The 49ers saved the best till last in the 2011 NFL Preseason exhibition fake games. As a side note, they won the contest 20-17, but who cares about that? The big story was the 49ers’ first team offense rising from the ashes of their abysmal performance against the Texans and somewhat resembling an actual, competitive NFL crew. Much to the relief of the anxious 49er faithful.
Next up, the Seattle Seahawks, who have ruined two straight seasons for the 49ers. Paraphrasing Mike Singletary’s words from the opening game loss a year ago, “Thank you, Seattle. You whipped our butts good.” Had they not whipped us, we might still have Singletary as the 49er Head Coach. Shudder. This year, let’s hope Seattle is forced to quote Mike’s praise after we turn things around and whip their own collective butts on opening day.
After the game, to the surprise of no one, and the dismay of a few, HC Jim Harbaugh named Alex Smith as the starting QB for this coming season. He also strongly intimated that rookie 4th round draft pick Kendall Hunter had supplanted last year’s 6th round pick Anthony Dixon as the second string RB who hardly ever gets to play behind newly enhanced multi-millionaire Frank Gore.
This year’s 1st round pick Aldon Smith finished the preseason strong, racking up 2.5 sacks for a total of 3.5, to easily lead the team in the maim the QB category. He was noticeably helped in this last game by Demarcus Dobbs, who has improbably made the team after no one in the league saw fit to draft him. This year’s feel good, got-no-respect story. Three years from now, as he signs a multi-million dollar contract extension, he will still be seething about the 250 or so players who were drafted when he was not. It will be a savory seething, though, not a bitter one. Go Mr. Dobbs!
Just ruminating, but is there any contract left in the NFL that can’t be termed “multi-million”? Hmmm. Uh, Dad, can we screw this idea of me being a doctor? I mean, I could be a bench warming nuthinger in a major pro sport and make more than any doctor in America. And retire earlier and play just as much golf. Please, Dad. Pullllleeeeese.
If Dad is a marginally aware football fan, however, he will advise his son to familiarize himself with the work “Turk” as it applies to the NFL. Over the next day and a half, Mr. Turk will be moving stealthily from locker to locker, or room to room, or leaning out of an In N Out burger window delivering not only your 10,000 calorie snack but muttering the dreaded words to 864 NFL dreamers: “Coach wants to see you. Bring your playbook.”
Good old much maligned RG Chilo Rachal sure put a dent in the goal line last night to allow Anthony Dixon to easily forge into the end zone, aided by a wall-off block from even more maligned FB Moran Norris. That was eye pleasing. The Revenge of the Maligneders. Norris also shockingly caught a pass and rumbled forward for very respectable yardage. It was almost a year ago at this time when Norris rumbled forward onto his face attempting the daring maneuver of pass catching. Apparently, he and Smith have finally developed chemistry. Is it too soon to anoint Norris with his new nickname of “Twinkle Toes Moran”?
Harbaugh now has about six days to put the finishing touches on his Seattle game plan. Last April or so, as the lockout gathered entrenchment, Harbaugh said he was filling his time by game planning for the Seattle opener. That’s a lot of game planning. I certainly hope we aren’t disappointed with the unveiling of this masterwork come a week from Sunday. Surely we won’t be, right?
Pullllllleeeeeeeeeeeese!!
Well i feel much better this morning …i really liked the play calling last night…we have a REAL offense …i truly believe the team is on the rise ….GO Niners….and beat the snot out of the seaguls!!
Phil, would love to have ya come aboard our little fantasy train. I just need two things; 1) send me an e-mail at dunkirkwantsrevenge@comcast.net so I can send you a private invite into our league…2) you need to have an ESPN account (it’s FREE) as that’s where the league is played.
As a new member you get an extra player, free of charge…
Alex Smith is all yours! 馃榾
After last night, I’m daring to hope that professional football has returned to the Bay Area.
I find that on Sept. 11 I’ve somehow agreed to take my daughters to be in a fashion show at their great-grandmother’s retirement community. Since watching the games last year didn’t help, maybe this will. Of course, if the Niners do win, I’ll be damning myself to not watching all year…
Damn Del you are too generous but UQB may be, ah, ah… a surprise?
