Yardbarker: Eric Heitmann

Breakdown of the 49ers' four back-breaking turnovers

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:24:26 -0500

Here's what happened on those four turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Titans. Turnover #1: First quarter interception. Smith was in the shotgun, flanked by running backs Frank Gore and Glen Coffee. When the Titans come with four-man rush, both backs exit the backfield. Smith has good time to throw but there's a little pressure up the middle at the end from David Baas' man. Smith tries to hit Crabtree at the left sideline 15 yards down field. Smith's pass is ...

Titans 34 - 49ers 27: The always popular bright side of things...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:51:10 -0500

As many folks around these parts know, I try to look at the bright side of things. As I've said before, if the ship is sinking and I'm going down, might as well try and not be too miserable about it. Things aren't looking pretty for the 49ers right now, but there were some definitely positives in today's game. The 49ers passed along a press release of news and notes that I thought were worth sharing. Well, at least two of them were worth sharing.&nb...

Guarded optimism for 49ers' offense

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:32:59 -0500

The team had something very close to a complete-team effort in yesterday's 35-0 victory over the Rams. But the offensive line did not perform up to expectations. Coach Mike Singletary said he plans to sit down with offensive line coach Chris Foerster to kick around some ideas for kicking that unit into gear. It's pretty clear where the problems originated on Sunday in the 49ers' 35-0 victory over the Rams. Singletary said left tackle Joe Staley is continuing to mature. ...

SF's third-down failings

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:39:12 -0500

Do you want to know why the 49ers lost today to the Vikings? They were abysmal on third downs. (And, yes, Brett Favre's game-winning TD fling came on a third down.) Defensively, the 49ers allowed the Vikings to convert 50-percent of the time (10 of 20). And, offensively, the 49ers were a staggering 0-for-11 when faced with a third down. If they convert one of those third downs, they win the game. After the 49ers took the lead, 24-20, with 8:12 remaining, the offense got the ball b...

Singletary raves about Davis

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:36:53 -0500

The 49ers confirmed their captains to the media: Vernon Davis, Eric Heitmann, Justin Smith, Takeo Spikes, Patrick Willis and Michael Robinson . A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that slapping a captain label on Davis might be a mistake. Here's a player who often struggles to learn a new offense...

49ers All-time Offensive Tackle #2

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:00:12 -0500

In another expected result, Jesse Sapolu ran away with the all-time center vote. In another interesting, but not entirely shocking result, Eric Heitmann grabbed 10% of the vote. Having current guys on the ballot can probably lead to some slightly skewed results. Given some of the upcoming votes, I'll be opening this up for a little more debate in the next week or so. For now though, it's time to move down the offensive line to the offensive tackle. I ...

49ers All-Time Center

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:00:20 -0500

In a less than shocking result, Steve Young blew out the field in the race for the backup QB position, finishing with 91% of the vote. Not too shabby I'd say. Later tonight I'll make sure and update the left column with our recent results. In the meantime, I thought we'd move on to the Center position today. The 49ers have had some solid centers in their history, particularly since the beginning of the dynasty years. It's fitting that we vote on th...

NFC West Position-by-Position: Center

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:47:38 -0500

Up to this point we've discussed quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. For the offensive line, we decided to break it up as centers, tackles and guards. At some point we may put together a single unit grade, but for now we're mixing it up a little more. And I'm not one to complain for additional posting material. The center position is a tough one to grade for anybody, although I'm quite pleased with Eric Heitmann at the helm. ...

49ers Sign C Eric Heitmann To A 3-Year Extension

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:32:01 -0500

Center Eric Heitmann inked a contract extension that will keep him in San Francisco through the 2011 season. He receives a signing bonus of $1.25...

Niners Name Four Captains for 08 Season

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:40:01 -0500

The 49?ers players have selected four captains for this upcoming 2008 season: center Eric Heitmann by the offense, linebacker Patrick Willis by the offense, Michael Robinson by the special teams and player representative Walt Harris. The team last season had a captain at every position, but coach Mike Nolan said not all the choices were "mature enough to handle the job." He called it a one-year experiment that failed.

Center Heitmann to Get a Battle from Rookie Wallace This Summer?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:44:10 -0500

From: Pro Football Weekly Niners starting C Eric Heitmann, who could get a run for his money from rookie Cody Wallace this summer, told team insiders that he feels much better physically than he did a year ago at this time, when he was still feeling the effects of the broken right tibia that ended his 2006 campaign in Week 15.