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Jim Harbaugh and the art of the challenge flag
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
One way to assess a new head coach's priorities and game-management skills is to look at when he throws the red challenge flag, calling for a replay review from the officials.
At least twice in the 49ers ' first seven games, Jim Harbaugh challenged plays near the goal line that were not called...
Steve Young says the time is now for the Niners to open up the offense
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
This is a little late, but it’s still pertinent and interesting. Last week Steve Young spoke on the Razor and Mr. T’s show on KNBR about a lot of things, one being the 49ers.
So I’m passing along those quotes to you. The key issue he talks about is whether the Niners can and should open up the offense. What he says makes a lot of sense to me.
Q: I wouldn’t have thought the Niners have a shot to beat the Ravens on Thanksgiving, but I sure do now.
YOUNG: With the 49ers playing defense the way they are and playing smart, I mean, when you say to yourself, ‘The 49ers week to week are not going to beat themselves.’ That’s a huge statement. Huge. So they’re not going to beat themselves, and they’re going to play good defense. What game are they not going to be in other than the Packers and the Saints? Not many.
Q: If you go through the rest of the schedule you can make a case that the Niners finish with 13 wins.
YOUNG: Offensively they’re going to get better. They’re practicing more today. They had, what, a hundred more breaks of the huddle. Another five hundred breaks of the huddle this week. Another five hundred next week. You get better if you’ve got a good coach and some ideas. Now we have a coach that will call fourth down, game on the line, the touchdown to win the game. That’s great stuff.
Q: I forgot about that. You get better when you’re getting coached well.
YOUNG: Yeah, and you get an aggressive play caller. Jim Harbaugh will get more aggressive. They’ll put more offensive pressure on people as he feels like they can. I like Jim. He was pretty conservative early because he knew he had to be. He couldn’t, you can’t blow it right there. You gotta get a little lucky, you gotta have a couple things go your way, do smart things in the fourth quarter, win a couple games – this could not have been a better scenario, except for the exchange after the game in Detroit, really as good as it gets. It’s unbelievable.
Q: Do they need to try at any point to open it up offensively?
YOUNG: If you truly want to get deep into January, you have to. You can’t turn the switch on in December. It’s now November 1st essentially. So it’s time, and the unfortunate thing is, if you don’t do that you start to hold your team back. I think they’ve done what they had to do to get here to this place, but to your point it’s now time to take the chances, put people in a tough spot and hopefully they can respond. If you don’t, and you just want to say, “Hey, this year, the 49ers, we are the team that plays great defense, doesn’t lose the game, and we win 17-10.” Well then you’ll not only lose a couple games along the way that you shouldn’t, but you’ll be gone very, very quickly in January.
With 49ers’ solid start, has the West been won?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
In the course of posing a question Monday, a reporter mentioned to Frank Gore that the 49ers could clinch the NFC West before Thanksgiving , a fact that caused the San Francisco running back to interrupt his questioner in mid-sentence.
"Oh yeah?" Gore asked, smiling.
Pretty cool, huh?
...
Jim Harbaugh shatters stereotypes of NFL coach
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Jim Harbaugh has vaulted two of the caveats about hiring head coaches in the NFL: Collegiate experience doesn't translate well to the pros, and ex-players routinely struggle to impart their wisdom to another generation.
Harbaugh's 15 years as an NFL quarterback rarely come up in public...
Harbaugh calls Crabtree consummate team player
Monday, October 31, 2011
Michael Crabtree finally got on the scoreboard this season, and one of the first things he did after his two-yard touchdown in the second quarter was hug Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh today noted that Crabtree thought he had scored twice earlier …
Bruce Miller – has Frank Gore’s voice in his head
Monday, October 31, 2011
Right before Bruce Miller eases into his stance he hears a voice in his ear hole. It's not Freddy P. Soft. It's Frank Gore, the veteran running back who constantly reminds Miller of where to go, who to block and what to watch out for. It might be among the small details that is making the 49ers...
What day off? Monday’s a work day for certain 49ers
Monday, October 31, 2011
On Sunday afternoon, Frank Gore passed Roger Craig on the 49ers’ all-time rushing list. On Sunday evening, Gore’s phone rang. It was Craig on the other line.
The two have been acquaintances for a while, but their friendship grew stronger …
Bowman the lion: “I wouldn’t say I knew I was this good.”
Monday, October 31, 2011
SANTA CLARA — NaVorro Bowman reclines at his locker like a lion lying in the grass. He sits on a stool and leans back with his eyes closed, almost like he’s sleeping.
He doesn’t waste a single movement – he’s all potential. In a sense, he’s waiting to happen, and we’ve seen this year what happens when he happens.
He spoke this morning about his on-field mentality and his locker room demeanor. Here’s what he said.
Q: Are you and Patrick Willis competitive with each other in the game?
BOWMAN: What do you mean? What are you talking about?
Q: Let’s say you make a good play, or he gets one, do you feel you’ve got to equal that or top that?
BOWMAN: Not in a negative way. We’re playing the game just to have fun. We enjoy making plays. To see him make a play, I get excited about it, and it pops in my mind, “Maybe I can get one.” It’s all fun and games out there, like brotherly love out there when we’re playing next to each other. We’re excited to be able to do some of the same things.
Q: You’re having an extraordinary year. Did you know you were this good a year or two ago?
BOWMAN: I wouldn’t say I knew I was this good, but I knew I could help the team, help the defense, fill in a spot and maybe make some of the plays that I saw being missed. You gotta wait your turn. That’s what I did, and I’m just excited about the way things are going right now. I want to keep getting better every week.
Q: Do you feel this is your time?
BOWMAN: Yeah, I do. I feel like I waited my time. My rookie season’s over. That’s the time when you sit back, learn and not have too much responsibility on your shoulders, but this year I have a lot of responsibility and I owe that responsibility to my eleven teammates out there.
Q: I notice that you’re kind of leaning into your locker right now, like it’s an easy chair. You played a tough game yesterday, are you kind of tired today? Is that why you’re doing that?
BOWMAN: Yeah, I’m tired. I’m trying to figure out what I want to do right now, whether to go in, get treatment, get my body right or go outside and get a workout in. I’m going to figure it out in the next five minutes and get to moving.
Q: I see. You’re in a decision-making phase right now.
BOWMAN: Yeah.
Film review: Where’s Walker? Springing Gore on key run
Monday, October 31, 2011
It’s a testament to the variability of the 49ers offense. In their last game, tight end Delanie Walker was the team’s Swiss Army Knife, a guy who lined up all over the field, who blocked Ndamukong Suh and who caught …
WR Edwards on his return: ‘The knee was fine’
Monday, October 31, 2011
Somewhat obscured by the debut of left tackle Joe Staley and nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga as pass-catchers Sunday was the return of Braylon Edwards, who is actually employed to catch footballs.
Edwards, returning after missing four games following knee surgery, had four catches for 42 yards and...
49ers’ Ahmad Brooks pays lip service to Browns
Monday, October 31, 2011
After his two-sack performance in Sunday's 20-10 win over Cleveland, 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks didn't want the star treatment.
TV cameras? Absolutely not, Brooks said. Not with an upper lip that looked as if he'd just gone 15 rounds instead of playing four quarters.
"I don't want any...
49ers hope to open new stadium a year early
Monday, October 31, 2011
The 49ers are telling Santa Clara officials to expect a financial plan soon for the team's billion-dollar stadium - raising hopes for a groundbreaking on the project by late next year.
"We are hoping to approve (the finances) before the end of the year," City Councilwoman Lisa Gillmor told...
Alex Smith postgame Q&A
Sunday, October 30, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO – Here is the complete transcript of Alex Smith’s postgame press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.
Alex, in the traditional West Coast Offense that they used to run when I was young, it was pass that set up the run. The way I look at your equation it’s the opposite. It’s run to set up the pass. So, I have two questions, am I in general correct about that? And if I am, what does it mean to a quarterback to have a running game like that?
“I would say this; I don’t look at it like that at all. I look at coming into a game; that this was a team that was second against the pass in the NFL and 19th against the run. And we aren’t going to be cookie cutter. I don’t want to get too much into any scheme or anything, but, you’re going to try to find matchups. You’re going to try to play to your strengths and where we match up against them. And that’s what I’ll say about that. We felt like we had some good matchups in the run game, and I think we really exploited them in the first half. And the second half I think they made some adjustments, and had to kind of overcome that. But, I think that’s why.”
So it’s more game by game as opposed to an overall philosophy?
“No question. I think it has to be. I think even when you go back to the old West Coast, I think it’s still that. I think you’re still trying to play to your matchups. You’re not trying to go out there and—I think if you’re one dimensional, I guess they’d look for it. A good defense can take that away.”
How would you describe what RB Frank Gore has done in this four-game stretch?
“Yeah Frank and obviously the O-line, and everybody in the blocking unit, I think our tight ends deserve some credit. I think our wideouts deserve a lot of credit in the run game. They don’t get paid to block. They get paid to catch passes. But, our wideouts have done an unbelievable job down field. And I think that’s why all of a sudden you see these longer runs by Frank in the recent weeks because we’re blocking down field. So, I think everybody on the offensive unit, really besides myself, deserves a lot of credit in the run game. Guys are working hard. I mean it. And I’m not just saying that. It’s the truth.”
Would you sense though that Frank has been on a mission since the season began, new contract, he ended early with the injury last year?
“Well I think the new contract and all of a sudden took a couple weeks to get going. I think we were all kind of frustrated with that. I think you could see that with the guys up front with Frank. And they just stayed with it, continued to work, and we’ve gotten better every week. They’ve gotten better every week, so.”
On this offense you’re kind of used to being tight end friendly, them getting a lot of passes; did Cleveland do anything to take that away this week?
“There’s a lot of man. Safety down in the box. I don’t know if it was necessarily something they did. We just didn’t connect this week; I think was more the effect. Certainly had stuff in the game plan. Just for whatever reason didn’t get to it. Didn’t end up connecting with them. Thought that we had some good matchups outside. So, I don’t know if it was anything in particular, just one of those weeks.”
Alex, you may have already addressed this, but the concept of sharing the ball with guys that don’t normally touch the ball. Is that by design, you couldn’t see a matchup there, is it kind of team spirit to spread the ball around a little bit, or a combination of both?
“Are you referring to the lineman catching the ball?”
Yes.
“Yeah I think for sure something you see on film. But, yeah it keeps it loose. Obviously [DT] Isaac [Sopoaga]’s been in the short yardage goal line package for quite a few weeks now, and blocking well. And just a little wrinkle off of it to throwing the ball, and it helped us there at the end of a game. But, yeah something fun for [T] Joe [Staley] there. Joe’s an athletic tackle. And saw something on film, and made it work.”
Did you like his celebration?
“Yeah a little Prima donna-ish for a lineman. No it was great. Those guys are excited. I know he was. All those linemen were excited for him. They don’t get to do stuff like that very often. They were all telling him he better do something if he gets the catch, so.”
Alex, you’ve seen Frank Gore at work over the years, he just keeps grinding it out, what’s the feeling, just he’s our guy, or?
“Oh for sure. The linemen love him. He’s such a tough runner. I think the thing the guys appreciate about him is his vision. Great vision as a back. But, you look at yards after contact he’s such a great runner with that. He runs with such great pad level. I think it really helps those guys out, sets up blocks well. I know those guys love him. And, they’re hot right now. They’re playing well.”
You’ve seen the bad days in the past, how does it feel to be on such a winning momentum?
