San Francisco, CA
Cowboys toughest obstacles in the NFC: San Francisco 49ers preview
The Dallas Cowboys are projected to be one of the better teams in the NFC this season. Many of the other top teams in the conference are playoff teams from a year ago and are expected to be right in the thick of things again this year. To get a feel for what kind of challenges the Cowboys might face this season, we’ll run through their toughest competitors, starting with the reigning NFC champs.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan, seven seasons, 64-51 (.557)
The San Francisco 49ers are the team to beat in the NFC. They have advanced to the NFC Championship game in four of the last five years, twice moving on to the Super Bowl. They have stars on both sides of the ball with studs like Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, and Fred Warner. They also benefit from the emergence of seventh-round pick Brock Purdy who is only halfway through his super-cheap rookie deal. The Niners are poised to make some noise once again in 2024.
2023 Statistics
Record: 12-5, 1st in the NFC West, the top seed in the NFC playoffs
Offense rank: Points (3rd), Yards (2nd), passing efficiency (1st), and rushing efficiency (4th)
Defense rank: Points (3rd), Yards (8th), passing efficiency (5th), and rushing efficiency (14th)
2023 Leaders
Passing: Brock Purdy = 69.4 % completion, 4,280 yards, 31 TDs, 11 INTs
Rushing: Christian McCaffrey = 1,459 yards (5.4 ypc), 564 yards receiving, 21 total TDs
Receiving: Brandon Aiyuk = 75 catches for 1,342 yards and 7 TDs
Sacks: Nick Bosa = 10.5
Tackles: Fred Warner = 132
Interceptions: Charvarius Ward = 5
Best offensive weapon
The 49ers re-upped on their most talented offensive weapon adding two more years to McCaffrey’s contract, keeping him in San Francisco through the 2027 season. This move welcomes criticism from the “running backs don’t matter” coalition, but McCaffrey might be an anomaly. After never missing a game his first three years, he struggled to stay healthy, missing 22 games over the next two seasons. But since being traded to the 49ers, his career has been revitalized. Shanahan has been a run-producing genius since joining the team and now has the league’s most explosive runner.
Best defensive weapon
Before the 49ers were this NFC force, they were cellar-dwellers in the NFC, going five straight seasons without a winning record. This level of suckitude rewarded them with a top-10 pick in four consecutive drafts. Their top draft selection was the no. 2 overall pick, Nick Bosa, in 2019. The Ohio State edge rusher has been a force since entering the league and finished with 18.5 sacks in 2022 when he won Defensive Player of the Year (beating second-place finisher Micah Parsons). Bosa is the highest-paid player on the 49ers as he is in year two of a five-year, $170 million deal.
Notable losses
The 49ers came out of the offseason unscathed as they didn’t lose any huge contributors. Their biggest losses were suffered along the defensive line as some former blue-chippers are now gone. Former fourth-overall pick Clelin Ferrell had a solid year for them last year, starting all 17 games. He now joins Dan Quinn in Washington. Arik Armstead has been a mainstay at DT for them over the last several years but signed with Jacksonville. The 49ers traded for Chase Young (second-overall pick in 2020) and Randy Gregory last year, but both signed elsewhere this offseason.
Notable additions
Just because the 49ers defensive line was picked through in free agency doesn’t mean it’s now a weakness. The team was aggressive in finding some quality replacements. They signed veteran edge rusher Leonard Floyd (ninth overall in 2016) to a two-year, $20 million deal. Floyd hasn’t missed a game in six years and has recorded at least nine sacks in each of his last four seasons. They also added a run-stopping defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos to a two-year, $18 million deal. And to help strengthen the middle, they added a defensive tackle Cowboys fans might remember as they traded a seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans for Maliek Collins. He is coming off one of his better years in the league with a career-high in tackles (41) and sacks (5) last year.
Top draft pick
The 49ers picked at the end of the first round but took advantage of the rich wide-receiving class by selecting Ricky Pearsall. This could be a preemptive strike to replace Aiyuk whose future in San Francisco is uncertain as he looks for a new deal.
2024 game against Dallas: Week 8, Sunday Night Football
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San Francisco, CA
Gang of young punks, including 12-year-old, charged in $84K San Francisco robbery spree
A cadre of 10 juvenile delinquents — including a 12-year-old — were arrested for allegedly committing nearly two dozen retail thefts in San Francisco, racking up $84,000 in stolen merchandise during the spree, according to police.
The pint-sized punks had been causing mayhem across the city by the bay for months — with police linking them to a string of robberies that began back in August, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing cops.
The San Francisco Police Department was able to tie the members of the group — which includes an 18-year-old, one 12-year-old, three 14-year-olds, and three 15-year-olds — to robberies that mostly targeted pharmacy chains, the outlet reported.
