Blogs

Harbaugh Confident in 49ers Youth

San Francisco’s running back reps behind Frank Gore will be a key to Sunday’s game in St. Louis. Whether Brandon Jacobs or LaMichael James becomes the featured No. 2 runner behind Gore remains to be seen.

Jim Harbaugh said the reps against the Rams would be shared “among the other backs.”

With the loss of Kendall Hunter and Kyle Williams to season-ending injuries last week in New Orleans, the 49ers coach will have to find ways of showcasing other players on the roster.

Even so, Harbaugh admitted the injured players will be tough to replace.

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Niner Talk: 49ers-Rams Week 13

With five games left to play in the 2012 regular season, Aldon Smith has the opportunity to re-write team and National Football League sack records. The San Francisco 49ers linebacker leads the NFL with 16.5 sacks through 12 weeks. He recently won the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Month award for his 9-sack effort November despite playing in just three games.

The second-year player discussed the honor and his opportunity to break numerous sack records when he joined the latest Niner Talk podcast on 49ers.com.

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49ers Promote Wilhoite, Add Whitley

The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have promoted LB Michael Wilhoite from the practice squad to the active roster, signing him to a two-year contract. The team also announced that S Eddie Whitley has been added to the practice squad.

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Morning Tailgate: Nov. 30

Time and time again the San Francisco 49ers have proven to be a united front. Two recent examples shed a bright light on the team-oriented locker room.

According to CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, teamwork was involved in the recent five-year contract extension for All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Three players, Vernon Davis, Carlos Rogers and Ray McDonald, all restructured their contracts to give the 49ers enough cap flexibility to sign the talented linebacker long-term.

The other example would be the professionalism shown by Alex Smith in the wake of Jim Harbaugh’s decision to start Colin Kaepernick Sunday in St. Louis. In order to understand the potential reasoning for the move, Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports caught up with a cast of Harbaugh’s former teammates to learn more about the 49ers coach’s playing career as it relates to his coaching decisions.

Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk told Silver, “I’m pretty sure about the fact that this is not a game-playing thing for him. It’s for the greater good of the team. There is no personal gain for him. Everything he does is for the greater good of that team, and he’s not going to deviate from that.”

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Alex Smith Discusses QB Situation

Being the competitor he is, Alex Smith was understandably upset to hear that he won’t be the starting 49ers quarterback on Sunday in St. Louis.

Earlier this week, coach Jim Harbaugh met with Smith and Colin Kaepernick, eventually telling both talented signal-callers that Kaepernick would get the starting nod for the third straight game. While Smith wishes he could be out on the field, he will be counted on to be a valuable asset and teammate for Kaepernick.

“This is such a great team, such a great group of guys in this locker room,” Smith said. “There’s something special going on. It’s a tough pill to swallow, for sure.”

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Throwback Thursday: 1990 Title Game

With 10 regular season games left to play at their historic stadium, the San Francisco 49ers are asking their Faithful fans to vote all month long on their favorite memories at Candlestick Park.

One of the moments to choose from involves this week’s opponent, the St. Louis Rams, who faced the 49ers in the 1990 NFC Championship game when they were known as the Los Angeles Rams.

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Morning Tailgate: Nov. 29

The 49ers are no strangers to quality quarterbacks. Dating back to the likes of Y.A. Tittle and John Brodie to Joe Montana and Steve Young, San Francisco has been spoiled with signal-callers throughout the years. The 2012 49ers are lucky to have two players under center that have led the team to big victories: Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith.

A huge contingent of media gathered at 49ers headquarters on Wednesday, as coach Jim Harbaugh revealed Kaepernick will receive the start this Sunday in St. Louis, his third straight for the team. The decision to name the second-year emerging star as the quarterback was dissected every which way by the media, including Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.

“QB coach Geep Chryst and OC Greg Roman are certainly hands-on and deeply involved in all parts of the QB play,” Kawakami wrote. “But I think we have to give most of the credit for this to Harbaugh–who did some things with Andrew Luck, I seem to recall. Harbaugh has a fine focus on the QB spot, and the guy can flat-out coach the position.”

Today’s Morning Tailgate rounds up all the Kaepernick coverage, Pro Bowl voting leaders, Santa Clara Stadium news and more.

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Aldon Smith Wins NFC Monthly Honor

The NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November is none other than the NFL’s sack-leader, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith.

Despite having a bye to start the month, Smith led the NFL with 9.0 sacks in three games. He also had 5.5 more sacks than any other NFC defender. Those efforts put Smith atop the league’s sack leaders where he currently has 16.5 for the season.

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On the Phone with Fisher and Finnegan

Not even five quarters of football could separate the 49ers and the St. Louis Rams at Candlestick Park in Week 10. The two NFC West foes battled through the entire overtime period but ended in a 24-24 tie, leaving for some mixed emotions on both sides.

But the two teams don’t have to wait long to settle things, as they’re slated for a Sunday showdown at the Edward Jones Dome.

“This is like the sixth quarter now,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher told reporters on a Wednesday conference call.

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Morning Tailgate: Nov. 28

Who’s got better linebackers than the 49ers? All-Pro NaVorro Bowman inked a five-year contract extension on Tuesday that will keep him with the 49ers until the 2018 season. Combined with the contract status of the team’s other linebackers, Aldon Smith (Signed through 2015), Patrick Willis (2016) and Ahmad Brooks (2017), it will be interesting to watch the new group during the final stages of Candlestick Park’s great history and entering the new home of the 49ers in 2014.

Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea.com described the scene at 49ers headquarters as Bowman talked to the media after signing his extension. “The move ensures that Bowman and fellow linebacker and good friend Patrick Willis will be together through at least the 2016 season,” Kurz wrote. “In fact, Willis was among the first people Bowman gave his good news. He just couldn’t keep the secret any longer.”

Tuesday was also a noteworthy day for bad reasons, as Kendall Hunter and Kyle Williams were placed on the season-ending Injured Reserved list. Read up on all the latest 49ers new after the jump.

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