SB Nation - Michael Robinson

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."

Mike Singletary press conference transcript: 49ers not interested in Larry Johnson

Fooch — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:10:18 -0000

Ok, so Mike Singletary didn't say it would NEVER happen, but when asked about Larry Johnson, Singletary said:

On whether the 49ers are interested in RB Larry Johnson:
"Right now, I hadn't even thought about it. No. No. Not right now."

The 49ers do have a need for running back depth, but it's not happening with LJ. He actually doesn't clear waivers until tomorrow afternoon. The 49ers would be looking to wait until after he clears waivers, meaning he'd basically have 2 days to learn even a little bit of the playbook. Also, the Texans are bringing Johnson in for a workout, and the Redskins haven't ruled out trying to sign Johnson (if he clears waivers). I'd imagine he'll be locked up before the end of the day tomorrow.

Earlier today I mentioned I was looking for info on Jason Hill in the press conference. We didn't get a completely clear answer, but Singletary did address the wide receiver position.

On why WRs Josh Morgan and Jason Hill played so much:
"I think right now, we have to meet as a staff and really look at our receiving situation. It's a good situation, we have a lot of talent there. We just have to figure out the right combination of time for all of our guys."

On how much he will play Bruce in the future:
"I think it makes sense for us to get together as a staff and really figure out the best thing that we need to do going forward and we will do that. We will do that this week and we will do it today."

On what he saw from [WR] Jason Hill that this was the game he wanted Hill to play:
"Practice. I mean, Jason Hill - I just saw it in practice. He's a guy that could have really gotten a bad attitude and said, ‘Hey, forget it. I'm out here. I was out here last year, I was making plays. It didn't happen. This year, maybe I need to go somewhere else.' But, he's a guy - we've talked a few times. I know [wide receivers coach Jerry] Sullivan has talked with him as well. He's had a tremendous attitude out here and just busting his tail trying to make plays. He's got all the DBs mad at him because he continues to make plays. What he did in the game did not surprise me. I'm very excited about what he was able to accomplish."

Not exactly clear-cut information, but the writing is definitely on the wall for Isaac Bruce. He's had an amazing career, but it looks like his time is winding down.

Feel free to use this thread to discuss Monday Night Football as well.

We have the complete transcript after the jump...

Head Coach Mike Singletary
Press Conference November 9, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

Opening statements:

"Good afternoon. First of all, obviously this is not the most exciting time in the world right now. I would say the biggest thing is we just have to continue working we just have to continue going forward. In the loss we had yesterday, it was unfortunate some of the things that happened in the game. The things that we talked about all week, doing the things we needed to do, going out and playing together. The offensive line, for the most part, did a decent job. Obviously there was one sack there, [T Adam] Snyder's guy came underneath. It was just a good pass rush, the one that caused the fumble by [QB] Alex [Smith]. But overall, I thought the offensive line did a good job. I was very encouraged when I came in and looked at the film last night. The running backs, Frank Gore ran hard. I thought our receivers did a good job of blocking downfield. As far as Alex is concerned in terms of throwing the football, I thought Alex did a good job of throwing the football. I thought the first turnover he had, throwing the ball to [WR Michael] Crabtree, the ball just takes an unlucky bounce back and the guy was able to come back and make a pick. That doesn't happen too often. The second turnover that went to [WR] Josh [Morgan], I thought there were a couple of things that could have happened there. Josh could have made a little better play on the ball coming back to it. I thought the defender got there a little bit early, but we didn't get that call. Other than that, I think Alex had one play that was really on him and they did a good job defensively. He thought it was Cover 4, and basically the DB came off and Alex was trying to get the ball there on time and the guy made a nice play. When I look at the offense, for the most part, unfortunately it was one of the better offensive performances I have seen since I've been here. If you take away the turnovers, we have a chance to really have a good offensive game and have some excitement and momentum going forward. But it didn't happen that way. We did have the turnovers, and I think that is something we have to continue to work on. Outside of that, what do we do going forward? You have four losses and obviously that is not where you want to be, but it is where we are, dealing with reality. I think the most fortunate thing we have right now, the blessing that I would call, is we have a coaching staff that is continuing to work their tails off putting our guys in position to win. We have a young team that has to continue to fight, stay together and execute consistently. The guys are playing hard, that's not even a thought. I have had questions about, ‘Do you think they will start bickering in the locker room?' and those sort of things. No. We won't have that, haven't had that. That won't start. We have eight games left in the season and we have to go out and do the very best we can to win those football games. Other than that, questions."

