Blogs

Morning Tailgate: Alex Smith Departs

Player turnover is inevitable in the NFL. On Wednesday, the 49ers welcomed Glenn Dorsey to the organization while Alex Smith, Dashon Goldson and Isaac Sopoaga held their introductory press conferences with their new teams.

Following an eventful eight-year run that culminated with back-to-back playoff runs, Smith joined Kansas City coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey at the podium to greet the local press on Wednesday. Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle shared her impressions of Smith’s first appearance with his new organziation.

“Wednesday was the first day of Smith’s marriage to the Chiefs, following his quick divorce from the 49ers,” Killion said. “Both parties sounded infatuated with each other. Smith targeted the Chiefs as soon as he realized he wouldn’t be released, and hoped for a trade.”

Morning Tailgate: NFL Bracketology

There have been thousands and thousands of plays in the proud history of the NFL, but does “The Catch” stand above the rest? With the help of the 49ers Faithful, Dwight Clark’s iconic, last-minute touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship can be crowned as the greatest play in NFL history.

NFL.com recently unveiled it’s NFL Bracketology contest, which will begin with the first round of voting on Monday. Clark’s catch will compete against 63 other plays, including Steve Young’s epic 49-yard run against Minnesota and Terrell Owens’ playoff catch against Green Bay, in football’s version of March madness.

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate rounds up the busy first day of free agency for the 49ers, including the Alex Smith and Anquan Boldin trades and other player movement.

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Morning Tailgate: New Stadium Sales

The new Santa Clara Stadium site has been humming for nearly 11 months, along with the ticket sales for the inaugural 2014 season. Mike Rosenberg of the Bay Area News Group reported that the future home of the 49ers is roughly 75 percent sold out already.

“Riding high off a Super Bowl run, the San Francisco 49ers have sold three-fourths of the seats at the new Silicon Valley stadium as the team prepares to transfer a huge cash infusion to the public agency building the stadium,” Rosenberg wrote. “Undeterred by huge price increases over Candlestick Park tickets, fans and corporations have bought $403 million worth of seats, — equal to the cost spent to build the stadium so far — and the Niners are well ahead of schedule to sell out before the 2014 opening, the team said Friday.”

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate looks at the new Santa Clara Stadium, upcoming free agency and more.

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Morning Tailgate: No Franchise Tag

By the time the clock struck 1 p.m. on Monday afternoon, it was official: the 49ers wouldn’t be using their franchise tag in 2013. Many viewed All-Pro safety Dashon Goldson as a the team’s top candidate to receive the franchise tag, which would keep him in San Francisco for at least one more season. Once the deadline passed without an agreement, Goldson and 49ers CEO Jed York interacted on Twitter, both stating their desire to work out a long-term deal.

@thehawk38 hope we can get something done—
Jed York (@JedYork) March 05, 2013

The rest of Today’s Morning Tailgate looks at the latest reactions to the 49ers roster as the team approaches the league’s new calendar year on March 12 and the innovative front office.

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2012 Plays of the Year: Big Hits

We need your help in selecting the top plays from the 2012 season. We’re asking our Faithful fans to choose the top takeaway, touchdown, sack, big play and biggest hit of the season. Next, the winning five plays (one from each category), will move on to the championship round to determine 49ers.com’s “Top Play of 2012.”

Watch our “Top 5” video highlights on the best plays for each category, then vote in the poll section of the corresponding blog post to see which top play will reach the championship round.

Help us crown the top play of 2012 by choosing your favorite big hit from this past season. You can vote for your favorite big hit up until Wednesday at noon. Let’s take a look at the five nominees.

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Morning Tailgate: Offseason Work

Oscars? Nope. Grammys? Nope. Colin Kaepernick would rather be in Atlanta, working out with his teammates.

Just days after leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl XLVII, Kaepernick was back at work at CES Performance, his home away from home during the offseason. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee wrote about Kaepernick’s offseason regimen and how he’s joined by 49ers receivers Ricardo Lockette and Chad Hall.

“Rather than pressing the flesh with Anne Hathaway and Denzel Washington on the red carpet in Hollywood, Kaepernick is busting his tail alongside little-known college players on the green grass at CES Performance, a training facility in Atlanta,” Barrows wrote. “That’s where Kaepernick got ready for the 2011 draft. And it’s where he figured he’d find training partners who are as hungry as him.”

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate spotlights Aldon Smith’s mixed-martial arts offseason training, the upcoming combine and more.

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Morning Tailgate: Feb. 14

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the 49ers Faithful. Flowers and chocolate, not football headlines, will dominate everyone’s attention on Thursday, but that’s not such a bad thing.

With the San Francisco 49ers in week two of Jim Harbaugh-ordered rest and relaxation following the 2012 season, things will soon pick up in terms of offseason movement. The new league year begins officially on March 12 which means the 49ers will have 12 unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents from the team’s most recent Super Bowl roster available for 31 other teams.

Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News shared the complete list of pending NFL free agents with San Francisco’s free agents headlined by Pro Bowl safety Dashon Goldson and versatile tight end Delanie Walker.

If the team is unable to retain its free agents or find replacements through NFL free agency, the 49ers hold 14 draft picks in the 2013 NFL Draft, including four selections in the top 95.

San Francisco will also get a better sense of the potential of the incoming rookie draft class when the NFL Scouting Combine begins on Feb. 23.

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 3

The 49ers are back to the grind after a couple of extra days of rest to start the bye week. While San Francisco will be idle this weekend as it awaits to see who it will face the NFC Divisional Round, there will be a few notable young quarterbacks making their playoff debuts.

Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group noted how Colin Kaepernick and other rising stars under center like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson will be leading their respective teams in the postseason for the first time.

“Come their Jan. 12, divisional-round opener at Candlestick Park, the 49ers will be ready to unleash Kaepernick, who’s coming off seven pressure-packed starts,” Inman wrote.

Today’s Morning Tailgate also takes a look at how the bye week will help the 49ers rest up for their potential playoff run.

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Week 16 Game Notes

A 42-13 loss at Seattle moved the 49ers’ record to 10-4-1 on the season, but San Francisco still leads the NFC West heading into the regular-season finale against Arizona. 49ers Public Relations presents the following game notes from the Week 16 matchup.

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Afternoon Tailgate: Dec. 17

Following last night’s momentous 41-34 road victory against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football, the 49ers took a red eye, cross-country flight from Providence, R.I. to SFO that landed about 7 a.m. It was one of the biggest regular season wins in the Harbaugh era, thanks to a complete team effort. Explosive touchdowns and big-time turnovers marked the win for the 49ers, who are now 10-3-1 and one victory away from claiming the NFC West title.

Albert Breer of NFL.com was in Foxborough on Sunday night and wrote that San Francisco proved its mettle against the tough opponent in a hostile environment

“The circumstances were what made this one different, and divine, for a Niners group that has been a bear to deal with for everyone since the minute Jim Harbaugh walked in the door,” Breer wrote. “There was the aforementioned weather. There was the juncture at which they were facing the Patriots, maybe the hottest team in the league over the past month. Then there was the game itself.”

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate rounds up the best coverage from the Week 15 thriller, and explains why the 49ers are the best team to use in Madden 2013.

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