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IF Smythe surprises I surely won’t; you can count on pure crap from my team. Ok then, coming at you, kinda, sorta.
i think berger is awol ! i hope he got to see dobbs and aldon last night ! that duo might play quite a bit on passing downs this year ! ian williams looked good to me too !
even our starting QB played well ! this version of the WCO fits him pretty well imho !
Fletch it’s a nasty trade off: you get to hear/sorta watch the games OR you can be a normal human being and pay attention to family. Yeah it’s been a no-brainer for last 8-10 years until recently. Family? Team?
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Dude, you at least have replays to watch. Notjing like that over here in coconutville, believe it, I’ve checked…Me I make the fam carry on without me for a few lousy hours. (But my great grandma is not around any more)
the 0-line was better too last night and hunter should be a good change of pace / third down type guy for us , something we’ve needed !
Phil, thanks for coming aboard. Let me know if you got the invite. Here’s a good fantasy primer (ESPN Draft Kit) with all the top rankings. Feel free to ask any questions…
http://games.espn.go.com/frontpage/ffldraftkit
Phil
Before last night’s game all projections were that Chargers would only keep 2 QBs
Here is one of them
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/31/53-aug-31-version/
Maybe wishful thinking but if he’s cut I’d pick him up and have him on the roster and keep him among the 7 inactive every week.
You can only dress 46 players.
The practice squad is an additional 8 players so you have a total of 61.
Tolzein is a diamond in the rough
and I was impressed with his touch,arm strengh and ability to read the defense.
Let’s ee what happens tomorrow.
Also Adam Froman was cut by Atlanta.
Got it Del. I’ll sign up in morning. Thanks man
bullit, agree we need to stockpile QBs, enough putting all our eggs in one basket. I recall Tolzien mentioned before the draft then lost sight of him. Where did he play college ball? Cut down is tomorrow?
Dobbs had a hell of a pre-season, but don’t automatically expect to see him much more this year unless someone gets hurt. He is not a primary ST guy, and he is behind RJF in the DL rotation. I’m afraid he’ll be inactive a lot. Hopefully JH can find a way to get him some time. You don’t see inside bull rushers like that very often. Even if he is very green, he would be a good guy to have in the rotation on passing downs.
The game was definitely encouraging, loved the intensity from our defense especially by some of the rooks. I totally hate the stinkin Seacrappers and hope we bury them so deep they will never find their way out.
Phil
Tolzein was a Badger
Here is his pre draft scouting report
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=66870&draftyear=2011&genpos=QB
We need to make Pete Carroll ask Harbaugh again “What’s your deal?”
Dobbs certainly looked beter than Soap at times. Against lesser guys, but really RJF is close to passing Soap. Hurt or not, Soap hasn’t shown much so far.
Berger must be way hung over to not be commenting.
I think it was Maiocco who was touting Tolzien as a QB. IIRC, Tolzien was the one who threw all the practice passes (to evaluate the WRs) at the NFL Combine. I haven’t seen enough of him to give an honest opinion. What little I remember he was a high % passer. But the Badgers were a run-orientated team. They were 4 yds short from one back of having 3 1,000 yd rushers last year.
FWIW, my blog is dead. I put it out of its misery.
Don;t know if I’ll get back into the hosting thing ,. ,. ,.
Why’d you kill it, Chuck?
It went downhill fast when V hijacked a bunch of names. Spitty was actually making sense, but it got all stupid again. Too much bullshit going on. It was just getting tiresome.
I hated blogspot anyway. I had little to no control over deleting shit, and couldn’t block trolls. So, to start the season, I might start a new one. I’ll let you know.
Chuck
That’s why V is a troll on SF Gate. That’s his new tatctic to start impersonating his adversaries. He’s trying to kill that blog too.
Like a little kid, if he can’t have his way he’s taking the ball home.
The NFL is finally issuing suspensions. Hold your breath on Braylon.
Yeah, Bullit. He posted as Ura_chick for about 6 months.
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Ultra supportive. You gotta wonder why someone spend so much time screwing around like that.
Unca- I worked 13 hours yesterday and then drove from Sac to Reno. I slept in a bit this morning. I’m at work now, I’ll get back to you guys later today.
CHUCK !
SORRY ABOUT UR BLOG ! you and skeebs should both contribute to this one ! as you’re well aware that blogger site you were using sucked anyway ! this one is much more user friendly imo !
