Blogs

Morning Tailgate: Aug. 22

Alex Smith has impressed local reporters all training camp long with his steady development. In his second season running Greg Roman’s offensive attack, Smith has looked like an “expert” in the system according to head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Count Clark Judge as another believer of Smith’s ability to improve in 2012. The CBS Sports football writer recently visited 49ers practices and came away with that distinct impression.

“You can see it in practice when Smith runs the first-team offense,” Clark wrote, “and you can hear it from teammates who believe, as I do, that this is the season Smith shakes his critics.”

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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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Morning Tailgate: Aug. 15

The ball rarely touched the ground at Tuesday’s 49ers training camp practice. Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick had strong showings passing the football throughout the afternoon session.

The impressive display was the best passing performance ESPN.com NFC West blogger Mike Sando has seen all training camp from the four teams in the division. Because of the deep passes Smith completed to new wideouts Randy Moss and Mario Manningham, Sando believes the 49ers offense can showcase more of the passing game in 2012.

More 49ers headlines can be found after the jump.

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Morning Tailgate: Aug. 14

The recent strides of the 49ers passing game has been quite noticeable at 49ers Training Camp presented by HP. But it’s also worth noting that San Francisco’s ground game has been consistent throughout.

The team’s 260 rushing yards against the Minnesota Vikings were the most on the ground of any team in Week 1 of the preseason.

NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah believes the 49ers can have one of the best rushing attacks in all of football after seeing seven different rushers average more than four yards per carry against the Vikings.

“The 49ers have added several high-profile weapons to their passing attack, but their running game was once again the headliner in a preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings,” Jeremiah wrote.

The running game’s success is due in large part to the camaraderie amongst a tight-knit offensive line. ESPN.com NFC West blogger Mike Sando recently noted the growing relationship between right tackle Anthony Davis and right guard Alex Boone.

More 49ers headlines can be found after the jump.

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Morning Tailgate: July 26

Jim Harbaugh certainly has a way of getting the most out of people. It’s not just on the football field, it can take place off of it, too.

Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee recently spoke with the 49ers coach about his philanthropic work in Piura, Peru. Harbaugh discussed his role in Piura and why the commitment is so important to him, so much so, that he missed a week of rookie minicamp.

“Harbaugh first visited Piura in 2009 after hearing a friend describe his own experience with the Most Blessed Sacrament Parrish there,” Barrows wrote. “The 49ers coach has been going back ever since, and he even missed a rookie minicamp — gasp-worthy when it comes to control-freak NFL coaches — to go this year. He used the word ‘transformational’ three times in a recent interview in describing the effect of the visits.”

Harbaugh has continued his positive messaging back home with the 49ers and has transformed the team’s walkway from the locker room to the field. Harbaugh recently had a street sign placed along the walkway that simply reads, “Forty Niner Way.”

Rookies and select veterans have seen the sign in person. The entire team (including Dashon Goldson, who signed his one-year franchise tender this morning), will get to see it today as it’s veteran check-in day at camp. Practices begin on Friday.

More 49ers headlines can be found after the jump.

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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: May 22

The wait is over. Organized Team Activities kick-off Tuesday at 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara. The players will take part in 10, voluntary OTA sessions that will allow veteran players to wear helmets for the first time this offseason.

Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley displayed his new look for the upcoming season by posting an Instagram photo of his new face-mask/dark grey visor combination.

As Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes, it’s the first offseason with the league’s new governing rules from the recent collective bargaining agreement taking effect. An emphasis on player safety stands as the biggest change.

However, it won’t be a completely full house for Tuesday’s opening OTA session. Notable rookies like second-round pick LaMichael James and undrafted wide receiver Chris Owusu can’t participate until their school graduation. According to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee, safety Michael Thomas (Stanford), offensive lineman Al Netter (Northwestern) and defensive lineman Patrick Butrym (Wisconsin) can take part in the OTAs because they’ve graduated.

James, however, has been around fellow rookie A.J. Jenkins. Only, it was away from team headquarters. The duo took part in last weekend’s NFLPA Rookie Premiere event and seemed to be creating an instant bond.

Find more on James, the latest 49ers headlines and more after the jump.

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Greg Roman Discusses Offensive Outlook

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman joined the KNBR Morning Show on Wednesday to discuss the ever-changing 49ers offense, a unit which has added a number of talented weapons this offseason.

For Roman and the 49ers coaching staff, this offseason signals the first opportunity for the coaches and players to start at “square one” so to speak.

An emphasis on fundamentals has been prevalent in the team’s offseason workouts. Roman said the position coaches put together lists of tiny details each player can improve on prior to the 2012 season.

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Owusu Excited for 49ers Opportunity

Within seconds of the conclusion of the 2012 NFL Draft, the 49ers were calling rookie free agent Chris Owusu. Coach Jim Harbaugh and many of his Stanford coaching staff transplants were already dialed in with the talented receiver after having coached him in college.

For now, Owusu finds himself on a stacked depth chart that’s full of talented receivers. Starting Friday, Owusu will join seven 49ers draft picks and dozens of other rookies and tryouts for a three-day minicamp.

“It definitely helps that I played for Coach Harbaugh at Stanford and coming out here, hopefully the playbook is a little similar,” Owusu said. “Knowing the concepts going into rookie minicamp is going to be huge for me just to go out there and play fast because that’s what Coach Harbaugh expects from me – to go all-out and play fast like he knows I can.”

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Morning Tailgate: May 11

Just as 49ers rookie minicamp begins, there’s plenty of headlines stemming from Thursday’s veteran Football School workout worthy of examination.

It was the first look at Randy Moss for the Bay Area media, and many in attendance were left impressed with the quick footwork, precise route-running and sure-handed pass-catching from the veteran widedout.

After the workout, Moss’ teammates raved about his early contributions to the team, too. Besides serving as a mentor to the team’s young receivers, Moss has already picked up a good grasp on the team’s offensive concepts according to quarterback Alex Smith.

More on the 49ers Football School session and the latest team headlines after the jump.

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