seven people, you see a different style of defense based on the game plan they have in place. So, we'll have to see how they plan to treat - I would think they would start with us with stopping [RB] Frank Gore and [TE] Vernon Davis would be the two people that they would target because we're a little more throw than run with [QB] Alex Smith. We'll see a little bit different style of defense."

On whether that's part of the cat and mouse game, trying to figure out what adjustments they're going to make:

"It will be once the game starts, but we're going to go do what we do best after how many ever weeks this has been, eight weeks or nine weeks, and see how they adjust to stop what we do, what they're plan is personnel wise defensively. And, we'll make the adjustments as the game unfolds."

On where he was watching the Cowboys and Packers game last Sunday:

"I was at home watching it on the - I've got the biggest screen HDTV I could get. I was at home watching it on the TV and listening to the commentary. It's interesting to listen to the commentary."

On what about the commentary was interesting:

"Some of the comments of the people doing the game and the perception they have of the teams they were broadcasting. How they impose their vision on the teams and personnel that they don't know very much about."

On whether he has any good Lambeau Field stories:

"I've only been - I haven't been there very much. I was there with Steve Young, and they made a commercial out of that one. It snowed about 28 inches during the game. It snowed so deep, and that was when I had a broken leg. I had to be carried off of the field because I couldn't lift my foot high enough to walk in the snow. And Steve Young was playing for us at Tampa, and [Packers QB Lynn] Dickey was playing for them. It was a record snow fall during the game, so much that the tractors couldn't clean the field to play. And, the other time with the Jets, we played them up there two or three years ago. My only two times there. So, no, I don't have a whole lot of history with the place."

On why the team was successful running the ball out of the shotgun:

"I guess because they expected us to pass. I don't think it was any magic deal. We were in a situation in that game where we were using 11 personnel in the gun, and they were playing a defensive front that when we two-for-one the play, the run/pass to be announced at the line of scrimmage, they were giving us some opportunities to run, and Alex took advantage of those and Frank made some good runs."

49ers-Packers: Mike Singletary/Alex Smith post-practice trascripts

Fooch — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:19 -0000

The 49ers returned to practice today, and as usual we had post-practice press conferences. There's nothing too shocking to report, although a few notable comments worth at least discussing.

On the injury front, Glen Coffee will be back. I'm not sure how big a difference that will make, but it's at least worth mentioning. Also, Takeo Spikes remains day-to-day, and if he can't go on Sunday Matt Wilhelm would start at the Ted linebacker position. Spikes had to leave Thursday's game and Wilhelm was quite solid as his replacement, finishing with 5 tackles, including 1 for a loss.

In terms of playing time, it sounds like Isaac Bruce will be playing, but he's definitely fallen down the depth chart. It sounds like Bruce is now the #4 receivers, although that's not 100% clear. He's definitely not the 1 or 2 though. Singletary spoke with Bruce about this and Bruce seemed reasonable about it:

On how Bruce reacted:
"When I talked to Isaac about the change, he was very positive about it. He said, ‘I feel that Josh Morgan is ready. He's ready for this.' He's been working hard, and Isaac has been working with him to get better. I didn't expect anything different from Isaac. He's a class individual, and he's all about the team."

Given his play, I guess there wasn't much else Bruce could do in the situation, but at least he's handling it with a certain level of class. He has to realize his playing days are quickly coming to an end. He's a free agent after this season, and while I don't think the 49ers will be re-signing him, I'm curious if he gets any other interest around the league.

The transcript is after the jump...

Head Coach Mike Singletary
Post-Walk Thru - November 17, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

Opening statements:

"As far as the injuries are concerned, [CB] Nate Clements will be out, [LT] Joe Staley will be out. [DT] Demetric Evans will be up. [LB] Takeo Spikes is still day-to-day, and if Takeo can't go, [LB] Matt Wilhelm will start. As you know, [WR] Isaac Bruce will not start. [WR] Josh Morgan will start. So, that's what we're doing there going forward.

[QB] Alex Smith, in terms of our offense right now, I think through everything that our offense has been through, the loss of the tackles, loss of [RB] Frank [Gore] for three-and-a-half weeks and just trying to settle in, Alex Smith playing 14 quarters - I think the offense is continuing to come together, continuing to find its identity right now. You're asking a guy, Alex Smith with 14 quarters, to come out and execute the offense, get the timing down, know the receivers, know the offensive line and then be successful - as well as deal with some of the other things. It's not like he's a rookie. He's been here before to deal with some of negative tone or whatever. Going forward, I think he's handled everything well. I think he's just continuing to take steps forward. I think [offensive coordinator] Jimmy Raye and [quarterbacks coach] Mike Johnson continue to work with him, and good communication and good dialogue going forward. I'm very excited about Alex Smith and what he brings to our offense, and I think going forward, he's going to do just fine.

