Tag: NFL

49ers Edge Cowboys 24-21, but Injuries Damper SF’s Win

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By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Faithful were rolling into Levi’s Stadium on Thursday hoping to catch a glimpse of what the 2018 season will look like. Fans may have left happy, as the San Francisco 49ers took the lead with just 18 seconds left in the contest in a 24-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but they also left concerned.

One quarter into action, the 49ers were facing injuries to three starters and two critical reserves.

Linebacker, Malcolm Smith was the first to go down with a hamstring injury. Ironically, the eight-year pro was clamoring about how much he was looking forward to getting the pre-season debut out of the way.

Moments later, Soloman Thomas went down on what appeared to be a left knee injury. However, the 49ers’ official injury report listed Thomas with a head injury with speculation that he took a cleat to the face. Thomas laid on the turf for a few minutes to a quiet crowd before going straight to the locker room.

Hopefully, the injury to Thomas won’t set him back too much as he enters a crucial season to show his worth of being selected third overall in the 2017 draft.

George Kittle was the final starter to go down with an injury. On a deep ball from Garoppolo, Kittle was forced to lay out attempting to make the spectacular grab, but he came up short, and upon coming to the ground, his right shoulder got caught underneath his body.

The loss of Kittle could be huge for the 49ers, as he proved to be a big-time target for Garoppolo last season.

Key reserves, Matt Brieda and Garry Gilliam also went down with injuries.

If Brieda’s appears to be serious, it could shake up how the final 53-man roster is completed, as he was expected to be a lock and the primary run between the tackles back.

Shanahan mentioned post-game that he expects there to be time with Brieda and Kittle and both are going to be questionable heading into next Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans at 5 pm PDT.

His injury led to extensive playing time for both Raheem Mostert and Joe Williams, who switched between drives the majority of the game. Williams saw most the carries finishing with 11 for 27 yards and punching in a score from a yard out. Mostert carried the ball eight times for 57 yards including breaking off a long 23-yard rush to the right.

“It’s what scares you about pre-season, sometimes you just want the game to end,” said Shanahan.

Other Key Observations
Jimmie Ward’s move back to cornerback was quickly picked on by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. The starting quarterback’s only touchdown pass was also his last as he threw a 30-yard bomb to Michael Gallup that turned Ward around to put the Cowboys up five minutes into the game.

The starting defense wasn’t completely lost. The biggest play of the starter’s night came on a sack split by DeForest Buckner and Thomas. Buckner, who is starting to experiment moving to the outside on the defensive line, is appearing to become the playmaker the Niners were searching for when they selected him seventh overall in 2016.

Garoppolo was held to just one drive. Going 3-of-6 for 34 yards and a 67.4 rating, Garoppolo found a connection early with Marquise Goodwin for 18 yards. His other two completions were to Jerrick McKinnon and the seventh-round pick, Richie James Jr. More importantly, the completions to Goodwin and James both converted long third-down attempts.

James later scored the go-ahead score with just 18 seconds remaining to win the game for the Niners. Third-string QB, Nick Mullens led a beautiful 77-yard drive in only 1:42 to secure the victory. Mullens was the most efficient Niners’ passer, finishing 11-of-13 for 141 yards, a touchdown, and an interception for a 105.4 passer rating. If he continues to display this type of talent, he may get a shot at C.J. Beathard’s backup role.

Raiders to take on Lions in preseason opener Friday night

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — The Oakland Raiders open up the 2018 preseason schedule Friday night at the Oakland Alameda-County Coliseum where they will host the visiting Detroit Lions. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PDT.

The two teams held two days of practice sessions in Napa this week and per Raiders beat reporter Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group, outside of a minor dust up early in practice that was broken up quickly, both teams appeared ready for their first preseason game.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, yes, that Jon Gruden, leaves the comfy broadcast booth of Monday Night Football and returns to the NFL sidelines for the first time in nine years. Gruden replaces Jack Del Rio, who was fired after last season’s 6-10 record following a 12-4 season in 2016; resulting in the team’s first playoff appearance since 2002.

Coincidentally, it was Gruden, following a trade to Tampa Bay after three seasons as Oakland’s head coach, that defeated the Raiders in the Super Bowl that season giving the Buccaneers their only championship in the team’s history.

