Category: NFL

Four Keys to a 49ers Victory Against the Buccaneers

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By: Joe Lami

The bye week has come and gone for the San Francisco 49ers, but they still have winnable games ahead, including this Sunday against the 3-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay has been a similar train wreck. Inconsistency at the quarterback position has doomed them with Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick sharing the duties.

Winston will get the start Sunday after winning his job back (yet again) after Sunday’s comeback win against the Giants. But he hasn’t been great, completing 65% of his passes for 1,380 yards and eight touchdowns. The problem has been taking care of the ball, with 11 interceptions and five fumbles.

Here are my four keys to a 49ers victory against the Buccaneers:

Takeaways
With Tampa’s inability to take care of the ball, it’s time for the defense to shine. San Francisco has the league’s worst takeaway total thus far, with just five on the season. This week needs to be the turnaround week for a mediocre defense that can’t make the play to get them off the field. Tampa Bay has given the ball away league-worst 29 times.

Tampa’s defense also doesn’t get takeaways either, with just six on the season. Their -23 differential is the only the one worse than San Francisco’s -15.

In a game that’s sure to be sloppy, winning the turnover battle is a must.

Injuries
Coming off of the bye week gives San Francisco a fighting chance to finally get healthy. Matt Breida has been battling a nagging ankle injury all season long and could have a great second half to the season if he can remain healthy. He was not listed on the team’s injury report as of Friday.

Reuben Foster also saw limited practice earlier in the week and could make a key return to the middle linebacking spot for the 49ers, after sitting out since Week 9 with a hamstring issue.

Pierre Garcon didn’t practice on Wednesday but remains hopeful on making a key return.

Game Plan
Nick Mullens will be making his third career start on Sunday. In his debut, he torched the Raiders en route to an easy win. However, he struggled more against the Giants, throwing 250 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. The key difference was the game plan.

Against the Raiders, he was making quick and timely decisions. Most of the play calls had him managing the game and not taking huge risks. Against the Giants, they tried to take more risks down the field and it didn’t work. Receivers couldn’t get open for him and he was unable to move the ball effectively.

Return to what worked against the Raiders on offense.

The defensive play calling has also been suspect under Robert Saleh. The 49ers hardly blitzed against a Giants team two weeks ago that was averaging four sacks surrendered a game. They thought their front four could bring enough pressure, but that didn’t work, sacking Eli Manning only once.

Tampa Bay is another struggling team. Be more aggressive on defense. Make the Buccaneers make some plays. The 49ers secondary isn’t good enough to create coverage sacks. Don’t get beat because you’re scared, get beat because you went down swinging.

Also, adapt. It appears both coaches are terrible at adapting in-game and can’t recognize what’s being given to them. This season may be lost, but when the 49ers have a team talented enough to win games, adapting mid game is crucial.

Get Going Early
The early body clock games have seemed to always have been a nightmare for San Francisco. Since 2015, the Niners are 3-13 for the 10 am PST kickoff. Two of the wins have come under Shanahan, but only when he had Garoppolo. A fast start is necessary for a team that has always struggled with the early kickoff.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Tomlinson hasn’t missed a snap for the last two seasons; 49ers, Bucs–two last place teams battle it out Sunday

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sfchronicle.com photo: Laken Tomlinson #75 of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field after defeating the Oakland Raiders 34-3 in their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on November 1, 2018 in Santa Clara, California.

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 49ers left guard Laken Tomlinson is nothing short of incredible– dedicated hard working, practices hard, plays hard, but most significantly, Tomlinson has not missed a single snap this season–all 666.

#2 Tomlinson will be entering this Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay, playing all ten consecutive games and playing in his second season without missing a game.

#3 Tomlinson said he wants to be there for his teammates and not disappoint and support his teammates.

#4  Tomlinson also ranks third in the NFL for rushing per game at 133.6 per game.

#5 The 49ers (2-8), last in the NFC West, are in Tampa Bay this Sunday playing the NFC South’s last place Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-7).

Joe does the 49ers podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers hope to rebound on Sunday

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By: Jeremy Harness

After suffering a tough loss a week and a half ago against the lowly New York Giants, the 49ers will get back on the field Sunday afternoon and hope to get things back on track.

This time, they will travel across the country as they will face the 3-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that has had more than its fair share of issues after a promising start, such is the case with the 49ers.

The Buccaneers and the 49ers have one thing in common that they both have lost to the Giants, as Tampa Bay fell to them last Sunday. The big difference is that while the 49ers have been wrecked by injuries at key positions, the Bucs have been derailed by underperformance across the board.

For example, The Bucs have a mess on their hands at quarterback. The team’s regular starter for the past few years has been Jameis Winston, but he has been plagued by off-the-field issues, which caused his two-game suspension to start the season, as well as overall bad play this season. On the other hand, they have Ryan Fitzpatrick, who started in Winston’s place to begin the year and performed remarkably well but has been wildly inconsistent since then, forcing the team to go back to Winston to regain the spark that they had many games ago, only to watch the former No. 1 overall pick fizzle out.

