San Francisco 49ers Discussion

Sword of Gondor

Rumours that Michael Crabtree has torn his Achilles. Terrible news for the 49ers.

adrian522

**** this.

mickmc7

Horrendous news. He really started to become a key player in the second half of last season, I was really looking forward to seeing him flourish more this year. Balls.

madalig12

He should have done like the posts on page one and sat it out.

frostie500

Sword of Gondor wrote: »

Rumours that Michael Crabtree has torn his Achilles. Terrible news for the 49ers.

Major blow for the Niners to, presumably, lose Crabtree for the full season. It will put a lot more pressure on Boldin to come in and be productive but their offence will be built around a strong ground game and using their tight ends to make plays over the middle

adrian522

The 49ers WR position is cursed. we had Williams 2 punt meltdowns against the Giants, we had Williams and Manningham both tearing ACL's on the same play, we had AJ Jenkins having the worst ever first season for a 1st round receiver and now Crabtree is likely done for the year.

To start next season we could be looking at Boldin, Jenkins,Patton and Lockette.

Not in a great mood right now.

adrian522

Saw this just now on twitter from PFF:

Number of targets in Kaepernick's 10 starts: Crabtree 89, Moss 38, Davis, 38, Walker 31, Mario 17, Gore 14, Miller 9, Others 21 #49ers

Paully D

That Boldin move in the offseason is looking even better now.

adrian522

Well, probably lots of 2 and 3 TE sets, and plenty of creativity with all the running backs, particularly lamichael James.

Struggling to see an upside to any of this now.

Paully D

The joys of OTA's, unfortunately.

Podge_irl

****.

randomCluster

Undoubtedly that's bad news. We've lost one of our trump cards. The youngsters are going to have to step up. Positives? It occurred preseason - still plenty of time to make the necessary adjustments.

HigginsJ

Such a pity for Crabtree. He and Kapernick had an instant connection. Big blow for the 49ers

adrian522

Some better news starting to leak out. He's already had surgery and is looking at 6 months in a best case scenario.

http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/5/22/4356616/michael-crabtree-injury-surgery-rehab-return-timeline

marklar81

Anyone heading over to the 49ers V Jaguars game in Wembley in October? Bought flights for that weekend (Dublin to Gatwick) but I'm unable to travel now. The cost to change the dates is a joke so wondering if anyone might be interested in purchasing the flights from me? It's for 2 passengers flying with aer lingus. Total cost was 210 but willing to sell for 150. Flying on the Saturday, back on the Monday.

adrian522

Probably not worth it as you need to pay for a name change.

"Name changes are permitted for €100/£80/$157 per person, and may be changed up to 2 hours prior to commencement of journey."

mongoman

I'm glad to see Harbaugh taking a swipe at the Seahawks and the unusually large number of their players caught on PED's. High time they were called out over it.

Podge_irl

So Justin Smith signed on for another two years. He's obviously integral to the 9ers D line but he ain't getting any younger. I wonder what terms he got.

adrian522

Great re-signing. A few have been extended early now, Iupati the big one remaining.

They still need to resign Kaepernick, Crabtree, Aldon smith after this season.

Podge_irl

adrian522 wrote: »

They still need to resign Kaepernick, Crabtree, Aldon smith after this season.

Kaep is going to be a big bloody hit on the cap. 9ers have been pretty good on the backroom stuff though so I trust them, but they'll need some young WRs like Jenkins to step up cause they won't be able to afford a Boldin once Kaep is on a big contract.

adrian522

Podge_irl wrote: »

Kaep is going to be a big bloody hit on the cap. 9ers have been pretty good on the backroom stuff though so I trust them, but they'll need some young WRs like Jenkins to step up cause they won't be able to afford a Boldin once Kaep is on a big contract.

Probably wont be able to afford Crabtree to be honest.

Emperor1989

Seahawks and 49ers is going to be some great games over the next 5 years.

Ooohh I cant wait!

adrian522

Yep, the bitterness starts with the head coaches, and obviously includes some of the players as well as the fans.

I've a ticket for the week 14 game in candlestick..:)

randomCluster

Nice - the penultimate game at the Stick.

