Category: NFL

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: York says blame rests squarely on his shoulders

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by Joe Lami

photo credit: sfgate.com 49ers CEO Jed York at press conference announcing firing of head coach Jim Tomsula

SANTA CLARA–We have rarely seen 49ers CEO Jed York step up to the podium and address the media and he’s stepped back from speaking this season. He mentioned that and in effect he doesn’t want to be a distraction to this team so what he’s deciding to do is he’s taking a step back.

He mentioned that he would step back on social media, if you remember York a few years back before this terrible season the 49ers had we saw York talk a lot. Today was the first time we got to speak to York and he addressed the fans right off the bat by apologizing that this season was unacceptable.

York takes the blame and he’s trying to get this team back to a Super Bowl winning team. York also mentioned that he’s keeping general manager Trent Baalke on as team general manager. Which raises a very interesting question why would Baalke remain on? When you look at Baalke’s draft picks and how York used this that this would be an important picks.

Listen to the rest of Joe’s podcast click on below right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Message to the Fans From York

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By: Joe Lami

photo credit: buschleaguesports.com 49ers CEO Jed York

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—

49ers’ owner Jed York spoke with the media for the first time in over a year on Monday morning at Levi’s Stadium. Once again, it was to discuss the termination of a head coach, as the 49ers reported late Sunday night that Jim Tomsula won’t be continuing as the head coach.

York begun the conference by thanking and apologizing to the fans for going through the difficult times, “this season was difficult on multiple levels. We took a step back towards a goal of winning a super bowl.”. York also acknowledged the criticism that he’s faced from the fans, whether it be from social media or even the banners that were being flown over the stadium.

He went on to say that he understands his role as the owner of the 49ers and that he has taken a step backwards with communicating via social media and he shouldn’t be a distraction to the team.

The most important step moving forward will be choosing a new coach for the 49ers. York confirmed on Monday that General Manager Trent Balke will remain on and will be in charge of choosing the next head coach. This seems to be different because with the initial hiring of Tomsula, it appeared to be solely York’s decision. By taking this step back, he is getting out of the way and allowing football minds make the football decisions, a criticism that hit him hard this year.

York appeared to have also shown that Balke might be on his final string by indicating how important the upcoming draft is with the seventh overall selection San Francisco will have. With Balke’s previous draft record, one has to question with he’s up for such a high task, but York is giving him on final chance mentioning that he has taken us there before and he can do it again.

While York didn’t want to tip his hand too much on what San Francisco will be looking for, he mentioned the obvious in finding a leader and a general that can lead a team to winning a Super Bowl. When it was brought up that the 49ers seemed to have a coach with these qualities in Jim Harbaugh, York danced around that question. York also mentioned that the 49ers do have a short list on possible candidates they will contact and that the media is free to speculate.

Chiefs beat Raiders to end season

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photos Kansas Chiefs Charcandrick breaks tackle of Oakland Raiders Ben Heeney Sun 1-3-16

After starting the 2015 season with a 1-5 record, things looked bleak for the Kansas City Chiefs, but something changed in that game.

Jeremy Maclin caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith to get the Chiefs on the board on their way to a 23-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.

After forcing the Raiders on their next drive, the Chiefs complied a 12-play, 87-yard drive that ended when Spencer Ware scored to make it 14-0.

This was the 10th straight victory for the Chiefs, who head to the playoffs and will face the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Saturday.

Derek Carr finished with 194 yards passing, giving him 3,987 yards on the season. Latavius Murray was held to just 31 yards rushing.

David Amerson intercepted a Smith pass and took to it back 24 yards to cut the Chiefs lead down to 14-10.

The Chiefs added a safety after blocking a Marquette King punt thought the end zone to push the lead up to six.

Michael Crabtree scored the final touchdown of the season for the Raiders when he scored on a 31-yard pass from Carr.

This proved to be the final game of Charles Woodson’s 18-year career, as he ended his career in the same stadium where it began back in September of 1998.

Tomsula Focused On The Players, But His Time Seems to Be Up

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: blackssportsonline.com 49ers are expected to be making a decision on 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula in a Monday press conference

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–After a meaningless overtime win over the St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula maintained that he wants to keep the dialogue focused on the players, not “Jim’s job status.” But with rumors that his receiving a pink slip from Jed York is imminent, it’s hard not to look forward to who will be the next puppet coach in Santa Clara.

Tomsula reiterated that he has not yet talked to ownership, something he doesn’t expect to do until “the season is over.” Additionally, there is no word yet that a meeting has been scheduled with ownership.

