Thanks to NFL Shortcuts on DirecTV and my utter lack of social life, I watched 11 NFL games the past few days. So here's a Power Poll based on my careful examination of the teams involved and, more importantly, my various biases. Enjoy.
1. Green Bay (3-0): Are they dominant? No. But they weren't for most of last season either. The pass rush will be cobbled by hook or by crook through various Dom Capers blitzes as the only bona fide threat is Clay Matthews. "Only" three sacks against the Bears is a bit concerning, though. The loss of free safety Nick Collins might hurt more than all the guys that went to the IR for them last season. It seems that Ryan Grant and James Starks will take turns as the primary runner, depending on their mood. Veteran WR Donald Driver looks ready for the glue factory, but with guys like Jordy Nelson, James Jones and TE Jermichael Finley, who's practically a wideout himself, it hardly matters.
2. New Orleans (2-1): Only indispensable part is Drew Brees while the other skill players on offense are mix-and-match. I love their RB trio of Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles, and the way the Saints use them, all three will be fresh for the stretch run. The receiving corps is interchangeable too and haven't really missed a beat with the collarbone injury to Marques Colston. TE Jimmy Graham has been a breakout star and no one has been able to cover him yet. Defensively, we have to temper expectations. They're better than they've shown, but have to beat other elite offenses in shootouts. It's a defense that's built to play with a lead.
3. Baltimore (2-1): You get the feeling that their "A" game is better than anyone else's. Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs are off to sensational starts and Ed Reed and Ray Lewis have show they still have something left in the tank. They left Rams QB Sam Bradford looking utterly beaten and defeated midway through their decimation of the pitiful Rams. Offensively, Torrey Smith gives them a new toy on the outside, which will only help Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin and their two tight ends. Only a wobbly O-Line and questionable corners can spoil this.
4. New York Jets (2-1): Despite how easily Darren McFadden ran through them, I stubbornly cling to the belief that this is the most complete team in the AFC, with the fewest weaknesses. Their offensive line badly missed injured center Nick Mangold, and will continue to, for a couple more weeks. RB Shonn Greene hasn't gotten going yet. Antonio Cromartie has struggled big-time. I expect Rex Ryan to figure out the defensive issues. He'll cut the nonsense and start putting Darrelle Revis on the opponent's best guy and scheme around the other side of the field. The run defense is more of a concern.
5. New England (2-1): Depending on who you listen to, Tom Brady was either responsible for two, one or none of his four interceptions at Buffalo. Regardless, even with their funky, cobbled-together running game, that offensive is gonna dominate just about everyone, even if they lack a speed threat on the outside. TE Aaron Hernandez missed the game and they didn't skip a beat really, just more throws to Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker: Fantasy God. On the other side they're just terrible, and unlike with the Jets, none of these players have a track record of being particularly good, so I don't see much cause for optimism in the future.
6. Philadelphia (1-2): Yes, despite their losing record, I still have the Eagles here. They've had the lead in both of their losses while Michael Vick was in the game, and then their defense and backup Mike Kafka have combined to crap the bed. Their linebackers and safeties have just been dreadful and Philly is continuing to shuffle it up in these two spots, hoping for the right combination. S Nate Allen and LB Brian Rolle are in, S Kurt Coleman and LB Casey Matthews are out. Offensively, Vick wasn't right the whole game, playing a week after he sustained a concussion, and Andy Reid was uncharacteristically conservative as a result. I never thought I'd rip them for running the ball too much, but here we are. Also, it seems that DeSean Jackson will not try hard until they pay him, so perhaps they should get on that. Despite all the late-hit controversies and injuries, the offensive line hasn't been that bad and Vick isn't getting hit any more than most QBs. He's just frustrated from fluke injuries and I expect the team to clean those problems up.
7. Detroit (3-0): Matt Stafford finally tasted some turf against a desperate Minnesota pass rush after a spotless first two weeks, but persevered in the second half once the coaches figured out that TE Brandon Pettigrew wasn't being covered. They exploited that match-up over and over and when Stafford got bored of that, he just lobbed up a couple of lollipops for Megatron. (Why does Calvin Johnson call himself "Megatron" anyway? Stafford is the one with the arm cannon. Johnson should call himself "Devastator" or something.) Jahvid Best is in a really fortunate situation here, to still be a starter. On defense it's amazing the Lions have been as good as they've been without getting anything from No. 1 pick Nick Fairley, but they get a good test Sunday at Dallas.
8. Buffalo (3-0): Offensively legit, without a doubt. I had concerns before the season about their offensive line, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is getting the ball out quickly and the Bills are spreading the field with so many receivers that opposing pass rushers don't have much time. Pretty soon all NFL offenses will look like this (yes, even the Niners). C.J. Spiller is in a bad spot. He's viewed as a bust when really Fred Jackson is just better than him. I think Spiller is better than Jahvid Best, for example, but Best has nobody in front of him. The defense did a good job in making the Patriots one-dimensional, and the secondary took advantage of the opportunities they got.
9. Houston (2-1): No shame in losing on the road at New Orleans, and they actually had the lead for most of it. Defense showed hints of its ugly past in getting scorched by Drew Brees in the second half, and Mario Williams has been oddly quiet, perhaps not transitioning to linebacker as easily as he wanted to. They released Steve Slaton (Miami picked him up on waivers), whose career has just fallen off a cliff from a couple seasons ago. Arian Foster still can't get healthy either, so it's the Ben Tate show for now.
10. Oakland (2-1): Speaking of offensively legit, I've got nothing but respect for what the Raiders have been able to accomplish. Hue Jackson is really scheming around Jason Campbell's limitations and he and receivers coach Sanjay Lal deserve a lot of credit for getting rookie WR Denarious Moore up to speed and for getting production from guys like Derek Hagan. Another rookie, Stefen Wiesniewski, has filled in more than capably for the departed Robert Gallery. Front four very solid against the Jets, but I'm curious if they can bring that same kind of heat against Tom Brady on Sunday.
11. San Diego (2-1): Philip Rivers hasn't been himself at all through three games and has thrown a ton of picks. He's missed his usual security blanket in Antonio Gates and has been compensating by throwing a ton of check-downs to backs Ryan Matthews and Mike Tolbert. The offense is still trying to figure its identity. The defense, meanwhile, took a hit with S Bob Sanders out for the year (shocking, I know). Also they only managed one sack against the feeble Chiefs. Larry English was a healthy scratch and Shaun Phillips might as well have been. DE Luis Castillo will miss most if not all the season with a broken leg. At this point, it wouldn't be a surprise to see both bay area teams win their divisions (jinx!).
