Michael Crabtree as Offensive Rookie of the Year Is Not As Crazy As It Seems

At the beginning of the 2009 NFL season, if someone had stated that Michael Crabtree would be in the running for offensive rookie of the year, you would have thought they were crazy.

For one, at that time Crabtree wasn’t even signed yet by the 49ers. There was a major concern that Crabtree would never sign and instead go back to the draft for 2010.

Crabtree did end up signing with the 49ers, but he missed the first five games of the season.

Right now, though, there’s really no clear runaway winner for the offensive rookie of the year. Percy Harvin of the Minnesota Vikings looked like he was going to be the best candidate for the award, but he has been sidelined by injuries recently and could miss another game this week. 

Jeremy Maclin for the Philadelphia Eagles had put up some solid numbers as well, but he is another player who is injured right now.

Hakeem Nicks with the New York Giants has been impressive. He currently leads all rookie receivers in yards.

Kenny Britt of the Tennessee Titans came up with maybe the best play from a rookie so far this season. He caught the game-winning touchdown pass to cap the 99-yard drive to close out the Titans’ win over the Arizona Cardinals.

All those players are wide receivers. There are three running backs that could be in the hunt for the award as well. Knowshon Moreno of the Denver Broncos seems the best bet for the award out of all rookies.

LeSean McCoy has been steady for the Eagles out of their backfield and has helped make up for the injury to Brian Westbrook.

Chris Wells of the Cardinals has had a decent season as well.

Here’s a look at the numbers for each of the rookie wide receivers.

* Harvin in 12 games has 48 catches, 681 yards, and six touchdowns, with 34 kick returns for 986 yards and two touchdowns.

* Maclin in 11 games has 46 catches, 623 yards, and four touchdowns.

* Nicks in 11 games has 38 catches, 685 yards, and six touchdowns.

* Britt in 11 games has 38 catches, 642 yards, and three touchdowns. 

For running back rookies, here are the numbers.

* Moreno in 13 games has 205 carries for 837 yards, five touchdowns, a 4.1 yards per carry average, 19 catches for 109 yards, and a touchdown receiving.

* Wells in 13 games has 136 carries for 596 yards, five touchdowns, a 4.4 yards per carry average, and 10 catches for 105 yards.

* McCoy in 13 games has 139 carries for 558 yards, three touchdowns, a 4.0 yards per carry average, and 34 catches for 256 yards.

With Crabtree, he has put up the numbers that he has now in eight games. He also missed a lot of time practicing because of the holdout, which I think will also hurt his chances of winning the award, but his numbers are right in line with the other rookie receivers.

Here’s a look at Crabtree’s numbers: He has 37 catches for 473 yards and two touchdowns.

I’m not going to say that Crabtree is going to win the award. I think he does need some recognition with what he’s been able to do since joining the team, but in the end the holdout will hurt him in the votes.

The actual winner I believe will be Moreno, just because he’s played in every game and will significantly go over 1,000 yards by the time the NFL’s regular season ends.

I think that Harvin more than likely would have won the award if the vote was held today, but since he’s missing games towards the end of the season, it’s going to impact his chances.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

49ers Should Have Drafted Desean Jackson

Watching the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New York Giants got me thinking to what could have been.

Back in 2008, the San Francisco 49ers made a blunder by not drafting a local product out of the University of California.

Desean Jackson should have been drafted by the 49ers with their 29th or 39th pick in the draft.

How Jackson fell to the 49th pick is unbelievable!

If Jackson had been drafted by the 49ers, he would have filled two needs for the team— a wide receiver and a punt returner. Can 49ers fans imagine the ability to spread the defense out and utilize Frank Gore much more effectively with the threat of Jackson?

Jackson is a player that can get to the end zone at anytime. In the game tonight, he has scored on a 60 yard touchdown reception and a 72 yard touchdown on a punt return down the sideline.

It’s just another perfect example of the incompetency the 49ers have had in the draft. Jackson would have been an immediate fan favorite with his roots in the Bay. 

In Jackson’s rookie year he caught 62 passes for 912 yards and two touchdowns, had 17 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown, and 50 punt returns for 440 yards and a touchdown.

This year Jackson has caught 44 passes for 769 yards, and six touchdowns, has eight carries for 125 yards and a touchdown, and 21 punt returns for 326 yards and a touchdown. And that’s before the damage he has already done tonight.

Imagine if he did all that in a 49ers uniform.

The only thing that can make up for not drafting Jackson is drafting another Cal product. Jahvid Best should be drafted by the 49ers because he can fill the need on returning kicks and provide the speed that the 49ers truly lack.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

San Francisco 49ers’ Goals for Last Four Games of the Season

The San Francisco 49ers have a remote chance of making the playoffs this year, but it’s time to stop thinking about it. Instead the 49ers have other goals that the team should work on and, if the 49ers somehow make the playoffs, then that’s truly a miracle.