On whether Smith was locking onto receivers too early:

"I really don't think so. I really don't."

On whether Smith and Morgan have chemistry together:

"I think it could be a combination of things. I think Josh is still maturing into a receiver. He is going to be a great receiver one of these days, it just hasn't happened yet. But, he is working his tail off to get there. That's where it's at. You just have to continue working at it."

On the injuries suffered Sunday:

"[RB] Glen Coffee has a concussion. He will probably be out this game. [S] Michael Lewis has a quad strain. That will be day-to-day this week. [S] Curtis Taylor has a shin contusion. [RB] Michael Robinson had a little bit of a stinger. [CB] Tarell Brown, a rib contusion. [G David] Baas had a little bit of a stinger. [TE] Delanie Walker, a little bit of a knee sprain. I think that will be a day-to-day thing but I think he will be okay for the game. [RB Frank] Gore, eye contusion. Anything I say just add contusion onto it and you'll be in good shape. [TE] Vernon Davis, shoulder contusion."

On why WRs Josh Morgan and Jason Hill played so much:

"I think right now, we have to meet as a staff and really look at our receiving situation. It's a good situation, we have a lot of talent there. We just have to figure out the right combination of time for all of our guys."

On whether WR Isaac Bruce was injured against the Titans:

"He has a sore ankle. He has had a sore ankle for a few weeks, a couple of weeks. Nothing big, but just kind of a little bit of pain there. He is trying to work through it. That's all it was."

On how much he will play Bruce in the future:

"I think it makes sense for us to get together as a staff and really figure out the best thing that we need to do going forward and we will do that. We will do that this week and we will do it today."

On the play of Davis this season:

"Vernon Davis, he has been the same since the beginning of the season. He has worked his tail off. What he is doing now is just the investment he made in the offseason. He continues to get better and he is going to help this team win a lot of football games. He is committed, that's why he is a captain. He is the example that everybody on this team wants to look to as a guy who is doing it right. He is just really working his tail off and he is making a difference in the team."

On Davis' blocking:

"Normally, when a guy is doing something well and he starts doing something else well, what he was doing well originally drops. He continues to get better as a blocking tight end. He is one of those guys, you put another 20 pounds on him and he would be right there doing a heck of a job blocking those ends and tackles and everything else. He is just an extraordinary athlete and is beginning to put all the tools together. He continues to work out right out there on the field before practice, after practice, getting it done. That's why Vernon Davis is successful and he will continue to be so."

On the challenge of running out of the shotgun:

"The shotgun is just one of things where it depends on how much flexibility you have from your o-line. You can run traps, you can run power, you can run basically the same things. It is just a matter of it has to happen a little quicker. There's not much of an illusion to it when you have the fullback. It makes it different because you are keying on that lead guy. I just think that we have to see is how much of the shotgun look that we will keep going forward. We will expand it depending on who we are playing, depending on what they are trying to do to us. If we have to loosen up the front seven if they are trying to load up the box, maybe we do that. But we just have to wait and see."

On whether he liked the shotgun look:

"I like the things that work. I don't really get into a look or whatever. I look at, how many yards and how effective is it? How did it fit with our personnel and what we are doing? It is certainly something we have the tools to do. We have Vernon here in the tight end spot, and we have three wide outs. We have Gore in the backfield. Those are some great weapons to be able to use. I just think we have to really focus on cutting down on some of the other things we are doing that takes away from that because I think it is a powerful thing going forward."

On Titans RB Chris Johnson:

"Obviously, what you saw there was real speed. I don't know if there has ever been a running back as fast to the edge. Sometimes when you look at something on film, you go, ‘Okay, right. We will get him.' I thought for the most part, our defense did a pretty decent job, there were just a couple of times where he got out. When you look out there and see a guy turning the corner and Patrick Willis is running after him, you don't see that too often. Patrick is going to catch that guy. And he did, a few times. That is credit to him. But the guy made some good plays. They blocked on to us. We didn't do a great job getting off blocks yesterday. They did a good job staying on the blocks yesterday. It is just one of those things, I thought we had to do a better job getting off blocks and we didn't."

