San Francisco 49ers

It's a pretty dead time right now in the NFL, and with so many people on vacation for Memorial Day weekend, it is particularly so. Given that there isn't much news, it seemed like a good time for everybody to learn a little more about each other. Well, those of you open to sharing I suppose. Our Tennessee Titans blog, Music City Miracles, had a discussion earlier this week about the stories behind member user names. I actually think we had something similar a few years back in a FanPost or front page post, but I can't quite remember. Either way, it's a fun topic. So, why did you choose your user name? For me, before using my actual name, I used just Fooch. It's a simple shortening of my last name, and it's something people have called me since high school. I don't tell people to do it, but rather, it just happens. A lot of people include 49ers in their user name, others include random mentions that are not connected to anything about football. Most have an interesting story behind it. What's your story?

Here at Niners Nation, we're presenting a series called "90-in-90". We'll be looking at every player on the 49ers offseason roster, one player per post, from now until the start of training camp. More: Quinton Patton LaMichael James Patrick Willis Parys Haralson NaVorro Bowman Joe Looney Jewel Hampton Anquan Boldin Kyle Williams Vernon Davis The 49ers locked up defensive end Cornellius Carradine to his rookie contract earlier this week, so it seemed as good a time as any to take a look at the guy who will serve as his mentor this year and potentially beyond. The man they call Cowboy, Justin Smith, has been playing some out of his mind football with the 49ers. And yet even with what we've seen from him, particularly the last couple years, Smith remains both the most solid answer and one of the biggest questions on this team. The 2012 season told us pretty much everything we needed to know about Justin Smith and his impact on the team. Smith was named second team All-Pro at both defensive end and defensive tackle. This was the second straight season he earned an All-Pro nod at two different positions. It was all the more impressive because he missed the final 2 1/2 games of the regular season. Of course, that absence might have further proved just how great he is. The 49ers held on to beat the Patriots and split the final two games, but the defense struggled. The easy target of criticism was Aldon Smith, but a good chunk of the defense was feeling the burden of Justin Smith's absence. Smith did return for the playoffs, and the 49ers had a lot of success, but the defense was missing something in January and February. Why he could improve in 2013 Just staying healthy would be a step in the right direction. This is where the addition of Tank Carradine and Glenn Dorsey could help. Justin Smith and Ray McDonald are workhorses, playing as many defensive snaps as anybody on the team. Carradine is rehabbing from an ACL injury suffered the day before Kyle Williams. He should be back for training camp. Dorsey is competing for the nose tackle role, but it is possible Williams wins that job and Dorsey ends up as a rotational player. They both could provide Vic Fangio with serious options to help keep Smith and McDonald fresh. If Smith is healthy, he can handle the workload. Injuries are sometimes just freak accidents, and you can't completely plan for them. That being said, if Carradine and potentially Dorsey can be effective rotating on to the line, a fresher Justin Smith is a good thing for the 49ers defense. Why he could regress in 2013 Justin Smith is not getting any younger. Even with full participation in 2013, that does not guarantee he does not take a step back. I do think he has another couple years at his current level of play, but there are no guarantees. That is one reason the 49ers drafted Tank Carradine. They signed Glenn Dorsey to help as well, but Carradine would seem like the logical candidate for defensive end of the future. Ideally the future is a year or two, or more, down the road. But we'll find out more as the season approaches. Odds of making the roster The real question is that rotation behind Smith along the defensive line. Smith and McDonald were among the league leaders in snaps the last two years prior to Smith's injury. Now we get to see whether the 49ers will adjust things even just a little bit. Fangio has given his starters serious playing time the last two years. I think we'll see some more rotation, but I honestly don't know how much. Part of this will depend on Carradine's ACL recovery. He should be back, but the 49ers are not going to rush him back. The beginning of training camp is going to tell us a lot. Keep Reading: 90-in-90 49ers breakdowns Michael Crabtree injury story stream Today's links