PPPHHHOOOORRRPPPPP !
that’s me holding my breath on edwards !
you guys are right
Tolzien
or whatever his name was , looked better than any of our QB’s ! that might have a lot to do with our old buddy norv you know !
to reiterate
dobbs and aldon did great last night ! that duo might play quite a bit on passing downs this year ! ian williams looked good to me too !
the 0-line was better too last night and hunter should be a good change of pace / third down type guy for us , something we鈥檝e needed for a while now !!
even our starting QB played well ! this version of the WCO fits him pretty well imho !
if only we can keep it going , instead of doing the usual 0ne step forward two steps back !
Ian Williams is no better than our 7th DL, behind the starters, RJF, Dobbs and Tukuafu. We might try to find a PS spot for him if he doesn’t sign elsewhere. Only question in my mind is whether we carry 5 or 6, and how many are active on most game days.
GRUMP
hmmmm
we have smith , sop and raymac as the top three !
the best of the rest imo are RJF , williams , dobbs and tukuafu imho !
first we need to look at it position by position !
imo we’re better off at DE than at NT , with justin smith being our best d-lineman !
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imho NT being more important in a 3-4 d-line puts a premium on the guys who can play NT !
hence williams is someone i really want on this roster !
the good news is we seem to have seven pretty good d-linemen !
(we both agree on all of them !) imo walsh even as an ‘offensicve minded’ head coach was smart enough to know d-linemen were so important he would regularly keep 8 on the roster !
we imo should (i hope ) be able to keep all seven !!!
oh , and all that being said , williams should based on him being a NT be #6 , one spot ahead of tukuafu !
(someone we both like a lot and have high hopes for imo)
Dang unca I was enjoying reading over there. (Don’t tell Skeebs or Berger). Never did fugure out how to sign up, just lazy I guess. At least Spit reformed and got religion and the blog got off the mat before you put it to rest. I’d say you got control of the situation, that’s good. Looking foward to seeing you over here!
Rob – I think the thing with Tuku is they think he can move inside or out, while Ian is strictly a NT.
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The good news is, he hasn’t done anything spectacular… I think he’ll clear waivers and end up on the PS. If anyone gets hurt, he’ll be the first guy we bring up.
Ian Williams might be kept out of need. He didn’t shine but he didn’t do poorly. He has a shot to make the roster but I expect him on the PS. He looks like he could be a good one down the road.
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Sope did good depending on what they asked him to do. I’m anxious to see how they use him when the real games start.
We have at least 8 LBs we’ll carry. Reserves initially being Aldon, Applewhite, Grant and Costanza (for ST). 6 CBs if we keep Spencer, with Rogers, Brock, Brown, Culliver and Adams. 5 safeties with Whitner, Goldson, Reggie, Cripple Williams and Spillman. Kristick was on the bubble and so is that ex-Raider who replaced him last night. The numbers will be tough. Guys like Maragos and Nelms are just trying to find a PS spot.
GRUMPY AND BERGER !
INTERESTING !
my thing is why not have all seven of those d-linemen on the active roster !?
imo we can do it !
or should i say we can and should do it based on the rest of our roster and our needs !
LOL, so give us your 53 rob. I haven’t had time to think it all out. My feeling is we are going to cut some guys this year who can play somewhere in this league.
oops ! just saw ur post GRUMP !
GOOD POINT !
imo LB might be a bigger need than the d-line with the loss of spikes and lawson !
wow ! i still don’t see brock , spillman , kristick or whitten as better to keep than any of the seven d-linemen ?
oh , and don’t 4 get we’re pretty strong at DB , esp. at safety , so we might not need to keep some of the promising younger guys on the active roster ! PS them imo !
lol
GRUMP
haven’t done a 53 either !
in fact the closest i get to it is a deck of cards and a joker thrown in!
馃檪
I would keep 7 DL. DL should rotate IMO. I’m channeling Walsh here on thisw one. He always horded them and he always rotated them to keep them fresh.
Oops, I knew I misspelled hoarded and hit send before I remembered to get back to fixing it.
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The “thisw” is now feeling left out. OK, I just missed that one.
BERGER !
maybe you should hord thisws !
馃檪
GRUMP
thx for the info on tukuafu ! i didn’t know he could play both spots !