When you look at the Packers offensively, they're a smart football team. They're a tough football team. They're offensive line is tough. Their running back is a downhill guy, runs tough, and they've got good receivers. The quarterback is playing well, playing smart football. They don't have many turnovers. He hasn't thrown many interceptions - I think five so far. They're doing some good things on offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, it's a very aggressive defense. They really do a good job with the turnovers. I think they're No. 1 in the league with turnovers. Their d-line is very active and come off the ball. Their linebackers are very active. The DBs do a good job. They blitz. [CB] Charles Woodson is having a great year creating turnovers and harassing quarterbacks. It should be a great challenge for us. I'm very excited for the opportunity to go to Lambeau. I'm looking forward to the opportunity."

On whether RB Glen Coffee will be available for the game:

"Yes."

On whether WR Isaac Bruce will be the No. 3 receiver behind Jason Hill:

"As of right now, it depends on what type of package starts. It depends on the package that goes in. We'll see. I know he's not starting. Whether he's No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5, I don't know right now. It just depends on the package."

On whether he's talked to Bruce about the change:

"Yes."

On how Bruce reacted:

"When I talked to Isaac about the change, he was very positive about it. He said, ‘I feel that Josh Morgan is ready. He's ready for this.' He's been working hard, and Isaac has been working with him to get better. I didn't expect anything different from Isaac. He's a class individual, and he's all about the team."

On QB Aaron Rodgers being able to pick apart a defense if given time:

"You're exactly right. He will pick you apart if he has the time, most quarterbacks will. Hopefully, he doesn't have that much time. We're just going to have to continue to play better on the back end, and I think continue to try and put pressure on the quarterback."

On whether the 49ers starting outside linebackers having only 2.5 sacks bothers him or whether he's more interested in pressures:

"I always want to get sacks. You settle for pressures. Sometimes, pressures can be very effective as well. But, I just think those things will come in time. I think, more and more, offenses are doing more max protecting. I just think we just have to continue to have to do a better job there."

On whether he's ever considered starting LB Ahmad Brooks:

"No, not at this point. Ahmad Brooks is continuing to learn the system, continuing to learn how to be a consistent pass rusher. I just think that he's still getting his feet underneath him, but he's coming in and he's coming fast."

On the benefit of having a couple extra days following the Thursday night game:

"I think any time you have an extra day or two for guys to get their legs back underneath them, some of the pounding that they've taken, to heal and use it wisely, I think it can do nothing but help us."

On whether he's talked to the team about playing at Lambeau Field:

"I think the biggest thing that I told our team is we're going on the road, once again, to play a very good football team. It is a tough place to play, but we control some of that. I think it's very important for us to really focus on executing, focus on doing the things that we need to do and let everything else take care of itself. I didn't really talk a whole lot about Lambeau."

On how long he thinks it will take before QB Alex Smith is comfortable:

"I think he's comfortable right now, I really do. I think he's comfortable right now. I just think that the nice thing about where he's at is, first of all, he's a bright guy. Second of all, it's one of those things where the system that we're running is not so different. I think Norv Turner had a lot of similarities to the system that we're running now, so it's not totally different than the Turner system he had good success in. But, I think the thing that's really good for Alex is he's stepping in. He never really got out of the groove, and what I mean by that is he just continued to work. He just continued to work on his own, so when he did get the chance, it's not like he had to shake a lot of rust off. I'm excited about where he's at and the conversations that I have with him going forward are just continuing to ask him what does he need in order to be successful and trying to surround him with those things, whether it's more time, whether it's more detail, whether it's more meeting time, whether it's more route running out here with the wide receivers - just making sure he gets all of the things he needs so that he can feel as comfortable as he can during the game."

On whether he has everything he needs to be successful:

"I don't think you're ever going to have everything you need and you want and all of the other things, but I think that we're listening and trying to provide him with those things. I think he's being very reasonable about what he's asking for. Some of those things you kind of have to pull out of him because he doesn't want to change the offense. He doesn't want to change things around, but at the same time, I continue to reassure him that when I'm asking these questions, I really want the answers so that we can help him all we can."

On the things Smith has asked for:

"First is just a little more detail, getting into the offense and really just going back through some of the things that - we've gone forward here with [QB] Shaun Hill and some of those things. So, it's going back and kind of looking at some of the detail of those things and how that looks for him because when you have one quarterback, you're working with some of the changes that they need, when another quarterback may not need those changes, but they may need something else. So, it's just making sure that you kind of backtrack over those things and make sure that's cleaned up going forward. So, little things like that."

On how he would assess the play of LT Barry Sims:

"Outstanding. It's a pleasant surprise. I think he's done a great job. I'm really excited about what he has been able to bring to that position. I think he's done a phenomenal job."

On whether he would consider leaving Sims in the starting lineup when LT Joe Staley comes back:

"I may consider it, but I don't think it would happen because I think Joe Staley is our left tackle. Unless he comes back, and he's just really not ready or something like that, but Joe Staley is our left tackle."

On whether he would switch Sims to the right side:

"Probably not. [RT Adam] Snyder is doing a good job on that side."