Picture an assembly line at a factory with experienced workers moving in near perfect unison. Each employee comfortable in their position, and confident in the next person in charge of the task before or after them. The boss is happy as he paces alongside with words of encouragement or direction. They are a machine, a well oiled machine. Now picture the same hard working unit after losing a skilled key member to injury. Insert a weak link into the chain. Michael Crabtree is hardly an assembly line worker. I’m sure he could slap a label on a box or inspect a jar of jam with the best of them, but his loss will not be replaced simply with a two week training seminar and a hair net. The San Francisco 49ers, a team that was nearly dubbed Super Bowl comeback champs last February, are now without their number one wide receiver for the better part (if not all) of the 2013 season. Head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed Michael Crabtree’s Achilles’ tendon was “completely torn” during Tuesday’s OTA practice. While?Harbaugh did insist Michael Crabtree’s Achilles’ tendon tear is not a season-ending injury, in the world of fantasy football, it almost certainly is. What’s Going To Happen To The Offense? Let’s face it, the injury comes with plenty of time for the coaching staff to adjust and reevaluate the departure of their top wide-out. Obviously nobody’s happy about losing such an elite player, yet adjustments can be made. Michael Crabtree was really coming into his own, many gurus were projecting an even bigger season than his 1105 yard, 9 touchdown 2012 campaign. Despite the unfortunate off-season injury, Jim?Harbaugh and company have not built a team held up by bubble gum and duct tape, this is arguably?one of the deepest teams in ?the entire NFL. Their only weak-spot -and this is a real kicker- was probably the wide receiver position. Who Steps Up? Before you reach for your highlighter, you should know that the biggest increase in the distribution of targets from the loss of Michael Crabtree is likely the players you’ll overlook. What I mean is, even if?A.J. Jenkins, rookie Quinton Patton, or practice squad player?Ricardo Lockette?are awarded the starting job, doesn’t necessarily mean they will see a wide array of targets. Just look at The New England Patriots offense and how they heavily revolve around their slot receiver?and Tight End combo. The Houston Texans have had the same WR2 for years before recently seeking an upgrade, yet you would never be excited about starting Kevin Walter in your fantasy line-up. The point is, the priority list is shifted; receiving options two and three will step up, and the eventual replacement will be an after thought rather than a solution to the Crabtree problem. Anquan Boldin At 32 years old, newly acquired 49er’s wide receiver Anquan?Boldin?will see a slight spike in fantasy value. Boldin’s?current Fantasy ADP is floating around the 100-105 mark, and should stay there in my opinion. The seasoned veteran is great at?making the tough catch and is a clutch?possession?wide?receiver. Although, Boldin can not replace many of the types of routes Crabtree ran for the 49ers. Last season?Anquan?Boldin was targeted 112 times. He made 65 receptions for 921 yards with four touchdowns. Entering his 11th season and joining his 3rd team after spending the last three seasons in Baltimore, Boldin is a low risk, medium reward fantasy option this season. He is unlikely to exceed his average production level, but should be viewed as a safe low end WR2 in deeper leagues. Vernon Davis Vernon Davis has been a part of so many offensive schemes in San Francisco?that he’s probably bilingual in multiple NFL playbooks. The rollercoaster of fantasy output peaked in 2009 when VD racked up 1038 yards and 11 touchdowns. His fantasy production has dipped slightly since then, but with the recent injury to Crabtree the 49er’s should look

Earlier this week, the NFL and Microsoft announced a multi-year partnership for the term five years and $400 million. The rich do indeed keep getting richer! This deal will let the NFL leverage the XBox One and Microsoft's "Surface" tablet. Our sister site, Polygon, has a breakdown of some of the features of the XBox One side of things. They've got some video of the partnership and how it might work. The NFL press release was pretty basic: The NFL on Xbox will provide fans with an all-new viewing experience through innovations around Skype and Xbox SmartGlass; an all-new, innovative fantasy football solution allowing fans to view players and live competition side by side on a single TV screen; and a personalized NFL destination featuring information about the players, teams and games fans care about most. Xbox also retains the exclusive rights to extend these interactive experiences to tablets, enabling fans to use Xbox SmartGlass technology to enhance game day. The XBox stuff is pretty cool, but the more interesting aspect could prove to be the use of the Surface tablet. This partnership also changes the game for NFL teams because coaches and players will soon have access to a variety of cutting-edge Microsoft solutions, including Surface tablets to enhance on-field communications, photo viewing and play calling. Microsoft and the NFL envision a sideline of the future with players reviewing in-game photos from different camera angles directly from the sideline and head coaches calling plays off connected Surface tablets instead of today's static paper products. Jason Lisk of The Big Lead went into some details, but you can already start to see some of the potential involved with this technology. Lisk thinks it could allow teams to be more efficient, and it makes sense with the way you can input variables into the tablet. You can prepare for certain things with pen and paper, but having a Tablet brings so much more to the table. And you have to think the 49ers would embrace this sort of thing. The team is already working with SAP to improve their scouting efficiency. I'd imagine Coach Harbaugh would like to find ways of improving sideline efficiency. That's been one area where the team could stand to improve. A full offseason of Colin Kaepernick starting will hopefully clean that up a bit, but it remains a big issue. The team needs to find consistency in their clock and challenge management. Keep Reading: Why Kyle Williams could have a big role in 2013 This Week in Niners Nation Today's Links Michael Crabtree injury story stream 49ers 90-in-90 roster breakdown