<stares into camp fire...spits some tobacco> I was in SF last October for a family wedding when the Giants were playing in the world series. Landed the day of the 9ers-Rams game, didn't go, arrival schedule was too tight and felt pretty jet lagged. Remember driving from the airport to San Jose past a long line of cars on the 101 making their way to the game. The new club merchandise store had just opened in San Jose as well, was a bit small and a little underwhelming. Hopefully it'll have improved.

Masked Man

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/49ers-linebacker-ahmad-brooks-could-face-charges-allegedly-125526104.html

This was posted on reddit as well.

According to the application for Brooks' arrest, the incident unfolded after Brooks, Divens and other 49er players spent the evening of June 7 at different players' houses. Eventually they decided to go to downtown San Jose and keep drinking.

The unidentified witness said Brooks was too intoxicated to drive home, so Divens drove. When they got to Brooks' house about 2 a.m. on June 8, Brooks asked for his keys. Divens pretended to chuck them onto the grass and then started to hand them to him.

Brooks then allegedly clocked Divens in the head with a beer bottle. Brooks allegedly began cursing and then struck him in the head again. Brooks allegedly asked Divens, "Do I need to get my (expletive deleted) gun?" and struck him again. Prosecutors also allege in the warrant that Brooks punched Divens.

randomCluster

A buddy of mine sent on the following link discussing the "Gang of 4" qbs. Worthwhile read:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9482930/bill-barnwell-breaks-nfl-young-elite-quarterbacks

Tips wilson for big things this season. Thought he was a bit harsh on Luck imo.

I'd also recommend the 50 most valuable nfl assets:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9492942/bill-barnwell-ranks-top-assets-nfl

frostie500

Had a very good day at Niners training camp yesterday. It was very interesting to see a lot of the new stuff that they are looking to introduce into their system for 2013.

They moved Vernon Davis into the slot on some of the 11 on 11 drills so you'd expect that they are looking for him to be utilised quite a lot in numerous passing situations and look for the best matchup with him. They'll look to do the same with Anquan Boldin. In various plays they moved him around-motion from wideout to the slot-but on one play they moved him into the back position in the pistol and gave him the ball on a triple option for a big gain. The chemistry between him and Kaepernick looks very good already and Boldin made a lot of big catches.

I was really impressed with Kaep in the drills. He was making a lot of great throws into tight coverage and able too consistently get the ball down the field. The difference between him and the other QBs was noticeable.

Defensively safety is understandably their biggest question mark. They was a lot of times when it seemed there was a coverage mixup between the safeties and cornerbacks so until they can finalise their starters there will be issues at the position.

I was really impressed by Glenn Dorsey at NT and he looked superb. Broke up a couple of plays and was able to get pressure on the QB on a lot of plays

adrian522

Thanks for the post, would love to be there.

Any word on how the CB battle is going? Was Nnamdi any good?

I also heard AJ Jenkins struggled, did you get a look at him?

Was Okyoe there and if so how did he look?

Thanks again for the updates.

mikemac1

Any pics?

frostie500

adrian522 wrote: »

Thanks for the post, would love to be there.

Any word on how the CB battle is going? Was Nnamdi any good?

I also heard AJ Jenkins struggled, did you get a look at him?

Was Okyoe there and if so how did he look?

Thanks again for the updates.

Nnamdi was playing at RCB with Carlos Rogers out on the left. Nnamdi looked OK and it looks like they'll be looking him to be a man up corner instead of what we used him as in Philly with a lot more coverage and safety help. He wasn't amazing but he looked OK even though he was beaten for a couple of decent gains.

For Okyoe it seems that everyone was fairly impressed by him. Harbaugh said: "The most noticeable thing was he seems to be a better player in pads. His arm-length really shows up in pads. Being able to put his hands on somebody and lock them out was really noticeable.”

Aldon Smith said he was "I know a guy like him is an Olympian and is really strong, when he puts the pads on I think strength is going to show and show the way he plays. He did a good job.”

In the drills he seemed to pretty quickly get used to playing the game on his third or fourth play he beat his tackle which was impressive.