Its almost certain that Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr won’t play, meaning that backup quarterbacks Connor Cook and EJ Manuel will each play extensively. Cook is entering his third year in the league (all with Oakland) and is currently ahead Manuel, who is in his sixth season (his second season in Oakland) on the Raiders’ depth chart.

Veteran running back Doug Martin adds depth to a running back group that includes returning starter Marshawn Lynch, and holdovers Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington.

Martin, who spent the past seven seasons in Tampa Bay where he was the bellcow when healthy, has two seasons in which he’s rushed for over 1,400 yards. Like Lynch, Martin is from Oakland and looks to rejuvenate his career playing for the Silver and Black.

Lynch is unlikely to play against the Lions, giving opportunities for Martin, Richard and Washington to solidify themselves as Lynch’s primary backup.

Undrafted rookie running back Chris Warren III has had an impressive training camp, per numerous reports out of Napa and could factor into Oakland’s offensive equation.

During a scrimmage with Detroit, the former Texas Longhorn took a running hand-off from Cook and drove his shoulder right through second-year starting linebacker Jarrad Davis that went viral on the internet.

Warren III’s father, Chris Warren II, played 11 seasons in the NFL earning three Pro Bowl nods with the Seattle Seahawks. Warren II finished his NFL career rushing for 7,696 yards.

With defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack a training camp holdout due to a contract negotiation (or lack there of depending on what day of the week it is), Oakland’s defense will be an interesting watch against Detroit.

Rookies in defensive end Arden Key and nose tackle P.J. Hall are expected to play heavily Friday night and per reports out of Raiders’ training camp, both players should help improve a defense that finished 23 in total defense in 2017. Key, who left LSU after his junior year, had some off the field issues while in school, but Gruden raved about the 6’5″, 238-pound Key’s ability to rush the passer and Oakland drafted him in the third round of this year’s draft.

Key recorded 20 sacks, 11 coming during his sophomore season for the Bayou Bengals.

The 6’1″, 308-pound Hall was a selected by Oakland in the second round this year and was a clog in the middle at Sam Houston State, but maybe more valuable on special teams for Oakland early in his career.

While at Sam Houston State, Hall blocked 14 kicks.

Detroit will also have a new face on the sidelines Friday night in first-time head coach Matt Patricia, who replaces the fired Jim Caldwell.

Caldwell had winning seasons in three of his four seasons, but back-to-back 9-7 finishes culminating with the hiring of Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Bob Quinn, who didn’t hire Caldwell initially,  ushered Caldwell’s exit.

Patricia brings a defensive wizardry to Detroit, coming from the Bill Belichick coaching tree after spending 14 seasons in New England, six as their defensive coordinator. Patricia hasn’t worked for any other organization in the NFL outside of the Patriots before agreeing to takeover the Lions.

Detroit finished 27th in total defense in 2017, a ranking that will likely improve under Patricia. Since 2012 when Patricia was first named defensive coordinator of the Patriots, Patricia has never ranked outside of the top 10 in scoring defense while winning two Super Bowls during that span.

Cornerback Darius Slay is Detroit’s brightest star on defense. Slay was voted to his first Pro Bowl last season after finishing tied with Tennessee safety Kevin Byard with eight interceptions.

The head coach with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering, will have franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to lead a Lions offense that finished 13th in the NFL in total offense last season. Stafford engineered the NFL’s sixth-ranked passing offense, averaging 261.4 yards per game which featured the NFL’s only starting wideouts to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a season in Marvin Jones (1,101) and Golden Tate (1,003).

Tate led the Lions in receptions last season with 92 (seventh in the NFL), while Jones led Detroit with nine touchdown catches.

Running back LeGarrette Blount, fresh off of winning his third Super Bowl after spending last season in Philadelphia, reunites with Patricia in Detroit and should help out the Lions’ poor rushing attack. Patricia and Blount won a pair of Super Bowls in New England together.

The Lions finished 32nd in the NFL in rushing averaging just 76.3 yards per game with running back Ameer Abdullah leading the team with just 552 yards in 14 games (making 11 starts) as the team’s primary ball-carrier.

Blount was Philadelphia’s leading rusher, racking up 766 yards as the Eagles went with a committee in the backfield with Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement splitting time also.

Following Friday night’s game, Detroit will head home to host the visiting New York Giants on Aug. 17, while Oakland will face the Rams in Los Angeles on Aug. 18.

