This post is a little early but wishing everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July! I will be back on Monday with new posts.  In the meantime if you want to keep updated automatically through email on 49er news at Niner Noise  subscribe here:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/NinerNoise

Kevin Lynch over at the San Francisco Chronicle’s 49ers blog Niner Insider is reporting that ESPN the Magazine ranked the 49ers 77^th out of 122 teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL in fan satisfaction.  He also reported the 49ers will rank dead last in NFL stadium evaluations.  No surprise there as Candlestick Park continues to crumble into San Francisco Bay.   Supposedly the perception of the 49ers ownership is not high but improving with Jed Joke (York) leading the team now.  What type of fans did they ask these questions to?  I would think if they did the poll exclusively to San Francisco fans only they would rank dead last when asked about satisfaction with the Niner’s owners.  I doubt many SF fans living in The City would have good things to say about York who is trying all he can to move the 49ers out of San Francisco.  It will be interesting to see the full poll when it is released.

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Gore's Career Year

Last season Frank Gore had his lowest rushing totals since he became the starting running back for the 49ers in 2006.  Gore rushed for 1036 yards with six rushing touchdowns last year.  Gore’s low rushing numbers can be attributed to an inept offense that was still trying to find some sort of identity like choosing a starting quarterback.  I have wondered how big Gore’s numbers would be if he was on a team that had a consistent explosive offense.  Gore reminds me of the Lakers Pau Gasol.  He had all the talent to put up big numbers but he was not on the right team.  After Gasol was traded to the Lakers his numbers and play got even better.  In 2007 Gore had 1102 yards rushing with five rushing touchdowns which was a decline from his career high in 2006 when he rushed for 1695 yards with eight rushing touchdowns.  It is important to note Gore’s 2006 Pro Bowl was in large part due to Moran Norris who re-signed with the 49ers in February after being released last year after training camp.  Mike Martz had no use of fullbacks in his offense which contributed to Norris’ release.  Norris’ only year off the roster since Gore has been a starter was a career low year for Gore.  Martz is to blame for Gore’s numbers last year especially the way he tried using Michael Robinson as a lead blocker for Gore after Mike Singeltary installed his run more offense.  Obliviously Robinson as the fullback didn’t work out although Gore did show in the Martz offense he can be relied on as a consistent receiver out of the back field.  Gore was more like a safety net for J.T. O’Sullivan and Shaun Hill which seemed like every passing play.  Nonetheless Gore showed he can be a versatile back ala the Eagles Brian Westbrook, but more durable with fewer injuries.

With Norris again leading the way for Gore I expected to see a career year in both the rushing and receiving categories.  Gore has it in him to top 1700 rushing yards and with an offense that was upgraded with the selection of WR Michael Crabtree the 49ers have a passing attack that defenses will have to focus their attention on and a little less on Gore. Receivers Isaac Bruce, free-agent Brandon Jones and young potential stars Dominique Zeigler, Jason Hill and Josh Morgan along with Crabtree will spread the field making it easier for Gore to make plays.  Gore will be helped by the run oriented offense being installed by new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye who is the seventh coordinator in seven years.  Singletary’s vision of running the ball down defenses throats will work well with Gore and Norris together again along with an improved line with Joe Staley and Chilo Rachal leading the way. Everything is in place for Gore to have a big year. Now if we can only get that quarterback situation under control.

Singletary's Motivation

Remember when Mike Singletary dropped his pants during half-time against the Seahawks last year to motivate his team in his first game as coach? Well he is in full control now and entering his first training camp and first NFL season he has to top himself somehow. Here are my predictions:

Singletary will hire former teammate William “the Refrigerator” Perry to roam the sidelines dressed only in a jock strap and any player who misses a play or does not give 100% will face the ire of the Refrig when he returns to the bench.

Singletary will threaten to move any player to Santa Clara who does not give 100%.

Singletary will threaten to trade any player to the Raiders who does not give 100%.

Singletary will threaten to bring back Mike Nolan.

Instead of sending a player to the locker room when they get an unnecessary penalty he will instead send him to the upper-deck of Candlestick Park to watch the rest of the game. They will have to take the escalators on the east side of the stadium which are known to break down.

Every time the secondary gives up a pass of 15 or more yards they will have to buy fans the cheaply priced $8 beers for the whole stadium.

If Singletary names Alex Smith the starter he will make him wear a headband and Ray-Ban’s when he starts to make him feel more comfortable naming him the starter and to give Smith some swagger ala Jim McMahon.

What are your predictions? Answer in the comments.

