49ers Expecting Heavy Pass Rush
The Philadelphia Eagles lost more than just an overtime game to the New York Giants on Sunday with the announcement late on Monday that pass rush specialist Jevon Kearse had been lost for the season with torn knee ligaments.
“He’s a heck of a football player and probably a better person,” said their head coach Andy Reid. “He’s a great guy and nobody wanted to see that happen. On the other hand we’re fortunate enough to have Trent Cole here where he can step in and play. He’s a pretty effective player, and he got a chance to start for us last year so we’re fortunate in that. You’re never going to replace a Jevon Kearse, but hopefully we can get as close as we can to it.”
LB/DE Trent Cole has played a backup role but he’s already been a solid contributor the last two games, leading the team, and the league, in sacks with four. As a whole the Eagles own 13 sacks, the most in the NFL, and even without the formidable Kearse, their aggressive, pressure oriented scheme under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson won’t change much, if at all, when they square off against the 49ers on Sunday.
“Losing Jevan is a blow for them but they have guys who will step in and fill in for him,” said starting right tackle Kwame Harris. “They’ve got good ends more than capable of filling in for Jevan, and just a great defense as a whole.”
The 49ers offensive line stayed staunch up front against the Rams aggressive defense, not allowing a single sack. Defending that stat becomes more challenging however with the Eagles.
“The thing with (Eagles defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson, he’s always got a new wrinkle for you so aside from what you’ve seen on film, you’ve got to be prepared for something new,” said offensive coordinator Norv Turner. “You’ve got to be prepared to make adjustments and your players have to be prepared to handle those adjustments.”
Making adjustments is a team effort but it starts with center Eric Heitmann and quarterback Alex Smith who are rboth esponsible for making the right calls so that the rest of the unit is on the same page.
“Their defense is aggressive, but we are spending the time we need to in the film room to get after it and pick up on what they do,” said Heitmann.
As a rookie quarterback a year ago, Smith resigned himself to the fact that week in and week out opposing defenses were going to send the house after him. Although he’s rolled out solid performances in his first two outings, Smith reasons that he’s still got plenty to prove before teams lay off on the blitz.
“I imagine that’ll be the case for a little while until we prove otherwise and till we can continue on a consistent basis to handle pressure and I can prove on a consistent basis that I can handle the pressure,” said Smith. “When you are a young quarterback in this league, that’s what happens and until you prove that, you’ve got to expect that.”
If Smith and his offense want to make a statement, this is the prime opportunity to do so but it’ll take a team effort, from the signal caller on down the line.
“It’s a game where in pass protection or releasing on routes, they’ve got good aggressive pass rushers and we’ve got to give a chip or stay in side when that’s our responsibility,” said tight end Billy Bajema. “But definitely, we’ve got to try to take the load of the tackles a little bit and help out.”
The 49ers will look not just to help out against Philadelphia’s blitz, but to exploit it.
“Every time they try to bring more people than they should, we will try to make them pay,” said wide receiver Bryan Gilmore. “That leaves us with a lot of one on ones and that’s what we ask for as skill players, so we just have to get down the field and do our job.”
Nuggets From Wednesday:
WR Antonio Bryant and LB Manny Lawson both were honorable mention for NFC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week respectively. Lawson is also up for, and currently ahead in the poll, for NFL Rookie of the Week.
“I can’t be happy with one week,” said Lawson. “But, it’s pretty much showing that I’m heading in the right direction and that hard work is paying off.”
Eagles quarterbacks Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb both fell victim to often unwarranted and uncalled for criticisms from their former go-to receiver Terrell Owens. As roommates this past training camp, they often celebrated that they no longer had to deal with the TO drama.
“We don’t talk about ‘the player,’” said McNabb. “We focus in on what we want to get accomplished over here. We let ‘the player’ be the thorn in Dallas’s side. ‘The player’ is a couple of hours away from us, so we’re not focused on him.”
Tackle Jonas Jennings began the week as probable on the injury report after missing Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. If Jennings starts as expected, Adam Snyder will likely shift inside and start at left guard in place of Adam Snyder.
TE Delanie Walker returned to practice in a limited basis on Wednesday but is still listed as out for this weekend’s game, along with G Larry Allen.
DT Anthony Adams (ankle), DE Ron Fields (shoulder), WR Taylor Jacobs (hamstring), and Justin Smiley (shoulder) suffered injuries in Sunday’s game and were held out of practice on Wednesday. Jacobs is doubtful, Adams is questionable, and Fields and Smiley are probable for this Sunday’s game.
