This morning I’m asking “what is the direction of this team?” I’m Serious in asking this, because I have no idea. For weeks all the talk was we need to run the spread to win but right now this team is losing even though we are passing the ball effectively. This team is NOT improving. Yes we beat the Jags and the Bears but those teams are in the same place the 49ers are, the wilderness. We are 2-6 in the last 8 games and we’ll most likely be 2-8 in 10 games after the Cardinals and Eagles games. That is not improvement from the 2008 team. In all facets of the game, with the lone exception of our passing game, we are regressing. We can’t run the ball, are best offensive weapon drops the ball on a regular basis, our punt return team is a disaster, our defense fails to make stops when they need to, our game management could be the worst in the league, are offensive situational play calling isn’t getting any better, and the most worrisome fact is we are getting out coached.
Okay, I’ll start by saying Alex Smith is playing great under this offensive system. He is a legit NFL quarterback. He is our quarterback. Smith had his first 300 yard passing game. He is doing his job that we need him to do. But there is concern here because in the end will it matter? I ask this because we all know that he needs to stay in one system to continue to develop but the more I see of this coaching staff the more I don’t think they’ll last past 2010. Will he have to start over in 2011? Will the experience he picks up this year and next translate into a new system if they do start over with the coaching staff? This worries me. I’ve said a few games ago Jimmy Raye isn’t the answer and will cost Mike Singletary his job. I stand by that. The Seattle game is the best evidence so far of this. When you talk about Jimmy Raye as an offensive coordinator, the discussion isn’t just about running the ball versus passing the ball; it is about situational play calling. This is where Jimmy Raye has been a failure as a coordinator and it reared its ugly head against Seattle. The pass play on the 3rd and 3 on the 49ers 18 yard line with 39 seconds to go sums up Jimmy Raye’s entire coaching career. Failure. Losing. The 49ers were not going to win the game in regulation at that point. An incompletion is a disaster at that point. Run the ball. Maybe you get it, maybe you don’t, but you run the clock or at least force them to take a time out. Horrible call. This is the most obvious bad situational play call this year but there have been others. There will be people pointing out all the close loses this year but that is when situational play calling is such a HUGE factor. What direction are we going under Jimmy Raye as a coordinator?
I could go on and on about Vernon Davis’ drops. But with him we just have to take the good with the bad. At this point this is who Davis is as a tight end. I can accept that because he brings a lot to the team. If he is going to be a big part of this offense we just have to hope the rest of the team can make up for his drops. One thing, as a fan that pisses me off though, is when he tells reporters “Things happen,” when describing his drops. The whole receiving core had way too many drops in the Seattle game. At the end of the day we have no choice to ride with these guys. They are good players.
As for as the running game, oh wait, we don’t have a running game. Heck, we don’t even try to run anymore. And when we do, it’s not good. We all know about our offensive line problems. The 49ers can’t do anything about that until the off season. I hope they do fix it. That is why the draft will be so important this year. But I don’t believe that is the only problem with the running game. I’ll say this and it will make people mad and many will disagree, but Frank Gore is not an elite running back. Never truly was. He is a good back and has a lot of skills that help the 49ers. But I don’t think he can carry a team like most elite backs can. Along with that he can’t stay healthy a complete season and he fumbles when it counts too much. A lot of backs fumble but Frank’s timing is awful. It happens when he is trying too hard to make a play in critical situations. No, he doesn’t do it every game, but he does it enough that it is inexcusable. I love seeing someone trying their hardest to compete but this is a big problem. I like Gore as a player but I don’t see the “IT” factor anymore in him. I don’t believe this offense could’ve or ever will go through Gore. He can be a good player for the 49ers but he will not win many games for the 49ers in the long run and if we are going to be successful, he can’t lose games for us either. That fumble changed this game and led to this defeat. I also think he just might have peaked as a player. 2010 will be his 6th season in the NFL and with all the injuries that he has suffered in college and the pros, how much does he have left? Backs usually last 8-10 years but will or has he started to slip early because of his history of injuries? I think this is a question fans and the team needs to start asking. Maybe I’m wrong, but take away 4 or 5 runs this year and he hasn’t done much rushing the ball. That is not all on the o-line, I’m not saying trade him or anything crazy like that but the team needs to start thinking about addressing this area too. Coffee is a nice backup but he isn’t going to be the answer either. This, in my opinion, is another problem in trying to find out where this team is going.
When looking at our defense, you have to say thank god for Patrick Willis. The man gets it done. I like our defense but how good is it? And how does it get better going forward? Our defense is a good but it isn’t improving. It made the stops in the Cardinals, Bears, and Jags game when they had to but it couldn’t get the job done versus Vikings, Colts, Packers, and Seahawks when we needed them to. The 49ers get to the quarterback okay but they don’t have the legit pass rusher to stop drives at the end of games. While I like our defensive players we have, how is this unit going to improve? Yes, Franklin is having a career year in his contract year but has this unit improved much since last year? 2007? It might be me but something is missing. This defense seems to be the same defense we had in 2007 and 2008. When will it improve and get to that next level we have all been waiting for? And make no mistake it needs to get to that next level if we are ever actually going to contend for the playoffs. Again what direction are we going in?
