Forty Niners Forever

Well, preseason game one of season 2 is in the books. Yes, the Vikings are fairly hapless. Yes, it’s preseason, but you had to like what you saw out there. If you like running, that is. What I really liked, besides Brandon Jacobs pounding out some tough inside yards, was the formations the niners were running out of. Yes, they ran out of a lot of 2 TE sets, but the Niners showed 3 WR sets, and ran successfully out of them as well. They ran out of the shotgun. And they ran with authority. Jacobs broke off a nice 28 yard run early. Hunter and LaMichael James had some strong runs as well. The only drive Smith was out there was a 7+ minute grind-it-out deal sealed by a TD on a nice touch pass to Swett Brain. He made a nice little adjustment as well on the pass. Soft shell Crabs had his usual 3 yard out. Moss played a little and had no passes thrown his way. Manningham (along with Frank Gore and Justin Smith) didn’t play at all. Cappy Kaepernick made a big impact on anopther nice little wrinkle. No-huddle. On 2nd down, Kappy made a nice fake handoff to Hunter, which the entire Minn defense bit on, and had pretty much clear sailing once he broke the line of scrimmage. A nice stiff-arm (dude has LOOONG arms) 50 yards downfield got him into the end zone. Cappy also had a nice little FG drive to close the scoring in the 1st half.

The defense as a whole played well, except for the opening drive where Carlos Rogers got beat deep. that happens, but the bigger issue to me is that the FS was nowhere to be seen. Goldson has to be much more aware of where he is supposed to be on the field. He’s deep coverage. He can’t bite on fakes. He should trust the guys in front of him to make plays, and stay in his deep coverage. Other than that, the D looked fine against Christian Ponder. They had more problems keeping Webb in containment, but no damage was done.

Overall good game, however, the injury to Aldon Smith is worrisome, no matter how positively Harbaugh spins it. He says hip bruise, but we’ll see. Smith tweeted he was fine, but I’m pretty sure he won’t see any more preseason action. The hope is he’s ready to go for Green Bay. Another problem that I foresee is the issue with the ground and pound aspect of this offense. As per last year, there was not much of a deep passing game. At least early on. If this style continues, I can’t see how guys like Moiss and Manningham get motivated to play this style of jumbo packages, heavy runs, and TE passes. Yeah, it’s only one not-real game, but Moss has shown his entire career that he can get bored easily and become a disruption.

I’m not raising any red flags yet, but I sure hope that we see more from the passing game as we move down the practice games. It’s not even that they have to heave the shit out of the ball. Just show me you CAN hit a 25 yard crossing route. Hit a deep seam with someone other than VD. Go deep with Moss. You have to like how the run blocking looked. That is usually the hardest thing to get synchronized. We killed in spades on Friday. Now let’s try some intermediate to deep routes where the blocking has to hold the rush for 4 seconds.

Well, preseason game day . . .  The big news I suppose is that Michael Crabtree is starting his first presason game in 4 years of trying. My thoughts is he gets a WR screen, a 5 yard out, and calls it a day while Moss and Manningham get the bulk of the work in getting on the same page with Smith. Actually I have no fucking idea. Smith needs work with ALL these guys, and playing against real opponents is the best way to get this done. Sure, the offense practices agaisnt one of the best defenses, but back in the day when this meant something, the offense was a well-oiled machine. As of now we are getting there, but by no means is this offense hitting on all cylinders. Lots of new parts, and we are only a month away from the real shit starting up.

The sounds from camp are all good. Brandon Jacobs says he’s found his top gear, and is running with power and more speed. LaMichael James and Kendall (Endzone) Hunter are both running hard and fast. Gore is healthy, and looks to get more help and more breaks. Randy Moss is helping guys like Crabs and KW get their shit together in meetings. Even AJ Jenkins is supposedly showing speed and ability in practice. Smith? Well he says what he says, and everyone moves on. The defense? Well, the same cast of maulers is back, and things should remain excellent in this group from top to bottom. The only big change is Aldon Smith getting on the field more. It comes at the expense of Parys Haralson, so this can only be good news.

Plus, during the game tonight, we get the thrill of seeing 53 cutaways of Aluminum Mike Singletary as he tries to keep his pants on during the game. He’s back down in the trenches as a linebacker coach, so he’s back at ground zero on his quest to be the best head coach of all time. Good luck there, Mike.

