Open Letter to Feinstein
by Vini Chopra – 11.16.06
Dear Mrs. Feinstein,
I am writing to you today on behalf of many 49er fans everywhere. It seems that you have taken an active role in deciding the team’s location for the near future. While I am encouraged by your devotion to keep the 49ers in San Francisco, I cannot help but wonder why you would demonstrate this will now when the city that the 49ers represent has stood idley for nearly ten years regarding the fate of a 49er’s stadium. In other words, I am urging you to stop mixing politics with American sports and let the team handle its own affairs as that is the right of a private organization.
Some of your quotes from the past few days have had me scratching my head quite a bit. The first is this:
“I think it is critical that we retain the 49ers, and it may be because I was there in the ‘80s, I was there in the glory days,” Feinstein said after the hearing. “So much of the fabric of the city is the 49ers.”
Read more…
By: Nick Newton 11/6/06
Do you realize that if Seattle (who is playing Seneca Wallace tonight) loses to a surging Oakland (yes, I know, unlikely) then we will have a good shot at the divisional lead. Check it out: Seattle is 4-3 and St. Louis is 4-4. Both teams are on a 2 and 3 game losing streak respectively. If the Hawks lose tonight then they are tied with the Rams at 4-4. Next week Seattle has to play the Rams in Seattle, who they should easily handle even if they start Seneca Wallace. That would put the Rams at 4-5. After we beat the Lions (not to overlook them, but it is a very winnable game for us) that will put us at 4-5, technically ahead of the Rams because we defeated them in week 2. Our very next game is in San Fran against Seattle and that would be for the division lead. Think about it.
Are you buying or selling Nick Newtons theory? Leave your comments below.
In late August of 2006, I woke up one day and checked the sports columns as I usually do from various sources. That fateful day I stumbled upon an article from an intellectual heavyweight named Ryan Garner. Mr. Garner fancies himself a “Sports Writer” and on that late August day he put pen to paper and decided to write his manifesto of analysis and opinion. For this PhD level analytical expose he chose to evaluate the new 49ers quarterback, Alex Smith.
Garner decided to “go out on a limb” and take the unpopular view that Smith was a bust. And by “unpopular” I mean everyone in the national media had already declared him a bust – so we’re talking a highly freethinking individual here. And judging by his thesis “Face it 49ers fans: Smith is a flop” (ignoring the word flop as some kind of adjective) – we’re dealing with somebody who clearly knows more about football than your average fan. CERTAINLY he is not a bandwagon hopping opinion maker – no, not at all.
I’ve never been one for looking in my rear view mirror – hindsight is 20/20 after all. However, in this case, I must break from tradition and address the assertions made by Mr. Garner. Why you ask? Because he wasn’t the only one that took a stand on Smith. Indeed – I took a stance on Smith, and I didn’t wait until the entire national media had already declared Smith’s future status.
Read more…
LDE
Bryant Young is still here, and I love him. He’s not his former self, but IMO he is still a viable player either inside or outside. Clearly we’ll need to find a replacement STAT, but in the meantime, I think BY can hold it down for another year, maybe even 2.
The Solution: Throw every $$$ you have at the best FA you can find in 2008, or draft the top prospect at this position in the draft
NT
Isaac Sopoaga, Anthony Adams, and Ronald Fields are all pretty good players for this spot as I see it. For a 3-man rotation, I honestly think we could do A LOT worse. If Adams is gone after this season, I think replacing him with a mid-round draft choice in one of the upcoming two drafts would be fine. NT is arguably the spot we need the least help at IMO. Could we use an upgrade? Perhaps. But as Fields and Sopoaga continue to mature and learn technique, I think they both have potential.
The Solution: Stick with what you got
RDE
I think Marques Douglas does a pretty good job all told. His job isn’t to rack up numbers, but to create space for the LBs, and I personally feel that he does a good job doing that. However, I still think we could use another guy to bring in either situationally, or pushing Douglas to a more situational role.
The Solution: Sign Chad Lavalais this upcoming offseason
Read more…
Christ Breaks Leg?
by Erik Klackner
I don’t remember this being in the Bible.
The Son of God himself, disguised as 49ers 1st round draft choice Vernon Davis, will miss the next 4 weeks with a broken leg. The injury occurred on the biggest play of the 49ers/Eagles game on Sunday, when Christ Davis was attempting to run down Eagles DT Mike Patterson, a known sinner, following his fumble recovery at the 2 yard line. But a funny thing happened on the way to Patterson’s forgiveness…
Jesus pulled up gimpy.
How can the Lamb of God, Savior of all mankind (and the 49ers in particular) fail to save a soul in need? I asked Rabbi Aaron Berkowitz of Temple Beth El in Portland, OR for his opinion on the matter.
