Niner News Thread
- Thread starter Chree
- Start date
LMFAO oh yes stupid dumb fuck, its dissin da raiders fan and another teams fans who don't like da NINERZ! dats da only way i look it only u raiders fan think of da "lil boy" thing u guys r str8 homos, i didn't come up wit it dumb shit look thro photobucket N tell me, you wont see pics like this N of da raiders! U Guys r hell of gay! and you aint pointing out shit ur just on Sol Nuts cuz he said it frist!
Two Minute Drill: TE Vernon Davis
http://49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=4441
Get to know more about tight end Vernon Davis as he responds to these two-minute drill questions!
Q: When did you start working out?
A: I’d say about 8th grade. I bench pressed and did a lot of cardio – just regular stuff.
Q: When you think about your hometown of Washington D.C., what immediately comes to mind?
A: I think of it as the place where I developed my craft and skills. I also think of downtown Washington D.C., the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building.
Q: What would be your event if you were competing in the Summer Olympics?
A: I’d say diving. I used to do gymnastics and I can still do a back-flip.
Q: If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: Brazil. I’ve never been, but I saw pictures of it online. It looks like a great place to travel to and visit.
Q: Who was your favorite professional athlete growing up?
A: I grew up looking up to guys like Shannon Sharpe, Deion Sanders, Jerry Rice, and Joe Montana – all the great ones.
Q: What word best describes you?
A: Physical.
Q: When you go online, what is the first thing that you do?
A: I go to my website, VernonDavis.net.
Q: What is your secret talent?
A: Painting. One of my most recent projects I call it “Happy Hour.” It originates from African art. It has people dancing all over the place. I like to go to museums whenever I get a chance.
Q: What is something that you’re awful at?
A: Singing.
Q: What CD is in your car right now?
A: Lil Wayne, The Carter 3.
Q: What was the last movie you saw on DVD or in theatres?
A: Talladega Nights… I like to go fast!
Q: What would be your perfect meal?
A: Baked chicken, asparagus, a baked potato, and a Caesar salad.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
A: Go to dinner or go out to the movies.
Q: What is the best football movie of all-time?
A: The Comebacks. It’s really funny.
Q: What is your most cherished possession at your house?
A: My Bentley – I can’t leave home without it.
http://49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=4441
Get to know more about tight end Vernon Davis as he responds to these two-minute drill questions!
Q: When did you start working out?
A: I’d say about 8th grade. I bench pressed and did a lot of cardio – just regular stuff.
Q: When you think about your hometown of Washington D.C., what immediately comes to mind?
A: I think of it as the place where I developed my craft and skills. I also think of downtown Washington D.C., the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building.
Q: What would be your event if you were competing in the Summer Olympics?
A: I’d say diving. I used to do gymnastics and I can still do a back-flip.
Q: If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: Brazil. I’ve never been, but I saw pictures of it online. It looks like a great place to travel to and visit.
Q: Who was your favorite professional athlete growing up?
A: I grew up looking up to guys like Shannon Sharpe, Deion Sanders, Jerry Rice, and Joe Montana – all the great ones.
Q: What word best describes you?
A: Physical.
Q: When you go online, what is the first thing that you do?
A: I go to my website, VernonDavis.net.
Q: What is your secret talent?
A: Painting. One of my most recent projects I call it “Happy Hour.” It originates from African art. It has people dancing all over the place. I like to go to museums whenever I get a chance.
Q: What is something that you’re awful at?
A: Singing.
Q: What CD is in your car right now?
A: Lil Wayne, The Carter 3.
Q: What was the last movie you saw on DVD or in theatres?
A: Talladega Nights… I like to go fast!
Q: What would be your perfect meal?
A: Baked chicken, asparagus, a baked potato, and a Caesar salad.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
A: Go to dinner or go out to the movies.
Q: What is the best football movie of all-time?
A: The Comebacks. It’s really funny.
Q: What is your most cherished possession at your house?
A: My Bentley – I can’t leave home without it.