On whether the 49ers are interested in RB Larry Johnson:

"Right now, I hadn't even thought about it. No. No. Not right now."

On how the losing stretch is weighing on him:

"Do you mean is it one of those things where it takes me to a place? I will put it like this, as a football coach, I am very thankful to be doing what I am doing. But, there are a lot of guys waking up this morning where they are in a job that they don't want to be in and they are doing something and they wish they could be doing something else. I get up every morning, trust me, it is testing at times in this job, but I love this job and I love what I do. I feel that I am the luckiest man in the world to do what I do. Everything that comes with the job, just like you with your job, sometimes you have things that upset you, things that you wish were going another way, but this where it is at. In these moments, this is when I am at my best because in these situations, you just have to rise above and you have to put your best foot forward. You have to be positive. You have to look at where things are and just call it what it is. I can't get lost in the reality of the four losses. It's not something that you want. It's not something - it's not a place that you want to be, but that's where it's at. So, for me, it's just getting ready to, coming in this morning, being excited, talking to the coaching staff, having the coaching staff, ‘Hey, let's go. Let's get ready. Call your guys. Let them know we're on. Be ready to go tomorrow when they come in.' We're setting the game plan in place today, and let's get ready to go tomorrow. On that question, the thing that I want to do is I want all of you to understand this: If you talk to me after a game, nine times out of 10, if we lose the game, it's very rare that I will be sitting back and kind of being philosophical or whatever. I'm going to be ticked. OK? You can call it stress, you can call it whatever you want to call it. For me, it's human. It's just human. You guys in the media, it's just one of those things that, I don't ever think I'm going to have the right etiquette to stand up here and pontificate like some of the other coaches can do. That's not me. I'm a football coach, and I'm real, and what you see is what you get. All I can tell you today is that we've got eight games left, and we've got the right coaches, we've got the right players, we've got the right vision and we just have to go forward. Sometimes, that's all it is, nothing more, nothing less."

On the process of him deciding to become a coach:

"I'll take you through this: I think everything happens for a reason. I think, first and foremost, I told you before that I didn't want to coach, for all of these kinds of reason. I thought, as a player, at least you can go out there and hit somebody. At least you can do that. But, as a coach, you're dealing with guys, and they have to go play. And, you've got to go over there and you've got to make sure that you're doing all the right things on the sideline. But, I think all of the things that I thought before, getting into coaching, is what it is. It's in practice. What you do in practice, nine times out of 10, that's what you're going to get in the games. What you practice on, that's what you should do in the game. I think, for me, that's the best gaze that I have going into any game that we play in. That's why we have practices that are intense at times, in terms of making sure that every little detail is worked out and you still see at times we come up short. But, the guys are headed in the right direction. The guys are - there's not one eye, not one set of eyes in the room last night blinking. All the guys are looking at me and we all agree, you know what? Here's another game. You take the gun out and you point it at yourself, and we're shooting ourselves. We just have to go forward and expect the best and understand that the best will come because we will not see it any other way. I will not compromise. As far as coaching as concerned, it is what I love to do, and I was hesitant to get into coaching because of some of the - I'm standing up here today for this kind of thing because I hate losing. It's as simple as that. No one loves losing, but I hate losing, absolutely hate it - especially when you've got a team that can win. So, that's where I'm at with that. But, I absolutely love what I do."

On whether he wanted to coach the Chicago Bears:

"I wanted to coach at whatever place that wanted me. I didn't know where I was going to coach. And, it's like I said before, when my wife and I knew that we were going to be coaching, we put our house up for sale. We didn't know where we going to be coaching. We didn't know what level we were going to be coaching, had no idea, had no clue. We just knew we were going to be coaching. So, in terms of where we wanted to coach, I just felt that as we prayed, wherever the Lord would have us go, that's where we wanted to go. Where we ended up going, that's where we were going to coach, and we were going to coach as hard as we could and as long as we could."