On WR Josh Morgan's play:

"I talked to Josh Morgan the other day and just let him know that I liked what he's doing. I like the progression. I just want to see it faster. I want to see when Josh Morgan and [WR] Michael Crabtree line up, the [the defense] has issues on both sides. It's not, ‘We'll take away one, and you deal with the lesser' because I think Josh Morgan is extremely talented. He's extremely physical. There are just a lot of things that he can do and present a lot of issues for a defense. So, I'm just looking for the time that, and hopefully soon, where he presents a lot of issues over there."

On whether a lack of experience in a passing offense in college is part of Morgan's development;

"Yes it is. It's a difference in being a receiver and being in an offense where you have to be really detailed. Some offenses, the receivers don't have to be as detailed. They're not asked to run specific routes, and I think in our offense, [wide receivers coach] Jerry Sullivan really stresses that. It's extremely important for receivers to be exactly where they're supposed to be because it makes the quarterback better."

QB Alex Smith
Post-Walk Thru November 17, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On having time off over the weekend:

"Yeah it was kind of nice. I got kind of a mini second bye week."

On what he did with the time off:

"Nothing real eventful. When you are this busy and you finally get your time off, you find that doing nothing sometimes is the most enjoyable thing."

On whether there was any work to be done over the weekend:

"We came in here, but I think for the most part just recovery - getting fresh. We got a jump start on Friday, just to recover and get back to it."

On what he tells the coaches he needs:

"There are different things, little things here and there, things I might think I need or we need. It just kind of depends on the situation. We talk pretty often, so it has been a lot of different things. Nothing real major though. Usually it is small things, whether it be a little extra time this week with the receivers or whatever it might be."

On whether he has ever had a coach ask him what he needs before:

"Not like that, no. I've never had that question posed to me before as far as a quarterback. It kind of makes you think a little bit."

On whether he looks forward to facing QB Aaron Rodgers:

"I do look forward to it. Yeah I have gotten to know Aaron since then. I got to know him throughout that whole year with the college stuff, the awards and the draft process. I have stayed in touch with him since then. I had the opportunity to play them a couple of times in preseason and the regular season. Yeah, I look forward to it. Through all that process, Aaron was a great guy. I appreciated that when we were going through all that competition and things got hyped up and worked up, he never seemed liked it ever got to him. It didn't change him."

On playing at Lambeau Field:

"This is my first time going, so I look forward to it. There is a handful of places now I have never been and this is one of them. I look forward to it and I am excited for it. I have heard a lot about it."

On Rodgers' career:

"I think he is doing a great job there. I think he has done some really good things. I look at their offense and what they are doing. I think they give a lot of problems to defenses. They spread people out, they have a lot of weapons and he takes advantage of it. So of the little I've seen, you don't get to study many offenses, I think he is playing well."

On whether he knew how far Rodgers slipped on Draft Day in 2005:

"I didn't find out until a little later what was going on. It's a long process, the first round takes forever. So you are kind of doing the circuit then getting filled in about what was going on, who went where. So yeah, a little bit."

On whether he felt bad for Rodgers:

"No question, to be back there in the green room is uncomfortable. Every single pick, there is a camera sitting on you seeing your reaction, and to have to sit there that long would be really difficult I would imagine."

On whether he feels that in some way he is competing with Rodgers:

"I don't. I understand that we will forever be connected because of that. But I don't at all feel like I am competing with him in that sense. I am competing with him to win the game on Sunday. But I put the statistics and all that stuff aside, I'm not paying any attention to it."

On whether he thinks about how things would have turned out if the 49ers selected Rodgers:

"Who knows what would have happened? I don't really think about that. There are a million different scenarios you could probably play out that could have happened if things went differently. But this is the way it went and here we are meeting up five years later. We have both taken different routes, but I look forward to it."

On the differences between his and Rodgers' journey:

"I haven't spoken to him about that. The few times I have had to see him and talk to him over the years has been pretty quick. It would be interesting to talk to him about it. We both have taken very different routes to get to where we are now."

On whether Rodgers has told him what it was like to play behind Brett Favre:

"I haven't talked to him about that. I haven't. Most of our conversations have been pretty quick, a little, ‘How are you doing?' I didn't get into things like that."

On Green Bay's defense:

"They are playing really well. They played really well on Sunday against the good offense that Dallas has. I think they are a good test for us. I think they are strong across the board. I don't think there is a standout position group that is playing better than others, I think they are all playing well. They are stout up front, the linebacking corps is playing really well, they have a lot of depth there, and they are a really veteran group in the secondary. They make a lot of plays. I think they lead the NFL in takeaways, so I think it will be a really good test for us."

On whether he has to focus extra on his accuracy this week:

"I guess you always hope to be precise and accurate. I think it goes more into the decision making, if that makes sense. You have to be very sharp about your decision making, where you are going with the football, what you are doing against what they present, because they do present a lot of different looks. You have to be able to make decisions and then it comes down to throwing the ball."

