Week 4: Niners VS KC.......THE REVENGE OF GORE!
- Thread starter Chree
- Start date
you wanna toss some statistics out there? alright here they come chief....
1. The Chiefs are tied for the NFL lead with an 18-4 (.818) record in interconference games at home dating back to the ‘95 season. Kansas City will face a San Francisco squad that owns a 3-22 (.120) road record dating back to the start of the 2003 season, a mark that is tied with Arizona for the lowest road winning percentage in the NFL over that span.
2. The 49ers have lost seven consecutive road games against AFC foes and haven’t won on the road in an interconference contest since posting a 23-20 OT win at Oakland (11/3/02). at Oakland? hahaha who hasnt done that tha last half decade?
3. The Chiefs have not permitted an individual 100-yard rusher at home in 16 consecutive contests, the longest such streak in franchise history. That streak also ties San Diego for the longest active string of games in the league without permitting a 100-yard runner. Kansas City’s defense allowed a league-low 76.1 rushing yards per game at home in 2005, permitting a total of just 609 ground yards (76.1 ypg) at Arrowhead all season. <<<Gore who?
Heres tha doozy.......
4. Since ‘94, the Chiefs are 23-5 (.821) against head coaches making their regular season debuts at Arrowhead. Kansas City has also won 17 of its last 19 games against QBs in their first or second year as NFL starters who are making their initial appearance as a starter at Arrowhead. SF head coach Mike Nolan and QB Alex Smith will both make their initial appearances in their current roles at Arrowhead on Sunday.<<<Arrowhead is where beginning QB's come to die!
5. The only current NFL city where the 49ers own a longer victory drought than in Kansas City is Denver, where San Francisco hasn’t won since registering a 36-34 victory (9/23/73).
1. The Chiefs are tied for the NFL lead with an 18-4 (.818) record in interconference games at home dating back to the ‘95 season. Kansas City will face a San Francisco squad that owns a 3-22 (.120) road record dating back to the start of the 2003 season, a mark that is tied with Arizona for the lowest road winning percentage in the NFL over that span.
2. The 49ers have lost seven consecutive road games against AFC foes and haven’t won on the road in an interconference contest since posting a 23-20 OT win at Oakland (11/3/02). at Oakland? hahaha who hasnt done that tha last half decade?
3. The Chiefs have not permitted an individual 100-yard rusher at home in 16 consecutive contests, the longest such streak in franchise history. That streak also ties San Diego for the longest active string of games in the league without permitting a 100-yard runner. Kansas City’s defense allowed a league-low 76.1 rushing yards per game at home in 2005, permitting a total of just 609 ground yards (76.1 ypg) at Arrowhead all season. <<<Gore who?
Heres tha doozy.......
4. Since ‘94, the Chiefs are 23-5 (.821) against head coaches making their regular season debuts at Arrowhead. Kansas City has also won 17 of its last 19 games against QBs in their first or second year as NFL starters who are making their initial appearance as a starter at Arrowhead. SF head coach Mike Nolan and QB Alex Smith will both make their initial appearances in their current roles at Arrowhead on Sunday.<<<Arrowhead is where beginning QB's come to die!
5. The only current NFL city where the 49ers own a longer victory drought than in Kansas City is Denver, where San Francisco hasn’t won since registering a 36-34 victory (9/23/73).
Trent Green Sighting at Arrowhead
9/28/06 at 8:49 am
[Kansas City.com] On a day when Terrell Owens dominated the news around the NFL, Chiefs quarterback Trent Green dashed onto an elevator at Arrowhead Stadium, spent part of the day with the team and was able to drive himself to work.
And that was a decent buzz in Kansas City.
Green, who’s been out of sight since being knocked unconscious in the season opener Sept. 10, declined interview requests Wednesday as he made the rounds in sweats and a T-shirt. He’s expected to attend Sunday’s game against the 49ers, though coach Herm Edwards said he doesn’t know whether Green will be on the sidelines or somewhere else in the stadium.
Edwards called Green’s status a “day-to-day, week-to-week thing.” Green has been ruled out for this weekend.
More Worries at Tackle
9/28/06 at 8:52 am;
[Kansas City.com] As shaky as their pass blocking has been, the last thing the Chiefs wanted to see was left tackle Kyle Turley riding a stationary bike on the edge of the practice field instead of working with his teammates.
But that’s exactly what Turley was doing Wednesday. He also was a spectator at Monday’s practice. The Chiefs did not practice Tuesday, normally the players’ day off.
The Chiefs listed Turley on the NFL injury report as likely to play in Sunday’s game against San Francisco at Arrowhead Stadium.
They listed right tackle Kevin Sampson the same way early in the week of the season opener against Cincinnati, and Sampson didn’t play until the next week against Denver.
