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Reality Check: Let Singletary Go at End of Season

erickson@49ersnews.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:43:16 +0000

After watching the 49ers over their last six games, it’s obvious Singletary is in over his head. Over those six games the 49ers have lost five of them. Hate to say it but Singletary should be with this team for only eight more games. At the end of this season, the Yorks should buy out his contract, give him some water and say thanks for your motivation and leave it at that.

The 49ers went into the season preaching Physicality with an ‘F’ and after watching every game this season it’s more Phailure with an ‘F.’

I honestly believe we were all fooled into thinking that this team under Singletary could be good, who could blame us. Last season Singletary took over a 2-5 team and got them to 7-9. We all drank the Kool-Aid. If we only knew now what we didn’t know then, I’m sure most of us would have hoped the Niner brass held off on announcing Singletary as Head Savior so quickly, when not shortly after coaches like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren and even John Gruden became available.

Yesterday’s lose to the Titans was Mike’s 16th game as Head Coach and with that loss his overall record landed him at 8-8. I know most Niner fans are thinking 8-8 is great, but seriously, are we now at the point where 8-8 is acceptable? Have we got to the point where we as fans are so sick of horrid records that anything close to .500 is exciting. At one point we could accept the bad records as not having the right tools in place, but if you look at this team there are some very good players on this roster and I have to say the coaches are not utilizing those players right. Let’s take yesterday for example. Jason Hill, who had no catches going into the game, finished the day with four catches and two touchdowns. The only reason he got in was because Isaac Bruce got a little banged up on one play. It was obvious after week two that Isaac Bruce was no longer starting material and it took the Head Coach 8 weeks to figure that out.

From Week One the 49ers put the team on the back of Shaun Hill, another player who fooled us into thinking he was good. It was actually Mike Martz who fooled us, because as you could see of Hill under Jimmy Raye he couldn’t do crap.

Spare me the 3-1 to start the season, the defense, Frank Gore and special teams won those three games. All Hill had to do was not turn the ball over.

Now, not all the blame goes to Singletary, Scot McCloughan gets a lot of it as well. It is him that is responsible for drafting the players and one area he has failed at is the offensive line. Which is a big issue, because heading into the season Singletary and Co. wanted to pound the ball and punch people in the face. Newsflash, you can only do that if you have the offensive line for that and that was something Singletary and Co. didn’t realize. Marvel Smith, Tony Pashos, Adam Snyder, Barry Sims, David Baas, Chilo Rachel. All that is is a revolving door of crap. It’s sad when I long for the days of Jonas Jennings and Kwame Harris.

So when they let Mike go they need to take a long hard look at McCloughan as well. McCloughan has been here just as long as anyone and not a lot to show for it, minus Willis, Davis and Gore.

The one part of this team that Singletary is 100% accountable for is that of offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye. Raye was Singletary’s choice, he was the one who believed Raye would be the man to help punch people in the face, after eight weeks it’s more of a light slap.

We all know what will happen though. The team will finish either 7-9 or 8-8, they will not make the playoffs. No changes will be made, well maybe a new OC will be brought in. But aside from that after this season we as fans will be promised the same thing we have been since Nolan. Team is heading in right direction, we have the players needed to execute, we want winners, blah, blah, blah. Then we’ll get to see the likes of Shanahan, Holmgren and Gruden head to other bad teams and watch them turn those teams around while we sit and continue to watch this team in all its mediocrity.

MMP: Playoffs? Playoffs?

erickson@49ersnews.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:24:45 +0000

Where is Jim Mora Sr. when you need him. It has now got to a point where I feel nothing for this team. They win great. They lose oh well. It is a sad state of affairs that this team has lost four in a row. With that said let’s take a look around Ninerland for this weeks Monday Morning Punter.

