49ers quarterback CJ Beathard’s brother murdered in double stabbing

photo from Nashville Police: Metro Nashvillle Police released this photo and asked the public for any information that would help identify the person of interest. A Rhodes College student and the brother of a San Francisco 49ers quarterback were fatally stabbed outside of a Nashville bar.

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA–San Francisco 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard’s brother Clayton Beathard, 22, and his friend Paul Trapeni III, 21, were both stabbed in their sides and later died after being rushed to a local Nashville hospital. The stabbing apparently was caused over a woman. Beathard and Trapeni were inside a midtown bar and went outside when the confrontation turned physical.

The suspect was identified as a student at Rhodes College, who is still at large. Clayton comes from a football family Clayton’s grandfather was a former NFL executive and Beathard is a current Niner quarterback.

Police said, “The fatal stabbings appear to have resulted from an argument over a woman that began inside Dogwood Bar and then turned physical when the parties went outside.”

No word from Beathard, the 49ers backup quarterback who is with the team playing the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday. Beathard could be leaving for Nashville right after tonight’s game.

Jeremy Harness is a 49ers analyst for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers preview: Rams Seek Revenge While Niners Need to Get On Track

file photo from 49erswebzone.com: 49ers corner Richard Sherman (left) and tight end George Kittle (right) pose for a selfie with fans

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — The Niners stumbled in a trap game, yet still, control their own destiny to the NFC one-seed. If they win out, they take the top seed. A loss to the Rams before the NFC West winner-take-all matchup with the Seahawks would give home-field to either Green Bay or New Orleans. Even with a loss this week, San Francisco would win the NFC West with a win in Seattle, thanks to a tiebreaker.

The importance of retaining the #1 seed is crucial for San Francisco. Three of the five 49ers’ Super Bowl victories came when they were the top-seed in the conference.

The good news for San Francisco is they are beginning to get healthier. Both Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams are set to return this Sunday after missing Sunday’s loss. The return of Sherman will be important to get him game time before next weekend’s gauntlet in Seattle. Guard, Mike Person is listed as questionable, fighting a neck injury. Jaquiski Tart (broken ribs) and Dee Ford (quad, hamstring) are listed as out.

The Niners will use this matchup against the Rams to get back on track. San Francisco’s won five of their last eight games against LA, including this year’s week four 20-7 win.

In that win, San Francisco’s defense completely shut down Jared Goff, allowing only 78 passing yards on 24 attempts. The Niners shutout the Rams on third-down, holding them to 0-for-9. The offense was just okay, as Garoppolo threw for 243 yards, 101 of them were caught by George Kittle, of course. Even though Jimmy didn’t throw a TD, he rushed one in San Francisco’s second touchdown of the afternoon.

The Rams have been Jekyll and Hyde this season, looking great at times, beating the Seahawks and Saints, but then getting boat raced by the Cowboys.

Kyle Shanahan mentioned last week about preparing for Atlanta’s Super Bowl. His team didn’t answer, and they’ll face another desperate team this week. LA’s playoff hopes have pretty much gone up in smoke, as they need to win out and pray for a miracle that Minnesota doesn’t beat the Packers or Bears. They hold the final tiebreaker over the Vikings.

His team will need to be ready for everything that the Rams will bring. Todd Gurley has been much more active these last three weeks, nearly totaling 200 yards and three touchdowns. He was inactive when the Niners completely shut down the Rams in week six, expect him to get a lot of carries on Saturday.

Jared Goff is currently fourth in the NFL in passing yards, just shy of 4,000. His 17-15 TD to INT ratio is shocking, however, and can be taken advantage of a hungry 49ers’ defense.

The Niners offense fell back to earth last week, scoring just 22 points. After the best month of his career, Garoppolo finished with 200 yards and a touchdown for a 90.3 rating, the lowest in the last five games. It was also the second-lowest in the last eight weeks. TLDR, Garoppolo has been one of the best QBs in the second half of the season.

If the Niners can contain Gurley, and get to Goff, like they did four times already this year, they should be able to slow down LA’s offense. Meanwhile, their defense is susceptible to the run. Breida only had four carries last week, while Raheem Mostert had 14. Mostert’s been excellent these past few weeks, giving the Niners a multi-headed monster in the backfield.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Conley to face old teammates this Sunday; Can Edebali get to the quarterbacks for Raiders?

