SANTA CLARA, Calif. Greg Toler Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Nothing that has happened the past two weeks has shaken that belief, and his teammates and coaches feel the same way. But theres a sense of urgency as the defending NFC champions take a two-game losing streak into Monday nights game against the Washington Redskins. The 49ers (6-4) have slipped to the sixth and final spot in the conference playoff picture, as San Francisco prepares for the seasons stretch run. Snyder will be in the middle of it Monday when he makes his first start of the season. The ninth-year veteran takes the place of injured All-Pro left guard Mike Iupati for a struggling offence that has been a big reason for the teams recent slide that followed a five-game winning streak. Its a familiar situation for Snyder, who made 69 starts at four line positions during his first stint in San Francisco from 2005-2011. Whats not so familiar for the 49ers is a losing streak that has dropped them near the edge of playoff contention. Its just the second time San Francisco has lost two games in a row since coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff arrived in 2011. But the 49ers, who were 9-1 and 7-2-1 after 10 games the past two seasons, remain confident they can get back on course for a return to the Super Bowl. "I still believe that and I know that everybody in this locker room believes that, and thats where we are right now," Snyder said Saturday. "The games become more important now. We put ourselves in this position coming down the stretch and we use it as motivation. Things didnt go the way that we planned, but we just have to keep fighting, stay on task, and thats what were doing every day." As his team prepared to leave for Washington early Saturday afternoon, Harbaugh was able to stray from his usual "one-game-at-a-time" mentality and look at the big picture. The 49ers, two-time defending NFC West champions, trail the Seattle Seahawks by 3 1/2 games in the division with six to play. One of those games is a home rematch with Seattle in two weeks. "The thing you look at is, the season plays out differently each year," Harbaugh said. "I mean, the sense of urgency is high every week. Theres plenty of opportunity ahead of us and the opportunity thats staring us right here in the face is a very good one, and thats what we focus on." Iupati suffered ligament damage in his left knee during last weeks 23-20 loss at New Orleans, ending his run of 63 consecutive starts to begin his career since the 49ers made him the 17th overall selection of the 2010 draft. San Franciscos offence had been struggling even with the first-team All-Pro in the lineup, gaining 151 total yards during a 10-9 home loss to Carolina two weeks ago and then 196 yards last week at New Orleans. In that game, 17 of San Franciscos 20 points came after turnovers by the Saints. The other three came on Phil Dawsons 29-yard field goal that followed the Saints turnover on downs in the third quarter. Dawsons kick culminated a 49-yard drive that was San Franciscos longest of the day. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been sacked nine times the past two weeks after San Franciscos line allowed just seven sacks over the previous five games. The 49ers arent expecting much drop-off with Snyder, who started 15 games at right guard in 2011 before leaving the team as a free agent. Snyder started 14 games for the Arizona Cardinals last season before returning to San Francisco. "Adams a guy we have complete and utter faith in," offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman said. "So thats really about it. Hes a very versatile guy. Plug him in and go. Dont even blink." Iupatis injury will break a string of consecutive starts for San Franciscos offensive line. All five starters along that unit earned recognition last season as either a Pro Bowl starter or Pro Bowl alternate, and all five started each of San Franciscos 19 games last season and all 10 so far this season. "Its rare to have an offensive line go through almost an entire two seasons and not have an injury," Snyder said. "They were fortunate enough to do that but now I have to step in and I dont want to have any drop-off in the level of production. I think Im capable of doing that. Theyre big shoes to fill, but its not like Im stepping into a situation that Ive never been in and theyve never been a part of." Ricky Jean-Francois Colts Jersey .Y. - Henrik Lundqvist wasnt happy going into Game 6 against Montreal.Andrew Luck Colts Jersey . -- The basic role that Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito shared as offensive linemen for the Miami Dolphins was protecting quarterback Ryan Tannehill.This November two teams will compete for the 102nd Grey Cup Championship. One hundred and two years of professional football in our country, and during that time, only five quarterbacks have thrown for 50,000 yards or more. This coming weekend, in Edmonton ironically, Ricky Ray of the Argos can become the sixth. He is 367 yards away, which means he would have to have the second-best game of the 2014 campaign. But in his career Ray has thrown for over 300 yards 73 times, and in 23 of those games he has thrown for over 367 yards, so it is within the realm of possibility. Some may not think