One goal for the 49ers is to start mixing up the playcalling. During the course of the season it’s either been running the ball or throwing the ball, there’s never really been any kind of balance for the 49ers.

I understand that Alex Smith feels more comfortable in the shotgun formation, but eventually he is going to have to start making throws from under center. Right now when the 49ers do run the football, it’s way too easy for a defense to key in on the run and Frank Gore hasn’t been able to get going.

At one point during the Seahawks game, the 49ers had thrown the ball 21 times and ran the ball only three times. That ratio is not going to win very many games.

It’s rather sad that the best run of the game versus the Seahawks was a run on a double reverse by Delanie Walker. The added benefit of running the football for the 49ers is that it keeps the defense off the field if Gore can pick up first downs on the ground or even through the air.

The second goal would be to end the season 8-8 or 9-7. No more sub-.500 seasons for the 49ers. This should definitely be an attainable goal since the team really has only two tough games. One is coming up on Monday in San Francisco against the Arizona Cardinals and the other will be in Philadelphia against the Eagles.

I would be happy if the 49ers split the two games. They would then have an excellent chance of finishing the season 8-8 because their last two games are against the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams.

I’ve been reading on Ninersnation.com that the 49ers should just end up losing out to get two solid picks in the first round, since the Carolina Panthers aren’t doing well this year.

That may have happened under Mike Nolan as head coach, but with Mike Singletary at the helm it won’t.

The third goal for the 49ers should be to use Michael Crabtree in the red zone. So far, Crabtree has just one touchdown catch and it wasn’t even in the red zone.

Along those lines, if the 49ers have a second- or third-and-goal from the one-yard line, run Frank Gore. Do not try to throw the football. Just run it in with Gore, he’s the best option at the goal line for the 49ers.

The fourth goal is to improve the special teams play, specifically in the return game. It’s been one of the weakest parts of the 49ers this year. Josh Morgan seems to be effective in returning kicks.

For punt returns, maybe try Morgan there as well because Brandon Jones and Arnaz Battle have been far from impressive.

The fifth goal for the 49ers would be to try to get a consistent pass rush towards the end of the season because if the 49ers want to beat Arizona and Philadelphia, giving Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb all day to throw isn’t going to be a good idea.

In the Seahawk game, Matt Hasselbeck was able to go 7-of-7 on a drive with absolutely no pressure on him.

The final goal is to improve the secondary play. This means better tackling and better coverage by the safeties and cornerbacks. Too many Seahawk receivers were able to get to open spaces without a defender around them.

With these goals in mind, the 49ers could finish the season at .500 or above for the first time since 2002.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

After Calming Down Over Bad Officiating, 49ers Gameplan Was Wrong

After looking at the San Franicsco 49ers page on Yahoo Sports, there was a quote from Mike Singletary that made me wonder what the heck he was thinking when making the comment. It was in regards to the 49ers change in philosophy on offense.

Singletary is quoted as saying this about Frank Gore “Frank is not going to lose his mind if he doesn’t get 100 yards because I think, at the end of the day, it’s all about winning. He may be upset at the moment, but I know he’s going to come back the next day and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m glad we won. I know I did contribute”

I get the fact that Gore didn’t get as many attempts as he would like only getting 16 carries for 33 yards and contributing seven catches for 13 yards. For a combined total of 23 touches.

The issue is that now that Alex Smith is getting comfortable playing, the 49ers need to do a better job of evening out the play calling. Team’s have an easy time diagnosing when the 49ers are going to run the football and Gore hasn’t been able to do much because of this.

When the 49ers went in to Seattle to play the Seahawks, the philosophy of throwing the ball was not the best choice of strategies. You have to wonder if Singletary and his offensive coordinator realized what Gore has been able to do against the Seahawks.

Which goes to show just how embarrassing it was to see that Gore had only nine carries against the Seahawks on Sunday. Considering the fact that in his previous eight games games against the Seahawks, Gore had rushed for 874 yards on 137 carries for an average of 6.4 yards per carry and three touchdowns.

There was a point in the game yesterday where the 49ers had attempted 21 passes to three rushing attempts. That’s not going to win very many games. In order for the 49ers to actually be able to win games, Gore has to be involved in the offense, otherwise there will be games like the one on Sunday against the Seahawks.

For the 49ers, the gameplan should have involved Gore having as many touches as possible against the Seahawks defense, which would have opened up the passing game.

I would say the gameplan of throwing the ball a majority of the time was absolutely ridiculous when Gore has shredded the defense of the Seahawks. Smith may be more comfortable in the shotgun, so why not call running plays for Gore while Smith is setup in the shotgun? How about a designed run for Smith?