Photo credit: reviewjournal.com

On the podcast with Joe Hawkes:

#1 Former Oakland Raider Gareon Conley will be facing his former team this Sunday as Gareon was dealt to the Houston Texans on Monday. What will it mean for Conley to face his old teammates this Sunday?

#2 Conley represents the third first round draft pick to be dealt by the Raiders in the last 14 months, which included former Raiders Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. Will Conley be a void much like Mack and Cooper were?

#3 The Raiders filled Conley’s spot with defensive end Kasim Edebali. Edebali (30) has eight sacks and 54 tackles with the New Orleans Saints between 2014-2016. In 2017, he had played the season without a sack and has played for the Broncos, Lions, Rams, Saints and Bengals during that time. Can he keep a roster spot with the Raiders?

#4 Taking a look at last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, there was little doubt the Raiders defense were almost nonexistent against Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers who had plenty of time to throw the football last Sunday.

#5 The Raiders complete their long six weeks and five games away from Oakland this Sunday against the Texans in Houston. Taking a look at the trip, how did the Raiders fare considering the grueling trip, which included a stop in London?

Catch the Oakland Raiders podcast each Friday with Joe Hawkes at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: After big win over LA, 49ers head to Washington to keep it going

Photo credit: nytimes.com

On the 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 Last Sunday, the 49ers answered the bell and took on their biggest challenge of the year with a 20-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles.

#2 The win puts the 49ers at 5-0 and what lent to their most recent success was the defense, who stuck to their game plan and shutdown the Rams to just one touchdown.

#3 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said that the defense did such a good job that the offense had time to rest and not push running up the score because of the confidence in the defense

#4 Garoppolo went 24-33 and had thrown for 331 yards and an interception not a stellar game, but enough to win. Was it the Rams pass rush that kept Garoppolo off balance or was it just a mediocre game for Garoppolo?

#5 The 49ers head to Washington this Sunday. Washington beat Miami by one point and the 49ers are expected to win this one easily.

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

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Can Raiders make it three in a row against the Pack?; Garoppolo, 49ers take lots of confidence to Seattle this Sunday; plus more

Photo credit: @Raiders

On Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 For the Oakland Raiders, they’re nice and rested from their jet lag after their trip to London on October 6th and a bye week on October 13th. Now they prepare to play a Green Bay Packers (5-1) team, who are coming off a 23-22 narrow edge victory against the Detroit Lions last Monday Night Football. Can the Raiders pull off their third straight win at the Frozen Tundra this Sunday?

#2 The Packers got a late field goal in the fourth quarter — a 23-yarder with just over a minute left in the game from kicker Mason Crosby after quarterback Aaron Rogers took two knees before electing to kick a field goal for the one point win.

#3 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has no doubts and lots of confidence going into these games, on Sunday against the LA Rams Garoppolo threw 24-33 for 243 yards and their fifth straight win 20-7.

#4 The Sacramento Kings picked up their first preseason win against the Utah Jazz Monday night with a 128-115 victory. The Kings’ Buddy Hield was all over the place with 23 points and he was the key to the offense in the Kings win.

#5 In the baseball playoffs, the Houston Astros took a 2-1 ALCS lead over the New York Yankees on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The Astros’ Garrett Cole threw for seven innings, four hits, five walks, and seven strikeouts.

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

Time to Start Respecting 5-0 Niners, Beat Rams 20-7

Photo credit: @arikarmstead

By: Joe Lami

On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers answered their biggest test yet, defeating their division foe, the LA Rams 20-7. With only two undefeated teams remaining in the NFL and a victory over the defending NFC Champions, it’s finally time to say this team is for real.

Leading that statement is the defense, who once again balled out in the win. Starting off shaky, allowing a seven-play 56-yard opening drive with all rushing plays for a touchdown, they buckled down as the game went on and started dominating. The Rams were held to just 165 total yards while Jarred Goff contributed 78 yards on 13-of-24. At one point in the third quarter, Goff was 7-of-9 for 29 yards.