12. Pittsburgh (2-1): Did everything they could to blow that game over the skeleton crew Colts team. Offensive line in shambles. Can't protect Big Ben, can't run block for Rashard Mendenhall (sounds familiar). The offense might as well be a spread at this point. Defensively I didn't see much in that game to give me confidence for the future, if I'm a Steelers fan. Still too old, too slow, and a real trouble spot at corner. Game at Houston could get ugly for them, or maybe they'll prove the naysayers wrong and knock Matt Schaub silly.
13. Tampa Bay (2-1): Tough defense that beat the hell out of Matt Ryan and Michael Turner for the better part of four quarters on Sunday, but injuries are starting to take their toll in the secondary and I'm not sure about the long-term potential of that pass rush. Josh Freeman doing everything he can on offense, at times too much, but they're over-reliant on him. Receivers Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn have been ghosts so far and need to be more involved. Relative breather coming up Monday night at home vs. depleted Colts.
14. Washington (2-1): By all rights they should've won on Monday at Dallas. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett dialed up one too many blitzes late when it was 3rd-and-18 late in the fourth quarter and the Skins clinging to a 16-15 lead. Play coverage there, drop nine guys back and double-team everybody and what would Tony Romo be able to do? Again, as it always happens with that guy, corner DeAngelo Hall's mouth wrote checks that his play couldn't cash. And of course, he blamed everyone but himself afterward. Classy guy.
15. Dallas (2-1): Pretty gutty win considering all their injuries, but I felt like I needed an air sickness bag after listening to "Jaws" and "Chucky" go on and on about Tony Romo's heroism like he just pulled a bunch of people out of a burning building or something. Cowboys have an imposing pass rush, but that secondary can be had and they're susceptible to passes to running backs as well. Offensively that line has major issues, especially at center, but at least their run blocking was better. Interesting home game coming up against high-powered Detroit.
16. New York Giants (2-1): Big win on the road in Philly for Eli Manning, who has a history of playing really well there for some reason. He did it with no tight ends and really, no receivers since Mario Manningham was out and Hakeem Nicks was very limited. The beat up defense got a bit of a reprieve since Michael Vick was clearly not himself and the Eagles had to call far more run plays than usual. It's hard to get a read on the Giants. They're beat up to hell, but playing some dinged up foes, too. Interesting match-up in the Arizona desert on Sunday.
17. Chicago (1-2): Can't fault them too much when their two losses have been at New Orleans and against the defending champs. Their issues protecting Jay Cutler are well documented, but when they can't even open any holes for Matt Forte (9 carries, 2 yards) then they've got some real problems on offense. What they do have going for them, however, is some magic formula that helps them contain Aaron Rodgers at least somewhat, whereas no one else can stop the Packers at all. If they're serious, they need to take care of Cam Newton and the Panthers, convincingly. Don't understand why they wasted a fabulous trick play on the punt team at a time they trailed by ten with a minute to go. Save it for a tight game, no?
18. Atlanta (1-2): Did anyone block worse last week than the Falcons? Matt Ryan took some hellacious shots and Michael Turner couldn't get anything going. They've got two great receivers and of course Tony Gonzalez is a valuable weapon in the red zone, but they've been hard-pressed to get into any kind of sustained rhythm when they're not in the no-huddle. Defensively they stiffened up when they had to at Tampa, but it was too late and the damage had already been done. Still don't have much confidence in those corners, but they've got a relative breather this week at Seattle.
19. Tennessee (2-1): No, I am not a believer in Matt Hasselbeck. This two week stretch was an aberration and he'll find mediocrity -- or injury -- soon enough. Also, they've lost Kenny Britt to an ACL, so now the offense really needs Chris Johnson to find his old form because this can't be a passing team any longer. I do have more faith in their defense to keep them afloat and competitive in most games.
20. San Francisco (2-1): The offense is better than the number say. At least it should be, on paper. Alex Smith isn't turning it over, which is keeping the team in games. The receivers are slow and the line is abysmal, but at least the coach is showing growing faith in his quarterback week after week. With Shawntae Spencer and Dashon Goldson back in the lineup, the defense is now above board in all three levels, and this looks like the most complete team in the ghastly NFC West.
21. Minnesota (0-3): Obviously they're winless, but as much scorn as we have to heap on them for their lousy second halves, we have to at least give some measure of credit to Minny for having enough quality to get out to big halftime leads against three good opponents in San Diego, Tampa Bay and Detroit. Adrian Peterson runs harder than anyone and his backup Toby Gerhart is another guy who should be a starter elsewhere. The Vikes don't have a lot of speed at receiver, their O-Line is wobbly and their secondary is sub-par. Also, it seems apparent that Donovan McNabb keeps waning in games. Is it a fitness issue? Confidence? Play-calling? Coaching adjustments? Who knows.
22. Carolina (1-2): Not so sure what a win against the Jaguars during a flood tells us about them. DeAngelo Williams joins Frank Gore, Chris Johnson and Arian Foster on the list of first round fantasy picks who are absolutely murdering their owners right now. One day I'll watch them play with a critical eye and figure it out, but Jags-Cats wasn't gonna do it for me. The Bears on Sunday? That's a bit better.
23. Cleveland (2-1): This is probably about five spots too high, to be honest. Anyone who watched that game against Miami (or the replay of it, like I did) can't deny the truth: This is one of the least-talented teams in football. Their offense was based on QB Colt McCoy drawing roughing-the-passer penalties and throwing up prayers into the corner of the end zone, hoping his guy can out-jump the Dolphins corner. I can't deny the more I watch McCoy the less I'm convinced he'll ever be a franchise QB. He's someone that can only be appreciated through highlights. Watching whole games makes me sour on him.
24. Arizona (1-2): How in the world did they lose up at Seattle? Just 10 points? Is Beanie frickin' Wells that crucial to the operation? My conclusion, at the risk of being repetitive, is that their offensive line kinda stinks. Dare I say that Alex Smith has been the best quarterback in the division so far. Big one coming up for the Cards at home against the Giants.
25. Denver (1-2): They're a couple bounces away from 3-0, yet even then they would be of no concern or threat to anyone. Neat trick, that. LB Von Miller looks like the early front-runner for DROY and they'll be getting Elvis Dumervil and Champ Bailey back soon enough. Still, there's this general malaise about this team, this whiff of irrelevance. Their running game is a bit of a joke, and Kyle Orton is the wrong quarterback to ask to do move the ball singlehandedly. Things get grim on Sunday with a trip to Green Bay.
26. Cincinnati (1-2): The 49ers finally got Andy Dalton to look like a rookie quarterback last Sunday, but what struck me was that for the third time in three weeks their defense wasn't a liability. Sure, they haven't played anyone good, but still I thought the Bengals would be pretty bad on that end if they had to rely on guys like Manny Lawson and Nate Clements in the starting lineup. Now they host the Bills. I wonder if Buffalo is looking past them?