If Turley’s problem was anything but soreness in his back, his absence might not be so troubling to the Chiefs. But he returned to football only this season after missing the last two because of back troubles, so there’s no way to misinterpret this as good news.
Turley said the soreness was beyond anything he’s experienced since he signed with the Chiefs in the spring.
“I’m concerned,” Turley said. “A back injury is not something to fool around with. It’s definitely cause for concern.
“We’ll see. I’m supposed to meet with more doctors, and we’ll find out what’s happening. I’m just trying to wait it out.”
Jordan Black, who struggled at times as the left tackle last season — and again at right tackle in Sampson’s place against Cincinnati — would be the likely starter if Turley can’t play.
9/28/06 at 8:52 am;
[Kansas City.com] As shaky as their pass blocking has been, the last thing the Chiefs wanted to see was left tackle Kyle Turley riding a stationary bike on the edge of the practice field instead of working with his teammates.
But that’s exactly what Turley was doing Wednesday. He also was a spectator at Monday’s practice. The Chiefs did not practice Tuesday, normally the players’ day off.
The Chiefs listed Turley on the NFL injury report as likely to play in Sunday’s game against San Francisco at Arrowhead Stadium.
They listed right tackle Kevin Sampson the same way early in the week of the season opener against Cincinnati, and Sampson didn’t play until the next week against Denver.
If Turley’s problem was anything but soreness in his back, his absence might not be so troubling to the Chiefs. But he returned to football only this season after missing the last two because of back troubles, so there’s no way to misinterpret this as good news.
Turley said the soreness was beyond anything he’s experienced since he signed with the Chiefs in the spring.
“I’m concerned,” Turley said. “A back injury is not something to fool around with. It’s definitely cause for concern.
“We’ll see. I’m supposed to meet with more doctors, and we’ll find out what’s happening. I’m just trying to wait it out.”
Jordan Black, who struggled at times as the left tackle last season — and again at right tackle in Sampson’s place against Cincinnati — would be the likely starter if Turley can’t play.
49ers Offense On the Rise
http://49ers.com
The Kansas City Chiefs boasted the number one total offense in the NFL at the end of last season while the San Francisco 49ers ranked in the cellar with the league’s worst. And that just goes once again to prove how much can change in just a season because heading into week four, it’s been a reversal in the rankings for these two teams.
The Chiefs have played only two games and with starting quarterback Trent Green knocked out in week one, Kansas City’s rankings have plummeted to 27th in total offense. The 49ers meanwhile skyrocketed up to 4th in the NFL. Going back to off-season and training camp power rankings, those are standings for both teams that nobody anticipated.
But with the additions of some key free agents, young draft picks, and a new coordinator in Norv Turner, the 49ers organization has been drinking the Kool-Aid, so to speak, all along in terms of their offensive improvement.
“It’s may be a surprise outside of this building,” said quarterback Alex Smith. “I think everyone inside this building knew what we could do. I think we all know what our capabilities were if we execute and play up to our potential.”
Smith has been perhaps the biggest surprise of all, making a leap in his second season that many critics said he lacked the talent to ever do.
His rapid improvement hasn’t been unforeseen by his teammates though. Starting left tackle Jonas Jennings is not surprised with the composure and maturity he’s seen from the guy he’s charged with to protect.
“It starts with the huddle,” said Jennings. “He’s definitely got control of the huddle and anytime you’ve got a QB who can control his huddle, you expect him to make those extra plays. A QB is a natural leader spot and I think he’s done a great job of upholding that.”
So far we’ve seen Smith light it up against the Bears in preseason while running repeated roll out plays. More recently he’s settled down in the pocket where he’s picked up on that fifth sense of when pressure is nearing and when he needs to step up. He flashed scrambling ability that he’d previously shied away from somewhat after suffering a knee injury last year with a 22 yard scramble on Sunday where he kept running and chose not to slide as the play came to an end.
All the praise is fine and dandy, and of course welcomed for a quarterback who experienced ruthless critique as a rookie, but when Smith watches tape these days, he’s zeroing in on the plays that the 49ers left out on the field.
“It’s good to see some positive things, but when we watch this offense, we see how close we are,” explained Smith. “We see some of the good things we’ve done but what we tend to look at is really what we’ve left out there. We can see that we are not far off from making some of those plays and that’s the exciting thing.”
With just three games played, skeptics likely still foresee the 49ers young offense faltering, but like team’s offensive general, Jennings said this is just the start of what San Francisco’s offense can do.
“We are 4th in the league and we haven’t played our best football,” said Jennings. “We haven’t gotten all the gelling done that we need to tap into this offense, and there are still better days to come for this offense.”
