Warszawski: Colorful Tomsula talking good game for 49ers

Enter the Warzone, heavy (pollutant) breather.

▪ Following the 49ers’ first preseason game, first-year coach Jim Tomsula said his defense “looked like popcorn. We were popping all over the place. Instead of one continuous pop, it was pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.”

Finally, a kernel of truth from 49ers land.

▪ Tomsula also described right tackle Erik Pears as “one of those tough-nut Colorado dudes” who either “got off a horse or climbed out of some mine.”

Still not sure if Tomsula can coach, but his podium game is much improved.

▪ Colin Kaepernick got outplayed by his backup Saturday, which would not be noteworthy except for the fact that Kaepernick’s backup is Blaine Gabbert.

▪ Derek Carr doesn’t have to worry about being the next Geno Smith. Meaning no one’s punching Carr in the face in the Raiders’ locker room.

“If someone did that to Carr, they’d have to see me next,” left tackle Donald Penn told the Bay Area News Group. “And then probably the rest of the O-line. That would never happen here.”

▪ Robert Griffin III says he’s not only the best quarterback on the Redskins, but also the best in the NFL.

Quick. Somebody needs a concussion test.

▪ Ravens coach John Harbaugh believes NFL referees would “do a little better” if they spent more time practicing.

Sure hasn’t helped the Jaguars.

▪ Temperatures are back above triple digits, and no one was more pleased about it than Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter.

Why? Because nothing builds collective character quite like searing heat.

“Anytime you put the guys under duress, under strain, it’s good,” he said. “You want them checking their hole card and making sure they want to be a football player.”

▪ A few emailers are growing irritated the Bulldogs have yet to name a starting quarterback.

Patience, grasshoppers. There’s no rush.

▪ Now that it appears Ford Childress will be eligible right away, the coaches are giving the West Virginia transfer an extended look with the first-team offense.

As they should. Among the four quarterbacks, who has the least chance of coming unraveled in Oxford, Miss.? Probably the guy who has started games in the Big 12.

▪ The Grizzlies were 73-48 entering Monday’s game. That isn’t a typo. Neither is this: Sunday night’s attendance was 3,036, the smallest Sunday crowd of the season.

Guess that answers our question, once and for all.

▪ Too bad, because fans are missing some great baseball. The Grizzlies aren’t pummeling teams 13-8 like they did a couple of months ago. Now it’s a blend of pitching, base running and timely hitting.

▪ There’s never been a better time to be a Matt Duffy. Either one of them.

▪ Madison Bumgarner pitched a two-hitter and hit a home run in the same game.

If that’s not worth one WAR, advanced metrics has some explaining to do.

▪ The National Labor Relations Board ruled Northwestern football players cannot form their own union, but not for reasons that addressed the substantive issue (i.e. are they employees?).

Simply put, the NLRB punted.

▪ The Fresno State Police Department has a new substation near the Bulldogs’ practice field.

Must be some mistake between Fresno State and FSU.

▪ For no particular reason: Ikenna Ike

▪ Good job reading this far. As a reward, each of you gets a participation trophy.

▪ Perhaps it was inevitable: Bulldog1, Fresno State’s newly unveiled “thermal airship,” has its own Twitter account.

University officials aren’t certain who assumed the blimp’s persona, but clearly it’s not some airhead.

This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Warszawski: Colorful Tomsula talking good game for 49ers."