“Well if you’re in that locker room after the game, that’s all, I don’t really need to say anything. You can just feel it. The guys are pumped. It’s fun. It’s fun to be on a roll. Five in a row now. This is why you play. This is why you put in all the time, sacrifice, is to get the W. It’s not fun to go out there and play and lose.”
Are you going to do something for Staley? You said that the guys said that you should do something for Staley if he makes the catch.
“No, they were saying he had to do something. They don’t get that opportunity often. If he got a first down he better celebrate it.”
Alex, you didn’t just loft it to these guys either, Sopoaga and Staley, you led them a little bit. How did you know—
“I try not to make the big guys adjust. And that’s tough. You don’t want to aim it. But, yeah you certainly kind of want to put it on them. Hit them running. They’re both athletic guys though. It makes it easy.”
Were you surprised at all how WR Braylon Edwards was able to make it through the whole game number one, and also the chemistry you two had right away?
“Yeah it was great. And Braylon the entire bye week worked hard to get back to get his knee right. Put in a lot of time, and even through his injuries continued to put in time mentally. Never missed any meetings or anything like that. So, no surprise to me. It was great to have him back.”
This is kind of the year of the passers, you guys are doing it a different way.
“Yeah I think what, there’s three QBs still on pace to break [Former Dolphins QB Dan] Marino’s record. I think a lot gets made up of that. And you look at all three of those guys that are on pace to doing it. They’re all with the same coaches, same system for a long time, a lot of the same players around for a long time. It’s not something that just happens. It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of time, it’s a lot of chemistry developed over years. So, they’re definitely as far as the passing goes at the top of it. When you play quarterback though, you’re just trying to win games. That’s all I care about. I don’t care style points, how I’m doing it, as long as we’re winning.”
Harbaugh calls the game a “bar fight.”
Sunday, October 30, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO – Here is the complete transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s postgame press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.
With the second half, after taking a 17-3 lead into halftime. How do you feel about this game?
“Feel great. Wins are beautiful things. Our guys worked very hard for it, they earned it. A lot of winning football out there today. Feel great about the win. Cleveland played extremely well. It was a hard fought battle, they all are in this league. Not perfect, but beautiful.”
Talking about the passes you threw to T Joe Staley and DT Isaac Sopoaga, was that just because the defense was giving them or was that something that you emphasized to get some of those guys the ball?
“We thought that we had a play there. We’ve been working on it. The one with Staley, we worked on this week. We thought we could get it. Saw something on film; [Offensive Coordinator] Greg Roman did a great job coming up with that idea, as well as the play with Isaac. They were two big plays in the game, especially with the one there with Isaac at the end.”
Any worries about going to a lineman on a big play like that?
“That’s why you practice; you’ve got to troubleshoot that. Joe’s very athletic, he was very good at it in practice. We feel if you’re good at it in practice, you’ll be good at it in the game.”
Do you get lobbying from players? “Hey coach, get me the ball on Sunday.” Do they lobby you to have that play included?
“Sometimes. That can happen.”
Did these guys lobby?
“Sometimes.”
Do you have plays like that that will fire up the team to see guys that don’t normally catch the ball, get the ball and get pretty excited about it?
“Yes. I think you’re the master of the obvious there. That does do that. That does fire them up. I think it’s a great thing to get everybody involved. This was that kind of win, it was that kind of a team win. When you look up and down the roster, guys making plays, cool-headed decisions throughout. I thought our special teams did a great job containing [WR] Josh Cribbs, who is a dynamite football player. I love the way that guy plays football. We rose to that challenge. You can’t shut him down, it’s just impossible. I thought we played extremely well in that phase. Because he can beat you, and our guys didn’t let that happen today. Defensively, I thought the effort that our guys play with is evident to me and to the guys on our team. [LB] Ahmad Brooks, down after down, he’s just giving it everything he has. Same with [DT] Justin Smith. Looked up and down the defensive roster and you see them come off the field and they’re just pouring everything out of their bucket, they’re giving everything they’ve got. Great team victory. Consummate team players, again, when guys are giving everything they have like that.”
You started out on fire and it looked like you guys were going to blow them out and then all of a sudden you guys kind of lost your charm, it was kind of back and forth and you really didn’t get a big score.
“It was hard fought, that’s the way these are. They’re competitive. They’re bar fights, start to finish.”
In the second half offensively, you didn’t quite, four or five times at least, was it being conservative to try to keep the clock or were you just not clicking there offensively?
“It’s combination of things. Three three-and-outs in the second half. One, I didn’t like our call with the reverse. We had a chance to hit [WR Michael] Crabtree down on the boundary. We’re all going to look back on this, players and coaches, and have finger prints on that and the plays that we wish we would have gotten. We’ll just keep continuing to see if we can improve in some of those areas. Lotta great things, didn’t turn the ball over. Four of six on third downs. You guys can go through stats and you guys can pick out the positive ones or you can pick the negative ones. I’ll leave that up to whatever you guys want to do. To us, we feel really good about winning this ball game and really proud of our players.”
When you go back to work, which ones are you going to pick out to talk to your team about?
“Offensively, you got the ball on the 50-yard line, heck yeah you want to punch it in right there and make it a three score game. You want to convert on the goal line, we’ll all work to do better.”
RB Frank Gore got another 100-yard game today…
“There’s a positive! I knew I was forgetting one.”
He’s second now on the all-time career list for the 49ers. Can you give us a sense for people that don’t play in the NFL how hard that is to do what he’s done?
“These are hard. These are hard, competitive, evenly matched games. Frank’s just got a will to keep going. He is a great competitor. Consummate team player and the guys up front feed off him, and he feeds off them. It’s really each guy pushing each other higher. It’s a great thing for our team.”
What do you know about him now that you didn’t know before you were his coach?
“I just know we won and feel great about it. I think I’ve known what I’ve known about him, I know him. I’ve shared that with you many times. I know who he is.”
On the lighter side, did you see Mr. Soft anywhere in the building today? Freddy P. Soft, did you see him today at all?
“No, did not see him. Are you accusing us of playing soft? Where I come from, those are fighting words. I’m glad you’ve got a smile on your face. No, didn’t see him.”
You said these types of games are wire-to-wire, they’re bar fights. No one is breaking windows or throwing chairs, tell me how you feel it’s a bar fight.
“Just hard fought. Competitive, evenly matched. That’s this league, you’ve got the world’s greatest athletes playing against each other every single week. It’s a long season. Every week you’ve got to bring your best. And it tests a man’s courage if you haven’t noticed out there. There are guys that are playing with a very high pain threshold on both sides of the ball and I admire that. To me, I think that makes you feel like a man and these guys play very courageously.”
Have you ever been in a bar fight?
“Yes. I have.”
When was the last one?
“None of your business. (jokingly)”
That hurts my feelings, Jim.
“So be it.”
How do you feel about WR Braylon Edwards coming back from the knee injury?
“I thought he played great. Played strong, played hard.”
Like a bar fight?
“Like a football player.”
Like a Michigan man?
“Like a Michigan man. Like a 49er. He played like a Niner.”
You had a little trouble running the ball in short yardage some places. Is that a concern or just credit to the Cleveland defense?
“It’s a credit to them. They did a very good job. They overloaded at times to their credit. They stopped us, especially on the goal line. But then again, we picked up our share, too. There was some back and forth, forth and back.”
No rushing touchdowns scored on the D again. What do you think is a result of that?
“Playing good defense, playing good team defense. I think that’s where that comes from. What’d you say, no running touchdowns? Because there was a touchdown.”
Do they take pride in that?
“They do, definitely.”
When you challenged the Frank Gore non-touchdown, did you have definitive word from the people upstairs that they thought it was a touchdown or did you do that just to get another look at it? Did you here from people upstairs that they thought it was?
“Nothing definitive. Talking to Bill Levy, the referee, he didn’t have a definitive look of where the ball was. Our guys upstairs didn’t think Frank’s knee was down. They thought Frank’s knee came down on another player. They had the elbow, but they didn’t have the ball. Frank thought he got in, so I was trusting Frank there too.”
Did you watch the game last night, the Stanford-USC game and what was your take on it?
“Thought it was a great game. Phenomenal football game, both teams played really well. Great there’s still magic at the Coliseum for the Stanford Cardinal. Really so happy for those guys and the way they competed, but they all did a great job. It was inspiring, too. It really was. Just the competing. It was inspiring to me.”
Throwing the ball at the lineman and firing them up, is that partly a reason to do it as well as the fact that you might be able to exploit an opening?
“That’s what you’re trying to do – get a positive play, exploit an opening.”
But also to get more people involved or is it strictly because of the other…
“It’s to have a positive play. Probably a small percentage, there’s not a lot. There is some firing them up, get people involved. Big thing is taking advantage of something Joe Staley does really well, he’s a very athletic guy and we thought we could make a positive play there.”
So you didn’t have tryouts for that?
“No, that was a Joe Play.”
49ers injury report: McDonald sustains hamstring strain
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Defensive end Ray McDonald sat out the final 2 12 quarters of the 49ers' 20-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday with a left hamstring strain. Was anybody else injured?
Does Harbaugh hide Alex Smith?
Thursday, October 27, 2011
In Erler’s blog he points out that Alex Smith is averaging 26.3 passes per game this season. That number happens to be about two pass attempts fewer than Andrew Luck’s average last season under Jim Harbaugh — 28.8 passes per game.
Was Harbaugh hiding Andrew Luck, the best quarterback in college football, last year at Stanford? Of course not.
Here’s Erler’s main argument: “If Tom Brady or Drew Brees was the starting quarterback for the 49ers, would they be averaging more than 26.3 pass attempts? Yeah, probably. But not much more, not with Harbaugh coaching. Dude likes to run the ball.”
Do you agree with Greg Cosell or Michael Erler? For what it’s worth, I happen to agree with Erler.
Roman: “We’re still breaking into whatever percentile it is of what we do.”
Thursday, October 27, 2011
SANTA CLARA – Here is the transcript of Greg Roman’s press conference from this afternoon, courtesy of the 49ers.
Opening Statement:
“We’re right into getting ready for our Thursday practice. Had a great walk-through, had a good, vibrant practice yesterday. Got a stiff challenge ahead of us with the Browns. Obviously, everybody knows they’re the 4th ranked defense in the league, doing a tremendous job there getting people off the field. They’re second in the league against pass. [Browns Defensive Coordinator] Dick Jauron does a phenomenal job, as he always has. Our guys are excited about this challenge.”
You said ‘good, vibrant practice,’ was that a concern coming off six days of rest?
“I think it’s always a concern. Everybody’s going to come back in a little bit differently. There wasn’t much variance from guy to guy. Everybody was dialed in pretty good. Really didn’t detect rust at all. So, energy was high, it was a very good practice and that’s behind us now, moving on to today’s practice. We’ve got to have a better one today.”
Do you anticipate Jonathan Goodwin being your starting center this week?
“I certainly hope so. Jonathan’s been very important for us. Jonathan is like E.F. Hutton, I think I’ve said it before, when he says something, everybody listens. He understands and knows what he’s doing, gets everybody organized quickly, efficiently, and he’s Cool Hand Luke in there at the center position. Understands the game and he’s been really good for us.”
What is the black jersey in practice signify?
“The black jersey for Jonathan was basically just a style that he wanted to go with. He thought he looked better in black. No, we wanted to limit some contact with him yesterday. I had to ask him what it was for, so no big deal.”
So it’s kind of just the hands off…
“It wasn’t fully hands off. You never want to put an offensive lineman in a red jersey. That’s just not O-Linemen like. You kind of meet in the middle, give him a black one.”
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio was just in here, and brought up a very interesting topic about the West Coast Offense. He said no teams run a West Coast Offense the way Bill Walsh used to do it. Do you consider what you do a West Coast Offense?
