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Good morning, people. Did anyone hear that the New York Giants are coming to town? I'm not talking 1958, baseball's moving west of the Mississippi. I mean a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game that most of us 49ers fans felt like we let slip away. Well, now we have the rematch that we've all been waiting for and the Giants are going to bring it. I think they'll be outmanned in this one, and they haven't played their best football this season. Will we continue our string of blowouts? Doubt it, but we should come out of it victorious and I'm hoping to have a smug satisfied feeling come Monday. Tons of links so we'll jump into them, and you guys don't know how close I was to publishing this with the Jets in the header below instead of the Bills. That would've been embarrassing.
Week 5: 49ers 45, Bills 3
How do you think Alex Smith played against the Bills? Has anyone noticed he's the top-rated passer in the league. Amazing! | 49ers review vs Bills: Quarterbacks. (Maiocco)
Another easy one to grade. Frank Gore looked great, of course, but don't forget that Kendall Hunter had 81 yards on 11 carries for 7.4 YPC. | 49ers review vs Bills: Running Backs. (Maiocco)
Michael Crabtree has set about proving me wrong. I've complained about him not living up to his 1st-rounder status, contract, No. 1 receiver role, hold-out for top 5 money, etc. Now he's had a good game. I just want 10 more of those this year and I'll get off his back. | 49ers review vs Bills: Wide receivers, tight ends. (Maiocco)
Who's got a better O-Line than us? How good has Alex Boone looked this year. And I remember a lot of us pretty nervous about the FOs decision leading up to the season (me included!). | 49ers review vs Bills: Offensive line. (Maiocco)
OK, so it was a great day all around. | 49ers review vs Bills: Defensive line, linebackers. (Maiocco)
49ers review vs Bills: Defensive backs, specialists. (Maiocco)
Week 6: Giants at 49ers
One of the key showdown this weekend will be between Victor Cruz and Carlos Rogers. Rogers did a salsa dance after intercepting a pass intended for Cruz during our regular-season victory over the Giants. Cruz wrote a book (I know, he's been around for 15 minutes and wrote a book!) and took umbrage to it. There will be some sparks a flying this weekend. | Rogers won't shy from celebration that had Cruz so steamed. (Barrows)
49ers, Kyle Williams motivated for NFC title rematch. (Inman)
Kyle Williams: Giants 'have something that we should have had'. (Maiocco)
49ers-Giants matchups: Part III - Chris Culliver vs Domick Hixon and Rueben Randle. (Cohn)
49ers-Giants matchups: Part V - Michael Crabtree vs Corey Webster. (Cohn)
Roster / Injury News
Well in a move that most of us saw coming the day he was signed, Eric Bakhtiari was waived by the 49ers so that Clark Haggans can reclaim his roster spot. Haggans, who was suspended by the league for three games for violating the substance abuse policy, has not played in a game. Bakhtiari also failed to see playing time. | 49ers waive Eric Bakhtiari, according to report. (Bay Area SB Nation)
Alex Smith injury: QB should be good to go. (Bay Area SB Nation)
Harbaugh expresses concern about Alex Smith's finger. (Branch)
Assorted 49ers News
I like this piece, and hope it becomes a regular feature. Kyle Bonagura, quickly rising in my Niners Beat Writer Power Rankings (never to be revealed!) looks at notable stats for the 49ers and then gives a 'closer look'. One example: 49ers rank No. 1 in yards per carry, and are nearly a full yard better than the No. 2 team, the Chiefs. | 49ers by the numbers. (CBS Sports)
More 49ers by the numbers, this time from the national media. We're getting compared to both the 1985 Bears and the Nebraska Cornhuskers (for the blowouts). | 49ers pairing powerful, diverse offense with stout defense for Super Bowl mix. (SI.com)
I have to admit, I've been mostly skimming the articles today as I'm a bit pressed for time. One figure that's jumped out at me is that the 49ers are averaging 6.1 yards per carry this year. That's freaking inredible! | A 'young' Frank Gore leads NFL's best rushing attack. (BASG)
Here's a story about one of my favorite unsung heroes on the defense, Chris Culliver. He just seems to be getting better and better each week and exemplifies the good work the team is doing for now and the future. The FO just keeps hitting the nail on the head (assuming these top two rookies turn out). | Chris Culliver grows in year two. (49ers.com)
Ah, crap. Don't tell me they're going to make us go over there again! They're announcing who the Jacksonville Jaguars will play in London in 2013 on Thursday. We're one of four presumed teams. The article notes we play at Tampa Bay next season and could possibly piggyback the games. One problem, Youngstown isn't halfway between the two places. Maybe we can stay in the Azores? | London calling 49ers? Jaguars' 2013 opponent to be named Thursday. (Branch)
OK, so Cam Inman put the name in the title of the award but I don't do ads! Especially ones I'm not getting paid for. | Alex Smith among three nominees for (unnamed shipping company) 'Air' Player of the week. (Inman)
For 49ers, Alex Smith keeps getting better and better. (NBC Bay Area)
Kyle Williams putting the past behind him, looking forward to face the Giants. (Gin)
Shout it out: 49ers lead league in rushing. (Branch)
Assorted NFL / NFC West / Power Rankings
Good things on the stock watch. The entire 49ers offense takes the top spot for the 'risers', while our co-division leaders, the Arizona Cardinals, fill up the top 2 spots on the 'fallers'. Kevin Kolb and their ground game take the honors. Their offensive line could also be there, had they not fallen earlier in the year. Hopefully, by the time we play them in week 8, they'll be ready for a Mortal Kombat style, 'finish him' death blow. | NFC West stock watch. (Sando)
Alex Smith as an MVP candidate? It's been since week 5 of his rookie year that that idea left my brain on what was assumed to be a permanent basis. But, you can't argue with pundits! | NFL week 5 knee-jerk reactions. (Sando)
'Call them the 79ers' is my favorite quote. 79-3 over the last two weeks....get it? | AP Pro32 comments about 49ers. (Yahoo!)
OK, power rankings are meant to stir up a lot of debate by design. I think the Giants are a good team. But how on Earth does Yahoo! have them ranked No. 4 in the League. I don't know who should be ranked there, but the Giants, with wins over Carolina, Cleveland and Tampa, and two unimpressive losses, one to Dallas sure shouldn't. PS. this same guy had the the Cardinals ranked ahead of the Niners last week. Boo him! | NFL Power Rankings: Thanks, Cardinals, that was fun. (Yahoo!)
ESPN has us at No. 3. Fair enough. We lost to the Vikings, which doesn't seem so bad now that they're this year's last year's Niners (make sense?). Have a look at Houston's schedule and I can't see us having more wins that them. They've got very few difficult games, and how they fare in those games will tell us if they're legit Super Bowl contenders. I can easily see them leading the league in wins, though. | NFL Power Rankings: How they voted. (Sando)
The division quarterbacks should fear most. (Sando)
Videos / Assorted Media
Alex Smith throws first pitch. (49ers.com)
The Joe Show: 2012 Debut. (49ers.com)
Being a Sheep
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