http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/2950 Recent articles about Joe Nedney en-us The New England Patriots for the first time in franchise history defeated the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at Candlestick Park 30-21. The victory now puts the Patriots at 3-1 at the quarter mark of the NFL season, and gets them back in the winning column after losing to the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago at home. New England quarterback Matt CasselA stillA showed inconsistencies, as he threw two interceptions, however he was good enough to get the win. Cassel went 22/32A from behind center, throwing for 259 yards, and got 1A touchdown as he connected with wide receiver Randy Moss for a 66 yard reception in the first quarter. The Patriots improved their running game against San Francisco as they basically played "running back by committee." Sammy Morris rushed for 63 yards while the veteran Kevin Faulk acquired 32 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. Laurence MaroneyA back inA action for New England gained 26 yards in the game. NinersA quarterback J. T. O'Sullivan showed talent, but made someA costly mistakes, as he threw for three touchdowns, but sullied his performance with three picks.A A San FranciscoA took the early lead as O'Sullivan threw a 16 yard pass to Frank Gore with 9:05 remaining in the first quarter. After kicker Joe Nedney put the ball though the uprights it was 7-0. New England responded with the Cassel to Moss blast with 7:44 left in the period. Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski tied the score at 7-7.A With 5:31 left in the first quarter O'Sullivan hit Issac Bruce with a 6 yard pass, after the extra point, it was SanA Francisco 14 New England 7. Momentum swung toward the Patriots in the second quarter, as Gostkowski kicked a 35 yard field goal with 5:37 remaining in the period making it a 14-10 contest. Faulk scored with just 9 seconds remaining in the half as he sprinted across the goal line for a 2 yard TD. After Gostkowski kicked the extra point, New England would walk in to their locker room with their first lead of the day as, they were ahead 17-14. Faulk got his second 2 yard touchdown of the afternoon, with 5:30 left on the clockA in the third. Gostkowski's kick was good making it a 10 point advantage with the Patriots leading 24-14. That was the only scoring for either team in the period. Bruce got his second TD of the game in the fourth but it came in between two field goals by Gostkowski. The Patriots will remain in California for the week as they will play in San Diego against the Chargers next Sunday night. San Francisco, now sitting at 2-3 after theA loss host the Philadelphia Eagles next week. A(c) Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:57:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/345277 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/345277 As we approach week 5 of the fantasy football season your team should be rounding into shape. If you started out bad, you should be adjusting your roster along the way and hopefully turning things around, this is not quite panic time yet. If you started out well you probably had a good draft and have been keeping an eye on the waiver wire, but don't get complacent it's not over yet. Hopefully everyone followed the Bruno Boys advice and waited until the last round in the draft and found one of the many gems that were available. Many fantasy teams even picked up a stud kicker off waivers. These weekly rankings have changed drastically over the past five weeks. Matt Prater went un-drafted in many leagues and this week he tops these rankings. As a matter of fact, the top five has changed each and every week. We have said it over and over; it's not the sexy position, but equally as important as the others. Just a few points often decide fantasy football games. You need to have a complete team to win a championship. Now please enjoy the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 5 Kicker Rankings. ------------------- 1. Matt Prater (Denver Broncos) vs. Tampa Bay The Broncos offense struggled against Kansas City last week, but it resulted in more field goal attempts for Prater. He was 4 for 5 on field goal attempts, including two over 50 yards. Tampa Bay's defense should stall the Broncos just enough for Prater to get many opportunities this week in the thin mountain air. Point Projection: 12 points ------------------- 2. Nate Kaeding (San Diego Chargers) @ Miami Kaeding has gotten plenty of opportunities to score points this year and that should continue this week against the Dolphins. Look for Kaeding get back into double digit points. Point Projection: 11 points ------------------- To see where your KICKER rankins in Week 5 click the link below... Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:59:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/343918 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/343918 What an exciting start we have had to this NFL football season. There have been many ups and downs. Quarterbacks like Jay Cutler and Phillip Rivers have come into their own right before our eyes, while Tom Brady has been lost for the season and Peyton Manning has struggled to return to form from off-season surgery. Rookies like Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, Steve Slaton, Jonathan Stewart, and Darren McFadden all have shown the potential to be stars in this league. While many fantasy football weeks, even seasons may hinge on the production of skill players like the ones mentioned above, any veteran fantasy footballer knows that it takes a complete team to win a championship. Many fantasy football games are decided by a few points, so not only do you need to make sure you start the right skill players, you better make sure you start the best possible option as kicker. That being said, please enjoy the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 4 Kicker Rankings! -------------------- 1. Nate Kaeding (San Diego Chargers) @ Oakland Kaeding is 5 for 5 on field goal attempts the last two weeks for a total of 24 points. Now, the Chargers head to Oakland to play a Raiders team that fell apart in the 4th quarter in a week 3 loss to the Bills. Kaeding should once again post double-digit points as the Chargers will continue to pour on the hurt on Oakland. Point Projection: 11 points -------------------- TO FIND OUT WHERE THE REST OF THE KICKERS RANK THIS WEEK, CLICK THE LINK... Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:57:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/339379 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/339379 After two exciting weeks of NFL football action one thing can be said; you never know. No matter how much as we study for our drafts, things never seem play out exactly as we have planned. Some of us are happy sitting atop our respective fantasy football leagues 2-0, while some of us are on suicide watch at 0-2. Whether you are undefeated, winless or sitting at .500, one thing remains true for all of us. We need to make sure that we start the best possible line-up on a weekly basis. We have to see how our players stack up against the rest of the competition, based on who is hot and who has the best match-up. Please enjoy the Fantasy Football Week 3 Kicker Rankings. -------------------- 1. Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots) vs. Miami With Matt Cassel and Co. only managing one TD, Gostkowski was 4 for 4 in field goal opportunities. Expect another big game against the Dolphins. Although the Patriots should manage more then one TD in week 3. Point Projection: 12 points -------------------- 2. Nate Kaeding (San Diego Chargers) vs. NY Jets Kaeding was 3 for 3 on field goal attempts with 3 extra points in the Charger's heartbreaking loss to the Denver Broncos. With a banged up LaDainian Tomlinson the Charges may have more field goal attempts then in the past. Kaeding should have a big game on Monday night. Point Projection: 12 points -------------------- To read the full article, click the link below... Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:03:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/335469 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/335469 So I made it 11-3 through Sunday's action, which is good enough for me. I learned a couple of things yesterday ... Indianapolis vs. Minnesota: Peyton Manning isn't going to make it through the season. His offensive line is shaky, and his team isn't good enough to build large leads and run out the clock. If he drops back 30 times a game, he's going to the turf seven or eight times a game. Will we see a Pats-Colts game featuring Cassel and Sorgi at QB? Ugly stuff. Minnesota needs to work on it's red zone offense. Tarvaris Jackson actually impressed me at times in this game, but he doesn't look like the player they need him to be this year to be dominant. We'll see how steep his learning curve is. Denver vs. San Diego: If Brandon Marshall's entertainment system obeys the restraining order, this guy might catch 140 easy. San Diego just looks deflated on both sides of the ball. Darren Sproles is the only reason that game wasn't a blowout. And you can't let a team convert a 2-point conversion with the exact same play it scored the touchdown on! That's video game material right there. Shanahan looks like he's got the talent to execute his play-calling, and Cutler is Pro-Bowl material in the AFC this year. San Diego isn't out of it by any stretch of the imagination, but any run they have planned hinges on LT being healthy. New England vs. New York Jets: Brett Favre could sure use a dominant running back right now. I don't know if Leon Washington was dynamic, or just not as ineffective as Thomas Jones. Favre threw one interception, but it was returned to the Jets 31 and set up the only touchdown the Pats could manage in game one of the Cassel era. This was a battle between 8-8 teams, and I can't wait until one of them plays Buffalo. Buffalo vs. Jacksonville: Trent Edwards quietly had one of the best performances of the day yesterday. The Bills have to be the favorites in the division after this game. Jacksonville threw everything they had at Edwards late, and his downfield vision made me forget he was a second year guy from Stanford. Garrard now has as many interceptions this year as he did last year. The Jaguars are going to Indy next week limping in a major way, and Del Rio's now officially on the hot seat. New Orleans vs. Washington: Jason Campbell looked like the QB of the future, but it was against