“No question, the principles are the same. Now, I think what Vic would refer to, and we’ve spoken at length on this over the years, is just the formationally. Bill used flat backs, even backs in the backfield, whether they were split backs or what he would call brown or blue, and most teams as the 80s brought on more I-backs in college football, more backs in college ran the ball from the I. Bill never really waivered from flat backs. He always had what he looked for in a back, the Ricky Waters, Roger Craig’s, etc. It’s different, plays are read out differently by the running backs in these types of backfield sets, as opposed to from the I when the back is at seven yards deep. Also, what it allows you to do is involve more two back, pre-releases by the backs into the routes. So, what people do nowadays is instead of having two backs in the backfield with one of them running the corner route, now they just split a receiver out and have him run the corner route, but it’s the same principles. The purity of what Bill Walsh did was formationally, two-back offense, very little one-back, no shotgun. That would answer Vic’s observation.”
Cleveland theoretically runs a West Coast. Are you or Cleveland closer to what Bill was doing or are you both sort of morphed into different things?
“I really don’t know what they’re doing. I’m not really sure, but we have a lot of elements of what Bill did. Have we done it all yet? No. We’re still breaking into whatever percentile it is of what we do. We ran some flat backs against Detroit, that kind of thing. I really don’t know what Cleveland’s trying to do.”
Bill was very famous for scripting plays. He started with about 10, went up to 15, went up to 20 I think finally. Do you script and how many do you generally script before a game?
“We’ll script 30, but it’s really a collection. Sometimes we go right down the list, and sometimes we scrap the list. Sometimes we jump around the list based on what the defense is doing. Every week is different. Some defenses are so multiple, you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get and they’re a week-to-week outfit. Some defenses say ‘this is what we are, this is what we do.’ Against those teams, it’s a little easier to stay on script because you’ve thought everything out ahead of time. There’s so much multiplicity in these league now on defense. Week to week you have to be ready to make adjustments. If what you had planned for does not show up, you’d better change quick. I think Bill Walsh would do the same thing.”
At this point in the season, do you add plays that you had in the run in training camp or do you work off of the stuff you already know?
“A lot of it is based off what we’ve done. Again, not to rehash the offseason, but it was a different offseason and therefore our timeline changed. I don’t think we’re as deep into it as we would be normally, so there’s more stuff that has yet to be unveiled.”
So when guys come in, do you think they’re not seeing concepts that have not been introduced up to the this point?
“Maybe. We’re going to do whatever it takes to win. If that means coming up with something new, then that’s what we’ll do. If our guys by the end of the week have a good feel for can we really do this, is it ready for primetime, and that’s our job to make that evaluation.”
Is it easier to script against an opponent that is coming off of Monday night because they don’t have a lot of time to change their approach before they play you?
“It might be, but we don’t look at it that way. We’ll treat it the same. It could be on their end, but we’ll let them worry about that. We’ll prepare for all contingencies.”
Let me ask you another way. Were you able to stick to your script against the Buccaneers and the Lions?
“We moved around a little bit.”
Speaking of contingencies, do you find yourself in a situation where you have one game plan if WR Braylon Edwards is playing and another if he’s not playing?
“I think certain things get pushed up and certain things get moved down. I don’t think it’s a separate game plan, but there are definitely specific plays that feature certain players, so you’ll shift it, but you’re not going to scrap one. That’s too much. That wouldn’t be fair, I don’t think, to the players.”
You obviously work with a lot of tight ends in your time. With TE Delanie Walker’s size and skill set, is there someone who’s kind of similar to him that you’ve worked with or is he unique?
“Delanie’s unique. I worked with a tight end when I was in Houston named Billy Miller, who was a converted wide receiver, who really had never played tight end, so his transition was steeper than where Delanie and I intersected. Delanie is pretty unique in that he’s got the raw speed and he’s developing into a very effective blocker, which makes him multidimensional and he can be on the field quite a bit. He’s a unique guy. He’s shouldered a lot of things very well that we’ve asked him to do.”
Both Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and QB Alex Smith talked about his intelligence, just the volume he has to take in and learn this business. Can you just touch on that?
“He’s got a great football sense. Great instinct for the game. [RB] Frank [Gore] is another guy that’s got a great football instinct. We try to pile a lot on Delanie and he does a great job applying it.”
Was there a point in the season where you realized you he could do that? Not everyone, I’m assuming, can do that.
“Yes, about the second day. I felt very encouraged through just some conversations we were having.”
When you were at Stanford, Jim was known for the tight ends and his unique way of using them as well and that’s kind of carried over here. Is that his input on the game and your input on the game sort of how Bill to the West Coast Offense with the two backs and the flat backs and the blocking tight end positions to be more versatile?
“I think it’s just a function of having good players and utilizing them. I’ll throw Justin Peelle in there, too. He’s getting in there some and doing a heck of a job for us. No, I’d say it’s nothing but just evaluating what you have and then trying to figure out what you can do with them. What can they do to help the team win? We love tight ends, there’s no secret there.”
How has Braylon been moving and are you encouraged by what you’ve seen on the field?
“Yeah, it’s day to day with Braylon. He’s moving around pretty well and we just had a walk-through, so you really can’t tell much there. We’ll just keep taking it day-to-day. But, he looks like he’s in pretty darn good condition physically. He’s been working really hard and that’s been Braylon Edwards since the first day he got here, he’s been the consummate professional. The guy that I want to be in the fox hole with.”
Can you talk about the Browns defense and what they are? They really haven’t played super strong opponents yet, no one with winning records except the Raiders. Can you tell me what you see from them on film defensively?
“I see a very, very disciplined defense. Not overly exotic, but extremely disciplined. They’re the time of defense that they want to make you, if you’re going to score, do it in 12 plays. They try to put the pressure back on you to execute. I’m sure they have other ways of saying that there. They’re going to play a sound, physical scheme and everybody is going to be in the right spot and they’re going to play hard. They’ve got very talented players. Outside, the corners are doing a phenomenal job in coverage. The safeties are very active and always in the right spot. Up front, those two inside guys are something to deal with. They are big, physical guys that just stuff the inside pretty well. The ends are very active players. The linebackers are a lot like Detroit in a sense, they’re going to be attacking downhill, attacking gaps. They’re a one-gap, downhill, attacking scheme. The proof is on the film. These guys have been very protective. Teams have had a hard time against them. We’re excited about the challenge though.”
Fangio: “I don’t see anybody running the West Coast Offense.”
Thursday, October 27, 2011
SANTA CLARA – Here is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s press conference from this afternoon, courtesy of the 49ers.
How do you expect to use your third corner back this week, third corner? Who do you expect it to be and how do you plan to use them?
“I think it will be kind of similar to what it’s been lately. [CB] Shawntae [Spencer] is improving, he’s still not 100 percent. He’s ready to play, but he’s not 100 percent yet.”
So you expect [CB] Chris [Culliver] to be healthy?
“Yes.”
What has [CB Tramaine] Brock been able to do when he’s had the cast on his hand?
“He hasn’t been able to do a whole lot. I’m sure he’s doing some conditioning off on the side that I don’t get to see. I think he went to the doctor either recently, today or yesterday, and got the cast off to where he can practice without it, but he’s still progressing with that.”
For him, was it an issue of not being able to grab and to do what he needs to do with that left hand?
“Yeah, you guys know how hard it is to play corner in this league. Trying to do it with a club on your hand, it becomes that much harder. I’ve had bad experiences with that in the past of playing guys that have a big cast on their hand, particularly at the corner position. You’re basically playing with one arm and that’s not a position to be playing one arm with. Again, our healthy players are better than Brock with a cast on his hand.”
Has that whole spot, just as a whole, been a pleasant surprise with [CB] Carlos [Rogers] and [CB] Tarell Brown and the three guys you sort of cycled in?
“Yeah it has. We have good depth there. We have five corners on the roster. We have confidence in all of them. They all have played this year, significant snaps, and they are all very capable. Nothing would change, one way or the other, depending upon who was in there.”
What about Tarell Brown specifically? How have you seen in him grow into his role this year?
“He’s done a nice job. He had a great opportunity through injury that allowed him to win that position right now and he’s playing good football for us. He’s been consistent. He’s handled his one-on-one situations when they’ve arised. He’s played good within the team defense part of it and he’s done a nice job and that’s credit to him and the work that he obviously put in during the lockout on his own and the way he’s matured and progressed here in the past couple years.”
When you look at the Browns and you see the offense they run and their emphasis on the run, is it kind of like a [Steve] Mariucci team to you, as far as the Niners?
“In some ways. They run some of the same routes, but really the West Coast Offense that everybody claims they run, nobody really runs the West Coast Offense that Bill Walsh used to run. I coached against Bill Walsh back in the eighties. All of these self proclaimed West Coast Offenses really are not run in Bill Walsh’s offense. They’re running, they use his nomenclature and his words and defining and naming formations and stuff, but they’re really not running the offense they he used to run a 100 percent of the time. Everybody’s taking their own version of it and put their own little mark on it, but to me, I don’t see anybody running the West Coast Offense.”
Which would you say is the closest to what Bill Walsh used to run?
“I don’t know. It started changing way back when Mike Holmgren took over as the offensive coordinator here. He put his little twist on it and was still very similar to Bill Walsh’s offense. Then when he went to Green Bay, it changed even a whole lot more and that all of those guys that have came from Holmgren that have become head coaches and moved on to other teams, they changed even more themselves. It’s really more of everybody’s own offense, with the roots and the call system, how they call formations being the same, but I don’t really see teams running an offense real similar to what Bill Walsh used to run.”
The Browns, how have they diverged from that? I know it’s a big thing. Could you just give us an example of how the Browns have diverged from what Bill used to do?
“Well they still, again, you can see the influence there. The head coach was at Philadelphia with Andy Reid, who came through Mike Holmgren. Mike Holmgren is the general manager there now. So I mean you see some similarities between all of that stuff, certain plays are still the same. You don’t see the commitment to the whole offense they way that Bill Walsh was committed to it. I’m probably not answering your question, but I don’t know how.”
That’s okay, I have one more follow-up and I appreciate you doing this. Are the Browns or are you closer to Bill? Meaning the Niners, which offense is closer?
“I don’t know.”
Okay
“I don’t know.”
Would a pure Bill Walsh West Coast Offense still work today?
“Yes it could, but he was more committed to it than everybody else was. Now, the running game has changed. That’s kind of where it all started to change. When Mike Holmgren took over here and then went to Green Bay, he ran a good bit of offense out of I-Backs, where Bill hardly ever did that. It just kind of morphed from there and it was an evolution that they were forced to do based upon the defenses.”
There was a nice feature about you today in the paper and one of the things that it said, is that you sometimes leave messages for yourself on your voicemail if you think of something. So you’ll be at home and it will be night and you’ll call your office and remind yourself?
“Yeah, it’s modern technology. In the old days you used to have a pad and pencil next to your bed and write it down and take it to work. Now you just have your cell phone right next to the bed, you push one button and you call your office and leave yourself a message.”
Will you ever arrive at work and listen to your voicemails and be surprised that you had left yourself a message?
“No, I usually remember.”
When did you start doing that and why?
“Well, when cell phones came along and voicemail came along, voicemail more so than cell phones because you used to have the phone next to your bed. It’s been a while, been doing it ever since we had voicemail. It’s easier to talk into the phone at night, than turn the lights on a write on a piece of paper.”
You can get one of these.
“I don’t like those.”
[LB] Ahmad Brooks was talking the other day about how he’s played probably almost all but 10 snaps this season. How many guys have played almost every snap on defense?
