49ers Press Conference Streaming At CSN Bay Area, Veterans Reportedly Benched

Jason LaConfora tweeted recently that the 49ers may be benching a couple defensive veterans after the team's disappointing and embarrassing loss on Sunday to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In addition to coaching shake-up in San Fran, I hear veterans Michael Lewis and Takeo Spikes being benched on defense. Big change for 49ers

Looks like some of the younger players (or perhaps, albeit unlikely, a veteran signee) will be getting the starts at strong safety and TED linebacker positions. Seems like it will be LB NaVorro Bowman making the start next week against the Atlanta Falcons, and either Reggie Smith or Taylor Mays getting the start at strong safety. Mays figures to be the starter of the future, but Smith appears more game ready. None of these guys played exceptionally well against the Chiefs, but then again, nobody did.

Either way, there's a chance it may be official today, at around 11:45 a.m. when Mike Singletary and the 49ers hold a press conference to announce the offensive coordinator change, among (supposedly) other things. CSN Bay Area will be streaming the conference live at this page here. It also should be on your TV on the CSN Bay Area channel. 

Our 49ers blog, Niners Nation, has an open thread with an embedded video of the live stream in preperation of the 11:45 a.m. start time, so head over there for discussion.

49ers Fire Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye, Johnson Promoted

The NFL Network originally reported that Mike Singletary pulled the trigger on firing the 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye. The firing comes after a big loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, a game which saw the team run a series of short pass plays and running plays (including three in a row in the fourth quarter down three touchdowns), clearly frustrating quarterback Alex Smith.

Matt Maiocco of Comcast SportsNet is reporting that quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson is getting the promotion, and will be handling the day-to-day gameplanning and preparation week in and week out.

Mike has everything it takes to be a successful coordinator or head coach in the NFL," Oregon State coach Mike Riley told me last year. "He's got the attention to detail, the character, charisma and physical presence. He's the complete package as a coach and person.

Something had to give for this 0-3 football team, and in this case, it was Jimmy Raye. Let's see if anything can get done with Johnson in there. He has his own philosophies, and one can imagine that the base offense will still be the same, but one can also wonder what will be different. Suppose we have to look forward to Atlanta for that.

Chiefs Beat 49ers Senseless Up And Down The Football Field

The San Francisco 49ers couldn't get anything done against the Chiefs in their week three matchup. The Chiefs dominated every aspect of the football game in such a way that the Seattle Seahawks did in week one.

On offense, the offensive line was abysmal. Rookie right tackle Anthony Davis and starting right guard Chilo Rachal were invisible, being consistently beat, while the rest of the line stayed their course of "have one good play, then have one bad play," throughout the entirety of the game. No run blocking, no pass blocking, and no fight at all. The unit looked uninspired as a whole.

Bad offensive line play led to bad production from quarterback Alex Smith and running back Frank Gore. Passes were incomplete, Smith had to scramble on virtually every play and was done no favors by his line or receivers. Frank Gore was stuffed on basically every run play. The offense did nothing, and it all starts with the line up front.

Defensively, they started strong, the entire unit bringing pressure and doing well to make key stops, but eventually, the offense's inability to sustain a drive drained them of all of their juice. They just lost it as it went along, even star linebacker Patrick Willis wasn't playing to his usual intensity, slowing down at crucial points and generally looking as deflated as the rest of the defense.

Special teams didn't fare much better, they made some good stops and looked to be handling a tough Chiefs return game, in between huge returns that left the unit as deflated as the rest. It was, all-in-all, a poor showing by the 49ers, who are now 0-3 to start their season and firmly planted in the bottom of the NFC West. 

McCluster Vs. Willis: It's On

So back in February at the scouting combine Chiefs sparkling rookie RB Dexter McCluster shared some stories with the media about his time at Ole Miss. One of these stories was when he was a freshman and teammate Patrick Willis was an upperclassman. McCluster said he made Willis "look silly" at one point that year with some slippery moves. Before the game Sunday, McCluster had a warning for Willis.

"I have a little more experience under my belt," he said. "So I hope he's ready."

No telling if this was a challenge or just McCluster being the jokester that he is, but I'm hoping Willis takes it as the former. This was Willis' response:

“If you've been a defensive player playing football all your life and you've never been juked, there's something wrong,” Willis said, according to the report. “Offensive guys are going to make plays. Defensive guys are going to make plays. But we'll see this Sunday.

