A Press Democrat Blog

Overtime

Ted Sillanpaa looks at the San Francisco Giants, other Bay Area sports and gives a dad's-eye view of Empire prep and youth sports trends

49ers have to get trade leverage, but they’ll reward Alex Smith

Thursday, at 6:18 by

By TED SILLANPAA The 49ers took an incredible risk by turning the quarterback job to Colin Kaepernick. The kid blossomed into one of the top prospective superstars in the NFL. The who Kaepernick could’ve been disaster if Alex Smith hadn’t opted to handle his demotion with professionalism sadly missing in professional sports these days. During the pre-Super Bowl preparations, the Niners said they’d reward Smith by trading him or releasing him to hook on with a team where he can… Read More »

Is everybody insane? If Moss was dogging it, he wouldn’t have been in the game

Wednesday, at 2:21 by

By TED SILLANPAA I just heard two national sports media guys swear that Randy Moss didn’t run pass routes very hard in Super Bowl XLVII. They said he was dogging it. Not hustling. We already know that Comcast analyst Bill Romanowski said that Moss didn’t make enough effort on the pass interception thrown by Colin Kaepernick. Come on. Moss was flanked left in the formation that the 49ers used for the 2-point conversion try to, potentially, tie the game after… Read More »

Is everybody insane? Harbaugh has accomplished amazing things with 49ers

Wednesday, at 2:13 by

By TED SILLANPAA I’ve read that Jim Harbaugh is just a little too cocky given that he hasn’t really accomplished anything particularly special coaching the 49ers. I read somewhere, and can’t remember where, that he hasn’t done anything “great” in his two season in San Francisco. In a society of sports fans and media members that use the word “great” far too quickly and often when it’s not merited, who on earth can say that Harbaugh getting what was a horrible… Read More »

Is everyone insane? Kaepernick called audible on the last play

Wednesday, at 2:05 by

By TED SILLANPAA Quick hitter…tired of the Super Bowl and tired in general. But, I’m still hearing 49ers’ fans and members of the media criticize the play-calling on the final series inside the goal line against the Ravens. Where were the running plays? Well, was fixing to run a misdirection play around left end, with Frank Gore lead blocking, when Jim Harbaugh saw the play clock running out and called timeout. I’ve not seen or heard any gas-bag writer or… Read More »

49ers owe it to Alex Smith to set him free after Super Bowl

Monday, at 5:41 by

By TED SILLANPAA It’s not news to hear that Alex Smith doesn’t want to be with the 49ers next season. That hasn’t stopped sports talkers and sports writers from turning the report circulated Monday that the quarterback wants to be released from his contract after the Super Bowl into some sort of revelation worthy of much discussion. Smith has been a good teammate since getting hurt and losing his starting job. He’s a good guy, clearly. He’d played well enough… Read More »

It says here the Falcons will win, and cover the spread

Saturday, at 6:41 by

By TED SILLANPAA It turns out that the Falcons not only have a chance of defeating the 49ers in the NFC Championship game Sunday, but that it’s a certainty. And, you can take the Falcons … and the points! Bovada.com, the online wagering website, has the 49ers as 5-point favorites on Saturday night. So, bet Atlanta and you’re getting nearly a touchdown. How can I be so sure that the Falcons will win? Well …. Mark Bradley’s written sports for… Read More »

49ers Kaepernick Might Be One of a Kind

Monday, at 4:06 by

By TED SILLANPAA 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick is getting national media attention for kissing his own biceps after he scores a touchdown, but he should be getting it for being an other-worldly quarterback prospect. It seems silly to consider him a prospect after his record-setting playoff performance against the Packers, but he is still a work in progress … an amazing work in progress. Kaepernick is making it clear that even the most prominent, knowledgable NFL analysts don’t know what… Read More »

Make judgments today about 49ers, Packers

Wednesday, at 3:27 by

By TED SILLANPAA Everyone will have an opinion on the quality of the 49ers play-calling and the direction the club is taking in the Jim Harbaugh era … after Saturday’s NFC playoff game against the Packers. Then, it’ll be easy to spit out results-based opinion. So, let’s agree on a few things right now. Colin Kaepernick is the best quarterback for these 49ers. Harbaugh had this game in mind when he replaced Alex Smith with Kaepernick. Kaepernick earned the No.… Read More »

49ers’ offense: Slumping or sliding downhill?

Monday, at 2:52 by

By TED SILLANPAA The 49ers won’t be changing quarterbacks again any time soon, nor should they. Fans, thus, should simply hope that an offense that has averaged 15 points the last two games is just slumping, as opposed to trending wildly downward. Colin Kaepernick was fine at quarterback. He offset mistakes with big plays. The idea of returning to Alex Smith is nonsensical. The last thing the club needs after Kaepernick has settled in for three games is to put the… Read More »

It’s official: Kaepernick will start on Sunday

Wednesday, at 2:12 by

By TED SILLANPAA The 49ers announced Wednesday morning that Colin Kaepernick will start at quarterback in Sunday’s game in St. Louis against the Rams. Since there’s nothing, really, for head coach Jim Harbaugh to explain … no mind-bending explanation about how starter Alex Smith won’t be starting has yet been given. Really, though, it would be great to hear Harbaugh follow up Monday’s media conference explanation where he called Smith the “starter,” adding that Kaepernick’s not the “backup” because he,… Read More »