Tag: Jake Brendel

Giants fined more than 49ers following Week 3 clash

The NFL has hammered the New York Giants with several big fines after a Week 3 game that saw the San Francisco 49ers play very, very dirty.

Following a Week 3 game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, it appeared inevitable that several fines would be handed down from the NFL.

After all, the 49ers played a very dirty game that saw offensive lineman Trent Williams punch defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson in the face and center Jake Brendel deliberately injure defensive tackle D.J. Davidson.

Williams was penalized but not ejected for his flagrant personal foul, while Brendel didn’t even draw a flag.

After the game, the NFL offered up a lame excuse for why Williams wasn’t ejected.

“When we have a flag thrown on the field for unnecessary roughness, members of the officiating department are able to review available video, Rule 19, to determine if there is a flagrant action that should result in a disqualification,” NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson said after the game. “We ended up looking at the video we had available to us, and we just didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant, which is the standard that we have to apply to disqualify the player.”

The league’s clown show continued this week as Brendel somehow escaped both a fine and a suspension. And while Williams was fined $11,473 for his punch, he also avoided a suspension.

Adding to the circus, the NFL fined A’Shawn Robinson the same $11,473 for unnecessary roughness and also hit linebacker Jihad Ward with a $8,139 fine for unnecessary roughness.

Still not laughing at the show? Well, the NFL decided to hit Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams with the game’s biggest fine, slapping him with an invoice for $16,391. The reasoning? Because he made a very normal, everyday football play.

Just to recap: Robinson was fined the same amount as Trent Williams after getting punched in the face.

And this “penalty:”

Was fined more than this non-penalty:

Okay then.

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Giants’ Brian Daboll refuses to criticize refs even though they deserve it

Giants coach Brian Daboll refused to criticize officials for their horrible performance on Thursday night, so social media did it for him.

Shawn Hochuli and his crew were an absolute dumpster fire on Thursday night during a game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

There were nearly 20 flags thrown throughout the game with 12 of those being accepted in total. Among them was a roughing the passer call against Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Hochuli argued that Williams came down with the full weight of his body on 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy which, by definition, is a violation of the rules. But in this particular instance, it was a bang-bang play and Williams had no chance to fall off to one side.

However, it’s not as if Williams didn’t try to abide by the impossible rule. He clearly puts his left knee down to alleviate some of the impact but that didn’t suffice. It was a 15-yard penalty, it extended San Francisco’s drive and it ultimately led to a touchdown.

What makes that call more egregious is that 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams later avoided ejection after punching Giants defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson in the face.

By rule, that’s an automatic ejection and clearly, Hochuli & Co. abide by the NFL rules and the letter of the law without question, right? That’s the reason Leonard Williams was flagged.

But no. There were instead offsetting penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and Williams was allowed to remain in the game. Although the officiating crew saw the Leonard Williams “penalty” clear as day, they somehow missed Trent Williams’ close fist, as they explained after the game.

“When we have a flag thrown on the field for unnecessary roughness, members of the officiating department are able to review available video, Rule 19, to determine if there is a flagrant action that should result in a disqualification,” NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson said after the game. “We ended up looking at the video we had available to us, and we just didnā€™t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant, which is the standard that we have to apply to disqualify the player.”

There were other astonishingly bad or missed calls throughout the game and at one point, Giants head coach Drian Daboll completely lost his cool. But given an opportunity to criticize the referees during a Zoom call on Friday, he took the high road instead.

“Those guys have got a tough job to do out there and that’s really all I’ve got to say on that,” Daboll told reporters.

Daboll wouldn’t even criticize the officials for missing a clear and extremely dirty play by 49ers offensive lineman Jake Brendel, who yanked Giants defensive lineman D.J. Davidson down by his arm UFC-style, resulting in what appeared to be a serious injury.

“It was a physical game. A lot of emotions, so hopefully he’ll be okay,” Daboll said.

