Nothing surprising to close out the week.  The 49ers would appear to be getting Reggie Smith back for Sunday's game, which is a nice little shot in the arm for a secondary that has had injury issues much of the season.  If Smith is active and playing I'm really curious to see how the team utilizes him, given Nate Clements injury.  Mark Roman moved his way up to primary safety backup, so if Roman remains in that role, Smith could be moved around in a variety of other formations.

One thing I wanted to bring up unrelated to injuries: The Sports Guy rolled out his picks for the week today and had these comments about the 49ers-Titans game:

NINERS (-4) over Titans
The strangest line of the year. I don't get it. Vince Young on the road against a good defense getting just four? Really? We're afraid of Chris Johnson that much?

The folks at MCM would have us believe Chris Johnson is a bad, bad man.  He's definitely a quality running back, but the 49ers rush defense is quite solid.  Vince Young will indeed have to make plays if the Titans are going to win this game.

49ers
Out
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
DE Demetric Evans (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Probable
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)
SS Reggie Smith (groin)

Titans
Out
RB Javon Ringer (back)

Questionable
DE Jevon Kearse (knee)
OT Mike Otto (knee)
S Vincent Fuller (groin)
CB Nicholas Harper (forearm)
OT David Stewart (hamstring)
LB David Thornton (hip)

vs. 

2005 and 2006 saw Alex Smith and Vince Young drafted #1 and #3 overall respectively.  In the time since those lofty draft selections, things have not exactly gone according to plan for either player.  Both players seemed to show improvement from year 1 to year 2 Alex Smith showed improvement in year 2, while Vince Young was a bit of a mixed bag that second year.  However, for both QBs, their stock quickly plummeted immediately thereafter.  Alex Smith was injured midway through the 2007 season and is just now healthy and starting again.  After a very solid start to his career, Vince Young seemed to be turning into a bit of a head case.  While the 49ers franchise has struggled mightily along with Smith, the Titans built an impressive 13-3 season with the aged wonder Kerry Collins at the helm.

So now we sit here in 2009 with the top QBs taken in 2005 and 2006 getting a chance to square off.  This is one of many interesting matchups for Smith who will also get to square off against fellow 2005 first round pick Aaron Rodgers in a couple weeks.  At the beginning of this season how many people expected these various matchups to take place?  Smith vs. Young or Smith vs. Rodgers?  It's a completely different world eight weeks into the season.

Vince Young
Yesterday we discussed the importance of the battle between Chris Johnson and the 49ers rushing defense.  If the 49ers defense is able to continue its success against the run, that would put the Titans offense squarely on the shoulders of Vince Young.  Last week against Jacksonville, Young was 15/18 for 125 yards and 1 touchdown, while rushing 12 times for 30 yards.  Not too shabby, but it was against a crappy Jaguars team, and the offense was really carried by Chris Johnson.

We go into Vince Young's abilities, and also that of Alex Smith after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

The only significant change today was that Jevon Kearse did not practice.  He's been banged up and relatively ineffective this season (minus a sack in the opener), so we'll see if we see him on Sunday.

After the jump we've got the Thursday transcripts from Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye.

49ers
Out (Definitely Will Not Play)
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
DE Demetric Evans (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Did not Participate in Practice
DT Aubrayo Franklin (not injury related)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Full Participation in Practice
SS Reggie Smith (groin)

Titans
Did not Participate in Practice
OT Mike Otto (knee)
RB Javon Ringer (back)
DE Jevon Kearse (knee)

Limited Participation in Practice
S Vincent Fuller (groin)
CB Nicholas Harper (forearm)
OT David Stewart (hamstring)
LB David Thornton (hip)

After the jump we've got post-practice transcripts for both coordinators.

Continue reading this post »

This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL RedZone channel.  If you want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations hurry up and get yourself Comcast's NFL RedZone Channel.