As for me, I’m heading for the mountains today. A  little fishing, a little dirt biking, a little 4 wheeling, and a lot of hanging out. My son starts school in a couple weeks, so this is the last hurrah for the summer. In other words, I’ll see you guys Sunday night. I’m taping the game, but I’ll try to listen by the lake . . .

YEEAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhmmmmmm, uh. OK. Preseason. Like real football, but without any true meaning. True, there are position battles to fight for. WR being the most intriguing to me with the Crabs/Mario/Moss situation. The rest of the positional fights seem to be for backup roles, so there isn’t a ton of excitement there. The way it goes these days, you get about 10 series on offense and defense of 1st string players, and a lot of slop in the entire preseason. The caveat being the 3rd preseason game is usually reserved for a good bit (say one half) of starter action. We’ll see. Last year, Harbaugh went off-script and barely played the starters, and they were trounced by the Texans.

Jim Harbaugh gives a lot of creedence to fighting for positions during these practice games, but realistically he and the other coaches see what’s happening in practice day in and day out. Who’s busting ass and who isn’t. Who’s making plays, who’s on the sidelines. So, beyond these guys getting through these games without any serious injuries, what are you looking for Friday night against the 6 Kings? Me? I’m looking for Michael Crabtree in an actual preseason game. I ain’t holding my breath.

Anyhow, here’s the long awaited preseason schedule:

• Fri Aug 10 – Minn @ SF 6:00 PM
• Sat Aug 18 – SF @ Hou 5:00 PM
• Sun Aug 26 – SF @ Den 1:00 PM
• Thur Aug 30 – SD @ SF 7:00 PM 

One last preseason story. Many (including me) were a bit baffled by Gregg Williams and his Saitns defense’s incessant blitzing during the first practice game of the extremely truncated 2011 preseason. It seemed like a bullshit move to come out balls to the wall since it was obviously a weird situation that the 49ers (and all teams) were in. The 49ers showed nothing that game, and were pounded relentlessly by NO and their all-out blitz attack. Many were (rightly so) worried about the blocking, or lack thereof, during the blitzing frenzy. It warmed my heart to hear the 49ers say they used that game as impetus to get prepared for the playoff game on January 14. Great for the Saints! They won a preseason game! Well, good on the 49ers. They won the playoff game in epic fashion, and the Saints are getting ground into berger meat by Goodie Goodell. “I suppose that you’re accomplice in the wood chippah?”

Or, As the Ankle Turns. This guy’s a goddamn soap opera wrapped in a reality show wrapped in an ankle brace. For the 2nd time in 2 years, Michael (practice? PRACTICE?? We’re not talking GAME. Practice???) Crabtree hurt himself on the 1st day of practice. Year one of course was the Year of the Holdout. This guys is a walking Alan Iverson in shoulder pads. You know Crabtree. The guy who spent last offseason ignoring his quarterback, dissing his ass, and disappearing in the playoffs. He had a decent enough season, but he and Smith have about as much chemistry as do oil and water.  Any route over 10 yards usually didn’t work.

I’m sure you guys are familiar with my misgivings about the guy. He can’t seem to understand how to read defenses. He rarely reacts to Smith being under pressure, and thus trying to get open. He for the life of him cannot run slants as he doesn’t turn his head fast enough to catch the slant. The few games I’ve seen live, and when they deign to show replays of routes, he never adjusts to Smith when protection breaks down, and he doesn’t turn for the ball if Smith breaks contain. All I hear is how wonderful he is. He’s a mean blocker. That’s all well and good, but I want my WRs to be able to catch a slant or improvise to help his QB.

I thnk the best thing to happen was for Randy Moss and Mario Manningham to come here, as it certainly knocks Crabs down off his esteemed position of being the automatic #1. He’ll fall even further if he remains on the sidelines.

Oh, yeah. Boseephus was banned for life . . . Anyhow, here on the Niner front, the team has pretty much settled in nicely. The defense doesn’t have many positions up for grabs. In fact the entire starting 11 are returning for the 2012 season. That is, if Dashon Goldson decides to sign and play rather than pout and sit.  Goldson signed his franchise tender, and reported to camp today for the opening of camp tomorrow. So, the positions up for grabs appear to be all backups.