it is all that impressive of a milestone, and will say, "if you play long enough, then you should accumulate yards." However, that is exactly why it is so impressive. If you break down the numbers, to get to 50K you need to throw for 5,000 yards per year for ten years. Now 5,000 yards per year is no walk in the park, in fact the future Hall of Famer has only crossed that threshold three times in his eleven years in the league and averages just over 4,300 yards per season. So if youre averaging just over 4,000 yards, which puts a quarterback in the elite category, now youre looking at having to play one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet for 12 years or more, and all 12 years have to be at that elite level. Now consider the physical pounding a quarterback takes, and the pressure that they are under, and it starts to become hard to imagine that a player can even stay in the game that long, let alone play at that level for that long. The 50K club is an impressive list, and its topped by Anthony Calvillo. He is pro footballs all-time leading passer at almost 80,000 yards, a number that seems out of anyones reach in the modern era. Calvillo is followed by Damon Allen, Danny McManus, Henry Burris, and the late Ron Lancaster. All are Grey Cup Champions, all league Most Outstanding Players, and all were older than Ray when they did it, well barely older in the case of AC. Calvillo hit 50K on July 14, 2007 at the age of 34 years, 10 months and 22 days. It took Allen much longer as he hit the mark on October 22, 2000 at 37 years old. McManus got there on October 21, 2004 at just over 39 years old. Burris hit the milestone on September 13, 2013 at 38 years old and Ronny set the mark on October 1, 1978 in his 256th start and he was a month away from turning 40. Keep in mind, Lancaster played in a different era where George Reed and the running game was prominent. If Ray gets there in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon it will be in his 181st start at the age of 34 years, 10 months and 2 days. Exactly 19 days younger than Calvillo when he got to 50K. So if he does it on Saturday, not only will he be the youngest to get there, but based on a stat that is always kept in football, but is rarely talked about, he will be the most efficient. It is called the quarterback efficiency rating and requires a complicated mathematical formula. It isnt talked about all that often because it just takes too long to explain. However, it is a way to rate a quarterbacks level of play by using all of the stats involved in the position, like complletion percentage, touchdown passes and interceptions to name a few. Cory Redding Jersey. A perfect quarterback efficiency rating is 158.3. If we take a look at that 50K club, Ricky Ray will top the list when it comes to career quarterback efficiency rating. 50,000 Yard Club Player Yards Rating > RICKY RAY 49,653 98.2 Anthony Calvillo 79,816 95.5 Henry Burris 52,908 93.3 Damon Allen 72,381 83.8 Danny McManus 53,255 76.0 Ron Lancaster 50,908 72.4 Of the six players breathing the rarified air of the 50,000-plus club, Ray will be the youngest to get there, and will have been the most efficient quarterback on the list. This Saturday, fans in Edmonton have an opportunity to watch live a little history in the making. This will be the number one storyline in the game, and is the biggest story whether Ray gets the 367 or not. If he does it will be in the city where he racked up over 40,000 of his 50,000 yards, and if he doesnt get there it will be because a fired up Edmonton defence doesnt want it to happen on their shift. Either way it is a huge story. This week Ray will be humble as always, and downplay the milestone to try and keep the focus on the team. He will give credit to his teammates along the way and the coaches that have helped him get there, and will continue to be a great ambassador of the game. That humility and respect for the game, and the opponent, is a character trait consistent with all the members of the 50K club. They have all been great players, but even better people. They are players that were always professional, always accommodating to the fans, and always putting the team first. Oh, and one side note. Doug Flutie played for seven and a half years in the CFL and during that time passed for over 5,500 yards per year throwing for a total of 41,355. As mentioned earlier, if he does it this weekend Ray will hit 50K mark younger than any quarterback in the club, a fact that wouldnt have changed if Flutie played another year and a half in the CFL. On Fluties pace he would have hit 50K if he stayed in the CFL at about midway through the 1999 season. We can estimate that at around Labour Day he would have been 36 years old, a full two years older than Ray. In that U.S.-born players in the CFL usually arrive in Canada at different times in their careers, the actual age of Ricky Ray compared to the rest of the 50K club may not seem all that relevant. Unless you start to wonder as I did, what the final number could be for the former Sacramento State star. Ray is almost the exact same age as Calvillo was when he set the mark back in July of 2007. AC went on to play another six years and totaled almost 80,000 yards, a number that most think is unreachable. Or is it? ' ' '
