Red Bluff Daily News

November 13, 2014

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NBABASKETBALL Chicago at Toronto:5p.m., TNT. Sacramento at Memphis: 5 p.m., CSNCA. Brooklyn at Golden State: 7:30p.m., CSNBA, TNT. BOXING Diaz Jr. vs. Castaneda: 7p.m., FS1. FOOTBALL NCAA East Carolina vs. Cin- cinnati: 4p.m., ESPN2. NCAA Bethune-Cookman vs. Hampton University: 4:30 p.m., ESPNU. NFL Buffalo at Miami: 5p.m., NFL. NCAA California vs. USC: 6 p.m., ESPNU. GOLF PGA OHL Classic Round 1: 11 a.m., GOLF. LPGA Lorena Ochoa Invita- tional Round 1: 2p.m., GOLF. EPGA Turkish Airlines Open Round 2: 1a.m., GOLF. NHL HOCKEY San Jose at Tampa Bay: 4:30 p.m., CSN-CA. ATP TENNIS World Tour Finals Singles Round Robin: 6a.m., TENNIS. World Tour Finals Doubles Round Robin: 10a.m., TENNIS. World Tour Finals Round Robin: 12p.m., ESPN2. World Tour Finals Doubles Round Robin: 4a.m., TENNIS. Ontheair BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) hopes to throw more passes downfield as opposed to the short routes he's mostly had this season. By Jerry McDonald BayAreaNewsGroup ALAMEDA For three-plus quarters, it was the kind of unsightly mess most quar- terbacks experience at some point in their rookie season. With the Oakland Raid- ers trailing the Denver Broncos 41-10, Derek Carr was getting his first smat- tering of boos from the home fans, who were fed up watching a succession of short completions go no- where. Then, with Carr 23 of 40 for just 96 yards and a pair of interceptions that led to touchdowns, he found him- self in the last 4:30. Carr took the Raiders 97 yards, completing 7 of 7 passes for 96 yards and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Mychal Rivera. A meaningless touch- down in garbage time? Not to interim coach Tony Sparano, who felt it was important for Carr to com- plete the game rather than bring in Matt Schaub. And certainly not to Carr, to whom the idea of getting the hook was repugnant. "(He) said this was my team, and that's how I feel," Carr said Wednesday as the Raiders began prep- arations for a rematch with the San Diego Chargers. "I should be out there, no matter what — good, bad or ugly. For a long time, it was ugly." It was the fifth time this season the Raiders had scored a touchdown in the final two minutes of the game — none of which has prevented an 0-9 record. Yet it does indicate that Carr, although a rookie, has done some good things in a hurry-up offense, and that it's a weapon the Raid- ers may want to utilize more often at other points in the game. "You have to pick your spots with it," Sparano said. "You don't want to go into places like Seattle and play an up-tempo offense. I don't think you want to play the Denver Broncos that way for the fear of go- ing three-and-out and giv- ing them the ball back fast. "But there are some places for it and maybe it can give our offense a bit of a jolt, and it's something Derek seems to do really well with." That place could be Qualcomm Stadium, be- cause in terms of crowd noise, it's been a home away from home for the Raiders ever since they moved back to Oakland from Los Angeles in 1995. "I think it's something we do really well, but that's something that's above my decision-making," Carr said. "Whatever they say, I'm going to do it. If coach wants to do it, then we'll be fired up about it." San Diego also happens to be the opponent where Carr did his best work downfield, completing 18 of 34 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-28 loss. Carr has 1,903 yards passing