Nolan's Notebook: August 9
http://49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=4443
RE: Opening Statement
“Obviously, you are disappointed anytime you lose, but it is tough to win whenever you have as many turnovers as we did, so we have to do a better job in that area. We also gave up a couple of big plays with the punt (return). The thing that was most encouraging was that all three quarterbacks moved the ball. Obviously the objective is to get it in the end zone and we didn’t do that. I have said the importance of that often. That was something obviously in the game that we didn’t do. We still have training camp ahead of us, we have a couple of weeks left to get better and shore some things up. It is a new offense and all that, but at the same time I thought the offense was ran very effectively. We left a lot of yards out on the fields as far as missing a screen, missing a couple of blocks on a couple of runs. All in all, I think it’s there for the taking so I know our players will be encouraged after looking at film at what is there. I thought the offensive operation was good as I did with the defense. The first group did a good job with pass pressure. After that, which was only about a dozen or more plays into the game, I thought our pressure backed off a bit. A couple of backups that shined; Jay Moore made a few plays, Josh Morgan worked with the first group. I thought he did some real good things. Outside of that, there were some spot plays here and there.”
RE: Have you decided who will be your starting quarterback on Saturday?
“No we have not. We are just finishing up on last night’s game and just came out of the meeting as far as what our feelings were about performances. Now we are we are just getting into structuring practice for the week.”
RE: When will you make that decision?
“I don’t have a timetable for it right now, but certainly you guys will know as soon as we make a decision. We first have to get other things done before we get into that. We do have a full week as you all are well aware. The game is not until next Saturday with Green Bay so I have a few days. We do have six training camp practices prior to getting into Green Bay and a little bit of game planning. It is not very much, but it is more than we would have done last week.”
RE: Do you agree that Alex Smith is having trouble on the short passes? Is his touch not there and do the other two quarterbacks have it?
“That’s a good question. As I view the game and even practice sometimes, because of pressure…As you saw, even when JT O’Sullivan threw the one screen, the ball was batted down. That was not a touch issue. Alex has the longer delivery out of the three quarterbacks, but yet he has the strongest arm. A quick delivery typically is someone who has a better touch because they just kind of flick it out of their fingers as opposed to a long delivery because it is not as comfortable of a throw. All in all I don’t think it has much to do with the effectiveness of the shorter passes. For right now anyhow.”
RE: How do you view Alex’s game yesterday? What were you looking for from his time on the field?
“I was looking for someone to move the ball down the field, minimize their errors, make plays and utilize the guys around them. Alex did have a few good throws and a couple that were not as good. He had two throws that he could have done a better job with. One was the screen and one was the pass to Jason Hill, but outside of that he had some good throws. He was working with the second group and got flushed a couple of times. As I look for the same in all three of them it is the command of the offense which is extremely important. When you know the offense, you can use the players around you. If you are not sure of the offense, you are not sure who the ball goes to. That’s first and foremost, but outside of that, whoever moves it down the field.”
RE: Is there anything that you saw that told you that Alex and Shaun are not up to speed in understanding the offense?
“I wouldn’t say that they were not up to speed. There is a learning progression that everybody goes through. JT does know it a little bit better. There is still the execution of it. Just because you know it doesn’t mean you can execute it better. We are still looking at the execution of the offense. In that game, Shaun and Alex worked with the second and third groups…It’s hard to make that comment. I think most of that comes out of practice analysis.”
RE: It just seems that when JT threw the ball, he was throwing it before the receivers made their breaks and he threw the ball very early. I didn’t quite see that. Not sure if the same plays were being run, but it seemed liked Alex release was a little later in making some of his throws?
“First off, I think that was a characteristic of JT O’Sullivan. In this offense, it does demand that you do that. It is a precise offense that is very detailed. The receivers need to be where they are supposed to be. There is not a lot of ad-libbing in this offense. Some offenses do make a living that way, where they find the open area. We are looking for open areas, but by design those areas are pretty specific and the quarterback puts the ball there. JT has more experience in that and with that quick release he has, he has the ability to do that. I think that is why the other two players might be more deliberate in it. That’s an area where they need to continue to improve.”
RE: After you have seen the film, who did the best job of the three?
