We may have an addition to our NFC West discussion later today.  For now though, I thought I'd wish everyone a Happy Independence Day.  Hopefully everybody can enjoy some quality barbeque and fireworks.  And if you're not American, well, enjoy some BBQ anyways!

In the meantime, if you get a chance, check out the 2009 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.  It airs on ESPN at 9am pacific, noon eastern.  The Bay Area's own Joey Chestnut looks to retain the mustard belt he won from Takeru Kobayashi last year.  Happy Independence Day!

via Nathan's Famous

I wanted to pull out one of today's Golden Nuggets for a little more discussion.  Steve Young is joining the B crew of Monday Night Football, which includes Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg.  The B crew is whipped out whenever there are two Monday Night Football games.  The Mike & Mike crew used to be Mike cubed and included Mike Ditka.  Young has appeared on plenty of pre-game shows, and whatever you may think of the Mikes, I think Young is a good addition.

Given that addition, I thought now was as good a time as any to open the floor to discussion about announcers throughout the NFL.  Who are your favorites, who do you hate, who do you consider underrated, who do you consider overrated...that sort of thing.  Madden has retired so we'll take him off the discussion list at this point.

So who do I like?  Well, I have to admit I'm kind of excited for the 2009 Monday Night football crew.  While I'm relatively indifferent to Mike Tirico, I'm a big Ron Jaworski fan and I think Jon Gruden could make for a very solid announcer.  Jaws brings the type of analysis you really don't see often enough anymore.  Obviously there are plenty of color guys out there providing analysis.  However, most of those guys are cookie-cutter announcers shooting out cliches.  Combine that with Jon Gruden's passion, which I think we saw quite well at the draft, and I think you've got a very solid MNF crew.

In looking through the announcing crews, I'm a big fan of Gus Johnson.  He's better in college basketball, but the few times I get to hear him do NFL games, I'm usually sufficiently entertained.  It's interesting that, looking at the Fox and CBS pairings from last season, there are a lot of groupings I really never cared for.  Two in particular come to mind: 1) Jim Nantz and Phil Simms (can't stand Nantz) and 2) Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (although I certainly enjoy me some Pam Oliver).  I realize they're the #1 crews on each network, but Buck and Nantz just drive me crazy.  Simms is usually ok, but nothing special for me, and Troy Aikman doesn't really do it for me..maybe it's the Cowboys thing...

I have to say I'm rather excited for the Al Michaels, Chris Collinsworth grouping.  I used to really not like Collinsworth, but he's grown on me and I think I'll be enjoying Sunday Night Football with those two.

My biggest sleeper, who actually is not doing NFL games at this point, is Jesse Palmer.  The former Bachelor star and NFL QB (yes I did them in that order!) made his debut as an NFL announcer at a 49ers game and I was more than pleasantly surprised.  The former players that move into the announcing booth often seem straight out of an assembly-line and really just aren't any good.  But Palmer was unique.  He brought great insight and timely comments.  Amazing to see given some of the crap out there.  He's doing college football announcing now, but I hope he makes it back to the NFL.

So, who do you like and dislike in the NFL announcer crews?  If you want to discuss the studio shows feel free to, but given the volume of people in each of those shows, that could go on forever.  And it's also possible you might find a crew solid that individually you don't enjoy.  Feel free to come at this any way you want.  While there are certain things I look for in an announcer, everybody sees something different in certain announcers.

Later today we'll have the next ballot for our NIners Nation all-time team.  In the meantime, I thought we'd mix things up a little bit and discuss something outside the direct realm of the 49ers.  I wanted to open the floor to discussion about how we view NFL games on tv, and more importantly, how we can improve that viewing experience.  The changes people suggest might never happen, but it's always interesting to at least ponder them.

This post was actually inspired by a brief discussion in last Sunday's post about re-watching recorded games.  I was asking for suggestions about what I should keep a close eye on this season when I re-watch 49ers games.  Someone suggested looking into how our downfield blockers look during the game.  Unfortunately the cameras we see on the networks miss out on a lot of important action by focusing on the ball carrier.  It certainly makes sense to follow the ball carrier, but you'd think they could get more creative in their coverage.

And so, that inspired me to post this idea: multiple cameras shooting different parts of the field and you could have a sort of picture in picture any time you wanted, rather than just when the networks decide to show it.  As I said in that post, I bet people would pay extra for that kind of option.  I know I would.  And I think this is a work-able option.  The networks already have multiple cameras because on instant replay they'll show other parts of the field during a play.  Why not provide some way for people to view what these cameras are shooting anytime during a game?