27. Miami (0-3): They absolutely should've killed Miami, but were done in by dumb penalties, bad luck and some jump balls. So it goes for this woebegone team. I'm just laughing that they've already pretty much given up on the idea of Reggie Bush: Running Back and have signed Steve Slaton on waivers. It doesn't get any easier this Sunday at San Diego.
28. Indianapolis (0-3): Even with Curtis Painter at quarterback, they have more talent at receiver, tight end and defensive end than the teams below them on this list. Still, the injuries mount, with LB Gary Brackett and S Melvin Bullitt are on IR. I'm guessing Peyton Manning wants to play in December just to avoid having to deal with having Andrew Luck as a teammate.
29. Seattle (1-2): Okay, the defense has looked spunky of late. And Sidney Rice did give the offense a boost. I remain skeptical. Lets see them show us something against the Falcons at home.
30. Jacksonville (1-2): Making the move to rookie Blaine Gabbert was the right call and the necessary one. If he struggles, so what? It's not like anybody is watching. Just move to LA already. Also, what the hell are they putting out there at receiver? Good lord.
31. St. Louis (0-3): Pretty embarrassing effort Sunday against Baltimore. How do you not show up at home like that? They need more speed at corner, which was a problem that plagued the 49ers for years. Offensively, the line is playing like I thought they'd play last year, and Sam Bradford is starting to get frustrated. I like Steve Spagnuolo a lot as a coach, so I was pretty disappointed to see him hire an asshat like Josh McDaniels to be his offensive coordinator.
32. Kansas City (0-3): Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
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49ers Team Statistical Rankings, Presented Without Comment:
49ers Offensive Rankings:
Rushing: 69.7 YPG (30th); Yards Per Carry: 2.5 (31st); Rushing Touchdowns: 3 (T-5th);
Passing: 144.0 YPG (28th); Completion Percentage: 68.9 (T-4th); Yards Per Attempt: 6.8 (22nd);
Passing Touchdowns: 2 (T-26th); Interceptions: 1 (T-1st); Sacks: 11 (T-27th);
QB Rating: 91.3 (12th); 3rd Down Percentage: 32.6 (T-21st);
Yards Per Game: 213.7 (32nd); Scoring: 23.3 (12th)
49ers Defensive Rankings:
Rushing: 62.7 YPG (3rd); Yards Per Carry: 2.9 (T-1st); Rushing Touchdowns: 0 (T-1st)
Passing: 244.0 YPG (16th); Completion Percentage: 57.1 (T-6th); Yards Per Attempt: 7.0 (T-10th);
Passing Touchdowns: 5 (T-15th); Interceptions: 5 (T-2nd); Sacks: 7 (T-16th);
Fumbles Forced: 4 (T-8th); Fumbles Recovered: 3 (T-5th);
3rd Down Percentage: 30.8 (T-4th); Yards Per Game: 306.3 (7th); Scoring: 17.3 (4th)
49ers Special Teams Rankings:
Kickoff Return: 39.7 Avg (1st); Kickoff Return Allowed: 21.6 Avg (10th);
Punt Return: 13.0 Avg (8th); Punt Return Allowed: 9.6 Avg (18th);
Field Goal Percentage: 100.0 (T-1st); Net Punt Average: 47.4 Yards (2nd)
Giveaway/Takeaway:
Giveaways: 2 (T-1st); Takeaways: 8 (T-3rd); Plus/Minus: +6 (T-1st)
Showing posts with label 49ers Stats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 49ers Stats. Show all posts
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Winners and Losers from Sunday; Injury Updates; 49ers Statistical Rankings
So, what are we to take from the 49ers loss to the Cowboys? Are they the team that broke Tony Romo's ribs or the one that just sacked him once while getting eviscerated to the tune of 427 passing yards? Are they the offense that had Dallas totally flummoxed on third down, converting 8-of-10 first half opportunities despite being without their top two receivers; or the one that got sacked six times and shutout in third down conversions in the second half and overtime?
Most of all, are they the outfit that got out-gained 472 yards to 206 by a Dallas team that was missing Dez Bryant, Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick and who had Romo, and his top three skill players all get banged up during the game; or the ones who were one play away from winning the game on two separate occasions? Indeed all the 49ers needed was a stop on 4th-and-5 or for for Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey, who hooked a 21-yard attempt in the first quarter, to do so again with a 48-yarder at the gun. Instead, the S.O.B hit one so down the middle that it would've been good in the Arena League.
Bill Parcells was fond of saying "You are what your record says you are," but with all due respect to that miserable bastard, there are games where a loss is a win and and games where a win is a loss. Then there are those wins that count double and losses that crush whole seasons. So with that, here are the winners and losers to take away from the 27-24 overtime loss:
Winners:
StubHub: First and foremost. They must have made a killing with their service charges and hidden fees and whatnot, accommodating all those Cowboys fans. Good lord, I was half expecting to see 10-gallon hats and bolo ties in the press box.
Jim Harbaugh: For one half darn near every play he dialed up was working. They were picking up all of Dallas blitzes, and Smith was finding guys open on out routes and hitches and converting third downs. The game plan showed, definitively, that they were indeed "saving" some things for the Cowboys that they didn't use the week before against Seattle. As we go, I would expect the offense to open up more and more and for Harbaugh to find answers to how people are playing his guys.
Alex Smith: Was he as good as his stats suggest? Well, no. But he made a number of fine throws, including perfect touchdown strikes to Kyle Williams and Delanie Walker and even his improvised rollout bomb to Frank Gore looked to be on the money before Bradie James took an interference penalty to break it up. Also, he gets credit for having to make do without his starting receivers and for not fumbling on all those shots he took in the second half.
Kyle Williams: Yeah, the kid has just one pass thrown his way, but he made a great catch in the corner of the end zone and will likely see more playing time with Braylon Edwards out and Michael Crabtree limping around. I've said it before, he probably runs the best slant route on the team, and with his quickness and run-after-catch ability, Williams is the one guy who can burn blitzes by taking a short hot route a long way. We'll have to see if it comes into play.
Bruce Miller: The first two games couldn't have gone much better for him. The guy in front of him on the depth chart, Moran Norris, has been a tire fire thus far, and now he's injured. Miller will crack the lineup this Sunday.
Ray McDonald: Not a great game, but another sack and one other hit on Romo. Two games in, he's looked every bit the $4 million defensive end. Kudos.
NaVorro Bowman: Not only has he held up well against the run, but he was better in coverage than just about any 49er on Sunday. He broke up two passes and I can't remember any that he gave up. Would've liked to seen him blitz more though.
