[7-9, so far, so close...] 49ers topic / 2006 edition

Citation :

Niners sign former Packers S Roman

Sunday, July 30, 2006
(07-30) 12:25 PDT Santa Clara, Calif. (AP) --

Safety Mark Roman signed with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, three days after he was cut by the Green Bay Packers.

Roman, a seven-year veteran who also played for Cincinnati, appeared in every game over the last two seasons with Green Bay.

He had 90 tackles and two interceptions last season, but was released one day before the Packers opened training camp. Roman apparently was unhappy when the Packers signed free-agent safety Marquand Manuel in the offseason.

To make room, the 49ers released safety Ben Emanuel, who played sparingly last season.

In San Francisco, Roman will compete with newcomer Chad Williams, Keith Lewis and Mike Adams in a wide-open race to become the 49ers' starting free safety. Roman also could see time in Tony Parrish's spot at strong safety.

Je le connais pas trop (voire pas du tout). Apparement, un énième remplaçant ailleurs-titulaire chez nous.
Au moins, là on le signe pas 4 jours avant un match.

"The San Diego Chargers have announced the team has waived WR Rashaun Woods. "

Il avait raté les 2-3 premiers jours du Training Camp. Donc finalement n'aura rien foutu à San Diego (comme à SF quoi)

Incompréhensible ! Pourtant en sortant d'Oklahoma State, il était annoncé comme une future star ! J'ai un match de Bowl où le commentateur lui roule presque des pelles... Le vrai bust quoi, et merde !

Citation :

Niners release Bruce Thornton

SFI staff
SFIllustrated.com Aug 1, 2006

The full-scale reconstruction of the 49ers’ secondary continued Tuesday morning when the team waived third-year veteran Bruce Thornton, the Niners' regular starter at left cornerback during the 2005 season.

"I let Bruce go (because) I just felt it would give him an opportunity to maybe make it with another ball club," 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. "As we look down the stretch, I thought with the competition increased at the position and all, it would be a better move for both."

Thornton, a fourth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2004, was acquired by the 49ers last September after being released by the Cowboys and emerged quickly in the San Francisco secondary after beginning the season on the team’s practice squad.

After starting left cornerback Ahmed Plummer went down after three games with an ankle injury, Thornton stepped into the lineup in Week 5 and started the next 11 games at left cornerback, continuing to hold the position even after Plummer returned from his injury in November.

Thornton had a strong starting debut as a 49er against the high-powered passing game of the Indianapolis Colts in October, and set himself up as viable candidate for the position in the future with solid play during his first month as a starter. He finished the season second on the team with eight passes defensed and tied for third with two interceptions. He also had 32 tackles, 31 of them solo stops.

But his play began to falter as the season progressed, and the 49ers apparently viewed him as part of the problem instead of the solution as the team moves forward in a secondary that allowed a franchise-worst 4,427 yards passing in 2005 while finishing last in the NFL in pass defense.

Thornton slipped down the depth chart during the offseason as the team acquired 11th-year veteran Walt Harris and immediately placed him in the starting lineup at left cornerback. Veteran Mike Rumph, second-year players Derrick Johnson and B.J. Tucker and newcomer Sammy Davis all passed Thornton in the team’s plans at cornerback, so the 49ers decided to release him early in camp to give him an opportunity elsewhere.

J'aime bien la justification de Nolan. "On lui laisse l'opportunité de s'épanouir ailleurs..." Limite s'il lui rend pas service en le cuttant. :face:

ça va être chaud. Surtout pour les Scouts qui le voyaient au Top, non ?

ENTOMBED a écrit:

Broncos released WR Rashaun Woods after he failed a physical with the team

ça va être chaud. Surtout pour les Scouts qui le voyaient au Top, non ?

Bordel, mais c'est quoi son problème??? Le plus étonnant, c'est l'indifférence générale autour de sa déchéance. Ce mec est un 1er tour, et il passe même pas les training camps. Même Ryan Leaf avait fait illusion plus longtemps...

