Blogs

MT: Family Ties at Rookie Camp

Last year, Mike Iupati’s younger brother, Andrew, earned a tryout at the 49ers rookie minicamp.

The family feel will continue in 2013 according to a report from Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.

Anthony Davis’ older brother, Andre Davis, will get a tryout at the 49ers rookie minicamp set to take place on May 10.

The elder Davis, 26, played the past two years at NAIA school Kentucky Christian. At 6-foot-5, 295 pounds, Davis made honorable mention for the All-Mid-South Conference East Division. Davis will join another invite with a well-known last name, West Virginia Wesleyan quarterback Nate Montana, who was invited to tryout according to a report from the Sacramento Bee.

More rookie headlines can be found in today’s Morning Tailgate.

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MT: 2013 NFL Draft Preview

Finally.

The wait is over. The draft board is finalized. The prospects are eager. The fan base is ready. The draft bash is all set.

The 2013 NFL Draft begins tonight and it couldn’t have come any sooner. We broke down prospects and spoke with analysts about the endless possibilities, but that was all build up to the inevitable conclusion. The three-day draft gets underway tonight at 5 p.m. PT and the future of the San Francisco 49ers will come into greater focus when the team makes its first selection.

Will it be at No. 31, or will San Francisco move up to select a player they’ve been coveting all along? The outcome will be known shortly.

In Trent Baalke’s three drafts leading the team’s draft-day decisions, the 49ers general manager has traded nine times. In 2010, Baalke’s first year as Vice President of Player Personnel, Baalke moved up to select tackle Anthony Davis, a player who recently signed a five-year contract extension through 2019. Baalke also traded back in 2010 to select, two-time All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman, another player who has been extended until the 2018 season.

It’s worth noting that Baalke has never traded out of the first-round in three years. In 2011, he moved up in the second-round to select quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

With 13 selections heading into draft day, the possibilities for Baalke and his personnel staff are endless.

It’s safe to say the world will be watching. NFL Draft prognostications are endless, but they’ll stop very soon. We’ve compiled the top mock drafts for your consideration in today’s Morning Tailgate.

Share your draft opinions on social with #Draft49 and if you’re having a draft party or attending our event in San Jose tonight, use #49ersDraftBash to showcase your experience.

Thanks everyone for checking out our blog and enjoy the draft. 49ers.com/Draft will have you covered all weekend long.

Now, on to the links…

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Morning Tailgate: Davis Extension

Anthony Davis earned a second contract from the San Francisco 49ers. With the starting right tackle agreeing to a five-year extension that’ll keep him with the 49ers through the 2019 season, the team has continued its recent trend of rewarding hard-working draft picks with long-term financial commitments.

Davis joins NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis, Andy Lee and Joe Staley as 49ers draft picks to sign extensions to stay in San Francisco.

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Morning Tailgate: Read-Option to Stay

INDIANAPOLIS –579.

That’s the total number of yards the San Francisco 49ers racked up in a 45-31 Divisional Playoff Round win against the Green Bay Packers. It’s also a number that’s sticking with Packers coach Mike McCarthy all offseason.

It’s on his mind so much, McCarthy will send his defensive coaches to Texas A&M to study the best ways to defend the read-option offense from Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin.

Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle shared McCarthy’s comments that were made Friday at the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine.

The 49ers totaled 323 yards in the playoff win over the Packers, including a 7.5 yards per carry average to go along with four rushing scores.

“San Francisco, they beat us twice last year,” McCarthy said. “You look at the difference in the first game and the second game, and obviously the glaring statistic and the information in the second game was obviously the production of their quarterback … San Francisco had a great year; like I said they beat us twice, and that’ll definitely be a focus of our offseason.”

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Morning Tailgate: Feb. 13

Michael Crabtree is not your average Joe at wide receiver. He makes ridiculous catches look easy. He breaks numerous tackles after making the tough catches, too. He blocks for teammates. He competes. He really does it all.

Crabtree turned in career highs in catches (85), receiving yards (1,105) and touchdowns (9) in his fourth season with the San Francisco 49ers. He also turned in best performances in the closing stages of 2012. Crabtree finished the final eight games of the year with five, 100-yard receiving games and seven touchdowns during that stretch.

In three playoff games, Crabtree caught 20 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns.

Because of his standout season, Crabtree was included in USA Today’s “All-Joe” team for 2012, a collection of the best NFL players that haven’t been named to a Pro Bowl. Crabtree was joined by teammates Alex Smith and Anthony Davis on the team that fields a 53-man roster with representation from every team.