Alex Smith vs. Shaun Hill

When the 49ers made Alex Smith the number one pick in the 2005 draft I was ecstatic.  I thought we had our franchise quarterback the one we had been searching for since Steve Young.  He was a cerebral quarterback along the lines of Peyton Manning and at the time the best QB available in the draft.  Since then we have realized he might be cerebral like Manning but the comparisons end there and the other best QB available in the draft, Aaron Rogers, has proven so far to be a QB the Packers can rely on as a starter.  Four years later we are still in search of that franchise quarterback and Smith is still on the team competing for the starting job vs. incumbent starter Shaun Hill.  The reason why Smith is still being considered is he restructured his contract (the 49ers would have released him otherwise) and the 49ers are not quite ready to give up on him and officially label him a bust even though the rest of the NFL world has already done so.  The 49ers need to move on from Smith or at least designate Hill the starter with Smith as the number two man.  If Smith shows he is the better QB in training camp than make him the starter.  But by not making Hill the starter outright leaves too many questions on a team that is trying to find its identity.  The only reason why Hill is not being called the starter outright (he has a 7-3 record as a starter, Smith is 9-14) is because he is horrible at practice and sometimes does not show he has a grasp of the offense or the game plan for the week.  Yet time and time again we have seen he is a gamer and he can lead the 49ers to victories even from behind and on the road.  Remember last year when Hill had his helmet ripped off and he still ran for ten yards for the first down?  I wonder if Smith would have done the same thing.  Smith is considered soft or as I like to him fragile.  I am not saying Hill is our franchise QB of the future or that he is one of the elite QB’s in the NFL.  However he knows how to win games and with what we have available as far as QB market (get Michael Vick out of your mind that will never happen) he can lead this team to a winning record. Number ten draft pick WR Michael Crabtree will fit in well with Hill because Crabtree is best at running the short routes and making moves around a defender than flying by a defender for the long ball.  Hill may not have the prettiest footwork but he is at his best when he takes three steps back and releases the football for the short route.  Hill and Crabtree will connect many of time this year.

As much as I would love Smith to come out of nowhere and prove everyone wrong that he is not a bust and show he can be a successful QB in the NFL I doubt that will happen.  Smith did gain new life and confidence with the firing of Mike Nolan because Nolan basically killed all of his confidence when he could him out about not being hurt in 2007.  Hill is our man, Hill is a proven man who can compete.  The 49ers cannot afford to make the same mistake Nolan and former offensive coordinator Mike Martz made when naming an unproven QB in J.T. Duh! Sullivan the starter because he looked better in practice.  Unless Norv Turner is our offensive coordinator (Smith’s best year was the one year Turner was on the coaching staff) Smith is a back-up.  Mike Singletary please name Hill the starter!

What You Can Do

The San Francisco 49ers were established in 1946 and were the city’s first professional sports team. Traditions run deep for many San Francisco families and residents from attending home games every Sunday to watching and cheering for the Niners at home or at their local sports bar with rituals ranging from the superstitious to the abnormal. What will happen to our beloved 49ers and the city if they move to Santa Clara or to another city? San Francisco and the 49ers are synonymous with each other. The 49ers are San Francisco and San Francisco is the 49ers. Our city and the residents blood runs Red and Gold. San Francisco and the 49ers have celebrated 5 Super Bowl Championships, 5 NFC conference championships, and 17 NFC West Division championships together. The San Francisco 49ers tradition and history will be lost if Jed York and his family have their way and move the team to Santa Clara.

Please sign this petition to help keep the 49ers in San Francisco: KEEP THE 49ERS IN SF!

Contact the 49ers to voice your opposition of the move to Santa Clara:

(408) 562-4949   49ersfaninfo@niners.nfl.com

Mail in personal letters with your 49ers memories and stories. For more of an effect have your kids write a personal letter too along with a drawing they made to illustrate the point of keeping the team in S.F.:

Marie P. DeBartolo Sports Centre

4949 Jamestown Avenue, Room 400

San Francisco, CA 94124

Call, email and mail  Mayor Gavin Newsom to keep the 49ers in town:

(415) 554-6141     gavin.newsom@sfgov.org

City Hall, Room 200

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

San Francisco, CA 94102

Contact the San Francisco Board of Supervisors:

Mailing Address for Board of Supervisors:

City Hall

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl., Room 244

San Francisco, Ca 94102-4689

David Chiu (Board President)

Call: (415) 554-7450

Eric Mar

Call: (415) 554-7410

Michela Alioto-Pier

Call:  (415) 554-7752

Carmen Chu

Call: (415) 554-7460

Ross Mirkarimi

Call: (415) 554-7630

Chris Daly

Call: (415) 554-7970

Sean R. Elsbernd

Call: (415) 554-6516

Bevan Dufty

Call: (415) 554-6968

David Campos

Call: (415) 554-5144

Sophie Maxwell

Call: (415) 554-7670

John Avalos

Call: (415) 554-6975

Santa Clara City Officials:

Mayor Patricia Mahan and City Council Offices

(408) 615-2250

City Hall

1500 Warburton Ave

Santa Clara, CA 95050

Treasurer Santa Clara Plays Fair

Bill Bailey (877)703-4300

Great person to talk about your opposition to a move, he has started a grassroots campaign in Santa Clara for residents opposed to funding a 49ers stadium.

