San Francisco 49ers Vs. Philadelphia Eagles Preview & Predictions

A week or so ago, no one really cared about this game. The Eagles were going to roll over the 49ers without a problem.

Now with Michael Vick's hand, and the 49ers playing moderately well, this just became a game.

No word on how severe Vick's hand injury really is, just that he has one on his non-throwing hand and will be playing in Sunday's match-up with the 49ers.

Vick has been less than standard this season. The "dream team" was supposed to run through the NFC, however, they are 1-2 and need this win just to regain some of their respect.

With Vick's injury, the man to stop has changed to running back LeSean McCoy, who has rushed for 345 yards in the first three games of the season. He is expected to have the bulk of possessions in his hands on Sunday.

For the 49ers, Frank Gore needs a statement game, and what better game to do it in than against a preseason Super Bowl favorite?

Alex Smith can continue to be conservative in his passing, but it will take more than that for the 49ers to get past the Eagles, especially with the stacked Philadelphia defense.


X-Factor

Gore will need a huge game if the 49ers are to beat the Eagles. He had a lack-luster game in Week 2 and needs to step it up this week in order to regain some of his consistency.

All is not lost if he does not show up, though. Back-up Kendall Hunter has proven to be ready to carry somewhat of a load in the NFL, and Week 4 at Philadelphia could very well be his coming-out party.


Predictions

As much as the 49ers' chances of winning have gone up since Vick's injury, the Eagles' defense and rushing attack may be too much.

Vick will still be mobile, the defense can be lockdown and McCoy is still speedy quick.

Eagles should win 24-17

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San Jose Sharks: Third & Fourth Lines Coming Into Focus

Just piggy-backing on what David Pollak released in his Working the Corners blog the other day. It looks like we may have our first glimpse into what coach Todd McLellan may be thinking as his third and fourth lines.

Parts were expected, but there may be one or two players on the final two lines that may have surprised some.

The surprise: Tommy Wingels.

Wingels leads the team in goals this preseason with three heading into Tuesday, and has seemed to have decent chemistry with everyone he has played with so far on the ice.

For now, we know that two players, Michal Handzus and Torrey Mitchell will be apart of that third line, but it is Wingels who is suited up on the left wing next to them.

Jamie McGinn has seemed to be less favorable in the eyes of McLellan at this point, although it felt that McGinn was the man for that third line spot heading into training camp.

Wingels has impressed. McGinn has not.

On the fourth line, we can pencil in Andrew Murray and Andrew Desjardins at the center and wing spots. However, that last spot may be up for grabs, with McGinn and Brad Winchester competing for it.

Winchester, Desjardins and Murray have meshed very well together so far this preseason, and that may be the deciding factor to hold off on having McGinn start on any of the four lines. It really depends on how McGinn looks on these last few preseason games.


Demoted

It was sad to see Brandon Mashinter head back to Worcester, after a preseason that many saw as his opportunity to crack the starting lines.

It simply looked like he did not have enough, and McLellan noticed it.

Make no mistake, Mashinter will be back sometime this season. He is too talented to stay put in the minors and is a key part in the future of this team.

I guess James Sheppard and Ben Guite never panned out, as well. Neither will start the year in San Jose.

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5 Most Important Players For the San Jose Sharks This Upcoming Season

The 2011-12 season is an extremely important one for not only the players on the roster but the entire franchise as a whole. Time is ticking on this team, the talent on it and the front office that have made all the right moves but have nothing to show for it.

The San Jose Sharks are at the brink of the Stanley Cup and are at the same time worried about how long this franchise can keep the players that have been most important to it.

They have made changes; for the better or worse, we will find out soon enough. But on the surface, this may be the most well-rounded team that San Jose has ever had, and they have had some good ones.

Speed, defense, talent—they have it all.

The pressure is on in San Jose, for all parties associated.

Here are the five players who are essential to the Sharks' Stanley Cup hopes.

5. Martin Havlat

It is no secret that last season's defeat to the Vancouver Canucks was due to the fact that the Sharks simply could not keep up.

General manager Doug Wilson has seen this in back-to-back seasons now, and he made a change to acquire Martin Havlat to fill that void and compete physically with the Western Conference elite.

Havlat is essential to the Sharks because he has the speed needed to keep up with the Kings, Blackhawks, Red Wings or Canucks, who should all be in contention for the Cup at season's end.

With a healthy Havlat, the Sharks can keep up both in the talent department and speed department.

Without him, they are just a player away from clearing the hump into the Finals.

4. Dan Boyle

Dan Boyle's job with this team is twofold. He is there to be a leader as well as an offensive mind on defense, something he has been so good at over the years in San Jose.