On WR Josh Morgan starting:

"It is a great opportunity for Josh and I am excited for him. He always works extremely hard. He worked extremely hard this offseason and worked hard last year to get to where he is. I think he has improved a tremendous amount. This is a big opportunity for him and it's a big opportunity for us. I feel really good about Josh being out there."

On how much time he has spent throwing to Morgan:

"Not a ton of time. I missed last year, but all this offseason he was here and we worked out quite a bit. We went through camp together, and obviously now we are in whatever week we are in the season. So we had a little bit of work."

On the importance of chemistry with the receivers:

"It is crucial. I think it is crucial to any offense to have that trust between each other that he is going to be where he is supposed to be and I am going to put that ball where it is supposed to be and that it is going to work out. You have to have that trust and you have to be accountable to each other. I think that is vital to any passing game."

On the development of WR Michael Crabtree:

"He just continues to keep working. I think every week he is here he is just going to keep getting better and better. He has still only been here a short time when you think about it, but he has so many tools. I think he is a very gifted player. I think he has a very natural feel for the game. So I think it is just going to get better and better for him."

On whether he feels comfortable throwing jump balls to Crabtree and Morgan:

"I feel real good with all our guys, but those two have a great feel for the ball. They are competitive when the ball is in the air. They are both big-body guys who catch the ball with their hands. So yeah, I definitely feel good about that."

On developing an identity on offense:

"I think it will always be like that over the course of a season. You are going to have cycles and go through things - things you are doing well and things you aren't - when you are finding out who you are. You want to set that identity to a certain extent, but it kind of evolves as you go along. You continue to adjust it to the personnel you have and the things we are doing well."

On the advantages of running out of the shotgun:

"I think it helps us at least present a balanced formation to the defense. Traditionally thinking, when you line up in the shotgun, it is predominantly pass, so to be able to run the ball out of the shotgun at least allows us to stay balanced."

On his input to the coaches during games:

"If something came to me, I would definitely have the freedom to say it. Usually, I don't really think like that though. I am busy playing. I don't really think like a coordinator, per se, or something like that. I don't always have the best view. Sometimes when you are out there, things look differently. If I do see things I definitely say them. I don't hesitate to say them, but I don't know how much of that actually goes on."

On the play of T Barry Sims and how coach Singletary has said he's playing outstanding:

"I think just that, he stepped right in and hasn't missed a beat. He has played really well. That's hard to do, come in and play left tackle in this league where you are getting matched up every week against big-time pass rushers, and to play the way he has, has been great. I don't think twice back there, I trust those guys up front."

49ers-Bears Final Injury Report

Fooch — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:42:40 -0000

We've got our final injury report of the week and the only major addition is that Isaac Bruce is listed as questionable. Even if Bruce is active on Thursday, it sounds like he's dropped to fourth on the depth chart, at the highest. I actually kind of hope he's active to see whether or not he sees the field at all. Looking through the receiver depth chart, Jason Hill would seem to have moved back in as the #3 receiver. Arnaz Battle has more or less fallen off the map as a receiver. That leaves Brandon Jones competing with Bruce for receiving playing time.

The team usually sticks with no more than three receivers, so I suppose it's not that big of an issue in the end. When they extend out to four or five receivers, the fourth and fifth guy are usually tight ends or running backs. Of course, given Glen Coffee's injury, maybe we see a bit more Brandon Jones in those 4 and 5 receiver sets?

Coach Singletary's press conference transcript is now after the jump.

49ers
Out
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
DE Demetric Evans (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)

Questionable
WR Isaac Bruce (ankle)

Probable
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)
WR Brandon Jones (knee)
TE Delanie Walker (shin, knee)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Bears
Out
LB Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee)
S Kevin Payne (back)
RB Garrett Wolfe (back)

Questionable
S Al Afalava (shoulder)

Probable
TE Desmond Clark (neck)
DT Tommie Harris (knee)
CB Charles Tillman (shoulder)

Coach Singletary's press conference transcript is now after the jump...

Head Coach Mike Singletary
Post-Walk-Thru November 11, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

Opening statements:

"Good afternoon. We had a good week's work for the short amount of time it was. We have some guys a little banged up, but we worked through it okay. I am excited about tomorrow night. We will be ready to go. I am excited about the game, excited about the challenge and excited that the country will have a chance to see the 49ers - the young 49ers - come of age in the second half of the season. I am excited about that."

On whether the short week is more of a mental or physical test for the players:

"For us, it is kind of hard to put into words - probably more mental if anything. You go out there coming off of a loss on Sunday, a disappointing loss there. You are going into a new week and you are kind of bumped, bruised, whatever. At the same time, you have to work through what happened on Sunday, the setback there, and then get ready for a game on national television this upcoming week. At some point in time, you have to make a decision to let that go and grasp what is in front of you. Our guys made that transition and are getting ready for tomorrow night."

On whether there are any advantages to the short week:

"The only advantage to a short week is to win. That is the only advantage and it is a good advantage."