Beyond that, I think the title speaks for itself.  The XFL had multiple ideas that I thought could be instituted in the NFL in some form or fashion.  As I recall (and it's hard to find info on it), I believe the XFL set up microphones so viewers could hear the calling of plays from the offensive coordinator to the quarterback.  I'm sure NFL coaches would have a big problem with that, but I would think something along those lines would be pretty cool to hear.  Many fans might not care, but hard core fans would be intrigued.

My final suggestion is not exactly original, but something I've wanted to see for a long time.  Remote controls have the ASP button for people to switch the broadcast from English to Spanish.  I was thinking why not be able to switch between different broadcasting crews.  For example, switching from the tv crew to the Westwood One radio announcers, or even your own home announcers.  I realize I could turn on the radio while watching, but it'd be cool if it was all hooked up on the tv itself.

Anyways, I'm curious what other people think would improve the telecast of a football game.  No idea is too crazy (I don't think) so feel free to get creative.

I've decided that I'll post these Know Thy Enemy posts each Wednesday.  At that pace we'd wrap up the 11 non-divisional opponents the week of the final preseason game.  I noticed we actually didn't finish our list last summer, so I think that's a reasonable goal this time around.  I forgot to ask last time, but if you'd like certain additional bits of information in these posts let me know in the comments.  These are meant as more broad overviews, but I'm certainly open to changes.

This week we move on to the Atlanta Falcons.  The Vikings Falcons are represented at SB Nation by Dave the Falconer over at The Falcoholic.  The Falcons have managed quite the on-field and PR turnaround in the wake of Michael Vick's departure from the team and I'd imagine Falcons fans are in quite the happy place at this point in time.

Overview
The Falcons put together quite a turnaround last season.  The additions of Matt Ryan and Michael Turner completely turned the franchise around.  They already had a potential franchise wide receiver in Roddy White, but the additions of Ryan and Turner turned this team from 4-12 to 12-4 11-5.  John Abraham's re-emergence as a sack machine definitely added to that and the Falcons had them rolling before running into an Arizona Cardinals team that was getting especially hot at the right time.  The team will be looking to build on a monster 2008 and avoid a sophomore slump after an impressive Rookie of the Year campaign.

Additions
After a season in which their rushing and passing offense showed impressive improvements, the Falcons used the draft to address a defense ranked 23rd in the league.  In fact, they used all 8 picks 7 of their 8 picks on the defense.  If John Abraham can maintain last year's monster performance, Falcons are hopeful first round pick Peria Jerry will help turn their defensive linemen into the best in the NFC South.  Another intriguing addition, at least in my mind, was the addition of Mizzou safety William Moore in the second round.  There was a fair amount of buzz around him and Falcons fans seem convinced he'll be the starting strong safety this season.

The team did not ignore the offense, even as it rolled to 8th in the league.  In fact, they went so far as to adding future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.  Gonzalez is coming off yet another monster season in Kansas City, finishing with 96 receptions, 1,058 yards and touchdowns.  Although he just turned 33, Gonzalez has not yet lost a step.  If Gonzalez continues at his current level of play, that Falcons offense could be mighty impressive (cue the complaining for the 49ers not acquiring him).

Subtractions
The team saw important cogs like LBs Keith Brooking and Michael Boley and CB Domonique Foxworth depart in free agency.  Brooking was an older veteran who were replaced by the likes of Mike Peterson, also a veteran.  A switch of veterans should not hurt them all that much.  Boley and Foxworth were both still young.  While they did make some secondary additions in the draft, it'll be interesting to see how they replace Boley.  Right now it appears as though Coy Wire and Stephen Nicholas are competing for the job.

2009 Questions & Answers
The big question is whether Matt Ryan will put together a sophomore campaign like or better than his rookie season, or if he'll suffer the dreaded sophomore slump.  I'd say the addition of Tony Gonzalez would likely help mitigate that given that he is awesome and all.  While the team could certainly struggle in 2009, I really think this offense could be pretty filthy this season.

One question that could get in the way is Michael Turner.  Turner finished 2008 with 394 total carries between the regular season and postseason.  That is a dangerous load to carry and the Falcons will likely need to figure out a way to get Jerious Norwood more involved in the offense.  He had 95 carries for 489 yards in 2008, but might need to add a decent chunk of carries to keep Turner fresh.