The week before the bye, the Atlanta Falcons absolutely destroyed the 49ers in the red zone.  The Falcons went 4 for 5 in the red zone with Michael Turner rushing in for three touchdowns.  The only "unsuccessful" red zone trip was the drive where Dre Bly intercepted the pass and fumbled it away on the return (leading to 3 Falcons points).  Not exactly a fun day in the red zone for a 49ers defense that was run absolutely ragged all day long.

The week after the bye, the Houston Texans were not in the red zone as often, but they did take advantage of their opportunities with two Steve Slaton touchdowns from inside the ten on three trips into the red zone.  The 49ers hung in much better, but it was still not a pretty result.

Then we get to the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday.  The Colts got into the red zone four times and were unsuccessful all four times in their attempts to get touchdowns, having to settle for field goals.  The points were certainly important in the end, but that's still a very impressive showing against a high octane offense.  This is a team with a solid running back option in Addai and plenty of passing options with Manning and company.  They've got a big time tight end in Dallas Clark, and yet the 49ers defense, when they had their backs to the wall, were able to contain the offense.

So what was the difference?  How did this bend but don't break defense step up in such a huge game?  And furthermore, which team can we expect in the coming weeks?  The Titans aren't exactly a feared offensive power like these past three teams.  However, this is still a team with Chris Johnson (and a bit of LenDale White) coming out of the backfield, alongside the always dangerous-on-his-feet Vince Young.

We'll have a post directly related to Chris Johnson in a couple hours, but in terms of general red zone performance, what can the 49ers take away from their performance against the Colts and build upon this week and beyond?

There's nothing all that shocking in today's practice report.  The 49ers are banged up as expected in certain areas, although they might be getting Reggie Smith back this week.  Given the depth issues at cornerback, I'd imagine Smith might get to move around a bit on the field if he's healthy.  He's listed as a safety, but he does have plenty of corner experience.

I've also attached the post-practice transcript for Mike Singletary and Alex Smith.  Earlier today somebody made a comment in a FanPost about Parys Haralson being a disappointment.  I know that there has also been plenty of grumbling about Ahmad Brooks.  Coach Singletary commented on that issue directly:

On LB Parys Haralson's lower sack numbers than last year and LB Ahmad Brooks' decreased playing time against the Colts:

"First of all with Parys Haralson, what teams have done since maybe the first four games that we've had is begin to do more max protection. Those are things that we have to work through. It exposes us on the back end a little bit more. Guys have to be more disciplined, stay with their receivers longer and make sure they don't lose track of that. Parys Haralson, I think, will do just fine. I think that's just where we are right now. Teams, they're trying to protect their quarterbacks too. But, the max protection, that's one of the main things that has happened, for all of our guys. But, we're still trying to find a way to get there, and we will. Something just has to get better. Ahmad Brooks has done a great job on special teams and he'll see more time on the third down situation. He has to because he's a talented guy and he's just kind of getting back healthy from the knee and everything else. We'll definitely see more of him."

On whether there was any other reason Brooks played less:

"No. As a matter of fact, he's earned the right to play more. You will see more of him."

49ers
Out (Definitely Will Not Play)
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
DE Demetric Evans (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Did not Participate in Practice
DE Justin Smith (not injury related)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Limited Participation in Practice
SS Reggie Smith (groin)

Titans
Did not Participate in Practice
OT Mike Otto (knee)
RB Javon Ringer (back)
LB David Thornton (hip)

Limited Participation in Practice
CB Nicholas Harper (forearm)
DE Jevon Kearse (knee)

After the jump we've got Coach Singletary and Alex Smith's post-practice transcripts.

Continue reading this post »

The power rankings this week seem to reflect some different interpretations of the 49ers loss in Indianapolis.  Some folks view it as one of those proverbial moral victories and actually moved the 49ers up in their rankings.  Some dropped the 49ers approximately two spots, with CBS Sports being the only one top them further (4 spots).  I realize power rankings are subjective, but it's still interesting to see the varying opinions on our favorite team.  It's safe to say there's no clear cut opinion on the team.

SB Nation has been running power rankings the last few weeks.  Sometimes they appear after this post and thus I haven't included them.  They were just posted earlier today with the 49ers ranked 19th, which is just a shade under the average of 18.77 seen in our composite rankings.