Tomsula kept the focus on the players in his post-game press conference: “I have a group of players that just won a football game. They’ve been through a very tough season, they’ve stuck together, they won a game in overtime and fought like crazy. Today is all about those players. My job status and anything going forward from there can be handled during the rest of the week.”

 

But to everyone else in the building, it’s painfully obvious that it’s Tomsula’s time to go. Tomsula is a well-meaning man, but never was worthy of an NFL head coaching job. That shone clear again on Sunday, when Tomsula opted to not to kick a field goal from the 37-yard line, well within 49ers’ kicker Phil Dawson’s range, in a tie game with just over a minute and a half left to play.

Tomsula blamed it on the wind that was going against him, but it appeared to be going the opposite direction, and with little force, at that. The decision was just a microcosm of a disaster of a 5-11 season for the Niners’ first-year head coach, who will likely go one-and-done. With all of the hardship Niners fans have had to endure this season, someone has to be the scapegoat for owner Jed York — and it’s not going to be his general manager, Trent Baalke, who had survived two previous firings.

But moving forward (as the 49ers overwhelmingly will), the Niners will have a plethora of options to choose from to replace Tomsula. Recently fired Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly is rumored to be an option, although it’s unclear whether his offensive style and strong-willed nature would mesh well with York’s need for control. Once again, former Broncos and Redskins’ coach Mike Shanahan has been connected with the job as well, someone who the Niners passed over previously.

In my mind, the most likely rumor would be Sean Payton, who is likely to be fired by the New Orleans Saints. He’s become a little more muted since the “Bountygate” scandal and as a defensive coach, would be a great fit with San Francisco.

In spite of all of this talk, Tomsula still believes in his the character of his team. “That’s what is exciting to me,” Tomsula said Sunday. “A lot of you aren’t there to see it in practice, but that is one really good group of players. The intangibles in that locker room are where the San Francisco 49ers want to be.” Even if the talent isn’t there, on the field or the sidelines, Tomsula still “really believes” in his coaching staff and his players.

 

For Tomsula, football is “people. For anybody who talks about football, it’s the people that make up the game. There’s a lot of good people with the San Francisco 49ers.” He said he will “miss” the games this offseason.

Miss the games he will, but probably for another reason: because he won’t be a head coach in the National Football League.

 

49ers Hope to End Season on Highnote

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By: Joe Lami

The San Francisco 49ers’ season will come to an end this Sunday as they host the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Many questions are left up in the air about the future of the team, including if coach Jim Tomsula and GM Trent Balke will return in their roles. However, before the team can work on improvement for next year, they still have one more game to play.

After slow starts in every game this season, the 49ers’ offense looked alive in the first half last week in Detroit in which they were able to score 17. But a terrible second half was their demise in the 32-17 loss. They hope they can put together an entire 60-minutes of football against the Rams.

The Rams come into the contest 7-8 after stringing off three straight wins heading in and would love to finish the season with a.500 record.  Their chances look good, as the 4-11 Niners are banged up at nearly every major position. Make-shift running back Shaun Draughn has been ruled out for Sunday after he was placed on the season-ending IR. There is a question of the possibility that rookie back Mike Davis returns in his first game since early November where he broke his hand in the first game against the Rams.

St. Louis should rely heavily on rookie running back Todd Gurley, currently third in the league in rushing yards and my favorite to win the offensive rookie of the year award. In the first game against San Francisco, he ran for 133 yards on 20 carries for one score. It’s crucial for the Niners to stop him on Sunday if they want to prevent their first 0-6 division record since the league introduced the 16-week schedule.

Prediction: things won’t get better for the Niners and will need to re-examine everything in the franchise. Anquan Boldin will play in his last game in red and gold.

Rams 31 49ers 13

San Francisco 49ers podcast: Latest on 49ers coaching front ex-Eagle coach Chip Kelly could be next 49ers coach

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by David Zizmor

photo credit: inquisitor.com 49er head coach Jim Tomsula

SANTA CLARA–Will 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula return to the 49ers next season? That’s a tough question to answer that involves team CEO Jed York and team general manager Trent Baalke. Tomsula is the guy that they wanted all along and if you read enough articles and do a little digging on this it sounds like had former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh had not been available five years ago Tomsula would have been the head coach back then.

There is talk that former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly might be the next 49ers head coach and that Tomsula could get his walking papers despite inheriting a 49ers team that was roster gutted when former stars, Michael Crabtree, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Mike Iupati, Justin Smith, had left the club. Inspite of it all Tomsula is getting the blame and could be out and replaced by Kelly.

You might remember that former 49ers head coach Mike Singletary got fired in the end of the 2010 season and Tomsula coached the final game of that season. He won that final game and the players loved him and he was this great story as the guy who was wondering around the coaching community for years and years.

