The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The Good

- The Defense: Two turnovers, six sacks, hold the 10th leading rusher to less than 25 yards and a shut out on the road. That's what you call an ass whupping!

- LeGarrette Blount: 26 rushes for 82 yards and two more highlight reel runs. If he can just fix that fumbling problem he is going to be a monster.

- Cadillac Williams: He didn't start and only got 7 carries but he gained 51 yards and scored a touchdown. People who think Caddy is washed up are sadly mistaken.

- Donald Penn: He kept Josh Freeman clean for most of the day and he caught a touchdown. Nuff said!

The Bad

- Fake punt: Don't mind the idea but the execution was horrible. I don't think that play had a chance in Hell of working.

The Ugly

- Fox's closeups: I'll keep complaining about this until it changes. I don't want to see a closeup of the quarterback or whichever player the announcers feel like talking about before the snap. I DO want to see the whole got damn play from the wide angle well before the snap. I can't understand who Fox is trying to appeal to with that bullshit.

Extras

- About that run defense: Not sure what it was about their offense that gave it away but it appeared the Bucs had a really good handle on when they would be running or passing. And because of that you saw a LOT more 8 man fronts with one of the safeties either walked down in the box presnap or coming down from a cover 2 look at the snap. Cody Grim obviously had a big day with by my count 6 tackles and 2 assists but everyone seemed to be a lot better with their gap discipline from the front four to the back line. That's why there weren't many places for Frank Gore to find to run. Its also possible that the Bucs just didn't fear the 49ers downfield passing game and so they felt more comfortable with a rolled up safety on most early downs.

The only problem of course is that every team won't be as easy to read and so it may be hard to duplicate that success when they aren't able to play as much 8 man front. But hey, I'll take it especially in a win.

- Mike Williams' arrest: I made a decision not to blog about the arrest or the Bucs' decision to play Williams until after more information came out. I know personally that the area he was pulled over in is an area where you can get pulled over for DWB. I have been pulled over at least 3 times but thankfully never charged with anything. And it turns out that all of the most recent information is pointing to Williams not being over the legal limit for alcohol and not having been on any other illicit drugs. So it appears he was only guilty of speeding late at night, hardly worth a full blog post.

- James Lee/Jeremy Trueblood: When Trueblood went down I said that he might end up getting Wally Pipped. Well he was healthy and dressed for the game on Sunday but Lee started and played every snap. Now the Bucs' twitter feed says that they will decide who starts based on who practices better during the week. From my experience there aren't enough reps to go around at practice during a game week for one guy to beat another guy out unless one of them falls completely on their face. So who does a tie go to? Worth watching...

- Ted Larsen: Did Larsen get hurt during the game? I missed it if he did but I noticed that Jerremy Zuttah played the end of the first half and all of the second half. What's up with that?

- Don't forget to check out my Bull Rush post to find out how the Bucs got all of those sacks.

Thursday Night Football

Just in case you forgot there is a NFL game tonight, the Bears at the 49ers. For those people playing fantasy football you definitely want to set your teams some time during the day today lest you lose some points. As for the game here is my prediction.

Bears at 49ers: 49ers. I actually wanted to pick the Bears on this one. I have ties to several of the coaches and front office types in Chicago and if their season gets any worse they might be out of there. But unfortunately I couldn't really find a good reason to pick them tonight. They have so many injuries, especially on defense, and the 49ers have this power running game that is going to go right at them tonight. Not only that but the 49ers will be at home, they are playing a 3-4 defense which always presents some unique problems and even moreso on a short week, and their head coach just so happens to be a former hall of fame player for the Bears. It just seems like to me that too many cards are stacked against the Bears tonight. I will say this though, thursday night games are notoriously unpredictable so if you are in a confidence league I wouldn't assign a lot of points to this game either way.

I will have the rest of my picks as usual tomorrow before noon. Good luck!