On how he will know if his team comes of age Thursday:

"Guys, you know what, all I can say about tomorrow night is that you just have to watch the game. I am sure you will ask the questions afterward, but you just have to watch the game. That's all I can tell you."

On whether he is feeling any extra emotions about the Bears as the game gets closer:

"It is the next game on the schedule."

On TE Vernon Davis' comments about the Bears:

"I'll put it this way, I talked to him about it, and I know what he meant. I'm a little frustrated, and I think if you really translate or if you read through the lines, read between the lines, I don't think he was being disrespectful at all. I think basically he was saying, ‘You know what, we can do this. Let's not sit back and talk about what the Bears are going to do. Let's go out there and do what we can do.' You have grown to know Vernon as well. He can get a little excited and that is what he did. As a team, we just have to be ready to go tomorrow night, but I know what he meant."

On whether he is at all glad Davis made those comments:

"No. I can't say I am glad, but at the same time, it's not one of those things where you sit back and really think a whole lot about it. I just think he said it, okay it is out there. I'm sure they will read it and have their reaction, but we just have to be ready to play."

On why he said he was frustrated by Davis' comments:

"I'm frustrated in terms of, it is kind of like, ‘Let's go. Let's go.' That's what I mean."

On whether Davis' comments can be damaging to the team:

"I am going to leave that alone. I just think he said it, it's out there. Some things you wish you could say differently, but we will roll with it."

On how WR Isaac Bruce has looked practiced this week considering his ankle injury:

"He was doing fine. He was trying to work his way through it. Yesterday he rolled it and he is going to be questionable or doubtful for the game."

On whether that it was the same ankle from last weekend's game:

"Yes."

On whether WR Jason Hill will be a starter:

"If that is the case, yes."

On whether Isaac Bruce's injury will be noted on the team's injury report:

"Yes, it will be."

On Brandon Jones' status as the teams punt returner:

"Brandon Jones will be the punt returner, yes."

On whether he has received extra attention from the Chicago media for this upcoming game:

"There has been some extra media that I did not respond to. I didn't want that. We're playing another game and another opportunity for us to get better and didn't want to get into all of the other sideshows. We're going to play a game and we're going to try to win a football game and that's it."

On whether it's harder to comeback from behind in a game during a short week:

"No. For us, we can't get into if we get behind or if we do this, do that. We just have to go out there and play the game and think about winning the game. Let the other stuff go. We can think about that afterwards. Going towards the game, we're thinking about playing a football game and winning a football game. The same feelings that we have as a team, they have the same thing now. If they didn't play Sunday, then I'd have a problem with it. We're both going to be dealing with the same issues. Let's go play the game."

On whether RB Michael Robinson would be the backup running back:

"Yes sir, Michael Robinson."

On whether there is a contingency plan at running back:

"[FB] Norris, Moran Norris would be the next guy."

On whether him facing the Bears in the past as an assistant takes away any butterflies now having to face them as a head coach:

"Yes. The first time was - the fact that we were in Soldier Field, it was just different emotions for a while, but you get over that pretty quick as the game gets going. It's just the nature of the game."

On whether there is a little extra adrenaline for prime-time games:

"Prime-time games, I think some teams play up and some teams play down. I think, for us, we'll play up. I don't know anything else about how Chicago responded. I just know that tomorrow night, we'll be ready to play."

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."

49ers-Bears Monday Injury Report

Fooch — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:05:23 -0000

The 49ers and Bears did not hold formal practices today, but due to the truncated schedule, they have provided an injury report based on what would likely have happened if there had been practice. Suffice to say, this is not a pretty practice report. The 49ers were beat up pretty badly yesterday and find themselves needing to turn around quickly to face the Bears this Thursday.

Glen Coffee is out and Michael Robinson is banged up, so I'd hope the team signs somebody today or tomorrow. Whomever they do sign (if anybody) will not have much time to learn the playbook and would really just be an emergency option this week. I'm not expecting a big name signing, but at this point any body is a good body.

I don't have the today's press conference transcript, but I'll post it here as soon as I get it.

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

Did not Participate in Practice
S Michael Lewis (quadricep)
RB Michael Robinson (stinger)
DE Justin Smith (not injury related)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)
S Curtis Taylor (shin)

Limited Participation in Practice
TE Vernon Davis (shoulder)
WR Jason Hill (ankle)
TE Delanie Walker (shin, knee)

Full Participation in Practice
G David Baas (stinger)
CB Tarell Brown (rib)
RB Frank Gore (eye lid)

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)

49ers-Titans Final Injury Report

Fooch — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:00:42 -0000

Nothing surprising to close out the week. The 49ers would appear to be getting Reggie Smith back for Sunday's game, which is a nice little shot in the arm for a secondary that has had injury issues much of the season. If Smith is active and playing I'm really curious to see how the team utilizes him, given Nate Clements injury. Mark Roman moved his way up to primary safety backup, so if Roman remains in that role, Smith could be moved around in a variety of other formations.