“I would say [CB] Carlos Rogers has. Brown probably has. Both inside linebackers probably have. Ahmad and the unusual number is [DT] Justin Smith and [DT] Ray McDonald. They probably played a higher percentage of plays than most D-Lineman in this league.”
Does that at some point get to be concerning, like as the season wears on?
“It can be, but I think the bye came at a good time, particularly for those two guys. I think it also depends upon how you are playing on defense. If you are getting a bunch of 3-and-outs like we were lucky to do in our last game, those guys can play every play. They can play three plays and then they are off the field. It’s when teams start driving the ball on you and you have a bunch of series in a game where they are getting eight, nine, ten plays on you, then it becomes harder on the bigger guys to stay out there that long. They need a blow.”
In your experiences, is it unusual to not have to take out your inside linebackers off the field in passing situations?
“Not real unusual. We were able to do it way back in New Orleans when we had those four linebackers, they all stayed on the field in all situations, for the most part, when we had [LB] Sam Mills and [LB] Vaughan Johnson. It kind of depends on the player. If he’s capable of being a good pass defender when the game switches to either/or run-pass, where it’s now dominated by the pass, if they’re good athletes who cover the space, be good blitzers, then they can stay out there. Fortunately our two guys fit that bill.”
Have you guys, it seems like there’s always competition on the defense whether it’s the one safety coming in for nickel, or the starting safety reaming. From week to week, is that something you try to promote, that your job, whether it’s the base, nickel or dime, you’re always competing for it?
“It’s just kind of happened and evolved that way because of the various injuries we’ve had. [S] Reggie Smith was doing well in training camp early on, then he hurt his knee, so that opened that up. Then, [S] Dashon Goldson came back. He was starting to play, then he got hurt and was out for a couple weeks. [S] Donte Whitner got hurt in the Cincinnati game, missed most of that game, missed the next game. Guys have gotten opportunities because of other guys’ injuries and it’s created playing time for everybody and guys have taken advantage of that playing time. It does make it harder on us to decide who to play when guys get healthy. I don’t think it’s something we’ve promoted, but competition is your best motivator. It’s been a good situation. I think the guys have handled it as well as they can. They all want to play. We wish we could play them all, but at times you just have to make a choice and roll with it.”
The last game, Donte played nickel, too, right?
“Yes.”
Is he suited for that role?
“Yes, he can play nickel and he can play safety in our substitution defenses. We have one package where there are actually three safeties out there, where Donte plays a little lower and the two other safeties come in. We play three safeties in every game, even if nobody is hurt. So if one goes down, the next one is in there. There are plenty of opportunities for those guys to play.”
When you’re talking about competition, have you heard of friendly competition between the left side of the defense versus the right side in terms of stopping the run?
“I haven’t heard of that, I haven’t heard them.”
They’re starting.
“That really should not be a competition because many runs can cut back. So, they may start to the left side but they cut back to the right side. The right side better be up to snuff there, too. Run defense is team defense.”
49ers hope to work out contract extensions
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Carlos Rogers is one of 21 49ers' players with a contract which expires after the 2011 season. "I would love to get something worked out for five, six years."
Vic Fangio lords over improved 49ers’ defense
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
(10-26) 22:55 PDT -- His nickname, Lord Fangio, suggests a defensive guru with the bluster of Buddy Ryan - stalking the sideline, bellowing orders to his players and hogging the headlines with bold strategic maneuvers.
His manner suggests otherwise.
Vic Fangio grew up in a small town...
Craig rooting for Gore to surpass him Sunday
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Running back Frank Gore needs 110 yards to pass Roger Craig and move into second place on the 49ers' all-time rushing list.
Funny, it sounds as if Craig is more excited about the upcoming milestone than Gore.
Craig, who at the 49ers' facility today in advance of his induction into the team's...
Braylon Edwards discusses his game-readiness
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
SANTA CLARA – Braylon Edwards was supposed to talk to reporters in the Niners locker room this afternoon, but he didn’t. Instead, he spoke after practice.
As he slowly walked off the field around 4:15, Jim Harbaugh and the Niners public relations director walked alongside of him for a few minutes and they discussed something privately, but in plain view of the reporters.
During the interview, Edwards was non-committal about whether he’d play this weekend against the Browns.
After the interview, the public relations director gave Edwards a first bump.
Here’s the transcript of Edwards post practice interview.
Q: How do you feel after a couple of practices?
EDWARDS: It feels good. We’re just in a situation where we’re handling it professionally, and going day-by-day and seeing what we can do. Can we do more the next day than we did the day before, and we’ll see what happens.
Q: Has it been a progression upward?
EDWARDS: It’s been about the same. We didn’t do more today than we did yesterday, so we’re just taking it slow and watching the swelling, that’s the biggest thing with any injury, watching the body give you your signs.
Q: Did you go through the whole practice?
EDWARDS: I did what they wanted me to. The most important thing is participating, so that’s kind of what we did today and what we did yesterday.
Q: It seemed like you were running some normal routes and then walking cautiously and feeling them out, is that what you were doing?
EDWARDS: It’s one of those things where it’s new, getting back out there, it’s a mental thing as well as a physical standpoint, you have to see where you are, so, running full speed, and then kind of gauge and trying to bend a little extra or go a direction and see how your body and your limbs handle it, and so far it’s been okay.
Q: You played Cleveland last year. Did that take some of the novelty of playing your former team out of it?
EDWARDS: I think so. I think any time you play for a team, it’s all more so playing that team in that city. I think that does a little something, whether it was a great experience, whether it was a bad experience or indifferent. Going back to that place is always interesting for whatever reason. So that happened last year and it was what it was. And now this a completely different year.
Q: How would you describe your experience in Cleveland?
EDWARDS: They gave me an opportunity. They took me in the first round in 2005, so I’m very grateful to that (city) and that organization for taking a chance. We had some good times, we had some bad time – as you do in life. But I hold no grudges toward anybody there and I still have some friends from that area.
Q: You were here during the bye week and working with Alex a little bit.
EDWARDS: Just working with the trainers, Alex, talked a little bit more than running routes or anything.
Q: Is the timing still there from earlier in the season when you were able to work together?
EDWARDS: Yeah, it’s not too bad. I’ve missed a significant amount of weeks, but we’re professionals. The knee has still allowed me to have good speed and Alex is Alex. He’s playing well. And he’s finding me right now.
Q: Coach Harbaugh said today he wasn’t as optimistic about you playing as he was a couple days ago. Was there some swelling after yesterday’s practice.
EDWARDS: No. No swelling. Just more making sure everything is right. When you come back from an injury like that you have to make sure the mental matches the physical. Your physical may be ready, but your mental may not be ready. Or your mental may surpass your physical performance. So we’re just making sure everything is aligned with the stars so that I’m out there for the long haul as opposed to a couple of plays and I’m back hurting.
Q: Coach Harbaugh wasn’t optimistic about your recovery. Was there any swelling that caused it?
EDWARDS: Not swelling. Just more so making sure everything is right. When you come off an injury like that you want to make sure that the mental matches the physical. Your physical may be ready by the mental may not be ready. Or your mental may surpass your physical performance. Just making sure everything is aligned with the stars so I go out there for the long haul as opposed to a couple plays and back hurt.
Q: How hard is it to watch the team go 5-1 while you’ve been hurt?
EDWARDS: It’s been bittersweet. It’s sweet in the sense that here we are sitting 5-1 and the team is tremendous ball. They’re motivated. You can see it. They’re passionate. And we’re believing in ourselves versus what the people are writing or saying about us. The team is sticking beside this building right here, so that’s the good thing about it. The bitter part is watching and knowing that you’re not contributing. So even though I am here every day with those guys, I’m not necessarily participating in the victories. That part kind of sucks – for a lack of a better word. They’re doing well and I just can’t wait to get back out there to contribute and do the things that I know I can do, to continue their already started success.
Q: Are you optimistic that you’ll play Sunday?
EDWARDS: I’m optimistic with anything – I’m 28. I want to be out there. It’s pride, it’s confidence, it’s just wanting to get back out there. It’s competition, but I have to be smart. That’s one thing my mom talks to me every day about: “You have to be smart about it Braylon, just relax and see how it goes. Don’t force yourself. If I’m not ready, then I’m not ready.”
Delanie Walker: “I’m D-Lay. I love the fans and they love me.”
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of today’s Q&A with Hubert Delanie “D-Lay” Walker from the 49ers locker room.
Q: Why is Alex Smith playing better this season?
WALKER: I think the coaches are putting them in positions to make plays and now his confidence level is higher. He always had confidence throughout the years, but it’s higher this year and you can see it just from the way he’s playing.
Q: How can you see that?
WALKER: The leadership he’s taking in the huddle. The way he’s calling the plays and the way he’s controlling the offense. You can see it.
Q: Did your role change when Joshua Morgan got hurt?
WALKER: I don’t think anything changed when Josh got hurt. I’ve been doing a whole lot. I move various places, and we’ve been doing that. Now I’m getting the ball and I think guys are starting to see that, but we haven’t even begun to get into the playbook.
Q: Are you excited to get back?
WALKER: Man I can’t wait! Can’t wait to see all y’all faces (laughter).
Q: How tough is it to go away on a Bye week and then step back into to football mode?
WALKER: It’s pretty long. I think it was probably the longest we’ve had since I’ve been here six years. We’re always thinking the same thing. We wanted to get back. A lot of the guys ran and lifted weights and still watched film, so I don’t think we got away from it. We took a long break but we’re just happy to be back.
Q: What do you see from the Browns defensively on film?
WALKER: Great defense. It’s the NFL. They’ve got some great D tackles, their linebackers play fast and theirs DBs are very physical and like to compete. Just got to make plays. They give you the opportunity to mess up, and what I mean by that is kill yourself, shoot yourself in the foot. We’ve just got to make sure we don’t do that.
Q: What about this opportunity to get your grip a little tighter on this division title?
WALKER: We’re just going in and we’re going to play football. We’re not looking at the record or the division, we’re just playing 49er football right now.
Q: Patrick Willis just said there was some discussion in a team meeting about widening that division gap.
WALKER: I don’t know nothing about that (laughter). He probably heard something different than I did, but in the offensive meeting we’re not worried about that. We’ve just got to go out there, execute and get better. We’ve got to get better as an offensive unit so that’s what we’re going to do.
Q: How much does it mean to the offense to potentially get Braylon Edwards back?
WALKER: A whole lot. Josh went down, and no we’ve got Braylon back. Helps us out a whole lot in the passing game. The guy is a threat. I hope they’re ready for it.
Q: What do you make of all this 49ers buzz and hype?
WALKER: To be truthful, everywhere I went everybody noticed me and that’s unusual. We haven’t had that in about six years – walking down the street and you just see the fans want to get your autograph or take a picture or just yelling out your name. The buzz is big, but we’ve got to keep going. We don’t want that to get to our heads and slow us down. We know we’ve got a lot to do and we’ve got to do more to get better. We love the buzz, keep cheering for us, and hopefully we can bring something home to y’all.
Q: Where were you?
WALKER: San Francisco, San Jose, everywhere. The buzz is big and the fans are coming out. We love that.
Q: Were you recognized last year?
WALKER: I was recognized but not like it is now. It’s crazy. Everywhere I went everyone was like, “That’s Delanie Walker! Great catch! I want to take a picture!” It’s different this year.
Q: Did you have time to sign autographs?
WALKER: I stop for everybody. I’m D-Lay. I love the fans and they love me, so I’ve got to make sure I give them love. When y’all see me say what’s up.