Notes: The Raiders signed free agent safety Quincy Mauger Thursday. Mauger originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, spent his rookie season on the reserve/injured list with a knee injury. A four-year player out of Georgia (2013-16), he appeared in 50 games, recording 186 tackles (128 solo), 0.5 sacks, seven interceptions, 12 passes defensed, and one forced fumble.

A native of Marietta, Ga., the 6-foot, 206-pound Mauger played in 12 contests as a senior in 2016 with the Bulldogs and tallied 20 stops (12), two interceptions, and two passes defensed.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Khalil Mack sign already or will the Raiders shop him?

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On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

The question still rings–would the Oakland Raiders trade defensive end Khalil Mack? There has been talk and there are NFL teams shopping Mack. The Raiders say Mack is not available, but when a player is holding out, teams come calling. The New York Jets have expressed interest.

The reason for the talk? Mack is looking for more dough the Denver Broncos are paying linebacker Von Miller $114.1 million for six years. Von gets $70 million in guaranteed money. Miller gets $19 million a year and Mack is getting $13.8 million. Mack is looking to match the $19 million total and is holding out.

The Raiders if they do let Mack go, they’re going to ask for the kitchen sink for a player of that value. Will they get what they ask for? Only time will tell.

The Raiders host the Detroit Lions on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum for the first preseason game. It maybe just preseason, but the Raiders are glad training camp is over and are excited about getting this season going.

Join Tony R. each Thursday for the Raiders podcast, Joe Hawkes Beamon for the Raiders preview and podcast each Friday, Jeremy Kahn has complete game coverage after every Raiders home and away game at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Native American groups glad Cleveland removed offensive logo from uniforms and caps; After domestic violence charges, Osuna settling in at Astros; plus more

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On Headline Sports with London:

The Cleveland Indians have removed the offensive Chief Wahoo logo from their caps and uniforms and replaced the logo with the block C. Native American Nations are relieved and glad that the racist logo had been removed. Cleveland said the removal was because the team wants to go in different direction in their marketing.

The Houston Astros’ controversial acquisition of pitcher Roberto Osuna has raised questions about his domestic violence charges and what impact it will have on the Astros clubhouse? Apparently whatever clubhouse issue that might have been was resolved after Osuna recorded his first win Monday night against the San Francisco Giants.

The NBA schedule is ready and has added LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to play the Golden State Warriors on Christmas day.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrown his support in for LeBron after Trump questioned LeBron’s intelligence. The story was national headlines last week and Rodgers said he’s all behind LeBron for his interview with CNN’s Don Lemon.

The WNBA doesn’t get too much national headlines, but they did this week when the Las Vegas Aces canceled their game against the Washington Mystics. The Aces tried flying to Dallas to get a plane to Washington, but were delayed at both Vegas and Dallas. The trip took them some 26 hours to get to Washington. The Aces got to their hotel some four hours before tipoff and said it wasn’t safe to play with no sleep and decided against playing the game. The WNBA ruled that it was a forfeit and a loss in the loss column for the Aces.

Headline Sports podcasts can be heard with London Marq each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

4 Things to Watch in 49ers’ Preseason Game vs. Cowboys Thursday

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By: Joe Lami

The 49ers open up their pre-season on Thursday night against the Cowboys at Levi’s Stadium.

Here are four things to watch out for.

Jimmy Garoppolo
If you have a ticket to the game, be sure to get there early for the 7:00 p.m. kick-off because you will see the starters in action for at least part of the opening quarter. On Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed plans to play all starters, including Jimmy Garoppolo, “We’ll treat him like what we’ve probably done more in the past. He’ll play somewhat into the first quarter. We’ll see how long the opening drive is.”

Going into his first full season as a Niner, all eyes will be on Jimmy G to see if he can return with the magic he closed out last season with. Things look promising too, as Garoppolo appears to be gaining confidence in his receivers in training camp. The connection with Marquise Goodwin appears to be back from last season, as the two have been working on deep routes the last couple of days and look as comfortable as ever.

Pierre Garcon was injured early in the season last year and wasn’t a part of the five straight wins led by Garoppolo as he is beginning to get chemistry with the sophomore starter.

The Secondary
The 49ers’ will be without Richard Sherman on Thursday night and will have to wait until the last pre-season game to see him play at Levi’s Stadium.