“You have to take everything into consideration. For example, JT did a very good job aside from two turnovers. The two turnovers did happen. I thought those were plays he could have kept from happening. The one he was trying to throw away and the other he was trying to get the first instead of tucking the ball and punting it. I thought he had great command. He did throw four or five balls to Josh. He was moving the offense. I am not sure how many yards of offense he had before he came out. The turnovers hurt us. Alex went in and moved the ball pretty good too. But again, his throws were not as efficient. Now he did not make the mental errors that JT O’Sullivan made, but he had some throwing errors that JT O’ Sullivan did not as far as accuracy goes. When you get to Shaun, obviously in that situation in the game, he was moving the ball pretty good. That would have been the more difficult one to evaluate because of the group that was in there and things like that. It would have been nice if somebody moved it down, got the points and put us in position. That’s really what it is all about and that’s what I am looking for most. As was evident, we only got two field goals.”
RE: As you weigh your decision as to who will start against Green Bay, will it be a performance based decision or is it rotation based?
“It is a little more complicated because I am trying to make the decision for the football team and what gives us the best chance to win. As every day goes by we are not just evaluating quarterbacks, but we are evaluating our team. The decision that we have to make is the one that gives us the best chance to win. In a game where you only score six points, it is tough to say ‘let’s change this thing right now’. We are continuing to work through it and evaluate the practices as well. Like I said, it’s not if it is clear cut, but at the same thing there were some very good things that I saw, but there were a couple of things that can cost you a game that I didn’t like.”
RE: At what points does rotating three guys, hurt your preparation for the regular season opener?
“In order to get the right quarterback, that will no time ever hurt us, so we are safe there. But at what time would we have liked to make the decision? I think yesterday would have been a good day. It has to take its course. It is an important decision and we are not taking it lightly because it is about winning. The quarterback position is key. It is never too late. We want to make a good decision. The information we are gathering right now is valuable. As I have said all along, I believe in all three guys. It is important and they must be ready. Anytime a guy gets a rep, at least I am feeling good that it is not a wasted rep because they may have to play.”
RE: When Alex came in, the first two plays were two Zak Keasey runs and then close to the goal line, there was another third down run. You also kicked a short field goal. Why not put more on to Alex’s shoulders to see what he could do?
“It is obviously the play calling. We want to give every quarterback a fair chance. First off with the line that we had in there….Let’s put it this way, had he dropped back every down and gotten hit, I would be more disappointed. Mike (Martz) was probably thinking of giving the line confidence and running the ball a couple of times because that’s the way you slow down your pass rush. He did have his opportunities to throw. People weren’t teeing off on him. That’s important. It’s not just calling a run and holding back on Alex. It has to do with the other 10 guys. There is a game being played every down by 11 guys and the play caller as well. You are not trying to keep him from throwing the ball, you are trying to make it that when you do, you have a good situation for your quarterback. That’s a big reason for running the ball with that group. I think it is misunderstood to think that it is a different reason. If it would have been fourth and one, which I thought it was, I would have put it on Alex to go for it. But at fourth and three, that’s the typical decision on what you do. Our special teams need work as well. Preseason is not just for your quarterback or any one position. It is for your team to get better. In the process you make game type of decisions that help your football team. If it would have been much closer, which I thought it was…if I knew we were kicking the field goal, we would have let the clock run down. He had the opportunity on first down, second down and third down for us offensively to get it in, but that’s what we did. ”
RE: How did Justin Smith play?
“Justin played 12 plays. He is an aggressive player. They ran away from him several times. I don’t know if that’s by design. He played well. The sack that Ray McDonald got on the first third down of the game, he cleaned it up pretty good. They had a stunt inside with him and Ray and the confusion that the two of them created inside allowed Ray to split it and get the sack. Since the time he has gotten here, he has been the same every day. He is a good player, he is an aggressive player. He makes the guys around him better. That’s what I saw on the few plays on the dozen plays that he played.”
RE: When a guy like Jay Moore does well against the third team does it give you reason to bump him up to see what he can do earlier in the game?
“If it was just all good plays, but he made some plays and had some errors. Obviously it not that his 25 or so stats were bright spots. If all of them were bright spots then I would say it was a good time to do that. But he has limited experience at the outside backer position. I was just pleased that he is making progress from a year ago and that he made plays. But what are your negative plays and how much did they hurt us? Not that they hurt us bad, but at the same time you are looking at the overall game someone has. I’m not looking to change the depth but it is nice to see he has the ability to make some plays.”