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports As the San Francisco 49ers made their run to the Super Bowl last season, one player — who had been a key contributor through the early part of the season — was not on the field of play at during the Super Bowl. That player would be running back Kendall Hunter. Hunter’s season would end during the Week 12 game against the New Orleans Saints as he sustained a tear of his Achilles tendon. With Micahel Crabtree being lost for most of — if not the entire — 2013 season, questions have been asked about how the 49ers will replace the numbers and step up to fill the void he will leave behind. Remember that Kendall Hunter will be back and has proven to be valuable contributor in his first two seasons. Before having gone down for the season, Hunter was averaging 5.2 yards per carry as the backup to Frank Gore. If Gore was the thunder, then Hunter was the lightning as he served as a great change-of-pace running back for the 49ers. In addition, Hunter was a capable pass catcher as well, having caught 25 passes in his first two seasons. With the emergence of LaMichael James late in the season for the 49ers, many might have assumed that Hunter’s role would or could be diminished for the 2013 season. But with Crabtree’s injury, Hunter has value. Despite the 49ers throwing more ever since Colin Kaepernick became the starting quarterback, let’s remember that at its core, Jim Harbaugh is a coach who likes to run the ball and establish the running game. While many try and figure out which wide receivers are going to step up in the absence of Michael Crabtree, the emphasis might be to run the ball more with Crabtree’s absence. If that happens, Hunter will have the opportunity to be the value contributor that he has been in his first two seasons. Hunter has done more than enough to demonstrate to Harbaugh and the offensive coaching staff that he can be counted on to produce. With Greg Roman as the Offensive Coordinator, one can bet we could see sets where Hunter is on the field at the same time as Gore and James. While many will focus on which wide receivers will help make up for the loss of Crabtree, keep in mind that it could be the running game that fills the void. As a result, Kendall Hunter and his 5.2-yards-per-carry average will have a role and a valuable one at that. Lucas Carreras is a contributing San Francisco 49ers writer for RantSports.com. You can follow Lucas on Twitter by following @maldini3fan and you can add him to your contacts and connect with him on Google+.

The Michael Crabtree conundrum continues to be the biggest piece of news in 49ers-related media. We can try to stir up a frenzy about Nnamdi Asomugha's first practice - and this is pretty cool, granted - but I still think that news pales in comparison to the Crabtree news. So, since slow offseason is slow, I have been thinking a lot about the state of our receiving corps, including our TEs and our RBs. And, in light of this thinking, I am going to put forth an opinion that will likely be unpopular: I don't think we can adequately fill Crabtree's spot with internal options. The guys on the roster right now have a lot of promise. The potential is really there - but none of them are number one receivers. And, let's be honest, Anquan Boldin isn't either. The fact of the matter is that there aren't a ton of number one receivers lying around to be snatched up. After extensive research, I have come to the ground-breaking conclusion that there are zero receivers of Michael Crabtree's caliber lying around for us to swoop up. Bummer. But, this shouldn't stop us from pursing another WR. If we could get somebody of comparable talent to Mr. Boldin - which is to say, if we could have two number two receivers on the team - that would go a long way to helping the offense out. The only option I see as viable in this regard is our old friend Brandon Lloyd. We had a post a few days ago that proposed this very idea, but it didn't seem to take off. Well, I just want to remind everybody that last year Mr. Lloyd was 89 yards shy of a 1,000 yard season (he had 911 yards). This is off of 74 receptions, making Lloyd a 12.3 yards per catch player (the lowest of his career, so he could potentially build off this). Boldin had 921 yards on 65 receptions for 14.2 yards a catch. They both had 4 TDs. Likely, Boldin is the better player of the two. He is also coming from a Joe Flacco-led team, while Lloyd is coming from the Patriots. But, I do think a one year contract to a guy like Lloyd makes this team much better. Keep Reading: This Week in Niners Nation Today's Links Michael Crabtree injury story stream 49ers 90-in-90 roster breakdown 49ers salary cap news

The 49ers are entering their final season in Candlestick Park before occupying the future site of Super Bowl L — Levi’s Stadium. A trip down memory lane… View full post on Yahoo! Sports – NFL – San Francisco 49ers News 49ers Blog