The 49ers Family Day on Saturday had a big turnout. A lot of the activities were for kids, hence the family day. The event was on the field at Candlestick which was awesome. Mike Singletary did a Q&A with an interviewer from a radio station. I thought he would be taking questions from people in attendance nevertheless I can see how and why the 49er players get inspired just listening to him and believe in his leadership and vision for the team.

I was disappoint that they had a booth detailing the new proposed stadium. I was the only one that I saw that had a t-shirt saying “Keep the 49ers in SF”. Not too many people in attendance seemed to care about keeping the 49ers in SF. Probably because they were all from Santa Clara.

For the first time in my life I saw the five Super Bowl Championship trophy’s in person within five feet of me. It was amazing staring at the trophy’s. It makes you want the 49ers to win five more. Other than the autographs both, which had way too long of a line, the trophy booth was the most popular with fans taking pictures and making comments like “we need more rings!”

Anyone going to the 49ers Family Day tomorrow at Candlestick Park? It is a free event and will be from 10 am-2 pm, check it out here: 49ers Family Day

I will be in attendance and I am going to wearing a t-shirt that says Keep the 49ers in SF. If you will be attending let me know. Otherwise look for me in the t-shirt. Hopefully there will be other 49er Faithful wearing similar shirts or have signs protesting the possible move to Santa Clara. There is a Q&A with coach Mike Singletary and autographs with players past and present. My plan is to ask Singletary what he thinks about the possible move and also to ask players when get getting their autographs. Too bad the York Family won’t be in attendance.

I could care less about either team in the NBA Finals but watching Dwight Howard and Michael Pietrus basically blow the game and an NBA championship got me thinking. Did Howard “choke” missing those two free throws? Did Pietrus “choke” missing the game winning shot? I say no. What won out last night was experience over inexperience. Derek Fisher, a veteran of the playoffs and the Finals, hit his two big shots. The leaders of the Lakers, D-Fish, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson all have plenty experience in the clutch. My point is this reminded me of the Bulls vs. Celtics series, experience vs. inexperience. The Baby Bulls, who are my NBA team, had the players and talent to beat the Celtics but when it came down to game seven, experience triumphed inexperience. None of the Bulls starters or on the bench, Brad Miller being an exception, did not have any previous game seven experience. Yes, they have plenty of players (Derek Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon) who have big game college experience but the NBA is quite different even in the first round of the playoffs. The Magic lost last night because Howard has never been put in the position of shooting free throws in the final seconds of an NBA Finals game to seal the win. All he needed was to make one and that didn’t happen because of his inexperience. As could be said of Peitrus missing the game winning shot. The Magic had an 87-82 lead with less than a minute left and could not pull out the win at home even in OT. Experience will always win out.

Part 3 of my Get to Know series of this year’s 49er draft picks.

Get to Know: Glen Coffee

Get to Know: Michael Crabtree

Bear Pascoe, Tight End

Born: February 23, 1986

Height: 6-5

Weight: 260 lbs.

High School: Granite Hills High School (Porterville, CA)

College: Fresno State University

Entered NFL draft after his senior year and was drafted in the sixth round with the 184th pick in 2009.

Best game in college:

September 8, 2007 vs. Texas A&M: 7 receptions for 70 yards with 3 touchdowns.

In the clutch:

2008 New Mexico Bowl vs. Colorado State: 3 receptions for 39 yards with 0 touchdowns.

2007 Humanitarian Bowl vs. Georgia Tech: 6 receptions for 72 yards with 0 touchdowns.

2006 Liberty Bowl vs. Tulsa: 2 receptions for 10 yards with 0 touchdowns.

Awards:

2003 East Yosemite League Offensive Player of the Year (High School) and 2003 All Area Team (Northern California).

All WAC Selection in 2007 and 2008.

Pascoe Facts:

Played quarterback in high school. Passed for 1,851 yards and 16 touchdowns in his senior year. In the last two years of high school he had just under 3,500 total yards along with 33 touchdowns.

Was recruited by Fresno State as a quarterback. Switched to tight end and redshirted his freshman year.

Full name is McKenna Sean Pascoe. Earned the nickname Bear as a kid because of his size. He weighed 10 pounds as a baby.

Is a champion team roper and cowboy down to the bone. He grew up on his family’s ranch in Porterville, CA which they still own today.

Majored in communication studies.

As a Niner:

Will back-up starting tight end Vernon Davis.  He will be used mostly as a blocker and on special teams. He blocked six field goals in college which is a record. He has great catching abilities and will challenge Davis for playing time this year.

Will wear number 48.

As of June 10, 2009 he remains unsigned by the 49ers.

Highlights: