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Larry Allen's Insufferance is Definitely Flying Below the Radar

Tom MantzouranisPosted Jul 23rd 2008 11:03AM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC West

One day, longtime Cowboy and sorta current 49er guard Larry Allen will join Brett Favre in Canton. When that day comes, Allen can thank Favre for absorbing the offseason's negative press. While Favre's story is well-told (understatement!), Allen's behavior this offseason has been pretty foul as well.

At the end of last season, Allen's 14th, he became a free agent. But it was sort of assumed by everybody that the guard would retire, especially when he ignored all calls from the team. Figuring Allen would have informed them if he, you know, wanted to continue employment, they moved on and installed Adam Snyder in Allen's old spot at left guard.

Get this: Allen now wants to play another season.

But he's still not returning Mike Nolan's phone calls, conversing instead with position coach George Warhop. Meanwhile, his agent is trying to work on a deal with the team as a starter, and asking for more money than the 49ers -- who probably see him as a backup -- want to pay.

So, essentially: Allen always knew he wanted to play, but wanted to skip offseason work. He's combined Favre's disregard for his team with Michael Strahan's use of retirement as leverage to get privilege. I'm sorry, Hall of Famer or not, you shouldn't be allowed to act like that and then expect a starter's job to be handed to you. Take a spot on the bench or stay home and wait for the Hall to call.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Could be the Greatest!

Sportz AssassinPosted Jun 13th 2008 6:23PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, Cowboys, NY Giants, Packers, Raiders, Ravens, NFL Hall of Fame

This week we saw Michael Strahan and Jonathan Ogden retire ... two men who will see their way into Canton, OH. One of the greatest offensive tackles and defensive ends in our time should both enter the Hall in 2013.

If'n that weren't the only guys on that list.

Add in a certain guy by the name of Brett Favre (who now owns most of the quarterback records), Larry Allen and Warren Sapp ... not to mention the possibility of Junior Seau ... and and we could have one of the best classes in HoF history.

There are even a few fringe guys like Steve McNair, Rod Smith, Bryant Young and Priest Holmes who will get some love, but probably won't make it in -- at least not in '13.

But what a class that could be? There is a cut-off of five inductees (not counting ones from the Senior Committee) that can go in a single year ... meaning a name or two won't make the cut. Favre, Strahan, Ogden, Sapp and Allen each have won a Super Bowl. They have all kinds of Pro-Bowls on their resumes and several have records to boot ... making them the five favorites to get in (Seau could push Sapp out of that loft).


Continue Reading Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Could be the Greatest!

NFL Offseason Roadmap: 49ers

Tom MantzouranisPosted Jan 26th 2008 1:20PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC West, San Francisco

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

1. Offensive Tackle. There is a reason the 49ers gave up the most sacks in the league last year. There's a reason Frank Gore had a letdown year (a few, actually, but this is one). The 49ers are off to a good start at overhauling the position with Joe Staley, but Staley's moving over to the left side, and it's up in the air how he'll respond. Backup Kwame Harris is a free agent, and the 49ers aren't really fans of either him or Jonas Jennings. The team is going to need a starter at right tackle, whether that's Jennings or someone new. But the team need a general upgrade in talent and depth. Bad news. The 49ers don't have a late first round pick. They could hope that Jeff Otah, Ryan Clady, or Sam Baker fall to them. An intriguing pick for later in the first day is Heath Benedict from Newberry. They'll have to get some help out of the draft, because free agency is scarce. Max Starks looks to be the the best available, meaning someone will grossly overpay for him.
Continue Reading NFL Offseason Roadmap: 49ers

Larry Allen Retiring, Next Stop Hall of Fame

Michael David SmithPosted Jan 11th 2008 8:15AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, Cowboys, NFL Hall of Fame, Dallas, San Francisco

San Francisco 49ers guard Larry Allen is expected to retire, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting.

There is little doubt that Allen, who spent most of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013, the first year he's eligible. Allen has been named to 11 Pro Bowl teams, and there was a stretch of about five years in which he was the best guard in the league. In 2002 Jay Glazer called him the best player in the NFL at any position.

One of the strongest players in football (he's said to bench press 700 pounds), Allen was the Cowboys' second-round pick out of tiny Sonoma State in 1994, and he entered the starting lineup during his rookie year and never left.

Other players who could make the 2013 Hall of Fame class include Buccaneers and Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp and Allen's 49ers teammate Bryant Young.