RE: How do you react to the amount of yards Oakland picked up on the ground?
“If it’s preseason you look if it's a collective problem. If a bunch of guys messed up or if it was with your first group it would be alarming. If it is with your second and third group, you look at who were the culprits, because those culprits typically don’t make your football team. If they are guys you are counting on, you have to get those mistakes corrected. As I was talking to the coaching staff, we have to be careful on what we are working on. Are we trying to correct the problem we had in the game with our backups or with our starters? It is important that we recognize where our starters need to get better and some of the backups who we are counting on to give us reps or someone who is starting to get in the picture. It is collective first, but if that collective group is your second and third group, then it gets down to individuals and you have to look at what individuals are breaking down. They are going to have a tougher time making the team. The guys who are doing a good job move up. It is not like during the season. When someone is running and throwing on your defense during the regular season, it is obvious that your team has a collective issue. Unless they are picking on somebody. This time of year, there is so much in and out that guys don’t trust each other.”
RE: How did you view the JT flip pass to DeShaun Foster?
“DeShaun would have taken a different path, but he didn’t want to pick Jonas (Jennings) off of his guy. The good and bad of that, is that JT is a very competitive person and he was trying to make a play, as you would see a Brett Favre trying to do something like that. But you have to recognize who you are and the importance of utilizing the people around you. That’s a high risk thing that he did and I would rather he not do it at this time. That was a dangerous thing, but at the same time I know his insides were telling him ‘how can I help this team win and how can I help this team make a play?' Sometimes you have to take what you can get and move on. I would put that play in the category of the two turnovers only in what the context of what he was trying to do; he was trying to move the team but he was trying a little bit too hard.”
RE: Was JT having trouble with his helmet?
“There was the time that the coach to quarterback thing went out on us. It was a problem with the button, but they got that corrected. I can’t remember if we used a time out for that. I think we did.”
RE: Did you go to hand signals at that point?
“Offensively you just get it fixed. Nowadays, no one really uses hand signals on offense. What you do is probably shuttle a player in.”
RE: Was Michael Lewis wearing the receiver (device) on defense?
“He was on the first group and Keith Lewis had it on the second group.”
RE: Is that how you plan to go during the year?
“We are experimenting with it now. All of our safeties have worn it in practice, so they are used to the sound in their helmets. We will continue to progress. Patrick (Willis) at some point could have one. For right now, I would rather leave him alone. Some of our veteran safeties handle a lot of information very well. I just don’t know Patrick well enough right now. Even last year, he only called the defense in some of the time. Derek Smith was the signal-caller. So for right now, I would rather not dilute a guy’s play. We will see. Patrick called the play in the huddle when we signaled in on defense. But we were doing both last night.”
RE: How do you think that Adam Snyder and Joe Staley played?
“I would like for them to do better than they did last night. I thought we started a little bit soft. We can get better than that. They will be fine. They had good plays and bad plays, but they can get better.”
RE: Will Isaac Bruce play?
“I am undecided on that. If he did, it would be very limited, but we will see. I will let you know as the week goes on.”
RE: Injuries?
“The four guys who were nicked in the game should be okay. Allen (Rossum) had a knee bruise. Marcus Hudson has a quad contusion. Chilo (Rachal) had a ding but he will okay. Jason Hill will miss practice early in the week, but he will okay. Damane Duckett’s knee is a problem and he won’t practice. Eric Heitmann should be able to go for the game, but he may or may not practice tomorrow.”
RE: Do you know when you will get Bryant Johnson back?
