Hearing opposing coaches heap praise on the 49ers during their weekly conference call is nothing new. Rams coach Jeff Fisher, however, broke new ground today by continually citing San Francisco's offense and not its defense, which to this point has been the 49ers' more renown -- and feared -- unit.
"There's very few weaknesses on the football team, especially on the offensive side," Fisher, who, of course, speaks from a defensive perspective. "There's not mistakes. That's the thing about John's (sic) teams. They just don't make mistakes."
Fisher, who is in his first year as St. Louis' coach, noted that all of the NFC West teams have good defenses. The difference among the group, he said, is that the 49ers also have a good offense. It ranks 12th overall. St. Louis' offense is next, at No. 28, followed by Seattle (No. 29) and Arizona (No. 31). "The remaining three of us," Fisher said, "are quite a ways behind" on offense.
Fisher zeroed in on the 49ers' run game, which is averaging 168.6 yards a game, the best in the league. Said Fisher: "I can't remember having to prepare for an offense that was so well-coached and so diversified in the run game and so talented. Then you add the multiplicity in the passing game and (Alex Smith's) decision-making ability, it's no surprise to me that they're able to accomplish what they accomplished last year and what's ahead of them this year."
*********************
Fisher echoed what Jim Harbaugh has been saying about Randy Moss's value in the locker room. Fisher coached Moss in 2010 -- both took the following year off -- when Moss played briefly in Tennessee.
"I have great respect for what Randy has accomplished throughout his career," Fisher said. "Was very, very impressed with him in a short time there. He was a tremendous teammate, had a huge impact on our young receivers while he was there -- his day off, his work ethic, the way he practiced, how competitive he is. I was just very impressed. And I know having experienced that first hand, I know that's he's carried that over and is probably having a huge impact with (the 49ers) receivers."
*********************
Fisher would not say whether receiver Danny Amendola, who has missed the last three games with a collar-bone injury, would play Sunday. Amendola will return to practice this week. Despite not being in the lineup for three games, he is still St. Louis' leading receiver and his absence has coincided with a three-game losing streak.
-- Matt Barrows
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.