The question about our defense leads me into head scratching about our special teams. I think even with some major injuries on our special team units our coverage teams are quite good but, and this is a big but, our punt return unit is a disaster. We have punt returners that are shaky at best. Knowing this, why did our coaching staff call a reverse when our offense was moving the ball well and our defense was doing their job? That fumble changed the whole tone of the game. Special teams have given up big plays that have changed games a lot this year (Min, Tex, and Sea) but that silly reverse play and fumble leads to my last point, game management.
Our game management has to be among the worst in the league. Seriously we called a timeout 6 seconds into the game! Pathetic! It hasn’t improved. I know Singletary is basically a rookie coach but does anyone see any progress? If things don’t change on the coaching front I don’t see how we will be a contender in the near future. With the way this team is coached, those two high draft picks and Alex Smith’s improved play won’t be enough to turn this around. So I ask again “what direction is this team going in?”
Some will say we’ll be fine since we have 2 first round picks next year and Alex is improving. That is no guarantee. Especially with Scot McCloughan as our GM. Look at the history of the NFL, bad teams stay bad for a long time even with many high draft picks and decent QBs. Ask St. Louis how their rookie right tackle is doing for them this year. This team needs some real direction from the top down. Can we trust the people that told us we were going to be a power, smash-mouth football team when in reality we had the personnel to be a passing, spread offensive team? Have you guys ever heard Scot McCloughan? The guy is always in denial. They all are. Jed York telling the world we would be playing in January this year. Mike Singletary saying that our O-line will be great this year. Singletary again saying that this team is a playoff team. How long did it finally take them to move to a more open up offense? The question isn’t should we stay on this path McCloughan and Singletary is taking us down but exactly what path are they taking us down? Do they even know? I’m tired of all the hope of finding our way out of the wilderness; I want someone to lead this team that knows the direction to the promise land e.i. playoffs. So York, McCloughan, Singletary, Raye, and Manusky what direction is this team going in?
There are 207 users in the forums
What is the direction of this team?
- 1 2
Dec 7, 2009 at 8:24 AM
- mrbadd1
- Info N/A
Dec 7, 2009 at 8:30 AM
- valrod33
- Hall of Small
- Posts: 137,970
too long to read
But the niners are headed in the right direction, this year has been a crazy year, but I think Alex is the starter going into next year, we will be a more balanced team tnext year but the Gun is here to stay
Special teams play needs to be addressed not just in the return game but also covering
Nate Clements returning healthy will help out the DBs hopefully by some miracle we end up drafting Eric Berry
49ers will win the NFC west next year
[ Edited by valrod33 on Dec 7, 2009 at 08:31:00 ]
But the niners are headed in the right direction, this year has been a crazy year, but I think Alex is the starter going into next year, we will be a more balanced team tnext year but the Gun is here to stay
Special teams play needs to be addressed not just in the return game but also covering
Nate Clements returning healthy will help out the DBs hopefully by some miracle we end up drafting Eric Berry
49ers will win the NFC west next year
[ Edited by valrod33 on Dec 7, 2009 at 08:31:00 ]
Dec 7, 2009 at 8:37 AM
- mrbadd1
- Info N/A
Originally posted by valrod33:
too long to read
But the niners are headed in the right direction, this year has been a crazy year, but I think Alex is the starter going into next year, we will be a more balanced team tnext year but the Gun is here to stay
Special teams play needs to be addressed not just in the return game but also covering
Nate Clements returning healthy will help out the DBs hopefully by some miracle we end up drafting Eric Berry
49ers will win the NFC west next year
Sorry, it was too long. I had a lot of points to make. But not buying into this team moving in the right direction because the Front Office and Coaching have a lot of issues, I think we are basically stuck in the mud as long as Raye and McCloughan are still with the team. And Singletary needs to improve game management too.
Dec 7, 2009 at 8:39 AM
- 190836
- Veteran
- Posts: 11,930
Awesome post.
Dec 7, 2009 at 8:41 AM
- SybErkRimInAL
- Veteran
- Posts: 59,184
i'm just happy that we've established that we do have a QB we can win with. Yes, I mean Alex Smith. He's progressed a lot and believe we can build around him.
Here's to next season.
Here's to next season.
Dec 7, 2009 at 8:42 AM
- kstolai
- Veteran
- Posts: 11,313
Originally posted by 190836:
Awesome post.