Kansas City’s new head coach Herm Edwards is certainly taking notice of the 49ers offense, especially their high number of explosive plays.
“They’ve got big play potential and I think they are third in the league in big plays,” said Edwards. “They have 11 plays of 20 yards or more. They are an offense that has some weapons. Their quarterback does a great job of getting the ball down the field and they are a good play action team that is also a power team when it comes to running the ball. That’s Norv’s trademark where he is going to run the ball, then play action pass on you. They also do shifts in formation. They are doing a great job and I think they are vastly improved from last year.”
Edwards will look to offset those explosive plays with his own trademark style of aggressive, yet sound defensive play.
“The one thing I think they’ve done a great job in the first two games against two very good offenses in Denver and Cincy is not giving up big plays,” said Turner. “If you go back and watch Herm in New York, that’s what their defense was known for. They are known for making you drive the distance and not giving up an easy score. They make you drive the whole field and they don’t take too many chances.”
The Chiefs have given up only four plays over 20 yards, and will scheme to force the 49ers to earn every yard. One player who’ll likely factor more into getting some of those tough yards this week is rookie running back Michael Robinson, who was extremely productive in last week’s goal line and short yardage situations.
“We have to get first downs,” said Robinson. “First downs, first downs, first downs and eventually you’ll get touchdowns. That’s the way we have to approach it. Herm wants to hit you hard, and hit you first. They are taking on his mentality and those guys can run, they can play, and they can hit hard. We’ve definitely got to have our helmets strapped up and ready to go come Sunday.”
San Francisco will look to strike the first punch against Kansas City’s tough defense, moving beyond the sluggish first halves that haunted this offense in their two losses.
“A couple of games now we’ve put ourselves into a hole and have had to dig our way out and you don’t want to play that way,” said Smith. “We want to come out and start fast and that is something we are focused on.”
Translating that focus to the field takes an attitude said Robinson.
“We’ve got to mentally get up in the morning and realize we are playing a football game and not wait until we go in at half and get chewed out and feel bad to get us going,” said Robinson. “I’m going into the game with a chip on my shoulder and if we all take that approach and that attitude we’ll start off like we want to.”
A fast start would also go a long way in quieting the ever boisterous and unwelcoming crowd at Arrowhead Stadium.
“They are definitely loud there,” said Jennings. “I’ve played there numerous times and you’ve really got to get that crowd out of it.”
Wednesday Practice Notes:
The most serious of the 49ers injuries from last week was to TE Vernon Davis, who will miss time after suffering a crack to his fibula in the second half against Philadelphia. The injury will not require surgery or a cast, but Davis is expected to miss four weeks of action.
RB Frank Gore (bruised ribs), RB Maurice Hicks (ankle) and RB Michael Robinson (shoulder) all suffered injuries in the Eagles game. All three practiced today. Robinson is listed as probably while Gore and Hicks are listed as questionable on the injury report.
TE Delanie Walker completed his first entire practice with the team after suffering a shoulder injury in the 49ers final preseason game. He’s listed as questionable and will be upgraded on Thursday if he shows no lingering problems from today’s practice.
WR Taylor Jacobs returned to practice after sitting out last week with a hamstring injury that occurred in the victory over St. Louis two weeks ago. He is questionable on the injury report.
G Larry Allen is expected to miss one more week with a sprained knee that happened in the first quarter of the Arizona game on opening day.
http://49ers.com
The Kansas City Chiefs boasted the number one total offense in the NFL at the end of last season while the San Francisco 49ers ranked in the cellar with the league’s worst. And that just goes once again to prove how much can change in just a season because heading into week four, it’s been a reversal in the rankings for these two teams.
The Chiefs have played only two games and with starting quarterback Trent Green knocked out in week one, Kansas City’s rankings have plummeted to 27th in total offense. The 49ers meanwhile skyrocketed up to 4th in the NFL. Going back to off-season and training camp power rankings, those are standings for both teams that nobody anticipated.
But with the additions of some key free agents, young draft picks, and a new coordinator in Norv Turner, the 49ers organization has been drinking the Kool-Aid, so to speak, all along in terms of their offensive improvement.
“It’s may be a surprise outside of this building,” said quarterback Alex Smith. “I think everyone inside this building knew what we could do. I think we all know what our capabilities were if we execute and play up to our potential.”
Smith has been perhaps the biggest surprise of all, making a leap in his second season that many critics said he lacked the talent to ever do.
His rapid improvement hasn’t been unforeseen by his teammates though. Starting left tackle Jonas Jennings is not surprised with the composure and maturity he’s seen from the guy he’s charged with to protect.