“I don’t think it will be this week. My feeling right now is that he and Ashley (Lelie) won’t be this week.”
http://49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=4443
RE: Opening Statement
“Obviously, you are disappointed anytime you lose, but it is tough to win whenever you have as many turnovers as we did, so we have to do a better job in that area. We also gave up a couple of big plays with the punt (return). The thing that was most encouraging was that all three quarterbacks moved the ball. Obviously the objective is to get it in the end zone and we didn’t do that. I have said the importance of that often. That was something obviously in the game that we didn’t do. We still have training camp ahead of us, we have a couple of weeks left to get better and shore some things up. It is a new offense and all that, but at the same time I thought the offense was ran very effectively. We left a lot of yards out on the fields as far as missing a screen, missing a couple of blocks on a couple of runs. All in all, I think it’s there for the taking so I know our players will be encouraged after looking at film at what is there. I thought the offensive operation was good as I did with the defense. The first group did a good job with pass pressure. After that, which was only about a dozen or more plays into the game, I thought our pressure backed off a bit. A couple of backups that shined; Jay Moore made a few plays, Josh Morgan worked with the first group. I thought he did some real good things. Outside of that, there were some spot plays here and there.”
RE: Have you decided who will be your starting quarterback on Saturday?
“No we have not. We are just finishing up on last night’s game and just came out of the meeting as far as what our feelings were about performances. Now we are we are just getting into structuring practice for the week.”
RE: When will you make that decision?
“I don’t have a timetable for it right now, but certainly you guys will know as soon as we make a decision. We first have to get other things done before we get into that. We do have a full week as you all are well aware. The game is not until next Saturday with Green Bay so I have a few days. We do have six training camp practices prior to getting into Green Bay and a little bit of game planning. It is not very much, but it is more than we would have done last week.”
RE: Do you agree that Alex Smith is having trouble on the short passes? Is his touch not there and do the other two quarterbacks have it?
“That’s a good question. As I view the game and even practice sometimes, because of pressure…As you saw, even when JT O’Sullivan threw the one screen, the ball was batted down. That was not a touch issue. Alex has the longer delivery out of the three quarterbacks, but yet he has the strongest arm. A quick delivery typically is someone who has a better touch because they just kind of flick it out of their fingers as opposed to a long delivery because it is not as comfortable of a throw. All in all I don’t think it has much to do with the effectiveness of the shorter passes. For right now anyhow.”
RE: How do you view Alex’s game yesterday? What were you looking for from his time on the field?
“I was looking for someone to move the ball down the field, minimize their errors, make plays and utilize the guys around them. Alex did have a few good throws and a couple that were not as good. He had two throws that he could have done a better job with. One was the screen and one was the pass to Jason Hill, but outside of that he had some good throws. He was working with the second group and got flushed a couple of times. As I look for the same in all three of them it is the command of the offense which is extremely important. When you know the offense, you can use the players around you. If you are not sure of the offense, you are not sure who the ball goes to. That’s first and foremost, but outside of that, whoever moves it down the field.”
RE: Is there anything that you saw that told you that Alex and Shaun are not up to speed in understanding the offense?
“I wouldn’t say that they were not up to speed. There is a learning progression that everybody goes through. JT does know it a little bit better. There is still the execution of it. Just because you know it doesn’t mean you can execute it better. We are still looking at the execution of the offense. In that game, Shaun and Alex worked with the second and third groups…It’s hard to make that comment. I think most of that comes out of practice analysis.”
RE: It just seems that when JT threw the ball, he was throwing it before the receivers made their breaks and he threw the ball very early. I didn’t quite see that. Not sure if the same plays were being run, but it seemed liked Alex release was a little later in making some of his throws?
“First off, I think that was a characteristic of JT O’Sullivan. In this offense, it does demand that you do that. It is a precise offense that is very detailed. The receivers need to be where they are supposed to be. There is not a lot of ad-libbing in this offense. Some offenses do make a living that way, where they find the open area. We are looking for open areas, but by design those areas are pretty specific and the quarterback puts the ball there. JT has more experience in that and with that quick release he has, he has the ability to do that. I think that is why the other two players might be more deliberate in it. That’s an area where they need to continue to improve.”
RE: After you have seen the film, who did the best job of the three?