ESPN - #19 (20) - Opening up the offense could be tougher with left tackle Joe Staley on the injured list for six weeks.

• Arizona - #13 (10)
  
• Seattle - #24 (23)
• St. Louis - #30 (32)

The Big Lead - #19 (17) - Were the Niners pulling a Patriots and instructing their defensive players to fake cramps to slow down the Colts’ offense? Maybe. Maybe not. Even if they were, it’s called gamesmanship and more teams should give it a shot, if not hire Willie McGinest as a consultant.

• Arizona - #16 (11)
• Seattle - #24 (23)
  
• St. Louis - #27 (30)

Continue reading this post »

A couple weeks ago we had a FanShot or FanPost go up mentioning that Pro Bowl balloting had begun.  I've always found Pro bowl balloting to start incredibly early, but what are you going to do?

I mention it now because of the 49ers-Titans game release I received yesterday.  Aside from all the statistics and background information I posted earlier today, it had an interesting little feature I thought I'd post here.  On the first page, the 49ers had their "Pro Bowl Watch," which included six players to keep an eye on.  Some of the names listed are not surprising at all, but there were a couple that caught me off guard, particularly the last one.  Here's what the 49ers PR department had to say:

TE VERNON DAVIS - Davis is having a career-year, leading the NFL with a career-high 7 TD rec. He is also leading the 49ers with 32 rec., 375 rec. yds., and 7 TDs. Davis is on pace to set career-highs in both receptions as well as receiving yds.

LB PATRICK WILLIS - Willis leads the 49ers with 75 tackles, 6 TFLs, 2 INTs and ranks second on the team with 2.5 sacks. He is the only player in the NFL to register at least 2.5 sacks and 2 INTs. According to game-book statistics, Willis ranks 4th in the NFL in tackles.

NT AUBRAYO FRANKLIN - Franklin is the force in the middle of the 49ers run defense and leads the defensive line with 43 tackles and 4.5 TFLs. He has also set a career-high with 2.0 sacks. Franklin has helped limit opponents to an NFL leading 3.2 yds. per carry and the 2nd-fewest rushing yds. allowed (594).

P ANDY LEE - Lee leads the NFC and ranks 2nd in the NFL with a 41.6 net punting avg. He also ranks 3rd in the NFC and 4th in the NFL in gross punt avg. (48.0). He also ranks 2nd in the NFL with 23 punts over 50 yds.

RB MICHAEL ROBINSON - Robinson ranks 2nd on the team with 15 special teams tackles and has led the team in special teams tackles in three different games. He was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2008.

LB SCOTT MCKILLOP - McKillop has been a special teams standout in his rookie season. He leads the team with 19 special teams tackles and also registered a special teams fumble recovery for a touchdown vs. StL.

While the Pro Bowl can certainly be a pointless exercise, we'll still keep track of potential 49ers Pro Bowl options.  A little national exposure never hurts and if a youngster like McKillop scored a spot, well that'd be pretty impressive.

Since the Tennessee Titans, an AFC squad, are the visiting team in an inter-conference matchup, CBS will be broadcasting the game this week at 1:15pm pacific time.  The broadcasting crew this week consists of play-by-play man Ian Eagle and color commentator Rich Gannon.

I've heard both of these announcers in the past, but it's been long enough that I can't recall very many specifics about either announcer.  They do represent the #5 crew for CBS though.  Nothing spectacular, but as long as I don't have to listen to Jim Nantz I'm fine.  "Hello friends..."

It's been a while since hearing Gannon, but I thought I recalled he was actually a half-decent color guy.  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.  One plus to having a QB as the color guy, is that we'll hopefully get some solid breakdown of Alex Smith.  Smith will be making his second start of the year so I'm certainly curious to hear what a solid QB like Gannon has to say.  Gannon was an athletic QB in college before taking some time to find his way in the NFL.  I'd imagine he'll have plenty to say about Alex Smith.