Everybody like him and he lived in his car and he kind of climbed his way up with perseverance and he became a respected line coach and here he is getting his chance to coach the 49ers in that one final game of the season and it didn’t seem like he was a long term coaching candidate but if you read into it it seems like Tomsula was on the short list to be the 49ers head coach back then.

David Zizmor did the 2015 49ers podcasts each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NFL Podcast with Tony Renteria: Eagles begin to look for new head coach; Tomsula expected to return next season at 49ers

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On the NFL podcast with Tony the Philadelphia Eagles after firing head coach Chip Kelly start their search for a new head coach according to team owner Jeffery Lurie. Lurie said that his search begins with a coach who can relate to the players as Kelly fell out of favor with the players in the end of his tenure.

The 49ers dismal season comes to an end on Sunday at Levis Stadium against the St.Louis Rams there has been many a discussion if the 49ers will retain the services of head coach Jim Tomsula who struggled to get this team righted. It looks likely that Tomsula will be back because his relationship with team general manager Trent Baalke and team CEO Jed York is tact.

photo credit: ESPN Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie press conference on coach Chip Kelly firing

Join Tony for these and more discussions on the NFL podcast right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Categories NFL

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Can someone step forward to stop the Raider move?

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by Joe Hawkes Beamon

photo credit: fedgeno.com Carson Stadium in Los Angeles potential new home for the Raiders

OAKLAND–January 13 and 14th are going to be huge days in Oakland football history that’s when the NFL is pretty much is going to decide the location future for the Raiders. It doesn’t look like the city of Oakland is going to come up with the funding to demonstrate to the NFL that they can stay and build a new stadium in Oakland.

It looks like the Raiders might stay at least one more year from the latest of our sources and after that we just don’t know what else it would be. It doesn’t look like there will be three teams end up playing in Los Angeles and it wouldn’t make any sense to have three teams in one market.

You could have two AFC teams and one NFC team, it’s up in the air and realignment would be just crazy if you do happen to have three teams in that one market. Two teams in one market in LA is adequate but if you have three your pretty much trying to do to much with that.

Joe Hawkes Beamon covered the 2015 Raiders with Jeremy Kahn at http://www.sportsradioservice

 

49ers score early, then disappear after halftime in loss to the Lions

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MegatronBy Morris Phillips

This time–perhaps infused with holiday enthusiasm–the 49ers showed up early, bringing touchdowns for their win-starved fan base.

But the good feelings didn’t last long. The 49ers were present and alert, and at times overly enthusiastic, but ultimately, they didn’t stay long enough to make a lasting impression.

Call it more of the same, remixed.

The 49ers took an early 14-10 lead, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter for the first time this season, only to collapse, gaining a paltry 57 yards in total offense after halftime in a 32-17 loss to the Lions at Detroit’s Ford Field.   The 49ers fell to 4-11 on the season with one home game remaining, insuring their worst showing in the won-loss column since 2007.

Blaine Gabbert did what Colin Kaepernick could not, leading the 49ers on an 11-play drive to start the game, capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass to Vance McDonald. As an answer to the team’s painfully slow starts, and repeated deficits on the scoreboard, this drive was an eye-opener.

Gabbert would go on to have his best afternoon of the season statistically, completing 22 of 33 for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Just one issue: Gabbert and the 49ers’ offense disappeared after halftime. Trailing 20-17 at the half, the 49ers ran just 20 plays in the second half, possessing the ball for less than three minutes of game time on each possession.

“We have to find a way to put a complete game together, and just execute at a higher level,” Gabbert said.

The Lions had been the 49ers’ ATM machine, losing nine straight regular season games, and 14 of 15 to San Francisco dating back to October 1988. But the Lions have made an about face after starting the season 0-5, winning five of nine coming in. That surge continued Sunday with much maligned Matthew Stafford connecting with his biggest targets, Calvin Johnson, Theo Riddick and Golden Tate, without committing his usual missteps.

Stafford finished 29 of 37 for 301 yards including touchdown passes to T.J. Jones and Johnson.

The 49ers elected to elevate Jarryd Hayne from the practice squad in a rotation with newly signed DuJuan Harris hoping the pair could bring electricity to the run game, and it also worked for a while. Harris proved to be shiftier than the injured Shaun Draughn, and Hayne put the physicality back in the run game that had missing since Carlos Hyde was felled. But that meant a couple of impressive runs for the pair, but little else.

Anquan Boldin caught five passes putting him past 1,000 catches in his career, making him only the 13th player in NFL history to amass that many catches. But Boldin didn’t catch any in the second half after his impressive start. Not surprisingly, history wasn’t what the veteran receiver was looking for.