The pass rush was distributive once the Rams started throwing the ball, sacking Goff four times with Dee Ford picking up a strip-sack. The Niners were especially impressive when it mattered most, forcing the Rams to go 0-for-9 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.

One of the big stops came late in the second quarter when the Niners stuffed Malcolm Brown on fourth down on the goal line, forcing a turnover on downs.

As good as the defense was, the offense was mediocre, finishing with 331 total yards. Jimmy Garoppolo finished with 243 passing yards on 24-of-33 with an interception. He also ran in San Francisco’s second touchdown of the game, that was set up by Arik Armstead, picking up a fumble at the 17 yard-line on the Rams’ first play of the second half.

Garoppolo continues to throw at least one terrible pass per game that leaves you scratching your head. Sunday was no different as he floated up a ball in the end zone to Marcus Peters, all alone, taking away points from San Francisco.

Tevin Coleman scored the first touchdown of the game, as the offense was able to get settled into the game halfway through the first quarter. He finished with 45 yards on 18 carries. Matt Breida finished with 13 carries for 36 yards. With just 99 rushing yards, it shows that missing both Mike McGlinchey and Kyle Juszczyk has stagnated the run game.

George Kittle was Garoppolo’s favorite target, catching all eight passes targeted to him for 103 yards. Dante Pettis had his best game as a Niner, catching three balls for 45 yards, picking up two third-down conversions.

Even with a lackluster performance from the offense, this team continues to roll through the NFL. The defense is leading the way and is beginning to look like a team that Harbaugh led to the NFC Championship Game just a few years ago.

The Niners look to continue to roll, at they travel to Washington next week in a game that they should dominate. Washington picked up their first win of the season with a one-point victory over the Dolphins on Sunday.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Will McGlinchey and Juszczyk on IL put a hurt on 49ers?

Photo credit: sacbee.com

On the 49ers podcast with Joe Lami:

#1 49ers tackle Mike McGlinchey and fullback Kyle Juszczyk are expected to be out 4-6 weeks. How does this effect the 49ers going into Sunday’s game in L.A.?

#2 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said “You don’t replace Kyle, he’s a one of a kind fullback.”

#3 The 49ers are ranked fourth in the NFL in offense and that considering they’re doing it without tackle Joe Staley. Running back Tevin Coleman had a good outing on Monday night.

#4 Joe talk about 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa and what he has meant to the defense.

#5 The 49ers are preparing to meet the LA Rams this Sunday in what could be their biggest challenge at this juncture of the season.

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

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Commissioner’s double down talk freezes out NBA in China; Raiders play good enough to win two on the road

Photo credit: forbes.com

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Tony, without a doubt, the top headline story is China’s withdrawal from doing business with the NBA because of Houston GM Daryl Morey’s tweet to stand with Hong Kong.

#2 NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that free speech is vital and the NBA is not apologizing for Morey’s tweet. Meanwhile, China has suspended all NBA TV coverage, all NBA sponsorship, and all NBA brands in China.

#3 Talk about the Oakland Raiders’ win in London. They might have been the home team, but it’s on the road and they won their second straight game.

#4 The San Francisco 49ers remain perfect at 4-0. They face the Los Angeles Rams (3-2) in LA. This could very well be San Francisco’s biggest challenge so far.

#5 The Sacramento Kings, who returned from two preseason games in Mumbai, are back in Sacramento this Thursday to host the Phoenix Suns. No doubt head coach Luke Walton and the Kings are glad to be back and anxious to get started at Golden 1 Center.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria is heard each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Niners hit with key injuries

nbcsports.com photo: San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk will miss four to six weeks due to a sprained MCL

By Jeremy Harness

The 49ers are 4-0 for the first time since 1990, when they were going for an historic three-peat. That is certainly worth celebrating, especially given the recent history of this franchise.

However, here comes the bad news.

In the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ convincing win over the Cleveland Browns Monday night, fullback Kyle Juszczyk was forced to leave the game with a knee injury. The next day, he was diagnosed with a sprained MCL, and he is expected to be out for the next four to six weeks

The injury is especially painful for the 49ers, since this has the potential to seriously limit a running attack that wore down the Browns and would have given them a real chance to stay with the Rams, who they will face in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The team was dealt another blow this week, as right tackle Mike McGlinchey will need arthroscopic knee surgery, and he is also expected to miss four to six weeks.