“You have to take everything into consideration. For example, JT did a very good job aside from two turnovers. The two turnovers did happen. I thought those were plays he could have kept from happening. The one he was trying to throw away and the other he was trying to get the first instead of tucking the ball and punting it. I thought he had great command. He did throw four or five balls to Josh. He was moving the offense. I am not sure how many yards of offense he had before he came out. The turnovers hurt us. Alex went in and moved the ball pretty good too. But again, his throws were not as efficient. Now he did not make the mental errors that JT O’Sullivan made, but he had some throwing errors that JT O’ Sullivan did not as far as accuracy goes. When you get to Shaun, obviously in that situation in the game, he was moving the ball pretty good. That would have been the more difficult one to evaluate because of the group that was in there and things like that. It would have been nice if somebody moved it down, got the points and put us in position. That’s really what it is all about and that’s what I am looking for most. As was evident, we only got two field goals.”
RE: As you weigh your decision as to who will start against Green Bay, will it be a performance based decision or is it rotation based?
“It is a little more complicated because I am trying to make the decision for the football team and what gives us the best chance to win. As every day goes by we are not just evaluating quarterbacks, but we are evaluating our team. The decision that we have to make is the one that gives us the best chance to win. In a game where you only score six points, it is tough to say ‘let’s change this thing right now’. We are continuing to work through it and evaluate the practices as well. Like I said, it’s not if it is clear cut, but at the same thing there were some very good things that I saw, but there were a couple of things that can cost you a game that I didn’t like.”
RE: At what points does rotating three guys, hurt your preparation for the regular season opener?
“In order to get the right quarterback, that will no time ever hurt us, so we are safe there. But at what time would we have liked to make the decision? I think yesterday would have been a good day. It has to take its course. It is an important decision and we are not taking it lightly because it is about winning. The quarterback position is key. It is never too late. We want to make a good decision. The information we are gathering right now is valuable. As I have said all along, I believe in all three guys. It is important and they must be ready. Anytime a guy gets a rep, at least I am feeling good that it is not a wasted rep because they may have to play.”
RE: When Alex came in, the first two plays were two Zak Keasey runs and then close to the goal line, there was another third down run. You also kicked a short field goal. Why not put more on to Alex’s shoulders to see what he could do?
“It is obviously the play calling. We want to give every quarterback a fair chance. First off with the line that we had in there….Let’s put it this way, had he dropped back every down and gotten hit, I would be more disappointed. Mike (Martz) was probably thinking of giving the line confidence and running the ball a couple of times because that’s the way you slow down your pass rush. He did have his opportunities to throw. People weren’t teeing off on him. That’s important. It’s not just calling a run and holding back on Alex. It has to do with the other 10 guys. There is a game being played every down by 11 guys and the play caller as well. You are not trying to keep him from throwing the ball, you are trying to make it that when you do, you have a good situation for your quarterback. That’s a big reason for running the ball with that group. I think it is misunderstood to think that it is a different reason. If it would have been fourth and one, which I thought it was, I would have put it on Alex to go for it. But at fourth and three, that’s the typical decision on what you do. Our special teams need work as well. Preseason is not just for your quarterback or any one position. It is for your team to get better. In the process you make game type of decisions that help your football team. If it would have been much closer, which I thought it was…if I knew we were kicking the field goal, we would have let the clock run down. He had the opportunity on first down, second down and third down for us offensively to get it in, but that’s what we did. ”
RE: How did Justin Smith play?
“Justin played 12 plays. He is an aggressive player. They ran away from him several times. I don’t know if that’s by design. He played well. The sack that Ray McDonald got on the first third down of the game, he cleaned it up pretty good. They had a stunt inside with him and Ray and the confusion that the two of them created inside allowed Ray to split it and get the sack. Since the time he has gotten here, he has been the same every day. He is a good player, he is an aggressive player. He makes the guys around him better. That’s what I saw on the few plays on the dozen plays that he played.”
RE: When a guy like Jay Moore does well against the third team does it give you reason to bump him up to see what he can do earlier in the game?
“If it was just all good plays, but he made some plays and had some errors. Obviously it not that his 25 or so stats were bright spots. If all of them were bright spots then I would say it was a good time to do that. But he has limited experience at the outside backer position. I was just pleased that he is making progress from a year ago and that he made plays. But what are your negative plays and how much did they hurt us? Not that they hurt us bad, but at the same time you are looking at the overall game someone has. I’m not looking to change the depth but it is nice to see he has the ability to make some plays.”
