The San Francisco 49ers Need a Healthy Ted Ginn Jr. to Win Super Bowl

By John Rozum

August 30, 2012

Ted Ginn Jr. is a bigger component of the San Francisco 49ers than given credit.

Still, Ginn has dealt with health concerns before and 2012 does offer concern. According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Ginn limped off the field after he was tackled around the right ankle on a 9-yard reverse in the third quarter of San Francisco's 29-24 preseason win Sunday.

Ginn was taken to the locker room, and X-rays were negative, head coach Jim Harbaugh said.

San Francisco needs Ginn completely healthy for a run at Super Bowl XLVII, because the last thing any 49ers fan wants is a special teams encore from the NFC Championship game.

He can also help out a lot more offensively than expected. Since the Niners possess so much talent they have an opportunity to expand the playbook by presenting a more dynamic attack on top of the traditional calls.

Let's see where Ginn fits in the offense and why he's needed in winning the Bay Area's sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Adds Another Dimension to the Running Game

Obvious plays with Ginn on the ground are any kind of reverse, end-around or direct snap if San Francisco were to sneak in the Wildcat.

The jet sweep, though, is the one option where Ginn can really do some damage to defenses.

It can, however, quickly go awry when used in predictable formations and game situations.

For one, it can be an easy read because the defense simply has to contain and be aware of blindside blocks. With Ted Ginn, the 49ers have the luxury of fielding Frank Gore in the backfield.

Any time Gore gets the rock inside, Ginn should be sweeping around the edge on a fake. And this is not to be like those end-around fakes we constantly see on every running play between the tackles.

Ginn has to remain close to the line of scrimmage and come directly across the developing play, not bending into the backfield for the fake. Maintaining precise linearity prevents the linebackers and secondary from viewing the handoff/fake because of the traffic caused by the offensive and defensive lines.

In short, the second level players briefly freeze like it's a play-action pass.

When Ginn finally receives the handoff, he'll see open space around the edge and the chance to turn on the jets. This can also be used as a double play-action pass (first off Gore) in which Ginn turns his fake into any route combination downfield.

This keeps the defense honest and will force the ends to rush upfield more quickly, thus creating a safer pocket for Alex Smith.

Stretch or Widen Coverage Downfield

Alex Smith is one fortunate signal caller in 2012, because the 49ers have supplied him with an abundance of talent.

With targets like Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham and tight end Vernon Davis, Smith can't go wrong. Include the running game with Gore and rookie LaMichael James—who is also a receiving threat—and Ginn will never face double coverage.

One thing the 49ers must steer clear of, though, is lining Ginn up in non-spread formations.

This will just limit his acceleration and speed because the more aggressive corners will jam and use the boundary as an additional defender. Put Ginn in the slot and inside of Moss, however, and he has more room to create separation and get downfield.

No one can match him in single coverage and every Cover 2 scheme will have to honor him, splitting down the middle. Even if teams go Cover 3 or 4 against the Niners when in a spread formation, Ginn can just drag over the intermediate level.

He's eerily similar to Mike Wallace of the Pittsburgh Steelers in that Ginn must get the rock when in stride. Doing so allows him to burn past any would-be tacklers for excellent yards after the catch.

No, he's not going to make 40-plus receptions but he won't have to.

Ginn is just another viable option for Smith, as his speed alone will prevent a defense from doubling any one of San Francisco's receivers.

Special Teams Part 1: Kick Returning

Being a double-duty return man is quite unique in today's NFLand the 49ers have a major competitive advantage with Ginn back deep.

Reverting back to his days on the Miami Dolphins, Ginn compiled 3,386 kick return yards and took two back before joining San Francisco in 2010.

The video is of Ginn's two touchdowns with Miami that happened during the same game three years ago.

Here, we see Ginn in his element. He displays excellent vision, athleticism at dodging tackles, patience and that impressive high gear to outrun defenders when in open spaces.

As dominant as Ginn was in South Florida, his most efficient year came with San Francisco in 2011. There, he was third in the league, averaging 27.6 yards per kickoff return and totaled 800 yards with one score.

Kickoffs are where this man is most dangerous because he's already hitting near full stride while the lanes are being set up. All Ginn has to do is pick a side and burst through the slimmest of openings.

