Morgan, who has emerged as the starter at split end, sustained the injury Monday night but continued to play. He caught four passes for 54 yards, including a picturesque touchdown.
Receiver Arnaz Battle (foot) and safety Dashon Goldson (knee) have also been ruled out of action.
Running back Frank Gore (neck), tight end Delanie Walker (shoulder) and tackle Barry Sims (ankle) did not practice today, but each is expected to be available for Sunday's game.
With Morgan and Battle out of action, first-year player Dominique Zeigler is expected to get additional playing time. In his NFL debut, Zeigler caught one pass for 22 yards. Zeigler is now the No. 2 at split end, as well as the slot. Zeigler will get on the field when the 49ers go with four wides.
Any word on Jennings? We really need to draft a healthy OT next year and get rid of Jennings and Simms.
Gothwolf. The headset is turned off with 15 seconds so Martz could not have spoken to Hill
hey matt, it's unfortunate that j-morgan is going to be out. it seems that when he's ready for that 'breakout' game something goes wrong. hopefully its not a serious injury that requires a lengthy recovery period. good to see that d-zeig will get some game experience. during the bye-week there was talk about the possibility of activating l.b. ahmad brooks and playing him as a d-line pass-rush specialist. there has since been no news regarding brooks, has the team cooled away from him for any reason? matt, as always, you represented well this afternoon on OTL.
Jennings was in uniform and available for action Monday. He is not on the injury report. However . . . the 49ers have decided to go with Adam Snyder at right tackle. --Matt M.
Too bad about Morgan, but great opportunity for Z to step it up and get some reps. Jason Hill will be our #1 option again against the Lambs.
Matt – speaking of the OL, did you notice that Rachal was rotated in periodically during the Cards game? Everytime he came back on the sideline, he appeared frustrated for being pulled. Any news on this?
Did I notice? I think this means you weren't reading my live game blog. Shame on you. --Matt M.
Duly noted for the future. Thanks Matt!
Hey Matt, sorry of the frustration. Anyway, is Morgan injury prone like Jennings? I hope we didn't get a glass WR. Also, what is your take IF the 49ers finished 4 and 12, do they trade the first round pick to get additional picks? I really feel they should get additonal players trading the first round pick. I see the 49ers needing a Dline/WRs/Oline help, and dump Walt Harris and Mark Roman.
I hope Z steps up.
To the real Darren, I apologize. I know this is an imposter because the real Darren promised he would not comment for a full week, beginning yesterday. Any further comments from this imposter will be deleted until next Wednesday. --Matt M.
Jason Hill played some great ball when the game was one the line Monday. He just saved the franchise from drafting WR in the 1st or 2nd round. Who do you like more Matt, Oher or Smith?
yes i agree with marc on jason hill. if jason hill is consistant of what he did at the end of the game. i would say morgan and hill saved us 49ers from drafting a WR high in the draft, particularly m. crabtree. and focus the draft on the o-line & d-line. but if morgan keeps on getting injured, and that was just a one time show for j.hill, then i still hope the 49ers draft WR m. crabtree, texas tech early int he draft.
Honestly we I hope we handle the DL with Haynesworth in free agency. We've made an impact early the couple of years why not this year. Matt, any ideas what our cap would look like if we cut Jennings and redo A Smith contract. If we redo Alex's contract, what will be his figure against next years cap? The way I see it we could have as much as 20 mill, and formn what Jed said... ready to make a splash once again.
I really really do want the niners also to go for Haynesworth!!! i do believe that is the KEY missing part to the defense that the niner say they want to run.
I would LOVE to get Haynesworth just like practically every NFL team will be trying to do. It will be a tough sell that will take a boatload of money that I think we should do & go ahead & BREAK THE BANK for him.
I say that because that's the only way I see him leaving Tennessee. He's from South Carolina, played college & now Pro ball for Tennessee. Plus Tennessee's the best team in football right now. So I don't see him wanting to leave unless another team makes him an offer he can't refuse. Sorry to bust the bubble...I also want him BADLY. That ONE PLAYER would totally change our Defense.
Here's an idea I have to stew about. I don't know much about Jordan Gross/OT for the Carolina Panthers. He's on his franchise tag year right now. But if he's that good & still young we could try & get him & use that top pick for somebody else. If we select an OT as our #1 we're going to pay him big money anyways so why not go ahead & give it to a proven guy? Just please make sure to thoroughly check out his injury/playing history to make sure he's not another Jennings.
SOOO happy to see Zigler getting real reps. This kid dominated the preseason, and from what i've read has dominated the practive squad for a couple of years. Gotta give coach credit for recognizing the young talent already on the team. And did anyone else think Rachal had a nice few plays? Cuz i sure did. Big, strong, and young, this kid gonna be good!