Whitner on Harbaugh: “If he continues to win you’ll see more and more of his personality, trust me.”
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of today’s Q&A with Donte Whitner from the Niners locker room.
Q: Was your coach a hot topic amongst your friends and family when you went home this weekend?
WHITNER: Yeah, it’s still a hot topic, especially when they show it (the handshake) so many times on ESPN and all these places.
Q: Where were you last week?
WHITNER: I was in Cleveland and I went to Miami for a little. While I was in Cleveland some people asked me what happened, a lot of people. It’s different when you’re on the field than when you’re watching it on TV. You think you know everything but I actually didn’t see it until I watched TV also. After hearing about it and talking to different people about it you figure out what goes on. I don’t really see it as a big deal, but everybody else sees it as a big deal who’s on TV, so my entire family and everybody wants to know. I probably had to answer that question maybe 20 times. So then I just get to the point where I tell them it was a misunderstanding.
GC: What did you tell them the first time?
WHITNER: The first time I said, “One coach loses and one coach wins, and somebody gets upset.” And then after I while I just said it was a misunderstanding.
GC: So they were more interested in learning more about the incident and not more about Harbaugh’s personality?
WHITNER: Yeah, more of the incident. If he continues to win you’ll see more and more of his personality, trust me.
GC: Was he out of character at the moment of the handshake, or was he very in character?
WHITNER: He was very in character. People will start to see. He’s a comedian sometimes, and sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get, you don’t know what you’re going to hear. We like it that way. You don’t want just the regular mold of a National Football League coach or any coach in that sense. You want somebody who’s got a personality, somebody’s who’s going to be a straight shooter, and somebody who knows how to motivate guys who naturally motivate themselves.
GC: So you’ve never had a coach quite like Jim Harbaugh in the NFL?
WHITNER: No, I haven’t. I had Chan Gailey who was an older guy and I had Dick Jauron who was an older guy, and neither one of those guy say much at all.
GC: So Harbaugh seems younger?
WHITNER: Younger, a lot more vibrant, a lot more into it emotionally. Those guys had been around for a long time so they were a little bit tuned out.
Q: Ricky Jean Francois was saying it’s like he’s still a player.
WHITNER: Yeah. It is like he’s still a player. He played over 10 years in the National Football League, so some of the feelings we get before a game he can put them into words and describe them. It’s kind of weird but it’s kind of cool at the same time because you’re being coached by someone who actually played in the league and knows what you’re going through.
Q: How many Browns fans in your family?
WHITNER: Everybody, but they’d rather me win over rooting for the Browns.
Q: So there’s no debating this week amongst your family?
WHITNER: There’s some debating. There’s a few people but not much. The majority wants me to win.
Q: Who doesn’t want you to win?
WHITNER: A couple uncles. I have an uncle named Greg. He’s pretty much the only one.
Q: What did he say?
WHITNER: He said he wants me to play well but he wants Cleveland to beat us.
Q: Did you see him?
WHITNER: I didn’t see him. he called me on the phone and sent me a couple text messages.
Q: Already?
WHITNER: Yeah.
Q: He even said it a few times?
WHITNER: He says it all the time. He knew this game was coming up.
Q: Do you hope Braylon Edwards plays this week?
WHITNER: I do. I hope he does. I think he will. I’m sure he’ll be pretty fired up to play against those guys, and I would be too if I used to play for them.
Q: What did you say to Uncle Greg?
WHITNER: Wait til after Sunday. You’ll see. I’m not bringing him here, either. He can stay in Cleveland and watch it.
Q: You’re flying in some?
WHITNER: I’m flying in some, my mom and my close family members, but he’s not coming.
Ricky Jean Francois on Andrew Luck, JaMarcus Russell, Vic Fangio, earthquakes, and more
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of today’s Q&A with Ricky Jean Francois from the 49ers locker room.
Q: How was the Bye week for you guys?
JEAN FRANCOIS: A lot of guys stayed here and enjoyed the California weather. But there were two earthquakes out here, so I was good to dodge that one. It was good to go back home. It was good to see my family, hang out, talk to my friends. I went to two high school games. One was mine, the other was New Orleans versus Jackson and that didn’t go to well for Jackson. It was just good to be home. I went back to my personal trainer. Let him work the kinks out of my body, massage here and there. Just got a chance to chill for a few minutes. Went back to the beach. I ain’t do no running this time. I was just relaxing and getting away from everything for a second.
GC: Have you ever experienced a California earthquake before?
JEAN FRANCOIS: One time. My rookie season, the season was over, then the day I was finally moving out – tremor. It sounded like Clydesdales coming down the block. It was me and my friend sitting in a room and we heard something and I told him to stop talking for a minute, and all we started seeing was the shades start swinging. I didn’t know what it was, but when I walked closer the whole building swayed. I had to get out of there. We were on the eighth floor and I got down to the first floor not by elevator, but by jumping staircases.
GC: You missed a couple big ones this weekend.
JEAN FRANCOIS: I seen everyone on twitter writing about it and they were like, “It wasn’t nothing. It was just a 4.2.” I was like, “Seeing the ground shake ain’t nothing?” I said, “I’ll take a hurricane before an earthquake. At least I know when it’s coming, what category it is and I got time to put stuff up on my windows, get my groceries and everything. But seeing the ground shake, I can’t really stand that. See, the first one would have had me like, “Okay, ain’t no more.” The second one? It’s time go home. Coach Harbaugh would have to talk to me, get my mind right. I’d have to talk to a psychologist because feeling the ground shake, that’s not going to work too well for me.
Q: Harbaugh called this improvement week. What did you improve on this week?
JEAN FRANCOIS: We went over everything from week 1 to that week. All the mistakes – we weren’t looking at none of the good parts. Just the mistakes that we did, what we need to improve on. We didn’t want to look ahead of schedule, but we were just telling everybody, “Once you go home, become a fan this week. Look at all the other NFL games. See how all the other teams are doing. And a lot of the guys that I heard stayed here stayed in the film room a little longer. Got in, lifted weights, got their massages, but got into the film room a little bit more to get a head start on the Cleveland Browns. And that was a plus for us.
GC: You don’t consider yourself a football fan?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I’m a fan of college football. A lot of older guys are past that, besides Carlos Rogers, especially when Auburn’s playing, but I’m still a college fan.
GC: You say the older players outgrow that?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Somebody like Justin Smith? Yes.
Q: What do you think about a potential Stanford vs. LSU matchup for the National Championship?
JEAN FRANCOIS: That will never happen. If it happens, Luck’s draft stock will fall. If he plays an SEC team, his stock will fall. I ain’t got nothing against him. He’s a Pac-12 guy. I’m not a Pac 12 fan at all, I’m an SEC guy. But if he ever plays against an SEC school, Alabama, LSU, that draft stock is going to fall. That will be one game they just don’t show the scouts.
Q: So you’re saying he will not get drafted No. 1 if he has to play the SEC?
JEAN FRANCOIS: He won’t. I can say that hands down. I can say that from past experience seeing Brady Quinn when he played us in the Sugar Bowl. He was a Heisman Trophy candidate and possibly the No. 1 pick. You seen that change real quick. JaMarcus actually became the No. 1 pick and his (Quinn’s) draft stock dropped to…I can’t even remember. Andrew Luck – good quarterback. Good guy in the Pac 12. But playing against an SEC school – that won’t work too well for him.
Q: Have you shared your thoughts with your head coach?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Coach might not talk to me about that one. That’s the one subject he might get touchy on. That’s his team, that’s his school that he coached for, but I’m really strong about SEC schools. You’ve got three SEC schools in the top 10 and you’ve got two in the top 5, so if we get to something like that, hands down he’s going to lose. And if he did lose hopefully he loses to LSU. I’ve got a T-shirt right here waiting on him.
GC: Do you keep in touch with JaMarcus Russell?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Last time I talked to him was last year. We had a spring game. Since then I haven’t heard from him.
GC: You don’t know if he’s trying to get back in the league or what he’s doing?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Reports are saying that he’s trying to. The Canadian League wanted him, but knowing him he probably won’t take that bite.
GC: Why wouldn’t he take the bite?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Hands down he got the talent. He has the gift. To play in the league he just has to get himself set around the right set of people. That’s it. For a guy that can bend down at the 50 yard line and hit the upright of a field goal post, he got the gift, he got the talent. He just needs the right set of people around him. His belief is his talents need to be in the NFL, but it’s got to be much more than your talents to be in this league.
GC: How tough is it for a grown man to change who he associates himself with?
JEAN FRANCOIS: It’s not tough. You see how most, all quarterbacks carry themselves in the league. They’re not around that type of people. If you have good friends and they know where you’re at, your friends won’t even want you around them due to the lifestyle they live. It’s not hard to walk away from them. If you’re going to have a successful career there are certain things you’ve got to sacrifice, certain things you’ve got to walk away from. It’s going to be hard but in the long run it’s going to benefit you. You won’t see it now. It’s going to hurt you now, but in the long run you’ll see why I had to change the set of people around me, I see why they had to push you away from them to actually succeed in this league.
GC: Since you’ve been in the NFL have you ever had to push away friends?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Yeah. I had to push away a lot of people. Plus I had to give up, like, the nightlife, especially when it comes to before coming back here for the offseason. One, I had to give up the nightlife. Two, I separate some people away from me. But a lot of my good friends actually didn’t want me around them. They seen I had a blessing and they wanted me to go after it. They wanted me to stay at a far-away distance from them. They would call here and there, but they just wanted me to stay on track and keep going, going, going until I hit my goals.
GC: Did you see any old friends when you went home this weekend?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I seen a lot of my old friends. A lot of them were at my High School game Thursday and Friday night so I got a chance to hang with them, talk to them, see what they were up to. They were telling me what type of good job we’re doing. The biggest thing was everyone was talking about, “What’s up with your coach?”
Q: What did you tell them?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I was like, “It was a hard handshake, that’s all I can say. Our coach was happy. He felt excited. He was happy to beat one of the best teams in the NFL at that time.” It was good to go home and see everybody. I ain’t got nothing wrong with the mountains, mountains are good and beautiful, but it was time to see some ocean water, some salt water, some ocean floor where everything’s flat.
Q: The ocean’s not that far away.
JEAN FRANCOIS: I know it ain’t that far, but when you go to beach out here and you see a beach in South Florida, it’s kind of different.
Q: Vernon said everyone in D.C. was asking him if Harbaugh is crazy. They say the handshake is still the talk of the country.
JEAN FRANCOIS: It’s going to be the talk of the country for a good while. I won’t be surprised if he wins an ESPY for that handshake.
Q: Why is Vic Fangio been a good fit for this defense?
JEAN FRANCOIS: He knows how to use all his players. There’s not one guy on this defense he doesn’t know how to implement. He’s going to build a scheme for you. He’s going to make a way that you can blitz. He’s going to make a way that you can cover a person. He knows how to use everybody from me Aldon Smith to Chris Cully. Every week we play a different team you have a different player who’s going to shine in the game because Vic sees a weakness and he sees a guy that could probably be a mismatch for somebody.
Q: Could you give an example?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I would say one example is Aldon Smith. For a guy to be a rookie and to jump out and have two or three sacks already (actually he has 5.5), he’s a big, athletic guy, and most people say linemen don’t really mature until two or three years in the league, but he’s maturing now due to the guys he’s got set around him. When you’ve got an offensive tackle who doesn’t have good feet, Aldon Smith will be the guy that beats him because he’s athletic enough to get around you. Aldon Smith hands down is probably one of our most athletic linemen. We call him “Great Dane.” I’d probably say he’s one of the most athletic linemen in the league as a rookie, but he’s got many, many more years to make his skills better than they are now.