Carlos Rogers: He was beaten two or three times, but he got his hand (or his head) on quite a few as well. Everyone will remember the overtime play to Jesse Holley, but for three-and-a-half quarters Rogers played outstanding football.
Losers:
49ers fans: You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Yes, your stadium is an eyesore. Yes, the parking situation is an abomination. Yes, there was potential for crowd violence a la the preseason mess with Oakland. Still, your team isn't that bad and it's downright embarrassing that it turned into a Cowboys home game. The crowd was -- and this is conservative -- at least 55 percent in favor of Dallas. Perhaps it was a gigantic middle finger to ownership, who had gotten the message out in advance of the game that they wanted the stands to be "a sea of red." Maybe it was a way of telling the Yorks "We'll buy your gear and show up to your games when you get a legitimate stadium and some good players."
Or maybe everyone in California is broke and a buck is a buck.
Jim Harbaugh: Save for one nice play-call late in the third quarter where Smith found Walker matched up one-on-one by outside linebacker Anthony Spencer and took advantage, Harbaugh and Greg Roman couldn't draw up anything to bail the offense. Three times Smith rolled out or executed play-fakes where there was an unblocked rusher waiting to meet him, and any plan that calls for DeMarcus Ware to not be accounted for seems pretty stupid to me.
Too often the plays they were trying were too cute, the kind of calls designed to take advantage of over-aggressive, inexperienced front sevens. Dallas was aggressive, but they've got a lot of veterans there who know how to read tells and diagnose plays. I think a couple times the 49ers assumed that when the Cowboys had six or seven snarling guys at the line that at least two or three would drop back in coverage and the line would be able to zone up whoever rushed. Instead, Dallas just sent everyone and that left people who weren't blocked. If the Cowboys guessed correctly on who the hot route was, Smith didn't have time to look for a second option and he was toast.
Of course Harbaugh's biggest blunder was taking the field goal with 11:12 to go to push the score to 24-14 instead of accepting a 1st-and-ten at Dallas' 22-yard-line, but we covered that extensively on Monday.
Alex Smith: How much blame does he deserve for not adjusting the line to pick up some of those blitzes in the second half or for not audibling out of bad plays? It's hard to say because we don't know the extent of his responsibilities. Maybe he did change the protections and guys simply missed their assignments. What we can blame Smith for are two throws that came back-to-back in the third quarter. On the interception he thought Davis was running a button hook. Davis, however, correctly adjusted his route to an out when he saw how much room he had to the sideline. Even if he ran the hook that Smith wanted, Dallas' Alan Ball undercut it and still would've picked it off. Smith's real sin, however, was the play before, when he rolled left and badly overshot a wide open Walker, who would've gained enough yards for a first down.
Also, I think he should've lobbied Harbaugh more, not just to keep the ball
after that penalty on Akers' field goal, but even before that, when Harbaugh elected to kick on 4th-and-1 from the 37. A good quarterback fights these decisions, but it's simply not in Smith's nature to be confrontational or argumentative.
Kendall Hunter: Welcome to life in the NFL, kid. You happened to get drafted by a team where the running back has more influence in the organization than the quarterback does. Don't worry, you'll get a chance to play when Gore gets his inevitable injury in a couple weeks.
Vernon Davis: He was asked to block a bunch against Dallas on pass plays (didn't work) and doubled when he did go on routes. These things will happen without Crabtree and Edwards. Davis is already grumpy with Harbaugh, but the 49ers do have a few games coming up against teams who can't cover tight ends well.
Jonathan Goodwin: Beaten soundly by Jay Ratliff two or three times, leading to sacks on Smith, including one in overtime that torpedoed the 49ers last chance of winning the game. He also had a terrible shotgun snap that Smith did well to turn into a positive play.
Mike Iupati: Whiffed on blocks in the run game and pass game. Continues to be confused by stunts and twists. Worst of all, I don't sense any fire from him at all.
Joe Staley: Beaten for one sack by Ware but a lot of the pressure Dallas had came from the gap between him and Iupati.
Chilo Rachal: Still getting subbed out for Adam Snyder a couple series per game. That should tell you something.
Anthony Davis: The 49ers best lineman on Sunday. Which is like being their handsomest beat reporter.
Moran Norris: Somewhere in the NFL there must be a worse starting fullback, but I can't think of one of the top off my head.
Ahmad Brooks: What a ticky-tack neutral zone call that was, giving Dallas new life and turning what should've been at the worst a 14-0 halftime lead into 14-7. Still, Ahmad, dude, you're looking right at the ball. It's 3rd-and-forever. Get a full foot behind it, just to be safe.
Tarell Brown: Beaten regularly by the likes of Holley and Kevin Ogletree. Shawntae Spencer will claim the starting job any day now.
Tramaine Brock: Nice interception and all, but putting him in the slot against Miles Austin was painful to watch. He's gonna be the odd man out of the lineup.
Donte Whitner: Witten chewed him up all afternoon. Just a hopeless match-up. Bit on a play-fake in overtime (as did Rogers), which was silly because Dallas hasn't been able to run the ball since last October.
Madieu Williams: P-U.
Reggie Smith: How stiff are those hips? I thought the 49ers traded Taylor Mays away.
Does that seem unfair, to have far more losers than winners? Well, I repeat, the yardage was 472 to 206. Should we throw the 49ers a parade? The offensive line is a sieve and the defense looks very vulnerable when people stretch them out and forget about running. I was disappointed in Vic Fangio for not calling more blitzes and trying to confuse Romo a bit. Instead the Niners got dinked-and-dunked to death in fine Greg Manusky fashion. We'll see if he gets any trickier against a rookie QB this Sunday in Cincinnati's Andy Dalton. It won't do to have him be less confused out there than Smith.
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Injury notes:
Harbaugh, in a rare lapse of his usual thousand-yard stare and dismissive non-answer routine, actually revealed that Braylon Edwards "will be out a bit" and that the receiver "underwent a procedure" on his knee. Look for Edwards to be out until the seventh game, home vs. his former club, the Browns. The Niners have their bye before that and the sixth game is on the turf at Detroit, so I think it'll be a stretch to see him play in that one, though a losing streak may change the prognosis. That's what makes this Cincinnati game so important. They simply have to win it, because the schedule gets pretty hairy the three weeks after that.
Harbaugh also said that Michael Crabtree will "most likely" play on Sunday. We saw Crabtree running routes at what looked to be full speed in individual drills, but at his locker he didn't look like someone champing at the bit to go get 'em. "It's only been three days," he said. "How much different could (his foot injury) be in three days?"