While Daboll refused to criticize the officials, plenty of others did it for him on social media.

Ranking the NFC West centers entering 2023

Only one center in the NFC West is considered an unquestioned starter entering this season.

The NFC West has an interesting situation at center in 2023. Truly only one team has no real questions at the position. Two teams brought in a new center projected to start and another has an incumbent starter who could be replaced.

How do they rank entering the 2023 season?

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

PFF dings 49ers OL for 2 offseason changes, 1 of which didn’t happen

The #49ers dropped 11 spots in PFF’s OL rankings thanks in part to something that didn’t happen.

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The 49ers were aiming for continuity on their offensive line this offseason, and they got it outside of Mike McGlinchey’s exit in free agency. Despite the largely similar OL they’ll roll into 2023 with, Pro Football Focus dropped the club 11 spots in its OL rankings to No. 18 overall.

While it’s not entirely unfair to have some concerns about the 49ers’ offensive line, part of the reason they fell so far was because of a move that didn’t actually happen.

Here’s PFF’s Sam Monson on the 49ers’ OL:

If it wasnā€™t for Trent Williams, this line would be a concerning group on paper. It still may need to lean on Kyle Shanahanā€™s offense to put some gloss on its performances.

San Franciscoā€™s line ranked fifth in PFF pass-blocking efficiency over the 2022 season but lost two starters in the offseason.

That first point is mostly fine. Shanahan is very good at working around adversity on the offensive line, and all four players along the front who aren’t Williams have to take a step forward in 2023.

The second point is wrong. PFF has Jon Feliciano listed as the 49ers’ starting center, indicating that last year’s starting center, Jake Brendel, is no longer with the team.

Brendel is very much with the team. He signed a four-year, $16.5 million deal with $5 million fully guaranteed. That’s not a contract for a backup center. He’s going to start again and Feliciano will likely be the do-everything reserve along the interior.

This isn’t to say that Brendel is an All-Pro caliber center who would dramatically change the team’s ranking, but it would surely help since PFF graded Brendel as about average overall and as a run blocker, while marking him as an above average pass blocker. Brendel in his first season as a full-time starter allowed 14 pressures and one sack in 680 pass blocking snaps.

Feliciano in 649 pass blocking snaps last year with the Giants allowed 25 pressures and four sacks, while grading out below average overall and in the run game.

Ultimately the 49ers have something to prove up front. Brendel, Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford all have to make strides forward after up-and-down 2022 campaigns from each. Burford will also assume a full-time role after rotating some with Daniel Brunskill last season. Then there’s Colton McKivitz at right tackle who figures to be a full-time starter for the first time in his career. He’s a significant question mark replacing McGlinchey who was San Francisco’s second-best OL last season.

It’s fair to rank this 49ers group in the middle of the pack given some of the question marks about the long-term viability of some of their starters, but to dock them for losing two starters is to dock them for something that didn’t actually happen.

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49ers are re-signing center Jake Brendel to 4-year deal

The 49ers are bringing back center Jake Brendel, according to Ian Rapoport. The Jets also made a push.

The San Francisco 49ers are re-signing center Jake Brendel to a four-year deal, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

San Francisco faced stiff competition from the New York Jets, who made a run at Brendel. While the Jets offered him more money, according toĀ The Athletic‘sĀ Zack Rosenblatt, Brendel still chose to return to the 49ers.

The deal is worth up to $20 million with $8 million guaranteed per Rapoport.

It was a long journey for Brendel to a four-year contract as a starting center. He entered last year as a journeyman OL with only three career starts. He won the starting center battle with Daniel Brunskill and held that spot through the entire season and started all 20 games in the middle of the 49ersā€™ offensive line.

His contract indicates heā€™s San Franciscoā€™s long-term solution at C, which means their need to draft a younger option is now eliminated. They also have Keith Ismael and Nick Zakelj on the roster who could potentially push for that job, but the four-year deal for Brendel means the job isnā€™t exactly in jeopardy.