and leads NFL rookies with 13 touch- downs, but in recent weeks, the Raiders have been un- able to strike for chunk yardage. The Denver game was an embarrassing pro- cession of short comple- tions with virtually no yardage after the catch un- til the final drive. Of Carr's 30 completions, 26 traveled 10 yards or less. Carr's yards per attempt of 5.68 is the lowest among NFL starters as well as the lowest in franchise history. "There's not just one thing where you can say, 'It's this,'" Carr said. "If it was, we would work the heck out of that and make sure we did it right the next time. It's just really a little bit of everything." Sparano wants Carr to be aggressive and doesn't believe he's reluctant to throw downfield, but real- izes something is wrong. "(San Diego) has 35 (pass) plays over 20 yards right now and we're at 17,"' Sparano said. "We have to do a better job of getting the ball downfield." Carr answers boos with scoring drive RaidersrookieQBshakesoffuglygameagainstBroncos NFL Scoreboard NFL AMERICANCONFERENCE WESTDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Denver 7 2 0 .778 286 202 Kansas City 6 3 0 .667 217 151 San Diego 5 4 0 .556 205 186 Oakland 0 9 0 .000 146 252 EASTDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA New England 7 2 0 .778 281 198 Buffalo 5 4 0 .556 191 182 Miami 5 4 0 .556 227 171 N.Y. Jets 2 8 0 .200 174 265 SOUTHDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Indianapolis 6 3 0 .667 290 211 Houston 4 5 0 .444 206 197 Tennessee 2 7 0 .222 144 223 Jacksonville 1 9 0 .100 158 282 NORTHDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Cleveland 6 3 0 .667 209 172 Cincinnati 5 3 1 .611 197 211 Pittsburgh 6 4 0 .600 261 239 Baltimore 6 4 0 .600 261 181 NATIONALCONFERENCE WESTDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Arizona 8 1 0 .889 223 170 Seattle 6 3 0 .667 240 191 San Francisco5 4 0 .556 195 202 St. Louis 3 6 0 .333 163 251 EASTDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Philadelphia 7 2 0 .778 279 198 Dallas 7 3 0 .700 261 212 N.Y. Giants 3 6 0 .333 195 247 Washington 3 6 0 .333 197 229 SOUTHDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA New Orleans 4 5 0 .444 251 225 Carolina 3 6 1 .350 198 281 Atlanta 3 6 0 .333 219 238 Tampa Bay 1 8 0 .111 167 272 NORTHDIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Detroit 7 2 0 .778 182 142 Green Bay 6 3 0 .667 277 205 Minnesota 4 5 0 .444 168 199 Chicago 3 6 0 .333 194 277 Thursday,Nov.13 Buffalo at Miami, 5:25 p.m. Sunday,Nov.16 Minnesota at Chicago, 10 a.m. Seattle at Kansas City, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Denver at St. Louis, 10 a.m. Houston at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Atlanta at Carolina, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at Washington, 10 a.m. San Francisco at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Oakland at San Diego, 1:05 p.m. Detroit at Arizona, 1:25 p.m. Philadelphia at Green Bay, 1:25 p.m. New England at Indianapolis, 5:30 p.m. Open: Baltimore, Dallas, Jacksonville, N.Y. Jets Monday,Nov.17 Pittsburgh at Tennessee, 5:30 p.m. COLLEGEFOOTBALLPLAYOFF RANKINGS College Football Playoff Rankings Nov. 11, 2014 Record 1. Mississippi St. 9-0 2. Oregon 9-1 3. Florida St. 9-0 4. TCU 8-1 5. Alabama 8-1 6. Arizona St. 8-1 7. Baylor 8-1 8. Ohio St. 8-1 9. Auburn 7-2 10. Mississippi 8-2 11. UCLA 8-2 12. Michigan St. 7-2 13. Kansas St. 7-2 14. Arizona 7-2 15. Georgia 7-2 16. Nebraska 8-1 17. LSU 7-3 18. Notre Dame 7-2 19. Clemson 7-2 20. Wisconsin 7-2 