Author: gabeschapiro

A’s late come back falls short, lose to the Mariners 7-5

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By Gabe Schapiro

This Saturday afternoon contest between the Oakland Athletics (95-66) and Seattle Mariners (71-90) quickly turned into a Mariners slugfest. Oakland made it interesting late, but couldn’t quite complete the come back, losing 7-5. Jarrod Parker, who has been fantastic for much of this season, simply didn’t have his best stuff today, getting hit early and often. Parker falls to 12-8 on the year. Opposing starter Brandon Maurer wasn’t great, but he got the job done.

Parker had an easy first inning, but he consistently struggled from there. Seattle started hammering away in the second inning. Raul Ibanez, a notorious headache for the A’s, reached on a walk, and Justin Smoak followed with a home run that just got over the right field wall, giving them a 2-0 lead.

A Coco Crips sacrifice fly got one of the runs back, but the Mariners bats immediately went back to work. Nick Franklin hit a line drive into the right field corner, but the arm of Josh Reddick managed to limit the damage, throwing him out at third trying for a triple. Unfortunately there was little time to appreciate the play, as the very next hitter, Brad Miller, launched Seattle’s second home run in as many innings, recapturing a two-run lead, 3-1.

Two innings later Miller flashed his power again, this time breaking the game wide open with a no-doubt-about-it grand slam, chasing Parker from the game with Oakland down 7-1.

The A’s bullpen managed to restore some order, and stifled the Seattle offense over the final few innings. At the same time, the Oakland bats started to come alive and the Mariners pen started to stumble.

Oakland added a run in the sixth, and then in the seventh back-to-back home runs from Brandon Moss and Alberto Callaspo, Moss’s 30th on the year, brought the A’s to within just two. They loaded the bases in the eighth, but failed to come up with the big clutch hit.

The comeback attempt fizzled out from there, as Oakland went down 1-2-3 in the ninth inning.

With today’s results, it is official that the A’s will get a chance at revenge when they take on the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the playoffs, a rematch of last seasons ALDS. The dates and times are still to-be-determined.

Tomorrow marks the final day of the regular season, as the Oakland and Seattle wrap up this three game series at 1:10 PM.

Game Notes: Jared Lowrie hit his 45th double of the season, two behind Jason Giambi for the single season Oakland record… Moss is the first A’s player with 30+ home runs in a season since Reddick last season, and Jack Cust in 2008….with the A’s loss and a Red Sox win today, Boston has clinched home field advantage through the postseason. Oakland had already clinched home field for at least the ALDS.

Three home runs powers Giants past Padres, 7-3

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By Gabe Schapiro

On Friday night, a sellout crowd of 41,103, the 244th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park, went home happy. Thanks to an unusual display of power in a park where it’s hard to come by, the San Francisco Giants (75-85), came away with a 7-3 victory over the San Diego Padres (75-85). Ryan Vogelsong, making his final start of 2013, wasn’t at his best, but he battled all night and limited the damage. With the win, and a Colorado Rockies loss, the Giants are guaranteed to finish in no worse than fourth place in the NL West.

In what proved to be a good omen, prior to the game the Willie Mac Award, named after the great Willie McCovey and annually given to the Giant who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership that Big Mac played with, was deservedly awarded to Hunter Pence. Thankfully San Francisco didn’t spoil what from the get-go was a positive environment.

Following the ceremony and a slightly delayed start, it took some time for Vogelsong to settle in. Right out of the gate the Padres were making hard contact, and in the first inning they got on the board with a solid single to left field by Tommy Medica that brought home Chris Denorfia, who had singled earlier in the inning.

In the second inning San Francisco made some noise of their own. Pablo Sandoval took a rare walk, and then two batters later rookie Juan Perez got a hold of one and sent a 1-1 pitch just over the left field wall for his first career home run. The homer gave the Giants a 2-1 lead.

After the game Bochy complimented how well Perez has adjusted to life in the major leagues following his first big league long ball. “He’s really turned it up a notch here, he’s played great on both sides of the ball. He looks a lot more comfortable at the plate, he’s quieter up there…the ball jumps off his bat. I’m glad to see him get that sense of belonging up here.”

