49ers cornerback Clements finally healthy again

Football Betting Lines

08/07/2010 -

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -Nate Clements slapped hands with Shawntae Spencer following the fellow cornerback's interception. Clements patted linebacker Scott McKillop on the helmet after another nice play by the defense.

Clements is having an absolute blast being back on the field for the San Francisco 49ers. Finally gone are the glum days of sporting a sling over his right shoulder and the grind of daily rehabilitation.

Clements missed the final nine games last season after he broke his right shoulder blade in the Niners' 18-14 loss at Indianapolis on Nov. 1. He might have returned in the final weeks had the 49ers, who finished 8-8, been in playoff contention.

``It's good to be injury-free,'' Clements said this week. ``I healed up before the season was over with, so I got a chance to really get even more time and rest and rehab and training. It feels good just to be back running around on the field.''

The 30-year-old Clements has never reached the postseason, and he hopes to change that in his 10th NFL season and fourth with the 49ers following six in Buffalo.

When on the field last season, Clements was effective and often matched up with the top receiver. He had 35 tackles, 30 of those solo, and one interception.

``We got our tandem back,'' Spencer said Friday. ``We're enjoying each other. We're playing off each other, feeding off each other's energy. He has a great understanding of the game. I watch him a lot on certain techniques. You always see us talking between plays, hand signals and stuff like that, pretty much playing off each other to make everything look the same and confuse the offense. It's a joy playing with him. He's the ultimate professional the way he approaches his job every day and comes to practice every day.''

Clements was happy to finally rid himself of the sling he wore for nearly two months late last year.

``It was too long. I don't even like to think about that,'' Clements said. ``It was a while. Right now I'm just thinking football.''

San Francisco is eager to see more big plays from Clements after giving him an $80 million, eight-year contract in March 2007. The former first-round pick by Buffalo was among the most prized players available in free agency that year.

Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky expects defensive backs to need about a week to get back into a rhythm at the start of camp.

``He's playing fairly good,'' Manusky said. ``We'll be seeing (more) from next week probably. I want to see how his footwork is. I think give him a little bit of time to get everything, get the calls, work on his fundamentals and footwork and all of a sudden it usually starts to pick up in the second week.''

Clements' 14 forced fumbles since 2004 are second for cornerbacks.

Clements likely will be pushed in training camp for the starting job at left cornerback by Tarell Brown, the player who initially replaced him in the lineup after the injury.

``I think I have something to prove every year. That's the way I approach the game,'' Clements said. ``Every year you've got a new breed coming in, so the competition definitely gets stiffer. I think every year being a professional you have something to prove as an individual.''

The 49ers' defense from last season is largely still intact, though nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin has yet to arrive and sign his one-year franchise tender. Linebacker Patrick Willis is back as the anchor of a defense that expects to wreak havoc every Sunday, and he has quite a talented supporting cast.

This unit finished 15th in the league and fourth in points allowed with 281 total. Seven times the Niners held an opponent to 10 or fewer points.

San Francisco also wound up with 44 sacks, the most by the franchise since 51 in 1998. The Niners had 33 takeaways, good for fifth in the NFL, with 18 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries - all positives for a hard-nosed unit that wants to get at the quarterback at every opportunity.

Clements knows he can't change what happened in his injury-shortened 2009 season, but he's looking forward to seeing how he and Spencer do leading the secondary.

Clements spent the offseason in Arizona for the first time, working out with a personal trainer who not only helped him regain strength in his shoulder and core but also tweaked his running style to help Clements develop more of a burst out of his first step.

Now, it's just getting refreshed on all the football details, like the playbook. He spent his share of time reading the plays and mentally preparing for the rigors of a new season, too.

``Every year you've always got to knock the rust off,'' Clements said. ``You train but when you get into the football aspect of it and you run the plays, you have to regain that terminology and the concepts. I feel great. I trained extremely hard this offseason.''

Notes: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived at the end of the morning practice to speak to a meeting of the Bay Area Council, of which 49ers team president Jed York is a member. ... QB Alex Smith gave Schwarzenegger a tour of the weight room and the governor also met with LB Patrick Willis and visited the training room.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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