the Saints. Drew Brees is making bad decisions and it's been costing his team, but this is probably another matchup of 8-8's. New York Giants vs. St. Louis: The Giants decided to play cat and mouse with the Lambs for most of the game, and it took a deep shot to Torry Holt to wake them up. But boy, did they wake up. These guys are playing like they have nothing to prove, but they're wrong. They have to play well to prove last year wasn't a fluke. They have a couple more tune-up games, but then they play Pittsburgh, Dallas and Philly in a three week span. They can score touchdowns on all of their drives, and if they stop settling for field goals early in the game the Giants can start playing from further ahead and punishing the other team with Jacobs and Bradshaw late. Oakland vs. Kansas City: The Chiefs are horrible. This win means little other than that McFadden really can run. The job is his now that Fargas is injured; we'll see if it's Peterson part deux. Green Bay vs. Detroit: Green Bay runs all over the Lions. Calvin Johnson runs all over the Packers. Aaron Rodgers looks like the real deal, but he's played two of the worst passing defenses in the first two games. Jon Kitna looks down his receivers too much, and those interceptions late were proof that he doesn't always have the arm strength to make up for such an obvious weakness. The Packers face their first real test against the Cowboys next week. Tennessee vs. Cincinnati: Jeff Fisher seems content to run over every opponent it meets, and in this year's AFC there's no reason they won't run their way to the playoffs. The Bengals aren't worth talking about, really. Chicago vs. Carolina: The two Chris's, Gamble and Harris, combined on another fumble recovery. Both defenses were stifling, and Delhomme looks like his old cold-blooded self in the fourth quarter. With Steve Smith coming back they look like one of the best teams in the league right now. Devin Hester went out and the field position favored the Panthers the rest of the game. Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay: The Bucs win with defense and running. Atlanta comes back to earth. Generally an ugly game. San Francisco vs. Seattle: The 49ers won ugly. Way too many penalties, and Nedney could've avoided overtime if he just makes the first kick. A team running nobodies at WR run all over my team, but our defense came up with the turnovers. Did you see Patrick Willis on that return? Ridiculous. If Isaac Bruce had any speed left we'd be a dangerous team. J.T. O'Sullivan has garbage for an offensive line, but he made some big plays late in the game. We almost beat ourselves, but managed to win anyways. Miami vs. Arizona: It was a reach going with the Dolphins, that I realize in hindsight. Arizona just looked bored in Week 1. Anquan Boldin needs to come up with some funny end zone celebration that highlights how underpaid he is. Is this Arizona's year? Hilarious. They might make the playoffs, which is like Christmas to them, but that's it. Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh: These teams don't normally play each other close, so I didn't think this game would be any exception. Is Ohio right next to Texas these days? Getting hurricane weather there seemed rather odd, and I'm ready to chalk the closeness of this game up to the wind. Willie Parker just never seems to fall down no matter how hard you hit him. He's just got this balance and bounce to his running that gets him extra yards each time. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:20:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333279 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333279 San Francisco 49er 33 Seattle Seahawks 30 The San Francisco 49ers won yesterday is dramatic fashion beating divisional rivals the Seahawks 33-30 in overtime. Joe Nedney who missed a game winning field goal as time expired redeemed himself in overtime as he kicked a 41-yard field goal to win the game. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:08:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333203 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333203 San Francisco 49er 33 Seattle Seahawks 30 The San Francisco 49ers won yesterday is dramatic fashion beating divisional rivals the Seahawks 33-30 in overtime. Joe Nedney who missed a game winning field goal as time expired redeemed himself in overtime as he kicked a 41-yard field goal to win the game. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:08:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333203 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333203 A win! That was the end result of the second game of the season for the Niners as they defeated the division-rival Seahawks 33-30 on a 40-yard kick from Joe Nedney in overtime. In a game marked by two defensive touchdowns, one for each team, and a combined 716 total offensive yards from two suspect offenses, the Niners managed to even their season record to 1-1. The Seahawks fell into an 0-2 hole as they saw another division rival, the Arizona Cardinals, jump to 2-0 in their win against the Dolphins. The game's first score came with a Julius Jones 27-yard rush for a touchdown to put Seattle up 7-0 just six minutes into the game. Seattle went up 14-0 after a blooper-reel play in which Niners running