If the 49ers even want to remotely have a chance against the Arizona Cardinals, the team has to be able to run Gore. They are not going to beat the Cardinals in a shootout, because the Cardinals have too much talent to be able to get in a shootout with.

In order for the 49ers to win, the team has to control the clock, otherwise it could be a long day for the 49ers at home.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Minnesota Vikings Make Brett Favre Look Good

Brett Farve’s numbers this season have been eye-popping thanks to the best supporting cast that he’s ever played with.

Never in Favre’s career has he played alongside a running back of Adrian Perterson’s caliber.

It’s not that Favre hasn’t ever had a running back that gained over a 1,000 yards on the ground. The fact is that Peterson offers the ability to break off a big run at any time in the game.

So opposing teams have to pick whether to stop the run or stop the pass. Either way, the Vikings will burn you on D. 

Beyond just Peterson, though, the Vikings have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL as well. In 11 games, this year Favre has only been sacked 22 times or two times a game.

With the offensive line playing so well, Farve no longer has to be a gunslinger.

The two most impressive stats Favre has this year are the fact that he has only thrown three interceptions so far and he’s on pace for the highest completion percentage of his career as well.

Since 2000, Favre has averaged 19 interceptions.

On top of a good offense, The Vikings’ defensive unit is the best Farve has played with as well. Sure, Favre played on Packer that had some great defensive players, but never the caliber as the ones this Viking team offers.

This year’s Vikings team has the likes of Kevin and Pat Williams to stop the run, Jared Allen in the pash rush, and Antoine Winfield anchor  the secondary.

Cedric Griffin has come on as a cornerback, while Chad Greenway and E.J. Henderson make an excellent duo at linebacker.

In terms of special teams, Percy Harvin is the most dangerous kick returner in the NFL.

So, when you actually take a look at the Vikings with Favre coming to the team it’s not hard to see why he’s doing so well. At the time of his signing the Vikings were the most complete team in the NFL minus a decent quarterback.

 

Before trying to make Favre seem like the savior to the Vikings franchise, it’s better to take a look at what the Vikings had before Favre even showed up. It’s not like the Vikings were rebuilding their team. The team had the pieces together to win, it was just a matter of getting a quarterback like Favre that could truly make the team a championship contender.

 

 

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

It’s Back to the Drawing Board for Mike Singletary and the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers again did not show up in a game this time against the Green Bay Packers. While the 30-24 score represents a valiant effort in the second half by the 49ers, the question remains: What happened in the first half? 

In the first half, 49ers fans were treated to the same issues that have been plaguing the 49ers all season long. That is poor offensive line play, a lack of any rational play-calling, poor tackling, a soft secondary, and absolutely no pass rush.

With those issues, it’s not hard to understand how the Packers scored 23 points in the first half. I will say the defense did a good job in holding the Packers to field goals after some big plays by the Packers offense.

Other then that though, there really wasn’t anything positive going for the 49ers in the first half. Offensively the 49ers ran only 18 plays the entire half, while the Packers ran 48 plays.

It also didn’t bode well for the 49ers that Frank Gore only had five carries in the first half and in total had only seven carries the entire game. There’s something wrong with that picture when one of the best running backs in the NFL only gets seven carries.

What’s sad about that is the fact that Gore started out on his first carry with a nice 42 yard run. He was then given the ball again picked up a yard, the 49ers ran a reverse with Josh Morgan which picked up eight yards and was pretty close to a first down.

The 49ers had basically a third and inches situation. Instead of giving the ball to Gore though, it was a fullback dive with Moran Norris who actually lost yardage on the play and the 49ers had to settle for a field goal.

Not getting the ball to Gore in that situation not a great idea. What I also have a hard time understanding is why Vernon Davis wasn’t utilized in the passing game either in the first half, and the same can be said for Michael Crabtree.

When the two best receivers on the team can’t get the ball the 49ers are not going to be winning very many games and it’s not hard to see why the 49ers were trailing 23-3.

In the second half though the 49ers offense came alive, and throughout the half the 49ers had to throw the ball. It’s not hard to see why the 49ers were able to come back to make the final score look respectable.

Alex Smith was able to find Davis, Crabtree, and Gore for touchdown passes. Unfortunately for the 49ers, they were not able to come up with one last big stop to get the ball back and see if Smith could complete the comeback.

Davis finished with five catches in the second half for 104 yards and Crabtree in the second half finished with three catches and 71 yards.

Smith seems to do well when the 49ers are behind and he has to make throws. The question is, why not call the type of plays that utilize Smith’s abilities? He seems to have confidence in a more hurried situation, so why not do that?

Over on the defensive side the 49ers looked bad in the first half too. There was absolutely no pressure on Aaron Rodgers, which allowed for him to throw 31 times completing 22 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns.

At that time of the game it meant that the 49ers had allowed for 83 passes to be thrown in the last six quarters, and the defense had no sacks. In the second half the 49ers were able to sack Rodgers twice and held him to 72 yards passing.

