Blogs

2012 Plays of the Year: Touchdowns

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.

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

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Morning Tailgate: Jan. 30

The 49ers enjoyed the light mood of media day on Tuesday as they were peppered with football and non-football questions by thousands of credentialed media members on the turf of the Superdome. There was a super hero, free tattoo sleeves for the players, 49ers Kaepernicking and more.

Peter Schrager of FOXSports.com offered his take on the best and worst of media day for Super Bowl XLVII.

“This is the new normal at Super Bowl Media Day, an NFL cultural and journalistic melting pot that puts Miss Alabama and Brent Musberger favorite Katherine Webb, in the same room as 84-year-old Hall of Fame journalist Edwin Pope,” Schrager wrote. “It’s no longer about the players’ answers; it’s about the folks asking the players the questions.”

The 49ers would also like to announce that Vernon Davis is holding a charity raffle to win an all expense paid trip to New Orleans for the Super Bowl. The deadline for the drawing is on Thursday (tomorrow).

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate features the top quotes and story lines from the hectic media day scene.

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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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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: Dec. 26

The San Francisco 49ers were defeated 42-13 by the Seattle Seahawks and may have lost Mario Manningham for the rest of the season according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Jim Harbaugh did not offer any specifics on Manningham’s knee injury suffered against the Seahawks when speaking to the media on Monday, but should shed light on the wide receiver’s long-term status when the 49ers coach meets with the media Wednesday afternoon.

If Manningham is out for the postseason run, Randy Moss will likely be inserted in the starting lineup opposite of Michael Crabtree. The veteran wideout has 26 receptions for 406 yards and three touchdown catches on the season. Furthermore, Moss has totaled 11 receptions in Colin Kaepernick’s six starts.  Read more »

Ricky Jean Francois Ready if Needed

Ricky Jean Francois was a wanted man inside the 49ers locker room on Friday.

After Justin Smith missed his third straight practice with an elbow injury, his streak of 185 straight starts, the third-longest active streak in the NFL, appears to be in jeopardy. Once Smith went out in the second half at New England last week, Jean Francois filled in for Smith and even contributed a crucial sack of Tom Brady in the late stages of the game.

So as Jean Francois fielded questions from reporters at his locker, Randy Moss and Mike Iupati couldn’t help but jump into the media scrum and ask some questions of their own.

“Do you think you’re pretty strong?” Moss asked Jean Francois.

“I squat about 700 (pounds), is that good enough?” Jean Francois responded.

Moss laughed and let Jean Francois go after that, but the point was made. Ricky is ready.

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Niner Talk: 49ers-Patriots Week 15

The San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots will face-off in a nationally televised game Sunday night, something that seems quite insignificant in light of today’s tragedy in Newtown, Conn. The 49ers expressed condolences to all those affected by the senseless act and will continue to honor those who lost their lives along with the Patriots. Football is not the most important thing at this time, but when it comes time to play, the healing process will continue with a showcase game for many of the top players in the National Football League.

To discuss this week’s 49ers matchup, we welcomed one of those of the laundry list of talented players, special teams standout C.J. Spillman, to this week’s Niner Talk podcast.

San Francisco’s talented coverage units are highlighted by Spillman’s play, a big reason why he leads NFC Pro Bowl voting for special teams play. Spillman’s role on the 49ers comes into greater focus this week with his appearance on the Week 15 edition of Niner Talk.

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Morning Tailgate: Dec. 13

There’s a new video posted on NewSantaClaraStadium.com that all 49ers Faithful fans will want to check out.

The video features incredible aerial views of the new Santa Clara Stadium, future home of the five-time Super Bowl champs.

Book your own tour of the new stadium site and learn more about securing a seat in the new building.

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Randy Moss Ready for Familiar Foe

Wearing his blue and white No. 81 jersey, Randy Moss rewrote the NFL record books with Tom Brady from 2007-2010. On Sunday, Moss will return to Foxboro, Mass., wearing No. 84 in the white and red threads of the 49ers, trying to help San Francisco secure its second straight playoff berth.

Since Moss left New England, Brady and company have maintained their status as one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history. The Patriots enter Sunday’s contest averaging 36.3 points per game, a shade off the NFL-record pace they set in 2007, when Moss hauled in 23 touchdown catches to help the Patriots score 36.8 points per contest.

“It’s going to be a hard-fought game coming from the offensive side because of their ability to put points up,” Moss said. “Hopefully we can complement our defense.”

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Carlos Rogers Discusses Welker Matchup

It’s going to take a group effort to limit the production of New England Patriots slot receiver Wes Welker.

At least that’s the assessment of Carlos Rogers, San Francisco’s starting cornerback, who will line up in the nickel package this Sunday night against one of the most productive wideouts in the NFL.

Welker, New England’s shifty slot playmaker, ranks ninth in receiving yards (1,116), fourth in targets (142) and third in receptions (95).

He also needs five catches to become the first player in league history with five, 100-catch seasons.

It’s a challenge that San Francisco’s Pro Bowl defensive back is ready to face.

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