Unca- Sorry to see your site died. I enjoyed it until an overwhelming desire to kill one of the posters forced me to ignore it. I would never kill somebody, unless they physically attacked me, so the best choice for me was to just go away.
Okay, guys, here’s my attempt… I managed to squeeze in Williams but had to put Person on the PS.
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Active Roster (53):
Wide Receivers (5):
Braylon Edwards
Michael Crabtree
Joshua Morgan
Kyle Williams
Ted Ginn, Jr.
Tight Ends(3):
Vernon Davis
Delanie Walker
Konrad Reuland (could be bumped by a waiver claim)
Offensive Line (8):
Joe Staley
Mike Iupati
Jonathan Goodwin
Chilo Rachal
Anthony Davis
Adam Snyder
Alex Boone
Daniel Kilgore
Quarterbacks (3):
Alex Smith
Colin Kaepernick
Josh McCown (could be bumped by a waiver claim)
Fullbacks (2):
Moran Norris (Unfortunately)
Bruce Miller
Running Backs (3):
Frank Gore
Kendall Hunter
Anthony Dixon
Defensive Line (7):
Justin Smith
Isaac Sopoaga
Ray McDonald
Ricky-Jean Francois
Demarcus Dobbs
Will Tukuafu
Ian Williams (could be bumped by a waiver claim)
Inside Linebackers (4):
Patrick Willis
Navorro Bowman
Larry Grant
Blake Costanza
Outside Linebackers (4):
Ahamd Brooks
Parys Haralson
Aldon Smith
Antwan Applewhite
Cornerbacks (6):
Shawntae Spencer
Carolos Rogers
Tarell Brown
Tremaine Brock
Chris Culliver
Philip Adams
Safeties(5):
Donte Whitner
Dashon Goldson
Reggie Smith
Cripple Williams
C.J. Spillman
Specialists (3):
David Akers
Andy Lee
Brian Jennings
Practice Squad (First 8 Preferred):
OL Chase Beeler
QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson
WR Ronald Johnson
DB Colin Jones (ST)
LB Alex Joseph
RB Xavier Omon
OL Mike Person
DB Curtis Taylor
(Obviously, we might bring in some guys here)
Injured Reserve:
LB Keaton Kristick
CB Curtis Holcomb
Well, shit, guys… I didn’t think it was THAT bad… LOL
I hear crickets.
don’t feel bad grump ! i have a habit of trying to put out a list of who we might/should pick in all seven rounds of the draft !
i’ll check out ur 53 2morrow ! gotta work early sat. selling bonsai trees at the port charlotte mkt. (gotta leave 6:30 am. my time !)
it’s lotsa fun btw !
want one ? we ship to cali all the time ! 馃槈
outahere !
time for some DEEP PURPLE and off to bed !
馃檪
The site didn’t die, Berger. I put it out of it’s misery. I had to kill it. Too much fricking bullshit to wade through.
Grump, now you know how I feel when I make a post and nobody says nothing for four or five hours. I’m sitting here going, “Well, that certainly was a winning effort.”
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Of my chores to do today, scratch mowing the lawn off the list. A herd of wild horses just ate the lawn down.
The way the horses mowed the lawn was more nebulized than when I get a nice even cut with the mower, but what the heck, I’ll call it the natural cut!
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They weren’t just horsing around, they were doing one of my chores!
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Groan:-)
Harbaugh is getting a rep for weird metaphors. Describing Kendall Hunter’s blocking: “He’s been as hard as hen’s teeth when it comes to that.”
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This is as head scratching as “Does a chicken have lips?”
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If I was a chicken, I’d be a little beaked off by these species slurs. Right, Unca_Chick?
Maybe he’s Yogi Harbaugh? Remember, when you see a fork in the road, take it!
First cut is Curtis Taylor, but he’s PS eligible.
Igor Olshansky(sp) is getting cut by the Cowboys. If he has anything left in the tank that would be an interesting pick up.
And the great 2009 Niner draft is down to 2: Crabs and RJF
Skeebs and Bergs are on a roll this morning. BTW where are you seeing the info on the cuts?
Twitter
Yeah okay, not sure if they speak twitter in this country
Grump, thanks for the list, I believe you are pretty darn close. I would probably keep 9 OL’s but that’s just me. If we can hide them on the PS then that would work out too. I too believe we are a work in progress and will once again be a force in this league. I still can’t get over the QB hurdle though and as much as I hope for our success, I really don’t see it until, Kaep takes over.
