April 2009 Archives

    The 49ers today signed veteran outside linebacker Marques Harris, an unrestricted free agent who played his first four seasons with the Chargers. The club also announced the signings of 12 undrafted free agents.
    The rookies - drafted and undrafted -- began arriving this afternoon at the 49ers' practice facility in Santa Clara.
    The 49ers have a lot of salary-cap room and two first-round picks for 2010. It only goes to reason that they would investigate all the possibilities for immediately improving the roster.

    UPDATED: 8:19 a.m. (PT), Thursday

     

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    Here is a list of undrafted free agents who have agreed to contracts with the 49ers, according to their agents.

     

    A couple days after the NFL draft, here are some thoughts on 49ers-related topics . . .
    The 49ers selected a big free safety, Curtis Taylor of LSU, with their first of two seventh-round picks.And with their final pick, No. 244 overall, the 49ers selected LSU defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois.
    The 49ers have picked in six rounds. Why haven't they picked an outside linebacker? Why haven't they picked an offensive tackle?
    The 49ers selected Bear Pascoe, the tight end from Fresno State, with their sixth-round pick at No. 184 overall.
    For the first time since the first selection of 2005, the 49ers have invested a draft pick in a quarterback.

    The 49ers selected Pitt inside linebacker Scott McKillop with in the fifth round with the No. 146 overall pick.

    The 49ers just made their pick in the third round, selecting RB Glen Coffee (Alabama) to act as a complement to Frank Gore.
    It's time for my second mock draft. Today, we're going to look at the third round, which begins bright and early at 7 a.m.

    UPDATED WITH A LOOK AT PANTHERS DIFFICULT 2009 SCHEDULE.

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    The 49ers traded their pick in the second round - and their pick in the fourth round - to the Panthers for a first-round selection in 2010.

    Welcome to draft day at 49ers headquarters at 4949 Centennial Boulevard here in lovely Santa Clara.

    There's more than 12 hours before the official start of the NFL draft, which means my mock draft will be accurate for a little more than 12 hours.

    The 49ers have nine scheduled picks in the draft. GM Scot McCloughan promised the team will not trade up from No. 10, but they might trade back to acquire more picks. But, then, the 49ers might also trade up later in the draft.

     

    We can probably agree that heading into the 2005 draft, the 49ers had the worst roster in pro football.
    GM Scot McCloughan pulled up a chair and sat in front of a dozen newspaper (and online) scribes in the media trailer today. He bobbed and weaved through a flurry of questions.
    A 49ers executive has left the organization, presumably to accept another job, the team confirmed today.
    GM Scot McCloughan might be the next person in the 49ers' organization to feel the heat if the franchise's string of seasons without a playoff appearance continues. But he said he is NOT approaching this draft like the 49ers just need a sudden bump to be a Super Bowl-contending team.
    With Steve Mariucci as coach of the 49ers and Jon Gruden with the Raiders, it was a good time for football fans in the Bay Area.

    Tonight -- coincidentally, it was right around bed time for the kids -- I took part in a live chat with the fans who gathered at 49erswebzone.com and 49ersparadise.com. Thanks to my wife for handling the tucking-in duties without me.

     

    Here are some excerpts from the chat. The full transcript can be read at 49erswebzone.

    The latest report is one that Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji will certainly not dispute.
    The 49ers have a lot of reasons to want to bail out of the No. 10 overall pick - in excess of $14 million reasons, in fact.
    Today is the last day draft-eligible prospects are allowed to visit with teams prior to the April 25-26 draft. The 49ers expect a turnout in the mid-30s for their local pro day at the team's practice facility in Santa Clara.

    The 49ers' signing of outside linebacker Parys Haralson to a four-year contract extension was an essential move. He is the only pass-rusher on the team. But it should not change the 49ers' approach for next week's draft.

     

    The 49ers used some of their cap space this morning to sign outside linebacker Parys Haralson and kicker Joe Nedney to contract extensions, the club announced.

    John Madden, the ground-breaking and often-imitated second man in the booth, has decided to retire from broadcasting, NBC Sports chair Dick Ebersol announced this morning.

     

    The 49ers will have to remain in wait-and-see mode through the first 90 minutes of the draft on Saturday, April 25. It would be pretty shocking if the 49ers traded up, but a trade back is a definite possibility.

    The NFL announced the regular-season schedule today. Here's a quickie look at the 49ers' scheule for the coming season.

    Moments after the 49ers' final game of the season, new team president Jed York gathered the team around to announce Mike Singletary had been hired permanently as 49ers coach.

     

    But before he made the announcement, York promised the players - and later made the same bold prediction to the media -- that the 49ers would no longer finish the season in December.

    UPDATE (Monday, 5:56 p.m.): I was out of the area today. The official word from the 49ers was that they were neither confirming nor denying Matthew Stafford's scheduled pre-draft visit. (Don't worry, it was confirmed yesterday.) There were no reports of a Stafford vs. Singletary wrestling match, so we assume everything went OK. Tomorrow, I'll check in with my feeling about the likelihood of the 49ers taking a QB with the No. 10 overall pick.

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    Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford is scheduled to visit the 49ers tomorrow at the team's facility in Santa Clara. It is shocking Stafford would even accept the 49ers' phone call. Heck, it's amazing the 49ers haven't already tossed Stafford's draft card in the trash.

    The 49ers do not have a supremely talented roster. The club has gone six seasons without a playoff appearance. So any player the 49ers choose with the No. 10 overall has to become an immediate starter. Right?

     

    Kentwan Balmer, the 49ers' first-round pick last season at No. 29 overall, was not expected to put up big numbers as a rookie. Heck, he won't be expected to put up big numbers at any point in his career.

    Finding a pass-rusher might be the 49ers' biggest need heading into the draft. In the 49ers' 3-4 scheme, the pass rush is expected to come from the outside linebackers.
    At some point, perhaps on the second day of the draft (April 26), the 49ers will select a running back to complement Frank Gore.
    When the 49ers opened the Marie P. DeBartolo Sports Centre, it was considered the best training complex in the NFL.
    Being a fan of college hoops, I was looking forward to last night's championship game. After about four minutes, I started searching for other things to occupy my attention.
    One of the top defensive players in the draft is relieved he does not have to be on the defensive any longer.

    The season of pre-draft visits began today with several prospects visiting the 49ers' new-and-improved facility.

    In mid-February, coach Mike Singletary was asked if the 49ers would take a quarterback with the No. 10 overall pick. He tilted his head to the side and pressed his lips together. His body language said no.

    UPDATE: This entry was posted a couple hours before news broke that the Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Bears. Obviously, the Bears were not one of the teams mentioned as a "leader" get to Cutler. The 49ers, apparently, never surfaced as a serious player.

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    There are reportedly three top candidates to land Jay Cutler, the future former Broncos quarterback. And the 49ers are not among the teams mentioned.

    Veteran receiver Isaac Bruce spoke with 49ers coach Mike Singletary this morning and told him what is on his mind.

Who is Matt?

Matt Maiocco is in his 14th year covering the 49ers. He has reported for The Press Democrat since 2000. He is a three-time winner of Pro Football Writers of America awards. Rotoworld.com ranked "Instant 49ers" as the No. 2 NFL team blog in the country in 2007. Maiocco has written two books, "Roger Craig's Tales from the 49ers Sideline" and "San Francisco 49ers: Where Have You Gone?" Matt can also be heard regularly on KNBR (680-AM) during the season. He is also been added this season as a regular guest on ESPN's "First Take."