A Fun Two Weeks of Competition Across the Offense

Originally posted by DaveWilcox:

Originally posted by Leathaface:
I'd prefer we changed both of our Guards. Something like Staley-Wragge/Snyder-Heitmann-Snyder/Wragge-Pashos.

The line can't get worse. I don't see how Rachal continues to start. He has to be benched.

Also, I don't think Bruce will be removed as a starter. Too much seniority.

Seniority doesn't get you playing time, performance does.. Bruce needs to go to the bench or better yet home.

I agree. I'm sure we all remember how he nearly retired this offseason. He just doesn't have "it" anymore and is uncharacteristically dropping balls. With Crabs and Jones coming back, plus Hill it's his time to go. Still, I doubt that Sing and Raye would do that to the respected HOFer. The only way I can see that happening is if Bruce comes to them and says "I'm done".

how about some competition at OC ?

Originally posted by 49Fever:
how about some competition at OC ?

Bring back Martz!

Originally posted by 49Fever:
how about some competition at OC ?

Do we dare say a sixth OC in six years? It could happen.

Probably the best scenario would be the Chargers tanking, and Norv Turner beign available to come back and coach our offense again. He helped Smith mature during his year in charge, and Frank played his best, as well.

This team is beginning to gather some weapons on offense to really move the ball down the field, and I believe Raye's offense may always limit our ability to post points.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by 49Fever:
how about some competition at OC ?

Do we dare say a sixth OC in six years? It could happen.

Probably the best scenario would be the Chargers tanking, and Norv Turner beign available to come back and coach our offense again. He helped Smith mature during his year in charge, and Frank played his best, as well.

This team is beginning to gather some weapons on offense to really move the ball down the field, and I believe Raye's offense may always limit our ability to post points.

I'd take Norv back if he would stay for more than a year.

Originally posted by Kalen49ers:

Originally posted by 49Fever:
how about some competition at OC ?

Bring back Martz!

lol is norv turner going to help david baas and chilo rachal block better?

this isn't madden guys. you don't simply plug someone in based on a rating and have him perform. we have bigger problems than jimmy raye

Originally posted by frenchmov:
lol is norv turner going to help david baas and chilo rachal block better?

this isn't madden guys. you don't simply plug someone in based on a rating and have him perform. we have bigger problems than jimmy raye

Scheme counts for something.

Originally posted by NineFourNiner:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by 49Fever:
how about some competition at OC ?

Do we dare say a sixth OC in six years? It could happen.

Probably the best scenario would be the Chargers tanking, and Norv Turner beign available to come back and coach our offense again. He helped Smith mature during his year in charge, and Frank played his best, as well.

This team is beginning to gather some weapons on offense to really move the ball down the field, and I believe Raye's offense may always limit our ability to post points.

I'd take Norv back if he would stay for more than a year.

Oh hell no!!!!!

Frick that noise!

I do not like that man at all. He had a choice to stay or go. He made the choice to go and left our team hangin'. It was still his choice...no one put a gun to his head.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:
I saw Kiper say the other day that pass rushers and offensive linemen were to be had in quantity and quality in next years draft. So maybe after we address the safety issue (I am hoping for Berry to be there for us) we can spend the rest of the draft solidifying the lines on both sides of the ball.

That's promising, man I hate talking next year already though

Wow , so our best potintial WR will be coming out only on 3rd and long, unless MR Ray decide, he wants to throw on 2nd down and leave old timer in the whole time. I would put in Crap , Morgan & jones run go routes and let VD, gore work the short medium routes !

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
After yesterday's massacre, which I believe has been far too dramatized on the board by many (in the grand scheme of things, it is one game, and the first bad overall game the team has played all year), the next couple weeks could be a blast to watch, as I surmise Singletary is open up competition all across the offense. The problems are far and wide, and do not seem to be getting better. Hence, the potential for a massive overhaul before the Niners face the Texans.

Here are some of the competitions I expect to see:
1) Rachal vs. Wragge vs. Snyder- While Rachal is far more athletic, the bottom line is that he is struggling. Struggling against a backup lineman last week with the Rams, struggling this week against the Falcons; heck, he's struggled all year. While is has been more convenient for fans to blast Baas (since he will probably depart in FA this year, and Rachal is young), Rachal simply has been terrible in pass protection. He is a lost puppy right now. Wragge is a savvy vet who may need to give the kid a break to get his head together. I have added Snyder just in case he is the loser of the battle below.

2) Snyder vs. Pashos- A showdown between two mediocre RT's, I've got a feeling that the extra two weeks in this offense will help Pashos, and he will emerge the starter. This would allow Snyder the potential to move inside to replace Rachal or Baas. We need to get our best five guys on the field, and Snyder would be better than Rachal at this point of the season.

