We'd survived. After all we'd been through, we'd somehow survived.
You name it, we'd endured it. A nightmarish last-second loss. A quarterback controversy. A month-long losing streak. An offensive identity-crisis. Any bump to be hit on the way to contention, it seemed we'd gone out of our way just to hit.
And yet, somehow, we'd survived.
We'd settled on an effective (if not yet spectacular) offensive scheme. We'd coupled that with a defense that suddenly looked reborn. And now, if we could just beat Seattle, who'd been chasing us all year, amazingly we'd still have a chance. We'd be six-and-six, still to play the division leader and two of the league's most awful. Okay, maybe the playoffs were a long shot. But a meaningful December? A non-losing season? These at least were within our grasp, and damned if we didn't deserve 'em.
This is a
big game, Coach Singletary. Be ready.
Opening kickoff. All right, let's go. Timeout, 49ers.
Wait, what?!
That doesn't strike me as readiness. In fact it strikes me as probably an unprecedented showing of quite the reverse. My God, Coach. What is your
purpose?!
But you know what, we'd survived that too. We'd survived that timeout, as well as two more in the next 10 minutes. (Mike Nolan was
fired, right?) We'd survived throwing and failing on third and fourth at the Seahawks' one, proving at once the death of our running game and the utter incompetence of NFL refs. We'd even survived the touchdown we'd generously given Seattle, by way of our spiffy punt-return reverse, which under the circumstances was so ludicrously risky that every man who called it and ran it should be put on the nearest train. (And until the train comes back with Allen Rossum, I think we should stop fielding punts altogether.)
Somehow, we'd survived all that. Thankfully, we'd stayed with the spread, throwing on virtually every down. Alex Smith had looked sharp; he'd go on to put up a second straight rating above 95 and to break 300 yards for the first time ever. (Unbelievably, the first time ever.) The offensive line had done well; Smith would drop back 45 times and be sacked only once. We hadn't sustained many drives, thanks in large part to the starts at the 8, the 5, the 6, and the 13. We'd dropped some passes, and our third-down percentage was awful as ever (we'd finish 1 for 13). And the worst news was, we'd scored only twice. But going into the fourth quarter, the score was tied, and everyone watching knew what should happen.
We were better. And we should win.
Incredibly, though, those early gaffes were just the warm-up, setting the stage for the hellish main-event. It was the fourth quarter. The season was on the line. And we simply, totally imploded.
FIRST DRIVE. Starting at the two, the worst spot yet. But now we started rolling, thanks of course to Smith and his trusty receivers. Smith to Vernon Davis for 7 and 17. Smith to Michael Crabtree for another 17. And Josh Morgan around left end for 20. After a pass to
Frank Gore picked up 11, we were set up nicely at the Seahawks' 26.
For the next play, though, we came out in a tight formation with Smith under center and Gore in the back. We knew what was coming; Gore was going up the middle. Those long early-season runs now barely a memory, this was just a wasted play, balance just for the sake of it. Fine. Let Gore get his two yards, and then we'll get back to trying to score.
The good news, of course, was that Gore gained
four. But then of course he fumbled, the return went 43 yards, and Seattle went ahead by three.
I'll give you a topic. Our running game versus our punt-return game. And no, death isn't an option. Discuss.
SECOND DRIVE. Starting at our 36, seven plays. All passes, all out of the gun. But the only one that matters is the sixth, on second and four at the Seattle 16. Smith throws into the end zone to Davis. The ball goes right through his hands and hits him in the facemask. After pressure causes an incompletion on third down, we're forced to settle for a tying field-goal.
Davis's explanation: "I didn't know where he was throwing it." But what's the big mystery, Vern? You were in the end zone. You were open. He was throwing it to you, and specifically at your hands. Where the hell
else would he throw it?!
Davis has made some huge catches this year, but none of those was any more important than that drop.
THIRD DRIVE. Starting at the 11, only 51 seconds left. Okay. In this spot, there's one goal that simply
must be achieved. Scoring would be great, and if we were at the 40 we would surely need to try. But down here, that's not the goal. The goal is, we
cannot give Seattle yet another chance to score.
After all this passing, now's the time to run. You run on first down, and make Seattle call its second timeout. You run on second down, and make Seattle call its third timeout. You run on third down, and then, if you even
need to call another play, you punt as time expires, and you take your chance in overtime.
First down, not only a pass, but Gore neglects to stay in bounds. Second and three, not only a pass, but an incomplete pass. Third and three, not only a pass, but a
deep pass, and an incomplete pass that probably should've been picked. After the punt, Seattle gets the ball at midfield with 21 seconds and two timeouts. One 32-yard strike against our seventh DB, some guy named Keith Smith, and that was that.