Wide Receiver News

The first news of the morning is that former Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree, who had supposedly threatened to sit out the season, signed with the San Francisco 49ers. I actually had the under on this one anyway. I figured the combination of the 49ers having a good start to the season along with not having any money coming in nor having a training table to eat at for free would make Crabtree blink and evidently it did since he got the same deal he pretty much could have gotten a couple of months ago.

The other news is that the Cleveland Browns have shipped off wideout Braylon Edwards to the New York Jets for two players and some picks. Now as much as Braylon probably deserved to get shit canned for his repeated violations of team and league policy including his recent fight with a Lebron James associate, let there be no mistake this move GREATLY improves the Jets' chances of not only making the playoffs but getting close to a championship this year. I know people will focus on his drops but one thing is for sure, when this guy is on there isn't a corner in the league who can check him. Besides that, he can work on his hands in NY but you can't coach his size and speed. He will give Mark Sanchez another big athletic target in the redzone also. I wouldn't expect a Randy Moss level rejuvenation of his career (seriously who else could pull that off anyway?) but barring injury I can just about guarantee that Edwards will help a pretty good Jets team approach greatness this year.

One last thing to remember is that as Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator, Jets head coach Rex Ryan had to face Braylon Edwards twice a year. Don't think for one second that this didn't play a role in the trade.

If I am wrong, please make sure to call me out on it later.

Can Not Play With Them, Can Not Win With Them, Can Not Coach With Them, Can't Do It

Most football fans remember 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary's rant last year about Vernon Davis, but for those who don't here is a refresher.



Now I realize that everybody is allowed to make a few mistakes, especially young players. But I am also keenly aware that there are some complete head cases in the NFL. You never want to line up with all choir boys but you do need everyone to understand the difference between showing emotion and hurting your team. Vernon Davis still doesn't seem to get it, and I am begginning to think he is one of those head cases. Check out what Frank Gore, pretty much THE offense for the 49ers, had to say about Davis.

Frank Gore wants to see more maturity out of Vernon Davis, and he told him so.

"It's his fourth year now. Now it's time," Gore said Saturday.

The 49ers running back spoke to reporters a day after Davis said some teammates were upset by his latest training-camp fight. Coach Mike Singletary punished the entire team after Davis' scuffle by making players run sideline-to-sideline sprints.

Gore was among those unamused.

"I wasn't mad about having to run gassers," he said. "I just feel it's his fourth year now, and I told him it shouldn't be him now. Everybody makes mistakes but it shouldn't be him. OK, a rookie? I accept that."

Gore and Davis have a friendly relationship and joke around frequently in the locker room. Before talking to reporters Saturday, Gore said he already had spoken to the tight end about the matter, telling him: "It's time to be a man and try to do everything right. There are younger guys who probably look up to you on the team."

Now think about how bad it looks for the most important option on offense to have to call out one of the best options in the passing game for being a dumbass. But if that wasn't bad enough get a load of this clown's response.

Davis said of that experience: "A few guys were mad, but like I told them you can't get mad because there will be a time you make the rest of us run. I told them they should be happy that I made them run because it's extra work for us and a chance for us to get better."

Vernon Davis will be the same asshole who gets a dumb penalty and costs the 49ers a game and then who will stand up and say that you can't blame just him. He doesn't get it, and it doesn't seem like he will any time soon. Now maybe if he had shown in the past that he could fight in practice and then refrain during the games that would be one thing. But instead every bad habit he has in practice carries over to the game. Now he already has his Head Coach send him packing during the game last year now he has their franchise offensive player calling him out and instead of pledging to do better he is saying people should thank him?

I tell you what, if he gets stupid penalties again this year a lot of fans will thank Coach Singletary after he benches his crazy ass.

One thing I learned from Coach Tony Dungy playing under him that the best 53 guys for a team are not always the 53 best guys. But a team is about coming together to accomplish something bigger than any one person. And I just don't think Vernon Davis is ever going to understand that.