Instead, Jimmie Ward will get the start for the 30-year old, who suffered a grade-one hamstring sprain last week. The 49ers’ secondary has improved, but still appears to be the weak spot on the defensive side of the ball. Any progression from last season will be an excellent start for the team that surrendered the 22nd most passing yards in the league last year.

Draft Picks
The rookies have looked pretty good in camp so far for the red and gold, and Thursday night will be their opportunity to show the rest of the Red and Gold faithful.

First-round pick, right tackle, Mike McGlinchey is expected to play the most reps out of the starters to gain confidence and get more looks at the NFL level.

“He’ll be out with the starters to start. Then, we’ll see how it goes, how many reps we get. For the most part, we do it with most rookies. Even if he’s a starter, we might play him a little bit more,” explained Shanahan on Tuesday.

He’s going to have the crucial job of help protecting Garopollo this season after the 49ers’ line gave up sacks on 7.09% of pass attempts last year (19th in the NFL).

49ers’ third-round wide receiver, Dante Pettis has been very noticeable at camp thus far and could become an exciting option for the 49ers’ passing attack. However, the knock seems to be the smaller framed pass catcher doesn’t like going over the middle. Shanahan doesn’t see it that way. Shanahan said, “I think he’s a guy who doesn’t take hits much, and it’s not because he’s avoiding them because he’s scared. It’s because he’s a good athlete and he can control his body and can get himself in good positions.”

The New Helmet Rule
Introducing the “use of helmet” rule, which states, “It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent.”

The rule becomes controversial because of “ejection standards” defined as when “a player lowers his helmet to establish a linear body posture prior to initiating and making contact with the helmet. A player needs to have a player delivering the blow needs to have an unobstructed path to his opponent, and the contact has to be clearly avoidable.”

Based on a video published in June, a play becomes ejectable when the targeting player appears to be the second or third man in trying to deliver a bone-crushing hit to finish off the play on an already wrapped up player.

These rules will take time for not only fans to get used to, but players as well; as the NFL tries to make tackling safer.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: What to expect of Carr under Gruden; Also, a look at the special teams

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On the Oakland Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

This Friday, the Oakland Raiders open the preseason against the Dallas Cowboys. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden looks forward to seeing how his players developed from training camp and into the preseason. Raider quarterback Derek Carr will under Gruden’s watchful eye. Will Carr feel the pressure of trying to improve over last season or with Gruden keeping close tabs on the starting quarterback?

The kicking team has a new face lift with punter Johnny Townsend. He’ll be joined by kicker Eddy Pinero and punter Andrew DePaolo. Joe takes a look at each of the special team members and how they’re ready for the 2018 season. In these preseason games, we’ll take a look at the expectations from coach Gruden.

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Raiders podcasts each Friday, and on Thursdays, catch Tony Renteria for the Raider podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers and Ticketmaster extend partnership

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By: Ana Kieu

Ticketmaster, the global market leader in ticketing, recently announced an extension of its official partnership with the San Francisco 49ers. Every year, more than 660,000 football fans attend games at Levi’s Stadium, and Ticketmaster will continue to serve as the official ticketing partner for the 49ers, providing both season ticket holders and single-game buyers with a safe and secure marketplace to buy, sell, and transfer verified tickets on Ticketmaster.com and 49ers.com.

“Our organizational commitment to provide our fans with an enhanced gameday experience featuring the best technology available led us to be one of the first teams to use digital ticketing technology,” said Jamie Brandt, 49ers’ Vice President of Sales and Service. “Being based in the innovation capital of the world, renewing our partnership with Ticketmaster was a given, as they have consistently delivered platforms that improve not just the fan experience, but team and venue operations, as well. We’re thrilled to continue this partnership and we look forward to even more innovations from Ticketmaster.”

In 2018, the 49ers and Ticketmaster will roll out a new Member Credential for 49ers’ season ticket holders, providing them with the most efficient ticketing experience to date using a single scannable barcode to make stadium entry easier than ever for all home games.

Since opening in 2014, more than 2.5 million fans have entered Levi’s Stadium to attend 49ers games using Ticketmaster. Under this renewed partnership, 49ers fans will continue to access verified tickets on their mobile device, download them to a digital wallet, receive personalized event notifications, and enjoy a streamlined venue entry experience.