On the offense however, there have been some changes. Gone are Moran (shudder) Norris, Braylon (who?) Edwards, Justin (whoo whoo?) Peelle, and Josh (I got hurt at the worst possible time, and during garbage time, to boot) Morgan. Soon to go look like Anthony Dixon, Kyle Williams, and Bruce Miller among a long list of non-roster invitees. Miller would be hard to see go, as he had a great year blocking, and made some nice plays out of the backfield. However, the addition of Rock Carwright may make Miller expendable.

Spots to be contested for are of the backup variety. As in, who will be the #1 backup at QB? Nominally, Cappy Kaepernick is the #2 guy, but Jim Harbaugh has declared it an open competition among Josh Johnson, CK, and Scott Tolzein. Realistically, one of these guys is not going to make the team. The likely scenario that plays out is AS stays #1, CK is 2, JJ is #3, and Scotty goes to the practice squad. However, the possibility exists that JJ doesn’t do well, and Tolzein forces a move on to the active roster. In that case JJ is gone. Either cut, or traded some time during the preseason.

Frank Gore is the nominal starter, but I’m pretty sure he’ll get spelled a lot more than he has in recent years. His ankles have been giving him problems for a few years now, and keeping him fresh is a priority. His backup falls to either Kendall (end zone) Hunter, newly acquired Brandon Jacobs, rookie LaMichael James (bitch), or the more than likely gone Anthony Dixon. I don;t have any idea how they are planning on using Jacobs, but my thought is he’ll be a 3rd down/short yardage/goal line guy. They will likely line both of them up some of the time, and feature either one at various times. I’d think Hunter is the one who will get the bulk of the backup load. Unless James really impresses and catches on fast. He would be a big change of pace, but I think he’ll be eased in as the season progresses.

WR is a bit muddied. From what has been talked about during camp, among the players and coaches at least is that  Randy Moss is being the consummate pro, and is showing the young WRs how to conduct themselves during practice and during meetings. If Randy can get Crabs to pull his overinflated head out of his ass and produce on the field instead of at the altar of cool aloofness, then Moss is already worth it. I’m not too worried about Moss as this is likely his last stop. If he blows this, it’s an ignominous end to a sometimes brilliant, and likely Hall of Fame career. Mario Manningham is a given. He’s proven his ability to be a clutch guy, and appears to have gotten over the dropsies that plagued him early in his career.  Then there’s Crabs. AJ Jenkins is going to stay. If they keep 6 WRs, that leaves a bevy of guys for the last 2 spots. Kyle (what, me worry?) Williams is supposedly benefitting from Moss’s presence as well, but his future remains cloudy. He showed some potential, but wasn’t nearly consistent enough, disappeared for long stretches at a time, and then there’s the plays I shall not mention. Swett Brain was signed to a one-year deal, but he was invisble last year. Chris Owusu, the UDFA from Stanford, could possibly force his way onto the team, but he most likely goes to the taxi squad as well.

TE? VD and Byham are locks. Konrad Reuland looks like he could get the #3 spot.  Walker has never thrilled me much, but the battle is between those 2. They won’t keep 4 with Ice, Staley, and Tukafu waiting in the wings.

Well, the opening of training camp on Friday. Not much news as of now, other than the signing of Darcel McBath, a free agent CB from Texas Tech. He was a 2nd round pick by the Broncos in 2009 (one start), cut by Denver during the 1st week of the 2011 season, and signed with Jacksonville in December 2011 after their defensive backfield was waylaid by injuries.  He was then released by Jax on April 23rd. He’s here for depth/special teams, and if you read between the lines, is here to shore up the CBs as the 49ers look to replace Dashon (chickenHawk) Goldson.  My theory being that current CB Chris Culliver moves to FS to replace Goldson and the other CBs not named Carlos Rogers fight for the other CB spot. The contestants are Perrish Cox,  Tramaine Brock, Tarell Brown, Curtis Holcomb, Darcel McBath, Cory Nelms, and rookies Anthony Mosley and Deante’ Purvis. T Brown leads the pack (4 INTs last year), with Brock (2 picks) trailing. Reggie Smith has looked good at times, and the coaches have been very high on Curtis Holcomb, the 2nd year guy who missed all of last year with a ruptured achilles.