But, that really had to do with the fact that the Packers were trying to run as much clock as possible. Ryan Grant, the Packers running back, sliced through the 49ers defense with 21 carries, 129 yards, and a touchdown.

What’s frustrating is the fact that coming into the game the Packers offensive line had been bad, allowing the most sacks coming in to the game. Yet, the 49ers couldn’t get to Rodgers until the game was pretty much out of reach.

So, after this performance by the 49ers, especially in the first half, fans should be worried about what’s going to happen against Jacksonville. Jacksonville has one of the premiere running backs in the league in Maurice Jones-Drew, and in the passing game, Mike Sims-Walker has really made name for himself.

Does this mean the 49ers are looking at 4-7 after next week’s game? Possibly. What will be interesting to see is the reaction of Mike Singletary after this loss to the Packers.

I think it’s time for him to stop being so positive and it’s time for him to get angry, especially with the offensive line and how pathetic it looked in the first half. There was absolutely no excuse for the play of the offensive line in the first half.

At the end of the season it just means that there’s definitely going to be changes. I would say that first to go is Chris Foerster the 49ers offensive line coach. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Vance Joseph and Johnnie Lynn also need to be fired because so far the most inconsistent aspect to the 49ers defense has been the play of the secondary.

Jimmy Raye the offensive coordinator should be fired at the end of the season. He has been awful and it’s hard to understand at this point in the season the justification of hiring Raye to begin with.

I would say that Greg Manusky should be on the hotseat at defensive coordinator. If the 49ers defense doesn’t find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback, then Manusky should be fired.

Manusky has done a great job with the defense and stopping the run, but against the pass the 49ers have been one of the worst teams in the NFL, and today’s game against the Packers didn’t help their cause either.

Coming into the game, the 49ers ranked 29th in passing yards allowed and 29th in completions allowed. That’s not getting it done against the pass.

If the season were to end today it’s obvious that there are certain assistant coaches and coordinators who are just not getting the job done and should be let go by Singletary.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

49ers Offense Was Never Playoff Caliber; Neither Was the Defense

After the San Francisco 49ers victory over the Chicago Bears, it seemed like the 49ers had turned the corner, especially defensively.

The team forced Jay Cutler into five interceptions, but what was not stated about the defense was they did not sack Cutler once and the Bears threw 52 times. 

The offense for the 49ers was non-existent throughout much of the game. Most of that is because Jimmy Raye, the offensive coordinator for the 49ers, is as incompetent as they come.

Further proof of that came in the first half of the game against the Green Bay Packers. The 49ers were facing third and six inches, instead of giving the ball to Frank Gore to get a much-needed first down and drive the ball further down the field, Raye calls for Moran Norris who hardly ever touches the ball.

This play clued in the fact that the 49ers were running the football with Norris and instead of gaining the first down, the 49ers were stopped and lost about six inches meaning it went from third and six inches to fourth and one.

Instead of going for it on fourth down, Mike Singletary elected for a field goal and at that time it was to tied the game up at 3-3. Joe Nedney made the kick and gave the 49ers the only points of the half.

Even more frustrating was the play of the offensive line. The 49ers could not stay on the field and Alex Smith had no time to throw the football. The only true weapon on offense for the 49ers was Gore.

He only attempted five carries and gained 56 yards. His first run of the game went for 42 yards. Meaning since the 49ers first possession, Gore had only four carries for 14 yards.

Again, Raye spent too many time trying to get Smith to throw then giving the football to Gore; and you can easily see why the 49ers are trailing 23-3 at halftime. Five carries for your best player isn’t going to cut it at any level of football.

The offensive line again looked pathetic, not giving Smith any time to throw in the first half. Injuries have played a role, but that’s still not an excuse.

I honestly could care less if the player was the 53rd man on the roster on the offensive line, when your number is called, you should be able to play at a high level.

Defensively, though that’s where the defense has been bombarded, giving up big plays after big plays. The Packers threw 31 times in the half and got 274 yards passing; even more disturbing is the fact that Rodgers hasn’t been sacked.

That means in six quarters and 83 attempts by opposing quarterbacks the 49ers have picked up no sacks. That’s not good defense at all, but the only difference between Cutler and Rodgers is that Rodgers makes smarter decisions with the football. 

Rodgers is not going to throw five interceptions; the 49ers will be lucky to get one against him. He knows how to play football and yes the 49ers made a huge mistake in passing on Rodgers in the draft. 

You also have to wonder what the heck is going through the mind of defensive coordinator Greg Manusky?

Coming into the game the Packers offensive line was in shambles and struggled to protect Rodgers. Yet, the 49ers have not put any kind of pressure on Rodgers. 