Michael Crabtree Needs To Fire His Cousin

I am not a guy who likes to say people need to be fired. You will rarely see me say a Coach needs to be fired or a player needs to be cut. Its a very serious thing in my mind to call for someone to lose their job. You are talking about taking food off their family's table and potentially uprooting them from the neighborhood that they live in. I personally don't think its something to be taken lightly.

Having said that, Michael Crabtree needs to fire his agent Eugene Parker cousin, David Wells. And I am pretty sure Crabtree's agent, Eugene Parker agrees with me.

From ESPN:

San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree is prepared to sit out this season and re-enter the NFL draft in 2010, David Wells, Crabtree's cousin and adviser, said Thursday.

"We are prepared to do it," Wells said. "Michael just wants fair-market value. They took him with the 10th pick and you have Darrius Heyward-Bey [the seventh overall pick by the Oakland Raiders] getting $38 million? This week is crucial. Michael was one of the best players in the draft and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players. This week is very crucial."

However, Crabtree's agent told ESPN.com that no such threat has been made on his part.

Addressing the report, agent Eugene Parker told ESPN.com on Thursday afternoon: "You've known me a long time and I'm not a guy who makes threats. Nor am I a guy who negotiates in the public. I don't know where this came from but no such threat has been made."

Wells said he believes the Niners have made an offer but that it is not acceptable. Wells said Crabtree is ready to start practicing and was held out of OTAs this spring by coaches only for precautionary reasons.

This is why you don't hire family in this kind of a business situation.

Obviously his cousin, Mr. Wells doesn't understand what the hell it means to make that kind of threat to an NFL team and pass it off as credible. He also is obviously oblivious to the fact that Crabtree has already garnered, rightly or wrongly, a reputation as a "diva". Making a statement about sitting out the season is not only ridiculous, it is also reckless and it could cost his cousin money.

I know blood is thicker than water, or so the saying goes, but Crabtree needs to cut bait right now with his cousin and let the guys he is paying to negotiate his contract be allowed to negotiate his contract.

My Sleeper Playoff Pick

I will be keeping an eye on the San Francisco 49ers this year. I think that the combination of having Mike Singletary as head coach for a full year, with having a run oriented Offensive Coordinator in Jimmy Raye will tranlate into a lot more wins in a division that to me is up for grabs. Nobody knows how the Seattle Seahawks will react to new head coach nor how their offense will fare with the return of Matt Hassleback. The St. Louis Rams also have a new head coach in and look to be rebuilding with their jettisoning of perrinial Pro Bowlers, Orlando Pace and Tory Holt. Now I know a lot of people would say that the Arizona Cardinals are an obvious choice to repeat as Division Champions, however I don't know about that one. First they lost their Offensive Coordinator, Todd Haley, to a head coaching job. Second Kurt Warner is coming off hip surgery, and third due to offseason discord with several key players over new contracts, it remainns to be seen what kind of team chemistry they will have.

The 49ers have been quietly assembling a lot of talent over the years but I don't think they ever used that talent effectively until Singletary took over at the end of last year. They had one of the better running backs in the league in Frank Gore, yet they ran the ball all the time. On the flip side they had a very athletic Tight End in Vernon Davis but they made him into mostly a blocker. And of course we know how bad their QB play has been until the end of last year. Well I personally think that was a product of throwing too much and also not being able to protect very well.

On Defense they have a LOT of talent but they were moving them around so much that most of their guys never could get into a groove. Now we learn that for the most part they are going to let guys play their position this year. I think that will help them tremendously and a guy I think will have a big year this year for them is Manny Lawson at outside linebacker. I really liked the guy coming out of NC State where he played along side the Texans' Mario Williams.

Now obviously some things have to happen for them to turn it around in one year. For one they have to pick a quarterback who won't give the game away. For two they have to avoid injuries. I think those are the two most important factors in them getting to the playoffs this year. I think both are doable and that they will get it done.

Lastly I think rookie Glenn Coffey out of Alabama will make a major difference this year spelling Gore at running back. He may even end up in contention for offensive rookie of the year.