I like that clements wants to play, but it's the end of the season and a messed up thumb has to affect his ability to tackle. I hope the coaches take that into account when they decide whether to let him play or not, because they gave the man such a huge contract it'd be beyond stupid to wreck him here at the end of the season.

Matt- I'm curious as to how the 49ers perceive TJ Houshmanzadeh? I know that the next coach will dictate the shape of the offense but Houshmanzadeh's numbers are very good over the last couple years. Is he someone that the front office would target with a big contract?

We lose this game if Clements doesn't play. I thought we had a serious chance at winning this game if he plays. The good news is that Goldston is finally back and ready to take over at free safety. I still think he will be the start by the last game. The excuse that Roman knows the defensive calls is no longer valid. Singletary has shown so far that he is not afraid to give the young guys a shot. I hope he does the same for Goldston.

I would REALLY like to see a combo of Goldston and Brown get out there. It would be great to see our Def starting to getting younger and more talented. I have the upmost respect for harris and what he has given to us but the reality is he is slowing down and makin less plays. Brown has a world of talent now he just needs playin time (like Hill and Morgan). also i would like to start seeing some of reggie smith in there see what that kid has. And then there is this dead horse i will continue to beat the rest of the year(like i have been all year long) lets get Goldston in for that Non-playmakin waste of space Roman. Once again lets remember he is a FREE SAFTY with ONe pick in 4 years... what the hell is it your doing out there!? imagine our nickle package in a year(Clements, Brown, Smith, Goldston, Lewis) not bad!

hell yea 9erDino!!!

Let's also realize Cotchery/Coles/Keller are all good route runners with excellent speed.
Get the kids on the field. Might be a nice time to try Clements at a S position and play secondary QB.
This game comes down to getting to Favre and throwing off his timing.
If he stays upright and clean, this will be a long ugly afternoon.
I'm hoping Martz has devised a plan to work in the screens this week, along with a heavy dose of Delanie and VD.
The Jets D is vulnerable to edge and seam pressure.
Needless to say, Singletary has shown that he has them prepared and, believing they can win.
Trust me, the Jets aren't very concerned about us,and might very well be looking ahead to their Division game in Buffalo next week. I've listened all week to the comparisons between Cutler and Shaun and Hillis and Gore and how they don't see Vernon as much of a threat.
They feel like we were lucky to win last week only scoring 10 points.
Maybe.
But, don't underestimate the team with nothing to lose.
I'm partying with my Jets pals, on enemy territory Sunday, sure would be sweet to spoil their party.
Perfect storm for a TRAP game.

Without a pass rush it would'nt matter who is at free safety.
Clements' streak is unimportant and is a ridiculous point
to raise as far as factoring it into whether he plays or not.
The situation will be determined just like the Coach said
period. If he does sit get him his 20 piece McNuggets and
BBQ sauce and he'll be happy.

LOL Razor. Here's an opportunity to throw some wrinkles at the Jets with personnel they haven't seen on film.
Rest Nate, load the backfield feature the TEs more in pass routes.
We've got nothing to lose. The Jets already see this as a WIN.
Punch them in the TEETH.
I've quietly wondered if Belechick called to offer any assistance knowing how much they need us to knock the Jets off.

I hate to see Clements injured, but I would love to see the young DBs on the field. We have a ton of DBs on the roster. We need to see who's for real.

Matt - what does it take to get REGGIE SMITH more PT besides mop up duty? Throughout the year the secondary's been injured (Hudson's out, Strickland, Goldson, Roman, even MLewis, now Clements + we all know Walt's now inconsistent) & he hasn't seen the field. Have you seen him during practice & is he behind the learning curve?

His draft 40 time is a pedestrian 4.6/40 so I can't see him at corner but at one of the Safety spots. When Goldson was injured do you know why we couldn't replace Roman with him when he was getting burned for big plays?

The radio excuse is lame. If Roman can't do his job he needs to be benched & the radio duties given back to Willis or you could give it to MLewis. At this point we have nothing to lose. Let's see what he's got.

Teams just can't play young players to play them. The young players have to earn their way onto the field. If a team plays someone ahead of people who have earned it in practice, that creates a lot more problems in the locker room. Also, wouldn't you rather a young player get on the field when he's ready? There's nothing that can destroy a player's confidence like forcing him on the field before his time. Patience, my friend, patience. --Matt M.

Thanks for answering my question Matt. This is totally off-topic but I just read on Sando's blog that ALAN BRANCH (6-5/325 lbs/DT/Michigan) so far has been a total bust in Arizona. He still can't get on the field.

I heard somewhere we were considering him at one point. Man that would have been a HUGE blunder vs our Willis pick. He dropped big time & AZ picked him up with their 1st pick in the 2nd Rd. (2007)

A week or so before that draft, I was told the 49ers would not even take him in the third round. That's how little they thought of him.

Here's a blog I wrote a couple days before that draft:
http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=583759&mode=blog

And in my list of players the 49ers could chose, I never even mentioned Branch:
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070427/NEWS/704270357/1010/SPT

--Matt M.

"His draft 40 time is a pedestrian 4.6/40 so I can't see him at corner"

4.6 40... that reminds me of a certain player named Jerry who played for the niners. People put WAY too much stock into the 40 times. I'm not saying this kid is faster than his time, I've never seen him play. I just don't think you should value him purely on his combine stats. Also, I LOVE the idea of a big, physical corner. As long as he's quick enough to stick with his man 20-30 yards down field, a safety over the top will nullify his lack of speed (assuming he is lacking).

shootme - your right he could have that football speed like Jerry did who didn't show it in his clocked time. RSmith still could make it at corner. Scouts say he has good instincts vs the pass which could compensate for his speed if he lacks some of it. For me I still see him more at one of the Safety spots more on the strong side because of his physicality for run support. He started 20 games at Strong Safety in college. It would be a nice bonus if he succeeds at corner. I don't know how hard it is to have 2 CB's who are both like #1's who don't NEED any help over the top but that's what I'd like to shoot for. MLewis is doing the job right now at SS but I would like to see Reggie grow into that spot & for TBrown to take Walt's spot. I'm assuming Asomugha will be franchised at the end of the year so in 2010 I hope we can make a run at him if we need to. (I think we'll have a good chance since he's played college & pro ball here in California. I see him as a West Coast guy.) IF our younger guys can't solidly fill in Walt's spot my dream scenario would be Asomugha being our top CB with Clements our #2. That would be UNBELIEVABLE. Now you couple that with a legit consistent pass rush...I'm salivating dreaming about something like that.