Meet the Gold Rush: Alyssa

11/24/09, San Francisco 49ers - Official Site (Video)

San Francisco 49ers try to stop the YAC of the Green Bay Packers

11/20/09, Contra Costa Times

Mike Singletary's defense seeks to limit yards after catch in Green Bay. Live chat with 49ers writer Dan Brown Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. PDT

11/20/09, Contra Costa Times

What's the latest scoop on the 49ers? Join Dan Brown every Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

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49ers can even record with win over Packers

11/20/09, San Francisco Chronicle

Despite his skill as a motivational speaker, Mike Singletary often resorts to platitudes when talking about the upcoming game being the most important one of the season for the 49ers. In this case, he's spot-on. "As far as the importance of the game, this...


Santa Clara stadium group gets jump on election

11/20/09, San Francisco Chronicle

A pro-Santa Clara stadium group stocked with former civic leaders has fired the first salvo in the ballot-box battle over moving the San Francisco 49ers to Silicon Valley - sending out a mailer this week even though an election date for the proposed stadium...


'Lemon' Class of '05 not so sour after all

11/20/09, Sacramento Bee

SANTA CLARA - Alex Smith v. Aaron Rodgers is a rivalry manufactured by the media. This according to Rodgers, who said this week he's always been friendly with Smith, even when they were vying to become the No. 1 draft pick four years ago.

More than that, Rodgers said, there's a brotherhood among NFL quarterbacks, especially those from the same draft class.

"I've been following (Smith) and pulling for him, as I pull for all the '05 quarterbacks," Rodgers said. "I keep in touch with Kyle Orton, Jason Campbell, Derek Anderson - all those guys."

You'll recall that the 2005 draft class widely was considered a lemon at the time. The 49ers tried to trade the top pick, but no one wanted it.

Rodgers was the kid who arrives all duded up for the prom but no one dances with him. The poor guy waited five hours before the Packers finally selected him with the 24th pick.

But draft classes are like grape harvests. The further you get away from them, the better they come into focus.

Looking back now, 2005 wasn't a bad year at all for quarterbacks. While it may not have been a bumper crop like 2004 - Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Schaub were four of the first five quarterbacks selected - the 2005 class is no two-buck chuck - not by a long shot.

Five quarterbacks from that class will start games this weekend. A sixth, Orton, likely will miss his first start this season because of an ankle injury. A seventh, Anderson, started five games this season for Cleveland (and judging from Brady Quinn's performance Monday night - yikes! - could make another appearance). An eighth, Charlie Frye, could start if things continue to fall apart for the Raiders.

In the last decade, the only class that comes close to 2005's sheer numbers is 2004. But beyond the four listed above, no members of that 17-quarterback class are starters, and only two - Jim Sorgi and Luke McCown - are still in the league. The problem with 2005 is that there are starters but no star.

If you viewed it as a footrace, Rodgers probably would be leading the pack. After all, his 2,444 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 101.8 passer rating are tops in his class. A few meters behind him, Orton, Campbell and perhaps Kansas City's Matt Cassel are clumped together. Smith, knees skinned but legs pumping, leads the next group of runners.

But it's a long race. Statistics are a nice way to determine relative worth, but the true measure of a quarterback is whether he can lead a team deep into the postseason. And so far, the 2005 quarterbacks have identical statistical lines in that category: zero playoff starts.

The biggest story Sunday isn't Rodgers v. Smith but that the 49ers (4-5) and Packers (5-4) are in the thick of the playoff race. A few weeks ago, it seemed the only way the 49ers could reach the postseason would be to overtake the Cardinals and win the NFC West.

That's not true anymore. Three of the NFC's leading wild-card contenders - Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta - lost last week. That puts the 49ers and Packers among seven teams within one game of one another in a race for two wild-card spots.

Smith stumbled out of the starting blocks in 2005 and - to continue the analogy - even fell to the track Mary Decker Slaney-style coming out of the first turn. But to his credit, he's gotten up.

Smith still has seven games to help lead his team to the playoffs, and if he does, he'll make up plenty of ground on his fellow 2005 quarterbacks. The race is on.

San Francisco 49ers hope to sack the Pack's YAC

11/20/09, San Jose Mercury News

Mike Singletary's team is seeking ways to limit Packers' yards after the catch Sunday in Green Bay.

ARZ: NFL fines Cardinals' Dockett for Hasselbeck incident

11/20/09,Arizona Republic (Newspaper)

STL: Rams face Cardinals' triple threat

11/20/09,Rams

SEA: NFL | Ricky Williams powers Dolphins to win

11/20/09,Seahawks