But there’s more. Winston has a fifth-year team option worth $20.9 million that would be guaranteed if he is not considerably healthy by this March. However, if he is still healthy by that point, the team can let him walk via free agency.

Meanwhile, the 49ers were without guard Joshua Garnett, who had surgery on his broken thumb last Tuesday and did not practice Wednesday. Also missing practice was receiver Pierre Garcon (knee) and tackle Joe Staley (rest). The good news is that receiver Marquise Goodwin returned to practice after missing Monday’s practice, and he has been plagues with assorted injuries throughout the season.

Among the significant injuries for the Buccaneers have been linebacker Lavonte David and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, and both missed Wednesday’s practice with knee injuries.

Raiders travel to the East Coast to face the Ravens

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Photo credit: reviewjournal.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders hit the road once again as they will travel East to take on a tough Baltimore Ravens team to close out Thanksgiving Weekend. The Week 12 matchup will mark the fourth consecutive year that the two teams have clashed, with Oakland winning two of the last three contests, including a thrilling 28-27 victory in 2016 at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore won last year’s meeting 30-17 in Oakland.

Kickoff for the 11th meeting is this Sunday, Nov. 25 at 10:00 a.m. PT. The Ravens lead the all-time series, 7-3.

Last week, the Raiders (2-8) defeated the Arizona Cardinals 23-21 at State Farm Stadium.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr earned his 15th career fourth quarter comeback, engineering an impressive 9-play, 63-yard drive in the final minutes of the game, capped off by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson’s 35-yard game-winning field goal through the uprights as time expired.

The win snapped Oakland’s five-game losing streak and more importantly, shinned a little light on what has been a dark season for the Silver and Black with the losses mounting up week after week.

Carr finished the game completing 19-of-31 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions with a 100.6 passer rating. His two touchdowns against the Cardinals moved him past Rich Gannon (114) for third on the club’s all-time list with 115, trailing only Daryle Lamonica (148) and Ken Stabler (150).

For Carlson, his three made field goals on the day from 49 (career-long), 21, and 35 yards (first career game-winner) earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. His 11 points (two made extra points) were also a career-high and were the most among kickers in the AFC in Week 11.

Defensively, cornerback Gareon Conley and safety Karl Joseph each recorded an interception that led to touchdowns on ensuing drives, and rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst tallied a sack for the second consecutive week, bringing his total to four on the season and elevating him to second among rookie defenders in the NFL.

After coming of their bye week, the Ravens defeated their AFC North rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals 24-21 in Week 11 at M&T Bank Stadium snapping their three-game losing streak.

Baltimore’s offense was paced by two rookies in quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Gus Edwards.

Jackson did throw one interception in the game, but showed why he was a dual-threat quarterback at Louisville, completing 13-of-19 passes for 150 yards and rushing for 119 yards on 26 carries (team-high) in his first career start in place of franchise quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco was inactive for last week’s game due to a injured hip.

Edwards, an undrafted rookie from Rutgers University, rushed for a career-high 115 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will return home for two weeks to take on two first-place teams in the AFC, as they will host their AFC West rivals the Kansas City Chiefs (9-2) in Week 13, and the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2-1) in Week 14.

The Ravens (5-5) who trail the Steelers in the AFC North, hit the road for back-to-back games against the Atlanta Falcons (4-6) in Week 13 and the Chiefs in Week 14.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Rams-Chiefs set record for the ages; Will Warriors get back to normal?

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On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 Former Cal football quarterback Jared Goff had himself an evening on Monday Night Football in a razor close game against the Kansas City Chiefs a game for the ages as the LA Rams defeated the Chiefs 54-51 in the highest scoring game in MNF history. Goff passed for 413 yards, four touchdowns, and rushed for a touchdown.

#2 The Warriors, who have lost three straight games, and open a four-game homestand on Wednesday night. Is there concern about how they’ll fare as all the talk has been about the dissension on the team as to why this team is untracked?

#3 San Francisco Giants Team president Farhan Zaidi is still in his get to know you mode. Zaidi is still getting to know the players and front office staff is going through resumes and recommendation letters and emails for who he will decide to find as the new GM for the Giants.

#4 In a meeting this week during practice at the San Francisco 49ers (2-8), head coach Kyle Shanahan made it very clear to his players that their jobs were on the line and they had better get it together soon as the team prepares for their next game in Tampa Bay this Sunday after coming off a Monday Night Football loss on Nov. 12th to the New York Giants.

#5 The Oakland Raiders (2-8) lend a great deal of credit to their running backs, who carried for scores and yards, to help the Raiders in their razor close win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday 23-21. The two running backs of record to get some nice pats on the back Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington, who both combined for 84 yards and 20 carries in the Raiders’ win.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Can Raiders carry that good win feeling into Baltimore this Sunday?

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Photo credit: raiderswire.usatoday.com

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe:

#1 The Oakland Raiders win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday certainly brightened thing up for the Raiders and ended their five-game losing streak in Arizona last Sunday.

#2 The Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and head coach Jon Gruden had a sideline disagreement. It was just one of those things.