The Burglary and Organized Crime Unit first noticed a pattern when a group allegedly turned-over a Walgreens on Sept. 23, which included a violent assault on an employee, the Chronicle reported.
That worker suffered “a serious head injury,” according to SFPD.
Investigators were then able to connect the group to several other similar smash-and-grabs.
In one robbery on Sept. 29, some in the group robbed a store on Castro Street of $15,000 in merchandise. A couple hours later, the group returned for another raid and pilfered $12,000 more in goods, according to the Chronicle.
Officials say the group is also linked to some higher-profile incidents.
In a Sept. 9 incident, one of the 14-year-olds flashed a gun at a store security guard at a shop on Mission Street as the group stole a cash register, cops say. That bad seed faces an assault with a deadly weapons charge.
Cops say a pair of the ne’er-do-wells — a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old — are responsible for a carjacking that took place on Nov. 5.
The 12-year-old is facing a slew of charges including assault likely to produce great bodily injury, three counts of second-degree robbery, seven counts of second-degree burglary, seven counts of grand theft, 10 counts of organized retail theft, and four counts of petty theft.
Brandon McClain, 18, is charged with four counts of second degree burglary, four counts of grand theft, and four counts of organized retail theft.
McClain is being held without bail, according to the Chronicle.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco police arrest 18-year-old, 7 juveniles accused of over 20 retail thefts
An 18-year-old along with seven juveniles, one as young as 12-years-old, have been arrested in connection with more than 20 retail thefts, San Francisco police announced Thursday.
According to officers, the investigation began following a robbery that took place Sep. 16 at the Walgreens on the 1100 block of Potrero Avenue. Police said several juvenile suspects concealed merchandise and ransacked the store.
When an employee asked the suspects to stop, the employee was attacked and suffered a serious head injury, police said.
During the investigation, officers from the Mission Station Anti-Vendor Enforcement Unit recognized five of the juvenile suspects while investigating an assault that also took place on Sep. 16 at 24th and Mission streets.
Police said the suspects were taken into custody for the incident at Walgreens.
Investigators reviewed other incidents and noticed similarities in suspect description, victims and motive. With the help of Walgreens Asset Protection, investigators identified eight suspects involved in at least 23 retail thefts at the pharmacy chain’s San Francisco locations.
In a statement Thursday, police listed some of the incidents allegedly linked to the suspects, including an Aug. 18 incident at the store on 1333 Castro Street where one of the suspects jumped over the front counter and stole a cash register and a Sep. 9 incident at the store on 2690 Mission Street in which one of the suspects brandished a firearm at a security guard.
The eight suspects are also linked to two Sep. 29 robberies at the Castro Street location. Police said $15,000 in merchandise was stolen during the first robbery, before the group returned with five additional accomplices and stole another $12,000 in goods about two hours later.
A total of $84,000 in merchandise was stolen, police said.
The only adult in the case, 18-year-old Brandon McClain of Hayward, was arrested on suspicion of four counts of second degree burglary, four counts of grand theft and four counts of organized retail theft.
Police said the youngest suspect is a 12-year-old boy from San Francisco. The 12-year-old has been charged with assault likely to produce great bodily injury, three counts of second-degree robbery, seven counts of second-degree burglary, seven counts of grand theft, 10 counts of organized retail theft and four counts of petty theft.
The additional suspects have been identified as a 14-year-old male from Pittsburg, two 14-year-old boys from San Francisco, a 15-year-old male from Oakland, a 15-year-old male from Oakley and a 15-year-old male from San Francisco. All of the remaining suspects are facing multiple charges, including second-degree burglary, grand theft and retail theft.
One of the 14-year-olds from San Francisco faces additional charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault likely to produce great bodily injury and battery causing serious bodily injury.
McClain, along with the 15-year-old from San Francisco, have also been accused of carjacking following a Nov. 5 incident near Geneva and Cayuga avenues.
According to jail records, McClain is being held without bail and his next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
The identities of the juvenile suspects are being withheld due to their ages.
Anyone with additional information about these cases is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444 or text TIP411, beginning the message with SFPD.
San Francisco, CA
Big-rig crash snarls Bay Bridge traffic for hours
A jackknifed semi-truck blocked four lanes of eastbound Interstate 80 on the Bay Bridge Thursday, causing major delays during the rainy morning commute.
California Highway Patrol officers responded to a report of a solo truck collision at 5:12 a.m. just east of the First Street onramp, according to CHP logs. Officers arrived to learn the driver, who sustained head injuries and was seen limping, had lost control of the vehicle. The driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and was in stable condition, the San Francisco Fire Department said in a statement.
The truck suffered major front-end damage but remained upright. Authorities warned it would take hours to clear the wreckage and encouraged drivers to use other routes.
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