On defense, John Abraham has been rather up and down throughout his career.  If he can maintain last season's pace that'd be great, but if not, the question becomes who picks up the slack.

@ San Francisco
The 49ers last faced the Falcons in 2007, a much different time that saw the Falcons quarterbacked by Joey Harrington.  Joey Heisman didn't do much of anything in the game, but looked better than Alex Smith in a 20-16 Atlanta victory.  Much has changed and this game will come just after the the quarter-pole of the season, with much on the line for both teams.  In our second discussion post, ProfessorBigelow and I both saw this as a 49ers loss.  If Matt Ryan doesn't have a sophomore slump and the Falcons defense shows some gradual improvement, I see this as potentially one of the toughest games all season. 

Equally important, it will be a huge measuring stick.  If the team is playing well the 49ers should be 2-2 at this point, and even then 3-2 is just so much better than 2-3.  And, of course, heading into the bye week, the team has an opportunity at a 2-game winning streak given that they play the Rams at home the week before.  Either way, this is a huge game early in the season.

Last week I stumbled across an interesting article completely unrelated to the 49ers.  A writer for the Seattle Times put together a ranking of the 15 most important Seahawks for the 2009 season.  Matt Hasselbeck topped the list, followed by Patrick Kerney, Walter Jones and TJ Houshmandzadeh.  I can see how those four might be your most important guys.

After reading the article, I thought, why not come up with our own list.  I decided to go with just 10 guys because there will be plenty of consternation on just that short a list.  When considering "importance," I look at these players as the guys the 49ers need to step up to a certain level for the 49ers to have success this year (we won't even begin to try and define "success").

I went back and forth on what to do with the offensive line: Do I list each guys individually, or go with the unit as a whole?  I chose the latter.  As great as Joe Staley might be, how useful is it if the entire right side of the line goes down in a heap?  Fell free to argue counter to that.

No matter what, I would imagine it would be pretty unlikely anybody will agree 100% with my rankings.  Looking at them, I already have my doubts.  Each time I go through the list I move a man up or down.

1. Offensive line: There are plenty of important areas, but if the Jimmy Raye offense is what we think it might be, the offensive line will be key.  They'll need to give Hill/Smith time to make plays, and they'll need to break up some daylight for Frank Gore.

2. Frank Gore: Frank the Tank has three straight thousand yard seasons, but the last two have been a bit of a struggle.  If the offensive line steps up, maybe we'll see Frank get back to his 2006 form.

3. Manny Lawson: We know Parys Haralson is a player as a pass rusher.  He needs to show consistency, but we know the pass rush ability is there in some sense.  Man-Law?  The 49ers need him to step up as a legit pass rushing threat if they're going to shake things up this season.  He's been utilized in a variety of roles, but in 2009 he appears to be getting his chance to show his pass rushing skills.

4. 49ers QB: Given that Hill and Smith could both see starting snaps at some point this season, I'm considering them both together.  I do think the QB will be important, but I think not quite on the level of Frank Gore in the Raye offense.

5. Vernon Davis: Why the Duke over any of the receivers?  His combination of size and athleticism have people pondering the numerous possibilities.  The 49ers receivers each have specific roles, but Vernon Davis' ability lends itself to virtually any type of route.  He can burn a man deep, he can make use his speed and size on short passes, and of course he can even come flying out of the backfield on a swing pass or some such play.  While the 49ers can be successful without a huge receiving contribution from Davis, a solid/strong year from Davis will do wonders for the offense.

The second half of the list, with some concluding thoughts is after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

A few days ago the NFL and American Needle Inc. both appealed to the United States Supreme Court for a decision regarding antitrust issues and the NFL's exclusive licensing deal with Reebok.  Although the Supreme Court has gone into recess for the summer, ESPN is reporting that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case next term.  Oral arguments will be later this year or early in 2010.

This could be a huge antitrust case for the NFL and the other sports leagues.  American Needle had an official license to manufacture NFL headwear, but lost the deal when the NFL reached an exclusive contract with Reebok in 2001.  American Needle sued and the NFL won the case in the federal court of appeals.  American Needle obviously appealed, but the NFL also appealed "asking the Supreme Court to hear the case in a quest for a more sweeping decision that could put an end to what the league considers costly, frivolous antitrust lawsuits."

