Bryant downplays Parcells reunion
49ers notes
SANTA CLARA -- In anticipation of facing his old team Saturday, 49ers receiver Antonio Bryant found his emotions reaching high voltage. So he sought out linebackers coach Mike Singletary for some words of wisdom.
"Coach Singletary put it best. He said: 'This game is not about Antonio Bryant,'" Bryant said Thursday. "As long as we stay team-oriented, we'll be successful."
And, with that, Bryant cooled his heels on his showdown with the Dallas Cowboys. It is a potentially tempestuous reunion considering the receiver's history with Cowboys coach Bill Parcells.
Bryant threw a sweaty jersey in Parcells' face after a workout in June 2004, prompting, to the surprise of no one, a ticket out of town. The Cowboys traded the receiver to the Cleveland Browns five games into the '04 season.
This is Bryant's first game against his old coach. "I'm not really concerned about that. I just want us to be good," he said. "I have respect for every man -- I have respect for Parcells.
"For me to sit here and hold grudges, I can't gain anything in life by being mad with someone else. There is no positive in that. There's no growth. There's only death. Why should I sit there and complain about it."
Like the real thing
Like all NFL teams, the 49ers consider the third preseason game to be the most significant: it's when starters play the longest. Seeing the team play well is so important to coach Mike Nolan that he is treating the schedule as if it were the regular season. That includes the practice and meeting times, as well as piping in simulated crowd noise through speakers placed along the sideline.
"The more we face those conditions and get used to them, the better we will be," Nolan said.
Against the Cowboys, most of the starters will play into the third quarter, including quarterback Alex Smith.
Smith said he would treat this game more like the real thing and would be less willing to experiment with risky throws.
"In practice, you try to push yourself. There are times you don't know what throws you can and can't make, so you might try to force something just to see," Smith said. "But I've seen the tape where I throw the ball 20 yards down field when I could have just checked down to the running back in the flat and picked up the same yardage."
Getting approval
Smith earned an endorsement from former 49ers running back Roger Craig, a star from 1983-90 who was on hand to watch Jerry Rice's news conference.
"Alex is going to do well," Craig said. "He's stepping up. He's relaxing. It's part of the process of becoming a quarterback.
"Joe Montana went through it. Steve Young went through it. Alex is right on pace. He's going to be awesome."
-- Daniel Brown, MediaNews
SANTA CLARA -- In anticipation of facing his old team Saturday, 49ers receiver Antonio Bryant found his emotions reaching high voltage. So he sought out linebackers coach Mike Singletary for some words of wisdom.
"Coach Singletary put it best. He said: 'This game is not about Antonio Bryant,'" Bryant said Thursday. "As long as we stay team-oriented, we'll be successful."
And, with that, Bryant cooled his heels on his showdown with the Dallas Cowboys. It is a potentially tempestuous reunion considering the receiver's history with Cowboys coach Bill Parcells.
Bryant threw a sweaty jersey in Parcells' face after a workout in June 2004, prompting, to the surprise of no one, a ticket out of town. The Cowboys traded the receiver to the Cleveland Browns five games into the '04 season.
This is Bryant's first game against his old coach. "I'm not really concerned about that. I just want us to be good," he said. "I have respect for every man -- I have respect for Parcells.
"For me to sit here and hold grudges, I can't gain anything in life by being mad with someone else. There is no positive in that. There's no growth. There's only death. Why should I sit there and complain about it."
Like the real thing
Like all NFL teams, the 49ers consider the third preseason game to be the most significant: it's when starters play the longest. Seeing the team play well is so important to coach Mike Nolan that he is treating the schedule as if it were the regular season. That includes the practice and meeting times, as well as piping in simulated crowd noise through speakers placed along the sideline.
"The more we face those conditions and get used to them, the better we will be," Nolan said.
Against the Cowboys, most of the starters will play into the third quarter, including quarterback Alex Smith.
Smith said he would treat this game more like the real thing and would be less willing to experiment with risky throws.
"In practice, you try to push yourself. There are times you don't know what throws you can and can't make, so you might try to force something just to see," Smith said. "But I've seen the tape where I throw the ball 20 yards down field when I could have just checked down to the running back in the flat and picked up the same yardage."
Getting approval
Smith earned an endorsement from former 49ers running back Roger Craig, a star from 1983-90 who was on hand to watch Jerry Rice's news conference.
"Alex is going to do well," Craig said. "He's stepping up. He's relaxing. It's part of the process of becoming a quarterback.
"Joe Montana went through it. Steve Young went through it. Alex is right on pace. He's going to be awesome."
-- Daniel Brown, MediaNews
posted by The Gryphon at 5:33 PM
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