Crabtree was just "limited" in practice on Wednesday, per the official report, so we'll see.
My feeling: Crabtree really wanted to play against his hometown Cowboys and was disappointed about not getting the chance. He's probably not nearly as stoked about facing the Bengals. He'll play, but...
Alex Smith apparently sustained a concussion during Sunday's game. Nice enough for them to mention it on Wednesday, on an injury report that was sent in at 4:38 p.m... Smith seemed lucid enough during his press conference and was a full participant in practice, so it must have been a minor one.
Shawntae Spencer told CSN Bay Area's Mindi Bach that he's been practicing in full for two weeks and he's completely healed from his hamstring injury. However, he said that coaches want to see how he fits into the scheme on the practice field before throwing him out there in games. He added that he understands the scheme, but has to convince them of that. The way Brown and Brock have played, I think Spencer will get his chance, and soon.
Dashon Goldson also looked spry during individual drills, and I think he's the starter this week unless he has some kind of set back. The team desperately needs him back because both Madieu Williams and Reggie Smith were liabilities on Sunday. The team missed Goldson a lot more than they missed Spencer or Crabtree or even Edwards.
Moran Norris' injury was revealed to be a fibula problem, and despite him telling Maiocco that he's "fine" the team already declared him out for Sunday. Good lord.
Are you ready for Bruce Miller?
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49ers Statistical Rankings, presented without comment.
49ers Offensive Rankings:
Rushing: 79.5 YPG (26th); Yards Per Carry: 2.8 (29th);
Rushing Touchdowns: 2 (T-6th);
Passing: 128.0 YPG (29th); Completion Percentage (T-4th);
Yards Per Attempt: 6.9 (T-21st);
Passing Touchdowns: 2 (T-23rd); Interceptions: 1 (T-5th);
Sacks: 6 (T-22nd);
QB Rating: 95.2 (11th); 3rd Down Percentage: 32.1 (23rd);
Yards Per Game: 207.5 (31st); Scoring: 28.5 (9th)
49ers Defensive Rankings:
Rushing: 54.5 YPG (1st); Yards Per Carry: 2.5 (1st);
Rushing Touchdowns: 0 (T-1st)
Passing: 291.0 YPG (25th); Completion Percentage: 58.8 (12th);
Yards Per Attempt: 7.9 (20th);
Passing Touchdowns: 5 (30th); Interceptions: 3 (T-4th);
Sacks: 6 (T-6th);
Fumbles Forced: 4 (T-2nd); Fumbles Recovered: 2 (T-7th);
3rd Down Percentage: 37.9 (15th); Yards Per Game: 345.5 (T-17th); Scoring: 22.0 (T-12th)
49ers Special Teams Rankings:
Kickoff Return: 43.8 Avg (1st); Kickoff Return Allowed: 23.3 Avg (15th);
Punt Return: 15.2 Avg (5th); Punt Return Allowed: 9.3 Avg (T-17th);
Field Goal Percentage: 100.0 (T-1st); Net Punt Average: 51.4 Yards (2nd)
Giveaway/Takeaway:
Giveaways: 1 (T-2nd); Takeaways: 5 (T-4th); Plus/Minus: +4 (T-3rd)
Most of all, are they the outfit that got out-gained 472 yards to 206 by a Dallas team that was missing Dez Bryant, Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick and who had Romo, and his top three skill players all get banged up during the game; or the ones who were one play away from winning the game on two separate occasions? Indeed all the 49ers needed was a stop on 4th-and-5 or for for Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey, who hooked a 21-yard attempt in the first quarter, to do so again with a 48-yarder at the gun. Instead, the S.O.B hit one so down the middle that it would've been good in the Arena League.
Bill Parcells was fond of saying "You are what your record says you are," but with all due respect to that miserable bastard, there are games where a loss is a win and and games where a win is a loss. Then there are those wins that count double and losses that crush whole seasons. So with that, here are the winners and losers to take away from the 27-24 overtime loss:
Winners:
StubHub: First and foremost. They must have made a killing with their service charges and hidden fees and whatnot, accommodating all those Cowboys fans. Good lord, I was half expecting to see 10-gallon hats and bolo ties in the press box.
Jim Harbaugh: For one half darn near every play he dialed up was working. They were picking up all of Dallas blitzes, and Smith was finding guys open on out routes and hitches and converting third downs. The game plan showed, definitively, that they were indeed "saving" some things for the Cowboys that they didn't use the week before against Seattle. As we go, I would expect the offense to open up more and more and for Harbaugh to find answers to how people are playing his guys.
Alex Smith: Was he as good as his stats suggest? Well, no. But he made a number of fine throws, including perfect touchdown strikes to Kyle Williams and Delanie Walker and even his improvised rollout bomb to Frank Gore looked to be on the money before Bradie James took an interference penalty to break it up. Also, he gets credit for having to make do without his starting receivers and for not fumbling on all those shots he took in the second half.
Kyle Williams: Yeah, the kid has just one pass thrown his way, but he made a great catch in the corner of the end zone and will likely see more playing time with Braylon Edwards out and Michael Crabtree limping around. I've said it before, he probably runs the best slant route on the team, and with his quickness and run-after-catch ability, Williams is the one guy who can burn blitzes by taking a short hot route a long way. We'll have to see if it comes into play.
Bruce Miller: The first two games couldn't have gone much better for him. The guy in front of him on the depth chart, Moran Norris, has been a tire fire thus far, and now he's injured. Miller will crack the lineup this Sunday.
Ray McDonald: Not a great game, but another sack and one other hit on Romo. Two games in, he's looked every bit the $4 million defensive end. Kudos.
NaVorro Bowman: Not only has he held up well against the run, but he was better in coverage than just about any 49er on Sunday. He broke up two passes and I can't remember any that he gave up. Would've liked to seen him blitz more though.
Carlos Rogers: He was beaten two or three times, but he got his hand (or his head) on quite a few as well. Everyone will remember the overtime play to Jesse Holley, but for three-and-a-half quarters Rogers played outstanding football.
Losers:
49ers fans: You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Yes, your stadium is an eyesore. Yes, the parking situation is an abomination. Yes, there was potential for crowd violence a la the preseason mess with Oakland. Still, your team isn't that bad and it's downright embarrassing that it turned into a Cowboys home game. The crowd was -- and this is conservative -- at least 55 percent in favor of Dallas. Perhaps it was a gigantic middle finger to ownership, who had gotten the message out in advance of the game that they wanted the stands to be "a sea of red." Maybe it was a way of telling the Yorks "We'll buy your gear and show up to your games when you get a legitimate stadium and some good players."
Or maybe everyone in California is broke and a buck is a buck.
