From San Jose Mercury News:

1) With Joe Nedney hurt the 49'ers have signed former Steeler Jeff Reed this week to to be their kicker. Reed was franchised this season by the Steelers but missed 4 FG attempts between 40-49 yards in the Steelers loss to the Ravens (14-17) on Oct. 3 and was cut.
http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_16764998?nclick_check=1 

2) 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Johnson suggested that rookie right tackle Anthony Davis will get some help against Packers pass-rushing monster Clay Matthews (111/2 sacks). Asked if Davis was ready for such a big challenge, Johnson said, "We'll have to be ready as a protection group. So it's not going to be solely on Anthony Davis. It's going to be a group effort to try to make sure that we get these guys blocked in a passing situation."

3) The Packers have won seven consecutive games against the 49ers, matching the longest winning streak in the series. The 49ers beat Green Bay seven consecutive times from 1950-54.


4) Having made his reputation as a hard-driving coach, Coach Mike Singletary has finally discovered the brake pedal.
The 49ers have eased up on the practice field this week in hopes of avoiding a repeat of their 31-10 loss to Kansas City in Week 3.

Singletary acknowledged after that game that he pushed players too hard between the Monday night game against Saints and the road game at Arrowhead.

This time, Singletary is letting players catch their breath after a Monday nighter in Arizona. Practices are shorter, with an emphasis on more mental reps i.e., meetings and film study.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers/2010/12/02/trying-to-avoid-a-kc-repeat-49ers-tone-down-practice-after-mnf/ 

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Well Gore is out - he looked like a real dumptruck of a rb ...

Dont even know whom their QB is this year - I have a feeling well blow em out of the water ... be a good practice game for us.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers/2010/11/30/how-now-without-the-bell-cow-49ers-begin-life-after-gore/ 

The 49ers placed their leading rusher on the season-ending injured reserve list Tuesday, surrendering to inevitable after Gore sustained a fractured right hip during a 27-6 victory over the Arizona Cardinals a night earlier.

What now? Brian Westbrook went from afterthought to starring role by running for 136 yards in relief of Gore on Monday.

But Singletary acknowledged that asking Westbrook to carry the ball 23 times, as he did against Arizona, is too much to ask of a nine-year veteran with a history of injuries.

Even when healthy, Westbrook rarely ran so often: Those 23 carries marked the fourth highest total of his career.

Most likely, replacing Gore will be a three-man job. Beside Westbrook, the 49ers will also count on rookie Anthony Dixon and DeShawn Wynn, who was promoted to the active roster Tuesday.

Gore's 203 carries this season dwarf Westbrooks total of 28, which is second on the team. Gore also leads the 49ers with 46 catches (Vernon Davis is second with 40).

Gore ranks fifth in the NFL this season with 1,305 yards from scrimmage.

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From the Sacramento Bee:


Someone in the league's scheduling office must hate the 49ers. In addition to the 1,000-pound gorilla on the 2010 schedule - the home game in London - the 49ers are in a midst of a five-week stretch in which they are on the road four times. In addition, they are preparing for the second road game this season that follows a Monday night appearance.

[Poster note-The Packers also are in the midst of a 5 games span with 4 on the road]

This week they have another 10 a.m. start in the Midwest against a strong opponent, Green Bay. But they are doing things differently. Their regular Wednesday schedule, for example, was curtailed substantially. Instead of getting onto the field at 8 a.m. for a walkthrough, the 49ers did their walkthrough at noon. The afternoon practice, meanwhile, was done without helmets and shells.


The travel schedule also has been changed to allow players maximum recovery from the Monday night game. Instead of travelling on Friday - that's when they went to Kansas City - the team doesn't take off for Green Bay until Saturday. The 49ers will keep the same schedule when they travel to St. Louis, another 10 a.m. start in a Midwest city, later this month.

"If we were going to Philadelphia or something like that we'd probably leave Friday," Mike Singletary said. "But having it that maybe it's a three-and-a-half hour flight, maybe four or something like that, I think a two hour change, I think we'll just leave the day before."



T Joe Staley (leg) has been ruled out of Sunday's game. Staley had an X-ray Tuesday on his broken left fibula. He said his recovery is on schedule and there is still a hope that he can return by the end of the season.

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What if the snow delays them,that would be awful :icon_smile: you never know it is December,I know Milwaukee is to get some don't know about Green bay weird things can happen.

I just hope our defense doesn't make DeShawn Wynn look like a superstar for a day.

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I'm more worried about Westbrook.

I would have rather contended with Gore than him.

If we shut Westbrook down, it'll be the 1st time we ever did.

He owns us, and the trend isn't good, based on last week... the prototypical RB to give us fits.

IMO, the reason that Westbrook has owned us in the past is because we were always terrified of McNabb, because he always plays well against us. We would spend more time preparing for him, which would always open the door for Westbrook. This week, we know that Westbrook will be more of a force than Troy Smith, so we will be able to prepare with more emphasis on the guy that always makes us look silly.

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I like DeShawn Wynn. Dude's got skills despite it all. Can't catch to save his life, but he's got a power and speed combo. Always thought they should have moved him to FB.

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Good point, but I'm a little nervous about Westbrook too. And Troy Smith is sort of a poor man's McNabb--a good running QB. I hate playing against running QBs. I have nightmares about it, going all the way back to Fran Tarkenton. Man, that guy was hard to catch!

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