Blogs

MT: Seifert, Young Join SB Committee

The Bay Area’s quest to host Super Bowl L or LI received a boost this week with the two key former 49ers joining the region’s Super Bowl bid committee.

According to the SF Gate, Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young and two-time Super Bowl winning coach George Seifert, have joined the committee that features many other well-known Bay Area personalities (Condoleeza Rice, Charles Schwab, Thomas Keller and others).

NFL owners will decide the host cities for both Super Bowls at the annual owner meetings on May 21. If the Bay Area wins, the game will be played at the new Santa Clara Stadium which is set to open in 2014.

The Bay Area is up against the Miami region to host Super Bowl L in 2016. It would be the 50^th anniversary of the biggest game in professional sports. The runner-up from that vote will compete with Houston to host Super Bowl LI in 2017. Bay Area mayors, Jamie Matthews of Santa Clara and Ed Lee of San Francisco, recently held a press conference on March 7 to discuss the Super Bowl bid.

Learn more about the future home of the San Francisco 49ers at NewSantaClaraStadium.com and book your personal tour of the facility today.

You can also learn more about the San Francisco Super Bowl bid on their official site and Twitter account.

More 49ers headlines can be found in today’s Morning Tailgate.

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Morning Tailgate: Madden Cover Vote

It’s voting season.

NFL.com is asking fans to choose the best play in NFL history and two of San Francisco’s Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Joe Montana and Steve Young, are among the great eight remaining plays. Montana delivered “The Catch,” while Young seemingly broke 49 tackles on his way to a 49-yard game-winning touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings back in 1988. Fifth round voting ends on April 3.

Another important offseason vote involves 49ers past and present.

Montana, along with Hall of Fame teammate Jerry Rice and current 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, still remain in the Madden Cover Vote for the game’s 25 anniversary edition.

Kaepernick, a No. 1 seed, faces Houston Texans running back Arian Foster in the “New School” side of the bracket.

Montana, a No. 1 seed, faces Super Bowl XIX opponent and Kaepernick fan, Dan Marino, a No. 4 seed, in the “Old School” bracket. Meanwhile, Rice, another No. 1 seed, will match up against Michael Strahan (No. 5 seed) as one of the other throwback pairings.

It’s worth noting that no other team has more than one representative in the Madden tournament.

That’s important if you subscribe to the “Madden Curse” theory. Detroit Lions mega-star wideout Calvin Johnson didn’t fall for it in 2013. Johnson, the most recent player to grace the Madden cover, broke Rice’s single-season receiving record with 1,964 yards for the Lions. Rice’s old record was set in 1995.

Meanwhile, Kaepernick’s Twitter feed has recently been filled with retweets of fans supporting his quest to be on the Madden cover.

If you don’t want to vote for the current 49ers quarterback, Montana and Rice are long removed from their playing careers and will surely accept placement on the Madden cover. Both stars have joined Twitter, too. Connect with them here: @JoeMontana & @JerryRice.

Round three of the Madden vote ends on April 3. Vote often for any three of the 49ers representatives.

Check out additional 49ers headlines in the Morning Tailgate, including reports of a new quarterback joining the team in 2013.

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Morning Tailgate: 49ers Bracketology

Bracektology doesn’t just apply to the NCAA this time of year. NFL.com is also featuring football’s version of March Madness, as you can vote for the top play of all time. We’re down to the round of 32 and the 49ers are represented with three plays, Steve Young’s iconic 49-yard touchdown scramble against the Vikings, “The Catch,” and Garrison Hearst’s 94-yard touchdown run.

Voting for the Sweet 16 of NFL.com Bracketology ends on Tuesday, so be sure to support some of the greatest moments in 49ers history. You can also vote for Colin Kaepernick, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice to be featured on the upcoming cover of the 25th anniversary Madden NFL video game.

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate spotlights Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll as they compete to win the NFC West.

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Morning Tailgate: Feb. 1

It’s February and the 49ers are still playing football. It can only mean one thing: Super Bowl.