Jim Harbaugh: Save for one nice play-call late in the third quarter where Smith found Walker matched up one-on-one by outside linebacker Anthony Spencer and took advantage, Harbaugh and Greg Roman couldn't draw up anything to bail the offense. Three times Smith rolled out or executed play-fakes where there was an unblocked rusher waiting to meet him, and any plan that calls for DeMarcus Ware to not be accounted for seems pretty stupid to me.
Too often the plays they were trying were too cute, the kind of calls designed to take advantage of over-aggressive, inexperienced front sevens. Dallas was aggressive, but they've got a lot of veterans there who know how to read tells and diagnose plays. I think a couple times the 49ers assumed that when the Cowboys had six or seven snarling guys at the line that at least two or three would drop back in coverage and the line would be able to zone up whoever rushed. Instead, Dallas just sent everyone and that left people who weren't blocked. If the Cowboys guessed correctly on who the hot route was, Smith didn't have time to look for a second option and he was toast.
Of course Harbaugh's biggest blunder was taking the field goal with 11:12 to go to push the score to 24-14 instead of accepting a 1st-and-ten at Dallas' 22-yard-line, but we covered that extensively on Monday.
Alex Smith: How much blame does he deserve for not adjusting the line to pick up some of those blitzes in the second half or for not audibling out of bad plays? It's hard to say because we don't know the extent of his responsibilities. Maybe he did change the protections and guys simply missed their assignments. What we can blame Smith for are two throws that came back-to-back in the third quarter. On the interception he thought Davis was running a button hook. Davis, however, correctly adjusted his route to an out when he saw how much room he had to the sideline. Even if he ran the hook that Smith wanted, Dallas' Alan Ball undercut it and still would've picked it off. Smith's real sin, however, was the play before, when he rolled left and badly overshot a wide open Walker, who would've gained enough yards for a first down.
Also, I think he should've lobbied Harbaugh more, not just to keep the ball
after that penalty on Akers' field goal, but even before that, when Harbaugh elected to kick on 4th-and-1 from the 37. A good quarterback fights these decisions, but it's simply not in Smith's nature to be confrontational or argumentative.
Kendall Hunter: Welcome to life in the NFL, kid. You happened to get drafted by a team where the running back has more influence in the organization than the quarterback does. Don't worry, you'll get a chance to play when Gore gets his inevitable injury in a couple weeks.
Vernon Davis: He was asked to block a bunch against Dallas on pass plays (didn't work) and doubled when he did go on routes. These things will happen without Crabtree and Edwards. Davis is already grumpy with Harbaugh, but the 49ers do have a few games coming up against teams who can't cover tight ends well.
Jonathan Goodwin: Beaten soundly by Jay Ratliff two or three times, leading to sacks on Smith, including one in overtime that torpedoed the 49ers last chance of winning the game. He also had a terrible shotgun snap that Smith did well to turn into a positive play.
Mike Iupati: Whiffed on blocks in the run game and pass game. Continues to be confused by stunts and twists. Worst of all, I don't sense any fire from him at all.
Joe Staley: Beaten for one sack by Ware but a lot of the pressure Dallas had came from the gap between him and Iupati.
Chilo Rachal: Still getting subbed out for Adam Snyder a couple series per game. That should tell you something.
Anthony Davis: The 49ers best lineman on Sunday. Which is like being their handsomest beat reporter.
Moran Norris: Somewhere in the NFL there must be a worse starting fullback, but I can't think of one of the top off my head.
Ahmad Brooks: What a ticky-tack neutral zone call that was, giving Dallas new life and turning what should've been at the worst a 14-0 halftime lead into 14-7. Still, Ahmad, dude, you're looking right at the ball. It's 3rd-and-forever. Get a full foot behind it, just to be safe.
Tarell Brown: Beaten regularly by the likes of Holley and Kevin Ogletree. Shawntae Spencer will claim the starting job any day now.
Tramaine Brock: Nice interception and all, but putting him in the slot against Miles Austin was painful to watch. He's gonna be the odd man out of the lineup.
Donte Whitner: Witten chewed him up all afternoon. Just a hopeless match-up. Bit on a play-fake in overtime (as did Rogers), which was silly because Dallas hasn't been able to run the ball since last October.
Madieu Williams: P-U.
Reggie Smith: How stiff are those hips? I thought the 49ers traded Taylor Mays away.
Does that seem unfair, to have far more losers than winners? Well, I repeat, the yardage was 472 to 206. Should we throw the 49ers a parade? The offensive line is a sieve and the defense looks very vulnerable when people stretch them out and forget about running. I was disappointed in Vic Fangio for not calling more blitzes and trying to confuse Romo a bit. Instead the Niners got dinked-and-dunked to death in fine Greg Manusky fashion. We'll see if he gets any trickier against a rookie QB this Sunday in Cincinnati's Andy Dalton. It won't do to have him be less confused out there than Smith.
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Injury notes:
Harbaugh, in a rare lapse of his usual thousand-yard stare and dismissive non-answer routine, actually revealed that Braylon Edwards "will be out a bit" and that the receiver "underwent a procedure" on his knee. Look for Edwards to be out until the seventh game, home vs. his former club, the Browns. The Niners have their bye before that and the sixth game is on the turf at Detroit, so I think it'll be a stretch to see him play in that one, though a losing streak may change the prognosis. That's what makes this Cincinnati game so important. They simply have to win it, because the schedule gets pretty hairy the three weeks after that.
Harbaugh also said that Michael Crabtree will "most likely" play on Sunday. We saw Crabtree running routes at what looked to be full speed in individual drills, but at his locker he didn't look like someone champing at the bit to go get 'em. "It's only been three days," he said. "How much different could (his foot injury) be in three days?"
Crabtree was just "limited" in practice on Wednesday, per the official report, so we'll see.
My feeling: Crabtree really wanted to play against his hometown Cowboys and was disappointed about not getting the chance. He's probably not nearly as stoked about facing the Bengals. He'll play, but...
Alex Smith apparently sustained a concussion during Sunday's game. Nice enough for them to mention it on Wednesday, on an injury report that was sent in at 4:38 p.m... Smith seemed lucid enough during his press conference and was a full participant in practice, so it must have been a minor one.
Shawntae Spencer told CSN Bay Area's Mindi Bach that he's been practicing in full for two weeks and he's completely healed from his hamstring injury. However, he said that coaches want to see how he fits into the scheme on the practice field before throwing him out there in games. He added that he understands the scheme, but has to convince them of that. The way Brown and Brock have played, I think Spencer will get his chance, and soon.
Dashon Goldson also looked spry during individual drills, and I think he's the starter this week unless he has some kind of set back. The team desperately needs him back because both Madieu Williams and Reggie Smith were liabilities on Sunday. The team missed Goldson a lot more than they missed Spencer or Crabtree or even Edwards.