One thing I wanted to bring up unrelated to injuries: The Sports Guy rolled out his picks for the week today and had these comments about the 49ers-Titans game:

NINERS (-4) over Titans
The strangest line of the year. I don't get it. Vince Young on the road against a good defense getting just four? Really? We're afraid of Chris Johnson that much?

The folks at MCM would have us believe Chris Johnson is a bad, bad man. He's definitely a quality running back, but the 49ers rush defense is quite solid. Vince Young will indeed have to make plays if the Titans are going to win this game.

49ers
Out
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
DE Demetric Evans (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Probable
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)
SS Reggie Smith (groin)

Titans
Out
RB Javon Ringer (back)

Questionable
DE Jevon Kearse (knee)
OT Mike Otto (knee)
S Vincent Fuller (groin)
CB Nicholas Harper (forearm)
OT David Stewart (hamstring)
LB David Thornton (hip)

Golden Nuggets: Testing the run defense

Ninjames — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:15:18 -0000

Good (insert time of day here) everyone. Got a couple links for you today, though not as many as yesterday. In fact, I'm going to start leaving links out! From what I can tell, when I have more links in the Nuggets I actually get very little comments on the links. Of course, I'm like a little preteen girl checking her MySpace Photo Album when it comes to comments, I love 'em. ESPECIALLY if they're singing my praise, really brings me up. (Been having a really rough couple of days, hint hint.) So instead I'm only going to give you a couple! In actuality though, I just simply don't have a whole lot because well... nothing happened yesterday and it doesn't look like anything is happening today. Still, should be able to come up with a couple previews and what not for you. Enjoy.

Coach Mike Singletary has reached a critical point in his first season as the 49ers head coach. (SacBee.com)

The team is in no hurry to change its offensive philosophy. (PressDemocrat.com)

Jimmy Raye specifically, says the team will stick to its blueprint as far as offense goes. Call me unconvinced, and if they do--well, I think we'll be screwed. (MercuryNews.com)

Ricky Jean-Francois is looking to get his first regular season action on Sunday and Kentwan Balmer is looking to have an increased role. This is all of course because of the injury to Demetric Evans, a player I've been (rather vocally) against. (PressDemocrat.com)

The Titans will come in hoping to test the 49ers run defense. (49ers.com)

The 49ers need to go to the spread... but sloooooowly. (SFGate.com)

Jimmy Raye has some thoughts on the spread and the running game. (PressDemocrat.com)

Here you can listen to the audio of a couple of the conference calls from the Titans. (SFGate.com)

Frank Gore is having a weird year as far as rushing is concerned. I'm not sure exactly how to look at it, good or bad. (SFGate.com)

Didn't get a chance to read this article but it has to do with the 49ers and their third down woes. (SFGate.com)

Alex Smith and Vince Young are returning from some pretty rough roads as far as quarterbacks go. (MercuryNews.com)

The team seems confident in Barry Sims. Oh God. I'm not. Not in the very least. (SacBee.com)

49ers-Titans Thursday Injury Report and coordinator transcripts

Fooch — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:23:59 -0000

The only significant change today was that Jevon Kearse did not practice. He's been banged up and relatively ineffective this season (minus a sack in the opener), so we'll see if we see him on Sunday.

After the jump we've got the Thursday transcripts from Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye.

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

Did not Participate in Practice
DT Aubrayo Franklin (not injury related)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Full Participation in Practice
SS Reggie Smith (groin)

Titans
Did not Participate in Practice
OT Mike Otto (knee)
RB Javon Ringer (back)
DE Jevon Kearse (knee)

Limited Participation in Practice
S Vincent Fuller (groin)
CB Nicholas Harper (forearm)
OT David Stewart (hamstring)
LB David Thornton (hip)

After the jump we've got post-practice transcripts for both coordinators.

Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky
Post-Walk-Thru November 5, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On what worked well against the Colts:

"I think it was the d-line and the linebackers and secondary working together. They were pretty focused all week on the calls we had, even in the no-huddle situation and the muddle-huddle. We repped that in practice pretty much the whole week and they were concentrating and they did a good job."

On whether he can use aspects of the Indianapolis game plan in the future:

"I think every time you play a different opponent, you take it for what it is worth. If you can pull some things from one team, then yeah. If you can't, then that is what is it is usually from week to week."

On the communication in Indianapolis:

"[QB] Peyton [Manning] got us one time substituting in there, and we kind of knew that going into the game - that he has chances to get the guys running off the field and running on. He got us one time but we're always trying to get the communication down the best we can from week to week from the coaches to the players and then the players to the other players. But it worked out OK last week."

On why they have done so well defending the run:

"I think it is mostly the d-line guys and the linebackers working together, spending the extra time in the meeting rooms and going through the stuff, along with [defensive line coach] Jim Tomsula and [outside linebackers coach] Jason Tarver and [inside linebackers coach] Vantz Singletary working hard to get those guys ready to play each and every week."