Here’s a weird one: 9ers have released McCown. ????
Skeebs, they’re figuring no one else will pick him up. Harbaugh may be looking at possibly adding another waiver QB. He may also choose to keep someone like Person on the 53 at first, gambling he can bring McCown back later if he needs him.
Of course, the danger is our line gets Alex mutilated in week one, and the Colin Kaepernick era begins rather abruptly!
Carrying just two QBs is not unheard of… but with this team and this line, that is rather large cajones.
I thought after Kristick got driven off on the cart he’d be on IR. But now the 49ers say he is only out a week and will make the 53.
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Also they are saying Hastings will be cut but will be on the PS if he clears waivers. Bad news for Ronald Johnson. He and his ‘son’ are headed elsewhere, probably.
Bye-bye Zeigler.
Bye-bye Maragos. PS eligible.
Chris Hogan and Joe Hastings. 6 down, lots to go.
Ian Williams makes the cut. Good.
I’m glad about Ian!
Too bad about Ziggy. He can help someone if he gets healthy. Just an untimely injury, and then numbers.
the cuts so far are ok !
olshanski (sp) sounds interesting ! so does a good run linebacker !(del)
sorry del , now my phone is dead and i can’t find the charger !
lol
Beeler, Nelms, Reuland, P. Adams cut.
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Dobbs & Colin Jones make it.
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I’d have kept Adams & cut Jones. Weird. Jones is PS eligible. Adams not.
Wragge cut.
Oman, R. Johnson, Lance Long, Siliga cut.
QB Tolzien waived by Chargers.
Bubble guys making it:
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Costanzo, Kilgore, Kristick, Person, Tukuafu, Dobbs.
Only kept 2 TEs.
49ers roster: 2 QBs, 5 RBs, 5 WRs, 2 TEs, 9 OL, 7 DL, 9 LBs, 11 DBs, 3 Specialists.
I’d say this roster is still gonna be tweaked. Need a backup QB. Kaepernick won’t cut it as #2 this year.
Ron Fields cut by Miami, M. Lewis cut by Rams.
I like Tolzien…would like niners to pick him up
Yeah, Tolzien looked good. But he’s been learning Turner’s digital system, and would need to start all over with Harbaugh. Can we afford to carry two QBs who really won’t be ready to play until late in the year?
Skeebs, I would have kept Adams over Jones too. Sorry to Adams him go. He just needs time to heal.
The Pats cut Brandon Merriweather. Wonder where he will end up.
Looks like our D is gonna be fun this year. Very excited about that. It’s probably a stupid question but why doesn’t the league allow say 55-58 players on the roster and 10-12 on the PS?
Winder, I think roster and PS limits are set by the CBA. The union would love larger rosters. The teams, except for those loaded with talent, not so much. I remember the days when it was 40 man rosters and a 5-man “taxi squad”, so 53 and 8 does not sound so bad to me. 馃檪
The only two surprises for me were two players I thought might get cut anyway. Adams and Wragge. I would’ve liked see Ziggy stay but I thought he would be cut. It was all balanced out by a couple of moves where we kept players I wanted. Ian Williams, Kilgore Person, and Miller were pleasant surprises for me. I was surprised Norris was kept, he did not seem to do well in pre-season except the last game where did real good.
Seems like Person could have been put on the PS, but I guess they like him enough to not want to risk it.
Norris is like Jerry Brown. That SOB will never go away!
of the cuts ziggy and omon might make the practice squad imo
For me, the most pleasant surprise of the pre-season was Dobbs. Miller 2nd. But I must give a shout out to McDonald. I was worried if he could play the starting LDE effectively. He did great. Now let’s see if he can do the same when the real games start.
One of the factors in play here is that guys on the roster for game one have their salaries guaranteed for the whole season. After game one, there could be a lot of roster manipulation. The guys you sign then are just paid on a weekly basis.
16 teams only kept 2 QBs.
“16 teams only kept 2 QBs.”
maybe we’ll find one ! also a vet run-stopper at LB too !
did we release omon ? hope he makes the p-squad !
how about feilds for an extra d-lineman ? maybe someone better ?
players cut by other teams i like
igor olshansky
dan lafevour
tommy harris
no LB’s stand out to me yet ! anybody know any good ones ?
funny thing is our old pal lance briggs wants out of chicago !