San Diego wasted little time in responding. Denorfia walked to lead off the next half inning, and as walks so often do, it came back to hurt Vogelsong. Up next was Jedd Gyorko, who sent a towering fly ball towards triples alley that smacked off of the right field wall. Gyorko was thrown out trying to turn it into a triple, but Denorfia easily scored from first to tie the game at 2-2.

In the top of the third it only took the Giants three pitches to punch right back. Abreu singled to lead off the inning, and Brandon Belt followed with his 17th home run of the season, a no-doubter into the porch in right field. Two batters later Pence got in on the slugfest, and to celebrate his Willie Mac Award in style hit his 26th homer of the season, extending the lead to 5-2.

After the third, for the most part both starters settled down, until the sixth.

In the top of the sixth Vogelsong ran into some control problems, walking two, but managed to gut his way through the inning unscathed. With that his night was over having scattered five hits, two runs, four walks, and three strikeouts in his six innings. He threw 91 pitches.

On Vogelsong Bochy kept it simple, saying that after the game ““I just told him great job, great start. Good for him how he finished….I was happy for Vogey bouncing back from a rough start like that.”

By the ninth the Giants had added two more runs to their lead, making it 7-2. In the ninth the Padres tried making it interesting when Logan Forsythe led off with a long home run to dead center, bringing them to within four, but that’s where the comeback attempt ended.

This series against the Padres, the last of the season, continues tomorrow at 1:05 PM.

Game Notes: Following the three home runs hit by the Giants tonight, they have 105 on the season, two more than they did during their World Series run in 2012….Gregor Blanco almost hit for an usual kind of cycle, getting himself thrown out at first, second, and home plate during the game. Bochy announced that Cain would not make his last scheduled start, making his 2013 season over as well.

Gore tramples Rams on the way to 49ers win, 35-11

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By Gabe Schapiro

September 26, 2013

On Thursday night the San Francisco 49ers (2-2) returned to their roots, and in a ground and pound game dominated the St. Louis Rams (1-3), at a final score of 35-11. As many expected they would following two bad losses, the 49ers featured Frank Gore early and often, and he managed to run all over St. Louis, finishing with 153 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries. As a team they finished with 219 yards on the ground. Colin Kaepernick played a smaller role, but avoided mistakes and made plays when he had to.

Both teams came out of the gate a little slow. The Rams offense seemed to click first, managing to string a few plays together. As a result they got on the board first, with a 40-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein to give them an early 3-0 lead. St. Louis, however, struggled to find an answer for the 49ers defense from there.

Through most of the first quarter the San Francisco offense looked eerily similar to the past two weeks, with Kaepernick struggling to find open receivers and a couple of long runs from Frank Gore being their only positive gains. Heading into the second quarter, things took a turn for the better. Halfway through the quarter Kaepernick orchestrated an 80-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by two long connections to Anquan Boldin, including a 20-yard touchdown grab on third-down and twenty. The touchdown was there first score in over 73 minutes, and the 7-3 score represented their first lead since the opener against Green Bay.

Their improved play continued. On the next Rams possession Donte Whitner intercepted a deflected pass from Sam Bradford in the end zone. The 49ers again immediately mounted a drive, culminating in a huge 34-yard touchdown run from Gore on a fourth-and-one play, bringing the score to 14-3.

By this point in the game the Rams looked lost, repeatedly going three-and-out. Meanwhile, San Francisco kept piling on.

In the third quarter Kaepernick and co. marched down the field with relative ease again, to the tune of an 88-yard, 11-play touchdown drive than took over five minutes off the clock. This time it was a 12-yard pass to Vernon Davis in the corner if the end zone that finished it off, giving them a 21-3 lead.

In the fourth, during garbage time, the Rams finally found the end zone, but it was sandwiched between two more 49er touchdowns. Anthony Dixon punched in a one-yard touchdown run following a San Francisco fumble recovery on the three yard-line, and Kendall Hunter got into the action as well, scampering in for a 29-yarder of his own. Hunter’s run put this game on ice, bringing the final to 35-11.

Kaepernick finished the game with 15 completions on 23 attempts, 167 yards passing, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He did fumble once in the fourth quarter on a muffed hand-off attempt, but by that point the game was out-of-reach.

