My thoughts on 49ers season and going into 2010

Okay, we all agree it was a dissapinting season, although if we finish 8-8 that is about where I thought we would finish before the season began and where I thought our talent level was/is. I think that the good news is we did show we can play with top teams, I mean we could have easily won at Minnesota if not for a perfect 40yd throw by Brett Favre. We played Indy very tough in Indy and I think if Crabtree doesen't fumble and Mark Roman picks off that pass we win and we certainly could have beaten Tennessee if not for a few fluke plays and I thought we totally outplayed Seattle in Seattle but a few really bad calls and some costly mistakes by our own guys cost us that game but when you look at it we could easily be 10-4 right now or 9-5. I think it is a good sign that we did show this year that we can play the top teams tough in their building now certainly it is dissapointing we did not find a way to win those games but I think that doesen't happen overnight. IMO, 2-3 yrs ago we get totally blown out in those games so I do think we are making progress.

Do we need more talent on this team? Sure we could use some. Is coaching a problem? Somewhat but I think you have to give Singletary somewhat of a pass as I do consider him a rookie HC and you have to remember how little NFL coaching experince he has. I like the fact Singletary was willing to adjust during the season and he was not affraid to make lineup changes. Some of them were bad and some of them were good. I am encouraged that Jimmy Raye showed he can adjust his offense during mid-season and showed he can design some nice plays and great creative as well. I think the fact that Raye has coached in the NFL for so long and so many differen't systems and posistions is a plus as he showed he can throw out several differen't formations/offenses. I don't think Raye is a terrible OC but my biggest problem with him is the playcalling. I think playcalling is an art in it self and im not sure Raye is a very good playcaller. I think he is a smart guy who can come with differen't formations and personal groups and design some neat plays but his playcalling is holding him back and always will/

Now I do think Raye should and deserves to be brought back, I think that Singletary-McCloughan-Raye and Alex Smith all deserve another year but they will be on the hot seat next year and let them sink or swim together.

I still think Alex Smith can get better and he showed this year he can be a good NFL starting QB but he needs to get more consistent and also needs his receivers-tight ends to not drop as many passes as they do and fight for the ball and obviously he needs a better O-Line. Do I think Alex Smith will be an elite NFL QB? No but I don't think we need him to be. We just need him to be more consistent as well as our whole offense and team to be more consistent and that is why they should/deserve to get another year in the same system.

So I say bring everyone back and everyone will be on notice next season. We have to hit home runs with our 2 1st rd picks and bring in some O-Line help in FA.
I do think we should bring back all the asssitant coaches with the possible exception of Chris Foerester but im not totally sold on firing him either.

I do feel good about this franchise moving forward, I know we keep saying wait until next year but this year we did prove we can hang with the top teams and if we can just play smarter and more consistant as well as add a few more pieces, I see no reason why we can't be a playoff team next year.

IMO, our biggest needs...O-Line, Safety, Pass rusher, Kick-punt returner, O-Line, cornerback. More on that later.

I think we need to add a vetran guard in free agency, obviously Logan Mankins would be a great addition but he may not be an UFA if there is no new deal done with the players and owners. Somehow though we need a solid vetran offensive guard (or tackle) in free agency. In the draft I think as of right now it is a lock we will take an offensive tackle with one of our 2 first round picks. Russell Okung from Oklahoma State will be gone but we should be able to have a shot at or have our pick from Trent Williams-Oklahoma, Bryan Bulaga-Iowa, Anthony Davis- Rutgers and Bruce Campbell-Maryland. Williams scares me, even though he is much better suited to play RT (which he would with us) as he has been up and down at LT this season for Oklahoma after excelling as a RT, he just seems like a boom or bust type of player to me. Im not sold on Campbell or Davis either but I do like Bulaga a lot. He isn't fancy and doesen't look the part like Williams or Campbell but I think he would be a very solid RT for us for 10+ years and is a guy who can come right in and start and do a good job. Bulaga is a guy who is tough as nails and while he may not dominate or look pretty he is a guy who is not going to get bullrushed and will do a very solid job in the running game and hold his own in pass protection.

I also think safety is a huge need. We absolutely need a safety who can cover ground and make some plays. Dashon Goldson has been hot and cold in his first season as starter and he certainly is a guy worth keeping around but Michael Lewis needs to be replaced. Will we be able to find a safety in FA or in the draft, that is the question. I would love Eric Berry but he will be long gone by the time we pick and im not crazy about Taylor Mays and I like Earl Thomas but not as a top 20 pick.

While Ahmad Brooks dissapointed vs Philly after a great performance vs Arizona, I still like him and his future but we need to add another pass rushing 3-4 OLB, one in the draft and I think one in FA, at least a solid vetran. I think a guy like Greg Ellis would have helped our team a lot.

Great post and very insightful. But let me help you. Here is your only problem. Most of the people on the 'Zone will be too lazy to read more than 3 sentences of this great article you managed to write. My recommendation for you is this. Write 4 sentences. Use bullet points, and use words that are easy for everyone to understand. For example:

---Brian Jennings is good!
---Me like Matt Wilhelm!
---When Alex Throws Interceptions that makes me a ssssad Panda (Pop Culture references are great too)

I hope this helped.

Niners baby!

Happy Holidays all.