Q: Why Great Dane? Because of the way he looks?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Basically. Parys Haralson gave him the nickname.
Q: What about Vic’s scheme has helped Aldon?
JEAN FRANCOIS: He has certain blitzes and certain schemes that Aldon will fit into. I can’t really expain. Vic knows when to use it, how to use it, and when’s the perfect time to get it.
Everyman Costanzo does everything on special teams
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
For years, the Cowboys had Bill Bates.
And the Bills had Steve Tasker.
And the Patriots had Larry Izzo.
And, now, the 49ers have their own half-crazed special-teams standout/fan favorite in Blake Costanzo, an unimposing former undrafted free agent who morphs into Superman when covering kicks....
Harbaugh wants "things to suck" for surging 49ers
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
It would be very easy for the 49ers to be bloated by their recent success. They have the second-best record in the NFC. They’ve become media darlings, both locally and nationally. (NFL Network was represented in the media gaggle today). …
How Ray McDonald spent his Bye week
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of today’s Q&A with Ray McDonald from the 49ers locker room.
Q: How did you spend the Bye week?
McDONALD: I got a chance to sit around and kick my feet up and get my legs and my body back. So any nick or bruise I had before the bye week, I was able to heal up.
Q: Coach Harbaugh cited that teams are 3-9 coming off their bye weeks. Is that something he’s communicated to you?
McDONALD: He hasn’t mentioned it to us yet. I’m pretty sure he will. We’ve got to approach every week like we did before the bye week and that’s prepare for every game like it’s our last.
Q: Everyone now seems to consider the Niners a top-five team. Is it weird to be suddenly getting all this respect?
McDONALD: No, it’s not weird for us because we worked hard this offseason. And we trained hard in training camp. We were expecting this. We just have to keep building from it. We’ve got to get better every week.
Q: You stuck around all week? Were you here every day?
McDONALD: Every day.
Q: Why did you stay here and not get away?
McDONALD: Man, I hate flying. I really do. I just like to be out here. When I’m in season, I’m in season. I like to keep my mind on football. I trained about three days out of the week and I ran a little bit. Watched some film. So I can just always stay on top of the game.
GC: Did you work out by yourself?
McDONALD: Justin was here. He was working out with me.
Q: What did you?
McDONALD: I did a couple of gassers. Did a little bit of boxing.
Q: How often does coach bring up Frederick P. Soft to you guys?
McDONALD: Every day. He’s like, ‘You’ve got to watch out for Freddy P. Soft. He’s lurking. He’s on the corner.’ That’s his little things to where he tries to keep guys motivated to not be mentally soft.
Q: Was Freddie P. Soft mentioned going into the bye week?
McDONALD: Of course. You don’t want to get too lazy and get behind the eight-ball as far as playing goes. Everyone just has to stay on top of their game, training wherever they were at, I was. I know when I came back I was ready to go on Tuesday.
Q: How has Vic Fangio been able to get so much out of the defense?
McDONALD: He knows what kind of players he has. He knows how to get matchups he needs, with d-linemen, with linebackers, with cornerbacks. That’s what he’s real good at. He a genius over there in the (coach’s) box.
Q: But he also allows you guys to make decisions on the field?
McDONALD: He does. He knows he has smart players. When you have smart players and they know what’s coming as far as offensive scheme-wise, you can do a whole lot of things as a defensive coordinator.
GC: You said you were afraid of flying. Does it bother you when you fly on road trips? Can you sleep the night before?
McDONALD: I can sleep, it’s just taking off. I hate it. I put my headphones on, listen to music and I close my eyes. I just try to get through it, however many hours it is.
GC: But you can handle landing? That’s OK?
McDONALD: All of it sucks to me.
49ers’ Rogers gives agent OK to negotiate extension
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Carlos Rogers has already set a new single-season personal best with three interceptions in just six games as a 49er. The veteran cornerback told Matt Maiocco that he wants to ink a new long-term deal with San Francisco.
Practice-squad power: Joe Hastings’ contribution to win vs. Lions
Monday, October 24, 2011
Last week, for the first time this season, 49ers practice-squad wide receiver Joe Hastings wasn't trying to be somebody else.
In Week 1, for example, Hastings assumed the jersey number and playing style of Seattle wide receiver Mike Williams. In Week 2, he was Dallas wideout Dez Bryant. And he's...
So far, so great for 2011 rookie class
Monday, October 24, 2011
It's folly to assess the quality of an NFL draft class less than halfway into a season.
Six games? Six years is probably a more appropriate length of time to wait before handing out final letter grades.
Still, Charley Casserly, a general manager for 16 years with the Redskins and Texans, says...
Alex Smith threw often during the bye week
Monday, October 24, 2011
Alex Smith had a vision of his former self with his less than stellar performance in Detroit, and that's why the seven-year veteran threw often during the bye week. Even though the 49ers beat the Lions with a 6-yard pass from Alex Smith to Delanie Walker in the final two minutes, Smith wasn't...
Harbaugh hopeful WR Edwards, FB Norris back for Tuesday practice
Monday, October 24, 2011
Jim Harbaugh says he’s “hopeful” to see a host of previously injured 49ers return to the practice field for a bonus session Tuesday, including receiver Braylon Edwards. The free-agent signee suffered a meniscus tear on Sept. 18 and has been …
Surprise! 49ers not following script through six games
Monday, October 24, 2011
The 49ers are not following the script. They were supposed to be one of the teams most negatively affected by the long labor impasse this summer. If they were going to win, it would be toward the end of the …
Idle 49ers increase lead in the division
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Even when they’re idle, the 49ers win. All three of the team’s NFC West opponents fell on Sunday, increasing San Francisco’s lead in the NFC West to three games over second-place Seattle. The Seahawks fell 6-3 in Cleveland, the Cardinals …
Alex Smith proving himself at last
Thursday, October 20, 2011
(10-20) 22:03 PDT -- Being wrong has never been more enjoyable.
Alex Smith in 2011 has been the kind of quarterback that I stopped believing he could be two years ago.
He has been everything Mike Singletary wanted him to be but couldn't make him.
He has not been Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or...
Harbaugh has always been bad at making friends
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Jim Schwartz really shouldn't take it personally: Making friends has never been high on Jim Harbaugh's list of priorities.
I was reminded of this in the aftermath of The Incident In Detroit. Harbaugh's post-victory reaction was not the first time he's annoyed (or annihilated) his opponent. And...
NFL Films’ Cosell talks 49ers’ rookies
Thursday, October 20, 2011
First-round pick Aldon Smith ranks fifth in the NFL in sacks.
Third-round pick Chris Culliver has already won the spot as the nickel cornerback.
Fourth-rounder Kendall Hunter, the 10th running back selected, ranks third among rookie running backs in yards from scrimmage.
And, finally,...
Greg Cosell on Alex Smith and Carson Palmer
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Here’s the transcript of Murph and Mac’s Q&A with NFL Film’s analyst Greg Cosell from this morning on KNBR.
Murph and Mac asked Cosell about Carson Palmer first and then the 49ers second. I’m giving you the whole interview, but I’m putting the Niners stuff at the top.
Q: Jim Harbaugh and Vic Fangio called the 49ers defensive performance in Detroit last week the best one they’ve ever coached. Did you see that on the film?
COSELL: I think they played a team that’s one dimensional. The Lions have no base run game and they’re offensive line is probably average at best. So you’re playing a team that is easier to defend tactically. But one thing that the 49ers have going for them which is incredibly rare. When you play a base 3-4 defense and then you go to your sub package, whether it’s five defensive backs or six defensive backs, I can’t recall another base 3-4 team in which both inside linebackers stayed on the field for all three downs, in Willis and Bowman. And I would even make the argument that through six games Bowman might be playing better than Willis. And that’s saying an awful lot, because I think Patrick Willis is the best inside linebacker in football. But I think Bowman is playing exceptionally well in all areas.
Q: How good is this 49ers defense?
COSELL: What did I tell you before the season started? Didn’t I tell you they had one of the best front sevens in football?
Q: You did.
COSELL: Because the Niners haven’t been very good I’m sure there’s been skepticism. There’s always skepticism when a team has not been very good and a person like myself says there’s a unit on this team that’s very, very good. You’re probably thinking, “What does this guy know?” But I watch it on film, as you know. I think their secondary is now starting to perform a little better as well. I think Culliver is an upgrade as their nickel. I think their safeties are certain kinds of players but they’re not bad. But this front seven, and particularly now in their sub packages with Aldon Smith at defensive end, and he actually played in the base defense this week for the first time because I guess Haralson has an injury. It will be interesting to see what happens, but Smith has been I think an impact player as a pass rusher. I’ve told you about Ray McDonald from day 1, too. We all know about Justin Smith, but McDonald has been really impressive week-to-week as well.
Q: And that’s the engine of the team, because they’re really limiting Alex Smith’s throws.
COSELL: Here’s what they’re doing with Alex Smith, and he’s a great guy, so none of this is ever personal, but they’re playing the games to minimize his impact on the game. And they’re able to win games doing that, so more power to Harbaugh and the coaching staff. They’re doing absolutely the right thing. I’m reading a lot of people talk about now Alex Smith is proving….Look. This is what they’re doing. They’re trying to hide him. They’re trying to minimize his impact on the game. And that’s great. Do you know what that’s called? Coaching.
Q: Did you see anything strategically that allowed the Niners to run so effectively against the Lions defensive line?
COSELL: Yes, absolutely. The two long runs by Gore were the exact same run, and it’s a great run against an upfield, penetrating line. It’s what we call a wham run, where you let one of the D tackles penetrate, and you bring, and I forget who it was now (it was Delanie Walker), but you bring someone from the side and they nail them. Both those runs were the same wham block concept.
Q: Was that Delanie Walker?
COSELL: I think it was Delanie Walker, yes. And on both of those runs Anthony Davis at right tackle, who has not played particularly well through much of the year, did an excellent job on both of those runs getting to the second or third levels of the defense and sealing it for Gore to have the room to break the big run.
*******
Q: Tell us your thoughts on Carson Palmer.
COSELL: I’ve seen every single throw he’s made in his NFL career. Here’s the way I would describe it. From 2005-2007 he was the third best quarterback in football behind Manning Brady, Brady Manning, whatever your choice may be. I thought after his injury that he lost some arm strength, and I thought it was evident last year in particular. I don’t think the ball came out quite the same way, but that’s a relative term. It’s not as if he can’t throw. I think this is a huge upgrade. I would have made the trade in a heartbeat. I think Palmer brings a presence to an offense. He’s a big, physical pocket quarterback, and I think that he immediately makes you more competitive in the pass game. Whether he’s the player we was from 2005-2007, my answer to that would probably be no but like I said, he was the third best quarterback in football in those years. Let’s say he’s the twelfth best quarterback in football, that’s still pretty good. I’m just throwing that out. I haven’t made a list.
Q: Could Carson Palmer regain some of that arm strength?
COSELL: I don’t know if he could totally regain the strength, but he was always a very good timing and anticipation passer, so that part of his game already existed. What he had in his prime was he was something that’s pretty rare, he was a power thrower. Big arm, great velocity. He was very, very accurate. I don’t know if we’ll see that exact guy anymore, but like I said, he had other attributes – timing, anticipation, he’s firm in the pocket. He’s strong. I know there’s been a lot of talk of, “Did they give up too much?” I would have made the trade.
Q: Palmer had knee surgery, not elbow surgery. He almost had Tommy John surgery…
COSELL: Right, and he chose not to. I don’t know anything about the surgery, so I couldn’t begin to tell you what the result would have been had he chose to have it, but I can tell you for a fact, and it’s on film this is not speculation, he did lose some arm strength.