On what changed in his mind that led him to want to coach:

"What changed in my mindset as I want to coach? It's a hard thing to explain. When I said my wife and I, we prayed about it, that's what we did. We felt that through prayer there were certain doors that were open and then we had to field the right fit and the right situation that came about. And that came, which was from Baltimore, and that's where we went. As far as all of the other things, I think everything that's happened in my life has prepared me for moments like these. I can't lie to you. I would love to come in and have it be we're 6-0, we're 7-0 and we're going forward. ‘Wow, what a brilliant guy. Wow, where has he been.' But, it's not like that. But, I would much rather have it this way, where you come in and you start off right, you know you can do it, and then all of a sudden all these changes. You're changing the quarterback. You start finding out about yourself. You start finding out about the people around you and you start finding out what you're made of. And then you come back together and the thing starts working again. Then you feel better about what you've accomplished and you feel better about the people you've been around because you've been exposed. There's nothing that exposes you like a tough time. There's nothing that exposes - you don't get to know people until you go through tough times. You don't get to know your spouse until you go through tough times, or kids. So, I would much rather have it like this because when it does swing around, we'll be enjoying it a lot more, and it'll be much more of a richness to it going forward and an appreciation for it because it doesn't come easy. There are a lot of little things that have to work right in order for the big thing to really come into fuition. So, I feel good about that. I feel good about these next eight games. I feel good about these next eight games. I feel good about the situation we're in and I feel good about our guys having to work through some things, as well as our coaches, to climb back up again and get ready for that next one and let's go."

On what makes him think his team will turn it around:

"You know what sir? I don't know where you're from, and I don't know what you really meant by that. I understand that you're not my players, thankful that you're not my players. I do want to win. But, let me say this: You have to know guys that you spend days with. You have to know guys that you spend hours with. It's just like you when you're at home. I don't know how much time you spend with your kids, but it's important that when things happen, you know, you have a pretty good idea of how your kids are going to respond. If you tell me that one of my kids slapped you or one of my kids spit on you or something like that, I've got a pretty good idea of who it would be because I know them. I would say, ‘OK, that was Jackie.' Or, ‘You know what? That was Brooke.' When I think about our guys or when I'm talking about our guys, I know them. I know them, and when you spend as much time with these young men and you know what they're made of, then you have a pretty doggone good idea of how they're going to respond. That make sense?"

On whether he contacted the Bears before he decided to get back into coaching:

"Well, I'll put it this way: When I knew we were going to be coaching, the thing that I did was I called Dick Jauron, who was then at the Bears, the head coach. And, I told Dick Jauron exactly this, I said, ‘Coach, my wife and I prayed about it, we've decided that we're going to be coaching. I'm not asking you for a job, but I am telling you that this year, in the very near future, I will be coaching. I don't know where, don't know when.' And, that was it. He said, ‘Well, Mike, good. Let me get back to you and see what's happening here.' And I said, ‘Once again, I understand, I'm not asking. If there's something there, great, but let's just not do something just to do it.' So, he got back to me eventually and just said, ‘Mike, the way things are here, it just looks like it's going to be a tough situation to work out.' I said, ‘Fantastic. I thank you.' And he just let me know that I'm not supposed to be there. So, that was it."

On whether he has any particular emotions coaching against the team he played for:

"Not in particular. I'm just excited for the game. But, not emotions outside of the emotions that I have for any other team."

On the positives and negatives of playing the game on such a short turnaround:

"I think, whatever positives and negatives we have, it's the same for the other team. So, it really doesn't matter a whole lot. We've just got to get ready to go."

On what he saw from [WR] Jason Hill that this was the game he wanted Hill to play:

"Practice. I mean, Jason Hill - I just saw it in practice. He's a guy that could have really gotten a bad attitude and said, ‘Hey, forget it. I'm out here. I was out here last year, I was making plays. It didn't happen. This year, maybe I need to go somewhere else.' But, he's a guy - we've talked a few times. I know [wide receivers coach Jerry] Sullivan has talked with him as well. He's had a tremendous attitude out here and just busting his tail trying to make plays. He's got all the DBs mad at him because he continues to make plays. What he did in the game did not surprise me. I'm very excited about what he was able to accomplish."

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)

The San Francisco 49ers and the 2010 Pro Bowl

Fooch — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:04:24 -0000

A couple weeks ago we had a FanShot or FanPost go up mentioning that Pro Bowl balloting had begun. I've always found Pro bowl balloting to start incredibly early, but what are you going to do?