Is Inexperience a Viable Excuse for Mike Nolan in San Francisco?

Tom MantzouranisPosted Oct 31st 2007 12:18PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC West, San Francisco

Mike Nolan got a pretty intense reaction from a statement he made after the 31-10 loss to the Saints that attempted to point the finger at the team's relatively young age. Nolan insists it wasn't an excuse, but John Crumpacker at the San Francisco Chronicle wasn't so sure.

Crumpacker rattled off a list of critical errors and poor play that have played a part in the downfall of the 49ers, all by veterans, and found some commendable work from the youngsters, debunking Nolan's "young team" theory. Nolan responded:
Yesterday, I asked about his assertion that the 49ers are a young team. I noted that the team has a veteran defense and an offense with a number of veterans interspersed with some younger players.

He did stop me before I could point out that the Colts, Packers and Cowboys are the three youngest teams in the league. He noted the "key" guys on offense are young: Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Delanie Walker, Michael Robinson, Joe Staley, Justin Smiley and Adam Snyder.

"So when you ask the question don't just pick out Larry Allen and Walt Harris, be accurate," he said.
Right, but that still doesn't explain how Robinson had the only really positive, potentially meaningful play in the loss to the Saints, nor how Davis, Gore, Staley, and Patrick Willis have been the best players on the team this season. The fact remains: the veterans aren't getting it done. The "young" excuse doesn't work.

Alex Smith Is Out Sunday

Tom MantzouranisPosted Oct 1st 2007 9:07PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC West, San Francisco

This much we know for sure: Alex Smith won't be playing this Sunday. After that, it gets a little cloudy. He separated his right shoulder. It's a grade three separation which won't require surgery. No, wait, it could be a grade two, which won't require surgery, but it could also be a grade three, which would. A grade three would end his season. A grade two is four-to-six weeks of recovery. Or maybe he'll be back against the Giants on October 21st. Who knows.

All that matters is that Smith now has to refer to Rocky Bernard as "sir" and dance whenever he's told. Whether you like it or not, this is Trent Dilfer's team for at least the short term. The San Jose Mercury News notes that the 49ers were stupid for committing so much money and time on Smith at the expense of quarterback depth, and are paying for it now.

But what's done is done, and when you're watching Dilfer throw interceptions between picking dirt out of his helmet, at least know who to blame for his presence.
On the play, center Eric Heitmann begins blocking Bernard (and actually grabs his facemask) but then switches off of Bernard to block Lofa Tatupu, who is coming from Heitmann's right. Heitmann assumes that Larry Allen, who isn't blocking anyone, will take over on Bernard, but Allen's too late. Allen gets a hand on Bernard but the big defensive tackle is on Smith in a second, driving his shoulder into the ground. Heitmann and Allen – appropriately, I guess – end up running into each other like a couple of Keystone Cops.
What's more concerning than the miscommunication is that Allen wasn't blocking anyone to begin with. Shouldn't an offensive lineman always be blocking somebody?

Is Vernon Davis Worth the Trouble?

Tom MantzouranisPosted Aug 8th 2007 1:49PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC West, San Francisco

In San Francisco, being compared to Terrell Owens is rarely a good thing. But that's the position tight end Vernon Davis finds himself in at training camp this year.
"I don't compare myself to T.O.," Davis said Monday. "We're two totally different people. He's a totally different guy than I am."
I can't judge the validity of the comparison, as I don't know either man personally. But Davis has been prone to the same displays of flash and ego that people nail Owens to the wall for. Matt Maiocco of the Press Democrat correctly points out that Davis replicated T.O.'s touchdown pose after scoring in the preseason last year. He's been hamming it up at training camp, encouraging the fans to applaud every nice catch he makes ... in training camp.

And of course there's the fight he was involved in with Larry Allen a few days ago. You hear about dustups in camp all the time -- it's what happens when it's hot, the intensity rises, and jobs are on the line -- but rarely does it happen between teammates on the same side of the ball. Even rarer does it happen with two established starters on the same side of the ball. Now it's entirely possible that Allen was being the bully, but he's an established and respected veteran. Davis is a second-year player with a history of being brash and arrogant.

You want your players to be fiery and impassioned, but when the regular season starts playful attempts at attention turn into 15-yard penalties. Davis notes that, in regards to Owens, " ... personality and things off the field -- I'd say I'm not like him," but Vernon's bringing some baggage into the season. Unless that changes, the Owens comparisons will keep coming.
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