Jim and John Harbaugh took literally took center stage on Friday morning, as they held a joint press conference which marked the first time in Super Bowl history that both opposing coaches spoke together before the big game. As expected, the dueling styles of both brothers were on display, along with their similarities.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com offered his take on the unique press conference and the contrasting personalities of the Harbaugh brothers.

“The brothers and opposing coaches in Sunday’s championship game stayed true to form in the first press conference in Super Bowl history that involved the coaches for both teams,” Maiocco wrote. “John took the microphone and made the opening remarks, pointing out his parents, Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, as well as other relatives in the audience.”

The 49ers are also proud to share the story of 9-year-old Ty Crouch, who’s visit to the 49ers is currently featured on the Make-A-Wish foundation homepage.

The rest of today’s Morning Tailgate looks at the Harbaughs and Super Bowl XLVII storylines.

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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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Kaepernick Named NFC Off. POW

Five starts into his career in the National Football League, Colin Kaepernick can now say he has received NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

The San Francisco 49ers second-year signal-caller took home the Week 15 award Tuesday morning after his impressive four touchdown passes in a 41-34 road win over the New England Patriots.

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49ers Merchandise Available in HMB

The new Shop49ers merchandise tent will be set up at this weekend’s Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival.

The annual two-day event which begins on Saturday, Oct. 13, will also feature 49ers legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young serving as the parade’s Grand Marshall.

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Morning Tailgate: Sept. 13

Calvin Johnson’s injured foot is the hot-topic as the 49ers continue to prepare for a Sunday night home opener against the Detroit Lions.

The wideout gracing this year’s EA Madden video game cover did not practice on Wednesday but returned to work on Thursday according to multiple reports.

In order to stop the wide receiver who has caught 45 touchdowns since 2008, the most in the NFL, the 49ers will use many defensive looks. The same coverage or defensive philosophy just won’t work for 60 minutes against Johnson.

Cornerback Tarell Brown is “geeked” for the challenge, writes Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Brown and the rest of the 49ers secondary will likely need all available senses on Sunday night when the Lions arrive with All-Pro wideout Calvin Johnson, who led the NFL in receiving yards (1,681), ranked second in touchdowns (16) and was fourth in receptions (96) last year,” Branch wrote.

CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco and Mindi Bach also discussed the challenge of stopping the player known as “Megatron” in their latest Matt & Mindi segment.

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Morning Tailgate: Aug. 27

Fresh off the San Francisco 49ers’ 29-24 come-from-behind win in Denver, the Morning Tailgate has all the top headlines from the team’s second preseason win of 2012.

Sunday’s win was a hard-fought effort that saw the 49ers score 19 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Broncos on the road. All four 49ers quarterbacks led scoring drives, leaving the coaches with plenty to contemplate as they put together the quarterback depth chart. By 1 p.m. PT, the team will trim its roster to the mandatory 75-man limit. Currently, the 49ers have 89 players on the team.

Many of those 89, including running back Anthony Dixon, were singled out by Jim Harbaugh following Sunday’s victory. Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle highlighted Dixon’s hard-running in his game notebook. The 49ers coach mentioned many of his hard-workers, a list that featured 355-pound guard Leonard Davis, who lined up as an extra blocker with the first-team offense.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com noted Dixon and Davis’ efforts in his game notebook.

“(Davis) is eager to please,” Maiocco wrote. “And he likes his new role, which was unveiled on Sunday when he was used throughout game at tight end as an extra blocker.”

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Morning Tailgate: June 18

The 49ers Faithful celebrated Father’s Day this weekend and shared their favorite photos of their #NinerDads on Twitter. Check out @49ers to see some of the best pictures submitted on Sunday.

The holiday also held a special meaning for sixth-year CB Tarell Brown, who lost his father to a heart attack shortly before being drafted by the 49ers in 2007. Brown spoke to Nate Kuester of National Football Authority recently and spoke about the strong relationship Brown had with his late father, who inspired him to play football at a young age.

Things are a bit quieter now around 49ers headquarters with the conclusion of veteran minicamp, but 49ers.com has you covered with a wrap up of the last team-wide action until training camp. Those headlines — plus a trip down memory lane with Joe Montana and Steve Young — can be found after the jump.

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