Alex Smith and Vince Young have crossed paths on several occasions at NFL functions. They've offered each other some encouraging words during the difficult times, like after each lost his starting job. The once highly touted quarterbacks' NFL fates have taken a similar bumpy road, and now they're both back behind center, ready to square off Sunday when Young's Tennessee Titans come…
San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye is not going change his approach just because two main components of the team’s offense have changed.
With quarterback Alex Smith and receiver Michael Crabtree added to the mix, the 49ers seem to have more firepower with the passing game. But don’t expect Raye to implement a spread offense with regularity. The 49ers used that formation in a two-minute drill at the end of the first half to produce a touchdown last week against the Indianapolis Colts.
“(If) we were going to take this deal and become a shotgun, wide-open and throw the ball 48 or 52 times a game, then we’d have to do an awful lot of changing,” Raye said.
“The quarterback (Smith) has played six quarters, and people are now starting to refer to his…
ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio weighs in on the biggest story lines of Week 9: 1. Dolphins take Wildcat…
Frank Gore has a straightforward offensive strategy: make positive yards every time. That's what the running back regularly reminds his San Francisco 49ers teammates about — small gains are better than no gains or negatives. "We're getting better," Gore said Wednesday. "Like I keep telling my guys, 'We've got to get positive yards every time we run the…
The San Francisco 49ers have signed cornerback Keith Smith to a one-year contract, boosting their secondary a day after learning Nate Clements would be sidelined up to eight weeks with a broken shoulder blade. San Francisco (3-4) also released receiver Micheal Spurlock and cut tight end Carson Butler from the practice squad.
Left tackle Joe Staley limped through the 49ers locker room with a bulky brace on his sprained right knee. Cornerback Nate Clements cradled his broken right shoulder blade in a sling. Both players, injured during San Francisco's 18-14 loss at Indianapolis on Sunday, will miss at least a month and a half.
Indianapolis' 16th straight regular-season victory will fit neatly into the Colts' record book. This week's game tapes will show the Colts how imperfect they really are. With Peyton Manning out of sync and the offense struggling to score touchdowns Sunday, the Colts turned to a former quarterback — Joseph Addai — for a 22-yard TD pass that gave Indy an 18-14 victory and its own…
San Francisco left tackle Joe Staley sprained his right knee on the first play Sunday against the Colts, and his return was doubtful. Staley has started every game of his three-year career. Barry Sims stepped in for him. The 49ers already have lost right tackle Tony Pashos for the season with a broken left shoulder blade.
Colts running back Donald Brown, cornerback Marlin Jackson and former starting left tackle Tony Ugoh are all inactive for Sunday's game against San Francisco. Brown is out with a bruised left shoulder. Jackson missed the previous two games with a right knee injury, and Ugoh was a healthy scratch. Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne is active and expected to start.
In March of 2007, former Bills cornerback Nate Clements signed an eight-year, $80 million contract with the…