I would not want to give up anything for Briggs at this point. LB is in pretty good shape. I’d be willing to look at D-line, or DBs, or QBs, but not linebackers.
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Anyone remember how long the waiver claim process runs?
I think it’s 24 hrs, Grump. Could be wrong. We can start signing PS guys as of 9am, though.
A guy I really liked a couple of years ago just got waived, Everette Brown. He got drafted at a real young age, I wonder if he is a late bloomer or a bust? He’ll get picked up by somebody and we will see soon. He is at an age now where something should start showing.
Brown is the pick we traded to Carolina that ended up being Iupati a year later.
Tolzien claimed by Niners. Wragge signs with Rams.
So we’ll carry two raw rookies behind Alex. If he goes down it’s going to be ugly.
Added to PS:
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Nelms, Beeler, Hastings, Reuland, Bethel-Thompson.
Tolzien was claimed by the 49ers.
Is Hastings the speedy WR from the small college?
Washburn college.
Harbaugh’s not lacking for nerve. 4 QBs and 3 of them rookies.
So who gets bumped with the signing of Tolzien? Hopefully it is Norris. Something tells me it will be Williams.
I watched Tolzien in college. He made good decisions and had a good arm but his throwing motion was terrible. He threw like a baseball outfielder. I noticed on Thursday that Norv Turner had really cleaned up his throwing motion. He looked good.
Skeebers- This is what I’ve been saying all along. Harbaugh is the reason I’m not worried about the QB position. He’ll get it right, I just hope it happens sooner than later.
Probably be Kristick who gets released.
wow , we did sign tolzein ! cool !
Bethel-Thompson waived from PS. Here, kid, sign this contract. Ok. Now you’re fired.
interesting about e. brown being waived ! surprised DEL hasn’t chimed in yet, brown was his boi ! imo he might be worth looking at , i remember he got injured in yr. one ! did he get hurt too much / injury prone ?
what about
IGOR O.
DAN LAFEVOUR
TOMMY HARRIS
i think i was right ! looked good but got injured
http://www.panthers.com/team/roster/Everette-Brown/87e49ca5-1fc3-40d4-aeb6-bf43fc562240
Guard Derek Hall to the PS.
hellooooooooo out there ~
Hellooooo back out there ~ Bring me the head of Everette brown while I go marinate my chicken and London broil for Labor Day.
Why the hell is it when I use Firefox, this blog turns my avatar into Col. Klink?
“No prisoner escapes from Stalag 13!”
Bold prediction: Tolzien will have a better career than Kaepernick.
If I’m wrong, blame it on Sgt. Schultz. “I know nothing!”
Berger: he may have an ugly motion, but I was surprised to learn that Tolzien completed 72.9 percent as a Senior. That’s pretty damned good. Maybe Harbaugh knows what he id doing?
Kristick was the player released for Tolzein.
If Alex Smith gets hurt they can always place a phone call to McCown to show up the following week. I like the idea of developing 2 QBs and having them compete to truly have a QB controversy with some merit.
I agree with Berger that Tolzien has that “it” factor that can’t be taught.
Sando of ESPN said the folloiwng:
“Tolzien, an undrafted rookie from Wisconsin, had impressed Chargers starter Philip Rivers with how quickly he grasped the playbook in camp with San Diego. He is what teams generally prefer in their third-string quarterbacks: a quick study willing to put in the work”
i liked tolzein too ! he looked better than mccown ! mccown seems to have a head for the game , but he doesn’t seem to have the skills to do much in the pros imo !
i wouldn’t mind signing lafevour and trying to get him at least to the practice squad !
what do we have to lose ?
funny thing is i wouldn’t mind throwing out a mid rd. pick for lance briggs ! how about a 4th in 2012 and a 6th in 2013 !
sign him to a two year deal !
the funny part is that when nolan wanted him a few years back i was vehemently against it !
Omon made the PS.
a quick study willing to put in the work>>>
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So, basically, the Anti-Nate? LOL
omon !
good move !
thx skeebs !
hmmmm ! and i was kind of wishing the up and down stuff was going to be replaced by us getting better each week !
