And with the 30th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft the San Francisco 49ers select A.J. Jenkins.
Michael Crabtree
Ted Ginn Jr.
Mario Manningham
Randy Moss
And now A.J. Jenkins. The Niners are working on that stable of receivers.
“Trent Baalke laid low, he did the research, Jim Harbaugh threw with Peyton Manning. They didn’t get in the front pages. They know that they are the best answer for Peyton Manning. They know they have the best defense in the league to offer. They know they have the offensive weapons. They know they have Jim Harbaugh. They know all the pieces in place for Peyton Manning. It is the best opportunity for Peyton Manning. They knew it, and they waited for the wannabes to exhaust themselves, and then they came in right at the end, and that’s why I think they’ll probably land him at this point.
I know Peyton Manning is looking for a team to join now and win a division now and go to the Super Bowl now. That’s the San Francisco 49ers.”
- Steve Young
Per Schefter & Mortensen at the four-letter, details have come out that the San Francisco 49ers have snuck their way into the running for free agent QB Peyton Manning.
Details include:
- Peyton has already worked out for them at Duke.
- Niners were so impressed, that they flew their team physicians out immediately for tests and a physical.
- In light of the Niners interest, the Arizona Cardinals have been told that they should proceed as though Manning will not be available to them.
- Thus, the Cardinals have now tendered QB Kevin Kolb for $7 Million rather than release him to save the money.
- Officially 3 teams are now in the running: Niners, Tennessee Titans, & Denver Broncos.
- Broncos GM John Elway checked out Peyton throw today and liked what he saw.
- This might explain why the Niners have yet to re-sign veteran QB Alex Smith and maybe even why they signed WR Randy Moss.
What do you think of these new details and how do you think it all plays out?
What is this, an arena for ants? Prospective personal seat license buyers look at a model of the planned future home of the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers’ planned move to a new billion-dollar stadium in suburban Santa Clara faces what could be its final hurdle on March 5 when a judge hears arguments on whether a complex financing deal should be subject to voter approval. Photo: REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
Winners and Losers…Conference Championship Edition
Each week throughout the playoffs, we’ll be recapping winners and losers from the week’s action. Let’s get right into it:
Winners
Tom Brady: Hard to keep throwing superlatives at this guy’s incredible career. Might have to resort to complimenting his hair and post pictures of Gisele soon. But he’ll be playing in his 5th Super Bowl and just tied Joe Montana with his 16th playoff victory today.
Joe Philbin: The former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator interviewed with the Miami Dolphins on January 7th. The next day, tragedy hit when his 21 year old son was found dead in a tragic accident. Philbin stayed with the team and watched over the Packers offense as they lost to the Giants at home. This past weekend, he was announced as the new head coach of the Dolphins. With his five kids and his wife, I hope that this can be a fresh start for Philbin. Maybe it’s as simple as getting away from where the incident occurred, to start moving on. Without sports, we wouldn’t know about a tragedy like this. And with sports, it will help Philbin and his family move forward.
Joe Flacco: 22 for 36. 239 yards. No touchdowns. 2 interceptions. 59.7 quarterback rating. Sounds like a familiar Flacco day. Wait!!! That’s Brady’s line! Flacco finished with the same completions and attempts, but for 306 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, and after a shaky first quarter, was in total control of the offense and found his receivers deep all day. On the final drive, he put the team in a position to win (a perfect throw on the Lee Evans drop) or even tie (you know what happened here). At the start of the day, I was calling him Joe Sanchez. At the end of the day, I’m mildly intrigued by Joe Flacco as the most enigmatic quarterback next season.
Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin: He’s no longer Peyton Manning’s little brother! Actually, he hasn’t been his little brother for a long time. On his way to a second Super Bowl, a superb game against the 49ers. The debate for the best Manning quarterback is very much up in the air. As for Coughlin, every year the team is suppose to quit on him. And yet, here’s his second Super Bowl appearance with the Giants. Let the resume speak for itself, everything else is just noise.
Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz: The best receiving tandem in the league. Any arguments?
Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis: A solid day on the ground, and a great tribute to the late Myra Kraft after his touchdown.
Jimmy Smith and Bernard Pollard: With an incredibly choreographed interception, from Pollard’s tip to Smith keeping the ball in bound. Appreciate the beauty by re-watching it a million times here.
Josh McDaniels: Congratulations you’re going to the Super Bowl!!! How did this happen.
Vernon Davis: 2 more touchdowns today. Over 100 yards receiving. These playoffs were a huge coming out party for the tight end.
Vince Wilfork: Best fat man performance this week next to Eddy Curry’s reappearance.
Losers
Billy Cundiff: Here’s his Facebook page. I’ve been refreshing it for two hours.
Kyle Williams: Should probably come in before everyone tomorrow to clean out your locker. To avoid all the awkward handshakes and goodbyes.
Lee Evans: You have to catch that ball. Somehow Buffalo figures into a tragic finish again.
The Harbaugh brothers: Great seasons from both of their teams, but short of the Super Bowl.
Indianapolis fans: Get ready to see either Tom Brady win a championship in your backyard, or Peyton Manning’s little brother furthering the argument as the better quarterback with his second Super Bowl win.
Steven Tyler: Why don’t passionate football fans like us get a chance to sit next to Robert Kraft at a conference championship game. He leads the losers for his national anthem performance.
Ochocinco: Inactive. And couldn’t even tweet cause Twitter was over capacity for half the day. Just a terrible day over all for Chad.
Baltimore defense: Played a great game today, allowed multiple drives into the red zone but they adhered to the bending but not breaking mentality. Everyone comes back a year older next year, this might’ve been their last chance as a core group to add a second Super Bowl to their resume.
The Giants went up 10-7 at Candlestick after a field goal just before the half.
Its raining and Victor Cruz is over 100 yards.
Can Vernon Davis and the Niners make a comeback?
How does it end!?
(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Championship Preview: Giants at 49ers
@steven_lebron - New York Giants
First, I’ve been terrible at predictions this post-season. Surprisingly it’s comforting to know that the football playoffs are as unpredictable as its ever been. Any one of the remaining four teams winning the Super Bowl registers as a surprise. The Patriots can’t possibly win three playoff games with that defense, can they? The Ravens can’t possibly win the Super Bowl with the inconsistent Joe Flacco under center, can they? The NFC East or NFC West can’t possibly be home to a Super Bowl champion, can they? One of those will actually come true. But before we get to the big game, the conference championships. The Giants have taken a path that well, define who they’ve been in the Tom Coughlin era. It’s impossible to know which team will show up from week to week. Success for this team breeds complacency, complacency breeds an underdog mentality that comes thru when the team wins as we’re ready to write them off. The key for the Giants this week will be their running game. Going up against one of the top defenses, if Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs can establish themselves, it should allow for Hakeem New York Nicks and Victor Just Cruzin’ to go to work. How about those nicknames. Chris Berman is my ghostwriter apparently. But when it comes down to it, I like the Giants in this spot based on their big game experience and because Eli Manning has quietly put together a brilliant season. A rematch of Giants-Patriots? A possibility for Eli Manning to have more Super Bowls than his older brother? That’s all in play. I’ll take the Giants pulling it out with a fourth quarter comeback. Like every week, don’t quote me or remind me of this.
@nhall - San Francisco 49ers
I freely admit that I too am having a tough time getting a handle on this game. If momentum means anything I think the Giants are bringing more of it into this game. The Niners had a thrilling last minute victory at home. It was a fantastic win but I still think the Giants have more momentum. They are playing with a purpose. But will they bring that to the West Coast? The Niners won this match up earlier in the season but it was a very close game that the Giants had a great chance to win it.
I too think the Giants will need to get that running game going. It’s been fantastic since the playoffs started but now the running game sees the stingiest rush defense in the league. What 49er is going to be scared to tackle Jacobs?
