Harbaugh and Luck not discussing future

There’s a lot of speculation that this may be the last year at Stanford for both Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck with the NFL calling both of their names. Harbaugh suitors are said to be the San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, and possibly Miami Dolphins while Luck will undoubtedly be the #1 pick in the NFL draft if he chooses to enter.

Both Harbaugh and Luck have not given any hints as to their plans though. They both have ignored the topic as much as possible and have put most of their focus towards the Orange Bowl.

Luck has done his best to avoid the questions but had this to say to the media:

"I've tried not to think about my future until after this football game," he said. "I don't want it to get in the way of the team, of our chances in the Orange Bowl. I think if I start thinking about it too much, it'll be a detriment and my head will be in the wrong place. ... So it hasn't been too difficult. Just excited to be in the Orange Bowl and trying not to let anything get in the way of it."

Mercury News' Jon Wilner talked with Harbaugh asked him about his future of possibly going to the NFL:

"I only talk about the job I have now."

Harbaugh was also asked when he would make a decision on his future:

"I don’t want to put a timeline on it."

49ers-Cardinals: Injury Report (Thursday) - It's best for the 49ers to lose

Here is Thursday’s practice report for both the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.  This Sunday’s game is about as meaningless as they come.  In fact, it would be better for both teams if they lost as it would improve their draft position.  If the season ended today then the 49ers would pick sixth but as Dan Brown of the Mercury News wrote earlier this week the 49ers could end up with a pick anywhere from the 2^nd to the 13^th depending on how a bunch of 5-10 teams fare.  Mike Sando broke down what needed to happen in order for the 49ers to get the #2 pick in his mailbag yesterday:

• Denver beats San Diego to finish 5-11
• Cincinnati wins at Baltimore to finish 5-11
• Buffalo wins at the New York Jets to finish 5-11
• Arizona wins at San Francisco to finish 6-10
• Cleveland beats Pittsburgh to finish 6-10
• Dallas wins at Philadelphia to finish 6-10
• Detroit beats Minnesota to finish 6-10
• Houston loses to Jacksonville to finish 5-11

Arizona

Did Not Participate: LB Joey Porter (tricep)

Limited Participation: LB Clark Haggans (groin), TE Ben Patrick (hamstring), RB LaRod Stephens-Howling (hamstring)

San Francisco

Out: CB Phillip Adams (ankle), LB Keaton Kristick (concussion), T Joe Staley (fibula), LB Patrick Willis (hand)

Did Not Participate: TE Nate Byham (heel), DT Justin Smith (illness), RB Brian Westbrook (not injury related)

Limited Participation: C David Baas (ribs), RB Anthony Dixon (ankle), LB Takeo Spikes (hand)

Full Participation: TE Vernon Davis (thumb)

San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers: What An Ugly Uniform

Date: December 5, 2010

Time: 10:00 PST
Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Records: 49ers (4-7) Packers (7-4)
Spread: Packers (-9.5)

Injuries

San Francisco: Out - CB Will James (concussion), K Joe Nedney (leg), T Joe Staley (leg); Questionable - C David Bass (concussion), LB Parys Haralson (ankle), CB Shawntae Spencer (quad); Probable - WR Josh Morgan (shoulder), RB Brian Westbrook (ankle)

Green Bay: Out - CB Patrick Lee (ankle); Doubtful - S Anthony Smith (ankle), S Atari Bigby (hamstring); Probable - WR Greg Jennings (foot), RB Dimitri Nance (concussion), T Chad Clifton (knee), S Nick Collins (shoulder), DE Cullen Jenkins (calf), LB Clay Matthews (shin), DE Ryan Pickett (ankle), CB Charles Woodson (toe), T Brian Bulaga (ankle)

Inactives

San Francisco: QB David Carr (3rd QB), T Alex Boone, LB Thaddeus Gibson, OLB Parys Haralson, DB William James, LB Keaton Kristick, K Joe Nedney, T Joe Staley

Green Bay: S Atari Bigby, CB Patrick Lee, G Nick McDonald, RB Dimitri Nance, T Marshall Newhouse, LB Matt Wilhelm, DE Jarius Wynn

It is 22 degrees currently in Green Bay with a chance of snow.  It may work out for the 49ers that Brian Westbrook will be primary running back as he is used to playing in this weather unlike Frank Gore who is from Miami.

