Archive for December, 2011

What a season it has been. It is sad to see the regular season come to a wrap. But unlike years past, the San Francisco 49ers will finally see the post season. There is still some business to be taken care of before we look ahead to the playoffs. With a win against the St. Louis Rams, the Niners will earn a first round bye. It is a much needed first round bye with injuries piling up in the last few weeks. Most of the injuries have been occurring on the offensive side of the ball, which means the defense [...]

The San Francisco 49ers face one more hurdle in their quest for the second overall seed in the NFC. This hurdle happens to have won 2 games this season and lost 13. However, with the 49ers these things are never easy. This season the Niners have had a knack for playing almost to the exact level of their competition.. When they are playing the Steelers, that’s great. When they are playing the Cardinals, not so much. That’s why this Sunday’s affair with the “lowly” Rams could be more interesting than most people expect.

The San Francisco 49ers has six players listed as questionable and one out for the game against the Rams on Sunday.  Two of the players, Ted Ginn and Kyle Williams, have not practiced all week and will most likely be unavailable on Sunday.  With receivers Joshua Morgan already out for the season, Braylon Edwards released and tight end Delanie Walker out for the game with a broken jaw, the receiving options will be lacking.

Follow @NN_Keepinitheel Count me as one of the shocked ones when I first learned of the Braylon Edwards release.  Weird timing, I thought?  WTF is Jim and Trent doing.  Then I came to my senses, Edwards was doing nothing, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was getting a little attitude one bit.  15 catches, zero touchdowns, no impact, goodbye man.  I’m not mourning this guy, nope. I loved the signing, he looked good in the preseason.  But why do you think he didn’t last in Cleveland or New York?  Bye Bye Braylon.

With a depleted receiving corps the San Francisco 49ers added WR Joe Hastings from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.  Ted Ginn (ankle) and Kyle Williams (concussion) have not practiced all week so it’s highly unlikely they will play in the season finale against the Rams.  This forced the 49ers hand in adding a receiver to the 53-man roster as TE Delanie Walker will also be out with a broken jaw who served as a receiving threat for the offense. Bringing Hastings up from the practice squad makes the most sense because he is familiar with the offense.  His [...]

With the 49ers receiving corps in bad shape it isn’t hard to speculate on possible additions to the team. Tragically some players are off the table that Jim had try out last time we had an opening. However like hang nail, one name keeps painfully coming up in the background that simply cannot be ignored altogether. Still eagerly waiting by the phone Terrell Owens and his agent Drew Rosenhaus inevitably join the discussion. At the moment I don’t think there is any conversation between the 49ers and T.O. Jim Harbaugh made it clear during an interview on December 28th when [...]

Well the NFC playoff picture is just about set with the Giants and Cowboys ready to start the playoffs early it is like a play in game in the NCAA tourney. When I started putting together these articles I had said how the perfect scenario for the Niners to me would be the falcons in the 6th seed and now that is a real possibility. Yes I know no coach or player will say it but success in the playoffs has a little something to do with who you play and when. Yes you have to play the team that [...]

Follow @NN_Keepinitheel It sure is looking more and more like the Indianapolis Colts are going to take Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the 1st overall pick in Aprils draft.  Legendary QB Peyton Manning has a huge 2 year option that has to be picked up before the league year even starts.  If they do, the Colts-Manning marriage is destined to last at least that long. Don’t buy the crap about them co-existing, that’s hogwash.  Aaron Rogers may be the man now but he wasn’t Andrew Luck coming out of college either.  Him sitting behind Brett Favre is a completely different [...]

The San Francisco 49ers Year of Revival continued with the announcement that eight players were selected to the Pro Bowl, six of them starters.  The six starters selected are kicker David Akers, punter Andy Lee, DL Justin Smith, CB Carlos Rogers, LB Patrick Willis and LT Joe Staley.  The two reserves are RB Frank Gore and S Dashon Goldson. With six starters the 49ers matched a franchise record set in 1971 and the eight Pro Bowlers is the most since 1995 when the team had 10.  The 49ers tied with the Patriots for most players sent to the Pro Bowl. [...]

Much like last year week 16 meant the 49ers were eliminated… but this time it was from the #1 seed with a victory by the 14-1 Green Bay Packers.  As we approach the New Year, it’s amazing to look back and see how much 1 year can make a difference. One year ago the Niners were going into week 17 with a record of 5-10, a coach on the hot seat, and a quarterback presumed to be moving on outside of the bay area. This year we sit at 12-3, have a rookie coach that very likely will win coach [...]