Moran Norris' injury was revealed to be a fibula problem, and despite him telling Maiocco that he's "fine" the team already declared him out for Sunday. Good lord.
Are you ready for Bruce Miller?
*******************************************************************************
49ers Statistical Rankings, presented without comment.
49ers Offensive Rankings:
Rushing: 79.5 YPG (26th); Yards Per Carry: 2.8 (29th);
Rushing Touchdowns: 2 (T-6th);
Passing: 128.0 YPG (29th); Completion Percentage (T-4th);
Yards Per Attempt: 6.9 (T-21st);
Passing Touchdowns: 2 (T-23rd); Interceptions: 1 (T-5th);
Sacks: 6 (T-22nd);
QB Rating: 95.2 (11th); 3rd Down Percentage: 32.1 (23rd);
Yards Per Game: 207.5 (31st); Scoring: 28.5 (9th)
49ers Defensive Rankings:
Rushing: 54.5 YPG (1st); Yards Per Carry: 2.5 (1st);
Rushing Touchdowns: 0 (T-1st)
Passing: 291.0 YPG (25th); Completion Percentage: 58.8 (12th);
Yards Per Attempt: 7.9 (20th);
Passing Touchdowns: 5 (30th); Interceptions: 3 (T-4th);
Sacks: 6 (T-6th);
Fumbles Forced: 4 (T-2nd); Fumbles Recovered: 2 (T-7th);
3rd Down Percentage: 37.9 (15th); Yards Per Game: 345.5 (T-17th); Scoring: 22.0 (T-12th)
49ers Special Teams Rankings:
Kickoff Return: 43.8 Avg (1st); Kickoff Return Allowed: 23.3 Avg (15th);
Punt Return: 15.2 Avg (5th); Punt Return Allowed: 9.3 Avg (T-17th);
Field Goal Percentage: 100.0 (T-1st); Net Punt Average: 51.4 Yards (2nd)
Giveaway/Takeaway:
Giveaways: 1 (T-2nd); Takeaways: 5 (T-4th); Plus/Minus: +4 (T-3rd)
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
49ers notes: Crabtree sits, Peelle signs, Jones resurfaces on the practice squad and Edwards sues
Obviously we weren't allowed to watch practice, but during warmups several eagle-eyed reporters saw Michael Crabtree run one three-quarters speed route in warmups and then quickly take off his helmet and chat up trainer Jeff Ferguson. That can't be an encouraging sign. Crabtree only made it through one half on Sunday and said afterward that he thought he'd re-broken his foot. He wasn't walking with a limp when he was spotted earlier in the day, but walking and running are two different things. Expect this to be an ongoing issue for a while longer.
Coach Jim Harbaugh said there's a possibility that Kyle Williams will be up for this game, as insurance for Crabtree in case he can't make it all the way through if nothing else. I'm guessing Crabtree really wants to play in the game because it's A) the regular season and B) against his hometown Cowboys, but if he's limited at all, the team may be better off just going with Williams, who had a fabulous camp and is raring to go. At this point, how could he be a drop off at all from a hobbled Crabtree who's barely practiced at all in this offense?
Safety Dashon Goldson was in uniform and pads during practice, but not really participating in individual drills. It remains to be seen how active he'll be, but it's dangerous to play the Cowboys with a gimpy safety. Reggie Smith's first game back there as the nickel guy couldn't have been too encouraging either, so it's not an ideal situation.
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Peelle in, Jones out, Practice Squad RB Shuffle
The 49ers signed tight end Justin Peelle, 32, a 6-4, 255 pound blocking specialist who’s a veteran of nine seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons. The 49ers played with just two tight ends on the roster the first week in Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, so they had to use a sixth offensive lineman in a lot of short-yardage situations that wound up being unsuccessful. Maybe with Peelle defenses will respect the run-pass option more and give Frank Gore a couple more inches of room to run. Or perhaps the coaching staff will be more willing to use the play-action in those formations and actually throw the ball. Peelle has 122 career receptions for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns and caught 10 balls for 96 yards and as score last year for Atlanta.
"Hopefully I'll get fed every once in a while, but normally my role has been to block the past couple years," said Peelle.
To make room for Peelle on the 53-man roster, the team waived rookie safety Colin Jones, their 6th round pick from TCU. As expected, he cleared waivers and is now on the practice squad.
The team also signed running back Ian Johnson, 25, to their practice squad. Johnson, who is 5-11 and 212 pounds, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2009 by Minnesota and has spent time with the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers organizations too, but has never been activated for the regular season. He had 36 carries for 130 yards this preseason for the Lions. Johnson is famous, of course, for proposing to a cheerleader (who was his longtime girlfriend) on national television immediately after scoring the game-winning two-point conversion in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. He helped Boise State upset mighty Oklahoma by successfully running in a “Statue of Liberty” play. With the arrival of Johnson, running back Xavier Omon was released from the practice squad -- and quickly signed to Cleveland's.
********************************************************************************
Vernon Davis spoke of the looking forward to the challenge of going against Dallas' elite pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware, but Joe Staley had already thrown cold water on the notion earlier during his interview. Staley explained that Ware usually lines up on the opposite side from the tight end. In the frequent instances where the 49ers will go with two tight ends, you figure Ware will choose to go against Delanie Walker, who's a far worse blocker than Davis. Also, it's a good bet that Ware, who's never been much of a coverage guy to begin with, will want no part of Davis in that regard. The Cowboys will probably use a nickel corner or a safety on him, and perhaps some bracket coverage with an inside 'backer.
*****************************************************************************
Braylon Edwards filed a $14 million dollar lawsuit against a Michigan restaurant and three of its employees for slander, alleging that a team rescinded on a contract offer they put on the table with $15 million in guarantees because of the accusation the employees made of his direct involvement in an Aug. 1 incident between his entourage and some busboys. Edwards was already cleared of any wrongdoing after a police investigation. In the suit, Edwards claims that he had to settle for just a $1 million guaranteed contract with the 49ers because of these false accusations.
I wonder if he'll sue Alex Smith, Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman and the offensive line for hurting his 2012 earning potential...
******************************************************************************
A look at the 49ers statistical rankings after Week 1.
49ers Offensive Rankings:
Rushing: 85.0 YPG (18th); Passing: 124.0 YPG (29th); Total: 209.0 YPG (31st); Points: 33.0 (7th).
Comment: One of these things is not like the other. Thanks, Ted Ginn!
49ers Defensive Rankings:
Rushing: 64.0 YPG (T-5th); Passing 155.0 YPG (T-5th); Total: 219.0 YPG (4th); Points: 17.0 (T-9th).
