The Robinson Debate

A crackling debate sparks every few months on this blog over the same player - running back Michael Robinson. I've weighed in on this debate before and will so again.

To me, Robinson is not only instrumental to what the 49ers do on special teams, but I'd like to see him get more snaps from scrimmage. As bullit mentioned, Robinson could run the wildcat with his experience as a quarterback at Penn State. Robinson is also built similarly to Miami's Ronnie Brown, who runs the wildcat better than anybody.

Robinson might be harder to bring down than any running back on the roster. He's a guy who could punish a defense. Bringing him in late in games should be considered.

However, even if Robinson's play from scrimmage isn't increased, he's invaluable at the invisible role of special teams core player and his leadership shouldn't be minimized. Just because the guy isn't taking kickoffs back 95 yards doesn't mean he doesn't have value.

FAMILY DAY: The 49ers will again host family day at Candlestick Park on June 12 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., and the event is free. Sponsored by none other than The San Francisco Chronicle | SFGate.com the day will feature appearances by Head Coach Mike Singletary, players, alumni, Gold Rush cheerleaders, Niner Noise and Sourdough Sam.

The day will also feature youth football activities, contests, interactive games, live music, cheerleading clinics, photo opportunities, and Football 101 sessions with 49ers alumni Gary Plummer.

Each fan who enters will receive a scratch-and-win card where everyone wins something. Prizes include tickets to a home game, concessions, merchandise, 49ers Kids Club memberships, and admission to youth football camps.

Ted Robinson, the voice of the San Francisco 49ers, will also be broadcasting live from Candlestick Park on KNBR 680. Fans should visit 49ers.com to register for their free ticket, which is essential for admission. Parking is free at the interior lot through parking gate 3 or 4 and entrance is through gate F.

A BOOK YOU SHOULD READ: Those lining up summer reading should include Jim Jacobs's "Transgressions." The self-published novel, which is set in Syracuse, New York in the 1950's, is a tale about a boy of Iroquois and Jewish descent and his rocky and eventful path to manhood. Jacobs, an English teacher at Diablo Vally College, explores the worlds of prep football, the Iroquois-rich tradition of lacrosse and the corrupt boxing scene of that era. The work is action-packed, fast-paced and perfect for the male teenage reader. Jacobs also happens to be a good friend, a football fan, and a former instructor of mine at DVC back in the early 1980's. The book can obtained at www.jamesajacobs.com.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 14 2010 at 04:46 PM

Gore in the Pro Bowl

Sometimes life does reward the deserving. And nobody's more deserving of a Pro Bowl invite that 49ers running back Frank Gore. The consummate fighter, Gore fought off an ankle injury, a transformation of offensive emphasis to gain 1,120 yards rushing and score 13 touchdowns (10 rushing, three receiving).

\ With Rams runner Steven Jackson missing the Pro Bowl with an injury, Gore will able to play in his second All-Star and this time in his hometown of Miami. "It's amazing. It's the first time that I will get to play in Miami since I left," Gore said in a statement. "Last year, I couldn't play because I was injured and now God blessed me to play this year. To be in the Pro Bowl, it means a lot. I felt that missing some games this season, and to still be able to make a special game like this is a great opportunity. All I can say is that it's a blessing."

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | January 20 2010 at 10:25 PM

Holy Sheets Crabtree will play

I'm not sure what was behind the letting go of Kory Sheets. He seemed explosive in training camp and preseason and I remember this one cut he made in preseason where he saw a linebacker in the hole and he bounced the play outside in a flash. One detriment was his inability to digest the playbook quickly, but obviously that's been a challenge for Glenn Coffee as well. It's curious particularly with the 49ers keeping seven receivers and with Frank Gore's recent injury history.

It's got to be a good sign that Mike Singletary has already said that Michael Crabtree will play in Houston on Oct. 25. I'm not sure if there's been a "wow" factor with Crabtree in practice, but I'll find out next week. Crabtree hanging out the rest of the week with Gore can only help him. For all the criticism he endured for his holdout, Crabtree will be diligent. A lot of his holdout was Crabtree believing he was special. To continue to be special takes work and Crabtree is willing to do that by all accounts.

We might see a rotation at right guard with Chilo Rachal and Tony Wragge. Wragge looked wobbly with pass protection during the preseason, but he has to be better than Rachal. Singletary said the rotation at right tackle between Tony Pashos and Adam Snyder could stop at any moment if one of those players decides to take the job. Is rotating really a good thing on an offensive line that always wants to gain as much cohesion as possible? I believe during the Super Bowl winning 1989 season, Bruce Collie rotated with Terry Tausch at right guard and Steve Wallace and Bubba Paris rotated at left tackle. It worked out pretty well then, although I have issues comparing anything today with the glory years, particularly the recent blow out against Atlanta. Many have said the 49ers of the 80's and 90's were blown out including the 40-8 to flattening to Philadelphia in '94. Remember, those routs came within the context of winning seasons. The 49ers haven't had a winning season in six years, their default is not winning, it's losing, so blowouts even in this season of promise are not aberrations.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | October 14 2009 at 08:38 PM

Running at the Combine

Ohio State's Beanie Wells showed off his explosiveness by propelling his 235 pounds nearly 11 feet on the standing long jump. Wells is a first-rounder more than likely, but probably not a top ten pick, which would take him out of the 49ers' equation, unless the team trades down. Actually the 49ers would benefit from trading back. The draft seems fairly stacked in the first round in the team's area of needs: tackle, pass rusher, secondary, and lastly, running back.