There was an article written on Bleacher Report titled “Singletary’s Dilemma is Playoff Defense, Pop Warner Offense .” I disagree the with the notion that the 49ers have a playoff defense, I would say they have an average defense at best, but the only category that is playoff caliber is against the run.

Throughout the season, the 49ers have been able to stop the run. Only one running back has rushed for over 100 yards against the 49ers defense; that running back was Chris Johnson. It appears at the outcome of today’s game, Ryan Grant will be the second running back with 100 yards against the 49ers.

Grant has 70 yards on 10 carries in the first half. So, he just needs 30 yards to bring that total to 100 yards.

If the 49ers had a playoff caliber defense the team would be forcing turnovers against the above average teams, the team would be getting to the quarterback, and the defense would certainly be more aggressive in the secondary and not play in such a soft zone as the 49ers defensive backs play.

Those are three areas of defense in which the 49ers are below average. The only time when the 49ers have actually looked above average have been against the average to below-average teams.

I would say that the best effort defensively for the 49ers this year was against the Arizona Cardinals because that effort got the 49ers a win.

Against the Vikings and Colts, the 49ers defense played extremely well, but didn’t make the plays that would get the team a win, but still that’s the difference between an average defense and a great defense making the plays they need to win the game.

But, I want to get back to the fact that the 49ers pass defense is terrible; that includes the corners, safeties, and the pass rush!

Just look at the rankings; it really tells you just how awful that defense is: 29th in passing yards, 29th in completions, and 17 total sacks on the year.

With the way the 49ers are playing today, that means an average of under two sacks a game for the defense. When the Rams game is taken away, the 49ers have only 12 sacks in nine games. That’s just over one sack a game.

I’m sorry Gary but I hate to burst your bubble the 49ers never had a defense that was playoff caliber.

Now the 49ers defense doesn’t give up very many touchdown passes and are sixth in the league in touchdowns allowed through the air and the 49ers also rank sixth in interceptions with 11 on the season.

But, nearly half of the interceptions that the 49ers have gotten this year came against the Bears.

It wasn’t surprising the 49ers were able to intercept passes from Cutler because he came into the game throwing the most interceptions in the NFL.

That means in nine games the 49ers only have had six interceptions.

The question then becomes how does the offensive line gets fixed? How does the offensive playcalling get better? How does the defense get better?

Well, for the offensive line, the 49ers can’t wait to develop an offensive lineman; the team needs to spend money in the offseason and bring in an established lineman.

Same can be said with going after a pass rusher because that’s one of the main components of a defense and the 49ers lack that.

In the secondary, the 49ers need to look for help in the draft. Dre Bly isn’t going to be around next year, Walt Harris is about done, and Mark Roman probably isn’t going to figure into the picture much next year.

There are some good young players for the 49ers in Tarell Brown, Dashon Goldson, and Curtis Taylor. I believe that you’ll see more of Taylor if the 49ers find themselves out of the NFC West race and the Wildcard race.

At this time, let’s not fool ourselves as 49ers fans into believing that the defense was playoff caliber, when it’s clear that it never was.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Gridoron Greats Has Done More for Ex-NFL Players than the NFLPA

NFL or college football fans know football is a violent game, a perfect example of this happened not in the NFL, less than a week ago! Jahvid Best reminds us just how dangerous playing football is. Here’s a clip of what happened to Best .

There’s nothing like watching on TV, and seeing a crowd in such jubilation after watching a great touchdown run by Best, and then the sudden realization that Best hasn’t gotten up, or moved. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like watching the play happen while in the stands, because after that the crowd went silent.

All thoughts were on that of Best. Oregon State, the team California was playing at the time, went down to their knees, and as a group said a prayer for Best.

Even with that, Best remained on the ground for 13 minutes before being carted off the field and taken to the hospital. Thankfully, Best didn’t break any bones and only suffered a concussion. He is currently resting at home, ruled out for the next game, and possibly the season.

Just recently on Sunday, Tennessee Titans receiver Justin Gage suffered some fractures to his back. None of the fractures were too serious, meaning that he wasn’t paralyzed, or needing emergency surgery. Just recently, though, he was declared that he may miss the Titans game on Sunday.

Regardless of what sport, there’s no player that’s going to be 100 percent healthy, we get that these players will play injured. Yet, in the NFL more than any other major sport in the United States, has the most serious injuries.

In the NFL you will find players with concussions, torn muscles, broken bones, sprains, and it could include multiple injuries as well. 

I wrote an article on Bleacher Report titled The NFL Where Neglecting Ex-Players Happens , which is essentially about a number of NFL players who have suffered long lasting injuries and side effects all in part to the violence of playing a game they gave their heart and soul for.

It explains further just how badly the NFL Players Association has treated these players. Including the denial of disability claims by certain players, and the actual percentage of disability payments made, which is just three percent.