Comment: Patrick Willis always talks about wanting to be a top-10 defense, a top-5 defense. For once, 49ers come out and play like one. The Cowboys game will give them a much stiffer test, however.
49ers Special Teams Rankings:
Kickoff Return: 44.0 Avg (4th); Kickoff Return Allowed: 22.8 Avg (18th); Punt Return: 18.4 Avg (5th); Punt Return Allowed: 9.0 Avg (18th); Field Goal Percentage: 100.0 (T-1st); Net Punt Average: 54.2 Yards (1st).
It's tempting to say that new special teams coordinator Brad Seely has made difference right away, but he made his mark in the past for his kick coverage units, not the return game. I think Ginn just had a really good day and took advantage of a couple of mistakes from Seattle's Earl Thomas and Walter Thurmond, who were too overaggressive. Seely certainly has fabulous kickers to work with in Andy Lee and David Akers, so that part of the equation is easy to figure.
Giveaway/Takeaway:
Giveaways: 0 (T-1st); Takeaways: 3 (T-2nd); Plus/Minus: 3 (2nd).
Comment: Turnovers aren't always as relevant as people make them out to be. The 49ers got one on a Hail Mary at the end of the half and another on a fumble when the score was already 33-17 and there was a minute left on the clock. The most important number in this case was they didn't commit any.
Coach Jim Harbaugh said there's a possibility that Kyle Williams will be up for this game, as insurance for Crabtree in case he can't make it all the way through if nothing else. I'm guessing Crabtree really wants to play in the game because it's A) the regular season and B) against his hometown Cowboys, but if he's limited at all, the team may be better off just going with Williams, who had a fabulous camp and is raring to go. At this point, how could he be a drop off at all from a hobbled Crabtree who's barely practiced at all in this offense?
Safety Dashon Goldson was in uniform and pads during practice, but not really participating in individual drills. It remains to be seen how active he'll be, but it's dangerous to play the Cowboys with a gimpy safety. Reggie Smith's first game back there as the nickel guy couldn't have been too encouraging either, so it's not an ideal situation.
******************************************************************************
Peelle in, Jones out, Practice Squad RB Shuffle
The 49ers signed tight end Justin Peelle, 32, a 6-4, 255 pound blocking specialist who’s a veteran of nine seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons. The 49ers played with just two tight ends on the roster the first week in Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, so they had to use a sixth offensive lineman in a lot of short-yardage situations that wound up being unsuccessful. Maybe with Peelle defenses will respect the run-pass option more and give Frank Gore a couple more inches of room to run. Or perhaps the coaching staff will be more willing to use the play-action in those formations and actually throw the ball. Peelle has 122 career receptions for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns and caught 10 balls for 96 yards and as score last year for Atlanta.
"Hopefully I'll get fed every once in a while, but normally my role has been to block the past couple years," said Peelle.
To make room for Peelle on the 53-man roster, the team waived rookie safety Colin Jones, their 6th round pick from TCU. As expected, he cleared waivers and is now on the practice squad.
The team also signed running back Ian Johnson, 25, to their practice squad. Johnson, who is 5-11 and 212 pounds, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2009 by Minnesota and has spent time with the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers organizations too, but has never been activated for the regular season. He had 36 carries for 130 yards this preseason for the Lions. Johnson is famous, of course, for proposing to a cheerleader (who was his longtime girlfriend) on national television immediately after scoring the game-winning two-point conversion in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. He helped Boise State upset mighty Oklahoma by successfully running in a “Statue of Liberty” play. With the arrival of Johnson, running back Xavier Omon was released from the practice squad -- and quickly signed to Cleveland's.
********************************************************************************
Vernon Davis spoke of the looking forward to the challenge of going against Dallas' elite pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware, but Joe Staley had already thrown cold water on the notion earlier during his interview. Staley explained that Ware usually lines up on the opposite side from the tight end. In the frequent instances where the 49ers will go with two tight ends, you figure Ware will choose to go against Delanie Walker, who's a far worse blocker than Davis. Also, it's a good bet that Ware, who's never been much of a coverage guy to begin with, will want no part of Davis in that regard. The Cowboys will probably use a nickel corner or a safety on him, and perhaps some bracket coverage with an inside 'backer.
*****************************************************************************
Braylon Edwards filed a $14 million dollar lawsuit against a Michigan restaurant and three of its employees for slander, alleging that a team rescinded on a contract offer they put on the table with $15 million in guarantees because of the accusation the employees made of his direct involvement in an Aug. 1 incident between his entourage and some busboys. Edwards was already cleared of any wrongdoing after a police investigation. In the suit, Edwards claims that he had to settle for just a $1 million guaranteed contract with the 49ers because of these false accusations.
I wonder if he'll sue Alex Smith, Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman and the offensive line for hurting his 2012 earning potential...
******************************************************************************
A look at the 49ers statistical rankings after Week 1.
49ers Offensive Rankings:
Rushing: 85.0 YPG (18th); Passing: 124.0 YPG (29th); Total: 209.0 YPG (31st); Points: 33.0 (7th).
Comment: One of these things is not like the other. Thanks, Ted Ginn!
49ers Defensive Rankings:
Rushing: 64.0 YPG (T-5th); Passing 155.0 YPG (T-5th); Total: 219.0 YPG (4th); Points: 17.0 (T-9th).
Comment: Patrick Willis always talks about wanting to be a top-10 defense, a top-5 defense. For once, 49ers come out and play like one. The Cowboys game will give them a much stiffer test, however.
49ers Special Teams Rankings:
Kickoff Return: 44.0 Avg (4th); Kickoff Return Allowed: 22.8 Avg (18th); Punt Return: 18.4 Avg (5th); Punt Return Allowed: 9.0 Avg (18th); Field Goal Percentage: 100.0 (T-1st); Net Punt Average: 54.2 Yards (1st).
It's tempting to say that new special teams coordinator Brad Seely has made difference right away, but he made his mark in the past for his kick coverage units, not the return game. I think Ginn just had a really good day and took advantage of a couple of mistakes from Seattle's Earl Thomas and Walter Thurmond, who were too overaggressive. Seely certainly has fabulous kickers to work with in Andy Lee and David Akers, so that part of the equation is easy to figure.
Giveaway/Takeaway:
Giveaways: 0 (T-1st); Takeaways: 3 (T-2nd); Plus/Minus: 3 (2nd).
Comment: Turnovers aren't always as relevant as people make them out to be. The 49ers got one on a Hail Mary at the end of the half and another on a fumble when the score was already 33-17 and there was a minute left on the clock. The most important number in this case was they didn't commit any.
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