I haven't had a chance to read the court of appeals decision, but as ESPN puts it:

The case concerns whether the league is essentially a "single entity" that can act collectively or 32 distinct businesses that must be careful about running afoul of antitrust laws by working too closely together.

The various professional sports leagues in the US have dealt with antitrust concerns for decades.  MLB has an antitrust exemption, while I believe the NFL has a more limited exemption related to the television contract and their player draft (the player draft is technically an illegal restraint of trade).

While sports labor is the area of the law I am most interested in, antitrust law has a lot of intriguing nuances.  I'd imagine the NFL will end up winning this case, but either way we'll keep an eye on it.

This offseason has seen an assortment of discussions ranging from draft talk to trade talk to positional analysis to the Jimmy Raye offense.  In fact, most of these topics have been discussed numerous times.  That's all well and good, but there's one topic of sorts that I haven't noticed much discussion on: running backs coach Tom Rathman.

Rathman coached the 49ers running backs from 1997-2002 before heading to Detroit and Oakland.  Now he's back, coaching the backs in an offense that would seem to be tailored to them.  While we really don't know much of anything about the 49ers offense at this point, we hear a lot of the cliches like "smash mouth football" and "strong rushing attack."  In general, I'd imagine most of us anticipate a heavy dose of the running backs, even amidst any aerial attack.  If that's the case, Tom Rathman's guys are going to be front and center.  One would imagine that would mean Rathman will be there with them.

I guess the first question I have is what exactly does the running backs coach do?  Anybody want to take that one on?  I can honestly say I really don't know.  Does Rathman work with them on spotting the holes, proper footwork, blocking and that sort of thing?  If a running back is successful in a given season, which of the coaches can rightfully claim credit?  The offensive coordinator for devising the game plan or the running backs coach who worked with the running backs?

One reason for the quiet is due to the gag order the 49ers appear to have implemented with their assistant coaches.  Aside from Mike Singletary, Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye are the only assistants to speak with the media.  Nonetheless, I'm curious whether people think we should expect something out of Rathman's running backs that would be different than production under past RB coaches.  Or is that even something we can really anticipate?  Maybe we should consider a combination of Rathman and offensive line coach Chris Foerster.  Or maybe this is all just a bit too complicated for my pea-sized intellect.

Just for the heck of it, I found a feature on Rathman over at YouTube that I've posted after the jump.  It's basically someone filming the tv screen so the quality is kind of poor, but it's still a cool video.

Continue reading this post »

While poking around SB Nation I came across a post at Field Gulls linking to a very interesting article about holding penalties.    It basically argues about the value of taking a holding penalty on a given pass play.  It utilizes a whole bunch of equations that are way over my head and concludes that:

The bottom line is that the probability of detection at which committing holding is worthwhile is when it is about 4/5 the chance a pass rusher will get a sack if he beats his blocker. For argument's sake, say that a pass rusher in the backfield gets a sack half the time. The probability of detection would need to be below 0.4 for the hold to make sense.

When I read over this it reminded of the old YouTube video of Kwame Harris and all his various penalties and general screw-ups.  Unfortunately it's no longer available online because of the copyright issues.  Such a shame.

I post this now for a few reasons.  First off, I think it's an interesting take on the subject of penalties.  Second, I'm curious how holding is handled by the 49ers offensive line coach.  Seeing as this can apply to any offensive line, do we have any former high school or college o-linemen who could contribute to this discussion?  Basically I'm curious how coaches address the idea of holding since it really seems to happen on most plays, but is obviously not called every time.

The final reason I bring it up is to get some feedback from everybody on some ideas I have.  Thanks to the power of DVR I can record every game and watch it over and over again with great ease (I still have the 49ers-Packers TO catch game from when NFLN showed it a few months ago).  I'm thinking that we can use these recordings each week to get a better idea of stats that aren't really accumulated anywhere on a regular basis.  I'm talking primarily about penalties on different players.  You can find that information sometimes but it's a real pain in the butt to locate.

So, I'm thinking I'll start keeping track of that kind of thing on a regular basis.  Each week I'll provide the numbers on player penalties for the past game and cumulative to date.  However, I was curious what other random stuff people would like to see accumulated from the recorded games.  Are there any particular stats that would be relatively easy to track, but are not readily available anywhere?  We've got some time left before the season starts, but now is as good a time as any to start planning for the upcoming season.