RE: How do you react to the amount of yards Oakland picked up on the ground?
“If it’s preseason you look if it's a collective problem. If a bunch of guys messed up or if it was with your first group it would be alarming. If it is with your second and third group, you look at who were the culprits, because those culprits typically don’t make your football team. If they are guys you are counting on, you have to get those mistakes corrected. As I was talking to the coaching staff, we have to be careful on what we are working on. Are we trying to correct the problem we had in the game with our backups or with our starters? It is important that we recognize where our starters need to get better and some of the backups who we are counting on to give us reps or someone who is starting to get in the picture. It is collective first, but if that collective group is your second and third group, then it gets down to individuals and you have to look at what individuals are breaking down. They are going to have a tougher time making the team. The guys who are doing a good job move up. It is not like during the season. When someone is running and throwing on your defense during the regular season, it is obvious that your team has a collective issue. Unless they are picking on somebody. This time of year, there is so much in and out that guys don’t trust each other.”
RE: How did you view the JT flip pass to DeShaun Foster?
“DeShaun would have taken a different path, but he didn’t want to pick Jonas (Jennings) off of his guy. The good and bad of that, is that JT is a very competitive person and he was trying to make a play, as you would see a Brett Favre trying to do something like that. But you have to recognize who you are and the importance of utilizing the people around you. That’s a high risk thing that he did and I would rather he not do it at this time. That was a dangerous thing, but at the same time I know his insides were telling him ‘how can I help this team win and how can I help this team make a play?' Sometimes you have to take what you can get and move on. I would put that play in the category of the two turnovers only in what the context of what he was trying to do; he was trying to move the team but he was trying a little bit too hard.”
RE: Was JT having trouble with his helmet?
“There was the time that the coach to quarterback thing went out on us. It was a problem with the button, but they got that corrected. I can’t remember if we used a time out for that. I think we did.”
RE: Did you go to hand signals at that point?
“Offensively you just get it fixed. Nowadays, no one really uses hand signals on offense. What you do is probably shuttle a player in.”
RE: Was Michael Lewis wearing the receiver (device) on defense?
“He was on the first group and Keith Lewis had it on the second group.”
RE: Is that how you plan to go during the year?
“We are experimenting with it now. All of our safeties have worn it in practice, so they are used to the sound in their helmets. We will continue to progress. Patrick (Willis) at some point could have one. For right now, I would rather leave him alone. Some of our veteran safeties handle a lot of information very well. I just don’t know Patrick well enough right now. Even last year, he only called the defense in some of the time. Derek Smith was the signal-caller. So for right now, I would rather not dilute a guy’s play. We will see. Patrick called the play in the huddle when we signaled in on defense. But we were doing both last night.”
RE: How do you think that Adam Snyder and Joe Staley played?
“I would like for them to do better than they did last night. I thought we started a little bit soft. We can get better than that. They will be fine. They had good plays and bad plays, but they can get better.”
RE: Will Isaac Bruce play?
“I am undecided on that. If he did, it would be very limited, but we will see. I will let you know as the week goes on.”
RE: Injuries?
“The four guys who were nicked in the game should be okay. Allen (Rossum) had a knee bruise. Marcus Hudson has a quad contusion. Chilo (Rachal) had a ding but he will okay. Jason Hill will miss practice early in the week, but he will okay. Damane Duckett’s knee is a problem and he won’t practice. Eric Heitmann should be able to go for the game, but he may or may not practice tomorrow.”
RE: Do you know when you will get Bryant Johnson back?
“I don’t think it will be this week. My feeling right now is that he and Ashley (Lelie) won’t be this week.”
Camp Spotlight: CB Reggie Smith
http://www.49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=4446§ion=PR News
Training Camp Tidbits
Camp roommate: Lewis Baker
What's the most annoying thing he does? Whine. He’s injured so he’s got an excuse, but I just always look at him without much sympathy.
Most annoying thing he says you do: He says I snore.
Funniest Camp Moment: Chilo Rachal singing before one of the lectures we had. He sang that Baby Back Ribs song, like the Chili’s commercial. It was pretty funny.
