2008 San Francisco 49ers Season thread!!

[Ronin]

Cause you know we are winning the NFC WEST! I'm back on the Alex Smith bandwagon and Mike Martz can make this kid a pro.

I will post more pictures after the 49ers beat the Cardinals again or when Neil Rackers misses another field goal.[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/ADRIAN%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-5.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/ADRIAN%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-4.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/ADRIAN%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/ADRIAN%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg[/IMG]

[Linderbee]

Woooooo...I needed a good laugh. Thank you!

[Ronin]

[Donald]

Funniest thread I've read in a while.

[mojorizen7]

As a lifelong diehard RAMS fan i can tell you that Mike Martz' gimmick offense is dated & flawed....not to mention that Isaac Bruce is a traitor! At least his production will be limited in numbers for ya'll.

[CardEd]

Rackers might miss a field goal, but ol' skillet hands will cost you a few W's. Count on it!

[mojorizen7]

Originally Posted by CardEd

Rackers might miss a field goal, but ol' skillet hands will cost you a few W's. Count on it!

Who?

[Renz]

Originally Posted by mojorizen7

Who?

Bryant Johnson

[mojorizen7]

Originally Posted by Renz

Bryant Johnson

Gotcha.

[young tone]

I dont want to get my hopes up (like last year and be extremely dissapointed) but hiring Martz and seeing him teach the QB's at the Senior Bowl (reminded me of the video of Walsh and Montana and Walsh breaking down every step, every play), I am getting kinda excited for football. But baseball just arrived to Im still hooked into that lol

[Ronin]

Bump for the draft.

[Ronin]

Frank Gore says new OC Mike Martz has installed several packages that will put him in the backfield with Michael Robinson.

.

Say goodbye to Moran Norris?

[Ronin]

Sopoaga, Fields trade places on D-line
The wheels are in motion on a Niners defensive line that is going to look dramatically different this coming season without longtime regular DEs Bryant Young (retired) and Marques Douglas (free agent signed by Buccaneers) no longer around. Two prominent changes that have been made by creative D-line coach Jim Tomsula involve moving massive fifth-year pro Isaac Sopoaga from nose tackle to defensive end and fourth-year pro Ronald Fields, who had been considered a top candidate to replace Young at left end, inside to the nose. Sopoaga, whose temperament is considered much better suited for the outside, has an extremely quick first step. With his size — team insiders tell us he’s tipping the scales in the 340-pound range these days — and mobility, Sopoaga has the potential to consistently collapse the pocket. Fields, meanwhile, will be undersized (6-2, 321) in the middle, but what he lacks in size, the Niners believe he can make up for with what are considered the quickest hands on the line, which could make him a potential nuisance of the highest order for opposing centers. Provided he remains active and plays with leverage, team insiders tell us Tomsula believes Fields’ presence in the middle could also improve the defense’s ability to shut down the opposition’s inside run game, which was subpar much of last season.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW...m?mode=nfcwest

[Ronin]

49ers Insider: A three-way tie at QB - for now

By Matthew Barrows - mbarrows@sacbee.com


SANTA CLARA - The 49ers will assemble Monday for the first of 12 June practices that coach Mike Nolan hopes will give him at least a rough outline of his depth chart at quarterback.
As it stands, there isn't any depth.
Instead, there's a three-way race among Shaun Hill, J.T. O'Sullivan and Alex Smith to start.



As was the case during the three-day minicamp earlier this month, Hill and Smith will split the first-string repetitions during the upcoming organized team activities (OTAs) because they are learning a new offense.
O'Sullivan, meanwhile, is familiar with coordinator Mike Martz's system and won't receive as much work as the other two. Nolan, however, insisted that the former UC Davis quarterback is in the race to start.
Nolan said coaches will continue to evaluate the competition during the OTAs. The team will practice four times a week for the next three weeks.
"Whatever happens at the end of OTAs," Nolan said, "it's not the end of the race for anyone."
He said he nonetheless hopes to establish a quarterback pecking order for training camp, which begins July 24. By then, coaches want one player receiving most of the practice repetitions.
Tackle eligible

Rookie Chilo Rachal will go through the OTAs at a new position: right tackle.
The team's second-round draft pick played guard at USC and lined up at right guard during the 49ers' minicamp.
However, the team has little depth at tackle behind starters Joe Staley and Jonas Jennings. Nolan said Rachal has the desire and the necessary body type to slide out and play tackle. He'll play with the second team behind Jennings.
"To me, (Rachal) looked like a tackle from the day I saw him," Nolan said.
No reply