Field position is obviously key, and setting up this offense past its own 20-yard line before each possession only gives the Niners another major edge.

Special Teams Part 2: Punt Returning

Known just as well for his punt-returning skills, Ginn wasn't present for the 49ers during the NFC title game last January.

After Kyle Williams lost two fumbles on punts it was evident that Ginn was sorely missed.

After all, Ginn enjoyed his best season as a punt returner with 466 yards, one score and a 12.3 average in 2011. Unlike kickoffs, though, punt-returning requires even more patience, trust and anticipation in order to be consistent.

When fielded blocks aren't as smoothly set up as kickoffs and in spite of a designed return in place, it's mostly improvisation from the returner and a solid effort of blocking from everyone else. And with his experience, Ginn has been a prime performer on punts.

His acceleration and lateral quickness is the most vital here, because getting upfield sooner is needed. On kickoffs he's already running, so acceleration and field awareness doesn't factor in as much.

But because Ginn can explode fast and change directions on a dime, he gives San Francisco another field position advantage.

And the worst-case scenario comes in the form of punters attempting to direct the punt away from Ginn. Doing so, however, sometimes results in a shanked punt that still gives the Niners better field position.

Any way you slice it, Ginn is a distinct asset to the 49ers and his contributions will lead to a Super Bowl.

Markus Kuhn: "He looks like the real-life Thor"

ON THE MARKUS: Some Giants compare him to comic-book hero Thor, but German-born DT Markus Kuhn also reminds some of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator as he fights to make the team.

By PAUL SCHWARTZ

August 24, 2012

It was not exactly a shocker to hear “Born In The USA” blaring from the gigantic speakers last Saturday night at MetLife Stadium during a break in the Giants-Jets preseason game and, without really thinking, Rocky Bernard, who was sitting on the bench, began singing along to one of Bruce Springsteen’s most popular rock anthems.

Alongside Bernard in the cluster of defensive tackles, rookie Markus Kuhn listened to the lyrics of the chorus and couldn’t help but feel just a bit slighted.

“That’s just messed up, man,’’ Kuhn said to his humming-along teammate.

“He’s from Germany,’’ Bernard explained.

Yes he is. Kuhn was not born in the USA, but rather in Weinheim, Germany, although many of the Giants believe Kuhn hails from much, much farther away: Asgard, home of one particularly hunky, hammer-throwing, long-haired Norse God.

“He looks like the real life Thor,’’ Justin Tuck said.

And he sounds like a latter-day Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is why he has been referred to as “The Terminator,’’ and one day in training camp up in Albany, he couldn’t believe what mindlessly came out of his mouth when bussing his tray in the team cafeteria. As he left the table, he stated to teammates, “I’ll be back,’’ and it sounded, accent and all, just like the famous movie line.

“I didn’t even realize I said it and they all started cracking up laughing,’’ Kuhn said.

How he looks, what he says and how he says it are fun diversions, but the Giants need to know if the kid can play. Actually, he’s not a kid, but a 26-year old rookie who came to football late (age 15) and is one of only two German players ever to get selected in the NFL Draft (offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer was a 2009 pick of the Patriots).

The Giants face the Bears tonight in the third preseason game and coach Tom Coughlin said his starters will at least play until halftime. When the reserves take over, Kuhn again will get his chance to show he’s worth keeping around.

When training camp started, Kuhn, a seventh-round pick from North Carolina State, seemed destined to be practice-squad material, given he was so raw and the defensive tackle position was so loaded. Things have changed. Chris Canty remains out following knee surgery, Marvin Austin is sidelined with back issues and Shaun Rogers is dealing with a blood clot in his leg and hoping he can salvage his season. There’s light at the end of the tunnel for the likes of impressive first-year Dwayne Hendricks and former Broncos tackle Marcus Thomas. Kuhn also has a shot.

“I don’t look at this at all, my approach doesn’t change if everybody’s healthy or no one’s healthy,’’ Kuhn said. “I’m not working harder or less hard, I tried to fight for a spot before and I’m still trying to fight for a spot right now.’’

In his two games and in several practices Kuhn has managed to do something to get him noticed — the “flashes’’ coaches always want to see. Early in the third quarter against the Jets, in one of his first plays, Kuhn was able to penetrate and trip up Tim Tebow for a 1-yard loss. Back home, his buddies noticed.