So, even without Hawk, the 49er secondary looks like it won’t miss a beat if he decides to commit hara kiri on his own career. Goldson is on a fool’s mission if he decides to hold out. As it is, he’s setting himself up to be the forgotten man, as Shawtae Spencer was last year. Goldson saw first hand how holding out worked for Aubrayo Franklin, and he saw how the Niners front office played hard ball with their starting QB. Why he thinks he’ll get a deal after blowing off the 5/$25 mill deal from 2 years ago, and reportedly turning down 3/$21 mill this year is baffling at best. He turned down $5 mill a year, said his goodbyes, took a $3 million pay cut to come back, and now is balking at a $4-$5 million raise? He’s getting some baaaad advice from his agent. If he misses one day, I think he’ll slide right down that depth chart.

Rookies reported yesterday, and both AJ Jenkins and LaMichael James look to be contributors as quick as possible. James is in catch-up mode as he couldn’t participate in most of the OTAs due to his still being a college student during them. He has this week to get up to speed as the rest of the team reports on Friday. jennkins is back in shape after reporting to camp a little fat and a little slow. He says he’s more than ready to contribute any way he can. If anything, it’ll be nice to have a backup to Ted Ginn for PR/KR duties.

In more good news, Aldon Smith hasn’t been arrested, shot, or stabbed lately.

Sad new that Cleveland Elam passed away. He was part of a short-lived but great defensive line in the late 70s that was nigh unstoppable. He, along with Skip Vanderbundt, Cedrick Hardman, and Tommy Hart formed the Gold Rush. A defensive line that waylaid opposing QBs at will. In 1976 he had 17.5 sacks, and was part of the Ram game that Tommy Hart recorded 6 sacks in one game. The team ended up with 10 sack that game. He had 4 strong years with the Niners and got hurt in Detroit, which cut his career short.

Other than that, I’m out of town for the weekend. Pismo Beach! Taking the dirt bikes out for fun while my wife works.

And all is well. Well, except for Dashon and his hold-out. Dashon is doing himself no favors by pulling this shit. He should sign the tender and report for duty. The last time he tried to hold out for a big contract, he tweeted all over himself about how the team pressured him into signing by getting Donte Whitner and Maideu Williams, blew off the 5 year, $25 million deal they offered him, proclaimed his services were available on the open market, tweeted his goodbyes, and came back with his tail between his legs when there were no takers (NE nibbled and balked), and signed a one year/$2 mill deal last season. Doh! Now he’s reluctant to sign a $6 mill one year deal? Must be nice to live in that fantasy neighborhood.

Frankly, he isn’t a very important piece of this defense. They could easily absorb his loss THIS year. The Niners have 2 rookies that look good, plus Colin Jones from last year in addition to Chris Culliver, a tweener CB who played a lot of safety in college.

Anyhow, beyond that, there’s little to fight for as far as jobs go this preseason. Backup QB should be interesting with the addition of Josh Johnson, Jim Harbaugh’s protege from USD. Johnson was fairly underwhelming as Josh Freeman’s backup in TB, but then again, Cappy Kaepernick has not shown much, or even had much opportunity to show his stuff. Both these guys are going to live or die by how they practice. Although thiese upcoming preseason games will be very mportant to determine their status. Tolzein looks like the odd man out, and very well may end up on the PS. Back up FB, TE, and some D line spots are up for grabs. Tukafu at FB? Hey, why not? Staley caught a pass, as well as Sopoaga. Harbaugh’s not reluctant to try the occasional trick play or odd formation. Might as well try some weird shit to get mismatches out there on the field.

Seeing how far the team progressed last year, it will be interesting to see how this season unfolds. Last year, it was baby steps, a lot of running, and the occasional return to ineffectiveness as the offense struggled to find consistency. The offensive numbers didn’t change drastically from 2010 to 2011. Except for one important category. Turnovers. In 2010, in 11 games, Smith threw 14 TDs and 10 picks. in 18 games last year, Smith was 22/5. Vast improvement. Is this the sign of things to come? Or was the offense dumbed down to take advantage of Smith’s ability to check down quickly? This is a little of both, with a mediocre WR corps thrown in, but some of this improvement has to do with Harbaugh saying to Smith he isn’t going to get jerked around for a bad play or bad game, as Singletary was doing. Surprisingly, passing yards were down a little from 2011 to 2010. But the run game jumped from 19th to 8th. As some people understand, a good running game can complement the passing game, and create favorable down/distance scenarios. Smith can win games throwing for 230-260 yards, and maybe 25 attempts. They don’t need to (nor will they) go into a pass-heavy offense. As much as people throw stats around, NE, NO, GB, and Deetroit (the top 4 passing offenses) all watched from the sidelines. Granted, the Niners should improve from 29th, but the passing game should improve, if not markedly, from the addition of some WR talent, and a full training camp with everyone in place.