Boldin was the teams leading receiver, hauling in five receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown. In addition, rookie Quinton Patton and Jon Baldwin played small roles, but both had their first career receptions in a 49ers uniform.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker NaVorro Bowman was the star, and more than filled the void left by the absence of Patrick Willis. He was all over the field, and racked up six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and deflected a pass. Ahmad Brooks had a good game as well, chipping in seven tackles and one and a half sacks.

While it was almost nothing but good news on this night, it did appear as though the 49ers may have a couple new additions to the injury report. Patton limped off the field in the second quarter and did not return. In the fourth, Joe Staley had his legs caught in a pile up. He walked off the field under his own power, but was doing so very gingerly. No report yet as to how severe either injury is, but they will have a long week to hopefully recover.

Next week San Francisco returns home to take on the Houston Texans on Sunday October 6, at 5:25 PM.

Bob Myers: “we have the aptitude, we need the attitude”

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By Gabe Schapiro

In the final session in a series of Golden State Warriors players and staff being made available to the media, today general manager Bob Myers sat down to answer some questions.

A basic principle that Myers kept coming back to was the simple idea of working hard and success being a natural result. One of the first things he said to the gathered press was a Thomas Edison quote to illustrate the personal and organizational philosophy, “opportunity is often missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Elements of that idea entered into his answer for several questions that followed.

Among them was his answer about what to expect from the team this year. It was addressed yesterday by coach Mark Jackson, and has been a hot topic ever since the team made the splash signing of Andre Iguodala. With the season approaching and the excitement building, Myers’ answer, similar to Jackson’s, was based more in a fundamental idea of leaving it all on the court, and not in a number of wins. “It’s a razor’s edge between winning and losing. To define a goal and say if we don’t do this or that we’re not going to have a successful year, it isn’t the right way to analyze our success and what our goals should be. We should leave the season knowing that we did everything that we could to be successful.” He continued, “we have the aptitude. We need the attitude. We have the talent, but we have to work hard, and make sure we get everything we can out of that talent.”

Despite avoiding any kind of exclamation about a certain number of wins, it shouldn’t be mistaken that their ultimate goal is to win a championship. “The ultimate goal is to win the whole thing. That’s what you play for. You don’t go play anything and think, ‘well second, third, fourth, that would be fine.”

It’s pretty clear what their internal expectations are, but the external expectations from fans and the media can apply a different kind of pressure. It’s a pressure, however, that Myers welcomes. “Expectations are new, I think, for this organization in some capacity, but all of the good organizations have expectations. It is where you want to be…we’re in a place where we think we deserve those expectations.”

Beyond the overall team goals, Myers also covered what to expect from certain players, and how they have been looking during unofficial workouts. It’s no surprise that much of the emphasis continued to be on possibly their two most important players, Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry.

Regarding Bogut, Myers concurred with the many reports that he is looking very good. He described him as “the player we envisioned when we traded for him. This is the player that if you follow the NBA you would have seen three or four years ago.”

In explaining the differences from what we saw last season, Myers delved into the mental side of the game, and how much of an impact injuries can have.  “He is just happier. It’s almost like you had an injury or a toothache that was there for a year, and all of a sudden it’s gone. You just feel better. You interact with people better, and it translates in your play.”

He had very similar sentiments about Curry. “I think he just feels good, his ankle feels good. A lot of the time when you’re injured or sore you don’t want to test your limits…If they’re not thinking about an injury, they’re probably playing better.”

Myers also talked a little about a couple of the Warriors young European newcomers, Nemanja Nedovic, the Warriors most recent first round pick, and Ognjen Kuzmic, a second round selection from 2012.

On Nedovic, Myers gave a brief description of what he has seen from him. “He was a little inconsistent which is normal for a young player, but he did show some flashes against some high level competition.” He went on to say that with the kind of depth the roster has heading into camp, it will be difficult for him to earn himself many minutes right off the bat, but that one way or another they will make sure he’s playing. “If we’re not finding minutes for him…then we’ll probably put him in Santa Cruz. Our philosophy as an organization, we all believe that you aren’t getting better at basketball unless you’re playing basketball. We’re big believers and proponents of the D league.”

For Kuzmic the biggest news was that they are still working on buying out his contract with his European club, but they are expecting that to be resolved by next week. He will be guaranteed a roster spot.

Finally, to wrap up his media session, Myers touched on the issues of managing players minutes, and who the starting five will be.