On Titans RB Chris Johnson:

"A talented back, he has great speed, he has great vision. He sees the things and can react fast. He breaks a lot of tackles. He is a very good back, he is explosive. He sees the hole and he can strike and run."

On Johnson's assets:

"Body-frame wise, he is an elite back that has a lot of capabilities to break tackles and hit it fast. We have to bottle him up as much as we can. I doesn't matter if it is first, second or third down because he is an explosive player."

On whether Johnson is like Vikings RB Adrian Peterson:

"Yeah, I think he has great sight lines and good vision. He can plant, stick and drive. He takes it and sees the hole. He is an elite back in the league."

On whether the team is aware that Johnson said he wants to rush for 2,000 yards this season:

"I don't want him to get 2,000 yards against us."

On whether the good performance of the secondary last week was set up by stopping the run:

"We knew going in that he was going to get yardage. It's not like you are going to go into Indy and stop Peyton cold. We knew we were going to give up some of the plays that we did, but we kept on rallying. We stuck to it and the plan seemed to work pretty well. We could have defended some other things a little bit better, but that is what we tried to do."

On preparing for a mobile quarterback like Vince Young:

"He has a very good arm and he can also run the ball. You have to get around him, you have to swarm him, and you have to plaster your receivers on the backend. It is just a different threat. It is another threat when he has the ball in his hands, so we have to take him away as well."

On whether LB Patrick Willis will spend time matched up on Young:

"Yeah, you try to get your best athletes out on the field and have them matched up on certain guys. That is what you kind of want to do."

On whether he has looked at Young's game film from 2007:

"You look a little bit at it and see things that he has done in the past, of course, just like any player that is new. You try to take a look at him and see what he does."

On whether he plans to mix DTs Kentwan Balmer and Ricky Jean Francois into the rotation:

"Ricky and Kentwan, or probably Ricky, will be up. Kentwan will be getting a little more reps. We just want to rotate the best we can inside to keep the guys fresh. That is what Jim Tomsula and myself are trying to do each and every week."

On the play of Balmer:

"Doing well, he is doing well. He is progressing. He keeps on getting better and better each week and we are trying to get him more and more playing time and as many snaps as we can."

On whether Balmer isn't playing much because the starters are playing so well:

"Yeah, I think it is a great competition up front. I think when you always have that competition it is the best thing going into a season."

On CB Tarell Brown's game against the Colts:

"T. Brown played pretty good. It was his first start of the year and he performed well. I'm expecting big things from him now that [CB] Nate [Clements] is down right now. He will pick up his performance each and every week and get better at it."

On how Brown is different than Clements:

"I'm not going to compare guys, but T. Brown has the nod now and I expect big things from him."

On why LB Parys Haralson's sack total is down this year:

"I think the quality of quarterbacks we have played the last couple of weeks and the quick release of the quarterback, getting the ball out, is also a factor. But from our standpoint, I don't know any numbers from any other outside linebackers in the league, Parys is consistently doing what we ask him to do. At times, other guys get chances to get sacks because of what he is doing, so that is a good thing."

Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye
Post-Walk-Thru - November 5, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On the amount of confidence that he has in T Barry Sims being inserted into the starting lineup:

"I better have a lot. Barry is a pro, we've had previous history together over across the other side of the bay. I'm confident that he'll go in and give us his best effort and I think that his best effort will be good enough for us to do what we need to do."

On the progression of the teams run blocking:

"It's coming along, but as we start to make progress then we get another hiccup, and there is no way to anticipate or expect on the first play of the game that you lose your starting left tackle, so the continuity thing has been slow. So, we're managing and it's slowly getting better because if we can get the guy that we've got to the second level, he can go home with the ball. It's encouraging. It hasn't been as fast as we'd like, but it's getting better."

On whether the offense leaves a defender unblocked too many times:

"I don't think so. I think that it's hard to judge when you only have 18 rushing attempts. I wouldn't evaluate the running game on unblocked guys, on 18 rushing attempts when our lead ball carrier got 13 rushes in the game. What happened last Sunday, I was fine with. I thought that we ran for 118 yards or so, but one of those was a break out of 64 yards which [RB Frank Gore] is capable of doing. I wouldn't put a negative on it based on the number of rushing attempts that they had and the opportunities to get in the game."

On whether he's seen a running back with a disparity of yards gained and attempts like RB Frank Gore throughout his career:

"No, I haven't really. The only two other guys that I recall having a bunch long runs had different styles. [RB] Earl Campbell was a ricochet runner who made long runs, but his yards after contact, where most guys would go down, he made more yards on runs that would've been two or three yard runs because of his size. [RB] Eric Dickerson was a homerun hitting guy, but very seldom did he have negative runs on one of the best lines in Ram history. When those two guys come to mind, and Earl because of his ability to gain yards after the contact, he didn't have as many negatives but a normal guy would have, along with the long ones that he had."

