FanHouse BillWalsh

Should Kansas State coach Bill Snyder go searching for a sure sign college football hasn't stood still in his brief retirement, all he has to do is look at "this Blackberry thing" that is usually attached to his hip.

For a coach who can remember when handwritten letters were the must-have tools of recruiting, Snyder's newly issued BlackBerry seems to always be vibrating or making a noise or doing both. In the morning when Snyder awakens. In the evening when he's ready to turn in.

Sometimes, the 69-year-old coach can't help but feel like a victim of information overload.

Although it's tough for some fans and media (looks in mirror) to turn the page on the Redskins' "Anybody But Jason" offseason tour, the guy caught in the middle, Jason Campbell, has done just that. Unlike Jay Cutler, who bellyached his way out of Denver, Campbell (save one moment of weakness) has said all the right things. He's moved on -- even if we haven't -- and is looking toward the 2009 season.

Detractors like to point out that Campbell isn't consistent (or smart) enough to be an NFL starter, but they often leave out an important little fact: he's played in three different offenses in five seasons.

Shortly after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to part ways with head coach Jon Gruden, Buccaneers players from past and present began taking a place in line for an opportunity to sound off on their former boss. The word "scumbag" was used, while several players suggested that he was, for the most part, a two-faced liar that would tell them one thing and end up doing the exact opposite.

Gruden has remained relatively silent on the matter, but opened up in an interview with Chris Harry of the Orlando Sentinel. Among the topics discussed: the spread offense, Tim Tebow and how a person responds to being called a "scumbag."

It's long been established that, outside of tight pants and nice bodies (I'm talking about you, Craig Sager!) sideline reporters add nothing of value to the experience of watching a sporting event. The least we could ask of them, however, is that they have the slightest bit of knowledge about the games they cover.



Judging from the way he lambasted Vernon Davis, Mike Singletary let this dimwit off much too easy. Insulting every fan, the guy you're interviewing and Bill Walsh's memory in one fell swoop is quite a day at the office. Thanks for enhancing the viewing experience!

(H/T PFT)

Joe Montana is unimpressed with your quarterbacks, National Football Leauge. Actually, that's not exactly true; Montana, like the rest of us, is slack-jawed watching Tom Brady rip through the league. But after learning Vinny Testaverde wasn't dead, and was currently employed by an NFL team as a starting quarterback, the Hall of Famer had some thoughts on the dearth of talent at the position.

"You're seeing a lot of things change the position because a lot of those guys in college aren't running typical pro-type offenses," Montana said. "They're spreading things out in the shotgun, and ... that doesn't translate as well to the next level.

I tell my boys, the first thing I have to do is train you to hand off, because this is not a handoff," he said, imitating the quarterback riding the ball in a running back's hands deep in the backfield. "All you're reading is from tackle to tackle, and half the time you don't even look (downfield). They're limited in their passing."

Hmm. Maybe Montana can work with Rex Grossman on improving the handoffs, because he definitely got screwed out of that lesson in college (Thanks, Steve Spurrier).

I'll say this for Buffalo's new starting quarterback, Trent Edwards: He's got a lot of big-named supporters. The late Bill Walsh loved Edwards coming out of Stanford, and now, former NFL MVP Rich Gannon has some kind words for the Bills rookie:

Gannon was in Buffalo last week for the Baltimore game, and when asked the other day by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune which young quarterback in the NFL he thought had a chance to be the next star, he replied, "Trent Edwards in Buffalo."...

"They came out against Baltimore and ran no-huddle the whole game," Gannon said. "That's not easy for a rookie to do. Trent is directing traffic at the line of scrimmage, he's getting the Bills out of bad plays and into good plays. I'm not trying to make him out as the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but he's much further along than any other rookie."

I'm with Gannon: I like Edwards a lot, and think he has more upside than J.P. Losman, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves with his performances to date. He's done an adequate job of managing the game, but he's been handcuffed by some pretty conservative play-calling and ill-timed interceptions in the Bills loss to the Cowboys, and the almost-loss to the Ravens.

Part of the Patriotgate scandal -- a part that never went anywhere -- was the accusation leveled by representatives of the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars that the communications devices they used to communicate from the press box to the quarterbacks' helmets malfunctioned when they played the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

During a discussion of Patriotgate on ESPN tonight, Bill Parcells said that when he was coach of the Giants, the 49ers used a different tactic to achieve the same result of denying the opposition the opportunity to use headsets to communicate between the press box and the sidelines.

According to Parcells, the 49ers claimed in two different playoff games that their headsets had gone out during their first offensive series. The 49ers and coach Bill Walsh were famous for scripting the first series of every game, so headsets really wouldn't have been helpful to the 49ers during their first series -- quarterback Joe Montana and the entire offense knew exactly which plays to run whether they could hear their coaches' instructions or not.

To get you ready for week 1, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Arizona Cardinals/San Francisco 49ers preview.

2006 Records: (Click names for 2007 preview)

Arizona Cardinals: 5-11 (4th in NFC West)
San Francisco 49ers: 7-9 (3rd in NFC West)

2006 Head-to-Head:

Week 1: Cardinals 34 - 49ers 27
Week 16: Cardinals 26 - 49ers 20

When the Cardinals have the ball: Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has made it abundantly clear that Arizona may not be the run-first offense so many people expect. Although San Francisco can expect a good dose of Edgerrin James throughout the game, it's going to be all about Matt Leinart and the seemingly endless pit of wide receiver talent.

Even with the addition of Pro Bowl cornerback Nate Clements, the 49ers can not be overly confident in their ability to contain Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. That duo, which is arguably the best in the NFL, combined for 21 catches, 355 yards and two touchdowns against the 49ers last season.

When it comes to first-overall picks, specifically franchise quarterbacks, patience isn't a virtue most fans hold. But Alex Smith is getting ready to show 49ers Nation that good things come to those who wait.

After a less than successful start to his career (a 1-11 TD-INT ratio), Smith showed signs of improvement last season in his second year. Big things are expected of the 49ers this season, most of which belies the optimism surrounding Smith's progression, and so far the trajectory is still upwards. Last night's Monday Night Football preseason game against the Broncos was the first in the newly-renamed Bill Walsh Field, and as the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami notes, Smith is beginning to do its namesake proud.

It wasn't Joe Montana. It wasn't Steve Young. It was just a dumb exhibition in August, against a Denver defense that wasn't doing anything tricky. But this was the first game played on Bill Walsh Field, and, in the short time Smith was out there, he looked like the right guy at the right place, and he looked like he finally was realizing that himself.

Smith finished the game 4-for-5 for 58 yards, hooking up with Arnaz Battle for a 26-yard gain that landed the 49ers on the Denver one-yard line, setting up a touchdown. More importantly, he took the 49ers on two drives, both of which produced points. Smith has seen the field better this year, he's been delivering with poise and efficiency -- two things Walsh stressed.

The 49ers' success doesn't really rely on Smith -- the team proved last year it could ride the legs of Frank Gore. But a breakthrough season for the quarterback could be the difference between the 49ers being a fringe playoff team and a division champion.

As a tribute to the late coach Bill Walsh, the 49ers have announced that they will wear their cherry-red throwback jerseys in their regular season opener.

Owner John York said he pushed the league to allow the team to wear the red jerseys in the home opener as well as at another home game later in the season. The 49ers will wear a "BW" decal on their helmets all season.

A public memorial for Walsh will take place Friday at Monster Park.