Boyle needs to be a leader in the locker room, as there has been a void ever since captain Rob Blake retired. The Sharks lacked leadership last season and will need someone to step up, mainly Boyle, to give the team that veteran leadership they have lacked the past couple seasons.

3. Joe Thornton

The center of the first line will always be a very important player on any given team, but Thornton's job this season may be as important as ever.

The losses of Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi this offseason were serious blows to the offensive prowess of this team, and no doubt that part of the game took a hit for the Sharks. But Thornton is the player who could step his game up even further.

He will most likely be playing with wingers Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski for the majority of the season. But with currently weak third and fourth lines, Thornton will need to make that first line produce on a consistent basis.

If he does not, the Sharks will have trouble scoring against the better defenses come playoff time.

2. Brent Burns

The Sharks brought Brent Burns in for one reason and one reason only. That was to solidify a weary defense that has cost them several playoff games in the past few years.

Burns is essential to the progress of the Sharks' season because it is on him to both score in the offensive zone and play physical defense in the defensive zone.

He has so many jobs on this team this season that he is undoubtedly the player who will carry this defense.

If he does not, San Jose will again lack the defense needed to win a Stanley Cup.

1. Antti Niemi

It is not Antti Niemi as much as his health.

Niemi has been sparingly at practice so far this preseason, as he has had a cyst removed from an undisclosed part of his body. That may not be that important, or effect him down the line, but it is Niemi's overall health that the team needs.

Behind Niemi, there is nobody. Antero Niittymaki is out for 12 weeks and Thomas Greiss has shown signs of growing, but he is certainly not ready to bolster the load in the NHL.

Niemi is key to the Sharks after a rough start and impressive finish to the regular season. He again showed why he has such a reputation for playing big in big games, and he is essential to the Sharks in the playoffs.

Not worrying about a consistent goaltender in the playoffs is one less thing to worry about come that time of year.

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Jim Harbaugh Learning As the San Francisco 49ers Get Ugly Win Over Cincinnati Bengals

It wasn't pretty, and it may have been one of the worst games on the Week 3 schedule, but the San Francisco 49ers managed to ugly the Bengals to death on Sunday in Cincinnati.

The 49ers are now 2-1 and atop the NFC West by themselves.

No sharing.

The game, as difficult as it was to watch, showed just how much Jim Harbaugh is learning in his first three weeks as an NFL head coach.

He showed how much he learned in a 13-8 win?

In a way, yes.


Player of the Game

Hard to say whether it was the man catching the ball or the man throwing the ball, but you cannot go wrong with picking either Alex Smith or Vernon Davis as the Player of the Game in Week 3.

Before the season, did you think that Smith would even be talked about as a Player of the Game for any of the 16 games this season?

Smith went an efficient 20 of 30 for 201 yards and no interceptions yet again this week. Eight of those completions went to Davis, who went for 114 yards.



Impressive

More impressive than Alex Smith without a turnover this week was Jim Harbaugh's capability to adapt and learn throughout this season.

He noticed that Davis was not getting the ball as much as a machine-created physical specimen should, and he centered his game plan around him.

Davis did not disappoint, and Harbaugh is looking like a better coach for it.



Disappointment

Frank Gore looked tired and uninterested in Sunday's win over the Bengals. In fact, the 49ers won despite Gore's lack of production. He rushed for 42 yards on 17 carries.

Luckily for him, Kendall Hunter may be the next big thing in the 49ers' backfield. Hunter made his first notable appearance as an NFL running back, rushing nine times for 26 yards and a clutch touchdown.

Even more noteworthy, Harbaugh looked to Hunter in the most critical situations of the game on Sunday.

Gore has competition in the San Francisco backfield.

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San Francisco 49ers Vs. Cincinnati Bengals Preview & Predictions

The San Francisco 49ers will be playing their first away game of the season on Sunday, after being blessed with two home games to start.

The Bengals, on the other hand, will be playing their first home game of the season, after a win at Cleveland and a loss last week to the Broncos.

Fans in Cincinnati will be excited for this one, as they will be getting their first home glimpse of rookies Andy Dalton and A.J. Green in regular season play.

Dalton has been better than expected in his first two games in the NFL. He went 10 of 15 with a TD in limited time in his first NFL game, and 27 of 41 for 332 yards and two touchdowns in his second game.

He has also formed a nice bond with fellow rookie Green , who had a touchdown in Week 1 and 10 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown last week. Look out for WR Jerome Simpson, as well.

49ers' QB Alex Smith has been moderately good for San Francisco, despite Jim Harbaugh's less-eager and conservative play-calling. He will look to open his arm up a bit, playing against a less than average Bengals secondary.

Frank Gore should see his carries increase in Week 3, as the Bengals kept Peyton Hillis to a minimum in Week 1, but let Broncos' back-up tailback Willis McGahee run free last week for 101 yards.


