NINERS VS SEAHAWKS Saturday at The Stick!
- Thread starter TONE DOG THE 01
- Start date
Why am I discussin football with this breezy?? I cant see the future, but I can make predictions and we have a chance to pull the upset in Carolina!! Whether we do or not we still had a breakout season and we will do big thangs next year regardless!! See Im realistic about my squad! Im not like yall Whiner fans who say they are goin to the bowl every year!! LMAO!! GOT EM!!!
How 49ers became 7-and-9ers: injuries, kicking woes and more
Here is an article that discusses the plans for next season.
How 49ers became 7-and-9ers: injuries, kicking woes and more
By Cam Inman, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Year No. 1 under coach Dennis Erickson ended with the 49ers at 7-9 and out of the playoffs.
Disappointing? Left tackle Derrick Deese, who played on the 49ers' 1994 team that won the Super Bowl, would say so.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Some of the younger players are learning about the 49er tradition, learning that this is unacceptable," Deese said after Saturday's season-ending loss to the Seattle Seahawks. "If even we were 8-8, that's not acceptable. We're better than that. And I think this team knows it. We just got some unlucky breaks."
Erickson admits it took him a while to learn the 49ers' way, and he's vowed to have a better grasp on things and more control in Year No. 2.
"I probably will be involved with the offense next year, much more than I was this year, without question," Erickson said Monday. "I will even get involved a bit defensively as I get to know it.
"When you are 7-9, none of us has done our best job that we can do," added Erickson, who went 7-9 once and 8-8 three times as the Seattle Seahawks coach from 1995-98. "We worked our rear ends off. ... Next year I will be much more involved in all aspects of this football team than when I was coming in."
That apparently will include upcoming personnel decisions. Ironically, team owner John York cited Steve Mariucci's desire to have a bigger role in personnel as a major factor for Mariucci's dismissal Jan. 15, three days after the 49ers lost in the NFC divisional playoffs to eventual Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay.
"Dennis is going to have some strong opinions," general manager Terry Donahue said. "He's going to know this team a lot better than he did this last February."
Said Erickson: "Terry and I will work together with this and talk about our team and what I think our strengths and weaknesses are, as will he. We mainly agree on a lot of them and disagree on some other ones. Then, we'll come to a decision on what direction we feel like we have to go in. That is how it will be."
How did it all unravel in 2003?
It didn't take long. The 49ers followed up a season-opening 49-7 rout of the Chicago Bears with a three-game losing streak. That skid got worse by the week, with the team losing in overtime at St. Louis, blowing a late lead in a 13-12 home loss to the Cleveland Browns and then getting blown out 35-7 at Minnesota.
But the 49ers didn't just lose their first two road games. They lost their first seven before finally claiming a 31-28 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 21.
Every road game, and all but two home contests, featured a false-start penalty by the 49ers. They finished with 32 such penalties this season, including five apiece from Deese, right guard Ron Stone and tight end Jed Weaver.
Perhaps the first clue of the 49ers' injury fate occurred a week before training camp. That's when quarterback Jeff Garcia sustained a bulging disk in his back while lifting weights with a personal trainer in Los Angeles. Garcia battled through that injury, as well a concussion, a strained groin, a strained right forearm/wrist and a sprained left ankle, which snapped his streak of consecutive starts at 61.
Garcia entered the season ranked fourth in NFL history with an 89.9 career passer rating. He posted an 80.1 rating this season, rallying from a four-interception outing Nov. 30 at Baltimore.
Injuries also decimated the offensive line, a unit that got panned by wide receiver Terrell Owens after the loss to the Browns. Owens piped up again the following week, angrily confronting offensive coordinator Greg Knapp on the sideline and later telling reporters: "We got no heart."
Next year, the 49ers likely won't have Owens, one of 14 players headed for unrestricted free agency. But the 49ers discovered a potential replacement for Owens -- or, more likely, Tai Streets -- in acrobatic rookie Brandon Lloyd.
"The team's expecting more out of me come next season, and I want to make sure I step up and rise to the occasion," Lloyd said Sunday. "It's expected, and I expect it. I want a bigger role, so I'm going to do in the offseason what's necessary to get it."
Also anticipating an expanded workload is running back Kevan Barlow, who racked up 1,024 yards despite starting only the final four games when Garrison Hearst failed to recover quickly from knee surgery.
Follies on special teams hampered the 49ers all season. They missed five point-after attempts this year, with holder Bill LaFleur failing to cleanly field snaps on three of those. He also muffed the hold of a 31-yard field goal attempt against the Eagles.