That means 97 percent of the NFL players that look to get disability because they are not able to work thanks to the injuries suffered while playing, do not get any disability. These players must wait until they are 55 years of age to even get their pension.

Further research shows that NFL players lifespan goes till 55 years, so it’s perfect. By the time they can get their pension they are approaching the actual life span of a NFL player.

When I was reading an article, I came across a foundation that was formed to help these players in need. This group is called the Gridiron Greats, and its purpose is to help, financially, these ex-players, because the NFLPA isn’t doing anything to help these players.

As the example of Brian DeMarco in the article that I wrote when he was helped by the foundation, he and his wife had only 75 cents to their name, and absolutely no food in the house.

The foundation has a website, Gridiron Greats, where you can learn more about the foundation.

Here’s a quote from the website itself, “The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund provides hands-on assistance and financial aid to help retired NFL players deal with some of the hardships they may encounter after football.  Many of these players lack funds, disability coverage or pension benefits. Thus the GGAF focuses on the humanitarian side of these players, treating them with dignity, and addressing the post-football related issues in their lives.”

I think the quote itself is a shot at the NFL and its lack of any kind of assistance to its former players for the most part.

Also, on the site you will find its mission statement which states “The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund’s mission is to assist retired NFL players, who are in dire health and financial distress by providing a means to regain a semblance of dignity and quality of life that every human being deserves. The Fund will support grant applicants through a series of conventional and non conventional fund raising efforts while calling attention to those in need through partnership programs, licensing efforts and public relations events with the set goal of expanding the Funds assets through partnerships with the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association and Alumni”. 

Although, I think it’s the stories section on the website that gets me the most, and what this organization does for these individuals.

Here are some examples in which the Gridiron Greats foundation has assisted: The helping of former Chicago Bear William Perry with assistance fighting his Guillan-Barry Syndrome; helped a former Green Bay Packer after losing his wife; a former Jackonsville Jaguar received aid for food, living expenses, medicine, health care, and even arranged from a donor a car for him for basic transportation; and the last example is that of a former Bear and New Orlean Saints player who suffers from diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, hypertension, chronic hypertension, and severe neuropathy. He was only given $88 a month from the NFL as his pension, so the foundation gave him funds for basic needs.

Again, if you want to find more of their stories here’s the link to the site . The board of directors is served by big names in NFL history, including the aforementioned Ditka, but also Greg Brown who was not a football player but is the CEO of Motorola, Jimmy Johnson, Marv Levy, Matt Birk, Gayle Sayers, and Kyle Turley.

Again it’s just sad how the NFLPA has turned its back on the players that made it great. Thankfully there’s a foundation like this for these players that are severely in need.

There are plenty of people who believe that NFL athletes are overpaid, based on a select few players, that don’t acknowledge the fact that the contracts of NFL players are not guaranteed, only a certain percentage is.

Let’s say a player buys a nice house, a couple cars, and decide to have kids. That money goes pretty fast, and they depend on that contract. If the player gets seriously injured there’s no more contract, and then there’s no more money coming into afford what they used to have.

Furthermore, there was a recent article about former NFL players going bankrupt. It’s easy to understand why if after they retire and they can no longer to afford their lifestyle, and if there’s any injuries that are going to be long term, then getting treatment for those injuries is going to take a lot of money as well.

I know if I had the money I’d definitely donate money to Gridiron Greats, and for those who are thinking of purchasing a ticket to see a game why not instead donate some money to this great cause and watch the game on TV?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Incompetent Playcalling by Jimmy Raye is Killing the 49ers Offense

As the season progresses the one thing that remains clear is that Jimmy Raye as a play caller and an offensive coordinator does not mix. Going further I find it odd that Mike Singletary would choose a coach that hasn’t done anything as a coordinator in the last decade.

You look at the history of Raye and you will find most of his best efforts recently came as being a coach that specialized in certain aspects of the game. In the decade, Raye was the running backs coach from 2006-2008 with the New York Jets and also from 2002-2003 he was the senior offensive assistant as well for the Jets.

Raye had three coordinating jobs in the decade of the 2000’s; he was with the Kansas City Chiefs, the 2001 Washington Redskins, and he was with the 2004-2005 Oakland Raiders.

If you looked at he offensive capabilities of all three of those teams, Raye’s offenses were well below average; it says something when the longest stint you have as a coordinator is only two years and the longest as a specialist is three years. 

This only further proves the fact that he was better off as a specialist. During his time with the Jets as the running backs coach the running game for the Jets improved. Thomas Jones last year for the Jets ran for over 1,300 yards and had 13 touchdowns as well.

As for the Jets in 2008, under Raye the rushing attack was within the top 10 in yards, touchdowns, and yards per carry.

Although 2006 and 2007 didn’t have the Jets as successful with the running game under Raye, it only shows that it took a little bit of time for the Jets’ players to get used to what he wanted his running backs to do when carrying the football.