We’ll see how Eli plays. He has been fantastic I can’t take that away from him. But he also hasn’t seen a defense like this. Something has to give here. How will Alex Smith play after last week’s legend making performance? Can Harbaugh still keep the team’s emotions near the point of no return? Will Vernon Davis be able to make the same kind of difference in the passing game or will he be stuck blocking New York’s pass rushers? Lots of questions I’m not sure which way to go. In the end I think the Giants will need a turnover or two to go their way in order to put the game away. However, this 49ers team takes care of the ball. That will be the difference in this game. I’ve been picking the Giants each week but this time I’m all in on Harbaugh.
Winners and Losers…Divisional Round Edition
Each week throughout the playoffs, we’ll be recapping winners and losers from the week’s action. Let’s get right into it:
Winners
Tim Tebow: Wait, we’re going to start this write-up by calling the quarterback who got embarrassed 45-10 on the road this weekend a winner? Yes. Yes, we are. Tim Tebow made sense out of everything that wasn’t supposed to make sense this year. He was a cultural phenomenon, helped revive the city of Denver and brought them back to the playoffs, and most of all: made it possible for us to all doubt whether we know anything about the sport we love to watch. I’ve always valued the unpredictability and ebbs and flows of sports. We all like to pretend to think we know more than we do. It’s why we make predictions, use statistics to form our analysis and all of that. But Tebow ran counter to all of that, and whether it means he is an overrated quarterback, an underrated runner, or just a player with a unique set of skills at his position: I think we can all look back and appreciate the breath of fresh air he represented for the game of football. That’s my main takeaway from his entire narrative, and that’s why he’s a winner.
Tom Brady: 6 touchdowns against the Broncos. 3 Super Bowl rings. Married to Gisele. Y’all must’ve forgot.
Alex Smith, the 49ers defense, Jim Harbaugh and the entire city of San Francisco: I love to talk about teams and players having relevant moments. The Houston Texans were the classic example. Until they beat the Bengals last week, their franchise were not relevant. Same for Alex Smith. The former number one pick wasn’t given much credit for the Niners’ success this season. You win in spite of Alex Smith, not because of him. If I told you the Saints would score over 30 points yesterday, you would’ve assumed a blowout for Dree Brees and company. But instead, the 49ers defense set the tone early on, and when the game evolved into a shootout in the fourth quarter, Alex Smith led two late-game drives and earned himself relevancy amongst NFL quarterbacks. I still can’t believe I just wrote that.
Eli Manning: Two post-season wins in Lambeau Field. Marinate on that for a minute, or a whole week.
Anyone who owns a Best Buy franchise in Green Bay: Read this, going to be lots of gift cards tomorrow.
Brett Favre: Free drinks on him tonight, where ever he is.
Arian Foster: Here to stay.
Ed Reed: Legend.
Bill Belichick’s hoodie: I hope the NFL institutes a dress code for coaches, just to see if Belichick would dare to cut the sleeves of his suit and wear it with a long sleeve shirt underneath just because.
Hakeem Nicks: Or as he prefers to be called, “New York”.
Losers
Zoltan Mesko:The New England Patriots punter’s job is pretty redundant enough because of Brady’s offensive efficiency. It won’t be good for job security this week when he looks at the punting stats against the Broncos. Mesko: 2 punts, 39 yards average. Brady: 1 punt, 48 yard average. Expect minimal conversation between these two at practice this week.
The referees in the Giants-Packers game: Did not overturn an obvious fumble by the Packers, and a strange roughing the passer on the Giants in the fourth quarter that kept the game alive. Luckily, the result makes all their mistakes moot. But a concern going forward.
Dome teams on the road: I’m not sure what the stats are, but after the Falcons loss to the Giants last week, and the record setting Saints offense falling at San Francisco, it’s not going to help quell the perception that dome teams are at a significant disadvantage when playing with outdoor elements in January. By the way, New Orleans has still never won a road playoff game.
Green Bay receivers: Out of sync all day.
Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets: just because you were both supposed to be playing this week.
Jacoby Jones: That fumble on the punt return in the first quarter ended up being pretty important didn’t it.
The fans: Just three more football games left (I made the executive decision to not include the Pro Bowl as a legitimate football game) until the off-season.