The Philadelphia Eagles lost more than just an overtime game to the New York Giants on Sunday with the announcement late on Monday that pass rush specialist Jevon Kearse had been lost for the season with torn knee ligaments.
“He’s a heck of a football player and probably a better person,” said their head coach Andy Reid. “He’s a great guy and nobody wanted to see that happen. On the other hand we’re fortunate enough to have Trent Cole here where he can step in and play. He’s a pretty effective player, and he got a chance to start for us last year so we’re fortunate in that. You’re never going to replace a Jevon Kearse, but hopefully we can get as close as we can to it.”
LB/DE Trent Cole has played a backup role but he’s already been a solid contributor the last two games, leading the team, and the league, in sacks with four. As a whole the Eagles own 13 sacks, the most in the NFL, and even without the formidable Kearse, their aggressive, pressure oriented scheme under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson won’t change much, if at all, when they square off against the 49ers on Sunday.
“Losing Jevan is a blow for them but they have guys who will step in and fill in for him,” said starting right tackle Kwame Harris. “They’ve got good ends more than capable of filling in for Jevan, and just a great defense as a whole.”
The 49ers offensive line stayed staunch up front against the Rams aggressive defense, not allowing a single sack. Defending that stat becomes more challenging however with the Eagles.
“The thing with (Eagles defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson, he’s always got a new wrinkle for you so aside from what you’ve seen on film, you’ve got to be prepared for something new,” said offensive coordinator Norv Turner. “You’ve got to be prepared to make adjustments and your players have to be prepared to handle those adjustments.”
Making adjustments is a team effort but it starts with center Eric Heitmann and quarterback Alex Smith who are rboth esponsible for making the right calls so that the rest of the unit is on the same page.
“Their defense is aggressive, but we are spending the time we need to in the film room to get after it and pick up on what they do,” said Heitmann.
As a rookie quarterback a year ago, Smith resigned himself to the fact that week in and week out opposing defenses were going to send the house after him. Although he’s rolled out solid performances in his first two outings, Smith reasons that he’s still got plenty to prove before teams lay off on the blitz.
“I imagine that’ll be the case for a little while until we prove otherwise and till we can continue on a consistent basis to handle pressure and I can prove on a consistent basis that I can handle the pressure,” said Smith. “When you are a young quarterback in this league, that’s what happens and until you prove that, you’ve got to expect that.”
If Smith and his offense want to make a statement, this is the prime opportunity to do so but it’ll take a team effort, from the signal caller on down the line.
“It’s a game where in pass protection or releasing on routes, they’ve got good aggressive pass rushers and we’ve got to give a chip or stay in side when that’s our responsibility,” said tight end Billy Bajema. “But definitely, we’ve got to try to take the load of the tackles a little bit and help out.”
The 49ers will look not just to help out against Philadelphia’s blitz, but to exploit it.
“Every time they try to bring more people than they should, we will try to make them pay,” said wide receiver Bryan Gilmore. “That leaves us with a lot of one on ones and that’s what we ask for as skill players, so we just have to get down the field and do our job.”
Nuggets From Wednesday:
WR Antonio Bryant and LB Manny Lawson both were honorable mention for NFC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week respectively. Lawson is also up for, and currently ahead in the poll, for NFL Rookie of the Week.
“I can’t be happy with one week,” said Lawson. “But, it’s pretty much showing that I’m heading in the right direction and that hard work is paying off.”
Eagles quarterbacks Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb both fell victim to often unwarranted and uncalled for criticisms from their former go-to receiver Terrell Owens. As roommates this past training camp, they often celebrated that they no longer had to deal with the TO drama.
“We don’t talk about ‘the player,’” said McNabb. “We focus in on what we want to get accomplished over here. We let ‘the player’ be the thorn in Dallas’s side. ‘The player’ is a couple of hours away from us, so we’re not focused on him.”
Tackle Jonas Jennings began the week as probable on the injury report after missing Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. If Jennings starts as expected, Adam Snyder will likely shift inside and start at left guard in place of Adam Snyder.
TE Delanie Walker returned to practice in a limited basis on Wednesday but is still listed as out for this weekend’s game, along with G Larry Allen.
DT Anthony Adams (ankle), DE Ron Fields (shoulder), WR Taylor Jacobs (hamstring), and Justin Smiley (shoulder) suffered injuries in Sunday’s game and were held out of practice on Wednesday. Jacobs is doubtful, Adams is questionable, and Fields and Smiley are probable for this Sunday’s game.
31-10 WHATS GOING ON WITH THE 