Maiocco breaks down the four turnovers yesterday, which resulted in 24 points
Quick Hits from Maiocco regarding the loss
Has the coaching staff finally realized what 95% of the fans have, that Isaac Bruce is done in this league and no longer a starting WR, (Bruce did not get the start and even lost the #3 spot to Jason Hill
Speaking of Jason Hill, he is just the second WR to score a touchdown, and he had two yesterday. Nice to see they basically had him on the bench for 7 weeks
Stating the obvious, but the 49ers seriously need help at the KR and PR positions
Kawakami has his spin on things
Vernon Davis was 10 for 102. First tight end to go over 100 since Eric Johnson did it back in 2004.
Peterson of the Merc asks if Alex Smith regressed in lose to Titans
Thank God for Andy Lee, he boomed three punts that had a net average of 53.3 yards.

Four in a Row

erickson@49ersnews.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:13:48 +0000

How embarassing. The 49ers dropped their 4th in a row today to the Tennessee Titans. That’s right the 49ers got beat at home to a team with the worst passing defense in the league and a team that is quarterbacked by Vince Young.

Where do I begin. Playcalling was crap, offensive line was crap, quarterback was crap (3 INTs and a fumble), secondary couldn’t stop big pass plays by Vince Young. I know I’m forgetting something else.

Can’t wait to hear Mike Singletary’s spin on this one. So much for being ‘Physical’ with an ‘F’.

The saddest part is the Titans got 24 points off of turnovers.

Moral Victories Are Not Victories

erickson@49ersnews.com — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:13:36 +0000

After last Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, in another very winnable game, I find myself ignoring the good points, something I normally do to keep a positive attitude. I felt like Dennis Green after his Arizona Cardinals “let them (Chicago Bears) off the hook.” For the second week in a row, the 49ers squandered a big win on the road against a playoff caliber team. And three of their four losses have been from the “aw shucks, we ALMOST won” variety. Those are the games that separate the winners from the also-rans. All four losses have come from teams over .500, who look like they’re headed for the post-season. So at the very least, the 49ers are winning games they’re supposed to and being competitive in games they’re not. But the time for moral victories has come to an end. Once it becomes OK to lose games, then the team will be complacent with “good” losses.

What went wrong:
The offense struggled mightily against the Colts defense, particularly the defensive line. Aside from the long touchdown run, Frank Gore found very little running space. However, he only received 13 carries. The loss of Joe Staley definitely hurt, but the 49ers need Gore to balance the offense. They will have to find a way get through basically the rest of the season without Staley, so proving they can run without him will be vital. The ultra conservative play calling was a huge factor in the loss. Two weeks ago against the Texans, Alex Smith orchestrated three touchdown drives out of the Spread formation. They were forced to play from behind and scored out of the formation that Smith is notorious for succeeding in. Against the Colts, Smith took snaps under center for the majority of the game, once getting stepped on by center Eric Heitmann. Whether that’s a quarterback error, or center’s is up for debate, but that wouldn’t happen in the Shotgun. Come on Jimmy Raye, we all see it, why can’t you? It’s usually hysterical to me how fans think they know more than the coaches, but in this case, I’ll let it slide. I think team’s have to adjust to the players they have, not force the players into the system. I understand the philosophy the offense has adapted, but a few calls out of the Shotgun won’t compromise the integrity of the run game. It’s aggravating to see three and outs so consistently.

Whether it was rust or nerves, Smith has to work on his accuracy. He was not sharp, completing 19 of 32 passes for a touchdown and interception. The interception was a tipped ball, but thrown poorly as it was off target anyway. In the 4th quarter, Smith avoided a defender and found a wide open Isaac Bruce, but he threw it behind Bruce. A few of Smith’s passes were off mark, but these errors are correctable and coachable.