“If I wasn’t thinking about it all the time if you watch ESPN you’re almost forced to think about him,’’ Kuhn said of Tebow. “I obviously know about him and he’s a good player. I mean, he’s a famous guy, he’s a famous athlete, not only in the U.S., so even my friends in Germany were like wow, making fun, going ‘You were able to touch Tim Tebow!’ Things like that. I like the effort he plays with so it was definitely good to get him.’’

No one has questioned Kuhn’s effort, and if the numbers don’t work for him, he’s virtually assured of sticking around on the practice squad.

“He’s just a funny guy, he’s a fun-loving guy, he’s a typical high-effort white guy, which our room always seems to have one,’’ Tuck said. “He’s a strong guy, a guy who seems to be getting the reads well. I’m interested to see how he’s gonna do in that final preseason game when he has to play a lot of snaps, and not just flashes.’’

A conversation with Cleveland's Phil Dawson

By Pat McManamon

August 23, 2012

Phil Dawson has to be a freak of nature, or he’s simply extremely talented. In his first 12 seasons in the league, he made 10 field goals of 50 yards or longer. Last season alone he made seven. Last week in Green Bay he made two longer than 50 and another of 47. Since 1999, the guy has been the ultimate professional, and if the Browns retired numbers his number “4” would belong right next to Lou Groza’s.

He’s suffered through losing seasons, finished a game kicking off and making field goals and extra points with a broken arm and made just about every key kick asked of him -- including the one off “the Dawson bar” in Baltimore. The only time he misses is when a snap goes awry, or something else bizarre happens -- like when a 2002 overtime kick in Pittsburgh hit the helmet of Kimo Von Oelhoffen. He’s never ducked a question, and always talked about supporting the team. And he’s done it while being a devoted father and husband to his three children and wife Shannon.

In the list of pro’s pros in Cleveland, Dawson belongs at the top. This week, Dawson sat down with Pat McManamon and discussed his successes, his approach, the nuances of kicking and his career. They equate to a manual for any young player about what it means to be a pro, and by extension what it means to be a Cleveland Brown.

Question: What is up with you making all these 50-yard field goals? Are you getting stronger as you get older?

Answer: I think a lot of it is perception. I was always known growing up as a guy with a big leg. For whatever reason when I got to the NFL, my label was the opposite. I think sometimes in this league when you’re good at one thing people automatically assume you’re not at another.

So if you’re an accurate field goal guy, you must not be a strong field goal guy. Or conversely if you’re a big-leg field goal guy you must not be very accurate. That’s just kind of how it goes.

There’s some of that. But another is opportunity. A lot of years I didn’t even try a 50-yarder. That means I didn’t make one and when you don’t make one now you get a labeled as a guy who can’t make one.

And then the third thing is I’ve worked my tail off, so I have gotten stronger. Is that not why we go in the weight room in the offseason? Is that not why we do the flexibility training and all that kind of thing?

So … opportunity, have gotten stronger, and just the confidence now when I go out to try one of these. In the case of the other night (in Green Bay), I had just been out there five minutes earlier. You make one now you feel like you can make another.

Q. You had as many 50-yarders last year as you had the first nine years. Is that simply a matter of trying? I remember Chris Palmer used to punt from the 30.

A. It was a special year when things came together. But in a 10-game season my senior year at high school I had four 50-yarders. I’ve been doing this a long time.

Q. How about at Texas?

A. I had like 13. I was kind of known for making the long field goal.

I mean I’m very appreciative of the opportunities, and I have gotten stronger and more confident and all that stuff, but I’m not necessarily doing anything that’s surprising me.

Q. What do you do specifically in training to help?

A. A typical day for me in the offseason is in the weight room for two, two and a half hours. Then I’m on the field doing all my on-the-field kind of stuff. The older I’ve been getting I’ve been getting into flexibility.

Q. Yoga? Any of that kind of stuff?

A. Yoga. Pilates. Massage. All that kind of thing. If it were just strength, Ahtyba Rubin would be our kicker. It’s a combination of strength and flexibility.

Q. Is it a workout tailored for you or did you come up with it?

A. There’s a place called the HIT Center of Austin - High Intensity Training Center of Austin. Those guys really helped me out this past offseason. I’m really excited about where my body’s at right now.

