Is there a method to Sing's "madness"?

Originally posted by swim4speed:
I worry about the things Singletary has done this offseason and preseason. He has done sooooo much that goes against what made the Niners a huge success in the 80's and 90's!

Things that go against Bill Walsh...hitting so much in practice, running the ball so much, big O-linemen, the stupid nutcracker drill that injured Willis, Baas, and Brown., etc.

Singletary keeps talking about needing to get turnovers. Spencer is NOT a ball-hawk! He only gets picks if they fall to him. He is not aggressive. He gives up completions. Why did Singletary choose Spencer? He played against 3's and 4's this preseason!

I really worry about Singletary's old, old school methods and thinking.

eh, Walsh hit more in practice than some remember/know. He had significant injuries in practice also.

As to the style of offense, Singletary has no choice as we learned last year. This OL is NOT a good pass protection line. Nor do we have a QB who can really throw the ball around in such a way as to scare opponents. The WRs are, except Battle and Bruce, young and inexperienced.

What he does have is some big maulers who can run block, and a very good running back.

So he is going to run the ball as much as he can because the talent isn't there to rely on passing.

You have to dance with the one that brought you.

Sure, Walsh had some hitting in practice...of course. But, his philosophy was try to limit injuries in practice and to have FRESH players in December and January. Constantly hitting in practice throughout the season tends to wear out the players so they are kind of tired in Dec and Jan.

I believe, many or most of the teams use Walsh's philosophy or some form of it (regarding limiting hitting in practice).

Singletary is a rah-rah guy. How long will his good motivational speaking last? How long can he get his team to overachieve?

Originally posted by swim4speed:
Sure, Walsh had some hitting in practice...of course. But, his philosophy was try to limit injuries in practice and to have FRESH players in December and January. Constantly hitting in practice throughout the season tends to wear out the players so they are kind of tired in Dec and Jan.

I believe, many or most of the teams use Walsh's philosophy or some form of it (regarding limiting hitting in practice).

Singletary is a rah-rah guy. How long will his good motivational speaking last? How long can he get his team to overachieve?

I'm not big on a lot of hitting either, however, Singletary needed to set a tone and find out about the character and will of some of his players. It is sort of like a rite-of-passage.

Now that he has found out what he wanted to know, and they players know what is required, he has backed off. Now we will see how he goes in regular season.

Maybe you're correct on the rite of passage....or maybe not. We'll see next offseason....if singletary is still around.

As far as hitting during the season, my guess is he will still have the Niners hitting more than most teams in the league...and possibly the most in the league.

Originally posted by 49ERGUY:

Originally posted by 4evrfan:
Ok, I get that Singletary is a master motivator and Hall of Famer, etc, etc. I also believe he's a good coach who will get better, but his strategy of not utilizing some of his starters in preseason has me a bit perplexed. I get not using Gore or Bruce, but why didn't Hill get a few more reps? He's not exactly God's gift to QB'dom and could have used the preseason to refine his rapport with the receivers. He needs the work yet didn't get it.
And how did he come up with Spencer as the starting corner, when all along it was the Brown/Bly competition? And if Spencer was in the running, as is now apparent, why not give him time with the starting unit? Were Bly and Brown a disappointment? And when did Spencer have time to show enough stuff to beat out the "front-runners"?
The main point is, shouldn't the starters, especially relatively unproven starters, get a bit more work to prepare for the regular season? God knows Hill didn't exactly light the world on fire the little we saw of him?
Just asking.

I agree with your thought that you would think that you would want yor starters to have as much time together as possible. I doubt if Bly or Brown were disappointments ...... I can almost hear Singletary saying what a nice problem to have though. My only thought is why Spencer when he has a history of getting dinged up and not Bly. Maybe he is worried about Bly the gambler ???? I have to admit that I'm scratching my head a bit.

I think that the motivator in Singletary is oozing out here maybe. It sends a message to other players perhaps even Nate Clemment ?????

I'm with you nothing against Spencer but exactly what did he do to beat out Brown and Bly is what's puzzling. Not to mention his injuries. Not really a problem that Hill didn't get a ton of passes in the pre season. With the lame pass blocking o line I wouldn't have had him out there too much either. And maybe they were trying ot better evaluate to who keep between Davis and Huard at the time.

But I agree with others this is his 1st HC job he's gonna make mistakes. We shouldn't expect him to be perfect.

You can't disagree with the Sing's decisions. Too early, this is his first year for crying out loud. Are we not the "Faithful"?

We put up with Nolan and his C&R fashion gig for 4 years. Give Sing a chance. He knows everything is on his shoulders. Why else would you want to be HC in the NFL?

There are a couple of other things that Singletary has that players respect and have mentioned. They like that he has HOF credentials as a player who was not only tough but studied hard to get better. They also respect the fact he lives his faith right in front of them. So when he asks them to step up and do something, they know it is something he does and has done in his life. That counts for a lot when it is hot and you are hurting and the game isn't going exactly your way.