Q: What about Palmer as a leader?
COSELL: It’s funny you say that, because I had a really great opportunity when Carson Palmer came out of USC. He came to NFL films and spent an entire day with myself and Ron Jaworski. So, I got to know Carson, and I think he’s an absolutely terrific guy. He’s not a yeller and a screamer leader like that, but I think he’s one of those quiet leaders by example who shows up to work every day as a pro’s pro. Hue Jackson was in Cincinnati from 2004-2006 in Carson’s formative years and he knows what kind of player he is. He has a presence about him. You don’t have to yell and scream to be a leader. Palmer has a presence about him, and just reading the quotes by Al Saunders, who I also know extremely well, it’s evident that when he stepped on the field, that presence was there.
Q: He’s probably going to start this Sunday against the Chiefs…
COSELL: I know, that’s fascinating. That game I’m probably going to watch closely on Sunday. Normally I jump around and I see all the games on tape because I have Sunday Ticket, but that game I’m going to look at pretty carefully on Sunday.
Q: What’s your schedule?
COSELL: I start watching film about 7:15 Monday morning and I leave, I watch film until 8:25 Monday night. This is Eastern Time, of course, because I live close to NFL films. I go home and watch the Monday night game. Then I start again Tuesday morning. And then later in the day I start writing and officially putting together the NFL Matchup show. But all day Monday and Tuesday I’m pretty much watching film.
Q&A with 49ers president Jed York
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The 49ers' team president went one-on-one with CSN reporter Mindi Bach on Wednesday to talk about the state of his rejuvenated team, and the status of contract talks with four key players.
The lowdown on the 49ers quarterback meetings
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Here for your pleasure and enlightenment, and because it’s a Bye Week and nothing’s going on, I wrote a piece about what happens in quarterback meetings, focusing on 49ers quarterback meetings. The article follows.
SANTA CLARA — What happens in an NFL quarterback meeting? And specifically, what happens in a 49ers quarterback meeting?
You’ve probably wondered about all that. A quarterback meeting is something you never can attend, a place you never can go. So, here, for you, a lay person is the lowdown on what goes on between the quarterbacks coach and his pupils.
Former Packers QB coach, former 49ers head coach, and current NFL network analyst Steve Mariucci describes a quarterback meeting like this: “It’s a graduate class, not a romper room.”
Whew! Thank goodness it’s not a romper room, not that there’s anything wrong with a romper room.
Former 49er quarterback and current ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer, a veteran of quarterback meetings, looks at them this way: “They’re completely unique. They encompass everything that goes on behind the veil of an NFL team. There’s a lot of X’s and O’s and film study, but also life gets done there. There’s conflict. There’s parenting advice. The quarterbacks coach doubles as a psychologist because all quarterbacks are a little crazy.”
What happens in the 2011 49ers quarterback meeting? That’s a little tougher to say, because current quarterback coach Geep Chryst refused to be interviewed for this article. Luckily, quarterbacks Scott Tolzien and Colin Kaepernick helped fill in the details.
The 49er quarterbacks meet for a half an hour twice a day in Chryst’s second-floor office. Here’s how Tolzien described this secret meeting room: “Basically he’s got a projector screen, his computer, and then we have a small, four-person table that we sit at.”
Here’s how Colin Kaepernick described the secret dynamic of the meetings: “It’s more discussion at this point. For the most part, everybody knows the offense, knows what we’re trying to get done. It’s more, ‘How do you feel about certain things? What do you like going into the game? What are you most comfortable with?’ I’d say in college it’s a little bit more of, ‘This is what we want to do. This is what we want to get done.’”
So, they discuss plays and look at images from a projector – call it grown-up Show and Tell.
According to Tolzien, the 49ers quarterback meetings progress throughout the week almost identically to every football program he’s ever been a part of.
Mariucci described this progression: “On Monday, two hours before they get on the field the quarterbacks watch a tape of Sunday’s game that’s already been graded by the coaching staff. Our comments are in front of the quarterback. They look at their assignments. They should be assignment perfect.
“Good quarterbacks come in on Tuesdays for preliminary scouting (of the next opponent). Brett Favre never missed a Tuesday.
“Every week, Wednesday is the start of a new chapter. Players are given a one-inch binder by their coaches. The coaches write a book every week – all brand new scouting reports of the other team. There’s a theme of the week. On Wednesday, West Coast teams usually do base offense, first and second down. On Thursday, they do third down and goal line and maybe blitz. On Friday they do red zone.
“During the season, the quarterbacks sit on their butts and look at grease boards more than any other position. D-line meetings were more simple. I used to joke with Reggie White and the guys in their meetings, ‘Inside shade or outside shade (these are how they line up) and get out of here!’ That’s all they needed.”
That’s a former coach’s perspective on quarterback meetings. Here’s a former player’s perspective – back to Dilfer:
“There are good and bad quarterback meetings. In a great room, the quarterbacks get each other and they help each other out. In bad rooms there is undercutting, lying, deceit and agendas.”
Dilfer experienced both good and bad meetings throughout his NFL career, but he experienced a particularly good group when he was on 49ers in 2007: “It was a great room because it was so hyper-competitive (between Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, and him). We competed over everything, even the littlest things like who sat in their chair first and who pulled their notes out first. There were hilarious moments of one-upping. I used to write on the board all the things I’d beaten them at over the course of the year. In training camp of ’07 we charted complete QB stats of every throw we made – completion percentage, yardage, those things. I wasn’t challenging for a starting job, but I crushed them both and I talked non-stop about it. After a while in the meetings Alex and Shaun and Frank (Cignetti, the QB coach) would have to yell at me to shut up.”
What effect does the coach himself have on the quality of the meetings? “Some quarterback coaches are very much in control,” Dilfer explained. “They’re teachers and mentors. Others get completely exposed in the meeting room because the quarterbacks are smarter than they are.”
Which kind of coach is the elusive Geep Chryst?
“Off-the-charts smart IQ-wise,” said Dilfer. “He has multiple degrees. He’s very analytical. He’s studied the position and he’s coached other positions, too. He likes guys being interactive.”
According to Tolzien, “He’s got a real good feel from a coaching perspective. Sometimes there’s a coach on the sideline but he may not have a great feel for what the quarterback’s seeing, the progression and everything like that. But I think he has an awesome feel for the game situation and what we’re trying to get done as quarterbacks. It’s different being on the sideline, but I think he’s got a great vision for it.”
Although Chryst is the Niners official quarterback coach, he isn’t the only quarterbacks coach in the organization. Tolzien says former quarterback and current head coach Jim Harbaugh pops into the QB meetings every now and then to give input. Typical Harbaugh input sounds like: “On this running play, our first step’s going to be with our right foot. It’s going to be a six-inch step.” In other words, his instructions are minute, detailed and ultra-specific.
Alex Smith craves this type of instruction, according to Dilfer. “Alex likes specific info, no conjecture. He wants the bottom line. What is the raw info here that will make me do my job better?”
Clearly, Smith is getting the raw info he needs from his coaches this season. Are the other quarterbacks getting what they need from Smith? “Yeah, he’s awesome,” said Tolzien. “He’s been great for me and I’m sure Kaep would say the same thing. He’s been around the game a while so he’s always sharing his ideas with the coaches. At the same time if he sees something that can help us out, he’s always voicing that. It’s a good room because I think guys are willing to help each other out.”
Smith wasn’t always that self-assured in the quarterback meetings, according to Dilfer: “Over the years, he’s learned how to relax better. He was a little high strung early on. He acted like it was life-or-death to give the right answer to the coach’s question. Now he understands the process better.”
Perhaps he’s relaxed because Chryst’s taken the pressure out of the room – he doesn’t give written quarterback tests, as many other quarterback coaches do.
“Coach Chryst would say the test is on Sunday, on Game Day,” explained Tolzien. “But at the same time all throughout the week we’re trying to remind each other, and that’s why it’s a team effort. It’s not just Alex, Kaep and myself. We’re collectively trying to help out whoever’s in the game. Giving them reminders and everything like that. That’s kind of our own little test, I guess – the communication process between us all.”
Mariucci has a different idea about exams and quizzes. When told Chryst doesn’t give exams, he replied, “That surprises me. I tested every position Saturday. I made my players turn in their binders at the end of every week so I could check their notes to see what they wrote, what they highlighted, or if they just doodled.”
And then Mariucci gave this insight into his star pupil with the 49ers, Steve Young. “Steve was a doodler,” Mariucci said. “I saved his binders because his doodles were so bizarre. He used to twirl his hair in the meetings. I’d call him out and he’d say things like, ‘This is the eight millionth time I’ve gone over the play 22 Z In.’
“So I’d tell him, ‘Don’t you dare get bored with 22 Z In!’”
Does Alex Smith get bored? Is he a doodler or a hair-twirler? If anyone could ever talk to Geep Chryst, we’d all find out.
49ers’ Michael Crabtree likes being go-to receiver
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
(10-18) 21:17 PDT -- The most surprising part of tight end Delanie Walker 's go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown catch against the Lions on Sunday?
The ball wasn't thrown in Michael Crabtree 's direction.
Crabtree, the 49ers ' third-year wide receiver, was overwhelmingly the preferred...
49ers cut WR Taylor, add C Beeler
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Former Stanford center Chase Beeler was signed by the 49ers Tuesday, prompting the release of wide receiver Kerry Taylor.
Psst… Steve Young… Camera’s rollin’ dude…
Monday, October 17, 2011
Embarassing moment for Niners' legend Steve Young during tonight's Monday Night Football pregame program.
When the camera switched over to the Niners' Hall of Famer, he was staring right at the screen... of his cell phone.
We've all done it. We've all been there. "What was that honey? I was...
Ricky Jean on Harbaugh: “It’s almost like he’s still playing football.”
Monday, October 17, 2011
SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of Ricky Jean-Francois’ locker room Q&A from this morning.
Q: Would you say yesterday’s game was especially emotional?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Yeah it was emotional because it was right after the game. Before the incident, before I started looking over, we were shaking hands and saying it was a good game. But once your emotions get put inside that and all that hitting and all that, anything could happen. Anybody could start saying something.
Q: You guys thrive on that with this coach, don’t you?
JEAN FRANCOIS: It’s almost like he’s still playing football. He’s with us. Just to see a coach fired up, to see him jumping with you, slapping five, patting you on the back, telling you good job and stuff and he’s into the game, that’s our energy right there. We thrive off of him. It seems like he’s still playing football but he’s just doing it from the coach’s position.
Q: Vic Fangio called the defense’s performance the best he’s ever been a part of. Did you feel that as the game was wearing on.
JEAN FRANCOIS: Yeah, as the game was wearing on it was like, basically we need to man up. We know they’ve got a good offense. We know they’re going to start passing that ball, and eventually Calvin Johnson is going to get that ball or they’re going to try to give it to Best. We knew they were going to come up with a scheme. Vic was just like, “You’ve got to stay together. Don’t matter what breaks down. At one given point, when Alex threw an interception, when he overthrew Crabtree, we were like, “It’s just another down. Get the ball back for Alex. Keep them from scoring and make sure we get the ball back to Alex. As you see, he came through.
Q: What’s your schedule this week?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Come in today. Meetings. Lifting weights. Special teams. Offense and defensive meetings, and then we have another meeting that I don’t know. Then we come back in tomorrow and I think we’re going to do just a few breakdowns on the Browns.
Q: And then you’re going to get out of town on Wednesday?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I’m catching the red eye.