Q. I apologize if this is not appropriate, but the general rule says that as guys age they are not supposed to get stronger.

A. Like I said, I don’t know that I’m that much stronger than I’ve ever been. I just feel better and I’m more confident. And I’m able to display the strength that I have better with all the flexibility and all that kind of thing. And if we’re saying stronger, then that’s assuming we were weaker. It’s all back to opportunity.

Q. Did you find that yoga helps your frame of mind too?

A. (Dawson leans back and smiles.) I can’t stand that part of it.

Q. Seriously?

A. I just want to stretch. Let’s make my hamstrings feel loose. That’s what I want.

Q. No happy music?

A. Nooo.

Q. I was trying to think, and obviously there have been a lot of losses so there weren’t a ton of opportunities, but I could not remember a time when you were asked to make a game-winning or game-tying kick when you missed it?

A. Well, St. Louis last year.

Q. Well those were weird circumstances (when the snap went awry after hitting the guard’s leg).

A. There’s one. I’m trying to remember what it was. … It hasn’t happened often, fortunately. Or I wouldn’t be here. That’s the reality of my job. I can make 90 percent of my kicks and if I miss the wrong one …

Q. How long longer do you want to keep doing this?

Multiple years. I feel great.

Q. You have a number? Five?

A. I’ll tell ya … I don’t know the exact number, but I’m not going to be a guy that keeps playing and tries to eke out years. I want to perform at a high level. I want to try to be the best there is in the league. And I want to be central to what my team is trying to accomplish. And if that’s not the case, I’ll be gone.

Q. Have you looked at any guys’ careers and said, ‘He’s done it into his late 30s’?

A. I’m aware of what guys have done, but I think I’ve kind of traveled a different path. I’m still in the North. I’m still kicking off. I’m still kind of the blue-collar path.

Q. Yet you’re still kicking in Cleveland …

A. Yeah. A lot of these guys that have hung on have maybe put in their time in a Northern climate and they make their way down South or they get in a dome or maybe they give up kickoff duties and that kind of thing. I have no desire to have my role diminished at this point. I love the challenge of kicking in bad weather.

Q. You do? Seriously? There isn’t part of you that would want to kick in better conditions?

A. I sometimes wonder ‘what if.’ What would I be able to do in conditions that allow you to demonstrate things. Especially kickoff wise. We’re so limited here what we can do in our stadium. And I’ve had to listen forever how I can’t kick off. I’ve had my moments where I’ve thought, ‘If I played in a dome or down south.’

Q. That’s another thing to me that’s impression. Your touchbacks are up there with anyone’s in the league. Until the weather gets cold, but that’s going to happen to everybody.

A. When we went to Indianapolis last year, I had three touchbacks in the game. I’m thinking if I had eight games in the dome … Another whole thing is opportunities to kick off. We don’t score as much. Of course my touchbacks are going to be less.

Q. Is there any part of you that would like to focus just on field goals?

A. I love the whole thing. The challenge of preparing for an opponent. Using different kicks to attack whatever scheme it is they are coming at us with. That’s usually a high intensity point in the game. I love feeling that.

Q. When you say you’re limited in Cleveland to what you can do on kickoffs, how so?

A. With traditional winds, you have to go one way or the other in terms of direction. Not many people are hitting touchbacks. Maybe early in the year in our stadium. By October, not many people are banging touchbacks. So instead of just hauling off and kicking it, you’re placing it, hanging it, making it go this way or that way, that kind of stuff.

Q. I think back to certain games in your career. The one in your rookie year at Pittsburgh to beat them. When you kept kicking with a broken arm. You didn’t ask out, and it must have hurt like blazes.

A. It was bad.

Q. And the other was the long one in the snow against Buffalo when we all thought Romeo (Crennel) was nuts to have you try it and you made it. Any others jump out?

A. The other was the one was at Buffalo on Monday night (a game-winner in 2008). It was cold. The ball wasn’t traveling well. To be on that stage, to make that kick, was very …

Q. That’s the night of the famous Phil Savage e-mail.

A. Was it? Oh boy …

Q. See what you caused?

A. Got overshadowed (joking)

Q. Do you feel appreciated in Cleveland?

A. Absolutely. There is a tangible feeling I have when I come into our stadium. The fans, the security guards at the door of the locker room, the policemen who patrol the hallways, the ticket attendants. Whoever I see down there it’s pretty fun, pretty neat. And going around town, bumping into people. Yeah, I think I am appreciated by them.

