Blogs

Morning Tailgate: Jan. 22

The Harbaugh brother talk has officially started, but it hasn’t reached overdrive just yet. There’s still plenty of other storylines to dissect as the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens embark on Super Bowl XLVII preparations.

For starters, Colin Kaepernick’s role on the 49ers offense is one to discuss. Furthermore, Kaepernick’s strong relationships with his teammates is quite remarkable after considering he will make start No. 10 in the biggest singular game in professional sports.

The respect Kaepernick’s teammates have already shown the second-year player was recently noted by ESPN.com’s Ashley Fox.

“There’s the conflict Kaepernick creates for opponents, and then there is the love that his teammates have for him,” Fox wrote. “It was obvious when (Frank) Gore interrupted Kaepernick’s postgame news conference, answering a question for him.

‘He can do whatever.’ Gore said. ‘He’s a hard worker. He’s a different quarterback, how he takes pride and leads us. He’s started [nine] games. Hey, he’s football. If it weren’t for him, it would’ve been a tough game for us.’

Gore looked at Kaepernick and added, ‘You deserve it.’”

It’s not hard to see why the second-year player has earned such praise from veterans.

After leading the 49ers to a 28-24 comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC title game, Kaepernick finished his second come-from-behind postseason win completing 76.2 percent of his passes, good for the third-best single-game outing in 49ers postseason history.

Kaepernick has already showcased maturity and poise and enters Super Bowl XLVII with seven regular starts, tied for the third fewest for a starting quarterback to reach the Super Bowl in NFL history.

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NFC Title Game Tailgate: Jan. 21

The 49ers are headed back to the Super Bowl. And they did it in style.

Sunday’s 28-24 road comeback in Atlanta to win the NFC Championship was an instant classic that left 49ers Faithful breathless. In the end, a second half shutout by the defense and an impressive group effort by the offense was enough to overcome an early 17-0 deficit in the hostile Georgia Dome.

San Francisco is undefeated in its previous five Super Bowl appearances, and returns to the World Championship for the first time since defeating the Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX following the 1994 season.

Super Bowl XLVII, which will be held in New Orleans on Feb. 3. By now, you may have heard about the two coaches who will be coaching the 49ers and Ravens in two weeks: Jim and John Harbaugh. Peter King of Sports Illustrated took a look ahead to the second edition of the HarBowl after a thrilling Championship Sunday in Atlanta and Foxboro.

“The Niners are back,” King wrote. “Hard to believe it’s been 18 years since Steve Young threw six touchdown passes to shred the Chargers, then mimed having a monkey on his back while begging Harris Barton to rip it off, only to throw up a Gatorade/cookie mix all over agent Leigh Steinberg’s shoes in the postgame. Aaah, those were the days. But San Francisco’s finally in the Big One again, to try to stretch its 5-0 record in Super Bowls.”

The rest of today’s NFC Title Game Tailgate recaps the big win in Atlanta and looks ahead to New Orleans.

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 18

In the final weeks of the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers wisely hid the quarterback running element of the “Pistol” offense. Colin Kaepernick didn’t leave the pocket often on designed-runs, but unleashed the quarterback scrambles against Green Bay to the tune of 181 rushing yards, the most by a quarterback in any NFL game. Ever.

Do the 49ers have more weapons to unleash this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons with a  Super Bowl appearance on the line? CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco believes Vernon Davis is the one that fits the bill.

“After the victory over the Packers, 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman pointed out that the 49ers like to keep their ace card hidden until they need it,” Maiocco wrote in a Friday mailbag offering. “This would appear to be the time for Davis to emerge.”

Davis hauled in a 44-yard pass against the Packers last week on a perfectly thrown touch pass from Kaepernick. The 49ers tight end ran by A.J. Hawk’s coverage to make the over-the-shoulder reception.

Could that happen against the Falcons in the NFC title game? It’s certainly possible. Seahawks tight end Zach Miller caught eight passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in last week’s Divisional Playoff defeat.

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 17

For most running backs in the NFL, their production starts to dip as they approach their 30th birthday. But 49ers rushing king Frank Gore isn’t like most running backs.

The franchise’s all-time leader in yards, touchdowns and carries is still a workhorse in the backfield at the age of 29. Last week against the Packers, the eight-year veteran ran for 119 yards, joining Colin Kaepernick (181 rushing yards) and Michael Crabtree (119 yards receiving) as the only trio in NFL playoff history to feature two, 100-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver on the same team.

Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated traced Gore’s career and his ability to bounce back from devastating injuries and still be one of the game’s most productive backs.

“His resiliency is largely due to genetics and toughness, but there is an ample dose of passion in the recipe,” Trotter wrote. “It might not be as public as a Ray Lewis pre-game dance or speech, but it’s obvious behind the closed doors of the locker room, where the soft-spoken 5-foot-9, 217-pound veteran has been known to cry at his locker after losses, or on the practice field, where during training camp in 2007 coaches had to hide his helmet because he kept sneaking onto to the practice field despite having a broken hand.”