Parys Haralson is inactive and therefore Ahmad Brooks and Travis LaBoy will get a bunch of work today.

And one final thing.  God those are ugly uniforms that the Packers are wearing...

VIDEO: Should the Warriors Trade Monta Ellis?

 

After watching the Golden State Warriors lose to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, which happened to be their eighth loss in the past ten games, it has become clear that this team is not even a .500 team as currently constructed.  With new owners, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, now officially on the clock and ready to make a splash what is the best way for them to go about putting together a legit contender?  The first thing that they will need to figure out is whether Monta Ellis should be part of the team going forward or should he be used along with the $17 million in expiring contracts to make some trades that will make this team better.

Fans love Monta Ellis.  He is exciting to watch as he blows by defenses with his speed and together with Stephen Curry as a backcourt they can put up some serious offensive numbers.  But if you are building a championship team that is not the kind of backcourt you want.  Two guys who barely register at six feet tall and cannot play defense is not the way you go about winning titles.  Either Ellis or Curry is going to have to be traded.

As great as Ellis is he does not make the players around him better.  Some scouts believe that he is a poor man’s Allen Iverson in the sense that he could win scoring titles and win you games but he does not make other players around him better.  Ellis seemingly always needs the ball in his hand to succeed and that doesn’t work with a protypical point guard.  The Warriors could look to move Ellis to the point, again, but he is not much of a distributor and tends to like to dribble the air out of the ball.  He would be much better on a team like the Suns or Knicks where they already have an establish point guard and a good front court and they also like to run up and down the court.

The other option is that they look to move Stephen Curry.  This is less likely to happen because point guards are as easily replaced as shooting guards and Curry has proven he can be a top guard in the NBA.  Whether he will turn out to be the “next Steve Nash” like Don Nelson thought is another story.  If the Warriors were to move Curry it would have to be for a bigger body point guard like they had in Baron Davis.  Unfortunately, those types of point guards don’t grow on trees.  Deron Williams would be a nice fit but the Utah Jazz isn’t letting him go anytime soon.

It seems that the likely option is that Ellis will be traded based on the fact that he plays a position, shooting guard, that is easily replaced and he will likely net the Warriors back the most talent.  If Ellis continues on the path he is going on right now (24.9 ppg), his value will be extremely high come the trade deadline and I would fully expect the Warriors to be looking to trade him along with their expiring contracts for a legit star to put next to Curry.

Juan Uribe is Dead to Me!!!

I thought I would pass these along to start building up the hatred of Juan Uribe aka BooRibe.  Thanks to Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy for these.

As I said before, I was not on board with resigning Uribe because I thought his value could have been easily replaced and the signing of Miguel Tejada shows that but just the thought that we will have to see him playing for the Los Angeles Bums makes me want to throw up.

Didn't anyone tell Juan that Jose would not be on board with this?

Raiders-Chargers: Injury Report - Bruce Gradkowski Placed on IR

Here’s is the final injury report for the Raiders-Chargers game.  Yesterday the Raiders placed quarterback Bruce Gradkowski on the injured reserve, thus ending his season.  He had a third-degree separation of his throwing shoulder.  To replace him on the roster the Raiders signed former 49ers J.T. O’Sullivan.  Seems like an Al Davis type signing.  For those who don’t know much about him a quick scouting report is he has a big arm but a small brain and likes to throw the ball to the opposite team.  Let’s just hope for the Raiders sake that they never have to use him. 

And now for the injury report….

Oakland

Doubtful: CB Chris Johnson (groin)
Questionable: LB Rolando McClain (foot), DT Richard Seymour (knee), CB Nnamdi Asomugha (ankle), S Tyvon Branch (shoulder), TE Zach Miller (foot), WR Chaz Schilens (knee)

San Diego

Out: WR Patrick Crayton (wrist)
Doubtful: WR Vincent Jackson (calf), G Louis Vasquez (neck)
Questionable: TE Antonio Gates (toe), RB Mike Tolbert (hand), LB Stephen Cooper (knee), WR Malcom Floyd (hamstring), S Steve Gregory (shoulder)
Probable: DE Travis Johnson (shoulder), RB Ryan Mathews (ankle), CB Donald Strickland (hip), TE Kris Wilson (back)

49ers-Packers: Injury Report - Jeff Reed a 49er for the Rest of the Season

Here’s is the final injury report for the 49ers-Packers game.  No surprises regarding injuries other than word out of Santa Clara is that Nedney’s recovery is not going well and is set to be re-evaluated on Monday but all indications are that he may be done for the season.