Without trading down, the 49ers could still get a solid first-day running back. Liberty's Rashard Jennings had an excellent Senior Bowl, looked quick through cone drills on Sunday, ran a 4.49 forty and weighs 231 pounds. He also started his freshman year at Pitt but transferred to Liberty to be close to his diabetic father. He caught 24 passes his senior year, and rushed for 1,500 yards while playing with a shattered pinkie. Fullbacks abound and nearly all of them will be available after the first three rounds. Colorado State Gartrell Johnson's flowing dreads and Robert Newhouse thighs made him standout. It looks as if the 219-pounder could fly through ree-bar and cinderblock without breaking stride.

Back to Jennings: he was also in the top five among running backs in the three-cone drill, and the 20-yard shuttle run, which nearly qualify him officially as a beast. He was second in running backs with 29 reps of 225 pounds at the bench press. This guy could be a heck of a sleeper and is projected to go in the second round.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | February 23 2009 at 10:20 PM

Frank Update

The 49ers signed a player Wednesday, but it wasn't practice squad running back Thomas Clayton. Running back Carl Steward (6-1, 230), a former Buccaneer and Auburn Tiger was signed to the practice squad, which could free up Clayton to move to the active roster if Frank Gore's injured left ankle won't allow him to play Sunday in Miami.

Gore didn't practice Wednesday and probably won't practice for the rest of the week. Coach Mike Singletary indicated a decision might not be made until Sunday, and he said Clayton would make the trip to Florida in case he needs him for a last-minute call up. For now, DeShaun Foster is taking most of the turns in practice at running back.

A number of other players were held out of practice Wednesday, including center Eric Heitmann (abdominal strain), wide receiver Arnaz Battle (foot) cornerback Marcus Hudson (concussion), and linebacker Roderick Green (illness). Defensive end Justin Smith, linebacker Takeo Spikes and cornerback Walt Harris rested on Wednesday.

Cornerback Nate Clements (broken thumb that required a surgical pin insertion), and safety Dashon Goldson returned to practice without restriction. Kick returner Allen Rossum (ankle) was limited in practice.

DAVIS VS. PORTER: Remember the old Rodney Dangerfield joke about going to a fight and a hockey game broke out? That could apply to Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter and 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, two pugilistic, trash-talking sluggers, who could square off in the middle of Dolphins Stadium on Sunday. Porter, who's from Bakersfield, stated two years ago that he wanted to come to San Francisco. The 49ers weren't interested; they thought he was done. Instead he signed with Miami and this year he has 16.5 sacks.

Davis might be a better pass protecter than either Barry Sims or Adam Snyder and he could draw Porter's number often. Singletary said Porter lines up on the open side or the side without the tight end 98 percent of the time. So, Davis would have to motion over to block him, which could happen.

"If Vernon gets him, I'm sure I'm going to have to talk to Vernon this week and make sure that he doesn't get in the jaw-jacking competition," said Singletary who also said it could be like the WWF between Porter and Davis. With Davis's hot-head reputation teams try to bait him into a personal foul penalty. The Jets did it relentlessly but Davis never retaliated, which impressed quarterback Shaun Hill so much after the Jets game, he sent Davis a text praising his poise.

Nevertheless, the WWF could be the perfect landing spot for Davis and Porter after football. But don't be surprised if you show up at one of their matches and a football game breaks out.

THE STATE OF STALEY: A better match up for the 49ers would be to stick tackle Joe Staley on Porter. Sack totals have plummeted since Shaun Hill's insertion at quarterback, but that might have more to do with Staley than Hill. Hill still goes back into a seven-step as much as J.T. O'Sullivan did, but typically he doesn't get much heat from the left side. About the same time Hill was named the starter, Staley changed up his pass-protecting tactics.

Staley likes to attack the pass rusher, and get his hands on him quickly so he can control him. Most tackles don't have the athleticism to do that, but Staley is a rare athlete. Staley didn't do it last year as a rookie right tackle.

"Being a rookie, I just wanted to do what the coaches were telling me," Staley said. But with a year of seasoning, Staley told coaches he wanted to try it and so far, it's work well for him. Staley said he hasn't given up a sack since before the second Arizona game.