21. Duke 8-1 22. Georgia Tech 8-2 23. Utah 6-3 24. Texas A&M 7-3 25. Minnesota 7-2 The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will issue weekly rankings each Tuesday, with the final rankings being announced Sunday, Dec. 7. The playoff semifinals will match the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 4 seed, and No. 2 will face No. 3. The semifinals will be hosted at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015. The championship game will be on Jan. 12, 2015 at Arlington, Texas. THEAPCOLLEGETOP25 The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first- place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 8, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: Record Pts Pv 1. Mississippi St. (48) 9-0 1,488 1 2. Florida St. (12) 9-0 1,446 2 3. Oregon 9-1 1,334 5 4. Alabama 8-1 1,326 4 5. TCU 8-1 1,273 6 6. Baylor 8-1 1,193 10 7. Arizona St. 8-1 1,142 11 8. Ohio St. 8-1 1,086 13 9. Auburn 7-2 981 3 10. Mississippi 8-2 948 12 11. Nebraska 8-1 830 15 12. Michigan St. 7-2 782 7 13. Kansas St. 7-2 742 9 14. UCLA 8-2 691 18 15. Notre Dame 7-2 630 8 16. Georgia 7-2 622 17 17. Arizona 7-2 471 21 18. Clemson 7-2 457 19 19. Duke 8-1 431 22 20. LSU 7-3 429 14 21. Marshall 9-0 297 23 22. Wisconsin 7-2 225 25 23. Colorado St. 9-1 128 NR 24. Georgia Tech 8-2 127 NR 25. Utah 6-3 87 20 Othersreceivingvotes: Oklahoma 85, Texas A&M 83, Missouri 68, Southern Cal 47, Minnesota 26, Louisville 12, West Vir- ginia 6, Stanford 4, Boise St. 1, Georgia Southern 1, Miami 1. NBA WESTERNCONFERENCE PacificDivision W L Pct GB Golden State 5 2 .714 — Sacramento 5 3 .625 ½ Phoenix 5 3 .625 ½ Clippers 4 3 .571 1 Lakers 1 7 .125 4½ SouthwestDivision W L Pct GB Memphis 7 1 .875 — Houston 6 1 .857 ½ Dallas 5 3 .625 2 New Orleans 4 3 .571 2½ San Antonio 4 3 .571 2½ NorthwestDivision W L Pct GB Portland 6 3 .667 — Oklahoma City 3 6 .333 3 Utah 3 6 .333 3 Minnesota 2 4 .333 2½ Denver 1 6 .143 4 EASTERNCONFERENCE AtlanticDivision W L Pct GB Toronto 7 1 .875 — Brooklyn 4 3 .571 2½ Boston 3 4 .429 3½ New York 2 7 .222 5½ Philadelphia 0 7 .000 6½ SoutheastDivision W L Pct GB Washington 6 2 .750 — Miami 5 3 .625 1 Atlanta 4 3 .571 1½ Charlotte 3 5 .375 3 Orlando 3 6 .333 3½ CentralDivision W L Pct GB Chicago 6 2 .750 — Cleveland 3 3 .500 2 Milwaukee 4 4 .500 2 Indiana 3 6 .333 3½ Detroit 2 6 .250 4 Tuesday'sgames Toronto 104, Orlando 100 Memphis 107, Lakers 102 Milwaukee 85, Oklahoma City 78 Dallas 106, Sacramento 98 Portland 102, Charlotte 100 San Antonio 113, Golden State 100 Wednesday'sgames Washington 107, Detroit 103 Atlanta 100, Utah 97 Indiana 81, Miami 75 Oklahoma City 109, Boston 94 Orlando 97, New York 95 New Orleans 109, Lakers 102 Phoenix 112, Brooklyn 104 Portland 130, Denver 113 Houston vs. Minnesota at Mexico City, Mexico, (n.) Thursday'sgames Sacramento at Memphis, 5 p.m. Chicago at Toronto, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Brooklyn at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. NHL WESTERNCONFERENCE PACIFICDIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 17 12 5 0 24 53 47 Anaheim 16 10 3 3 23 41 32 Calgary 17 9 6 2 20 50 45 Los Angeles 15 8 4 3 19 37 30 San Jose 17 8 7 2 18 51 50 Arizona 15 6 8 1 13 37 51 Edmonton 16 6 9 1 13 40 54 CENTRALDIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Nashville 15 10 3 2 22 38 30 St. Louis 15 10 4 1 21 41 29 Chicago 16 9 6 1 19 44 30 Winnipeg 16 8 6 2 18 30 35 Minnesota 14 7 7 0 14 38 32 Dallas 15 5 6 4 14 44 53 Colorado 17 4 8 5 13 40 56 EASTERNCONFERENCE ATLANTICDIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 16 11 3 2 24 60 44 Montreal 16 11 4 1 23 40 42 Toronto 16 9 5 2 20 53 43 Boston 17 10 7 0 20 48 43 Detroit 15 7 3 5 19 40 37 Ottawa 15 7 4 4 18 41 38 Florida 13 5 4 4 14 24 31 Buffalo 17 3 12 2 8 21 60 METROPOLITANDIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 14 10 3 1 21 55 32 N.Y. Islanders 15 10 5 0 20 48 42 Washington 15 7 5 3 17 49 44 Philadelphia 14 7 5 2 16 45 43 N.Y. Rangers 15 7 6 2 16 44 46 New Jersey 16 7 7 2 16 43 50 Carolina 14 5 6 3 13 35 44 Columbus 15 4 10 1 9 38 55 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Tuesday'sgames Chicago 3, Tampa Bay 2, SO New Jersey 3, Minnesota 1 N.Y. Islanders 6, Colorado 0 N.Y. Rangers 5, Pittsburgh 0 Washington 4, Columbus 2 Montreal 3, Winnipeg 0 Florida 4, San Jose 1 St. Louis 6, Buffalo 1 Nashville 3, Edmonton 2 Dallas 4, Arizona 3 Vancouver 4, Ottawa 3, OT Wednesday'sgames Toronto 6, Boston 1 Los Angeles at Anaheim, (n.) Thursday'sgames Colorado at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Winnipeg at Carolina, 4 p.m. Boston at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. San Jose at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Nashville at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Buffalo at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Arizona at Calgary, 6 p.m. Ottawa at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m. Dallas at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. MLB NLCYYOUNGAWARDWINNERS 2014 — x-Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles 2013 — Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles 2012 — R.A. Dickey, New York 2011 — Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles 2010 — x-Roy Halladay, Philadelphia 2009 — Tim Lincecum, San Francisco 2008 — Tim Lincecum, San Francisco 2007 — x-Jake Peavy, San Diego 2006 — Brandon Webb, Arizona 2005 — Chris Carpenter, St. Louis 2004 — Roger Clemens, Houston 2003 — Eric Gagne, Los Angeles 2002 — x-Randy Johnson, Arizona 2001 — Randy Johnson, Arizona 2000 — Randy Johnson, Arizona x-unanimous choice ALCYYOUNGAWARDWINNERS 2014 — Corey Kluber, Cleveland 2013 — Max Scherzer, Detroit 2012 — David Price, Tampa Bay 2011 — x-Justin Verlander, Detroit 2010 — Felix Hernandez, Seattle 2009 — Zack Greinke, Kansas City 2008 — Cliff Lee, Cleveland 2007 — CC Sabathia, Cleveland 2006 — x-Johan Santana, Minnesota 2005 — Bartolo Colon, Los Angeles 2004 — x-Johan Santana, Minnesota 2003 — Roy Halladay, Toronto 2002 — Barry Zito, Oakland 2001 — Roger Clemens, New York 2000 — x-Pedro Martinez, Boston x-unanimous choice Tennis BARCLAYSATPWORLDTOUR FINALSRESULTS Wednesday At O2 Arena London Purse: $6.5 million (Tour Final) Surface: Hard-Indoor RoundRobin Singles GroupA Tomas Berdych (7), Czech Republic, def. Marin Cilic (9), Croatia, 6-3, 6-1. Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Stan Wawrinka (3), Switzerland, 6-3, 6-0. Group A Standings: Djokovic 2-0 (4-0), Wawrinka 1-1 (2-2), Berdych 1-1 (2-2), Cilic 0-2 (0-4). Doubles GroupA Bob and Mike Bryan (1), United States, def. Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands, and Horia Tecau (5), Romania, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 10-6. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, and Robert Lind- stedt (8), Sweden, def. Alexander Peya, Austria, and Bruno Soares (3), Brazil, 6-4, 3-6, 10-6. Group A Standings: Kubot-Lindstedt 2-0 (4-1), Peya-Soares 1-1 (3-3), Bryan-Bryan 1-1 (2-3), Rojer-Tecau 0-2 (2-4). Soccer MLSPLAYOFFS Conferencesemifinals EASTERNCONFERENCE Leg1— Saturday, Nov. 1: New England 4, Columbus 2 Leg2— Sunday, Nov. 9: New England 3, Columbus 1 Leg1— Sunday, Nov. 2: New York 2, D.C. United 0 Leg2— Saturday, Nov. 8: D.C. United 2, New York 1 WESTERNCONFERENCE Leg1— Saturday, Nov. 1: LA Galaxy 0, Real Salt Lake 0 Leg2— Sunday, Nov. 9: LA Galaxy 5, Real Salt Lake 0 Leg1— Sunday, Nov. 2: Seattle 1, FC Dallas 1 Leg2— Monday, Nov. 10: FC Dallas 0, Se- attle 0, Seattle advances on away goals ConferenceChampionship EASTERNCONFERENCE NewEnglandvs.NewYork Leg1— Sunday, Nov. 23: New England at New York, 10:30 a.m. Leg2— Saturday, Nov. 29: New York at New England, noon WESTERNCONFERENCE Leg1— Sunday, Nov. 23: Seattle at LA Galaxy, 2 p.m. Leg2— Sunday, Nov. 30: LA Galaxy at Seattle, 6 p.m. MLSCup Sunday,Dec.7: New England-New York winner at LA Galaxy-Seattle winner, noon Odds GLANTZ-CULVERLINE For Nov. 13 NCAAFootball TONIGHT Favorite Today(O/U) Underdog East Carolina 2½ (68) at Cincinnati at UTSA 9 (46) Southern Miss. at Southern Cal 14½ (72) California TOMORROW at UCF 20½ (55) Tulsa SATURDAY at N. Carolina 2 (70) Pittsburgh at NC State 16½ (46½) Wake Forest at Penn St. 11 (39) Temple Ohio St. 12 (58½) at Minnesota Iowa 3½ (57½) at Illinois at W. Kentucky 10 (71½) Army at W. Michigan 27 (56½) E. Michigan at Wisconsin 6½ (57) Nebraska at Tennessee 8 (54) Kentucky at Rutgers 7½ (55½) Indiana Clemson 3 (60½) at Georgia Tech at Duke 5½ (46½) Virginia Tech at Air Force 2 (54½) Nevada South Florida 11 (48) at SMU at S. Alabama 4 (50) Texas St. TCU 28 (58) at Kansas at Arkansas St. 14½ (65) App. St. at BYU 24 (62) UNLV at Stanford 7½ (43½) Utah at Utah St. 17½ (54½) New Mexico at Boise St. 14 (55) San Diego St. at Texas Tech OFF OFF Oklahoma at Arkansas 2 (47½) LSU at Arizona 9 (60) Washington at Georgia 2½ (68½) Auburn at Florida 6½ (58½) S. Carolina Florida St. 1½ (62) at Miami at Navy 3 (63) Georgia Southern at Marshall 21 (64½) Rice at N. Dame 17½ (48½) N'Western at C. Michigan 16 (48) Miami Middle Tenn. 4½ (50) at FIU at San Jose St. 10½ (54) Hawaii at Idaho 5½ (65½) Troy at Texas A&M 5½ (59) Missouri Memphis 10½ (47½) at Tulane La.-Lafayette 7 (51½) at Loui.-Monroe Arizona St. 9½ (61) at Oregon St. at Alabama 8½ (52) Mississippi St. Texas 2½ (48) at Oklahoma St. Michigan St. 12 (59½) at Maryland at UTEP 6½ (55½) North Texas OFFKEY Oklahoma QB questionable NFL TONIGHT Favorite Today(O/U) Underdog at Miami 5½ (42) Buffalo SUNDAY at Cleveland 3 (42) Houston at Chicago 3 (46½) Minnesota at Green Bay 5½ (55½) Philadelphia at Kansas City 1½ (42½) Seattle at Carolina 1½ (46½) Atlanta at New Orleans 7 (50½) Cincinnati at Washington 7½ (45½) Tampa Bay Denver 9½ (51) at St. Louis San Francisco 4 (43½) at N.Y. Giants at San Diego 10 (44½) Oakland at Arizona 1½ (41½) Detroit at Indianapolis 3 (57½) New England MONDAY Pittsburgh 6 (47) at Tennessee NBA Favorite Line(O/U) Underdog at Toronto 2 (194½) Chicago at Memphis 6 (196) Sacramento at Dallas 13½ (208½) Philly at Golden State 8½ (205) Brooklyn NHL Favorite Line Underdog at N.Y. Rangers -175/+155 Colorado at Carolina -130/+110 Winnipeg at Montreal -130/+110 Boston at Tampa Bay -145/+125 San Jose at St. Louis -160/+140 Nashville at Minnesota -350/+270 Buffalo at Calgary -135/+115 Arizona at Edmonton -120/+100 Ottawa at Los Angeles -155/+135 Dallas Transactions BASEBALL AmericanLeague KansasCityRoyals: Agreed to terms with INF Ryan Roberts and LHP Joe Pat- erson on minor league contracts. MinnesotaTwins: Named Gene Glynn third base coach and Rudy Hernandez