“At this point, it doesn’t mean much. I’d much rather take the win,” Boldin said.

The 49ers committed 11 penalties for the second straight week, six of those offside calls on the defense.

Next week at Levi’s Stadium, the 49ers conclude their 2015 season against the Rams. If the 49ers lose that one, they’ll be saddled with a 0-6 record against the NFC West, a first for the club since 1977.

 

 

 

 

 

Raiders win in Woodson’s home finale

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By Jeremy Kahn

photo credit: CBS Sports & screengrabber.com Oakland Raiders Charles Woodson saying goodbye to Oakland crowd for last time

OAKLAND-On a night where the Oakland Raiders were playing the final home game of Charles Woodson’s 18-year NFL career, the Raiders won a thriller over their longtime rival, the San Diego Chargers.

Sebastian Janikowski hit a 31-yard field goal on the Raiders only series of the overtime period, and the defense stopped the Chargers on fourth and 3 to win the game 23-20 in overtime at the Coliseum.

Woodson, who announced his retirement on Monday played one play on offense, but was tackled for a three-yard loss.

The overtime series for the Raiders included five penalties for the Raiders, but the biggest play of the overtime came when Denzel Perryman was called for unnecessary roughness after Michael Crabtree caught a Derek Carr pass. Prior to the Crabtree catch and subsequent Perryman penalty, the Raiders were staring a 2nd and 29 in the face.

“It was a great job there. Derek (Carr) made a couple of huge throws on that drive, a couple of big time catches on that drive. We had to overcome a few calls. I told him when he came off, I said, ‘Hey man, that was the game winner. Great job.’ Because he wanted the touchdown to end it right there. We’re going to stop right here.’ It was a great way to finish for sure,” said Jack Del Rio.

The Raiders were called for two offensive holdings and a false start before Carr found Crabtree for five yards, and then 15 yards were added on due to the Perryman penalty.

“I didn’t have the perfect look. The guys upstairs thought it was a clean. That’s a penalty, so we will live it,” said Chargers Head Coach Mike McCoy.

The big play in overtime was a Carr pass to Seth Roberts for 33 yards down to the Chargers 10-yard line.

Donald Brown gave the Chargers a 7-0 lead with 9:09 remaining in the first quarter, but the Raiders drove right down the field to tie the game, when Latavius Murraay scored from 22 yards out.

Carr went 23-for-38 for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception that came on the fifth play of the game.

The Chargers retook the lead, when Dontrelle Inman caught a seven-yard pass from Philip Rivers in the second quarter.

Janikowski nailed a 50-yard field goal to cut the Chargers lead down to 14-10, for his 52nd career field goal from 50-plus yards, tying former Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson for the most field goals from 50 yards or more.

With his two field goals on the night, Janikowski moved past former Kansas City Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery for the 10th most field goals in NFL history. The 16-year veteran out of Florida State now has 383 in his career.

Murray carried the ball 19 times for 79 yards, giving him 1,035 on the season, as the Raiders now have a 1,000 yard rusher in Murray, a 1,000 yard receiver in Amari Cooper and a 3,000 yard in Carr. This is the fourth time in team history that the Raiders have accomplished this feat and the first time since 2005, when Lamont Jordan, Randy Moss and Kerry Collins turned the feat.

The Raiders also accomplished it in 1997 with Napoleon Kaufman, Tim Brown and Jeff George, and then in 2000, with Tyrone Wheatley, Brown and Rich Gannon.

Josh Lambo gave the Chargers a seven-point going into the halftime break, as he nailed a 47-yard field goal.

The Raiders got two points back when Denico Autry sacked Rivers in the end zone for a safety.

After Marquette King pinned the Chargers on their 14-yard line after a 53-yard punt, the Chargers took the ball and began a time consuming drive that saw Lambo kick a 53-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 23-14 lead; however Khalil Mack was called for defensive holding, giving the Chargers another first down. With the series for the Chargers continuing, the Chargers drove some more down the field, but D.J. Fluker was called for offensive holding. Lambo missed a 48-yard field goal and the 7:38 drive was all for naught.

The Raiders went three-and-out, and the Chargers could have closed it out, but David Johnson stripped of the ball by Malcolm Smith and Benson Mayowa picked up the ball and rumbled down to the Chargers three-yard line.

Carr then found Crabtree from three yards out, and the subsequent two-point conversion gave the Raiders a three-point lead.

Lambo kicked a 45-yard field goal that tied up the game with 55 seconds remaining in regulation.

King ended regulation with a 65-yard punt.