You can only shake your head. We'd lost game after game by running when we should've passed. It only makes sense that it all would end by passing when we should've run.
In a collapse like this, no one escapes the blame. But when I look at these players, I see plenty of hope. Smith might never live up to the #1 pick, but still he's proven a lot of us wrong. Crabtree, Morgan, and Davis could be an elite receiving group for the better part of the next decade. On D, Patrick Willis is the best there is, so constantly great that it's not even news. There are pieces here, working to reach their collective potential.
Of course, they'll reach that potential only if they're properly coached, and here again I wonder what it is we've got in Singletary.
He jumped out of the frying pan of his offensive stupor, only to land in the fire of everything else. Fittingly, in this last meaningful game, we saw it all: the lack of preparation, the wasting of timeouts, the ridiculous playcalling, the awful clock-management. The simple inability to just control the game. Motivator or no, this was amateur hour for a coach who's simply got no excuse for that.
We all want continuity. We all want an end to the shuffling of regimes. But now. Now that the promises of playoffs are empty. Now that the slogans and billboards are hollow. Now that we're finished, with a capital F, we've gotta ask the question.
If the best reason to keep your coach is simply that he's already here...
...is there really a reason to keep him at all?
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Scappman
Amen Jeff! Like it or not, Sing aspires to coach like Iron Mike Ditka did with Chicago in the 80's. Run the ball and don't take chances with the pass. Clearly that offensive philosophy cannot compete with today's high-powered offenses that can strike to beat you from anywhere on the field. The Viking loss ring a bell? So Sing lives in the past, not comfortable at all with today's style of open aerial attacks, even if it means winning games. Sing is stubborn and his will has held the offense back all year and will continue to do so as long as young Jed York sits on his thumb. We've seen what a creative, relentless offense has done for the Saints. What if the 49ers' offense were allowed to soar? Fear of losing, fear of making a change will plague this team for years to come. Even though Jed says he talks with Eddie D. regularly, he must not listen. Eddie wouldn't stand for the coaching nonsense we've had all year. So Jed is more of a York than a DeBartolo and the once-great 49ers have found 7-9 to be a lofty goal each year. So Jed, continue with our current pig-headed-gibberish-talking head coach and reaching the playoffs will be a thing of the past.
Dec 14, 2009 at 2:55 AM
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namron
Jeff, your tirades have become tiresome. I understand the frustration that you have with some of singletary's game day decisions, but the rationale behind saying that we need to kick the tires and find someone else lacks any foresight. I say this because the only rookie head coach you could name who is doing anything with his team is Mcdaniels. You named 1 out of all of the rookie coaches in the league that has a winning record. The last i checked the broncos are no shoo-in for a playoff spot either. It seems that you have a knack for waiting for a loss and then trying to blame the entire loss on singletary. The coach does not block, tackle, or catch. Blame him for in-game decisions but not for fumbles, dropped passes, and missed assignments that lead to big plays.....
Dec 11, 2009 at 6:33 PM
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AJ Bolino
Jeff, that's fine with me, amigo. Oh...and Terry, until recently, I had been referring to our team as the 7 and 9ers.
Dec 10, 2009 at 9:53 AM
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Terry B.
A.J., where did I say that you invented those nicknames? My critique was that you were using them, which is unprofessional. Do you refer to our team as the "69ers" or the "forty whiners"? I didn't think so. My point was simply that if you want to be taken seriously as a columnist, you need to stop using labels that most of us gave up in the third grade. Yes, I'm aware that Denver beat the Bengals on a last second tip play. My point was that they were only in a position to do so because they held the Bengals to 7 points, a feat that no other team has managed to do. Here are Cincinnati's point totals from their other games: 31, 23, 23, 17, 17, 45, 17, 18, 17, 16, 23. You also seem to have forgotten that all of the national prognosticators were picking the Broncos to win 3 or 4 games, and they were called foolish for trading away next year's first round pick, which was certain to be a top five pick. McDaniels exceeded all expectations for the season before September was over. I guess I'm failing to see where the overrating comes in. Who exactly was overrating Josh McDaniels this year? He was uniformly vilified from what I saw.