Citation :

Newberry's knee problems might finally finish 49ers center

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer
August 7, 2006

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- After several surgeries and months of rehabilitation, Jeremy Newberry still can't walk, drive or relax without constant pain in both knees.

He has an old man's gait at just 30, and now he's missing practice time in yet another training camp with the San Francisco 49ers.

On Monday, the 49ers' hard-nosed two-time Pro Bowl center even acknowledged it might be time to consider retirement.

"That's definitely a possibility," Newberry said Monday after sitting out his third straight day of workouts. "Not right now, but we'll see what happens."

He watched practice in shorts and a T-shirt before hobbling back to the locker room in obvious discomfort. Newberry underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee last December in a desperate attempt to revitalize the joint -- but now he's feeling much the same pain in his left knee.

Though Newberry's coaches and teammates praise his exemplary toughness, he knows there's a limit to the rationality of infinite rehab.

"I'm concerned about it, definitely," Newberry said. "I keep waiting for my legs to feel better. I keep waiting to wake up and not feel so bad, but it hasn't happened yet. ... I hope my legs get back to how they were feeling when I first came in, just so I can get around."

Newberry, a Bay Area native who played at Cal, was a stalwart starter for the 49ers from 1999 until 2003, when he played the entire season with a torn ligament in his left ankle. His right knee became troublesome in the 2004 training camp, and he played in just one game between two surgeries.

Newberry played 10 games last season, but was nowhere near fully healthy. He went on injured reserve in December and endured microfracture surgery, which creates a layer of scar tissue to replace the cartilage that's mostly gone from his right knee.

But after an offseason of rehabilitation, Newberry's left knee is showing the same signs of deterioration in his right knee, according to an MRI exam last week.

"Both of them are starting to buckle when I'm walking," he said. "When I'm driving or something, I've got to put it in cruise control and keep changing positions. ... I felt really good coming in and getting ready (for training camp). When I started playing football, that's when it started."

Though Newberry hopes to return to workouts soon, coach Mike Nolan and his staff must prepare for his absence. Nolan hopes the swelling in Newberry's left knee is temporary, but the coach wasn't certain he would be right.

And at least the 49ers have a solid contingency plan if Newberry can't play. Eric Heitmann filled in for Newberry for the last two years, and he has practiced with the first-team offense throughout training camp.

"I have tons of respect for the guy," Heitmann said. "He's a warrior. He's a physical specimen on the field. I hope he can get out there as soon as possible.

"When you play football, especially five years as an offensive lineman, you're well aware injuries are going to be a part of your career. You understand it and you feel it, but part of the game is being able to understand there's technique things you can do to keep yourself out of trouble."

But they don't always work: Heitmann has undergone two surgeries on his right hand, which briefly kept the Stanford grad from playing the piano.

Ce serait évidemment une lourde perte pour les 49ers mais je pense qu'il est grand temps d'arrêter les frais, là. A vouloir s'obstiner à revenir de la sorte, il flingue non seulement sa carrière mais aussi son après-football.
Merci pour tout JNew62.

Citation :

Giving Smith what he missed most as rookie
Johnson, hurt in'05, is providing young 49ers QB a big, open target

By Roger Phillips, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area

SANTA CLARA — During the opening weeks of Alex Smith's second NFL training camp, one of the most frequent sights has been of the San Francisco 49ers' young quarterback dropping back, then completing a pass to tight end Eric Johnson in the middle of the field.
"I don't know what it is," Smith said the other day when asked about the veteran tight end. "He finds a way to get open."

This is how it was supposed to be last year, before a foot injury sidelined Johnson for the entire season.

With Johnson out of the lineup, the 49ers' various and sundry tight ends caught only 17 passes last season. The previous year, Johnson had set a franchise record for a tight end with 82 receptions.

But one year ago Thursday, Johnson arrived at practice with his right foot immobilized in a boot. It turned out Johnson had a torn plantar fascia, which caused him to miss the entire season.