Guard Larry Allen has not said if he plans to retire.
Allen, a free agent since his contract expired in February, started at left guard for the 49ers the last two seasons.
He did not participate in the team's offseason activities last year but remained in phone contact with Nolan. This offseason, Nolan has been unable to reach Allen, 36, despite repeated attempts.
The team is proceeding as if Allen won't return, and Adam Snyder is the starter at Allen's former position.

http://www.sacbee.com/sf49ers/story/978666.html

[Ronin]

Faulk: It was all on me

Here's the full transcript of the interview CoCo Times columnist Cam Inman and I did with Marshall Faulk yesterday. The most revealing answer, for me at least, involves Faulk's role early in his Rams career when the St. Louis quarterbacks were just learning Martz's system. He says Martz leaned heavily on him almost as if he was the quarterback. The implication, of course, is that Frank Gore will have a similar responsibility this season. Everyone knew Gore would have a big role this year, but it's likely going to be bigger than we imagined.
Faulk was in town with his role as an analyst with NFL Network. He spent time with Gore, with Martz and with tight end Vernon Davis. (Davis said that Faulk predicted he would have a big season in Martz's offense). As of now, the plan is for those clips to appear sporadically during the offseason. If I find out specific air times, I'll let you know. ****UPDATE***** It looks as if NFL.com has a brief segment from Faulk's visit that can be found here. I'm told there will be more from the visit that will apear on NFL Network in coming weeks. By the way, remember that collison between Keith Lewis and Patrick Willis I wrote about yesterday? That happens on the Shaun Hill-to-Davis pass in this clip.
On the similarities between Martz's current and previous offenses:
It's a little different from when I got Mike. I was in an offense that featured me catching the ball with the Colts, coming out of the backfield. Mike ventured out with putting me at receiver.
On Gore's potential as a pass catcher:
He'll slowly bring Frank along in that aspect. I know a lot of people, including myself, wondering how does that match up, how is that going to work? Because Frank seems like a one-dimensional back. But I think he hasn't been used in that way and Mike is going to bring him along slowly. I think Frank is going to be an every-down back and has the capabilities to be an every down back.
On whether Gore is "fighting the ball" when it's thrown his way:
It happens. It's natural. When you don't catch the ball often, and when the ball's thrown to you and you need to catch it, you try to make sure you catch it instead of just accepting it. Guys that catch that ball, they catch the ball effortless(ly). You guys saw Jerry (Rice) catch the ball around here. You never saw him push the ball, you saw him absorb it. I watched Frank fight the ball in that aspect. He can catch the ball. I've watched him at the Pro Bowl and he catches the ball pretty well.
On role of the RB in Martz's offense:
The running back in this offense is the problem solver. He's the key ingredient. If you have a running back that can move around and do multiple things, it puts the stress on the defense. Most of the times you see a running back in the I (formation), you know he's going to do this. When you see the running back come in the game, you know what he's going to do. Well, when the running back moves around and he's able to catch the ball, your offense becomes more of an enigma to people, and they wonder what is he going to do. What do I put in? Are they going to put in the power game? Are they going to move Frank out?
On additional problems for the defense:
You throw Vernon in that. They can go two receivers with Vernon and Frank and flex Vernon out, it causes mismatches. They have to decide if they want to play the run or the pass.
On Gore's most important role in the offense:
Frank's doing a lot of things, and I told him the No. 1 thing is protecting the quarterback. That's what becomes hard for backs who haven't sat back there and watched people walk around, and decide which guy they have. When one of the lineman takes a guy, you know which guy to take to fix it.
On Gore's ability as a pass blocker:
We don't know (if protects well). I have not seen him in that aspect like he's going to be in this system. Maybe he had been, but whether it was his fault or not, you wouldn't know. In this offense, you're going to know when Frank's guy is the guy and he missed him. You're going to know.
On Faulk's role when the Rams quarterbacks were still learning the system:
It was all on me. The onus was on me to control a lot of things within our offense. Frank is going to be in that same way. He's the core. It's all going to be built around him.
In a sense, it asks a lot of you, and you've got to ask more of yourself, because you've got to be out there on the field. I can remember a time when Mike would call timeouts and say, 'Catch your breath. We've got to get you back in the game.'
On whether Faulk's blocking skills were overlooked:
It not only gets overlooked by people, but sometimes by running backs. It's the hardest thing to practice. You tell a defensive end or outside linebacker to just rush you, and now you have to fight this man. It's like telling somebody to hit you in the face. But you just get better at it. First you have to know who to get before you get them. It's who to get, and then how to get them.
On whether he feels like he's venturing into enemy territory:
I'm behind enemy lines right now, without a doubt. Other than coach Nolan, the only thing that would get me here is my job.
On mentoring Gore:
I don't call it tutoring. We just talk football. Frank's a polished athlete. We talk football and I try to have conversations with him just about the game in general.
-- Matt Barrows

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs...es/013174.html