#3 The Raiders battled back to catch the Cardinals. Will this be a fixture of their work ethic?

#4 Joe tells us about kicker Daniel Carlson’s game-winning field goal last Sunday and what it means to the team.

#5 The Raiders try to keep it going in Baltimore this Sunday against the Ravens. Joe tells us how he sees this matchup.

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Oakland Raiders podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Can Mullens seal the deal against Tampa Bay Sunday after close game with New York?

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Photo credit: @MattBreida

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with David:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers (2-8), coming off last Sunday’s bye, gave the club a week to lick their wounds and recover from their loss to the New York Giants (3-7) 27-23 from Nov. 12th on Monday Night Football where quarterback Nick Mullens threw 27-39, 250 yards, for one touchdown, and two interceptions.

#2 Are there options for the 49ers if they landed the number one pick for 2019?

Join David each week for the 49ers podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Late field goal lifts Raiders past Cardinals 23-21

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, November 18, 2018

A 35-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with time expiring in the fourth quarter lifted the Oakland Raiders to a 23-21 come-from-behind win over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday in an interconference game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

With 5:02 to play in the fourth, the Cardinals (2-8) surged ahead 21-20 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Josh Rosen to veteran Larry Fitzgerald.

In the third quarter, Oakland (2-8) snapped a 14-14 halftime deadlock on 49- and 21-yard field goals by Carlson.

The Raiders opened the scoring at 12:36 of the first quarter when Derek Carr found Jared Cook for a 23-yard touchdown. Arizona tied the game six minutes later when Fitzgerald snared an 18-yard scoring pass from Rosen.

Rosen’s 59-yard TD pass to Christian Kirk gave the Cardinals a 14-7 lead with :16 to go in the first quarter. Oakland tied the game at 8:20 on Carr’s 5-yard scoring pass to Brandon LaFell.

David Johnson led Arizona with a game-high 137 rushing yards on 25 carries, including a run of 53 yards. Kirk caught three passes for 77 yards, and both of Fitzgerald’s receptions went for touchdowns.

Rosen completed 9 of 20 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns, was picked off once and sacked once.

Carr completed 19 of 31 passes for 192 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked four times.

Oakland is 24th in team rushing yards and did little to change that. Jalen Richard led the Raider ballcarriers with 61 rushing yards on 11 carries, followed by Doug Martin with 52 yards on 10 attempts.

Seven different Raiders caught passes from Carr – Marcell Aleman and Seth Roberts each caught four, Richard and Cook each had three receptions, LaFell and Lee Smith each grabbed two passes and Martin had one. Aleman led Oakland with 50 reception yards.

Defensively for Oakland, Tahir Whitehead seven total tackles, Karl Joseph had an interception, and Maurice Hurst recorded a sack.

Next week, the Raiders travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. PST.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Can Shanahan and team hold a halftime lead?

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nbcsports.com photo: San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has a bye week to try and figure out how to hold onto a lead they play in Tampa Bay Nov 25th#1 The San Francisco 49ers dropped their third game with a halftime lead. What’s it going to take for San Francisco to hold a lead at the half?

#2 This loss was the sixth time that San Francisco has lost a fourth quarter lead under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

#3 The 49ers couldn’t overcome the New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning, who threw for his 36th comeback of his career.

#4 Finishing games has been a problem for Shanahan since he dropped a Super Bowl loss.

#5 The 49ers have the bye this week and this gives Shanahan time to contemplate how to finish a game. 

Joe Lami does the San Francisco 49ers podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers Bye Week Notes: “Finishing” the Season Strong

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Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

By: Joe Lami

The 49ers have thankfully made it to the bye week after a disastrous start to the season fueled by injuries. With a 2-8 record, they’re once again lined up for a top pick in the draft. However, the 2019 Draft isn’t as sexy as last 2018’s, with just a handful of offensive skilled positions projected to go in the first round.

The Niners are slated to take a defensive player to bolster the edge rushing, linebacking core, or secondary. This year is the perfect draft for that with a plethora of options to choose from in the first round. In Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft, 21 of the top 25 players on the board play defense.

With just six games remaining, the 49ers need to find a way to “finish” games, something that has been a staple of Kyle Shanahan pressers all season long. One can attribute that to the lack of talent on the roster. That argument is justifiable, but it goes beyond that.

Three blown fourth-quarter leads this season, and six blown halftime leads in his tenure as San Francisco’s head coach, more blame needs to be placed on Shanahan. He needs to learn how to manage games better with the talent that he has and not expose his team to the dramatic failure it has been down the wire.

He needs to prove that once the talent gets there, he is the right man for the job. He couldn’t protect a 28-point lead in the sport’s biggest stage before he came to San Francisco, he’s not protecting leads now, what gives the Faithful confidence in the future?

With games against the Bucs, Broncos, Seahawks (x2), Bears, and Rams left, it’s safe to say that half of the games should be close. A combined 22-25 opponent record on the horizon, it’s time for this team and this regime to learn how to win.

Screw the ultra-high draft pick, learn how to finish.