I mention it now because of the 49ers-Titans game release I received yesterday. Aside from all the statistics and background information I posted earlier today, it had an interesting little feature I thought I'd post here. On the first page, the 49ers had their "Pro Bowl Watch," which included six players to keep an eye on. Some of the names listed are not surprising at all, but there were a couple that caught me off guard, particularly the last one. Here's what the 49ers PR department had to say:

TE VERNON DAVIS - Davis is having a career-year, leading the NFL with a career-high 7 TD rec. He is also leading the 49ers with 32 rec., 375 rec. yds., and 7 TDs. Davis is on pace to set career-highs in both receptions as well as receiving yds.

LB PATRICK WILLIS - Willis leads the 49ers with 75 tackles, 6 TFLs, 2 INTs and ranks second on the team with 2.5 sacks. He is the only player in the NFL to register at least 2.5 sacks and 2 INTs. According to game-book statistics, Willis ranks 4th in the NFL in tackles.

NT AUBRAYO FRANKLIN - Franklin is the force in the middle of the 49ers run defense and leads the defensive line with 43 tackles and 4.5 TFLs. He has also set a career-high with 2.0 sacks. Franklin has helped limit opponents to an NFL leading 3.2 yds. per carry and the 2nd-fewest rushing yds. allowed (594).

P ANDY LEE - Lee leads the NFC and ranks 2nd in the NFL with a 41.6 net punting avg. He also ranks 3rd in the NFC and 4th in the NFL in gross punt avg. (48.0). He also ranks 2nd in the NFL with 23 punts over 50 yds.

RB MICHAEL ROBINSON - Robinson ranks 2nd on the team with 15 special teams tackles and has led the team in special teams tackles in three different games. He was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2008.

LB SCOTT MCKILLOP - McKillop has been a special teams standout in his rookie season. He leads the team with 19 special teams tackles and also registered a special teams fumble recovery for a touchdown vs. StL.

While the Pro Bowl can certainly be a pointless exercise, we'll still keep track of potential 49ers Pro Bowl options. A little national exposure never hurts and if a youngster like McKillop scored a spot, well that'd be pretty impressive.

KR Allen Rossum released/Michael Crabtree added to 53-man roster: Special teams not looking so special

Fooch — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:34:57 -0000

As has been pointed out in a FanShot and in comments earlier, Mike Singletary announced during his press conference that Allen Rossum was given his release. It's not exactly shocking given the fact that he was inactive the last two weeks. He had some back issues this past week, but if he had been in the teams plans for the rest of the year, he would have been active and returning kicks. In a related move, the 49ers lifted the roster exemption on Michael Crabtree.

Over the next week we'll have plenty of bye week discussion about the team at the quarter-plus point of the season. There are plenty of major issues to discuss after yesterday's game and I thought we'd start things out slowly with the relatively quiet area of special teams. We know what we're getting with Andy Lee, Joe Nedney and Brian Jennings, so really we're looking at the area that has been less than stellar most of the season: the return game.

Over the past two weeks, the 49ers utilized Delanie Walker and Michael Robinson on kick returns, and then Arnaz Battle solely on punt returns. None of them has done anything amazing, and in fact, Walker had his fumble yesterday, while Arnaz Battle has averaged a robust 1.3 yards per punt return over four returns. Clearly not world-beaters. So is there in fact a solution?

The 49ers.com depth chart actually lists Micheal Spurlock behind Allen Rossum as the #2 kick and punt returner, with Arnaz Battle as the #3 punt returner. While Spurlock has not had a single return in the regular season, he had four kick returns in the preseason, averaging 20.5 yards per return. Prior to joining the 49ers, Spurlock's biggest season as a return man was with Tampa Bay in 2007 when he had 16 kick returns and 4 punt returns. His biggest claim to fame was being the first player in Bucs history to return a kick for a touchdown. He actually averaged 27.8 yards per return that season.

So are the 49ers doomed to a mediocre return game for the rest of this season?