“It starts with the huddle,” said Jennings. “He’s definitely got control of the huddle and anytime you’ve got a QB who can control his huddle, you expect him to make those extra plays. A QB is a natural leader spot and I think he’s done a great job of upholding that.”
So far we’ve seen Smith light it up against the Bears in preseason while running repeated roll out plays. More recently he’s settled down in the pocket where he’s picked up on that fifth sense of when pressure is nearing and when he needs to step up. He flashed scrambling ability that he’d previously shied away from somewhat after suffering a knee injury last year with a 22 yard scramble on Sunday where he kept running and chose not to slide as the play came to an end.
All the praise is fine and dandy, and of course welcomed for a quarterback who experienced ruthless critique as a rookie, but when Smith watches tape these days, he’s zeroing in on the plays that the 49ers left out on the field.
“It’s good to see some positive things, but when we watch this offense, we see how close we are,” explained Smith. “We see some of the good things we’ve done but what we tend to look at is really what we’ve left out there. We can see that we are not far off from making some of those plays and that’s the exciting thing.”
With just three games played, skeptics likely still foresee the 49ers young offense faltering, but like team’s offensive general, Jennings said this is just the start of what San Francisco’s offense can do.
“We are 4th in the league and we haven’t played our best football,” said Jennings. “We haven’t gotten all the gelling done that we need to tap into this offense, and there are still better days to come for this offense.”
Kansas City’s new head coach Herm Edwards is certainly taking notice of the 49ers offense, especially their high number of explosive plays.
“They’ve got big play potential and I think they are third in the league in big plays,” said Edwards. “They have 11 plays of 20 yards or more. They are an offense that has some weapons. Their quarterback does a great job of getting the ball down the field and they are a good play action team that is also a power team when it comes to running the ball. That’s Norv’s trademark where he is going to run the ball, then play action pass on you. They also do shifts in formation. They are doing a great job and I think they are vastly improved from last year.”
Edwards will look to offset those explosive plays with his own trademark style of aggressive, yet sound defensive play.
“The one thing I think they’ve done a great job in the first two games against two very good offenses in Denver and Cincy is not giving up big plays,” said Turner. “If you go back and watch Herm in New York, that’s what their defense was known for. They are known for making you drive the distance and not giving up an easy score. They make you drive the whole field and they don’t take too many chances.”
The Chiefs have given up only four plays over 20 yards, and will scheme to force the 49ers to earn every yard. One player who’ll likely factor more into getting some of those tough yards this week is rookie running back Michael Robinson, who was extremely productive in last week’s goal line and short yardage situations.
“We have to get first downs,” said Robinson. “First downs, first downs, first downs and eventually you’ll get touchdowns. That’s the way we have to approach it. Herm wants to hit you hard, and hit you first. They are taking on his mentality and those guys can run, they can play, and they can hit hard. We’ve definitely got to have our helmets strapped up and ready to go come Sunday.”
San Francisco will look to strike the first punch against Kansas City’s tough defense, moving beyond the sluggish first halves that haunted this offense in their two losses.
“A couple of games now we’ve put ourselves into a hole and have had to dig our way out and you don’t want to play that way,” said Smith. “We want to come out and start fast and that is something we are focused on.”
Translating that focus to the field takes an attitude said Robinson.
“We’ve got to mentally get up in the morning and realize we are playing a football game and not wait until we go in at half and get chewed out and feel bad to get us going,” said Robinson. “I’m going into the game with a chip on my shoulder and if we all take that approach and that attitude we’ll start off like we want to.”
A fast start would also go a long way in quieting the ever boisterous and unwelcoming crowd at Arrowhead Stadium.
“They are definitely loud there,” said Jennings. “I’ve played there numerous times and you’ve really got to get that crowd out of it.”
Wednesday Practice Notes:
The most serious of the 49ers injuries from last week was to TE Vernon Davis, who will miss time after suffering a crack to his fibula in the second half against Philadelphia. The injury will not require surgery or a cast, but Davis is expected to miss four weeks of action.
RB Frank Gore (bruised ribs), RB Maurice Hicks (ankle) and RB Michael Robinson (shoulder) all suffered injuries in the Eagles game. All three practiced today. Robinson is listed as probably while Gore and Hicks are listed as questionable on the injury report.
TE Delanie Walker completed his first entire practice with the team after suffering a shoulder injury in the 49ers final preseason game. He’s listed as questionable and will be upgraded on Thursday if he shows no lingering problems from today’s practice.
WR Taylor Jacobs returned to practice after sitting out last week with a hamstring injury that occurred in the victory over St. Louis two weeks ago. He is questionable on the injury report.
G Larry Allen is expected to miss one more week with a sprained knee that happened in the first quarter of the Arizona game on opening day.