Best Camp Singer: J.J. Finley
Camp must have: a soft bed
First thing you packed for camp: Shorts
Vet you’ve learned the Most from this Camp: Walt Harris
Coach’s pet: That would be Walt too.
Worst thing you’ve had to do: I’ve only had to buy candy, that’s it. It hasn’t been bad. I got peanut M&M’s, licorice, and sour patch kids for the DB room.
Favorite camp snack: Candy and sunflower seeds. You can’t fall asleep in meetings and sunflower seeds keep you up.
Hardest part about Camp: Practices every day. I’m used to getting a day or two off, but we pretty much go every day with something.
WHAT HE SAID
“Camp is a test of your endurance and your mind. You have to be able to endure all of the running and physical stuff, but also keep strong minded so that you keep going and every day learn what you need to instead of just checking out. You’ve got to keep pushing. After the first ten days, it’s been alright for me. I’m used to it and I know what I need to do now, so it's gotten a lot better."
WHAT OTHERS SAID
"Camp is going well for Reggie. Obviously he’s talented, but he has to work on his technique. With most young corners, the technique part is what they have to usually focus on when they come into the NFL. But, he done well so far. In the game the other night, he made some nice tackles, and nice plays on the ball. If he continues to work on technique and details he should have a nice year for us." - secondary coach Vance Joseph
http://www.49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=4446§ion=PR News
Training Camp Tidbits
Camp roommate: Lewis Baker
What's the most annoying thing he does? Whine. He’s injured so he’s got an excuse, but I just always look at him without much sympathy.
Most annoying thing he says you do: He says I snore.
Funniest Camp Moment: Chilo Rachal singing before one of the lectures we had. He sang that Baby Back Ribs song, like the Chili’s commercial. It was pretty funny.
Best Camp Singer: J.J. Finley
Camp must have: a soft bed
First thing you packed for camp: Shorts
Vet you’ve learned the Most from this Camp: Walt Harris
Coach’s pet: That would be Walt too.
Worst thing you’ve had to do: I’ve only had to buy candy, that’s it. It hasn’t been bad. I got peanut M&M’s, licorice, and sour patch kids for the DB room.
Favorite camp snack: Candy and sunflower seeds. You can’t fall asleep in meetings and sunflower seeds keep you up.
Hardest part about Camp: Practices every day. I’m used to getting a day or two off, but we pretty much go every day with something.
WHAT HE SAID
“Camp is a test of your endurance and your mind. You have to be able to endure all of the running and physical stuff, but also keep strong minded so that you keep going and every day learn what you need to instead of just checking out. You’ve got to keep pushing. After the first ten days, it’s been alright for me. I’m used to it and I know what I need to do now, so it's gotten a lot better."
WHAT OTHERS SAID
"Camp is going well for Reggie. Obviously he’s talented, but he has to work on his technique. With most young corners, the technique part is what they have to usually focus on when they come into the NFL. But, he done well so far. In the game the other night, he made some nice tackles, and nice plays on the ball. If he continues to work on technique and details he should have a nice year for us." - secondary coach Vance Joseph
49ers Sign LB Spikes
August 10, 2008
The San Francisco 49ers announced Sunday that they have signed LB Takeo Spikes. Spikes was released by the Philadelphia Eagles in March. Terms of the contract were not announced by the team.
Spikes (6-2, 242) enters his 11th NFL season after originally being drafted in the first round (13th pick overall) of the 1998 Draft out of Auburn by the Cincinnati Bengals. A two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler (2003-04), Spikes has played in 140 games with 139 starts and has amassed 1,177 tackles, 22.5 sacks, 15 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and 48 passes defensed in his career.
August 10, 2008
The San Francisco 49ers announced Sunday that they have signed LB Takeo Spikes. Spikes was released by the Philadelphia Eagles in March. Terms of the contract were not announced by the team.
Spikes (6-2, 242) enters his 11th NFL season after originally being drafted in the first round (13th pick overall) of the 1998 Draft out of Auburn by the Cincinnati Bengals. A two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler (2003-04), Spikes has played in 140 games with 139 starts and has amassed 1,177 tackles, 22.5 sacks, 15 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and 48 passes defensed in his career.