Now, it’s 2009 and Raye has a coordinator job again. Let’s put it this way: there’s very few positive words to describe the 49ers offense under Raye. I think that the game last night against the Chicago Bears proved it.

Offensively there were very few positive players for the 49ers that were called. I will give Raye credit on certain plays such as the direct snap to Frank Gore that caught the Bears completely off guard.

Yet, when you watched the game there was no utilization of any of the 49ers’ weapons.

Vernon Davis wasn’t used, Frank Gore even though his numbers looked good wasn’t used until the fourth quarter when the 49ers had a chance to run out the clock, and Michael Crabtree was used early in the game, but only had one catch after the first quarter.

As a fan it seems like defenses know when the 49ers are going to run the football and when the team is going to pass. The most effective running play for the 49ers last night was not with Smith lining up under center it was actually out of the shotgun formation.

In the fourth quarter when the 49ers had a chance to put the Bears away by scoring a touchdown, yet had to settle for the short field goal, it clearly shows why Raye is just not the right man for the job.

The first play was good; a hand-off to Gore who took it to the one yard line. The 49ers again tried using Gore, but the Bears’ defense annihilated the 49ers offensive line and Gore was pushed back for a loss.

Third-and-goal the 49ers try to pass, but the Bears got too much pressure on Alex Smith and all he could do was throw the ball away to preserve the field goal attempt. If Smith was able to elude the rush and set his feet he had Josh Morgan wide open in the corner of the end zone.

I just disagree with the play calling; why not roll out Smith and see if he could run it in from the one? How about throwing a lob pass to Davis in the corner of the end zone and allowing him to use his athleticism to be the one to make the play?

Another play that just was incompetent play calling was when the 49ers went for it on 4th-and-short. Instead of giving the ball to Gore, Raye calls for a quarterback sneak with Smith who didn’t get the first down.

I would say if Smith had been playing for a long time I would believe that it would have been a better call, but with Smith not having seen much action in the regular season over the past couple of seasons, this was the time to call a run for Gore or surprise the Bears’ defense by throwing a pass.

If Raye was planning on having Smith run the football, why not roll him out of the pocket then? He’s much better at finding the hole and going through it then trying to push the pile; Smith is athletic, he’s not the type of quarterback that’s going to be able to get that push to get the first down in that situation.

One other huge problem with the 49ers? There were just too many times that the 49ers passed on first down and it became 2nd-and-10.

When you look at the end of the game though you’ll see that Gore had 25 carries and the 49ers attempted 23 passes. Yet, that had to do with the fact at the end of the game the team went way too conservative.

In fact, out of the 11 plays on the last drive for the 49ers, only one was a pass and it was a little shuffle pass to Michael Robinson that got the 49ers a first down. That pass only went for four yards, while on the 10 carries the 49ers got 39 yards.

Let’s not forget the 49ers got the ball with nine minutes remaining and when the 49ers did punt there was two minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the game. So, again way too conservative by the 49ers on the last drive of the game especially since at the time the 49ers only had a 7-6 lead.

Alex Smith’s numbers were far from impressive; he went 16-23 for 118 yards was sacked only twice and threw an interception, which really wasn’t his fault even though the ball was under thrown.

The problem again is obvious.

Davis caught three passes for 16 yards with a long of six.  Michael Crabtree was sitting at three catches in the first quarter and only caught one more and ended with four catches for 48 yards with a long of 20 so before that he had three catches for 28 yards; not exactly eye popping numbers by the 49ers two best receivers.

But, combining those numbers for Davis and Crabtree, that accounted for 64 yards on seven catches.

Frank Gore and Josh Morgan combined to catch seven catches as well and that went for 45 yards, and the two other receivers to catch the ball were the aforementioned Robinson and Jason Hill. Hill had one catch for just five yards and to top it off he was given a horrible mark on that catch which should have given the 49ers a first down.

Here’s a few ideas I have for getting the 49ers back on track offensively: on first down start giving the ball to Gore and see what he can do on first down.

Since Davis is one of the most athletic tight ends in the league on screen passes use him and his speed to get yards.

Finally I would like to see the 49ers make some quick throws. 

The key for the 49ers in moving forward and actually winning football games is that the team needs to find the way to get the ball to their play makers: Davis, Crabtree, and Gore.

What’s even more sad about the 49ers offense is that their leading wide receiver in touchdowns is Hill with two and he’s only played in two games. Obviously with only one catch against the Bears he did his scoring in only one game.

Morgan is the only other wide receiver for the 49ers to catch a touchdown pass. Something needs to change to get the 49ers receivers more involved as well.

Just look at Crabtree; he has played in four games already and has 18 receptions which is only five away from Morgan’s 23 catches, which lead the team from the wide receiver position.