Earlier this week, the 49ers signed Jeff Reed to take over for Joe Nedney as the kicker for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.  But according to Matt Barrows, Reed told the media today that he will be with the team for the remainder of the season.  That means that the 49ers could be without their two top offensive weapons, Frank Gore and Joe Nedney, for the remainder of the year.

And now for the injury report….

San Francisco

Out: CB Will James (concussion), K Joe Nedney (leg), T Joe Staley (leg)
Questionable: C David Baas (concussion), LB Parys Haralson (ankle), CB Shawntae Spencer (quad)
Probable: WR Josh Morgan (shoulder), RB Brian Westbrook (ankle)

Green Bay

Out: CB Patrick Lee (ankle)

Doubtful: S Anthony Smith (ankle), S Atari Bigby (hamstring)

Probable: WR Greg Jennings (foot), RB Dimitri Nance (concussion), T Chad Clifton (knee), S Nick Collins (shoulder), DE Cullen Jenkins (calf), LB Clay Matthews (shin), DE Ryan Pickett (ankle), CB Charles Woodson (toe), T Brian Bulaga (ankle)

Giants Non-Tender Velez and Chris Ray

The Giants are really busy tonight with all of the arbitration-eligible free agents they have to make decisions on.  They have already made a decisions on a few of those free agents.

The Giants decided to tender contracts to Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez, Ramon Ramirez, Cody Ross, Jonathan Sanchez, and Andres Torres.  That leaves both Chris Ray and Eugenio Velez without tendered contracts.

In a related move, Mike Fontenot has agreed to a one-year deal with the Giants, avoiding arbitration.  Last year Fontenot earned $1 million through arbitration so I would expect his salary to be a bit higher than that.

The Velez non-tender is interesting since he wasn't up for arbitration.  This would likely mean that the Giants will let him walk and that would open up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Former Giant, Fred Lewis was non-tendered by the Blue Jays so that makes him a free agent.

2 Warriors Listed on Sporting News' Top 50 Players

Sporting News released the results of their annual survey of the 50 top players in the NBA.  The survey is given to current and former players, coaches, general managers, and broadcasters.

Two players from the Golden State Warriors were on the list and Monta Ellis' was not one of them.  David Lee was listed at #31 and Stephen Curry #34.  This is the first time for both Curry and Lee on this list.

The most frustrating part of this is that Ellis is having an excellent season, defintely better than Curry's, and still not getting the respect.  The list is no better than the All Star voting as John Wall was listed on the rankings ahead of Ellis.  There is no way someone could feasibly rate Wall over Ellis at this point in the season or this early in Wall's career.

No Sacramento King's players were listed on the top 50 either.

49ers-Packers: Injury Report (Thursday) - Westbrook Expected To Play Sunday

Here's the practice report from both the 49ers and the Packers.  The big name on the report is the new starting running back Brian Westbrook is listed but all indications is that he will be the starter for Sunday.  At Westbrook's age there is little reason for him to practice everyday and without Frank Gore for the rest of the season they will need to have Westbrook fresh.  

San Francisco

Out: T Joe Staley (fibula)
Did Not Participate: C David Baas (concussion), LB Parys Haralson (ankle), CB William James (concussion), K Joe Nedney (knee), CB Shawntae Spencer (quad), RB Brian Westbrook (ankle)
Limited Participation: WR Josh Morgan (shoulder)

Green Bay

Did Not Participate: S Atari Bigby (hamstring), CB Patrick Lee (ankle), S Anthony Smith (ankle)
Limited Participation: WR Greg Jennings (foot), S Nick Collins (shoulder), LB Clay Matthews (shin), DE Ryan Pickett (ankle), CB Charles Woodson (toe)

49ers Sign New Kicker Jeff Reed

It appears that Joe Nedney is not ready to play Sunday against the Packers and therefore the 49ers have signed another kicker.  The 49ers signed former Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Jeff Reed to fill in while Nedney this week against the Green Bay Packers.