With Brendel re-signed and Colton McKivitz signed as the likely replacement for Mike McGlinchey at right tackle, it appears San Franciscoā€™s offensive line for 2023 has rounded into shape.

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Picking free agents 49ers should try to re-sign in 2023

Which of the #49ers’ 21 unrestricted free agents should they aim to re-sign? Nicholas McGee (@nicholasmcgee24) runs through the entire list:

It’s going to be a busy offseason for the 49ers, who on top of replenishing their coaching staff and thinking about the draft, have the futures of 21 unrestricted free agents to think about.

The roster turnover in the NFL is what makes a season-ending loss, which the 49ers suffered in last weekā€™s NFC championship game, hit so hard.

No team is ever the same year over year, but the Niners will want to keep as much of their 2022 vintage as they can.

But San Francisco is projected to be just under $16.4 million below the projected 2023 salary cap, and will not have the financial means to keep everyone.

So which players should they be looking to keep around? Weā€™ve gone through the list of 21 UFAs and identified whether San Francisco should aim to re-sign them to a new contract.

National reaction to Eagles earning Super Bowl berth after a 31-7 win over 49ers

The Philadelphia Eagles advanced to #SuperBowlLVII and we have all the national reaction from the 31-7 win over the 49ers

The Eagles advanced to Super Bowl 57 with a 31-7 win over the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon.

Jalen Hurts was 15-25 passing for 121 yards, while adding 11 carries for 39 yards and one rushing touchdown.

Miles Sanders had 11 carries for 42 yards and two rushing touchdowns while the Philadelphia defense sacked 49ers passers three times on the afternoon.

With the Eagles awaiting the Bengals-Chiefs winner, here’s the national reaction to Sunday’s win.

Top photos from Eagles 31-7 win over 49ers in NFC Championship Game

The Eagles are headed to #SuperBowlLVII and we have the top 100 photos from Philadelphia’s 31-7 win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game

The Eagles are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years after a 31-7 win over the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field.

The NFC Champions will now await the winner of Sunday night’s AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts was 15-25 passing for 121 yards passing on the day, as Philadelphia racked up the bulk of their yards on the ground.

Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell both had 40+ yards rushing, while Boston Scott scored a touchdown in his third straight game.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was forced to exit the first quarter with an elbow injury and the NFC West champions saw their offense sputter from theirs.

With the Eagles heading to the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, here are the top photos from Sunday’s historic win.

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Eagles advance to Super Bowl LVII with a 31-7 win over 49ers in NFC Championship Game

The Philadelphia Eagles have advanced to #SuperBowlLVII and they’ll face the Bengals-Chiefs winner after a 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers

The Eagles are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years after a 31-7 win over the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field.

The NFC Champions will now await the winner of Sunday night’s AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts was 15-25 passing for 121 yards passing on the day, as Philadelphia racked up the bulk of their yards on the ground.

Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell both had 40+ yards rushing, while Boston Scott scored a touchdown in his third straight game.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was forced to exit the first quarter with an elbow injury and the NFC West champions saw their offense sputter from theirs.

Purdy was forced back into action after fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson suffered a concussion.

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Eagles vs. 49ers: 10 takeaways from the first half as Philadelphia holds a 21-7 lead

We’re looking at ten takeaways from the first half as the Philadelphia Eagles hold a 21-7 lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game

The Eagles are just 30 minutes of good football away from advancing to Super Bowl 57 after taking a 21-7 lead over the 49ers at the half.

Jalen Hurts was solid, while San Francisco’s star rookie Brock Purdy was forced to exit Sunday’s matchup with an elbow injury after a strip sack by Haason Reddick.

49ers star tight end George Kittle was limited to one catch for nine yards in the first half, while his counterpart, Dallas Goedert, logged five catches for 23 yards on seven targets.

With the second half set to begin, here are 10 takeaways from the first half.