On whether he feels comfortable with the offensive personnel going into shotgun and spread formations in a game through the latter part of this season:

"No, not at all. We're the same bunch that four weeks ago, were talking about how we were going to play. We haven't changed that. If that was in fact true that we were going to take this deal and flip it 360, and all of a sudden become a shotgun and wide open, and throw the ball 48 or 52 times a game, then we would have to do an awful lot of changing. We could mix that, which we have and intend to do. But as a steady diet of that, I think that the confusion that people look at the extremities of what they perceive to be the talent at the extremities and make a judgment that is not founded or even grounded at all. The quarterback has played six quarters to date and people are now starting to refer to his history and his offense in college which is five years removed. Right now, I don't delight in that prospect. Going forward, if it manifests itself into something that will help us, we will gravitate toward that. But as of now the answer to that question would be no."

On whether the additions of QB Alex Smith and WR Michael Crabtree to the starting lineup leads him to look at the options of using elements of a spread offense:

"Yes, we would think of that a little bit more. It is difficult because we're still into certain things - trying to get him to line up in the right place. There are more elements to it than just the physical body of the people that we have. There are a lot things that go into that before we say, ‘okay, we're going to switch gears and go in another direction.' We can gravitate toward that in a plan and make due because of what we see out his natural ability. But, nuances and the fine tuning of all that still takes some time in the process and then there is the exposure of the offensive line. When you take away the run threat and you're trying to block [DE] Dwight Freeney every down and your left tackle is hurt on the first play, you've got to reevaluate what you're trying to do."

On whether WR Brandon Jones is part of the evolution of his offensive scheme and will see more playing time as the season goes on:

"I don't know what evolution that you're referring to, but Brandon is in the mix of guys, from a perimeter standpoint, that we would like to get snaps. As we go forward with the four or five guys that we have, if he brings an added dimension that would help us, if that's what you're referring to from the evolution standpoint, then he would be considered in the mix."

On whether it is easier for the team to run out of 11 or 12 personnel:

"The element of the 12 personnel and the 11 personnel, it doesn't lock the box in some cases. But there aren't many defensive coaches we face, where if we eliminate the lead blocker, where we have seven they have eight, so if we go to six they have seven. So you still have the same problem. They are not going to let you outnumber them in the box. They know full-well also, if you go to a spread deal and eliminate the fullback and go to a wide receiver to try to get them into a box-count you can block with the five you have and turn somebody loose. If you go to an empty or spread look, they are going to add one on. So the numbers are the same, except you don't have a lead blocker and you are in a two-for-one situation where if you don't have enough hats to account for the people in the box, if you run back and you have five blockers and the ball carrier, they are going to have six. Or if you have seven, they are going to have eight. We are not a stretch zone team, that's not what our guy does. We are not an outside stretch zone team and run away from the overhang of the last player. We would have to make another transformation in order to do what perceptively everybody thinks we should be doing."

On whether the offense is executing the way he wants it to:

"In some areas, yes. Basically offensively, what we would like to do is we try to strive and achieve balance to be able to score points. We haven't done that in any abundance. We have been efficient in certain areas of it. We do a very good job with the stuff we have in the red zone. We haven't had the consistency in the run or the pass that we would like, but the pass part of it has appeared to be better with the change and the addition of the people we have. So, I guess the answer would be yes and no. But there are some things we do pretty well."

On what needs to improve in the run game:

"The efficiency of four-yard runs on first down. That coupled with the fact that we get an overloaded box, as was mentioned before, when we are in a 21 personnel group, we see more gap control and more eight-man fronts than we would normally like to see. When we started back then, we were more interested in the quantity of runs rather than quality because we were trying to control the clock and put it together and win in the fourth quarter. Somewhere along the way in the last two and a half weeks, that has kind of gotten lost."

On the lack of consistency on first down:

"If you want to go back chronologically, part of it, we changed the right side of the line. Part of it, we lose the back for a while. There are all kinds of symptoms as to why it is. The basic answer would be the lack of continuity and familiarity and a consistent approach with the same people who are getting comfortable playing with each other, more than anything I think."

On whether the pieces are still there to execute his offense:

"It's not the same pieces, but we have people in place. We lost [T] Tony Pashos, and then we turn around a week later and lose [T] Joe Staley, so there are some differences. I'm not using an alibi or making excuses, but this is different than what we started with over in Arizona six, seven weeks ago."

On what needs to be changed for the offense to run like he wants:

"I don't think you can talk to any, maybe other than [Saints coach] Sean Payton, any offensive coach in the league, but you never really hit that mark that you are looking for and become a juggernaut. What we need to do is continue to improve in the areas that we are lacking in the run and the pass and the pass protection. Hopefully, we can get to the place where when we possess the ball, we have a minimum of seven plays every drive. So, you get a first down every time you get the ball before you have to punt the ball. Then, the better you are on third down, the more opportunities you give yourself and the run quantity increases because you have more opportunities. But when you only have 56 snaps in the game, like we did last week, it is kind of difficult."