Last year, because of a lack of depth, in part due to some injuries, the Warriors really ended up leaning pretty hard on certain players. The hope heading into this season is that they’ve compiled enough depth to spread the minutes around more to preserve their key assets. “You get caught up in winning, that’s why minutes get up there… You could almost justify having a guy like Curry in there the whole game, he’s that good. But that’s not the best thing for the team long term. The nice thing we think, we hope, about this roster is that we’ve got options where you don’t have to go 40 plus minutes.”

The current roster has six players on it who were starters last year, meaning one is going to be relegated to sixth man duties. Myers had a simple answer; it’s a good problem to have. “It’s better to have six or seven guys who can start than only two, right?” He continued, “I think if you look at the teams who competed for a championship this year, the Spurs and the Heat, they both had some very good players coming off of the bench, whoever that may be for us….so to win at the highest level you might need 6, 7 guys who can start. Hopefully that’s what we have.”

For nailing down which players fill what roles, again Myers had a simple answer. “I fully trust his [Mark Jackson’s] judgment on that, I think we all do.”

Stumbling 49ers look to recover against Rams

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By Gabe Schapiro

For the first time in the Jim Harbaugh era the San Francisco 49ers (1-2) are below .500, and will be looking to right the ship in a short week this Thursday against the St. Louis Rams (1-2) at the Edward Jones Dome.

Last week the 49ers suffered their second consecutive loss, another first since Harbaugh came aboard. They weren’t just beaten, they were beaten decisively, 27-7 against the Indianapolis Colts. What was expected to be a slightly easier task coming off a shellacking at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks turned into another ugly showing. In the first quarter running back Kendall Hunter punched in a 13-yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven. That would be all that San Francisco could muster, however, as the Colts would pile on 20 more unanswered points.

The 49ers enter week four with many more questions than answers. Ever since an electric opening win, they have struggled mightily, getting out-scored 57-10.

Their offense seems to be suffering from a lack of weapons more than most expected, with top wideouts Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham sidelined, and an inexperienced group playing behind Anquan Boldin on the depth chart. Tight end Vernon Davis has been limited at times thanks to a hamstring injury. Old reliable, Frank Gore, finally seemed to have something going against the Colts before inexplicably being removed from the game plan, finishing the game with just 11 carries. Finally, Colin Kaepernick’s frustration seems to be growing as he attempts to navigate his lack of options. Despite the blazing start to his career, he also may just simply not be quite as polished as everyone had hoped yet, as defenses now have much more film of him to work with and prepare.

Also concerning are the 49ers problems on the defensive side of the ball, which was expected to be their calling card as it has been over the past couple of seasons. They aren’t getting as much pressure on opposing QBs, and aren’t forcing as many turnovers as they have been famous for. To make matters worse, the defensive unit has been hit with injury and controversy. Aldon Smith’s much publicized DUI has led to him being placed on the reserve/NFI list, and it is unknown how long it will be until he is able to return to the field. In last weeks contest star linebacker Patrick Willis injured his groin, and while he is reportedly hopeful that he will be able to play Thursday, it doesn’t sound as if it is likely.

In the Rams San Francisco will be facing a team that is coming off of a similarly rough loss, 31-7, at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. It is a young and improving team, however, that does have some talent. The team is led by fourth-year starter Sam Bradford, who despite last weeks loss is having a strong season. His primary weapons are Chris Givens, rookie Tavon Austin, Austin Pettis, and Jared Cook. Through three games they have the 18th ranked offense, and the 26th ranked defense.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the 49ers need to tweak, but they need to make adjustments quickly. Unfortunately for them, being featured on Thursday night means they have a short week to do it. Another loss to an intra-division opponent would put them, at best, alone in third place. It’s a long season, and they do have time to turn things around, but for a team that entered the year with such high expectations, the trends are certainly concerning.

Mark Jackson: “we’re not satisfied with last year”

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By Gabe Schapiro

With just a few days until official practices start Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson took some time to answer questions for the media.

Following an exciting playoff run and an eventful offseason, Jackson’s overall tone was calm, cool, and collected. He was confident but not brash, and early on established that “we’re not satisfied with last year.”