Adding to the madness were three kickers -- Jeff Chandler, Owen Pochman and Todd Peterson. After a horrendous outing by Pochman in an overtime loss at Arizona, the 49ers turned to Peterson, who kicked for the Seattle Seahawks during Erickson's stint there from 1995-98. Peterson provided stability, but he had a point-after kick blocked and missed two field goal attempts under 30 yards.
A matured defense served as the 49ers' savior much of this season, spearheaded by outside linebacker/left end Julian Peterson (team-high seven sacks), safety Tony Parrish (team-high nine interceptions) and linebacker Derek Smith (team-record 189 tackles).
Defensive coordinator Jim Mora's blitz-heavy attack helped key the 49ers' NFC-best plus-12 turnover margin. They allowed the second-fewest yards rushing per home game in NFL history (58.3), but they allowed 153.9 yards rushing per game on the road.
"We were very inconsistent," Donahue said. "One week the offense would perform and the defense didn't, or vice versa. Or the offense and defense would perform and the kicking game didn't.
"We just didn't get into sync enough weeks to make the playoffs. That lack of consistency. ... It was constantly a lack of consistency."
Where the 49ers ranked among 32 NFL teams:
Category Rank Avg. per game
Total offense 5th 355.4
Pass offense 10th 213.0
Rush offense 5th 142.4
Total defense 13th 308.0
Pass defense 17th 202.4
Rush defense 9th 105.6
• DEAL WITH GARCIA: Jeff Garcia is set to earn the average base salary of the league's five highest-paid quarterbacks in 2004, an estimated $9.5 million price tag the 49ers must bargain down to save cap room.
• PONY UP: There's plenty of work to do and decisions to make as 26 players are without contracts for 2004. Among the 14 expected unrestricted free agents are wide receiver Terrell Owens, outside linebacker Julian Peterson and cornerback Ahmed Plummer. The other 12 without contracts have less than four years' experience, and the 49ers can tender those players a one-year contract to retain their rights.
• KEEP PETERSON: General manager Terry Donahue said re-signing Julian Peterson to a lengthy extension is a top priority, and as optimistic as Donahue may be, it could cost the 49ers as much as $15 million to $20 million in bonus money.
• SWING A TRADE: The 49ers likely won't let wide receiver Terrell Owens walk without getting something in return, so expect them to slap the franchise tag on him before trading him for a high draft pick. Odds on his staying a 49er: 31-1. (Note: There are 31 NFL teams besides the 49ers.)
• SOLVE KICKING WOES: They must find a reliable veteran kicker -- re-signing Todd Peterson might do -- and a capable punter and holder. Two years ago, they invested a fourth-round pick in Jeff Chandler, who was the first of three kickers used this season.
• ALTER OFFENSE: The offense looked way too similar under first-year coach Dennis Erickson to the way it did under Steve Mariucci, and was just as unproductive at times. Erickson said he plans to become much more involved in the scheme.
FINAL RANKINGS
OFFSEASON CHECKLIST
• GET HEALTHIER: Contributing to the offense's inconsistency were injuries to all the starting linemen, Garcia and the top two wide receivers, Owens and Streets, who both practiced only once a week.
• ADDRESS SECONDARY: With the NFL's 17th-ranked pass defense, the 49ers need to decide whether to bring back cornerbacks Ahmed Plummer and Jason Webster along with unproductive free safety Zack Bronson.
Here is an article that discusses the plans for next season.
How 49ers became 7-and-9ers: injuries, kicking woes and more
By Cam Inman, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Year No. 1 under coach Dennis Erickson ended with the 49ers at 7-9 and out of the playoffs.
Disappointing? Left tackle Derrick Deese, who played on the 49ers' 1994 team that won the Super Bowl, would say so.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Some of the younger players are learning about the 49er tradition, learning that this is unacceptable," Deese said after Saturday's season-ending loss to the Seattle Seahawks. "If even we were 8-8, that's not acceptable. We're better than that. And I think this team knows it. We just got some unlucky breaks."
Erickson admits it took him a while to learn the 49ers' way, and he's vowed to have a better grasp on things and more control in Year No. 2.
"I probably will be involved with the offense next year, much more than I was this year, without question," Erickson said Monday. "I will even get involved a bit defensively as I get to know it.