Arizona Cardinals Win Nail-Biter, Beat Texans 28-21

Andrew602 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:06:18 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

about 1 month ago: Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) celebrates his touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

Browse more photos »

Greetings folks, just go back from the game and I have to say it was full of excitement. After the bye week, it appears the Cardinals worked certain kinks out of their system. After gaining a 21-0 lead into the half, the Cardinals dropped their lead over the next two quarters, only to overcome a goal line stand in the remaining minutes of the game. Let's flash back to November 10, 2008, when the San Francisco 49ers came to Arizona for a Monday night football contest. After driving down to the one yard line, the 49ers attempt to win the game with with little time left on the clock. With no timeouts remaining, the 49ers are forced to hand off the ball to Michael Robinson. He's stopped and the game ends as the Cardinals are victorious. Fast forward to today, when the Texans had four tries, to punch the ball into the end zone to tie the game. After failing to secure both feet in bounds on 3rd and 1, the Texans hand off the ball to Chris Brown, who is stopped on impact. A booth review and a couple Kurt Warner sneaks later, and the game is over.

Disclaimer: I only watched the game in person, which doesn't give you a lot of angles on each play. I also may have missed a few plays or seen who was who.

The Good

The offensive line - The offensive line that we harshly criticized throughout the bye week, seemed to bounce back nicely against a capable Houston pass rush. Featuring Mario Williams and Antonio Smith, the Texans defense only registered one sack. Although there weren't many rushing holes, Kurt Warner was given plenty of time and was able to complete 68.4% of his passes. In the second half, we didn't exactly see the offensive line resort back to their old ways, but may have seen what happens when you can't run the football. The Texans were able to blitz more or drop more defenders in coverage. Let's hope the Cardinals can build off of what they did today.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie -In his "sophomore slump", DRC has seen more passes thrown his way and hasn't been able to adjust. Today, he seemed to finally understand that we need him to play good coverage, rather then make a big play. DRC covered Kevin Walter primarily, holding him to 4 catches for 37 yards. He also came up big in the fourth quarter, essentially sealing the game shut with a pick six.

Play Calling -The play calling looked as it did last year, using a variety of plays and not becoming too complex. The Cardinals mixed in more players on offensive, and also used different techniques to get certian players the ball. They focused on getting Larry Fitzgerald the ball early, eventually leading to two touchdowns. We also didn't see too many alarming plays called, as they never got too fancy(except for that terrible wild cat look). Ken Whisenhunt needs to repeat what he did today, because play calling is highly important to an offense that can't produce any yards on the groun.

Crowd noise -I can tell you first hand that if there was ever a doubt about the support from the crowd, it's gone. The crowd was in this game from the beginning, and never stopped screaming. If my voice is gone from me yelling at the top of my lungs, I can't imagine how some fans can do this every week. The stadium was full, and as pyromnc said, the camera was shaking on that goal line stand. The crowd was key in winning today.

The Bad

Turnovers in the red zone - We saw this murder the Cardinals momentum against the Colts two weeks ago, and were lucky it didn't have the same effect today. After easily marching up the field in the 1st quarter, Anquan Boldincoughed up the football near the goal line. That fumble clearly could have changed the game, as the Cardinals only needed a touchdown to win, when the Texans tied the game late in the fourth quarter. This is something that has to stop before we face a team that can actually take advantage of turnovers.

Lack of a pass rush - Let's count how many sacks the Cardinals had today - oh yeah, none. After hearing a man yell it in my ear a few rows back the whole game, I started feeling the same way - Get a pass rush on Matt Schaub. He butcherd the defense in the second half, as he was able to complete just about every pass that he threw. This is something that we worried about during the off season, and you have to wonder what happened to the defense that started with 8 sacks through two games. This team needs to develop new ways of pressuring the quarterback, or we'll continue to get beat through the air.

The Ugly

No rushing game - The Cardinals became the worst rushing team in the league again on Sunday. The lack of yards on the ground is becoming more of a concern, because Kurt Warner can't do everything on his own. The Cardinals won't be able to win every week if they keep running the way they did today. Even after securing a 21-0 lead, the Cardinals couldn't rely on the rushing attack, and were forced to throw the ball. This may have been the primary reason they couldn't contain their lead.

Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde Defense - In the first half, the Cardinals defense held a high-powered Houston Texans offense to virtually no yards, and zero points. The Texans had a streak of consecutive three and outs, and even had a field goal blocked. The second half defense is the story of this game. Being at the game, it was obvious the Cardinals were focused on stopping the deep pass. They were successful, which is great, but they also forgot to defend the short pass. Steve Slaton and Owen Daniels had a field day receiving in the flats, which can be blamed on the lack of pass rush, but also poor game planning. They had nothing to defend it, and nothing to answer it. Luckily, the defense tightened up in the end zone, where as we all know, they won the game.

Overall I can't say I'm unhappy with a win. It was ugly, but our team was able to come out on top. With a big loss by the 49ers, it helps getting a win today, rather then going 1-3. What are your thoughts on the game?

Golden Nuggets: So pumped..

Ninjames — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:00:39 -0000

Good morning everyone, James here with your Nuggets for the day. I don't have much to report myself, just salivating over Sunday's game and over the delicious, delicious tailgating fare I'll be partaking in. Still, I'm excited about the game too, the Falcons should present a good challenge for us yet as the game looms closer and closer I feel more and more confident that the 49ers will win it. I just cannot see the team losing to the Falcons at this point--I feel the defense will best the Falcons offense and that the 49ers offense is just good enough to put up a few on Atlanta. In the news we've got more previews and definitely more looks at Michael Crabtree and his contract--nothing new on MC Hammer, though. I know, the addition of Hammer made this site go from "great" to "lolbestsiteever" but for now he's out of the news. How about some links? Here it goes...

The schedule does indeed get much harder starting tomorrow--still I see a good amount of wins in the teams future. (SFGate.com)

Patrick Willis--wreaking havoc on NFL offenses. So true. (Yahoo.com)

People are saying Crabtree's contract is "not terrible." Seems pretty good to me. (Yahoo.com)

Here's yesterday's edition of Singletary's Notebook. (49ers.com)

The team isn't seeing the signing of Crabtree a distraction--if there's any coach I think can deal with distractions, I think it'd be Singletary. (MercuryNews.com)

Mike Singletary was serenaded for his birthday--by the entire team. I can't imagine it sounded pretty. (49ers.com)

Crabtree is doing little more than a few routes and asking questions. (SacBee.com)

Teams Talk with Michael Robinson. (49ers.com)

Here's a nice article on Isaac Bruce. (49ers.com)

Joe Staley is looking forward to his matchup with Atlanta's best pass rusher. (SFGate.com)

Vernon Davis could be on the verge of a breakout season. (MercuryNews.com)

Mike Singletary Approval Rating, Week 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Poll

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

Yes

1116 votes

No

9 votes

1125 votes | Poll has closed

49ers-Rams: Any Given Sunday?

Fooch — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:00:30 -0000

The 49ers enter tomorrow's home game with the Rams as rather overwhelming favorites. Or at least, overwhelming gambling favorites. It's got some folks around here rather confident, even without Frank Gore in the lineup. It's safe to say it's been quite a while since there's been kind of confidence heading into any 49ers game.

Of course, the common refrain in the NFL is that on any given Sunday, any NFL team can supposedly beat any other NFL team. When your team is hot you hate to hear that and it can come across as a bit Debbie Downer-ish. Nonetheless, for a game like this it's certainly worth at least pondering the other end of the confidence spectrum. Fortunately for us, somebody has gone about researching game probabilities: the good people of Advanced NFL Stats.

Much of our statistical analysis at NN comes from Football Outsiders, but obviously they're not the only show in town. I actually came across this particular information via Mike Sando's NFC West blog over at the world wide leader. I won't even begin to try and explain how all this works, but for now, there's the explanation at their site and then the author of the site explains it a bit for the New York Times' Fifth Down Blog.

The crux of this particular information is that the St. Louis Rams have a 23% chance of beating the 49ers this week. To compare with the rest of the division, the Seahawks have a 13% chance of winning in Indianapolis (the Cardinals have a bye).

So what exactly would it take for the Rams to pull an upset in San Francisco? One could argue the potential for the team to come out flat following last week's ending. That's certainly a possibility, but I'd like to think Mike Singletary is the X-factor that can prevent that. Obviously I have no concrete proof of that, but I'm more hoping based on his motivational abilities. I'd like to think the 49ers are a team that can, for the most part, avoid coming out flat.

