The 49ers and defending Calvin Johnson

Chris Culliver's interception for the San Francisco 49ers against Tampa Bay announced his arrival as more than just a rookie fill-in for injured veteran Shawntae Spencer.

Culliver, a third-round pick from South Carolina, could serve as the third corner against the Detroit Lions in Week 6 strictly on the merits.

In fact, as coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters Friday, the team went with Culliver against the Buccaneers even though Spencer, who has been slowed by a toe injury, could have played.

Which one will play in the nickel defense against Calvin Johnson and the Lions?

"Tune in on Sunday and find out," Harbaugh said.

As Grant Cohn notes, Greg Cosell of NFL Films told KNBR-AM radio in San Francisco that he expected Culliver to play a leading role in defending Johnson, who leads the NFL in touchdown receptions with nine.

"The one player who really stood out to me and I think will be critical this week when they play Detroit, and that’s Chris Culliver," Cosell told KNBR. "He’s now their nickel corner. He plays on the outside. He’s over 6 feet. He’s 200 pounds. He runs well. They play a lot of man coverage concepts with a safety helping so that their corners can really play physically with their receivers coming off the line of scrimmage. So, I think you’ll see Culliver matched up against Megatron this weekend."

The 49ers liked Culliver coming out of college for several reasons: Raw physical talent: Culliver is 6 feet tall and has run the 40-yard dash in the 4.4s.Versatility: Culliver converted from safety to corner for his senior season, giving him a broader perspective than a cornerback might normally possess.Potential: Being relatively new to corner meant, at least in theory, that Culliver still had considerable room to grow at the position.
Culliver made his interception against the Bucs playing left cornerback against three-receiver personnel on a third-and-9 play, with starting corner Carlos Rogers moving inside to defend the slot on the other side of the formation.

The 49ers figure to face quite a few similar personnel groupings Sunday.

Only three teams -- Buffalo, Seattle and Philadelphia -- have run more plays than the Lions with three-plus wide receivers on the field, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Detroit has also used two tight ends quite a bit, but with more than two receivers on the field so frequently, the 49ers' nickel defense will be key.


So far this season, the 49ers have done a much better job limiting long pass plays.

The chart at right shows how the 49ers' opponents have fared this season versus last on passes traveling longer than 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. They are one of two teams yet to allow a touchdown pass on these throws. They've allowed only three completions on such passes after allowing 24 all last season.

Thanks to Hank Gargiulo and Doug Clawson of ESPN Stats & Information for providing the chart info.

CornerbacksSEADAL@CIN@PHITBTotal

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Who should fill in for Andre Johnson?

Texans coach Gary Kubiak assured fantasy enthusiasts when he said that WR Dre Johnson was going to miss “some time.” And by assuring us, I mean he could not have been more vague. The translation, of course is, “Fantasy enthusiasts are (expletive).”

Chad only does this in warmups, so drop him from your roster. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Oh well, hopefully Dre will start tweeting out MRI photos like his teammate Arian Foster did.

The biggest question is who should you add on your fantasy team to take over that space. The key is to divorce yourself from the familiar names. Remember that scene in “The Office” when Michael Scott says that the first thing he does when he goes to New York is to get a real New York slice of pizza? The comedic drop is that Michael is running into a Sbarro. The truth in that joke is that sometimes people like to rely on the familiar instead of trying the exotic.

The same holds true with your fantasy football team. Start breaking away from familiar and go with some other names that can help out your fantasy team. For instance, Eric Decker is owned in 41.8 percent of NFL.com fantasy leagues. By comparison, Chad Ochocinco is owned in 76 percent of leagues. Austin Collie and Mike Sims-Walker are owned in 67 percent of leagues. The biggest difference in those four players? Decker is the only one who will get your fantasy points this season.

Don’t be afraid to cut the cord and make a move on the waiver wire this week.

Now who has questions?

I’m in a bind with my team. I have a group of solid, if unspectacular WR (Nicks, Maclin, Holmes, S. Rice, L Moore) and Gore, Ray Rice, and McGahee. Unfortunately, I have the frustrating Eli Manning…. I don’t want to trade Ray Rice, but I need to find the best combo of Gore and a WR to trade for a QB upgrade. Help?!? — Reader Matt P. (via text message)

Thanks to John Harbaugh pulling that Kendall Hunter stunt, you really miss a chance to flip Gore when his value should be high. Try to package Gore and Maclin for a quarterback and see who bites. I don’t think you are completely horrible at running back with Rice and McGahee (if he remains the starter).