At the end of last season, Johnson took it upon himself tolet coach Mike Nolan know that even though he had not contributed in 2005, he wanted to be a big part of the team's plans in 2006. Essentially, Johnson realized he needed to prove himself to Nolan, who is entering his second year as the 49ers' coach.

"I've never played for coach Nolan," Johnson said. "He's never seen me play. I feel like football's a game where you focus on the present and move to the future, and I had a good season a couple of years ago, but that was totally in the past.

"That wasn't under him, so I felt I had a lot to prove, and just wanted to let him know that I was on board and looking to really push myself, be with the team and really work hard this off-season."

With Friday's preseason opener against Chicago at Monster Park approaching, Johnson has accomplished his mission.

He had perfect attendance during the 49ers' off-season training program, and once he was cleared medically, he participated in every practice during organized team activities. In nearly two weeks of training camp, Johnson has been one of the 49ers' most impressive performers, a sign that his off-season commitment has paid dividends.

"Right after the (2005) season," Nolan recalled Tuesday, "he says, 'I'm committed. I want to be here. I won't miss a lick.' Since he said that, he has been right on the money. He has done everything we've asked and everything he said he would do."

Suddenly, the 49ers could be formidable at tight end, with Johnson, first-round draft choice Vernon Davis and sixth-round selection Delanie Walker.

Johnson, a sixth-year veteran who was a wide receiver at Yale, clearly is the most polished of the three, and it appears there will be plenty of room for tight ends in the system run by first-year offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Johnson said he anticipates the 49ers frequently lining up with two tight ends.

Still, there is much to learn in Turner's system, even for an experienced player like Johnson. Essentially, the tight ends are required to learn two positions: the conventional position and the "F back" spot.

There is much shifting before the snap, all designed to create mismatches and to leave the opposing defense wondering whether the upcoming play will be a run or a pass.

"It's a lot to learn, and Norv throws a lot at you, so your mind is jumbled," Johnson said. "This week it's just starting to become a lot clearer."

But Johnson has played during practice like a man with an uncluttered mind and has been developing into one of Smith's favorite targets.

"It's tremendous to have Eric in there," Smith said. "We can run anything in there, and Eric will find that hole. ... He's a guy to go to."

Last year was the second full season Johnson has missed in the past three. He was sidelined all of 2003 with a broken collarbone. Nonetheless, his 82-catch season leaves him tied for third in receptions by a 49er over the past three years. Only ex-49er Brandon Lloyd (105) and running back Kevan Barlow (101) had more, and former 49er Cedrick Wilson totaled 82 in 2003-04.

"It's reassuring to have (Johnson) there, a guy you know is going to get open," Smith said. "When you're kind of out of rhythm, maybe you can find him and get back into it."

Friday, Johnson will be playing in his first game since catching three passes for 28 yards in a 21-7 season-ending loss at New England on Jan. 2, 2005.

"I'm nervous before every game, but I'll definitely be nervous," he said "But once you get in there, the focus just takes over, and you just play.

"I almost feel like a rookie. ... I think I'm just trying to prove to myself that I can get out there and be better than I've ever been."

Je vais croiser les doigts et trembler pendant toute la pré-saison en espérant qu'il ne se blesse pas à nouveau.
Les formations à 2 TEs, ça va y aller cette année!

Double C a écrit:

Je vais croiser les doigts et trembler pendant toute la pré-saison en espérant qu'il ne se blesse pas à nouveau.
Les formations à 2 TEs, ça va y aller cette année!

moi aussi je vais bruler un cierge pour qu'il ne se pete pas qq chose.
une attaque avec EJ et VD, ça me fait saliver d'avance (pour peu que smith ait progresé, bien sur)

CA VA CHAUFFER POUR LES NOUNOURS !!!!!

Citation :

49ers Notes: Starters sit after 30 plays
By Roger Phillips, STAFF WRITER

SANTA CLARA — Niners coach Mike Nolan said Thursday afternoon that he plans to keep his starters on the field for between 25 and 30 plays in tonight's preseason opener against the Chicago Bears at Monster Park.