Do you want to see the NFC Championship game in Atlanta? 49ers Faithful have until Noon today to enter to win a trip to Atlanta that includes airfare, lodging and game tickets.

Today’s Morning Tailgate also focuses on Colin Kaepernick in the national spotlight, NFC Championship matchups to watch and more.

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Niner Talk: 49ers-Packers NFC Playoffs

San Francisco’s all-time leader in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns has a simple statement for the 49ers Faithful heading into a Saturday night playoff game at Candlestick Park – “Be loud.”

That was Frank Gore’s message in this week’s Niner Talk podcast. The Pro Bowl running back discussed Saturday night’s Divisional Playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, but made sure to urge the 49ers fans to make noise when the home defense is on the field.

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 11

In the past seven games, Colin Kaepernick has led the 49ers to a 5-2 record and closed out their run as NFC West Champs and the No. 2 seed in the conference. But it’s a whole new ballgame now.

Heading into his first postseason action, Kaepernick will have a chance to show why Jim Harbaugh elected to make the quarterback switch to the young, athletic signal-caller in Week 11. Kaepernick has approached the 5 p.m. Saturday kickoff as business as usual, but realizes the magnitude of the NFC Championship bid that’s on the line.

Daniel Brown of the Bay Area News Group said it’s time to see if Harbaugh’s decision will pay off for the 49ers in earnest.

“Harbaugh pushed in all his chips this season with a midseason change of starting quarterbacks and, on Saturday against the Green Bay Packers, the coach finds out if lucky No. 7 comes up a winner,” Brown wrote. “That’s the jersey number of Colin Kaepernick, the boundlessly talented, minimally experienced quarterback who earned Harbaugh’s endorsement over the cautiously efficient Alex Smith.”

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate features all the latest links on the Packers matchup, Eddie DeBartolo’s bid for the Hall of Fame and the 49ers kicker situation.

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 10

Have no fear 49ers Faithful, it’s almost here. Yes, playoff football is right around the corner. But before the Green Bay Packers come into town for a Saturday night Divisional Playoff clash, there’s still plenty of telling statistics to comb over prior to kick-off.

Good thing Evan Silva of Rotoworld.com uncovers those interesting details as well as anyone around. In his recent matchup column, Silva shared plenty of valuable notes on the 49ers opening playoff matchup.

Here are just a few of the many interesting items from Silva’s writeup:

-Aaron Rodgers has completed 102 of his last 149 passes (68.5 percent) for 1,310 yards (8.79 yards per attempt), with 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions.

-Rodgers hasn’t been intercepted in 177 throws.

-When the teams met in Week 1, Rodgers completed all nine of his passes targeted to Randall Cobb for 77 yards.

-Greg Jennings, not Cobb, has been Green Bay’s most productive receiver as of late. Jennings led the Packers in receptions (19), receiving yards (226), and touchdowns (3), over the past three weeks.

-Colin Kaepernick had possibly his best start in San Francisco’s Week 17 win over Arizona. Kaepernick completed a career-high 276 yards on 28 attempts against Arizona’s top-five pass defense. Kaepernick averaged 9.9 yards per attempt without a turnover.

-Most importantly of all, Silva predicted a 34-30 victory for the 49ers.

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 8

Frank Gore heads into his second postseason fresher and more determined than ever.

The Pro Bowl running back rushed 258 times in the 2012 regular season, 24 fewer attempts than his 2011 output.

Come Saturday night when the 49ers host the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Divisional Playoff round, the eight-year veteran will look to build on his solid postseason debut where Gore rushed 29 times for 163 yards and caught 13 passes for 83 yards in two postseason games.

Gore averaged 5.6 yards per carry in the 2011 postseason, a full yard more than his career average of 4.6.

Gore, San Francisco’s all-time leader in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, comes into greater focus thanks to a recent story from San Jose Mercury News beat writer Cam Inman who discussed Gore’s leadership and determination to win his first Super Bowl.

According to Inman, Gore bought his offensive linemen Breitling watches, an encore to last season’s Louis Vuitton travel bags.

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New Year’s Eve Tailgate: Dec. 31

From all of us with the San Francisco 49ers we’d like to wish you a very safe and happy New Year. Fresh off Sunday’s 27-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers have clinched consecutive NFC West titles and NFC No. 2 seeds.

It was a solid team effort against the Cardinals, followed by some anxious television watching as the Minnesota Vikings narrowly defeated the Green Bay Packers to give San Francisco a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Re-live Sunday’s season finale in today’s roundup of the top 49ers headlines from the Week 17 victory.

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Morning Tailgate: Dec. 27

Nine Niners made the 2013 Pro Bowl on Wednesday. However, it is now a goal for those members of the San Francisco 49ers to not play in the game.

Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Frank Gore, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith, Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner all would rather play in the Super Bowl than the league’s annual All-Star game.

Nonetheless, it was still remarkable for the 49ers to send nine players to the Pro Bowl for a second consecutive season. Furthermore, San Francisco led the NFL with nine Pro Bowl selections.

“The 49ers sent two-fifths of their starting offensive line and six members of their defense to the Pro Bowl,” noted ESPN.com’s Mike Sando.

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