Blogs

Morning Tailgate: Nov. 5

Fresh off a bye week, the San Francisco 49ers remain in first place of the NFC West with a 1.5 game lead over the Seattle Seahawks, who defeated the Minnesota Vikings 30-20 at home on Sunday.

The 49ers, themselves, will play a third consecutive division game in Week 10 when the St. Louis Rams visit Candlestick Park.

While the Rams are alone in last place in the NFC West at 3-5, Sunday’s game remains pivotal for both teams.  Since 2000, 29 teams have reached the halfway point of their season with a .500 or below winning percentage and proceeded to the playoffs, including at least one in each season.

The 49ers aim to make sure the Rams aren’t the 30^th team to make the group.

San Francisco is coming off a strong showing in Week 8, a 24-3 win over Arizona that featured impressive quarterback play from Alex Smith.

The NFC’s Week 8 Offensive Player of the Week’s performance was reviewed in greater detail by Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, who believes the 49ers remain Super Bowl contenders heading into the second half of 2012.

“I really like what I’ve seen out of him this year, mostly,” King wrote about Smith, who is second in the NFL with a 69.4 completion percentage. “He’s as accurate an intermediate passer as I’ve seen this season. I think he’s going to be asset, not a question mark, as the 49ers make a Super Bowl push.”

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#Vote49ers to the 2013 Pro Bowl

It’s officially voting season for NFL fans.

As of early Tuesday morning, polls are open for fans to select players to the 2013 Pro Bowl, set to be played on Sunday, January 27, 2013 from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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Gameday Story: Student of the Game

Carlos Rogers has been a reliable cornerback on the field for the San Francisco 49ers. Behind closed doors, Rogers has also been instrumental in teaching his veteran wisdom to the team’s young defensive backs. All of it has translated to team-wide success.

Rogers’ detailed note-taking and film study habits have trickled down through the locker room in a positive way. Not only is Rogers continuing his Pro Bowl play of 2011 into his second season in the Bay Area, but he’s setting the bar high for his teammates with a lead-by-example approach.

Rogers recorded three tackles in the 49ers recent 45-3 win over the Buffalo Bills. Get to know more about the mental approach to the game that Rogers has mastered over the course of his career in our latest  Gameday Magazine cover story.

The “Student of the Game” shoot was photographed by team photographer Terrell Lloyd and designed by team graphic designer Ben Mayberry.

The pen behind Rogers’ ear… that was all Carlos.

Talk understanding details.

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Morning Tailgate: Aug. 16

Following the offense’s best showing of 49ers Training Camp presented by HP, the unit backed it up with another positive performance.

In particular, undrafted wide receiver Chris Owusu continues to progress. The former Jim Harbaugh-coached wideout from Stanford has made several catches in practice after being the team’s leading wideout in the preseason opener.

Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee noted that Owusu got past starting cornerback Tarell Brown to catch a deep corner route from quarterback Josh Johnson. “Owusu made several nice catches during the team portion of practice, including two from Scott Tolzien,” Barrows added.

More 49ers headlines can be found after the jump.

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Carlos Rogers Enjoys Camp Battles

With big-time offseason acquisitions like Randy Moss and Mario Manningham bolstering a 49ers wide receiver corps already featuring fourth-year stud Michael Crabtree, San Francisco’s cornerbacks have had their hands full in training camp practice sessions.

The practice field battles between secondary members like Carlos Rogers and the team’s wide receivers can only help prepare San Francisco’s defense for the team’s second preseason matchup. The 49ers will travel to Houston to face a Texans team led by five-time Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Andre Johnson on Saturday.

Matching up with a future Hall-of-Famer in teammate Randy Moss has allowed Rogers to prepare for the season against one of the best wide receivers to ever play. Such matchups will only help Rogers, who finished last year second in the NFL with a career-high six interceptions in his first season with the 49ers.

“Every guy is different,” Rogers said. “Randy is a tall guy, I wouldn’t say he is a big guy. He’s a crafty veteran. If there is one thing I think about him is you can be on him and most times you play guys high, you play their hands.