My thoughts are we were close to puting something together but we were never able to do it. We never could get over the hump. We had the game VS indy, then the Crab fumble and then the HB pass. A good team could come back from that. VS GB we came back but we couldn't get our offense the ball back in the last 5 minutes. VS Seattle we had dropped touchdowns and too many penalties and then the fumble. I was as mad at Frank as anyone but a good team would've stopped the Seahawks after that fumble from scoring again, and would've stopped them from scoring right before the game was going to OT. Vs MN we couldn't get to Favre and he "unleashed his magic on us". VS Philly we fell apart.

Originally posted by OX49er253:
Great post and very insightful. But let me help you. Here is your only problem. Most of the people on the 'Zone will be too lazy to read more than 3 sentences of this great article you managed to write. My recommendation for you is this. Write 4 sentences. Use bullet points, and use words that are easy for everyone to understand. For example:

---Brian Jennings is good!
---Me like Matt Wilhelm!
---When Alex Throws Interceptions that makes me a ssssad Panda (Pop Culture references are great too)

I hope this helped.

Niners baby!

Happy Holidays all.

Way tooooo long, and long words too.

Right now you only need to know 2 words:

O

and

Line

Great post. I wasn't too lazy to read it all. I agree with everything you wrote..... I like the point you made about Jimmy Raye. He has to improve his play calling. I think a lot of it has to do with trusting and knowing the players. Hopefully all the wrinkles can be ironed out during training camp. It would be great if we could come out the gate next year like the Saints. You never know...........

Merry Christmas Niner Fans!!!
Go Niners!!!!

Great article I agree. This team is not very far away at all. Go 49ers!

T.O. come home, we want a super bowl and so do you before you retire. Let's finish what we started over a decade ago.

Originally posted by insanemike27:
T.O. come home, we want a super bowl and so do you before you retire. Let's finish what we started over a decade ago.

Maybe he could show VD how to drop the ball, oh wait.

Good post man.


Merry Christmas my faithful brothers and sisters!

Excellent post. You pointed out all of our problems very well. My take is almost exactly as yours when it comes what needs to be addressed. I believe that continuity is important and that not changing staff will prove beneficial in the long run, more so than most here realize. We forget that the most successful franchises adhere to one offensive and defensive philosophy and build around it, finding long term coaches and complimentary players. To me, that is the single most important thing for this franchise, moreso than the players we still need. Without continuity and a committment to one philosophy the whole team suffers, that's why I know that our problems don't start at QB with us, they start at our lack of philosophical and coaching committment.

Keeping the same staff is the best news in a long time despite the protestations of the court jesters here. Just having the committment and familiarity is a huge step forward.

I agree with everything you said except about the OLine coach. He definetly needs to go. Also Sullivan needs to go as well. So far every year he has been with the 49ers the receivers have had issues with dropped passes. Let those to position coaches go and replace them with someone who has a real tract record for developing talent. everything else is

Originally posted by backontop:
I agree with everything you said except about the OLine coach. He definetly needs to go. Also Sullivan needs to go as well. So far every year he has been with the 49ers the receivers have had issues with dropped passes. Let those to position coaches go and replace them with someone who has a real tract record for developing talent. everything else is

agreed we have so many dropped catches not juist now with brandon llpyd darell jackson antonio bryant i think sullivan is the problem

IMO Raye is severely limited by the players at his disposal. Trying to score points while having Hill unable to throw the intermediate/deep ball, Smith with his interception issues, slow wr's, only one rb worth his roster spot all while not having 3/5 of an oline might make it tough when you have 20 plays to call from instead of 80. Thats why teams always seem to know our plays, because they don't have to guess when we trot out certain personnel and formations.
I think Alex is similar to Steve DeBerg who was okay but not good or great and never was consistent. "Good enough to get you beat" as BW said.

Originally posted by Ronnie49Lott:
IMO Raye is severely limited by the players at his disposal. Trying to score points while having Hill unable to throw the intermediate/deep ball, Smith with his interception issues, slow wr's, only one rb worth his roster spot all while not having 3/5 of an oline might make it tough when you have 20 plays to call from instead of 80. Thats why teams always seem to know our plays, because they don't have to guess when we trot out certain personnel and formations.
I think Alex is similar to Steve DeBerg who was okay but not good or great and never was consistent. "Good enough to get you beat" as BW said.

I think Raye and this offense never could find their identity. I know they won some games early with very good defense, a decent running game and Hill made some throws when he had to but once Atlanta exposed him (and pretty much our whole team) the underneath stuff was taken away and he could not even get a 1st down vs Houston. So Alex Smith came in, Crabtree signed and all of a sudden you have a much differen't offensive lineup then what was expected and what we had and worked on in TC, so that is why Raye gets a pass. Like I said, Raye did show he could change things up and come up with some differen't formations and be a little more creative and aggressive but I just think Raye does not have the talent for playcalling. He is either calling to many runs in a row or to many passes, he needs to find a balance and call the right play(s) at the right time. Like I said, he deserves to be brought back in 2010 and I think our offensive players deserve to be in the same system for 2 years in a row but the playcalling has to improve as does our O-Line. I think Alex Smith can be a very solid NFL QB who we can win 10+ games with if he has the proper people around him. He is not an elite NFL QB but we are not going to find one in the off-season and he is the best we have and I think he can be good enough.