Thanks, Phil. I’m stealing this from the last thread.

Thursday, July 12: NFL supplemental draft, 10 a.m. (Eligible players are:

Boise State DB Quaylon Ewing
Utah WR Josh Gordon
Syracuse RB Adam Harris
Iowa State OT Adrian Haughton
Carson-Newman LB Larry Lumpkin
Georgia DE Montez Robinson
McMurray WR Houston Tuminello
TCU RB Ed Wesley

Monday, July 16: Franchise player signing deadline.

Saturday, July 21: 49ers rookies and selected veterans report for training camp.

Monday, July 23: First practice for 49ers rookies and selected veterans.

Thursday, July 26: Veterans report for 49ers training camp.

Friday, July 27: First 49ers full-squad practice.

Tuesday, Aug. 7: Deadline for players under contract to report to their clubs.

Friday, Aug. 10: Exhibition game vs. Minnesota, 6 p.m.

Sunday, Feb.  9, 2013: 49ers win Super Bowl XLVIII over Tennessee

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As far as Hawk goes, he’s amenable to playing under the franchise tag at $ 6 mill per. It sure beats losing a 5 year/$25 mill deal for a $2 mill one as he did last year. The point being, he wanted security but turned it down last year. Now he wants it again, but the team is like, uh-uh-uh. Nope. Not this time, skippy. You have to wait. Frankly, I think he’s gone after this season regardless. They have cheaper options already in place. They’ll use that money to re-up Bowman. And sign a rejuvenated Randy Moss . . .

Aldon Smith is a fantastic linebacker. One of the best in the game right now. Many are comparing him to a young Ray Lewis. And the description is apt. They are equal in stature, equal in intensity, equal in ferocity, and equal in their passion for the game of football. However, there appeaers to be another comparison that they are closing in on. And that is geting into trouble. The 22 year old Smith so far this year has been busted in Fla for DUI, and more recently he was stabbed at a party he threw at his house in Santa Clara. He said he was breaking up a fight, but it was obvious he put himself into a situation that could have ended much worse. As with Ray Lewis, and his avoidance of murder charges, Smith is on a trajectory that isn’t heading in the right direction.

Before Smith was drafted, there were concerns about his maturity. He was a model citizen his first season, and hadn’t done much to raise any eyebrows until Junuary and the DUI arrest. Granted, living under the scrutiny of a 24/7/365 news cycle that picks everything to pieces, 2 incidents in the span of 5 months is a bit troubling. If I was living under that kind of microscope when I was 22, I’d have been considered a menace to society. I didn’t lead a very smart life at 22, but on the other hand, I didn’t have much at stake, nor did I have the leaches, hangers-on, and scammers  that are attracted to a young wealthy football player.  Sure, it’s a fine line between being a young guy having a good time, and someone who is a danger to himself or others.  The past 10 years are littered with stories of guys getting accused of rape, getting rolled in Vegas, domestic violence, DUI, assualt, on and on.

Smith’s wounds are apparently superficial, but it sure seems like he’s not doing a very good job of managing his shit. Which is what this all comes down to. When you’re in college, and you are top dog, you are in a fairly insulated situation, with people around you who are for the most part other college students. Out in the real world, there are plenty of people on the hunt to make a buck off your ass. Get yourself a nice entourage and you invite shit like what went down with Ray Lewis after the 2000 Super Bowl. You can end up in the can on murder charges. Go out flashing your bling at strip clubs and you can end up like Javon Walker of the Raiders. Robbed, beaten, bloody, and unconscious in the streets of Vegas. Your $20,000 worth of bling  you were flashing earlier gone.

So, as comparisons go, Smith is a bright young talent on the edge of what looks like a no-brainer Hall of Fame career. As was Ray Lewis back in 2000 when he was convicted of murder. Smith HAS to understand that continuing down this path of stupidity could derail his life in the blink of an eye.