AJ Jenkins....he made a good return in the kickoff practices but doesnt seemed to have made a lot of progress. He had one very good acrobatic catch but he was one of the players who didn't really catch your eye. Chad Hall looked very impressive, especially for such a small guy, and made a lot of nice plays in both return and passing games. Vance McDonald, a big TE, from Rice looked like he could be a bit of a baller. Some nice receptions from Kaepernick and McCoy.

Most impressive thing about the Niners though was their defence. Once they figure out who to have at safety they'll be mega this year.

Here's a couple of pics from the camp, unfortunately they only let you shoot early in the session so I've not got a lot of action shots:

randomCluster

Looks fantastic. Thanks for the snaps. I hope you're enjoying it.
What are the coaches like? Is there any screaming and bawling at the players? Is Brooks allowed have a water bottle near Divens??

Are you sure about Dorsey? If so, sounds like we're sorted at NT as Williams is also getting a lot of attention, see: http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/7/29/4567412/what-have-we-learned-through-four-days-of-training-camp-practice

frostie500

randomCluster wrote: »

Looks fantastic. Thanks for the snaps. I hope you're enjoying it.
What are the coaches like? Is there any screaming and bawling at the players? Is Brooks allowed have a water bottle near Divens??

Are you sure about Dorsey? If so, sounds like we're sorted at NT as Williams is also getting a lot of attention, see: http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/7/29/4567412/what-have-we-learned-through-four-days-of-training-camp-practice

Dorsey impressed me a lot anytime he was on the field but the front seven for the Niners was hugely impressive but obviously most of the time they were up against the second string offense.

No screaming and shouting at all from the coaches. At this stage of the season you're trying to coach guys up and get the most from them

adrian522

Patrick Willis has broken a bone in his hand. Being described as a "slight" fracture. Whatever the **** that means.

http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/8/1/4578880/patrick-willis-injury-slight-fracture-49ers-linebackers

We have no depth at ILB.

Chris Culliver suffered what looks like a horrible knee injury and could be out for a while.

http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/8/1/4579792/chris-culliver-injury-knee-49ers-training-camp

Similar to Crabtree it happened on a non contact drill. Maybe time to look at Eric Wright again.

Podge_irl

I don't think ILB is the worst position in the world to have a hand fracture. It should be coming close to fixed by regular season anyway.

I imagine the 9ers will look at Wright again if he can get fixed whatever caused him to fail his physical - with the benefit of him coming for free this time. Nonetheless, while the 9ers aren't loaded at corner I'm not exactly distraught at the loss of Culliver.

adrian522

I think Culliver would be a big loss.

He had a very good year last year, ok he got burnt in the playoffs a few times but for the most part was solid.

Now you are talking about having Brown and Nnamndi starting with Rodgers covering the slot. And not much in the way of depth beneath them.

Podge_irl

He got burnt a lot - the 9ers secondary on big plays in the playoffs was truly awful. He's a very solid player and he is definitely a loss, but I would be slow to call it a big one. Whether it is a big loss or not is entirely dependent on his replacement. I think Asomugha is a good replacement if played in the right scheme, though depth is an issue. I think Wright will end up on the 9ers roster with this news.

My opinion is possibly being coloured by his high profile beats in the playoffs.

adrian522

I think the safties cost us more big plays(especially Whitner) than Cully ever did.

Podge_irl

Honestly, I don't know enough about football yet to really judge what happened - I guess the corners are easy people to blame.

adrian522

Culliver has a torn ACL apparently.

This is pretty disastrous for him and for the team too I think.

randomCluster

Disastrous for Culliver, and a big blow for the secondary. After his comments before the superbowl and his actual performance during it's hard not to think of him as irreplaceable. It's another headache for the coaching staff and like you say, it leaves little in terms of depth beneath Rogers, Brown, and Nnamndi. No harm giving Wright another once over.

Re WIllis - bandage up his hand and bring the club back.

adrian522

Some updates from Camp;

The 49ers have signed Austin Collie and Lavelle Hawkins. This doesn't say much for 2012 first round choice AJ Jenkins.