“We’re proud to continue our partnership with one of the most innovative and forward-thinking teams in all of professional sports, the San Francisco 49ers,” said Greg Economou, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Sports for Ticketmaster, North America. “With this renewal, 49ers fans will continue using the best technology available, which creates a more personalized and engaging live experience at Levi’s Stadium. Ticketmaster shares the 49ers commitment of innovation and looks forward to seeing our platforms continue to give their fans the best live experience possible.”

The 49ers have long been an early adopter of Ticketmaster’s innovative products. In 2014, the 49ers helped launch the mobile platform VenueNext, integrated directly with Ticketmaster, to provide real-time insights and analytics to the 49ers and Levi’s Stadium resulting in an improved experience for fans. With VenueNext, fans can receive notifications on available ticket upgrade offers, the most efficient parking and entry options at the stadium, and place food orders to be delivered to their seat.

Ticketmaster and the 49ers have been partners since 1999 and revolutionized the live experience with the opening of Levi’s Stadium in 2014.

Fans can access resources such as mobile ticketing tutorials and step-by-step screenshots at https://www.49ers.com/tickets/mobile. These resources will be important as Ticketmaster and the 49ers look to educate fans about mobile ticketing during the 2018 season.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Did Urban Meyer know about the domestic abuse all along?; MLB players need to do tangible things to prove they’ve moved past racist tweets; plus more

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On the Headline Sports podcast with London Marq:

#1 How much did Ohio State’s former head coach Urban Meyer know about his assistant coach Zach Smith’s domestic abuse towards his ex-wife Courtney Smith? Enough says Smith. She said she was friends with Meyer’s wife and addressed these issues to her and also knew for a fact that Meyer knew domestic abuse was going on with Smith attacking his wife.

#2 How will this impact and damage the Ohio State program as the regular season kicks off at the end of this month? With Meyer on on paid leave and Smith gone, will this scare off recruits and students planning to attend Ohio State this school year?

#3 The New York Yankees’ Sonny Gray said his racist tweets in 2012 were just an “inside joke.” Gray says he doesn’t feel that way today and that was something he was joking around with with a friend. Gray got booed during his last appearance for not only pitching bad, but heard fans calling him out about his racist tweets as he was smiling and leaving for the dugout after being pulled.

#4 In just a week, four MLB players with four racist tweets, Milwaukee Brewers’ Josh Hader, Atlanta Braves’ Sean Newcomb, Washington Nationals’ Trea Turner, and Gray had racist tweets uncovered. The question is, would these four players prove that their not racists now by taking on issues in the community by asking publicly “why isn’t there enough African Americans in Major League Baseball?” or “Why do most MLB teams not travel their Spanish play-by-play radio announcers and just have them limited to just home games or just weekend broadcasts?” These would be considered tangible projects. These players can take on if they were really sorry about what they said.

#5 EA Sports apologized for editing out the name of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick out of the Madden 19 NFL game in Big Sean’s song “Big Bank.” Sean had tweeted that Kaepernick’s name was left out of the game song that he lent to. EA Sports did a “oops my bad” and said they would put Kaepernick’s name back into the song, going forward with the new editions of the EA Madden 19 games starting August 6th.

Listen to the London Marq headline sports podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Will the Raiders deal Khalil Mack?; Mack was a hold out, but Gruden wants him back in camp

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On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

Khalil Mack was a hold out during training camp, and on Wednesday, the top story coming out of the Oakland Raiders was putting Mack on the trade block. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said last season Mack didn’t even pick off a pass until the 14th week of the season.

Gruden went on to say that the Raiders weren’t very good on defense last season. Gruden was hoping that Mack gets back in camp. Gruden said the Raiders need a better pass rush. The Raiders finished in the bottom 10 in the NFL on defense. The question is–will the Raiders trade Mack?

Join Tony for the Raiders podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Giants to sell 125 lithos of Dwight Clark and Willie Mays holding their famous catch photos

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On the SF 49ers podcast with David:

The San Francisco Giants have announced that they will sell a limited amount of autographed lithographs of the late 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark and former San Francisco Giant legend Willie Mays, who is holding up his photo of making his catch in the 1954 World Series. The lithos are $487 each and there are only 125 available.

The 49ers have three tight ends in camp: George Kittle, Garrett Celek, and Cole Hikutuni. With a limited amount of tight ends in camp, can the 49ers open the season with only three tight ends?

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsadioservice.com