I have Matt Stafford sitting on my bench because I have Drew Brees…. Do you have enough confidence in Stafford at this point to move Brees to get a great RB or WR or is the market hot enough for Stafford to get that game changing RB/WR? — Jenny Rose (via email)

I would have confidence in both quarterbacks, so I would definitely flip either player for an elite receiver. If you have to part with Brees, so be it, because Stafford is playing at a high level right now. There are injury concerns, but every quarterback can get hurt.

So I have 3 decent quarterbacks (Manning, Hasselbeck, and Grossman) Should I trade someone? (I need a good #2 RB) — Spencer Murray

You do have a log-jam of decent quarterbacks. Manning and Hasselbeck should be your main rotation. Not sure what the trade market is going to yield for Rex Grossman, but I would advise you to grab Stevan Ridley off the wire, and he could be a good RB2 for you later in the season.

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Three and out: Texans’ Johnson could “miss a few weeks”

NFL.com Staff | Tags: Three and out, Andre Johnson, Ben Tate, Houston Texans, Mario Manningham, New York Giants, Roy Helu, Ryan Torain, Tim Hightower, Washington Redskins

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Johnson to have MRI: The Houston Texans got good news on Sunday when Andre Johnson’s injury appeared to be a hamstring and not a knee. But the bad news is that his injured hamstring could put him on the shelf for a bit. Add that to Ben Tate’s groin injury and Derrick Ward’s bum ankle and the Texans might have to go without quite a bit of firepower. If Johnson is gone for any length of time, it means more snaps for Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter. However, it likely means more targets for Owen Daniels and more dependence on the renewed Arian Foster and the running game.

Redskins to rotate running backs: Sunday turned out to be a big day for Ryan Torain and if he keeps running hard, there could be more on the way. Redskins coach Mike Shanahan unveiled his new running back strategy after yesterday’s win, telling reporters that “we’ve got three football players at the running back position. All three guys can play. All guys have a strength, and we’ll play the hot guy.” Translation: Tim Hightower, Torain and Roy Helu all become risky plays — unless you can get into the mind of Shanahan. Good luck.

Manningham demoted during game: The disappearance of Mario Manningham had a lot of fantasy owners scratching their heads on Sunday. The fourth-year receiver had just one catch for 10 yards and was reportedly dropped from the team’s two-receiver sets midway through the game. In his place, Victor Cruz did a nice job, catching six passes for 98 yards. It’s premature to banish Manningham to the waiver wire, but with a game against the woeful Seattle Seahawks next week, if Manningham finds himself behind Cruz again, it might be time to move him off your roster.

– Marcas Grant

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Vikes’ Johnson booked for suspicion of DWI

Vikings safety Tyrell Johnson was arrested early Tuesday for suspicion of impaired driving.

The Star Tribune, citing Hennepin County jail records, specified that the fourth-year safety was booked on suspicion of fourth-degree driving while intoxicated.

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The Minnesota State Patrol told The Associated Press that Johnson, 25, was stopped about 2 a.m. CT for failing to signal a merge on an interstate ramp while driving in Minneapolis.

During the stop, the trooper noticed Johnson had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. The state patrol says Johnson’s blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent during field sobriety tests. The legal limit in Minnesota is 0.08 percent.

He was hauled into jail and booked at 3:15 a.m., according to the jail log obtained by The Star Tribune, and released just over two hours later.

It continues to be a bad week for Johnson, who dropped what would have been a game-winning interception against the Bucs. The Vikings told The AP they’re aware of the incident but declined further comment.

The fourth-year safety was Minnesota’s second-round draft pick in 2008 out of Arkansas State. He’s logged 24 starts with the team, with 99 combined tackles and two picks.

The Star Tribune reported that Johnson is an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a frequent speaker for youth and student groups.

– Marc Sessler

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Stafon Johnson files lawsuit against USC

I was there when Stafon Johnson first spoke publicly after the horrible weight room accident at USC that nearly took his life.

It was inspiring. It was a feel-good moment.

Sigh.

Johnson filed a lawsuit Monday against USC, alleging negligence on behalf of former assistant strength coach Jamie Yanchar and the school for the accident -- a 275-pound bar falling on his throat -- on Sept. 28, 2009.

The story of the incident that has long held sway -- the bar slipped out of Johnson's hand; pure bad luck -- is now different.

"What we say occurred is that the bar was basically knocked out of his hand, causing it to fall on Stafon's neck, almost causing him to die," Johnson's lawyer, Carl Douglas said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "We think for that, those that are responsible should be held responsible for their actions."

Replied USC in a statement:

"USC firmly believes it was not at fault in Stafon Johnson's unfortunate weightlifting accident. We are sorry that Stafon was injured. USC and the entire Trojan Family have been exceptionally supportive of Stafon from the minute the accident occurred. We are disappointed to learn that Stafon has decided to file a lawsuit against USC."

We're not a big fan of lawsuits, but we're not going to judge Johnson. We don't know what happened. We weren't there. He obviously feels wronged. He's suffered plenty. He also went out of his way to say, "This lawsuit does not in any way reduce my love for the cardinal and gold."

Perhaps this will be easy: Multiple witnesses will present the same story, one way or another. But you'd have to doubt that, seeing that things have reached this point. That likely means folks who care about both Johnson and USC will be forced to take sides as they give their take on what happened. You could end up with two Trojans who are friends of Johnson's presenting very different takes.

Or maybe a settlement is reached and things don't get ugly.

That surely would be best for both parties.

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Titans RB Johnson wants more carries

Published: December 8th, 2010 | Tags: Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans

It was just a year ago we referred to Chris Johnson as “CJ2K.” But Johnson has just 58 yards rushing the last two games. He told NFL Network the problem hasn’t been opposing defenses but rather that the Titans have lacked execution, and openly lobbied for more carries as part of the solution.

“I won’t put it on those defenses and say that they really stopped me,” Johnson said. “It was just a thing where we were one-dimensional and I didn’t really have the opportunity to run the ball. It all goes back to, as an offense, we have to stay on the field and complete third downs and get drives going.

“If the ball is being handed off to me, and I’m given more carries than I’ve been given, then we should have a successful game and we should be putting up points. The whole thing is that I’m not pointing out one person or one group on the offense. I’m pointing out the offense as a whole. We just have to stay on the field and execute the plays.”

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Lions WR Johnson a risk, but still worth starting

Published: December 1st, 2010 | Tags: Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Chad Ochocinco, Detroit Lions, Drew Stanton, Johnny Knox, Mike Wallace, Shaun Hill, Stevie Johnson, Wes Welker

The Lions will start Drew Stanton at quarterback vs. the Bears, and while the former Michigan State Spartan will not draw any interest in fantasy circles, he certainly could impact one of the best receivers in fantasy football, Calvin Johnson. Megatron continued to produce big numbers with QB Shaun Hill, but can you really trust him to do the same with Stanton?

I believe that you can. Stanton has seen extensive action only once this season, at the Giants in Week 6. And the duo hooked up on a pretty nice 87-yard touchdown reception. Johnson finished that game with 146 receiving yards to go with that touchdown.

Not to say that it will be that easy against the stingy Bears defense (Johnson had only four receptions for 45 yards in the first meeting — but had a touchdown famously called back). But at least Stanton knows where his bread is buttered. And to be honest, when you get this close to the fantasy playoffs, you need to count on your fantasy superstars. Do you really want to be rolling into a must-win game, hoping that Eagles WR Jason Avant is going to take advantage of an awesome matchup? No.

Let’s say you have a team that has an embarrassment of riches at receiver, and you are starting Texans WR Andre Johnson, Steelers WR Mike Wallace and Bills WR Stevie Johnson, then you can probably risk sitting Megatron.

But if you have guys like Bears WR Johnny Knox, Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco, or Patriots WR Wes Welker, I would roll with Johnson.

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Value of Texans WR Johnson could take another hit

Published: November 17th, 2010 | | Tags: Houston Texans, Andre Johnson, Matt Leinart, Dan Orlovsky, Matt Schaub, Darrelle Revis, Gary Kubiak

Texans starting QB Matt Schaub has been hospitalized with a bursa sac in his knee according to coach Gary Kubiak, according to the team’s official website. Kubiak said that he expects Schaub to be released from the hospital Wednesday, and possibly return to practice on Thursday.

“Well, he’s not here today,” Kubiak said. “I’ve got to see where he’s at tomorrow, but I’m telling you, I expect him here tomorrow. If that’s the case and he’s doing what he normally does, then you’re damn right he’ll be out there.”

Sound like somebody is worried about their job security? Either that, or he is worried about his options behind Schaub. Normally, this is where a coach would talk up his backup quarterbacks. Yet, Kubiak could not wait to say that Schaub will be back on the field, even if he is wearing a robe and a bedpan for a helmet.

Or, at least it just sounded that way to me.

The value of Texans WR Andre Johnson has taken a hit this week because of matchup against Jets CB Darrelle Revis. Dre’s value will plummet like the elevator car on Disney’s Hollywood Tower of Terror if the Texans have to turn to QBs Dan Orlovsky or Matt Leinart, who has been listed as the team’s emergency quarterback for most of the season.

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