back Frank Gore fumbled the ball away to Seattle, resulting in a series of players obtaining and fumbling or dropping the ball until Seattle defensive tackle Craig Terrill caught the bouncing ball in stride and returned it 10 yards into the endzone. Seattle was up 20-13 when 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis intercepted a Matt Hasselbeck pass and chugged 86 yards for the score, evening a game which would be tied two more times, at 27-27 and 30-30. Niners kicker Joe Nedney would become the hero, choke artist and hero again in the final minutes. Nedney evened the score at 30-30 with a 28-yard field goal with 2:42 left in play. The Niners received the ball again with 1:09 left and two O'Sullivan pass completions for 26 yards put the Niners in field goal range as the fourth quarter neared completion. Nedney missed a 41-yarder, though, sending the game into overtime. The Niners received the ball at kickoff and marched 56 yards, setting up Nedney from 40 yards out for the win, which he delivered with his fourth field goal of the day. O'Sullivan was efficient again on Sunday, completing 20 passes in 32 attempts for 321 yards and one touchdown. Most importantly, O'Sullivan didn't turn over the ball, despite fumbling once. Isaac Bruce, coming of a season-opening game in which he didn't so much as have a pass directed his way, caught four passes for 153 yards, including a 63-yarder in the second quarter that set up a O'Sullivan to Bryant Johnson touchdown pass. Frank Gore ran for 61 yards on 19 carries and a run to paydirt with another 38 yards collected on five receptions. The Niners showed an explosive passing game with 272 yards on just 20 completions for an outstanding 13.6 yard-per-completion average. They controlled the ball for about 34 and a half minutes, over four minutes longer than the Seahawks. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:10:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333117 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333117 A win! That was the end result of the second game of the season for the Niners as they defeated the division-rival Seahawks 33-30 on a 40-yard kick from Joe Nedney in overtime. In a game marked by two defensive touchdowns, one for each team, and a combined 716 total offensive yards from two suspect offenses, the Niners managed to even their season record to 1-1. The Seahawks fell into an 0-2 hole as they saw another division rival, the Arizona Cardinals, jump to 2-0 in their win against the Dolphins. The game's first score came with a Julius Jones 27-yard rush for a touchdown to put Seattle up 7-0 just six minutes into the game. Seattle went up 14-0 after a blooper-reel play in which Niners running back Frank Gore fumbled the ball away to Seattle, resulting in a series of players obtaining and fumbling or dropping the ball until Seattle defensive tackle Craig Terrill caught the bouncing ball in stride and returned it 10 yards into the endzone. Seattle was up 20-13 when 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis intercepted a Matt Hasselbeck pass and chugged 86 yards for the score, evening a game which would be tied two more times, at 27-27 and 30-30. Niners kicker Joe Nedney would become the hero, choke artist and hero again in the final minutes. Nedney evened the score at 30-30 with a 28-yard field goal with 2:42 left in play. The Niners received the ball again with 1:09 left and two O'Sullivan pass completions for 26 yards put the Niners in field goal range as the fourth quarter neared completion. Nedney missed a 41-yarder, though, sending the game into overtime. The Niners received the ball at kickoff and marched 56 yards, setting up Nedney from 40 yards out for the win, which he delivered with his fourth field goal of the day. O'Sullivan was efficient again on Sunday, completing 20 passes in 32 attempts for 321 yards and one touchdown. Most importantly, O'Sullivan didn't turn over the ball, despite fumbling once. Isaac Bruce, coming of a season-opening game in which he didn't so much as have a pass directed his way, caught four passes for 153 yards, including a 63-yarder in the second quarter that set up a O'Sullivan to Bryant Johnson touchdown pass. Frank Gore ran for 61 yards on 19 carries and a run to paydirt with another 38 yards collected on five receptions. The Niners showed an explosive passing game with 272 yards on just 20 completions for an outstanding 13.6 yard-per-completion average. They controlled the ball for about 34 and a half minutes, over four minutes longer than the Seahawks. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:10:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333117 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/333117 The first week of NFL and fantasy football is in the books, and boy, does it feel good to have football back. Many of us didn't move from in front of the TV or the computer all day long on Sunday. Fantasy football was finally here and no one was going to ruin it for us. Our families know by now that the opening day of the NFL is like a holiday for football fans all over the world, especially us fantasy football fanatics. With the first week in the books, it's now time to start preparing for week 2. Not only should you should be scouring your leagues waiver wire looking for the hot free agents. You need to evaluate your own players and see how they stack up this week. The best way to do this is to check in with the Bruno Boys for our Weekly Positional Rankings. Many fantasy football games come down to a few points, so you need to make sure you start the best possible player at each position and yes this includes your kicker. Please enjoy the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 2 Kicker Rankings! -------------------- 1. Nick Folk (Dallas Cowboys) vs. Philadelphia This has game of the week potential and it's on Monday night. The Eagles and Cowboys both had offensive explosions in week 1. This should be a high scoring affair and Folk will benefit from it, kicking his way to the top spot. Point projection: 11 points To read where the rest of the kickers rank, click the link... Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:40:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/331773 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/331773 After what has seemed like an extremely long off-season, NFL football kicks off the 2008 season this Thursday as the Washington Redskins travel to New York to face the Super Bowl Champion Giants. By now most of us have drafted our fantasy football teams for 2008. If you used the 2008 Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets to study for your draft you should feel comfortable that you drafted a solid team, but you have to make sure you always start the best line-up possible each week. This goes for all positions, yes even the kickers, and to make sure that you make the right decision, the Bruno Boys will continue the time honored tradition of it's weekly positional rankings. Enjoy, the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 1 Kicker Rankings. -------------------- 1. Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots) vs. Kansas City Gostkowski had 74 extra points in 2007 and was a great option kicking for the Patriots. He has an excellent match-up in week 1 against the Chiefs, moving ahead of Nick Folk for week 1's top honors. Point projection: 11 points To read more, click the link... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:13:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/318207 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/318207 This game featured two new signal callers for each team, both former first round picks: Alex Smith and Rex Grossman not getting the starting nod. J.T. O'Sullivan started for the 49ers and Kyle Orton Started for the Bears. The game started with a strong rushing performance from Frank Gore and the San Fransisco 49ers. The 49ers went went 8 plays for 65 yards on the first possession (60 yards rushing), Frank Gore had 4 carries for 44yards. That drive ended in a Joe Nedney Field Goal. The Chicago Bears started out with great field possession on their first drive after a lateral to Danieal Manning went 60 yards to the 49ers 33. Kyle Orton looked good in his first drive hitting Rashied Davis with a 21 TD yard strike to cap off a 5 play 33 yard drive to get Chicago on the board. This was a high scoring affair with plenty of missed tackles and missed defensive assignments. Both offenses moved the ball well trading scoring drives in the first half. This all from two offenses who were in the bottom of the league last year. J.T. O'Sullivan a former Bear was near perfect with only one incompletion and finished 7 for 8 for 126 yards with 1 TD and a 158.3 Q.B. rating. Kyle Orton looked good as well finishing 10 for 17 for 142 yards and 2 TDS. Rookie Matt Forte showed promise for the Bears with 11 Carries for 44 yards and a 7 yard reception. Both defenses struggled at times especially in pass coverage. Most surprising was the Bears offense outperforming their defense. Some of the biggest plays came on Special Teams. The Bears gaining 60 yards with the lateral and a total of 240 yards on kickoff returns. But the Bears also blocked a field goal and a punt. But the Bears Garrett Wolfe coughed up a fumble on a kick off, to give the 49ers the ball on the Chicago 16. The 49ers turned that into 7 Points 6 plays later after a series of Chicago penalties kept the drive alive. Both of these offenses seem to have found a rhythm, but is that an indicator of where they are offensively or how much work on defenses they both have to do? San Fransisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan said they would be "close to naming a starter after the game." Well the short look that O'Sullivan got coupled with his performance it would appear he has the edge over Alex Smith. Head to head O ' Sullivan was 7 for 8 for 126 1 TD, Alex Smith 6 for 17 for 83 yards and 1 TD. The real surprise at quarterback was the short look that Rex Grossman got on offense, could this mean he is falling even farther down the depth chart? Grossman was 1 for 4 for 6 yards, and one of his incompletions should have been an interception. Caleb Hanie had another good effort, he was 3 for 7 for 59 yards including a 51 yard Hail Mary touchdown to Brandon Rideau to end the game. The Bears offensive line did not give up a sack which is promising given the absence of first Round pick left tackle Chris Williams sidelined after back surgery. Rookie Thomas Clayton also looked very Solid for the 49ers he finished with 18 rushes 81 yards and a TD. All in all both teams seemed evenly matched through the first half, playing to a 20-20 tie. The edge though goes to the 49ers second team and back-ups. Take away the Hail Mary By the Bears at the end of the game and it is a 37-24 final. Both teams have a lot to talk about on defense and special teams this week. The 49ers end the season at home against the San Diego Chargers and the Bears go to Cleveland to face the Browns August 28. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:23:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/311030 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/311030 What do Neil Rackers in 2006 and Robbie Gould in 2007 have in common? Both of these kickers were overvalued based on the previous season and thus taken too early in drafts and continued to cause stomachaches for owners all year long. In 2005, Rackers was a guy that owners were willing to take a last round flier on, mainly because the Arizona Cardinals had a young up and coming offense. Owners that took a chance on Rackers were rewarded with 152 fantasy points, as he converted 40 of 42 field goal attempts. Gould had a similar 2006 season. He also was either drafted late, or available on waivers in 2006 and ended up putting up 143 fantasy points hitting 32 field goals and 47 extra points. Now we point out a trend, both Rackers and Gould followed surprise high output seasons by being drafted sooner and producing an average of 25 less points the next year. As you prepare for your upcoming draft, remember you don't want to be the one to overvalue a player (especially a kicker) and end up with this year's BUST. To make sure that doesn't happen, it is now time for the 2008 Bruno Boys "Bring out the Pepto" Kicker Rankings. To see which kickers might be in for a rough 2008 season, click the link below... Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:37:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/310810 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/310810 Dan Arkush of Pro Football Weekly wrote that the 49ers couldn't have had a worse start than they did in their 18-6 loss to the Raiders last week. Well, actually they could have. At least one of their quarterbacks could have suffered a season-ending injury. Justin Smith or another important defensive player who could torn a knee. J.T. O'Sullivan was the 49ers No. 1 quarterback for the eighth practice on Tuesday, so apparently his first-team reps aren't merely a quick peek at his abilities. This is for real and it seems likely he could be The Man for the preseason and possibly the regular season opener. Of course, Mike Nolan said nothing has been decided. Joe Nedney defended Nolan's decision to kick a field goal deep in enemy territory – instead of going for a touchdown – at the end of the first half of Friday's game against the Raiders. Well, would you expect anything less from a kicker? Nedney said that it's important to have "some game situations during the preseason." Right, like practicing goal line offenses on fourth down. Nedney doesn't have to practice kicking a 20-yard chippy. But the 49ers offense does have to practice running or passing in goal line scores, so what better time to practice that than in a game which won't count against your real record? The 49ers got some motivational advice. Takeo Spikes understands his role on his new team, which is great. Too bad he can't fill in at wide receiver in case the team runs out of them. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:00:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305438 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305438 Dan Arkush of Pro Football Weekly wrote that the 49ers couldn't have had a worse start than they did in their 18-6 loss to the Raiders last week. Well, actually they could have. At least one of their quarterbacks could have suffered a season-ending injury. Justin Smith or another important defensive player who could torn a knee. J.T. O'Sullivan was the 49ers No. 1 quarterback for the eighth practice on Tuesday, so apparently his first-team reps aren't merely a quick peek at his abilities. This is for real and it seems likely he could be The Man for the preseason and possibly the regular season opener. Of course, Mike Nolan said nothing has been decided. Joe Nedney defended Nolan's decision to kick a field goal deep in enemy territory – instead of going for a touchdown – at the end of the first half of Friday's game against the Raiders. Well, would you expect anything less from a kicker? Nedney said that it's important to have "some game situations during the preseason." Right, like practicing goal line offenses on fourth down. Nedney doesn't have to practice kicking a 20-yard chippy. But the 49ers offense does have to practice running or passing in goal line scores, so what better time to practice that than in a game which won't count against your real record? The 49ers got some motivational advice. Takeo Spikes understands his role on his new team, which is great. Too bad he can't fill in at wide receiver in case the team runs out of them. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:00:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305438 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305438