“We don’t view Christ as the Messiah or Son of God. We are still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah at a later date.”
Read more…
Disgusted, unamused, sickened, take your pick of any number of descriptive words to illustrate how I feel today after last night having to endure the freak show that is the Arizona 9 o’clock news. Sure I can stomach the mundane, pathetic excuses they have for anchors, even the weather dude is alright, although his name is actually Royal, his parents must have been hippies, or just plain stupid. Nevertheless, once the newscast made it to the sports portion and I was forced to listen to Jude LaCava who by the way happens to be one of the biggest tools I have ever had the displeasure of watching, I almost threw up in my mouth.
The portion of this segment that gave me that regurgitating sensation was where they decided to introduce some peon doing a fluff piece on the Cardinals and their first game in their new stadium. It talked about the excitement of the game and I agree, there is a lot to be excited about this weekend in the city of the sun however I want nothing more then to see that excitement doused and turned to complete and utter sadness. This poor excuse for a news piece though talked about how “VERY EXCITED” the Cards were to be facing the “LOWLY” San Francisco 49ers this Sunday and how they swept the team last season. When asked the question of what they were worried about from this season’s version of the team from the Bay, Anquan Boldin had this to say,
Read more…
By: Nick Newton
Seein’ Red
08/27/06
I’m not one to panic at anything that happens in pre-season, but by the time January rolls around, this pre-season will have seemed like a Super Bowl season. That is to say, if what I’m seeing continues on into week one. Besides having an offense that takes longer to start up than .com’s homepage, our Niners have a defense that seems worse than last year. Hell, they seem worse than Dennis Ericksons defense.
Now before I break this down on you, I need to get some things nailed into your little pea brains. Number one, I live on the Eastern side of the U.S. so I have to avoid the score all day and stay up to catch it delayed on NFL Network at twelve A.M. (Who, much to the contribution of my suicidal tendencies, still sometimes run the final scores on a ticker below the screen in the first quarter.) Number two, normally I have to watch the opposing teams home network broadcast the game. So I inevitably have to mute it to avoid hearing the sloshy slurping sounds coming from the booth. Number three, in order to watch ANY of my beloved Niner games, I have to purchase Sunday Ticket. And in order to get the Sunday Ticket, I have to purchase Direct TV satellite, which last night went out with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. So much of this article is coming to you via frustration. But so much more than frustration it comes to you in truth. Even if you don’t want to hear it.
Read more…
Camp Notes 08.07.06
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com
– Today’s practice seemed a bit lethargic/lacking energy. I believe it was more of a walk through than an actual practice, as there were no pads and the drills that the team executed were really being hammered by the coaches from a technical standpoint. It seemed that the team was trying to work on technique, and thus, it made for an uneventful practice.
– Bryan Gilmore had been making splashes since the start of the camp, but today he had one of those days. Gilmore dropped several passes today, which was too bad. However, this is the first time he’s really done that in a practice so whether it’s fluke or not remains to be seen.
– Sammy Davis continues to impress. Not only was he ahead of Mike Rumph on every drill today, but he continus his aggressive play. The guy loves the contact with the 49ers. From a practice standpoint, this trade for Rashaun Woods is looking like a steal in our favor.
– The wind was swirling all over the place today. This made it very difficult for the QBs to throw the deep balls with any kind of accuracy. Smith, Palmer, and Shaun Hill (Dilfer did not practice) all had their passes cut by the wind on several occassions. I know that Candlestick is a windy stadium itself, so hopefully this gives our QBs some practice in those conditions, but a lot of passes were wobbling or being underthrown due to the force of the wind.
Read more…
Hey guys. Vin back here with a report from the team scrimmage today.
– The practice opened up with some stretching and basic position drills. Then the coaches added in defenses accordingly, before the team actually began to scrimmage.
– The scrimmage saw the first team offense go against the second team defense for about a drive. Then the second team offense went up against the first team defense for another drive. Jessie Palmer and Shaun Hill lead a 3rd/4th string offense against the 2nd string D with some 3rds mixed in there to close out the practice.
– Vernon Davis had the highlight of the day and got the entire crowd on its feet with a beautiful catch on a seam route. He split the LBs, ran straight up the middle, and Alex Smith hit him in stride.
– Mike Rumph was burned by Antonio Bryant (I believe) today. He did look to be a hard hitter every now and then on shorter routes, but in coverage, Rumph was giving up a big cushion and that was kind of shakey.