In terms of straight personnel and Xs and Os, any chance of a Rams upset would probably come down to two things. First, how the Rams defense handles Glen Coffee and Michael Robinson. If they can shut the running game down they would put themselves in a position to succeed. Obviously the 49ers passing attack could find success, but given the overall struggles of the 49ers offense, one can argue the Rams would be in a much better position.

The second thing is the turnover battle. Obviously they'll want to force 49ers turnovers, but just as important is protecting the ball against an aggressive, swarming 49ers defense. The 49ers defense has shown great improvement and if the Rams are going to have any chance of winning, they'll need to avoid any turnovers.

I realize this is not a Rams blog, but I nonetheless think there is value in considering potential worst case scenarios. We've stated plenty of times that the 49ers have to win this game and have no excuses to lose the game. Nonetheless, as history shows us, anything is possible.

The Overmatched Colin Cole and the Undisciplined Red Bryant

John Morgan — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:10:23 -0000

The Crawl, the MASH unit following the team from city to city, are good distractions. Think long enough about the misfortunes of Seattle and the decisions of its fearless leader and you might forget the Seahawks were kicked around by the 49ers. There is no one player that undermined the Seahawks -- nix that, it was Colin Cole. And Red Bryant. So it was two. One overmatched. The other undisciplined.

San Francisco drove 60 yards on it opening drive. The mechanics of how have all the excitement and complexity of a bull pushing around a stag. Seattle was badly overmatched at the point of attack. It wasn't Craig Terrill. It wasn't only Cole, Red Bryant was bad too. But it was mostly Seattle's newest free agent journeyman turned starter. As much as I love and praise Brandon Mebane, a team's interior run defense should not fall apart minus one man.
Bryant showed an interesting mix of good physicality and poor gap discipline. On the fourth play of the drive following a encroachment penalty on Cory Redding, Bryant weathered a double team and got a body on Frank Gore. He was too deep for it to be a good play, but he held long enough to stop the first. San Francisco converted it on the next play. Cole tackled Gore after five yards. It was second and one.
Ken Lucas showed his versatility, first camping under an underthrown pass by Shaun Hill. Hill has no arm. That, along with a funky delivery, has made him a journeyman quarterback despite his quick read and good decision making. On the next play, Lucas caught Gore in the flat with an ankle tackle and brought him down after two.
That brought up a third and long play that Seattle should have had no trouble defending. Seattle went nickel and keyed on Vernon Davis. Davis was double covered, Curry on the defensive right and Wilson on the left, at least nominally, but neither Josh Wilson nor Aaron Curry actually covered Davis. Both were transfixed on Hill. Davis cut right and away from the two and it took Seattle's entire secondary and Redding to tackle Davis after 15.
That play was worse than it seemed. The 49ers were gouging Seattle's interior line. Bryant held against the Niners double teams, but dropped his gap, flowed too far offensive left and Gore cutback right for an easy six.
Bryant did it again on the next play. He attempted a spin that got caught halfway by Chilo Rachel. He was facing the wrong way when Gore blew past him.
Center Eric Heitmann had no problem single-blocking Cole out of the action on the next play, but a gaping hole and lead blocker was busted by pure talent. Curry hit right tackle Adam Snyder pulling through the hole and knocked him back and through Glenn Coffee for a loss of two. Coffee staggered sideways and Kerney finished the tackle.
Will Herring did his coverage thing. He broke on a short pass to Michael Robinson and was running him into the backfield before he could make a field move. It was Lofa Tatupu's zone, but Herring made a faster read and was faster to his man. Tatupu wasn't 80%. I doubt he was 50%.
Seattle put in its pass rush line: Darryl Tapp, Craig Terrill, Redding and Kerney. Kerney edge rushed Snyder, swam to his outside shoulder, paused briefly as Snyder shaded to catch up, and then swam to his inside shoulder to clear and sack Hill. That sack was pure skill and savvy.

The drive resulted in three points, but the writing was on the wall. The Seahawks coaches were doing all they could to fortify the interior. They cycled Cole and Bryant and sometimes teamed the two, but Cole couldn't hold and Bryant didn't know how to consistently. Jimmy Raye makes no bones about attacking the interior. Seattle proved they couldn't stop him.