assistant hitting coach and signed them to one-year contracts. NewYorkYankees: Agreed to terms with LHP Jose De Paula on a one-year contract. NationalLeague ChicagoCubs: Claimed RHP Donn Roach off waivers from San Diego. LosAngelesDodgers: Agreed to terms with SS Frank Sanchez, SS Edwin Reyes and C-INF Jerson Dometilia on minor league contracts. WashingtonNationals: Signed bench coach Randy Knorr, pitching coach Steve McCatty, hitting coach Rick Schu, third base coach Bobby Henley, first base coach Tony Tarasco, bullpen coach Matt LeCroy and defensive coordinator/ad- vance coach Mark Weidemaier to 2015 contracts. FOOTBALL NationalFootballLeague BuffaloBills: Signed DE Bryan Johnson from the practice squad. ChicagoBears: Signed WR B.J. Cun- ningham and G Antoine McClain to the practice squad. ClevelandBrowns: Signed LB D.J. Smith to the practice squad. MinnesotaVikings: Signed TE Ryan Ot- ten to the practice squad. NewOrleansSaints: Activated WR Joseph Morgan from the suspended list. Placed S Vinnie Sunseri on injured reserve. Signed RB Brian Leonard and S Jamarca Sanford. Released C Eric Olsen. By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTA CLARA Michael Crabtree refused to fuel the fire about his apparently shrinking role. Jim Har- baugh and Colin Kaeper- nick wouldn't rip receiv- ers over a slew of dropped passes. All parties could take that tack Wednesday thanks to one, season-sav- ing pass completion Sun- day in New Orleans: Kae- pernick to Crabtree on a 51-yard hook-up on fourth- and-10 late in the fourth quarter. "I just went and got it," Crabtree said of his div- ing catch, which set up a tying field goal to force an overtime session where the 49ers would prevail 27-24. Harbaugh called it a "dazzling, dazzling play." New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin coined it "the transcontinental throw" while speaking to Bay Area media about the 49ers' visit this Sunday. Crabtree wasn't celebrat- ing after Sunday's win but rather bemoaning a de- creased role in the offense, describing his altered sta- tus as that of a "third-down receiver." Asked Wednes- day to clarify if he's dis- gruntled, Crabtree said: "Call it how you see it, bro." Crabtree, who is in the final year of his contract, acknowledged last Thurs- day his production this sea- son "ain't where I want it to be." Harbaugh said he con- tinues to see Crabtree as a "tremendous competi- tor" who is "doing a fan- tastic job and getting the ball a lot." The 49ers' passing of- fense has looked jumbled all season, as Kaepernick surveys more targets than ever. Stevie Johnson's im- pressive arrival has meant fewer opportunities for mainstays such as Crab- tree and tight end Vernon Davis. "They play various com- binations of athletes for specific purposes," Cough- lin said matter-of-factly. Amid that personnel shuffling, Crabtree and other receivers have had uncharacteristic drops, combining for 25 this sea- son, including eight from Crabtree. Kaepernick has the highest percentage of dropped passes among NFL quarterback (8.6 per- cent), according to Pro- FootballFocus.com. "I think it happens," Har- baugh said of the drops. "I mean, Anquan had a few. We've had a few over- throws. I've had a few bad play calls that didn't work. "So I have no problem with Michael Crabtree's hands." NFL Harbaugh plays down issues 49ers receivers all vying for targets from Kaepernick | SPORTS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2014 2 B

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