X-Factor

If the 49ers can stop Cedric Benson, which the first two weeks of San Francisco defense front line has indicated, then they will win this game.

They need to make Dalton throw the ball and hope for a few rookie mistakes.


Predictions

Gore should see between 20 and 25 carries this week and should run for over 100 yards. Smith will continue playing a conservative game, and if he can limit mistakes and avoid turnovers, this game should be the 49ers' with no problem.

Keep in mind, former 49ers Nate Clements and Taylor Mays will be in the Bengals' secondary, and could be seeking a little vindication this week against their former team.

49ers win 24-17

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3 Reasons the San Jose Sharks Can Win It All This Season

Every year you hear it. This is the year the San Jose Sharks will win the Stanley Cup.

Do not feel bad, though. Die-hard fans not only say it, but so do actual NHL experts, and they're paid to make those knowledgeable predictions.

Alas, the Sharks have zero Stanley Cup victories and zero Stanley Cup appearances.

But THIS is the year, right?

They got rid of the superstar attitude of Dany Heatley, bolstered their defensive core and acquired speed.

On paper, it seems that way.

San Jose Sharks Have Best Defense

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

On paper, this is the best set of defensemen the NHL has to offer. It is also arguably the best defense the Sharks franchise has ever owned.

Add that together and you may have something here.

What kept the Sharks down last season, among other things, was the lack of depth at defensemen.

With newly acquired Brent Burns, Jim Vandermeer and powerhouse Colin White, GM Doug Wilson added the exact pieces needed to help the team get over the hump.

An All-Star defenseman, penalty killer extraordinaire and bully in the trenches could hold this defense up as one of the best at the end of the season.

The San Jose Sharks Have No More Divas

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Not to say that Dany Heatley was a diva or had a diva attitude, but it was the superstar persona he brought over from Ottawa that seemed to set this team off.

It was not his fault. Heatley's numbers before San Jose were some of the best in the NHL. However, what he accomplished in San Jose simply did not add up.

So ya got's to go...

That's how Wilson does business.

In return, the Sharks get a speedy Martin Havlat and a lot more money to spend in the future.

Also, a whole new "team" mindset on offense.

The San Jose Sharks Have Speed on Offense

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

It was evident in both the Blackhawks playoff series in 2010 and the Canucks series this past season that the Sharks were simply worn out. They just could not keep up with either team in the Western Conference Finals.

Something had to be done, and the problem was solved by trading Heatley for Havlat during the offseason.

Scoring mentality in exchange for speedy finesse, and both teams got rich off of it.

McLellan has already hinted at the fact that Havlat will be playing on the second line in order to split the speed of Marleau and Havlat on separate line.

This season, San Jose will be bigger, faster and more capable of keeping up with the elites of the NHL deep into the playoffs.

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Despite Tough Loss, the San Francisco 49ers Are Playing With A New Winning Mentality

No more Mike Nolan, no more Dennis Erickson, no more Mike Singletary. Despite the tough loss in Week 2, Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco 49ers are legitimate contenders no matter how you slice it up.

For the second straight week, the 49ers played simple and basic football to the absolute tee, and it almost worked in Week 2 against a Dallas Cowboys team stocked with weapons both offensively and defensively.

Harbaugh kept it conservative once again, but when needed to open it up, he did -- just slightly.

Alas, you can only keep down an elite team for so long. When the Dallas defense needed to show up, it showed up. When Tony Romo needed to make a play, he not only hooked up with Miles Austin three times, but also threw over the top to a man off the streets for the game-winning score.

However, much is to be taken out of this game if you are the 49ers. Week 2 showed that San Francisco is certainly not a fluke, and neither is coach Jim Harbaugh.

There seems to be a different mentality with this 49ers team this season. It is far different from a the single-minded Mike Nolan, or the college coach Dennis Erickson. It is even far different from the "I want winners" Mike Singletary. He wasn't a winner with the headset on anyways.

Harbaugh is a professional coach with professional credentials and a professional football background. And that has rubbed off on his team in just the short time they have been together.

A true legitimate football team starts with the coaching staff, something the franchise has lacked in the past few years. Jim Harbaugh is a play-calling mastermind and Vic Fangio sure knows how to dial up the right defensive play, as well as get players to play hard for him.

It is for those reasons that the 49ers were just a few minutes away from a 2-0 start to the season.

They are still learning, though.

Off the top of my head, the final play of the Dallas game sure rings a bell. Please do not bite on the play-action fake, entire defensive secondary.

Don't think Harbaugh will not be screaming that into the ears of his players this week. And don't think San Francisco will not be ready for their first away game of the season in Cincinnati.

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