Blogs

Morning Tailgate: April 24

The 2012 NFL Draft is three days away, and we can all agree, nobody has any indication on what the San Francisco 49ers will do with the No. 30 overall selection.

Trent Baalke, however, has a pretty good idea. The 49ers general manager said last week that there’s one player the team has in mind for its first-round pick. Yet, the rest of us continue to debate over potential 49ers on our water cooler visits.

Thankfully, respected NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock has revealed his top 100 draft prospects and rankings by position. Mayock’s opinions will give fans a better idea of which players will be available when the team drafts at No. 30, No. 62 (second round) and No. 91 (third round).

Mayock’s rankings, 49ers draft needs and more headlines can be found after the jump.

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Morning Tailgate: April 23

Welcome to draft week.

It’s going to be a fun-filled week on 49ers.com where seven draft picks (as of now) will be added to the roster at the conclusion of the 2012 NFL Draft.

We’ll have plenty of 49ers draft content on our site this week for the Faithful to enjoy, but first, make sure you check out the 49 profiles we produced on this year’s top draft talent. Our “49 in 49” series concluded over the weekend with a look at Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith and UCF cornerback Josh Robinson.

More NFL Draft headlines can be found after the jump.

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Morning Tailgate: April 20

What a day. The 49ers broke ground on a new football stadium in Santa Clara, giving California its first pro football groundbreaking ceremony in over 50 years.

CEO Jed York, head coach Jim Harbaugh, Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, Joe Staley and several of the team’s former players were on hand to witness one of the most memorable days in the franchise’s proud history.

It was also a significant day for the city of Santa Clara, who will welcome the team into town to kickoff the 2014 season.

More details on the stadium’s design, latest NFL Draft topics and additional groundbreaking headlines can be found after the jump.

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Mayock Breaks Down 2012 Draft

On Wednesday, general manager Trent Baalke told reporters the 49ers have a certain someone circled on their 2012 draft board. If this player is still available when the 49ers make the No. 30 pick in the first round on April 26, he will be wearing red and gold threads this fall.

Playing his cards close to the vest, Baalke naturally didn’t reveal the name of the targeted prospect. As pundits and writers offer their best guesses as to who the mystery man will be at No. 30, NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock was the latest to take a stab in Thursday’s nationwide conference call.

But not before giving out a hearty chuckle.

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Morning Tailgate: April 19

The more NFL mock drafts are being released, the more professional football writers seem to think Stanford tight end Coby Fleener will be the San Francisco 49ers’ choice with the No. 30 overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Fleener attended Wednesday’s local pro day at 49ers headquarters, “to say hello and get to know everyone.” The talented Stanford tight end, figured by many to be the first player drafted at his position, did not participate in the workout.

It remains to be seen if Fleener is in the team’s plans with their first-round pick. According to general manager Trent Baalke, the 49ers have one player already in mind for the No. 30 overall pick. That’s what Baalke explained to reporters when discussing the team’s plans in his pre-draft press conference.

More on Fleener, the 49ers’ draft options and an announcement on the team’s New Santa Clara Stadium groundbreaking ceremony can be found after the jump.

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Morning Tailgate: April 18

One day removed from the announcement of the 2012 regular season schedule, there’s plenty of schedule analysis to discuss. With the 49ers playing in five primetime games this upcoming season, the most the franchise’s played in since 1999, several of San Francisco’s marquee matchups were profiled by national football writers.

The 49ers schedule is littered with intriguing storylines as the team have to face the difficult challenge of having a division champion’s schedule. At home, there are three primetime games that’ll see the 49ers face the Detroit Lions in a Week 2 Sunday Night Football matchup, as well as the Seattle Seahawks in a Week 7 Thursday Night Football matchup and the Chicago Bears in a Week 11 Monday Night Football matchup. On the road, the 49ers will see the Arizona Cardinals Week 8 on Monday Night Football and the New England Patriots in a Week 15 Sunday Night Football clash.

More on the top 49ers regular season games and the third installment of CEO Jed York’s interview with The San Jose Mercury News can be found after the jump.

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49ers Announce 2012 Schedule

Ladies and gentlemen, start making your traveling arrangements: The full 2012 NFL schedule has been released and the 49ers will play in five, count them five, primetime regular season games.

The 49ers will open up coach Jim Harbaugh’s second season at historic Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers, marking the first time San Francisco has faced the Packers in a season opener since 1976. Other notable, non-primetime games include playoff rematches against the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints are spaced out six weeks apart in a competitive slate of games.

Three of the previously mentioned primetime games will take place at Candlestick Park; the other two will be on the road, giving a wide scope of 49ers Faithful the opportunity to see their beloved team in person.

For local fans, the 49ers will host the Detroit Lions on Sept. 16 under the lights of NBC’s Sunday Night Football for the team’s Week 2 home opener. Five weeks later, the 49ers will host the Seattle Seahawks for a Thursday night matchup on NFL Network. In the second half of 2012, the 49ers will host the Chicago Bears on Nov. 19 for a Week 11 Monday night tilt.

As for the marquee road matchups, the team will visit the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 28 for a Week 8 meeting on Monday night. The 49ers will later travel to New England to face the Patriots in a Week 15 Sunday Night Football matchup on Dec. 16.

For more on the 2012 schedule, let’s take a week-by-week look at the matchups that lie ahead for the 49ers.

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Alex Smith Honored by San Francisco Giants

As a San Diego native, Alex Smith has certainly adopted the Bay Area as his home.

The 49ers quarterback routinely wore San Francisco Giants baseball hats throughout the 2011 season, a year in which the savvy signal caller put together a career year in his seventh NFL season.

The Giants decided to return the love this past weekend, inviting Smith to AT&T Park to be honored at home plate before the Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain presented Smith with a No. 11 Giants jersey signed by the entire team.

“I’m a big Giants fan, so it was nice for them to ask me to come out and to present me with a jersey,” the 49ers quarterback said.

Smith, along with 49ers Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley, took in the sights and sounds of the Major League Baseball game with their significant others on Saturday night. The two NFL players visited with Giants players inside of the clubhouse prior to the ceremony and even had some quality time with San Francisco’s mascot, “Lou Seal.”

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Morning Tailgate: April 17

The sun was out on the 49ers practice fields on Monday and so were a large number of players for the start of the team’s offseason strength program.

The opening day of workouts saw a tremendous mix of veterans, young players and even free agent additions like Mario Manningham, Brandon Jacobs and Rock Cartwright taking part along with their new teammates. The workouts themselves were quite unique as witnessed by this TV49 recap of the afternoon workout group led by head strength and conditioning coach Mark Uyeyama.

Additional 49ers headlines, including the second part of CEO Jed York’s interview with The San Jose Mercury News can be found after the jump.

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49 in 49: Best of the Rest

The best players from non-BCS schools, or as we like to call them, “The Best of the Rest” will be profiled this week on 49ers.com as we conclude our “49 in 49” pre-draft series.

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