Q. You probably don’t want to hear this because you have multiple years left, but if the Browns ever retire numbers yours should be next to Lou Groza’s, in my mind.

A. That’s an argument I’ll let everyone else make. To even be considered is an honor given the amount of respect I have for him and what he did for this place.

Q. Know the number of points you need to catch him?

A. Not exactly. I think it’s like 190 something.

Q. A year and a half?

A. Well, two years. If we’re lucky.

Q. Do you set goals every year?

A. Yep. I keep most of them to myself. I’m trying to be the best. Still some personal goals I’d like to accomplish. I’d like to win some games. I would gladly sacrifice a couple missed kicks to have an opportunity to make some in game-winning situations. That’s where I am with my career. As long as I’m playing I’ll try to be the best there is, and the day that’s no longer there it’s time to hang it up.

Q. The argument could be made that you are among the best, but because the team has lost it’s not noticed. Is that frustrating at all?

A. Yeah. It’s frustrating. Not for ego. It’s what drives me, to be quite honest. I came into the league undrafted. I joke with (special teams coach Chris) Tabor that I’m going to have this chip on my shoulder surgically removed the day I retire.

But I’ve learned to use criticism and doubt for being overlooked as fuel. But I’ve also had to learn in some respects that shouldn’t be the result of all your efforts. To get the pat on the back, to get the recognition.

There needs to be a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing what your job is, coming out here and doing your job. I think those are gonna be the things that I remember and enjoy the most when I’m done. Things that a lot of people don’t realize. Knowing how difficult a 33-yarder was on a certain day when maybe my back was tight and I wasn’t feeling good. Being able to still make it. Rising to the challenge.

Those are the things I take satisfaction in. If the day ever comes when I get recognized for what I’ve done here, great. But if it doesn’t, that’s enough.

Q. Do you feel like your peers recognize you?

A. I do, and that means a lot. Knowing so many coaches around the league now, players. It’s fully rewarding to hear what they have to say.

Q. Last question, of all the guys you’ve encountered here, who taught you the most about being a pro?

A. Chris Gardocki. I wouldn’t be here without Chris. Some of it was spoken word, but most of it was just watching the way he approached things. Some of my game day quirks to this day, that people are like ‘what in the world are you doing?’ … I learned from Chris Gardocki.

Q. Such as?

A. Oh good grief. I take that sticky spray that the trainers use to do tape, and I spray it before I pull my socks on because it holds your socks nice and tight. Who would have ever thought to do that? But I watched Chris do it so then I did it.

That’s kind of a stupid one, but there’s some more important ones that I do. Just the way he knew his opponent. The way he studied the weather. The way he was intense even out here on each and every kick.

We get a label as kind of screwing around, but when it was time to do his thing he did his thing. He played 17 years, never had a punt blocked, was an All-Pro twice. There you go.

I’m on year 15, haven’t gotten to the Pro Bowl yet but I’m going to keep focusing on each and every kick, and hopefully now Reggie (Hodges) and Christian (Yount) and the guys that are in my little group, we’ll have our fun, but they’ll see when it’s time to go to work there’s no messing around and everything is important.

That’s what I learned from Chris.

Q. I lied about that being the last question. The contract situation (for the second year in a row Dawson is playing under the franchise tender, without a long-term deal) doesn’t seem to bother you when you’re playing.

A. Not now. Offseason it’s tough, because you’re not out here doing anything constructive with it.

Q. But you’ve also proven you can work in the offseason on your own.

A. Yeah. Like I said. I’m going to approach every season the same way. Every year has its distractions, and this year my contract situation is a distraction. I just have to deal with that and do what I can.

Q. You probably don’t remember, but back when Butch Davis was coach and Earl Little complained about not being able to go out to dinner on the road, I asked you about it and you said the only thing you wanted to change was winning. You said you’d practice naked if it meant more wins. That’s not a real pretty image.

A. (Laughs) No, it’s not. But that’s what it’s about.

Q. How are the kids, the family?

A. Great. That’s the hardest part. We moved to Austin because we didn’t know with the contract, and now they’re in school. They come up for home games, but it’s brutal not being around them. But they are doing great.