Starting left tackle Joe Staley is already out with a hairline fracture in his fibula, and he will miss half of the regular season, so this will mean that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will have to get the ball out even quicker than he had to against the Browns, because the Rams have a much more effective pass rush that is led by all-world defensive end Aaron Donald.

Both of these injuries will hurt the running game, and the 49ers will need to run the ball if they are going to slow the Rams down and keep their high-powered offense off the field.

The Rams, however, have some injury concerns of their own. Receiver Brandin Cooks is currently under concussion protocol and is not expected to play Sunday. Meanwhile, running back Todd Gurley has a thigh contusion, and he is listed as day-to-day, meaning that there is a possibility that he will not play Sunday, either.

Glennon, Peterman lead Raiders over Rams in exhibition opener

sfgate.com photo:  In this June 11, 2019, file photo, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown is shown during an NFL football minicamp in Alameda, Calif. The Raiders and their big personalities like Antonio Brown and Richie Incognito are ready to be stars on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The NFL exhibition season is nothing more than drinking non-alcoholic beer. You’ll be satisfied momentarily by the buzz it creates but in the end, you’re sober again looking for another fix.

With roster spots up for grabs, the first exhibition game can go a long way in determining a player’s long-term future with a football team.

With many of the starters for both the visiting Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders, including starting quarterbacks Jared Goff and Derek Carr respectively not suiting up, Oakland defeated Los Angeles, 14-3, in the exhibition opener for both teams at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Saturday night.

Seven-year pro Mike Glennon, who signed with Oakland in the offseason after playing for the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, started the game for Oakland over third-year pro Nathan Peterman.

Glennon drove Oakland down the field on their first possession of the game, engineering a six-play, 70-yard drive in 2:45 resulting in a seven-yard touchdown run by backup running back DeAndre Washington for an early 7-0 lead.

But Glennon struggled overall, completing 17-of-25 passes for 200 yards to go along with two interceptions. Glennon’s second interception came in the red zone with Oakland driving down the field.

On the ensuing drive, the Rams would get on the board for the first time behind a 36-yard field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein to make the score, 7-3, before halftime.

In the second half, Peterman took over the offense and quickly setup Oakland’s second touchdown of the game thanks to his 50-yard run on 3rd down-and-4 from the Raiders’ own 42-yard line moving the football to the Rams’ 8-yard line.

After a five-yard run by running back James Butler that moved the football to the 3-yard line, Peterman found reserve wide receiver Keelan Doss on an in-route for the score to make the game, 14-3, in the third quarter.

Peterman threw for 66 yards on 9-of-12 passes, and led the Raiders in rushing with 56 yards on three carries.

Second-year wide receiver Keon Hatcher, who is fighting for roster spot in a crowded wide receiver room that includes veterans J.J. Nelson and Ryan Grant, caught just two passes for a team-high 45 yards.

Nelson, who is in his first year with the Raiders after spending his first four seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, finished with 43 yards on two catches.

Grant added three catches for 32 yards.

Defensively, defensive end Arden Key recorded Oakland’s lone sack of the game. The second-year player finished tied with defensive backs Nevin Lawson, D.J. Killings, linebacker Marquel Lee and defensive lineman Anthony Rush with three tackles tonight.

Oakland held Los Angeles to just 190 yards of total offense on the night.

For the Rams, quarterback Blake Bortles started the game for Los Angeles but wasn’t impressive at all.

Bortles, who signed with the Rams in the offseason to be the primary backup to starter Jared Goff after spending his first five years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, completed just 3-of-8 passes for 50 yards on two drives before giving way to Brandon Allen (6-of-12 passing for 34 yards) and John Wolford (6-of-8 passing for a team-high 54 yards).

Rookie running back Darrell Henderson, Jr. led the team in rushing yards with six carries for 13 yards. Second-year wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge led the team with three catches for 48 yards.

The game was filled with penalties as both teams combined for 23 penalties (12 by the Rams, 11 by the Raiders).

Up next: Raiders will take on the Arizona Cardinals in the desert on Thursday night, while the Rams will host the visiting Dallas Cowboys at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum next Saturday night.