In fact for all the deserved credit we got for the 2011 draft and for this year, the 2012 version doesn't look great.

Collie has always looked good but has struggled with concussions.

I'd hope the 49ers wouldn't put him on the field with out ensuring medically he is ok.

There is also talk from Vic Fangio that "The jury is still out" on Asmougha. I think he is virtually certain to make the roster but comments like that don't engender confidence.

I'd imagine Rodgers and Brown will be starters in the base defense with Rodgers moving to the slot in Nikel with Asmougha coming in on the outside.

randomCluster

Signing two wrs can't be too inspiring for Jenkins, but some depth is needed. Collie is in a tough division so we'll soon find out about his concussions. I still have high hopes for Quinton Patton! Maybe Jenkins is a confidence player??

I'd be a little hesitant to write off the 2012 draft just yet, but it isn't looking good. Going for the deep threat in Jenkins and the toy pick in LMJ someone described it more of a tinkering draft than a building draft.

Rnd: 1 Overall Pick: 30 A.J. Jenkins (WR)
Rnd: 2 Overall Pick: 61 LaMichael James (RB)
Rnd: 4 Overall Pick: 117 Joe Looney (C/G)
Rnd: 5 Overall Pick: 165 Darius Fleming (OLB)
Rnd: 6 Overall Pick: 180 Trent Robinson (SS)
Rnd: 6 Overall Pick: 199 Jason Slowey (T)
Rnd: 7 Overall Pick: 237 Cam Johnson (DE)

Jenkins - Needed to bulk up, which he did a bit. Let's see how pre-season games go for him, but reports so far suggest it's not looking too good. LMJ has been a success, wonder if he can last a 16-game regular season. Looney - developing into a solid backup for one of the best O-lines in the league? Fleming - Lost a year due to injury (ACL?), on the PUP list for the 2013 training camp, won't get a sniff ahead of Willis and Bowman. Robinson - fighting for a place on the 53-man roster. Slowey - cut after training camp in 2012. Johnson - practise squad at best.

On the upside, they did generate a number of extra picks for 2013 using the 2012 draft (e.g. Peter King's analysis).

adrian522

Ah yeah depth is certainly needed, without Crabtree and Williams and Manningham still not practicing, but I think the first preseaon game will be telling.

I expect Boldin to be wrapped in cotton wool.

Good oppurtunity for Jenkins and Collie to stake a claim for the starting role.

adrian522

anyone been watching the preseason.

Nice view here of our only TD so far in the preseason. BJ Daniels to Chuck Jacobs.

Dymo

What I've learned from the pre-season for San Francisco is if anything happens Kapernick, we are in trouble. The Drafts haven't shined for me yet and Jenkin's will be lucky to make the roster.

randomCluster

Pre-season...meh. Half the drafts are injured! Defense looks good again. Special teams haven't been too hot.

adrian522

Mario Manningham will start the season on the PUP list, as such he will be unable to practice for the first 6 weeks of the season. No way Jenkins doesn't make the 53 man roster now.

1. Boldin
2. Williams
3. Patton
4. Collie
5. Jenkins
Then pick 1 from Hall, Lockette, Moore,etc.

I expect osgood and Hawkins to be cut.

CJC86

It looks like you guys got the good end of a WR trade with KC. Offloading Jenkins and picking up Jonathan Baldwin, not bad.

randomCluster

CJC86 wrote: »

It looks like you guys got the good end of a WR trade with KC. Offloading Jenkins and picking up Jonathan Baldwin, not bad.

Walterfootball.com sums it up appropriately: "The 49ers dealt their turd sandwich to the Chiefs for a diarrhea burrito. Both Jon Baldwin and A.J. Jenkins are terrible receivers who won't be in the league much longer because they just don't care about improving or learning the game of football. I feel like giving both teams Cs is appropriate; they're each getting rid of trash, but taking back garbage in return."

Harsh?

HigginsJ

On paper I think 49ers got the better end of the deal as Baldwin has at least shown he can contribute in the NFL. Big chance for both players as neither side are great at WR