The number that is, or was, written in the locker room as the team’s wins goal this season has gotten some attention recently, but it is no longer there. “Yeah, I erased it,” Jackson said with a chuckle, continuing more seriously, “if you put that up there it’s a target. I don’t want any limits. That could be a great number or it could be a number where you’re putting a ceiling on us.” Predictably, Jackson refused to discuss any numbers, but more abstractly set his goal that if they “end our season with the tank on empty, we’ll be extremely satisfied by what takes place.”

Jackson was asked about last years team flying under the radar, a concept he took some offense to, reasoning, “I think it’s doing a disservice to our players to say that at some point we caught people by surprise. No, we’re a very good basketball team.” Adding that even if that may have happened in the past, that given last years success and the splashes they made over the offseason, now “we’re not going to sneak up on anybody that’s for sure.”

He offered some updates on how some players are recovering and how others have progressed since last year. Early reports from the voluntarily workouts that have been taking place over the past few weeks were that center Andrew Bogut has looked impressive, and Jackson confirmed. “It’s accurate that he’s looking very good, you can tell by the smile on my face.” Last season Bogut missed a lot of time early in the year, and even when in the lineup was frequently on minutes restrictions and just didn’t look like the player that many fans had been accustomed to seeing. Jackson was happy to report “for the first time in a long time, there are no restrictions on him.” It can’t be understated just how valuable a fully healthy Bogut could mean to this Warriors squad.

Stephen Curry and his at times worrisome ankles are also holding up well. He has had no setbacks thus far, and Jackson went so far as to offer up an entertaining anecdote about Curry matching up against Kent Bazemore during workouts. “He’s making moves and making plays where I want to pull Kent Bazemore aside and have prayer with him for a moment. Steph is that good right now.”

During last years playoffs, following David Lee’s injury, Golden State tried and had a lot of success playing Harrison Barnes at power forward. Jackson touched on the immense amount of versatility this roster offers him, and while he wouldn’t specify on how often he intends to use what combinations, he did report that Barnes has bulked up over the summer. “Barnes has gotten bigger, stronger, he plays with an edge. Today he has a body where he can play against power forwards. Physically he can handle it.” Given his athletic ability and how well he handled his rookie season, a bulked up Barnes could present even more headaches for opposing teams.

Towards the end of the 30 or so minutes he spent talking, he was asked about his contract. A couple of months ago the Warriors picked up the team option on Jackson’s contract, giving him two more guaranteed years, rather than discussing a long-term, more lucrative deal. Jackson quickly dismissed the situation as “not a concern.” “At the end of the day that’s going to take care of itself.” Adding at the end, “I look forward to being here for quite a while.”

Over the past few months there has been almost nothing but good news coming out of Golden State’s headquarters, and today was much of the same.

Iguodala press conference highlights; “we have high expectations”

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By Gabe Schapiro

This afternoon new Warrior Andre Iguodala was made available to the media for questions, during which he covered everything from his expectations for this years squad to his sons favorite San Francisco 49er (Colin Kaepernick, for those wondering).

Earlier this offseason Stephen Curry revealed that the team has a wins goal for next season that is written in the locker room, and that the number “starts with a five.” When asked about this goal, Iguodala responded that he has “high expectations for us,” but that he “won’t say too much about wins. I would rather fly under the radar.”

While the buzz would still likely qualify as under the radar, for one of the few times over the last 20 years Golden State begins a season with legitimate playoff hopes and beyond. Iguodala was asked about how that changes preparation, to which he said that it’s “a different type of focus. Everything you do is with a winning mentality.” Along those lines he said that during his career with the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets he has never been in camp this early, and that the workouts during the offseason were never this organized. It goes a long way towards establishing a “sense of team,” and “building a foundation.”

As that foundation is being built, Iguodala spent a fair amount of time discussing how he has begun fitting in to this new environment, on and off the court. Off of it he said that he has played with a lot of good character guys and with pretty cohesive rosters, but that it has been “even easier with this team.”

On the court, known for his suburb defensive ability, he was asked about adjusting to the Warriors defensive strategies compared to what he was used to in Denver. He responded “it’s not much different” and that it makes for an easy transition because “there are some defensive principles that don’t change. There is no gray area, it’s just plain black and white.”

In regards to the impact he had on a vastly improved Nuggets defense last year, Iguodala remarked bluntly “I would say I had a lot to do with it. I had a lot of responsibility.” He continued that in general “I don’t get enough credit for what I brought to some teams.” He touched on the fact that he will be guarding the opposing teams best player most nights, which was a task issued to Klay Thompson much of the time last season. He said that Thompson is “a better defender than people think,” and that he looks forward to being able to help “take the pressure off of Klay. Let him do more work offensively.”