There isn't a Defensive lineman top 10 pick right now but there's 1 that could make that list. His name? Terrence Cody/DT/6'5"/367 lbs (are you kidding me????) who is powerful & has some athleticism. He can play both the 4-3 or 3-4 & with him hardly anyone can run against Alabama. He's made their run Defense OUTSTANDING. You can build your Defense around this player. By getting Gross you could turn to another impact player with our 1st pick. Even if we got lucky & got Haynesworth I'd still be trying to get another DLineman. There's also other quality DLinemen available in the 2nd Rd. Hopefully BJ Raji/Boston will be there but he's also climbing the charts & could be a 1st rounder.
My strategy idea right now would be to trade picks 4/5/6 to get another 2nd rounder. Here we can get our QB & if we decided to go with an OT in the 1st...get your DL pick here. There's other options also for this other 2nd rounder depending on what happens in FA & that 1st pick. Plus we would still have our 3rd & 7th.
My point is if Cody becomes a legit top 10 by our guys, the scouts, & experts we could strongly consider him if we get Gross. IMO with the top 10 pick you also have to put into the evaluation...is he an instant starter close to can't miss prospect with possible star potential before making the pick.
Per Mike Lombardi & Draft crew....
LINK:
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008/11/nfl-draft-surprising-prospects-pop-up/
DT Terrence Cody, Alabama
THE BUZZ: We had Cody, a junior, in our top-100 prospect list to start the year and took some grief. But his combination of size (6-5/367) and power simply was too much to overlook. Now, scouts are jumping all over this mammoth nose tackle, who has single-handedly made Alabama one of the toughest units to run against in the nation. Cody is an ideal run-stuffer who has the body control and agility to play in a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. He looks like a real difference-maker and is the type of player you can build a defense around at the next level. After his tremendous play during the first half of the season, we are willing to bet he doesn’t get past the first 10 picks come draft time.
Ditto on Rachal. The 1 block he threw when he pulled for Gore was awesome. I heard he plays with a mean streak as well...that's something we need more of on our OL & the whole team.
Great to see Ziegler out there. I'm glad no one snagged him from our PS.
"If we redo Alex's contract, what will be his figure against next years cap?" -- I asked matt this previously and he stated that if the contract were REDONE, the niners wouldn't take a cap hit. If he were cut and resigned, they would. If he wants to stay, the answer is logical, to me...
I think Jennings is done as a starter for this year and then finished as a 49er at the end of the season.
I wonder if there's a chance he signs for the league minumum? I can't see him getting much more. He's technically a bust returning with a questionable shoulder right? For the league minimum I would be ALL FOR signing him & giving him another chance now that Nowin's gone. It's just too bad Martz will likely be leaving because Smith's MO from Urban Meyer is he's more effective completely learning the Offense first which he's been able to do watching from the sidelines plus still attending the meetings.
The more bullets in the gun the better. Heck let's get 4 QB's in here & pull a Gruden. It's been how many years since we've had a real starting QB, since Garcia right? Just ridiculous. I'd like to see Smith try to earn his way back up the lineup. I think he still has a chance.
Key FA's available....
1)Albert Haynesworth (Age 28) - long shot. In his franchise tag year. He's from South Carolina, played college & pro ball in Tennessee. HC Fisher & Co should be fighting hard to retain him. Might be able to be bought but he's on the best team in football so I can't see him wanting to leave.
2)Julius Peppers (Age 28) - long shot. Grew up in North Carolina plus played his college & pro ball there. Can be franchised but likely to look for a new contract with his present team. He's been named the leader on that Defense. He possibly could be bought at a ridiculous price.
3)Terrell Suggs - if we stay in the 3-4D.
4)Nnamdi Asomugha - DOUBTFUL. Oakland will probably use the franchise tag.
5)Jordan Gross/OT - In his franchise tag year.
5)Kurt Warner - I would get a FA QB regardless what happens this year to backup or start.
6)Jeff Garcia - my 2nd option.
7)Matt Cassel (?) - just threw this in. I thought I heard he was going to be a FA but I'm not 100% sure.
I believe if we cut Alex, his cap number will be 5.3 Million, if I remember that right. And like 9 million or so if he remains, which, of course will be restructured with a huge pay cut. Personally, I'm ok with the 5.3 million hit if they cut him OR restructuring him to a very small contract to be a 3rd stringer. Either one. It could be a LOT worse than 5.3 mill, thankfully it isn't.
I believe if we cut Alex, his cap number will be 5.3 Million, if I remember that right. And like 9 million or so if he remains, which, of course will be restructured with a huge pay cut. Personally, I'm ok with the 5.3 million hit if they cut him OR restructuring him to a very small contract to be a 3rd stringer. Either one. It could be a LOT worse than 5.3 mill, thankfully it isn't.
Back onto the subject of injuries, I'm a little worried about Gore's neck. Running backs get banged around alot and a strong neck is what is keeping their head screwed on right. Hopefully this won't have any long lasting affects because he's the stud of the team. The niners do so much better when they get Gore going, there's no way Hill is going to do well with 6 or more in coverage all the time.
Is it time to let Jason Hill, Josh Morgan and Dominique Zeigler carry the load at wide receiver? Why play Bruce, the season is lost, let the young guys show there stuff.