” I t’s a low bar, but still a significant one for the 49ers to clamber over. They don’t always look great and occasionally look terrible, but the 49ers look like they’re actually getting coached in 2011. Not just getting yelled at, but coached. In-game and week-to-week adjustments. Roles assigned by merit, not by stubborn over-optimism. Offensive strategy with a purpose. You know, all that crazy stuff that was mostly overlooked by Mike Singletary and Mike Nolan for the previous six 49ers seasons. The stuff that gives your team a chance to win every week. Remember how that felt, 49ers fans? A little snapshot to file away from Thursday night’s 20-17 victory in San Diego to close the exhibition season: There was Alex Smith, coming off two early touchdown drives, smiling and chatting with coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline. That is not a scene that ever happened with Smith and Singletary, and certainly not with Smith and Nolan. Again, it’s a low bar, but the 49ers now have a coach who can have constructive conversations with the quarterback during a game. Small miracle. This is by no means a guarantee that the 49ers will be a whole lot better under a rookie coach this year than their 6-10 finish last season. There are definite weaknesses, as the horrid performances this preseason against New Orleans and Houston displayed. The 49ers’ talent level is probably not high enough to do serious damage; the offensive line is erratic; Alex Smith is always going to be a question mark; the secondary has been remade on the fly. And Harbaugh’s new staff could get outflanked and outthought by the top coaches in the league, possibly starting by Pete Carroll and Seattle on Sept. 11 to start the regular season. We don’t know if the 49ers have the solutions to any of that, don’t know about Harbaugh as an NFL coach, and won’t know until the deep part of this season. But we can already conclude from training camp and the exhibition season that the 2011 49ers won’t be as thoroughly out-coached as they were when they were drilled by Tampa Bay, Kansas City and a few others last season. At the very least, under Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the 49ers offense will have a plan in 2011. It probably won’t dominate anybody, but it won’t have the aimless, hopeless hallmarks of Singletary, Jimmy Raye and Mike Johnson. This summer, the 49ers got overwhelmed by the Saints’ blitzing in Week 1, then stiffened up the offensive-line communication for the Raiders’ blitzing in Week 2. In Week 3, the 49ers’ were mauled in every category by Houston, but tightened things up for San Diego on Thursday. Will the 49ers go up-down, up-down throughout the 2011 schedule? Very likely. With this abbreviated offseason and with the potential waiver-wire additions this weekend, Harbaugh’s staff might still be getting to know its roster in October and still integrating its schemes in November. And this is clearly a roster that is begging for true coaching. Beyond Smith at quarterback, there’s rookie Colin Kaepernick, who threw two more interceptions Thursday, giving him five for the preseason and signaling that he’s nowhere near ready for regular action. There’s rookie linebacker Aldon Smith, who already looks like the 49ers’ most unblockable pass rusher in years but needs to learn all aspects of his position. There’s Michael Crabtree, who missed his third consecutive preseason and through his 49ers tenure has seemed only sporadically interested in what his teammates or coaches were doing. There’s the offensive line, which is stocked with high draft picks but has not yet put together a stretch of dynamic play. There are a lot of things for Harbaugh and his staff to fix, decide and alter. This staff might fail at some of it, or much of it. But this 49ers team won’t be flummoxed on a weekly basis. The coaching staff will be creative. Adjustments will be made. That’s a moderate level of NFL aptitude, but it’s more than the 49ers are used to ”
interesting !
I’m starting to really like this blog. Great info and all I gotta do is sit here and read it. One word sticks in my mind about this years team and that is “progressive”, I truly like the way things are unfolding. Now if only all the other A-hole teams will just leave our PS alone maybe we can get to building this team back up. Good day to be a Niner fan.
the skins cut
ANTHONY BRYANT NT
Experience: 5th season | Age: 29
Born: 11/6/1981
Hometown: Greensboro, AL
Height: 6-3
Weight: 360
College: Alabama
anybody know anything on him ?
man , where’s singletary when you need him !?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2005/draft/players/65607.html
Yeah rob, he’s big!
WINDER
49er info is what it’s all about ! as a matter of fact i think that’s why al gore invented the internet !
馃槈
at loeast that’s how i see it here in fla !
gotta party at 7:30 !