Earlier this month, word broke that Jim Harbaugh had been in talks with former Jets and Browns head coach Eric Mangini to fill a consultant role. Nothing appears to have come of this thus far, but there's plenty of offseason left. It is worth noting, however, that when this news broke, Matt Maiocco reported Coach Harbaugh had also spoken with retired De La Salle football coach Bob Ladouceur. According to Maiocco, Harbaugh spoke with Ladouceur about "the possibility of helping him with ideas concerning team dynamics." Any thoughts on what that might mean? Coach Ladouceur spent 34 seasons with De La Salle, which is based on Concord, across the Bay and over the Oakland Hills from San Francisco. De La Salle had never had a winning season before Ladouceur arrived, but he turned them into a national powerhouse. From 1992-2004, the team went undefeated, winning 151 straight games. By the time he retired, Ladouceur teams had compiled a record of 399-25-3, and brought home 17 California state championships and seven various "national" championships. Not too shabby. If you're looking for some light reading material, you can check out this transcript of a speech he gave (PDF). It appears to be directed at other coaches, but I'm not entirely sure. It's pretty lengthy, but it's a holiday weekend, so you've got some time! I could see how high school coach would be a good guy to have around for team dynamics. With the NFL, players are paid and generally hoped to act as professionals. It doesn't always work, but that's the idea. In college, you've got a lot of players on scholarship, and while it's not quite getting "paid", there are some similarities in the dynamic. For high school football, it strikes me as much more independent given that players are doing it "for the love of the game" and that kind of thing. It seems like a high school coach would have much more to deal with in that "team dynamic". Maybe there is some value to be gained from that kind of insight?

Everybody stop -- hold the phone! Nnamdi Asomugha practiced on Friday, and for me, that's big news. I'm often extremely pessimistic regarding free agent signings and the like .. it's those undrafted free agents I'm crazy about. But with Asomugha, I think he's got a lot to offer and I personally believe he will be the best cornerback on the team next season. The Philadelphia Eagles used Asomugha wrong in so many ways. He's not a zone corner by any definition and if he can keep himself in shape, I expect him to do very well in man-to-man this season. I'm still excited for Chris Culliver going forward, but Asomugha has a couple good seasons left, I think. Anyway, we're just going to go with quick links today. I've been making an effort at adding more substance but I'm absolutely swamped tonight. Enjoy the links, folks. Goodwin agrees to pay cut to remain on team (Maiocco) Bridging logic gap on Grabtree, Harvin (Sando) Bill Barnwell on the state of the San Francisco 49ers (Grantland) Lockette, Jenkins, Patton will compete for Crabtree's spot (Maiocco) Nnamdi Asomugha -- Inside his first open OTA practice (Lynch) QB matters most, with or without Crabtree (Sando) Putting Michael Crabtree's 2012 production into perspective (Cohn) 49ers' Crabtree gets encouraging words from Broncos receiver (Press Democrat) 49ers' Reid Soaking it all in at Safety (NBA Bay Area) Harbaugh Looks for Young WRs to Emerge (49ers) From Candlestick to Levi's (CSN Bay Area)

USA Today Sports Injuries happen in the NFL. It’s rare that a player’s season ends in May, but that might be the case with San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree. There are already reports that he could make it back before the end of the season, but who knows how he’ll perform. Terrell Suggs came back from the same thing last year, but he’s a linebacker, not a speedy wide receiver. If I’m the 49ers, I’m not counting on anything from Crabtree. Lucky for San Francisco, they executed a clutch trade earlier in the offseason which landed them proven tough guy Anquan Boldin. Often not getting enough credit, Boldin has played a key role on two Super Bowl teams in his career. Most notably of course, last year, when he helped put the Baltimore Ravens over the top against the Niners. People weren’t really making too big of a deal about San Francisco’s acquisition of Boldin when it happened, but now it’s just huge. While the Crabtree injury really hurts, there’s still plenty of talent to go around in the Bay Area. Maybe now, fans will stop taking Boldin for granted. He doesn’t get as much respect as he should, and I think he’ll prove yet again that he’s as clutch as any receiver in the league. Colin Kaepernick is going to benefit greatly from his relationship with the Super Bowl champion. Think about it, Boldin has played a lot of downs with two good quarterbacks, and he no doubt has a lot of knowledge to bring to the table. Boldin is aging, but his value to the 49ers is growing more and more evident. Follow Andrew Fisher on Twitter