Raye has to do a better job of calling plays that will help the 49ers receivers, even if it’s just short routes that get the 49ers four or five yards. Raye knows that the offensive line of the team isn’t the strongest part, so why not call plays that aren’t necessarily going to be slow developing?

Just too many questions that have not been answered by Raye. So, I have one last question, and that is: when are the 49ers going to hire an offensive coordinator that actually will be around more than a year?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Mike Singletary Needs to Really Take a Closer Look In the Mirror

It’s time for San Francisco 49er fans to start calling out coach Mike Singletary. It’s obvious the systems in place right now are not exactly working very well for the team, and it starts with three of the coordinators.

The first one is the offensive coordinator. Singletary made a gigantic mistake in hiring such a clown as Jimmy Raye who has no clue how to run an offense. Singletary at the start of the season had stated he wanted the 49ers to be a running team.

Well did that happen against the Tennessee Titans? Nope. It’s absolutely embarrassing as a fan to watch this team, that had such high expectations after winning the first three games, fall like they have and it starts with the play calling offensively.

In the last two games, Raye has not given the 49ers a chance to win. I think the biggest example of this was when the 49ers had the ball for over nine minutes and only came out with a field goal.

At the time, the 49ers were tied up at 17 with the Titans, and the field goal gave the 49ers a 20-17 lead, but the play calling by Raye…it just boggles the mind.

All the 49ers needed was 10 yards. Inserted into the backfield with Frank Gore was Michael Robinson. The first play went to Robinson for a loss of a yard on an inside hand off to him.

The second play of the series was a little dump off pass to Robinson again, which when he caught the ball had no chance of scoring whatsoever and managed to gain four yards.

Seven yards needed, and instead of finding Vernon Davis, who leads the NFL in touchdown catches, Alex Smith looks for Gore who could not make the play on what looked like a good throw by Smith.

As mentioned before, the end result was a field goal.

I think most 49ers fans were excited about the promise of a 3-0 start. Of course the fans knew the upcoming schedule—Falcons, Vikings, and Colts—would be difficult.

But for the Titans, 49ers fans felt like this should be a relatively easy win considering the Titans were 1-6 coming into the game, and the Houston Texans were a team that the 49ers I believe were evenly matched up with.

We all know what happened in the Falcons game: the 49ers were embarrassed. Against the Vikings and Colts the 49ers had chances to beat both teams, but just couldn’t get it done. Against the Titans I would say it goes back to the effort against the Falcons.

Which, to me is very surprising because I thought that the 49ers team was going to be better with Singletary at the helm, but it looks like it’s the same old, same old for the 49ers.

If you were to ask me what the biggest mistake Singletary has made I would say it was keeping Greg Manusky around. I’m sorry, but Manusky is overrated by 49er fans. I could care less that the 49ers have the second best defense against the run and haven’t given up a 100 yard rusher all year until today.

There are other things that the 49ers continue to not show, like the ability to step up from being just a good defense against the run, but nothing else comes close to it.

Let’s see, what are some things that the 49ers are constantly not performing in? Their pass rush is non existent, the secondary is a mess, the team cannot tackle, and when the defense needs to make a big play it rarely ever happens.

There’s were at least two examples of this in Sunday’s game against the Titans, but all are bunched together because the plays came in the same series. Chris Johnson of the Titans looked like he scored on an 81-yard touchdown run on the first play of the Titans drive.

Yet, he had stepped out of bounds around the 40 yard line. The next play was a call to Johnson again, and the 49ers sniffed it out perfectly and tackled Johnson for a four yard loss. So, 2nd-and-14 for the Titans.

Vince Young goes deep for Justin Gage and hits him perfectly. There were no 49ers players there to make the play as Gage went up to get the ball. There wasn’t even a 49er defender that could be there in time to either try to knock the ball away as Gage was coming down or hit him to jar it loose.

Flash forward a little bit in the same series. The 49ers had the Titans in second-and-short situation near the one yard line. Both times the 49ers were able to come up with the stop.

Here’s the biggest moment of the game for the 49ers at least defensively. The Titans ran an option play and the 49ers had a great chance to stop Johnson three to four yards short and give the ball back to the 49ers, but poor tackling allowed Johnson to escape, and not only get the first down but score as well, which gave the Titans the lead.

Look at the end result for the 49ers defense. The team gave up 152 yards rushing and 172 yards passing. It took 34 attempts for the Titans to get the rushing numbers, but only 12 completions to get 172 yards. That’s 14 yards per completed pass, and to make matters worse there was only one sack by the 49ers defense.

Honestly, there’s really not much to think about when you look at the offense and defensive coordinators both are terrible. Both needs to be given the pink slips, the only question is does Singletary have the balls to do it at the end of the season when the 49ers are watching the playoffs at home?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Next Page »

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010