Shane Andrus had been the replacement for the past two weeks for Nedney but Mike Singletary did not have much confidence in him.  Against the Buccaneers he passed up a potential field goal try to punt the ball and then on Monday against the Arizona Cardinals Andrus missed a field goal early in the game.  

According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Reed will fly into the Bay Area tomorrow to sign a contract and meet the team.  The team is then scheduled to leave for Green Bay on Saturday.

Sources: Giants Re-sign Pat Burrell to One-Year Deal

The San Francisco Giants have re-signed the other half of Miami Hurricane connection.  According to multiple sources, Pat Burrell has agreed to a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Giants for the 2011 season.  The exact terms of the deal are not known but we do know it will be for less than he was making in 2010 while collecting paychecks from both the Tampa Bay Rays and San Francisco Giants.  This deal will allow Burrell to rejoin his former University of Miami teammate Aubrey Huff who re-signed with the Giants last week.

After being released by the Tampa Bay Rays, Pat Burrell signed with the San Francisco Giants and played in 96 games.  During that time he batted .266/.364/.589 with 18 homeruns and 51 RBIs.  Burrell was an important part of the Giants run into the playoffs with his clutch at-bats at the end of many crucial games.  All indications are that he will not be a starter in 2011 and will likely be a fourth outfielder with power off of the bench--the role the Giants actually meant for him when he signed midseason.

Pablo Sandoval Reportedly Has Lost 10 Pounds

Yesterday the San Francisco Giants announced that they came to agreement with Miguel Tejada on a one-year deal.  Then in a related story, someone close to Pablo Sandoval told Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that Sandoval has lost ten pounds.  Albeit the reported loss of weight was prior to Thanksgiving.  With the way that Sandoval has been known to eat he could have actually gained those ten pounds back plus more.  Either way this story would seem to be good news that Sandoval is taking the weight training seriously.  Either that or he has a good agent who is trying to make sure the Giants don't forget about him.

If the Giants are truly not convinced that Sandoval will come to Spring Training in proper condition, and by all reports they are not, then it would not surprise me to see another addition to the left side of the infield.  Especailly at shortstop.  Although, Miguel Tejada's natural position is shortstop he is also aging and would be better defensively at third base.  The Giants could pick up another shortstop with a better defensive game (Jason Bartlett) and move Tejada over to third.  This would force Sandoval to prove himself again to the organization and show that the 2010 season was a fluke.  If that did happen then the Giants could move him over to first base, where he should be playing anyway.

49ers vs. Packers: Offense Introducing Thunder & Lightning

With a short week for the 49ers, Mike Singletary met with the media again (transcript after the jump).  The discussion was around the absence of Frank Gore and what that means as far as how the new running backs will be used.  First thing first, Frank Gore's injury is not as bad as expected and therefore it will not require surgery according to Singletary.  

On another injury front, Singletary expects center David Bass to play after suffering an injury in Monday nights game.  If Bass could not go then Tony Wragge would take his place.

Now to the running backs that are expected to play Sunday.  Mike Singletary said that the 49ers are going to use a "thunder and lightning" approach with Brian Westbrook obviously the lightning and Anthony Dixon the thunder.

On whether he will use both Westbrook and RB Anthony Dixon:

“Yes; kind of ‘thunder and lightning.’ You know, that’s been used a lot through the years with running backs but with both those guys it literally is applicable.”

On whether Dixon is thunder:

“He’s going to be thunder.”

Singletary was also asked about Anthony Dixon's wide known problem of dancing around in the backfield before he hits the hole.  Singletary has been critical of Dixon from the beginning of training camp about this and would like Dixon just to run through the hole whether it is there or not.

On Dixon looking like thunder but playing like lighting:

“You know what, he’s got great feet and, you know, that’s something for him that, a lot of people would say is a negative thing because he has such great feet he can continue to try and fill the hole. But I think for what we want to, what we want him to do is be a little more disciplined toward hitting the hole and hitting it now and if it’s not there then try and make it there; try and make one there. I just think that he’s still learning what his style is going to be, but I’m very excited about the possibilities there.”

And finally before the transcript.  The 49ers signed three players to the practice squad today.  WR Bakari Grant, guard Nick Howell, and running back Xavier Omon were all added.  Bakari Grant, as you may remember, was in training camp with the 49ers earlier this year.