This is the first of four preseason games, and Nolan divulged the following plans:

-Veterans such as Bryant Young, Derek Smith, Walt Harris and Larry Allen will play half as much as the rest of the starters.

-Backup quarterback Trent Dilfer may not play, and if he does, it will only be briefly.

-Frank Gore and Kevan Barlow will split carries in the starting backfield.

-Right guard Justin Smiley and right tackle Kwame Harris will start, with Adam Snyder also getting first-team snaps at both positions.

-Walt Harris and Shawntae Spencer will start at cornerback, with Tony Parrish and Mike Adams at safety. Sammy Davis and Chad Williams will enter the game with the starting "dime" pass-coverage unit.

-Nolan said sixth-round draft choice Marcus Hudson, drafted as a safety, will play cornerback and in dime coverage tonight. Nolan has said during camp that Hudson has shown the ability to play the cornerback position.

"We might have lucked into one late in the draft," Nolan said.

-Rookies Brandon Williams and Michael Robinson will return kicks and punts, along with Otis Amey and Rasheed Marshall.

EXTRA POINTS: Offensive lineman Ben Sobieski (shoulder stinger) will not play. The availability of cornerback B.J. Tucker (ankle) will be a game-time decision. ... Third-year receiver Derrick Hamilton (hamstring) was waived/injured. ... Nolan said he did not know the source of a recent rumor in which the Denver Broncos offered the 49ers a first-round draft choice for Smiley.

Cool!!!

Newberry OUT pour la saison, ca commence mal

Merci pour le lien, sympa ce petit match !
Par contre j'ai pas vu Vernon Davis ??! Il y est ?

Alex Smith a l'air + qu'OK au 1er QT...

Après avoir regardé tout le match, j'ai été plutôt impressionné par les Niners...

Par contre, Grossman =

T'inquiète tu les verras pendant la saison tes TE... y vont qd même pas dévoiler tout leur gameplan pour un match de présaison...

Ca c'est du stiff arm à montrer dans les écoles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8CATu1jaCw

Désolé, j'arrive pas à insérer la vidéo directement.

Double C a écrit:

Ca c'est du stiff arm à montrer dans les écoles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8CATu1jaCw

Désolé, j'arrive pas à insérer la vidéo directement.

Questionnaire ESPN sur les 49ers:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/polling?event_id=2341


Mes réponses

Voici les miennes :

Citation :

1) The 49ers' pass offense and defense ranked last in the NFL last season. Which is more likely to enjoy a greater improvement this season?
90.1% Pass offense
9.9% Pass defense


2) Will Alex Smith be a successful quarterback in the NFL?
86.5% Yes
13.5% No


3) Which of this year's first-round picks will have the greater impact in 2006?
76.9% Vernon Davis
23.1% Manny Lawson


4) Which running back gives the 49ers the best chance to win?
80.9% Frank Gore
13.6% Kevan Barlow
2.9% Maurice Hicks
2.7% Michael Robinson


5) On which side of the ball is San Francisco stronger?
64.2% Offense
35.8% Defense


6) Who will be San Francisco's offensive MVP this season?
31.2% Antonio Bryant
27.9% Alex Smith
20.4% Frank Gore
11.6% Vernon Davis
4.1% Eric Johnson
3.4% Kevan Barlow
1.5% Other


7) Who will be San Francisco's defensive MVP this season?
34.6% Derek Smith
32.0% Tony Parrish
10.4% Manny Lawson
9.6% Shawntae Spencer
8.2% Other (Jeff Ulbrich)
2.9% Brandon Moore
2.3% Marques Douglas


8/ Would you feel comfortable with Joe Nedney lining up for a game-winning 45-yard field goal?
76.8% Yes
23.2% No


9) The 49ers went 4-12 last season; how many games will they win this season?
48.8% 6-7
27.5% 8-9
18.8% 5 or fewer
4.9% 10 or more


10) Will the 49ers make the playoffs this season?
84.5% No
15.5% Yes


Total Votes: 8,119

Edit: Gaël, si tu pouvais raccourcir ton lien, ce serait chouette. Merci