– Our big, Norv Turner back might have been found. Unfortunately, it’s not Kevan Barlow. The man I’m referring to is Michael Robinson. Robinson showed a beautiful and amazingly quick burst when taking the hand off. He also was able to run up the middle and come out the other end on more than one occassion today. It was a very impressive showing for him. He even managed to protect Jessie Palmer and pick up the blitz today, showing off his blocking skills. I’d still like to see Robinson get lower when he runs, but this guy really stood out today and could be a perfect complement to Frank Gore.
– Frank Gore practiced hard today. He didn’t burst off any big gains up the middle, but he managed to hold on to a difficult pass in the middle of the end zone during drills, when contact was apparent.
Read more…
What a difference a year makes
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com
08.05.06—As I sat watching the 49ers prepare for the 2006 NFL Season during the first week of training camp, a very cliched but appropriate phrase popped up almost instantaneously. “What a difference a year makes!” I say this after enduring last year’s training camps, where I was subjected, or perhaps ‘tortured’ is a more appropriate word, to a team that clearly needed to be refined. Most of my complaints centered around the offense because Mike McCarthy was doing the same ‘dinking and dunking’ that was getting old in the NFL. But after an off-season that can be called progressive to say the least, the 49ers are looking like a much more exciting and firey team if training camp is any indication of what is to come (and usually it is).
I could go on about the string of positives that the team managed to follow leading up to Training Camp 2006. I would of course highlight the hiring of Norv Turner, a man who mentored Troy Aikman and figured significantly into the success of the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl victories, as our offense coordinator. The drafting of Vernon Davis and Manny Lawson had fans excited, as both provided athletic freaks that could act as much needed playmakers on offense and defense. And there were many other beneficial moves that the front office made (Larry Allen, Antonio Bryant). But all of these are moot right now. What matters is how those players come together and become a team that treads on the same path of glory that the older 49er teams followed. So far, the excitement of the off-season moves and great draft are all paying off on the field.
Read more…
Hey guys, it’s Vin again with some notes and observations from the training camp that took place on Friday, August 4th. This was a non-padded practice and the one before the team scrimmage which will be held tomorrow afternoon.
- One of the most positive trends I’ve noticed this year compared to last year, with a week of camp under the belt, is the difference in the style of offense we’re running. Folks, Norv Turner’s offense looks to be everything many 49er fans have been clamoring for ever since the 2000 season, at least from the looks of what they’re doing on training camp. While execution will depend solely on the progression of the young players we have, the way in which we’re playing offense is so much more aggressive and open compared to last year. The progressions in passing, where WRs are running deeper down the field and the variety of routes that belong to the RBs, WRs, and TEs is a breath of fresh air.
- One person who looks really good in those receiving progressions is Bryan Gilmore. He stood out again today and made some nice catches. Again, Arnaz Battle did not practice, so we’ve had a chance to see a lot of Gilmore, and he’s looking very reliable out there.
- Marcus Maxwell also had a nice practice today, after being catchless on Wednesday’s afternoon practice session. Today the WRs and DBs were working on one on one drills against one another, and they were being aggressive. The referees were there to show the players what they could and could not get away with while defending. Whenever Marcus Maxwell went up against a DB, he was able to use his size to out position the defensive back, shake loose, or make a move and get open in the middle of the field. Very solid work.
Read more…
Camp Notes: Day 5
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com
08.02.06 – Vin back with another training camp report. I’m a bit later than usual, but I had some engagements after practice so I apologize for the delay.
- After Monday’s padded practice, today’s practice was in shorts and thus the hitting and contact was minimal as expected.
- The intensity of practice; however, still remained high. Even in shorts, the defensive backs were very aggressive in their coverage of the WRs. We hired a new DBs coach in the off-season, who was with the Baltimore Ravens prior to us, I believe. His philosophy is showing. The DBs look to be bumping WRs and playing a more aggressive game.
- Sammy Davis has stood out the past few training camps and today was no exception. He had an INT, and has looked like a really solid nickle/dime option. He might not ever be a starter in the NFL as the Chargers used him, but he does give us an experienced corner who may end up being the 4th guy back there on situations. For that, he’s done well and has looked a lot better than Mike Rumph who still, to this day, hasn’t really made an impact during camp. At least not in the practices I’ve witnessed.
- Shawntae Spencer looked really good today. He picked off a pass from Alex Smith that was intended for either Antonio Bryant or Arnaz Battle. He also had a beautiful pass break up of a throw intended for Eric Johnson in the end zone. Spencer has been playing the part of our #1 CB all training camp long, and today, he really showed separation amongst all the other CBs out there. He also held his own against Antonio Bryant, which wasn’t the case 4 days ago.
- Speaking of the WRs, Antonio Bryant had a strong practice. He didn’t drop a pass (as I recall), and he made a spectacular grab on a deep throw from Alex Smith where he was able to obtain position over the DB and leap up to grab the pass. That’s the 3rd or 4th time I’ve seen him do that, so perhaps some fade routes in the end zone are in order for Bryant, who really uses his size to out position DBs.