3) Bruce vs. Jones vs. Crabtree vs. Battle vs. Hill- So, who wants to be the starter next to Morgan? It seems like Morgan has emerged as the top guy the past two weeks (although besides his breakway run yesterday, we still did not see much). However, he is contributing, something we are not seeing elsewhere. Bruce looks like he is 80 years old. Jones is coming back from injury. Battle has been sitting on the sidelines a lot due to Raye's offense, and Hill has been playing special teams. I expect the Niners to give Jones every shot to move up the depth chart and possibly push for a starting role. Crabtree is not going to be ready for the full package, so he's competing for the third WR role. This will be a fun week to see who gets the chance to start and play backup.

And, I think someone surprising is going to get cut this week: Hill? Battle? Rossum? Even with Spurlock headed to the waiver wire, I'm just not convinced the Niners will keep 6 WR's, and a PR. I could be wrong.

4) Smith vs. Hill- I fully expect Singletary to allow Smith some first team reps, and this may be his shot to run the offense. I still expect Hill to emerge the starter after the bye, but Hill was pretty shaky, and the passing game has been inconsistent all season. So, if Smith lights it up in practice, we may see a change. Something has to pump up this dreadful offense.

Anyone else think the practices the next couple weeks are going to be intense?

Cheers.

P.S. As for the defense, I'm not going to panic. I think they simply had a bad game, and this unit simply needs to move on. If it becomes a week-to-week issue like the offense, then we have a major problem.

One final note: We may be seeing the future at SS come sooner than expected. If Michael Lewis has experienced his third concussion since August, the writing is on the wall. I fully expect the team to target either Eric Berry or Taylor Mays to be the starting SS next season, and the other first rounder to be a RT.

1) Chilo looks like s**t! Snyder is injured.
2) Snyder is injured.
3) Morgan is running horrible routes and dropping passes, Bruce looks 40, not 80. I'll give you the Jones comment.
4) HUGE FAIL! Smith sucks! Imagine what the score would have been if he were in there with a bad O-Line and lost receivers!

Originally posted by merm49:

Originally posted by DaveWilcox:

Originally posted by Leathaface:
I'd prefer we changed both of our Guards. Something like Staley-Wragge/Snyder-Heitmann-Snyder/Wragge-Pashos.

The line can't get worse. I don't see how Rachal continues to start. He has to be benched.

Also, I don't think Bruce will be removed as a starter. Too much seniority.

Seniority doesn't get you playing time, performance does.. Bruce needs to go to the bench or better yet home.

I agree. I'm sure we all remember how he nearly retired this offseason. He just doesn't have "it" anymore and is uncharacteristically dropping balls. With Crabs and Jones coming back, plus Hill it's his time to go. Still, I doubt that Sing and Raye would do that to the respected HOFer. The only way I can see that happening is if Bruce comes to them and says "I'm done".

He sure looks done to me.. He is in denial, walking away from football is really hard. Guys like Bruce have tremendous pride and need to dragged off the field. Well the time has come to drag him off the field, whether he wants to or not.

Originally posted by cNiner:
Wow , so our best potintial WR will be coming out only on 3rd and long, unless MR Ray decide, he wants to throw on 2nd down and leave old timer in the whole time. I would put in Crap , Morgan & jones run go routes and let VD, gore work the short medium routes !

I believe in what Raye/Sing are trying to do with Crabtree. Give him enough to do well with what he's learned rather than overwhelm him with too many plays. Give enough to digest...not barf. Therefore, he's perfect for our slot on third down packages. I think we may even see him before that too, but very limited.

After seeing some of the game again, our blitz pickup was atrocious. Give any QB time, and they will make plays. Like Sing said, Hill was running for his life. That is not a QB's fault, but the OL's like we've mentioned so many times.

Like you C, I would love to see Morgan, Jones, and Crabtree...maybe Ziggy or Hill for the fourth WR. I still believe we will see lots of passes to Vernon, but he may stay in and block once in awhile. Who knows?

What is known is that good ol' Jimmy Raye has to better utilize speed on the edge so we get some respect in that area or we will continue to see eight men in the box and blitzes without abandon. Why?

We haven't stopped it yet.

Originally posted by NineFourNiner:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by 49Fever:
how about some competition at OC ?

Do we dare say a sixth OC in six years? It could happen.

Probably the best scenario would be the Chargers tanking, and Norv Turner beign available to come back and coach our offense again. He helped Smith mature during his year in charge, and Frank played his best, as well.

This team is beginning to gather some weapons on offense to really move the ball down the field, and I believe Raye's offense may always limit our ability to post points.

I'd take Norv back if he would stay for more than a year.

Who says Singletary would hire Norv? Remember, this is the offense Singletary WANTED. We had the opportunity to sign OC's like Scott Linehan, but they declined because they didn't want to be pigeon-holed into running the 85 Bears offense.

Hopefully Singletary will see the error of his ways, when the Niners end up in the bottom 5 in offense this year.