"When you are 7-9, none of us has done our best job that we can do," added Erickson, who went 7-9 once and 8-8 three times as the Seattle Seahawks coach from 1995-98. "We worked our rear ends off. ... Next year I will be much more involved in all aspects of this football team than when I was coming in."
That apparently will include upcoming personnel decisions. Ironically, team owner John York cited Steve Mariucci's desire to have a bigger role in personnel as a major factor for Mariucci's dismissal Jan. 15, three days after the 49ers lost in the NFC divisional playoffs to eventual Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay.
"Dennis is going to have some strong opinions," general manager Terry Donahue said. "He's going to know this team a lot better than he did this last February."
Said Erickson: "Terry and I will work together with this and talk about our team and what I think our strengths and weaknesses are, as will he. We mainly agree on a lot of them and disagree on some other ones. Then, we'll come to a decision on what direction we feel like we have to go in. That is how it will be."
How did it all unravel in 2003?
It didn't take long. The 49ers followed up a season-opening 49-7 rout of the Chicago Bears with a three-game losing streak. That skid got worse by the week, with the team losing in overtime at St. Louis, blowing a late lead in a 13-12 home loss to the Cleveland Browns and then getting blown out 35-7 at Minnesota.
But the 49ers didn't just lose their first two road games. They lost their first seven before finally claiming a 31-28 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 21.
Every road game, and all but two home contests, featured a false-start penalty by the 49ers. They finished with 32 such penalties this season, including five apiece from Deese, right guard Ron Stone and tight end Jed Weaver.
Perhaps the first clue of the 49ers' injury fate occurred a week before training camp. That's when quarterback Jeff Garcia sustained a bulging disk in his back while lifting weights with a personal trainer in Los Angeles. Garcia battled through that injury, as well a concussion, a strained groin, a strained right forearm/wrist and a sprained left ankle, which snapped his streak of consecutive starts at 61.
Garcia entered the season ranked fourth in NFL history with an 89.9 career passer rating. He posted an 80.1 rating this season, rallying from a four-interception outing Nov. 30 at Baltimore.
Injuries also decimated the offensive line, a unit that got panned by wide receiver Terrell Owens after the loss to the Browns. Owens piped up again the following week, angrily confronting offensive coordinator Greg Knapp on the sideline and later telling reporters: "We got no heart."
Next year, the 49ers likely won't have Owens, one of 14 players headed for unrestricted free agency. But the 49ers discovered a potential replacement for Owens -- or, more likely, Tai Streets -- in acrobatic rookie Brandon Lloyd.
"The team's expecting more out of me come next season, and I want to make sure I step up and rise to the occasion," Lloyd said Sunday. "It's expected, and I expect it. I want a bigger role, so I'm going to do in the offseason what's necessary to get it."
Also anticipating an expanded workload is running back Kevan Barlow, who racked up 1,024 yards despite starting only the final four games when Garrison Hearst failed to recover quickly from knee surgery.
Follies on special teams hampered the 49ers all season. They missed five point-after attempts this year, with holder Bill LaFleur failing to cleanly field snaps on three of those. He also muffed the hold of a 31-yard field goal attempt against the Eagles.
Adding to the madness were three kickers -- Jeff Chandler, Owen Pochman and Todd Peterson. After a horrendous outing by Pochman in an overtime loss at Arizona, the 49ers turned to Peterson, who kicked for the Seattle Seahawks during Erickson's stint there from 1995-98. Peterson provided stability, but he had a point-after kick blocked and missed two field goal attempts under 30 yards.
A matured defense served as the 49ers' savior much of this season, spearheaded by outside linebacker/left end Julian Peterson (team-high seven sacks), safety Tony Parrish (team-high nine interceptions) and linebacker Derek Smith (team-record 189 tackles).
Defensive coordinator Jim Mora's blitz-heavy attack helped key the 49ers' NFC-best plus-12 turnover margin. They allowed the second-fewest yards rushing per home game in NFL history (58.3), but they allowed 153.9 yards rushing per game on the road.
"We were very inconsistent," Donahue said. "One week the offense would perform and the defense didn't, or vice versa. Or the offense and defense would perform and the kicking game didn't.
"We just didn't get into sync enough weeks to make the playoffs. That lack of consistency. ... It was constantly a lack of consistency."
Where the 49ers ranked among 32 NFL teams:
Category Rank Avg. per game
Total offense 5th 355.4
Pass offense 10th 213.0
Rush offense 5th 142.4
Total defense 13th 308.0
Pass defense 17th 202.4
Rush defense 9th 105.6
• DEAL WITH GARCIA: Jeff Garcia is set to earn the average base salary of the league's five highest-paid quarterbacks in 2004, an estimated $9.5 million price tag the 49ers must bargain down to save cap room.