Read more…
Camp Notes: Day 3
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com
07.31.06 – Okay, another day, another practice.
Today was the first padded practice open to the public, and there was definitely a different kind of intensity in the air. In general, people were banging each other and colliding against one another like nothing else I’ve witnessed before at a TC. Lots of contact. You could hear the "POP!" all the way into the bleachers. It was very intense and very fun. You could tell that the players were loving their first real contact in front of fans, and put on a show from time to time.
- One of the players who lived on this mentality today, and the guy who really leaped out, was Vernon Davis. Remember those reports that questioned VD’s blocking ability? That was answered somewhat today, and the guy looks like he loves to block as much as he loves to go out and catch passes. And when I say loves to block, that’s an understatement. The intensity he showed, just by being out there and picking up blitzes from the LBs when the team was practicing that, was something I haven’t seen a player exhibit in quite a long time.
- Among the highlights of VDs blocking was when he went one on one with David Dixon (at least that’s who I believe this player was, as "#51" is unlisted on the official roster they hand out). Dixon earned a lot of attention himself today, as he had a real bullrusher mentality. Instead of fancy moves, the guy was just going toe to toe with blockers and running right at them, taking them off of their guard. When VD came along, Dixon was stopped in his tracks and owned. The two proceeded to wrestle a bit before VD showed off his triumph and raised up his arms, yelling. Even Jeff Ulbrich couldn’t get by Vernon Davis today.
Read more…
Camp Notes Day 2
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com
Vin back here with a training camp report of Day 2 of training camp. This was the morning practice, open to the public:
– In general, today’s practice didn’t have much contact. The players were in shorts and seemed to working on fundamental things like technique and footwork. For example, the WRs were doing a lot of drills where they were working on catch the ball towards the sideline and making sure that their feet stay in bounds.
– This is important to note, because it distinguishes Norv Turner’s style from Mike McCarthy of last year. Last year, the 49ers seemed to be throwing plays around in a more unorganized manner. They would start with the option and what not. Norv Turner has them working on the basics and that’s a good thing.
– On that note, Arnaz Battle practiced today although when the 49ers revealed their 3 WR set, Battle was positioned in the slot with Bryan Gilmore as the #2 WR on the outside, opposite Antonio Bryant. Battle caught the ball well today and looked fairly good health wise. He did not show any effects of the knee, or make any indications that the knee was bothering him.
– Antonio Bryant has been criticized for dropping passes with his previous teams. Today, this problem manifested itself. On some routine fly routes, Bryant dropped two easy passes. They were just drills with the QB, but still, you’d hope that he can concentrate on those easier passes. Yesterday he showed that he’s one to fight for the tough grab. Then again, it is only the 2nd day of training camp.
– Bryan Gilmore looks really good out there. He’s quick and has a beautiful stride, as I mentioned yesterday. He’s a burner and was always putting some distance between himself and the defender. He looks like an option for the deep ball.
– Another guy that showed his speed today was Brandon Williams. On a one on one drill against Kris Richards, Williams flew past Richards and made a nice catch over the top.
Read more…
Camp Notes Day 1
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com
Well I’m back and it’s been far too long. But mark it….4 PM pacific time, football was officially back in the air. Here are the impressions from today’s first training camp practice of the San Francisco 49ers.
Everyone wants to know about our 2 first round picks so that’s where I am going to begin:
– Vernon Davis was one of the first players out there on the practice field. He was catching passes with, surprisingly
NOT Alex Smith, but Issac Sopoaga. And if it’s anyone’s guess, Issac Sopoaga looks really good throwing the football. He also looks a lot bigger and meaner than before. It seems that the 49ers’ new strength trainer has paid off. Either that, or Issac Sopoaga and Larry Allen have been hanging out together quite a bit.
– Vernon Davis’ first pass catch attempt was somewhat of a dud. Alex Smith fired a beautiful, high velocity pass to him on a little crossing route, but VD dropped the pass.
– It was his only drop of the afternoon, as he caught everything else. The thing that really stands about VD is that when he catches the ball, he is all hands. Many TEs have the tendency to use their body to catch since their frame is so huge. VD is a hands catcher and once he gets used to the routes and such, that’ll only help him.
– VD also served for the highlight play of the day. He caught a pass near the middle of the field, proceeded to run and make a cut and then his pants fell down. So he caught the ball with his pants down…literally.
– And as long as he can keep his pants on, VD is looks tremendous in his cuts. He’s very quick and runs low. It’s fun to watch him in the open field, albeit, there was little contact out there today so I’m only going by what I saw.
Read more…