“Randy is a guy who doesn’t show you anything.  He will let the ball fall into his chest before he puts his hand up. Most guys come out and reach for the ball; it gives us a chance to break the pass up. Randy is going to make sure the ball is coming to his chest to make sure you can’t get to it. Each guy provides a different challenge for us.”

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Morning Tailgate: Aug. 6

The 49ers will return to Candlestick Park in four days to kick off their preseason schedule with a Friday night (6 p.m.) matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The reigning NFC Champs have put together a productive first two weeks of training camp and are eager to see some other jerseys out on the field.

Heading into 2012, the 49ers boast one of the league’s most talented and complete group of linebackers. Outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks is a key part to the San Francisco defense both in the run game and the pass rush, as evidenced by the six-year extension he signed with the team in February. Despite starting all 16 games during his career year in 2011 (50 tackles and 7.0 sacks) and his new contract, Brooks is more motivated than ever entering his seventh NFL season.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee spoke to Brooks about his offseason, which included some trips to the local pilates class. “As a result Brooks enters the 2012 season with a changed physique,” Barrows wrote. “He weighs just as much as he has in previous training camps – 266 pounds – but it’s a different, more muscular type of weight, he said.”

Today’s Morning Tailgate features a variety of news, including the latest training camp headlines, a heart-warming story about 49ers great Jesse Sapolu, an inspiring video of Alex Smith’s career and more.

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Morning Tailgate: Aug. 2

Following a sudden end to the 2011 postseason, Kyle Williams has vowed to bounce back with a vengeance. Ever since the 49ers season ended, Williams went back to work and is seeing positive results from his efforts.

Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News noted that Wiliams made “a couple of phenomenal catches Wednesday while the 49ers worked on third-down conversions, a dismal area last season when they ranked second-to-last in the league.” Inman’s story shares the support Williams received from teammates and the entire 49ers organization.

CSN Bay Area’s Mindi Bach also observed the strong play of Williams at the 49ers’ fifth training camp session. “In a 7-on-7 drill, Williams lined up wide right in front of cornerback Tramaine Brock, who was playing seven yards off. Williams grabbed a nice 35-yard reception.”

More 49ers headlines can be found after the jump.

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Carlos Rogers Embraces Nickel Corner

Like many of his fellow defensive teammates on the San Francisco 49ers, Pro Bowl cornerback Carlos Rogers wants to master Vic Fangio’s complete system.

The starting cornerback who re-signed this offseason for four more seasons in San Francisco, said on Wednesday that he wants to get a better understanding of his defensive teammates’ full responsibilities now that they’re all experiencing a second season under the respected defensive coordinator’s guidance.

It’s important especially for Rogers, who lines up inside as the team’s nickel cornerback against multiple receiver formations.

“Nickel is something tough,” admitted Rogers, a 6-foot, 192-pound cornerback who recorded a career-high six interceptions for the 49ers last season. “You have to know crossing routes, working with the linebackers, sometimes they take the routes deep. There’s a lot of stuff. Sometimes you’re blitzing, sometimes you may have a run gap.”

Fangio considers the position to be a linebacker-type of role. Rogers, fearless when it comes to tackling, thrived in such a role, posting 57 tackles and 18 pass breakups in 2011.

Rogers performed well in the role because of his quickness, Fangio said.

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Minicamp Update: June 12

Carlos Rogers was a full participant at Tuesday’s opening three-day minicamp session for the San Francisco 49ers.

Rogers’ presence has been felt throughout San Francisco’s offseason program; however, the veteran cornerback who signed a new four-year contract with the 49ers did not recently participate in Organized Team Activities.

Rogers told The San Francisco Chronicle a right calf strain, suffered last month, has kept him out of action.

Tuesday, however, Rogers was back on the field wearing a gold 49ers helmet along with the rest of his teammates.

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Morning Tailgate: June 12

The 49ers mandatory three-day minicamp begins today, signaling the start of the team’s final on-field work prior to training camp.

Similar to Organized Team Activities, the minicamp will involve the same non-contact principles as the previous stages of the offseason program. Team and 7-on-7 periods are permitted, one-on-one pass-rushing battles, however, will have to wait until training camp.

49ers.com will have extended minicamp coverage throughout the week, but before camp begins, let’s take a look at the top team-related headlines.

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