• PONY UP: There's plenty of work to do and decisions to make as 26 players are without contracts for 2004. Among the 14 expected unrestricted free agents are wide receiver Terrell Owens, outside linebacker Julian Peterson and cornerback Ahmed Plummer. The other 12 without contracts have less than four years' experience, and the 49ers can tender those players a one-year contract to retain their rights.
• KEEP PETERSON: General manager Terry Donahue said re-signing Julian Peterson to a lengthy extension is a top priority, and as optimistic as Donahue may be, it could cost the 49ers as much as $15 million to $20 million in bonus money.
• SWING A TRADE: The 49ers likely won't let wide receiver Terrell Owens walk without getting something in return, so expect them to slap the franchise tag on him before trading him for a high draft pick. Odds on his staying a 49er: 31-1. (Note: There are 31 NFL teams besides the 49ers.)
• SOLVE KICKING WOES: They must find a reliable veteran kicker -- re-signing Todd Peterson might do -- and a capable punter and holder. Two years ago, they invested a fourth-round pick in Jeff Chandler, who was the first of three kickers used this season.
• ALTER OFFENSE: The offense looked way too similar under first-year coach Dennis Erickson to the way it did under Steve Mariucci, and was just as unproductive at times. Erickson said he plans to become much more involved in the scheme.
FINAL RANKINGS
OFFSEASON CHECKLIST
• GET HEALTHIER: Contributing to the offense's inconsistency were injuries to all the starting linemen, Garcia and the top two wide receivers, Owens and Streets, who both practiced only once a week.
• ADDRESS SECONDARY: With the NFL's 17th-ranked pass defense, the 49ers need to decide whether to bring back cornerbacks Ahmed Plummer and Jason Webster along with unproductive free safety Zack Bronson.
Niners sign Barlow!
Niners will tender Barlow one-year pact
Last Update: 12/30/2003 12:34:05 PM
Santa Clara, CA (Sports Network) - The San Francisco 49ers will make running back Kevan Barlow a one-year, $1.9 million offer to try to keep the three-year pro in the fold for the 2004 season.
The Contra Costa Times reported that San Francisco general manager Terry Donahue acknowledged that the team will offer Barlow the deal, which would require other teams to give the 49ers a first- and third-round draft pick if they signed the restricted free agent.
It appears that both sides want Barlow back in San Francisco next season, however, the salary cap-strapped 49ers may not be able to match a highly lucrative offer from another team.
The official contract offer to Barlow would at least give San Francisco some compensation in the form of draft picks if it cannot afford to match another offer made to Barlow.
Starting just the final four games this season, Barlow ran for 1,024 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games, compiling a 5.1 yards-per-carry average. He twice ran for 154 yards in a game in his four starts.
The Niners do have the right to match any offer sheet Barlow might sign with another squad.
Niners will tender Barlow one-year pact
Last Update: 12/30/2003 12:34:05 PM
Santa Clara, CA (Sports Network) - The San Francisco 49ers will make running back Kevan Barlow a one-year, $1.9 million offer to try to keep the three-year pro in the fold for the 2004 season.
The Contra Costa Times reported that San Francisco general manager Terry Donahue acknowledged that the team will offer Barlow the deal, which would require other teams to give the 49ers a first- and third-round draft pick if they signed the restricted free agent.
It appears that both sides want Barlow back in San Francisco next season, however, the salary cap-strapped 49ers may not be able to match a highly lucrative offer from another team.
The official contract offer to Barlow would at least give San Francisco some compensation in the form of draft picks if it cannot afford to match another offer made to Barlow.
Starting just the final four games this season, Barlow ran for 1,024 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games, compiling a 5.1 yards-per-carry average. He twice ran for 154 yards in a game in his four starts.
The Niners do have the right to match any offer sheet Barlow might sign with another squad.
Wow he said he wanted to stay. Holy shit. THat must mean he's stayin. He's shown every sign of a player wanting to stay in a city. Bitch out your coaches, complain about your team mates, drop numerous easily catchable balls, talk on the cellphone on the sideline DURING A GAME(even if it's your mama), walking out on your team with less than 3 minutes left in the game(even though they were in it until the end), and to round it off, he's already selling his house in Fremont. Sounds like he loves the niners and wants to stay long term. 