Thanks to the weak NFC West, the 49ers still have a great chance to win the division. Their 3-0 start in the division will also help with any tie-breakers. If the 49ers can capitalize and go undefeated in the division, a feat that should not be difficult, their playoff hopes will remain strong. Out of the next seven games, the 49ers need to win only four games to stay at or near a .500 record, then finish off the season against the Lions and the Rams. But enough looking ahead, this week is a must-win to break a three game losing streak. The Tennessee Titans may be 1-6, but are coming off a big win thanks to Chris Johnson’s 228 yards and two touchdowns. He is always one carry away from a big gain, his 6.9 YPC average tells us that. However, the Titans defense has struggled immensely since the departure of Albert Haynesworth, and the secondary does not resemble the Pro Bowl secondary it was last year. It will be up to the 49ers defense to stop Johnson, and the offense must exploit the weak secondary of the Titans.

These good losses are starting to take its toll on the team. At the end of the year, no one takes into account how many close games were lost. The only thing that matters is the amount of wins. This has to be the end of the close losses because the mid-point in the season is here, and a 4-4 record will be the first time the 49ers are .500 at midseason since 2002, their last playoff appearance year. This game may be the most important game of the season so far, either they continue their losing streak, or get back on track to winning the division.

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Highlights from 49ers vs Colts Game

erickson@49ersnews.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:51:11 +0000

Highlights are up for the 49ers vs Colts, also video of the Post Game Live show. Head over to NinerTV for the clips.

NinerTV

NHR – Ep5. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

erickson@49ersnews.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:11:50 +0000

On this weeks episode of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, we discuss the 49ers/Colts game, Michael Crabtree, Alex Smith, Jimmy Raye and more…

Wait. What? Smith Called the Plays

erickson@49ersnews.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:05:35 +0000

It has been reported that at some point during the 49ers game against the Colts, Alex Smith’s radio in his helmet went out and he was forced to call his own plays. The talk around Ninerland was during which part of the game did Smith call the plays.

The latest report from Mark Purdy of the Mercury News is stating that during the 2-minute drill in which Smith hooked up with Vernon Davis was the point in the game where Smith called the plays.

Smith signaled to the bench that the radio was out, then he coolly went into the huddle and called his own play.

The pass to tight end Vernon Davis wasn’t complete. But the incident — followed by a perfect two-minute drill at the end of the first half where Smith also called all his own plays and generated a touchdown

So let me get this straight, the best drive of the game and Alex was the one calling the plays. Why do they have Jimmy Raye again?

Clements Done for the Year?

erickson@49ersnews.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:27:06 +0000

The latest reports out of Niner camp are not looking good for cornerback Nate Clements. Latest reports on the injury to Nate are that he has a fractured shoulder blade. No word yet if it is season ending, the 49ers mentioned they would have more info tomorrow.

This sucks if it is true.

Niners Lose Third in a Row

erickson@49ersnews.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:21:05 +0000

The 49ers dropped their third straight to fall to 3-4 overall. The 49ers did a good job of stopping Peyton Manning, but the offense still has problems. It looks like they have a quarterback who can run this offense, but unfortunately they still have Jimmy Raye calling the plays. With Raye it looks like they open up the offense only when they need a score. The other times it is still run, run, pass.

It’s too bad the 49ers didn’t come away with the W. They gameplanned well for Peyton Manning, sacking him three times on the day, but again the offensive playcalling was horrid. I’m amazed that a fullback counter on 2nd and 10 would be called during one drive. The offensive line did well for Smith giving him time to pass, but those play calls were few and far between.

I guess we can take away something positive out of the loss, the defense did hold the Colts to only 18 points and Peyton didn’t have one touchdown on the day. It’s just the offense didn’t take advantage of the opportunities.

I’d like to give Sims props for the play he had today. I’m sure myself along with the rest of you thought that the 49ers were screwed once Staley went down, but gotta give Sims credit he hung in there and Freeney was pretty much a non factor in this game.

Highlights: 49ers vs Texans

erickson@49ersnews.com — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:59:25 +0000

The highlights for the 49ers vs Texans game are finally up. Sorry for the delay. Follow the links to NinerTV below…

First Half Highlights on NinerTV

Second Half Highlights on NinerTV