His duel with Porter might be the match-up to watch on Sunday.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | December 10 2008 at 11:10 PM

Gore Channels his Inner Marshall

Not much going on in Santa Clara Tuesday, just a single special teams practice in the late afternoon. So, with all the negativity surrounding the 49ers' offense and their passing game, we thought we might try to lift some spirits and turn to Frank Gore.

This is the the best shape I've seen him in. He said he dropped 10 pounds and he said he weighs about 214. He's never had the cut physique of a Vernon Davis, but gone is last year's baby fat. I don't blame him for that. Last year was one of the toughest of his life. He lost his mother, Liz, in September and then good friend Sean Taylor later in the season. He wanted to gain over 2,000 yards and he barely made half of that with 1,102 yards. He also saw his yards per carry drop from 5.4 in 2006 to 4.2 last year. He battled through a sprained ankle for most of the season and had to watch opportunities disappear while the offense put together the most three-and-outs of any team in the league.

Gore has the type of personality where he blames much of last year's offensive woes upon himself. So this year he decided to take a different approach. He's doing everything future Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk is telling him to do.

"I talked to him three of four times," Gore said. "Before training camp he told me some things."

The first was to get down to 212 pounds, the same weight Faulk was when he was the centerpiece of the Rams' offense under Mike Martz. He told Gore to run after practice every day. Gore does that. And he said to pepper Martz with questions and Gore is complying there too.

The mimick of Faulk is going well. Gore looks like a more polished receiver and he's darting into holes with razor-like cuts.

Martz is likely to use Gore differently than Faulk - more running and less pass receiving. Martz is also likely to do everything he can to get defenses from loading up against Gore by using three- and four-receiver sets and lots of motion.

Maybe Gore does rush for 2,000 yards, just a year later than he anticipated.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | August 05 2008 at 11:40 PM

Fullback Assessment

Apologies for my grammatical errors and thanks for catching them. One other note about the team's release of two players on Tuesday. The 49ers are one man over the 80-man limit, meaning they should release another player some time soon, and several players once they start signing their draft picks. So far, they've only signed wide receiver Josh Morgan of Virginia Tech, a sixth-round choice.

Today, we'll look at fullbacks but not before we go a little deeper into the running backs. Kasparhauser asked for more on the running backs and here it is.

DESHAUN FOSTER

We hit Foster pretty hard Wednesday and many of you said you liked his experience as a former starter. But how effective was he as a starter? Over the last three years his yards per average has gone down (4.3, 4.0, 3.5) while his fumbles have gone up (1,3,5) while playing behind an offensive line that's probably better than the 49ers.

He did play well in the playoffs, but that was six years ago. Experience by a running back can be grossly overrated. Most running backs wear down with experience and if his statistics are an indicator, that has happened to Foster.

In Foster, the 49ers have signed an older, declining runner who fumbles and doesn't give the offense much in the way of a change up from Frank Gore. The 49ers would have been better served saving the money they paid Foster to sign a tackle, or another defensive lineman or wide receiver, or re-signing Maurice Hicks.

Read More 'Fullback Assessment' »

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | July 02 2008 at 11:10 PM

Foster on His Way?

ESPN's John Clayton said the 49ers are interested in signing Carolina running back DeShaun Foster. The 49ers won't say a player is signed until he actually signs, but there's no doublt there's interest and Clayton is rarely wrong about such things.

With the expected signing of Steelers kick and punt returner (as well as cornerback) Allen Rossum, it appears the 49ers won't re-sign Maurice Hicks, which is a slight surprise. Linebackers say Hicks is the most difficult running back to cover, which would make him fit well with new offensive coordinator Mike Martz. The team apparently wants a more established every-down player to spell Frank Gore.

Foster began his career injury prone, but in the last three seasons, the six-year veteran has only missed three games. In that time, he's also caught 126 passes. The Panthers released him Thursday for salary-cap reasons (he counted $4.75 million this year) and because of the development of last year's rookie, DeAngelo Williams.

Against the 49ers this year, Foster was far from impressive, gaining 58 yards in 21 carries, but he did catch three passes for 35 yards.

Foster has never gained 1,000 yards in a single season, but the former UCLA star was unstoppable in the playoffs during Carolina's 2003 Super Bowl, gaining a team-record 151 yards rushing against the Giants.

It is said that Foster was also well-liked in the locker room.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | February 25 2008 at 07:03 PM

Gore Recognized

-Running back Frank Gore was named NFC Player of the Week for his 214 combined yards in the win against the Cardinals.

-During a conference call, Panthers coach John Fox was asked about his reaction to the problems he has had this year at quarterback. "Somewhere between unbelievable and you gotta be kidding me," he said. Fox isn't sure who will be quarterback this week. Vinny Testaverde could start but he's having back trouble.

-Cornerback Marcus Hudson tore a knee ligament against the Cardinals and will be out several weeks. In a related move, the team signed former Michigan Wolverine cornerback Markus Curry to the practice squad. He spent time on the Chargers' active roster and practice squad the last two seasons. The team cut tight end Zac Alcorn.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | November 28 2007 at 10:59 AM