Q: I saw you out here first thing in the morning pulling that sled with a bunch of weighted plates on it. Is that just part of your regular work or was that some extra work?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Getting extra work. I’m just trying to get everything in before I go back home. The type of weights I lift I don’t lift back home. Our conditioning coach doesn’t want you to go back home and do some crazy and he’s not overlooking what you’re doing. I come out here and I try to be the first dude in, try to get my weight lifting in and see if I can space more workout time before the next week.
Q: What was the plane ride like on the way back? Was it any different than the plane ride back from Philadelphia?
JEAN FRANCOIS: It was more high than the Philadelphia game, because everybody was saying we were going to lose the game. They’ve got Megatron. They’ve got Ndamukong Suh, all great players but at the end of the day we knew the only way we were going to beat this team is if we stuck together. It didn’t matter – we were going to have ups and downs, but we had to stick together. When we got back on that plane, most people say that’s a long trip but it felt short because everyone was on the plane smiling, still giving each other high fives. It felt like we were in the locker room but we were in an airplane at 45,000 feet in the sky. We were still enjoying it. We can hold on to this just for this time, but tomorrow once we’re looking at the Cleveland Browns we’ve got to leave the Detroit game alone.
Q: Did Harbaugh give up his seat again?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I think he did because he was back there with us. A lot of the guys were looking at the film, trying to see what they did wrong, and he was back there just giving people tips, like DBs, linebackers, some of the D-linemen, some of the O-linemen he was giving compliments too.
Q: What does that mean to you guys?
JEAN FRANCOIS: He’s got his heart set. At first I knew a lot of people were talking about, “He’s a new head coach. He has a new staff. How quick is the offense going to learn his offensive terminology? How quick will the defense learn Vic’s defense? And the biggest thing I was always telling people on the team was don’t use that for an excuse, because I know that’s going to be the first thing everybody’s going to be bent on: “Well, it’s a new coach. He’s kind of struggling. First year.” Nah, we couldn’t do that. If coach is willing to put his heart into it, you’ve got to be willing, too. We’re doing it, and we’re just driving with it.
Q: Joe Staley said that on the plane you guys were talking about the skirmish and you were kind of amused. Did you notice that?
JEAN FRANCOIS: He didn’t talk about. He didn’t want to talk about that situation. All he was really trying to talk about was the win, that was his main focus. He was mostly into the game, he just seen his guys win, we played all out, he’s happy, he’s jumping up and down. Like you said, he shook the coach’s hand a little too hard. He probably thought he was shaking one of our hands or something like that, and it got taken the wrong way. I understand they lost, and your emotions are going to be different if somebody is to shove you in your shoulder, you’re going to take that the wrong way.
Q: Were you amused by it or should he have given a more proper hand shake?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I just laughed. The games was over with, the coach got over excited, and just leave it at that. Coach handled that the best way – just walk away, there’s no point. We’ve got a long plane ride home to sit and talk about it and laugh about the situation. There’s no point in trying to react, because then everyone will have Fedexes inside their lockers.
GC: Was it surprising to you that it was coaches that got over excited after the game and not players?
JEAN FRANCOIS: Yeah, it was shocking to me. The coaches were more excited than us. But just to see that, that shows us the coaches got their heart in it. They’re not just doing this for a pay check. He’s actually into it. They want to see us win. To see that, you’ll go out there every week and do what it takes to win for those coaches. Just to see them coaches that happy, to see them coaches jumping up and down, getting on a four or five hour plane ride and have a good time talking to you.
Q:The national media is overshadowing the win with the handshake? Disappointing?
JEAN FRANCOIS: That’s disappointing. They’re blowing that out of proportion. All the man did, he shook the hand too hard. He didn’t try to shove the man out of the way, it wasn’t like he was trying to pat the man on the back. He’s just overemotional, his guys just won, he’s happy. One minute you probably thought he was a player, you thought he was back in the game with us again. They’re blowing it out of proportion. Talk about the game, don’t talk about negative stuff like that. We’re finally on a roll. We’re finally 5-1 for the first time since ’98. Talk about that. Don’t talk about what was going on with Coach Harbaugh. He was happy. He had seen his guys win. He was happy because we beat Detroit. Everybody had the odds against us. ESPN and all the national media are overtaking that. You’re focusing on the wrong thing. Focus on the 5-1 record, focus on the game we just won, focus on what we did right and what we did wrong in the game, that’s all.
Q: Speaking of 5-1, is Harbaugh the biggest reason behind that?
JEAN FRANCOIS: He’s the biggest reason because he actually got all the guys to buy into him, actually become a family. And start trusting in one another, don’t have a doubt. If something goes wrong, somebody go over there and pick that guy up. If you see him down on the ground, pick him up, cheer him up, say, ‘We’re going to get the ball back, we’re going to score this touchdown, we’ll catch this ball, make this tackle.’ Do that. That’s our biggest thing. Now you see guys in here smiling, goofing around, basically not uptight. They’re loose. It’s different from last year at 0-5, walking around with your head down and you’re not really saying much. Now you’re walking around and everybody’s conversing. We’re joking around with everybody, equipment guys, training room staff, PR guys. It’s just a better feeling. The one thing everybody needs to realize: Have fun with this, it’s the bye week but come next week — probably come tomorrow you’ve got to let that go.
Q: Bay Area resurgence and buzz for NFL a year after the Giants were the talk of the town?
JEAN FRANCOIS: I’m happy for the Raiders to have that going. Rest in Peace, Al Davis. I wish he was there to see his team keep going on. It’s a great buzz. Now everybody’s coming out to the games. You might see the games more packed on Oakland’s side than our side. It’s just a plus for the Bay Area to see both teams winning. Now you’re going to see more fans in it.
Alex Smith explains his high throws, and more
Monday, October 17, 2011
SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of Alex Smith’s Monday press conference.
Q: Did you and Shaun Hill brawl after the game?
ALEX SMITH: We had a slightly less physical handshake, hugged after.
Q: Did you see the incident between Harbaugh and Schwartz?
ALEX SMITH: Yeah, I had no idea what happened at the time, no idea what was going on. Obviously, heard about it, saw the stuff after, late last night. It’s kind of been blown out of proportion a little bit. It was an emotional game, hard-fought game, came down to the end, to the last play and both coaches were fired up. There was a little incident.
Q: Disappointing to have incident overshadow the team’s victory?
ALEX SMITH: No. No, not at all. That’s not what I was thinking about at all. No. If anything, this team loves and appreciates the fact that our coach is fiery and a competitor. We like that. I don’t think any of us hold that against him for what happened.
Q: Was it an emotional game, with a lot of talking going on?
ALEX SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it was a physical game, a lot of talking going on on both sides. Hard-fought game. So, that all played into it.
Q: The fact it was a big game play into the aftermath?
ALEX SMITH: Yeah, for sure. No question. They were 5-0, (we were) 4-1 going into the game. Absolutely, that played into it.
Q: Where does this victory place you guys in the big picture?
ALEX SMITH: You’re right, we don’t think about that. For sure, we look at the challenge of we’re going to go play an undefeated team at their place. It had been a long time since they lost a home game. A lot of things set up against us. We were traveling on the road, it was a three-hour time change again, crowd noise, obviously, the penalties we had to overcome. Two turnovers. A lot we had to overcome to win that game, yet we found a way in the end. We looked at that as the challenge. Where it puts us in the big picture, I’m not worried about that. It was the next step for us, as they all are. They all continue to get bigger and bigger as the weeks go on. I really felt like it was a challenge for us to go there and take that next step.
Q: You were throwing high early on, what was going on there?
ALEX SMITH: I think a couple of them… there were a few, for different reasons. A couple, yeah, I think just missed balls.
I think a couple all of a sudden, that type of game, where… I was determined at some points I wasn’t going to take a sack. I wasn’t going to take an unnecessary sack.
So me getting rid of the ball and over a receiver, near a receiver and an incompletion is better than taking a sack and risking something like that.
But no question a couple of them for sure, just missed throws. Have to be more accurate. A couple of times.
Q: Were you not setting your feet?
ALEX SMITH: Yeah, you know what? I think for sure, to answer it, yeah. I think when I’m decisive with my feet and eyes, as I look back at the film, I’m throwing accurate balls. The couple of times when my eyes and feet aren’t as decisive and my feet aren’t as good, that’s when you see more inaccuracy, no question.
Q: What are you doing this week?
ALEX SMITH: I think early on this week, it’s get some work in. I think this is a time—the bye week—to really look at what I can be doing, what we could be doing better. Things I need to improve on moving forward. I think it’s all a race to get better and for myself, certainly not where I want to be and what are the next things I need to do to continue to get there. And then obviously I think you get a little time away, let the body and your mind kind of get a little break, get a jump start on Clevleand.
Q: (Plane overhead—question about Raiders and 49ers both playing well)…
ALEX SMITH: I don’t know, I guess I’m not paying attention too much. I mean, I follow the NFL and see what a lot of the teams do. But I think we’re more focused on what we’re doing on this side of the Bay. Not really I guess too in tuned to what’s going on over there.
Q: But do you realize what it means to fans?
ALEX SMITH: Oh yeah, for sure. I guess I can remember, don’t know if it was last year or two years ago, we played the Raiders and yeah, it was… the lead in was, yeah, us playing each other and obviously the football wasn’t that great.
Q: How worrisome were all the penalties?
ALEX SMITH: I forget. I don’t know what the exact—what was it, 15 for like 120 or something like that. You’re not going to win many games when you do that. Fortunately we were able to overcome it. But consistently week in and week out you’re not going to win a lot of games making those kinds of mistakes. Got to get it fixed.
LC: Could Harbaugh kick Schwartz’s ass?
SMITH: No comment.(Laughter.)
49ers up to challenge presented by Ndamukong Suh
Monday, October 17, 2011
Three days before kickoff, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh laid out the challenge for the 49ers ' offensive line.
"If you don't take care of business, and study, and come up with a great plan, I'm going to hit" the quarterback, Suh said.
On Sunday, San Francisco's front five unveiled...
Report: 49ers ‘appear’ to be showing the most interest in WR Lloyd
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The 49ers "appear" to be showing the most interest in acquiring Broncos wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, according to the Denver Post .
The Post reported that the Broncos were expected to be in trade talks Sunday night in hopes of dealing the 30-year-old wideout, preferably by Monday. The NFL's...
Video: Harbaugh celebration ticks off Lions coach
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Here's the video, in two parts. The Harbaugh celebration/handshake, then the aftermath:
Jim Harbaugh was elated after the 49ers 25-19 win. Harbaugh was leaping up and down, baring his belly, chest-bumping, as he bounded across the field, wild-eyed. When he came up to Lions' head coach Jim...
How the Niners win games
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Niners just beat the Lions 25-19 to go to 5-1 on the season. Here’s how Jim Harbaugh’s team wins games.
First, the Niners have a better defense and special teams than most of their enemies, I mean opponents, so that’s a good initial advantage.
From there, the Niners defense can take away a run game without fail, so they make opposing offenses predictable.
On the other hand, Greg Roman’s offense very rarely is predictable. Unless he lines up zero wide receivers, it’s nearly impossible to tell before the snap if the Niners are going to run or pass. On several plays, Ndamukong Suh froze on pass plays, just didn’t rush Smith at all, because he thought a run was coming. This happened on straight pass plays, not even play actions.
The Niners maintain unpredictability on offense with their balanced attack, which keeps defenses on their heels. They also force the other team to throw predictable passes.
The predictability/unpredictability factor has been the Niners’ biggest asset this year, and Harbaugh’s coaching staff gets the credit.
I’m working on my grades now. Be back at you soon.
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