馃槈
BERGER
lol !
it couldn’t hurt us to find another big body for the d-line imo !
another “fat man in the middle ”
like NJ 49er says !
Bryant is big, but he’s been thoroughly unproductive on some pretty crappy teams. He couldn’t beat out two much smaller guys for the NT spot this year. IMHO, Ian Williams is probably nearly as good right now, and is young with upside.
Party hardy rob. As I used to say: “party till the wheels fall off.”
RIP LeRoy Selman. IMO, he was the 2nd best defensive lineman in college history, tied with Suh.
The best college D-lineman I’ve seen was Steve Emtmann.
Berger, would your best college d-lineman happen to be Steve Emtman?
Shit. I asked my question before your last comment was up. So Col. Klink wins the prize. This Firefox browser sucks. I want my horse back.
A reminder for all you fantasy players: the draft is Tues at 7:00 Pacific time. I’ll send out an e-mail to remind as well…
Del- Emtman was so destructive everybody thought the Washington LBs were much better than they were. He was a one man wrecking crew. He put a RB and QB out of a game vs Arizona, on the first two plays of the game!
I always remember watching Selman dominate from the NT position at Oklahoma. If ever a D-lineman should’ve won the Heisman, it was Selman, Emtman and Suh.
Leroy Selmon was a monster. I used to spend summers in Norman, Oklahoma with relations… that guy was a effing monster. Completely legit. Just as good on crappy Tampa Bay teams. They used to triple team him. Sometimes it still wasn’t enough.
聽
Emtman should have been a pro HOFer. He was very good as a rookie with the Colts. Then he tore up the knee – badly – and was never the same.
Niners are looking for another TE.
They put a claim on Lee Smith TE from the Pats out of Tenn but Buffalo also claimed him and being the shittier team they were given priority.
Anyway our QB situation has improved from last year. Kaepernick and Tolzien have brighter futures and upside than Carr and Troy Smith.
Grumpy- Emtman tore one knee, came back. Tore the other knee, came back. Hurt his neck and was done. I remember him trying out for the Niners just before he called it quits. I don’t think he had a choice with all the devastating injuries he had recovered from. I always wondered if he was just a marked man by the opposition because he was so good, or if it was just bad luck?
No, sorry, NF. Only knew my cousins and some of their close friends they would hang out with in the summer.
聽
The Selmons – all 3 of them – were pretty much a legend even before Lee Roy graduated. They made Barry Switzer look like a great coach!
Speaking of DTs, anybody watching Texas A&M? They’ve got a couple good ones.
LB released by Ravens, Tavares Gooden to the Niners.
Gooden is an upgrade over Kristick as a 4th ILB but not much more. Has some injury history. Who are we cutting to put him on the roster?
sorry FEAR
was trying to have a laff about me/nolan/whatever
but thought my boi lee-roy selmon was doing better (at last report ) but now he didn’t make it !
sucks big time !
that guy has a
hi-way
here named after him , the LEER-ROY SELMON expressway !!!
good to see a great guy like him do so well and be such a good influence on this area !
we’ll miss him here imo !!!
sorry (noFEAR)
was trying to have a laff about me/nolan/whatever
but thought my boi lee-roy selmon was doing better (at last report ) but now he didn’t make it !
sucks big time !
that guy has a
hi-way
here named after him , the LEER-ROY SELMON expressway !!!
good to see a great guy like him do so well and be such a good influence on this area !
we’ll miss him here imo !!!
see you guys afternoon on monday !
sorry (noFEAR)
was trying to have a laff about me/nolan/whatever
but thought my boi lee-roy selmon was doing better (at last report ) but now he didn’t make it !
sucks big time !
that guy has a
hi-way
here named after him , the LEER-ROY SELMON expressway !!!
good to see a great guy like him do so well and be such a good influence on this area !
we’ll miss him here imo !!!
see you guys late on monday !
aww crap !
and you thought you couldn’t double , let alone triple -post on here !
oh well !
sorry !
馃槈
The TE I liked a Draft time was Brett Brackett/Penn St.
Turns out he’s related to me thru a Cousin’s spouses Family member too.
He got cut and recalled to the Miami PS. If we do have any interest, he’s unprotected at the moment.
I heard he was offered a UDFA Contract from SF and chose Miami because he figured Vernon and Delanie would hold him back, less to overcome in Miami.
New post is up.