49ers' Pashos comes out of dark room to shed some light

SANTA CLARA — After Tony Pashos' season came to an end with a broken shoulder blade, he disappeared into a dark room for a while.

When he emerged, Pashos presented his teammates on the 49ers' offensive line with a gift.

Pashos pieced together an extensive video breakdown of every player on the Indianapolis Colts' defensive line to serve as a tool for the 49ers' offensive linemen to study in preparation of Sunday's game.

“It's been a big help,” 49ers left tackle Joe Staley said. “The offensive line coach can only do so much. Our coach (Chris Foerster) stays until forever and breaks down as much film as he can. He'll put together all the run tapes and situations, but this gave us an extra jump.

“He (Pashos) has been a big help this week, as far as getting ready for Indianapolis.”

Pashos signed with the 49ers on Sept. 7 after he was among the Jacksonville Jaguars' final cuts. He did not play in the season opener, but then rotated at right tackle with Adam Snyder for the next four games.

Pashos started his first game for the 49ers on Sunday against the Houston Texans. However, he sustained his season-ending injury on the 49ers' final offensive play of the first half. The 49ers placed him on injured reserve Tuesday.

He will not produce on the field for the remainder of the season, but Pashos might make his contribution through his efforts in the editing room.

“He broke down this year's film and last year's film, all the games, and categorized it by player,” 49ers left tackle Joe Staley said.

The video includes clips of players, such as Colts defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, beating opposing offensive linemen. Pashos spliced the film to categorize the video the moves the Colts defenders used to win their one-on-one battles.

“It shows Dwight Freeney beating a tackle, and it'll have 10 spin moves in a row, four bull-rushes in a row, and three dip-unders in a row,” Staley said. “He also has a tape put together of those guys getting blocked and what the offensive linemen did.”

Pashos has extensive knowledge of the Colts. Because he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars the past two seasons, Pashos played against Indianapolis twice a year as part of the AFC South's home-and-home series.

Coincidentally, the 49ers face the Tennessee Titans of the AFC South next week. On Nov. 29, the 49ers play the Jaguars.

But all the focus this week is on the Colts. Most eyes will be on Staley. He'll be matched against Freeney, who has seven sacks in the first six games of the season.

“He's an amazing player,” Staley said of Freeney. “Very rarely do you see anybody shut him down.

“I'm going to have to do a good job and be on my A-game the whole game. One of the things I really like is he's really relentless. He plays to the whistle every play. It's going to be a fun game.”

SPIKES PRACTICES

Linebacker Takeo Spikes (right shoulder strain) returned to limited practice Friday but his status remains questionable for Sunday's game against the Colts. Spikes said he studied a lot for the Colts this week. Although he missed two days of practices, he said he is mentally ready.

Even if Spikes is available to play, it is uncertain how much he would be used. Indianapolis often used three-receiver formations, and Spikes might be removed for an extra defensive back.

EXTRA POINTS

Coach Mike Singletary declined to identify which player will be used to return punts. He named Nate Clements, Brandon Jones and Arnaz Battle as the possibilities. Battle muffed a punt last week against the Texans that led to a touchdown allowed.

Defensive end Ray McDonald (ankle) saw limited practice and is also questionable for the game Sunday.

Safety Reggie Smith (groin) did not practice and will miss his fourth game in a row.

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democrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco via e-mail at matt.maiocco@press

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