"It's us against them. It's not about me and McCluster at Ole Miss. It's the 49ers and Chiefs."

I'm hoping that Willis' eyeballs were red and steam was coming out of his ears when he said this. I have this vision of McCluster doing his little dance he did at the end of his "Don't Text and Drive" commercial and Willis promptly leveling him on Sunday, LOL'ing all the way.

And seriously, McCluster, I know that commercial has a good message and everything, but that was pretty awful, the kind of commercial that ends careers.

The Lost Singletary-O'Donnell Clip

After the 49ers lost in horrific fashion to the Seattle Seahawks in Week One, KPIX Channel 5 sports anchor Dennis O'Donnell asked Mike Singletary some simple questions that needed to be asked. One, what's the deal with Jimmy Raye and two, what's the deal with Alex Smith (pre-Week Two)? O'Donnell even buttered up Jimmy Raye while asking the questions, saying the Niner coaches "meticulously describe how their offense runs" and "each time I meet him (Raye) I come away with the impression that this guy has a real handle on what he's doing, he wouldn't be in the NFL this long if he did not." Singletary then proceeded to explode, clearly irritated that O'Donnell dared address any concerns related to the team whatsoever. It was almost comical...what is not comical is O'Donnell has since lost his post as lead anchor of that particular segment, KPIX deciding to wither under Singletary's fiery glare instead of nobly standing strong as a symbol of journalistic integrity.

Anyway, you know my stance on this. Here is the clip, which has consequently been removed from the KPIX and Contra Costa Times websites. Thank God for the Wide World of Youtube. Watch it while you can, before the Niners organization gets its slimy paws on it.

Ronnie Lott Explains Giving Pregame Pep Talk To Saints

As many of you have probably heard by now, Hall of Famer and 49ers icon Ronnie Lott gave a pregame pep talk to the New Orleans Saints before their game against the Niners on Monday Night...a game in which the Saints won. Lott has received a lot of criticism for the decision, but he tried to explain himself yesterday in an interview with Sacramento radio station KHTK.

Lott said he did the interview out of respect for the game, as the Saints asked him about repeating as champions and he remembered how hard it was for the 49ers when he was with the team in the glory years. It also appears he did it because he's just a darn gone nice person, his dad noting, "Why would you not lend a hand to make the world better for someone else?" (the Niners Nation world apparently was forgotten)

Asked if he had conducted pep talks for the 49ers, Lott said he had, but the example he gave was that he talks with Taylor Mays all the time. Big deal.

I'm sorry Ronnie, but none of this makes that decision any easier to digest. And your timing couldn't have been any worse. Atleast talk to them after they play the Niners or something. Who knows, maybe the Saints couldn't have eked out that win Monday without the wise words of Ronnie ringing in their helmets.

San Francisco 49ers At Kansas City Chiefs: Crowd Noise Is, Once Again, Key

After one of those errantly annoying morale victories against the Saints on Monday Night Football in Week 2, the 49ers pack up shop and head to the oppressive environment of Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs for their Week 3 matchup on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. pacific.

As mentioned, the 49ers suffered a tough loss against the Saints, outplaying them for most of the game except for turnover ratio, which did them in. The Niners didn't create one turnover, and decided they didn't mind giving it up more than a few times. They'll have their hands full with the Chiefs and their young and hungry defense. 

Said defense is part of the reason they're currently 2-0, a contrast to the 49ers' shaky 0-2 start, though don't be surprised if the 49ers enter the matchup as a favorite, but it's far from a gimme game. Before the season began, you could have penciled this game in as a 49ers win. But now, it's decidedly closer.

The 49ers are expecting some players back, namely G Chilo Rachal, WR Kyle Williams on punt return duties, CB Will James for secondary depth and maybe WR Ted Ginn Jr. back for kick return duties. On the latter, if he's not ready to go (which is the more likely scenario), you'll likely see more of TE Delanie Walker back there returning the kicks, which he did a good job with on Monday against the Saints.

You can expect a full breakdown later in the week, but look for the 49ers offense to face a tough challenge in the Chiefs defense, and keep an eye on the Niners and their special teams coverage units facing off against return men Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas.

Crowd noise will be a factor here, as we saw against the Saints, the offensive line did what they were supposed to do, and all was well. The crowd noise was minimal in that game. Against the Seahawks though ... not so much. You can expect Arrowhead to be just as loud in Week 3 as Qwest was in Week 1.