This
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:06 AM
- 9ernick
- Veteran
- Posts: 38
Good post. overall we cannot blame the entire game on Gore or any one player . There were alot of mistakes made and mostly the mucked up reverse on the punt return. I really dont think that smith is the answer , it took him this long to get a 300 yard game which many rookies get done their first year. I say we keep smith another year while we have a rookie QB on the bench learning. As far as the run i think we should pick up another RB and keep Gore to Split the carries. It would be good to give some competition between the RBs
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:28 AM
- BSofSF
- Veteran
- Posts: 2,350
Don't lose sight of the fact that the transition to a spread came after the team could not establish itself as a consistent running team. Our offensive line is a weak link, partly due to injuries. Passing from a spread allows us to generate offense by masking our weakness on the OL. The problem with that, evident in the Seattle game, is that you still need to be able to run the ball at times, and we can't. I think we must continue to feature a spread type passing attack next year, because otherwise all of the receiving talent and matchup problems Davis can create goes to waste. But we MUST upgrade the talent on the offensive line so that, when our spread offense captures a lead, we can control the tempo of the game and close out victories. Right now I think our OL is simply too patchwork and weak to lead us any better record than we are seeing. Invest HEAVILY in the OL in the upcoming draft, free agency, and you could see 4-5 of those losses swing to wins. A really good safety and pass rusher would be nice also, of course. But I am convinced that we have enought blue chip talent at the offensive skill positions that if we simply put together a good OL, we're competitive for the next ten years.
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:30 AM
- MadMartz
- Member
- Posts: 3,319
simple answer, up!
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:36 AM
- NorthNiner
- Veteran
- Posts: 1,119
Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
i'm just happy that we've established that we do have a QB we can win with. Yes, I mean Alex Smith. He's progressed a lot and believe we can build around him.
Here's to next season.
This is the ONLY positive for this year and it's a big one. I guess this team won't have a real direction until Singletary finally gets it....if ever.
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:42 AM
- tohara3
- Veteran
- Posts: 28,604
Originally posted by valrod33:
too long to read
But the niners are headed in the right direction, this year has been a crazy year, but I think Alex is the starter going into next year, we will be a more balanced team tnext year but the Gun is here to stay
Special teams play needs to be addressed not just in the return game but also covering
Nate Clements returning healthy will help out the DBs hopefully by some miracle we end up drafting Eric Berry
49ers will win the NFC west next year
Nice post. Rite there with you valrod!
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:48 AM
- FredFlintstone
- Veteran
- Posts: 45,711
Originally posted by MadMartz:
simple answer, up!
were already down in the center of the earth we cant go much lower. im so pissed off that once again i have to watch january football without these damn 9ers.
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:50 AM
- HoneyBadger49er
- Veteran
- Posts: 19,054
down, we suck
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:53 AM
- sixbricks
- Veteran
- Posts: 411
Love the massive essay, a well put out thoughts; I will print it out & read it when i'm in the bathroom depositing
Dec 7, 2009 at 9:56 AM
- Cuphalffull
- Veteran
- Posts: 811
I think that we need to give Sing, Reye and this team a little slack. We have completely changed offensive philosophies mid season. We have tried to implement what most teams do in an entire offseason in just a few weeks. There are going to be some kinks to work out. There are going to be some growing pangs. I think that the latter part of this season is an opportunity to improve this offense and get us that much further ahead going into the offseason.
I understand a lot of the disappointment that many have right now. I think that we all need a little perspective on this. Reality check - this team was never a legitimate playoff contender. We are decent, not good, and defiantly not great. IMO, if Reye was to spend the offseason researching the spread or as he likes to call it the Reye gun I think he will be able to expand the playbook considerably. Alex, the WR, and TE will be able to work on timing and improved consistency allowing for Alex to have better trust in his WRs. Additionally, with allowing Smith to get more comfortable in this system the rest of the season coupled with an offseason of learning more of the nuances of the system, he will be in a better position to begin calling audibles and making the hot reads.
In all, I think that the benefit of the past several games (yes including yesterdays disappointing loss) is that our offense and team is beginning to establish an identity that works. We are just missing a few pieces of the puzzle and I think that we will become legitimate contenders. We have some high draft picks and money to spend in FA. I know that for the immediate gratification generation out there this is all just a pipe dream but it appears as though we are building a team that will be good for years to come.
BTW – anyone who really expected Sing to be perfect in his first year as a HC had some unrealistic expectations. Hopefully he is learning from his mistakes and improving along with the team.
I understand a lot of the disappointment that many have right now. I think that we all need a little perspective on this. Reality check - this team was never a legitimate playoff contender. We are decent, not good, and defiantly not great. IMO, if Reye was to spend the offseason researching the spread or as he likes to call it the Reye gun I think he will be able to expand the playbook considerably. Alex, the WR, and TE will be able to work on timing and improved consistency allowing for Alex to have better trust in his WRs. Additionally, with allowing Smith to get more comfortable in this system the rest of the season coupled with an offseason of learning more of the nuances of the system, he will be in a better position to begin calling audibles and making the hot reads.
In all, I think that the benefit of the past several games (yes including yesterdays disappointing loss) is that our offense and team is beginning to establish an identity that works. We are just missing a few pieces of the puzzle and I think that we will become legitimate contenders. We have some high draft picks and money to spend in FA. I know that for the immediate gratification generation out there this is all just a pipe dream but it appears as though we are building a team that will be good for years to come.
BTW – anyone who really expected Sing to be perfect in his first year as a HC had some unrealistic expectations. Hopefully he is learning from his mistakes and improving along with the team.
- 1 2