On the offensive side of his game, he again voiced that the adjustments he has to make are minimal. “If anything to just be more aggressive. Go into an attack style.” His ability to drive the ball and be that aggressive playmaker should open up a lot of looks for the dynamic backcourt of Curry and Thompson. On the topic of having those options Iguodala said, half jokingly, “that will be a little stressful. It’s hard to pick one, both can knock it down.” He added that he is “planning on some high assist nights.”

It was all good news from Golden State’s new swingman, as he seems to be fitting in perfectly. It should be noted, however, for anyone who hasn’t already gotten the public service announcement, don’t call him Iggy, “I’ve never liked to be called Iggy.” More creative and fitting nicknames are sure to come for what appears to be a very exciting group. Expectations are high for this club, and they have the expectations of themselves to match.

49ers look to rebound against Colts after sobering loss

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By Gabe Schapiro

Last week the San Francisco 49ers (1-1) were hit with a reality check in the form of the vaunted Seattle Seahawks squad. This Sunday they will look to regain their composure when they face off with the Indianapolis Colts (1-1) at 1:25 PM, back home at Candlestick Park. The Colts are a considerably easier task, but they are a young and improving bunch that can’t be underestimated either.

In what was expected to be an intense dog fight between two division rivals, last weeks matchup was ultimately dominated by the Seahawks, who sent the 49ers packing with a decisive 29-3 victory. The game remained close up until the third quarter where Seattle began to pull away, and the fourth quarter where they hammered the win home. Against what may be the best defensive unit in the league, the San Francisco offense couldn’t get anything going. In uncharacteristic fashion the 49ers turned the ball over five times, with Colin Kaepernick being responsible for four of them (three interceptions, one fumble). The bright sides were few and far between, but Kaepernick did manage to make a few good runs after last week primarily relying on his arm, rookie safety Eric Reid hauled in his second interception in two games, and overall the defense held up better than the 29 points allowed would indicate.

While it may be hard to remember after an ugly outing like that one, the 49ers remain one of the most talented teams in the league. The Seahawks may present problems in the future, but for now they need to set their sights squarely on the incoming Colts.

Indianapolis is coming off of a close loss to the Miami Dolphins, 24-20. They are led by sophomore quarterback and former first overall pick Andrew Luck. He is young but in many ways plays with wisdom beyond his years. His primary weapons are Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, Colby Fleener, and running back Ahmad Bradshaw. Through two games their offense is right in the middle of the pack, tied for 15th in the NFL in yards. On the defensive side of the ball they have struggled a bit, ranking 23rd.

While the Colts present an easier task, unfortunately San Francisco will be heading into the matchup having to deal with a few of fresh injuries.

In last weeks loss the previously mentioned Reid suffered a concussion in the second quarter. It is not initially believed to be serious, but with concussions it is hard to know for sure. He will need to pass the NFL’s concussion protocol before being allowed to practice and play again. Should he have to miss any games, Craig Dahl will replace him in the starting lineup.

Star tight end Vernon Davis suffered what is currently being called a hamstring strain, but he is still undergoing further testing to assess the severity of the injury. It is not yet known if he will be able to play this weekend, but if he can’t rookie second round pick Vance McDonald will likely be asked to take on a larger roll in the offense.

More seriously, starting nose tackle Ian Williams suffered a broken ankle in the first quarter, and has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Glenn Dorsey, signed this past offseason from the Kansas City Chiefs, will be starting, and played well last week in relief of Williams.

All three potential losses to the lineup are concerning, but thankfully the 49ers have better depth than most, and should be able to adjust accordingly.

This week look for San Francisco to try and re-establish their offense early and often. After an electrifying opener from the likes of Kaepernick and Anquan Boldin, both were almost entirely held in check by the Seahawks. In addition, Frank Gore has yet to really get it going this year, but he will now be facing a Colts defense who has allowed the fourth most rushing yards during this young season.

Game Notes: The 49ers have signed FB Owen Marecic, formerly of the Cleveland Browns….Aldon Smith has 3.5 sacks through two games, leading the team…Eric Reid has both of the teams interceptions.