Nate Davis of USA Today explained that Crabtree and Davis are likely soon to earn Pro Bowl recognition based on breakout seasons in 2012.

“Crabtree also showed a lot of toughness, willingly going over the middle, as he turned potential into production,” Davis wrote.

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 29

NEW ORLEANS – Good morning, it’s Media Day at Super Bowl XLVII. If the San Francisco 49ers thought they’d been a part of a media swarm before, Tuesday’s annual media day will crush that in comparison.

Thousands of credentialed reporters will get their chance to speak with the 49ers Tuesday morning in the Superdome. It should be quiet the scene compared to Monday’s media session which can be viewed in this 49ers.com photo gallery.

Only a handful of players have spoken to the press so far, but the entire team, plus coaches, will be available. It should make for quite the day, 49ers.com will have it all covered LIVE. That’s right, LIVE.

Visit 49ers.com/live during Media Day at Super Bowl XLVII for unprecedented access to the 49ers.

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Gameday Story: Five Guys

Thanks to a pair of Pro Bowl starters and a trio of Pro Bowl alternates on the offensive line, the San Francisco 49ers boast the league’s No. 4 rushing attack.

The 49ers running game excelled in 2012 thanks to the hard work of Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Jonathan Goodwin, Alex Boone and Anthony Davis.

Those efforts were chronicled in our season finale Gameday magazine. The “Five Guys” on the offensive line came into greater focus thanks to team photographer Terrell Lloyd and team graphic designer Ben Mayberry, who used an outdoor setting to showcase the unique personalities on the offensive line.

Get to know those “Five Guys” in this story.

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49ers Named Week 12 Top Protectors

For the second time in an eight-week span, the San Francisco 49ers offensive line has been selected as the Week 12 Madden Most Valuable Protectors by Hall of Fame coach John Madden.

San Francisco’s  line allowed no sacks in a 31-21 win over the New Orleans Saints. It was the first no-sack effort turned in by the line since a Week 5 win over Buffalo. Coincidentally, it was the last time the 49ers won Madden’s award.

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Morning Tailgate: Nov. 9

Behind the scenes and on the gridiron itself, Randy Moss has endeared himself to teammates and coaches with the San Francisco 49ers.

The veteran wideout with a resume worthy of inclusion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is coming off his best performance with his new team, a Week 8 effort on “Monday Night Football” that saw Moss level a Cardinals defensive back and score a 47-yard touchdown within span of four plays.

Moss’ hard-work in the run game was recently spotlighted by offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who had plenty of positive things to say about some of the guys on offense who are doing the dirty work behind the scenes, Moss included.

Truth be told, Moss has added value to the 49ers in the run game, not just the pass game. That aspect was covered in depth by Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

“Moss has been only a small part of the 49ers’ success on the field. He has 13 catches – fifth on the team – for 235 yards and two touchdowns,” Barrows wrote. “He’s been the team’s third- or fourth-most used wide receiver, depending on the game. On many plays, he’s merely a decoy, lining up far wide of the formation and taking a cornerback and safety downfield with him as Alex Smith hands the ball to Frank Gore.

Barrows went on to write, “The fear heading into the season was that a disengaged Moss would be a disruptive Moss. That he hasn’t had a large role in the passing game, however, doesn’t mean he’s not plugged in. Along with everyone else – the media, opposing coaches, opposing linebackers – Moss appears to be rapt by the 49ers’ complex running attack.”

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Morning Tailgate: Nov. 8

There’s no question that the San Francisco 49ers are off to a great start this year, several players deserve recognition for it, too.

But so does the football staff. Without the efforts of equipment manager Steve Urbaniak, there’s no way the team would function on gameday.

Urbaniak and his staff make sure everything goes as smooth as possible. The efforts of the tenured equipment man were profiled recently by Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. In the piece that ran earlier this week, Baxter explained the challenges that come along with a under publicized role in the NFL.

“Although many NFL teams — including the Raiders — train a short distance from their home stadium, the 49ers’ practice facility is 40 miles south of Candlestick Park, meaning Urbaniak and his crew must pack a semi-trailer two days before every game and unpack it again when the game is over,” Baxter wrote.

Urbaniak’s role is further described in the story. But for fans looking for visual aid, check out this 2010 TV49 video of our own Scott Kegley spending “A Day in the Life” as an equipment intern.

Trust me, it’s good stuff.

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