Dec 10, 2009 at 8:25 AM
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joelv
Sing would have been better off coaching this team 3-4 years ago. With the talent level starting to improve his mistakes have become glaring, whereas a few years ago they wouldn't have mattered as much. The inability to change the offensive schemes in the first half in both Houston and Green Bay really ended our year. The final blow was the punt reverse in Seattle. How can a Head Coach go through a game not being involved in any offensive or defensive play calling? Exactly what is he doing on the sidelines? He struggles to comment on the play of any players until he sees the film... that I believe is a little bit of "Smoke." Staying with Singletary another year will most likely set this team back another 3 or 4 years. He has not improved since last year... his game day decisions have actually been getting worse. Remember this is professional football not high school... the learning curve for the Head Coach should be from March to July. He might be a nice guy but he just doesn't have what it takes. Also a 7-9 season is a brutal result with respect to our schedule this year.
Dec 9, 2009 at 10:42 PM
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AJ Bolino
Terry, as much as I'd like to, I can't take credit for cool nicknames like "Gints", "Bungles", "Brownies", "Cowgirls", "Chokeland", etc. That would far exceed the threshold of my "un-professionalism" as it were. Now to your points: First...McDaniels won his first game on a miracle tip-catch-run by Brandon Stokely....remember? I'd call that a miracle. And I still think he's overrated. Could I be wrong? Sure...but why don't we let the season play out and see how that goes shall we? Next...Singletary and McDaniels had completely different situations to start the season...calling their situations identical, is just plain silly. I expected this Niner team to go 9-7 under the best of circumstances, so perhaps my expectations were a little more realistic than yours. To conclude...McDaniels will not get Coach of the Year Honors...those will likely go to Mr. Payton or Mr. Caldwell...and Sing won't be fired. If nothing else, he's managed to do in half a season what Nolan couldn't do in four: create a situation that has gotten the team's biggest question mark since 2005 to start playing like a starting NFL QB. He'll still be here next season...and so will I. Happy Holidays.
Dec 9, 2009 at 7:52 PM
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Terry B.
A.J., a bit of advice: if you're going to consider yourself a columnist, you might want to try a modicum of professionalism and refer to other NFL teams by their proper names instead of engaging in juvenile, unfunny name calling. As for your arguments: holding the Bengals to seven points at home is a miracle? Responding to a player who charges you and threatens to kick your ass, is trash talking? And have you forgotten that Singletary has already had to apologize for trash talking opposing players? Also, has it occurred to you that the Chargers are a much better team than the Broncos, and McDaniels was still able to achieve a split? The mark of a good coach is that he gets the most out of his players and exceeds expectations. McDaniels is doing it; Singletary is not. Is every coach with a worse record than the Broncos a bad or overrated coach? By your own standards, Singletary is a terrible coach. Look at his pathetic record under your own criteria. McDaniels will receive coach of the year consideration and rightly so. The only consideration Singletary will receive is whether he should be fired. Don't blind yourself to what's happening right in front of your eyes.
Dec 9, 2009 at 6:25 PM
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Dan
Frank Gore let us down last sunday. He dropped passes that should have gone for badly needed 1st downs. He fumbled the ball. I didn't see the stunt that was fumbled by the punt return team, but that sounds like it was bad too. Some of the responsibility does need to go to the coach for these things but how much? Does he play too conservative, or does he take too many risks? Tell me which is it? I think the play calling is still a bit predictable. Next year there will be no excuses.
Dec 9, 2009 at 3:22 PM
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AJ Bolino
Terry...while you are entitled to your opinion, make no mistake...McDaniels is overrated. For his smack talk and subsequent bludgeoning at the hands of the Chargers, he is a putz. Don't believe me? Fine. Let's hit rewind: McDaniels has beaten the Bungles, Brownies, Chokeland Raiders, Cowgirls, Pats, Chargers, Gints and Chefs. He has lost to the Redskins, Steelers, Ravens, and Chargers. His win vs. the Bungles was a colossal fluke. That stated his quality wins were against the Giants, Cowgirls and Chargers. The Gints are hardly a power house this season, the Cowgirls have been as wishy washy as my ex-wife, and the Chargers followed up their defeat by drubbing the Broncos at home, 32-3. Looks like I just supported my assertion, huh? So...let me restate...McDaniels is an overrated putz. Jeff...if you are calling either Shanny, Chuckie, or Holmgren offensive geniuses or brilliant tacticians...then we disagree...big time. Holmgren was a great OC and a pretty good coach...and favors the wrong system for our team. If you bring back the WCO and Holmgren, Smith is done, and we get a 3 year re-build. C'mon, bro. I know you can do better than that.
Dec 9, 2009 at 1:47 PM
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Terry B.
Jeff, I agree with everything you said. It's unfortunate, but Singletary has to go. As you said, being a rookie head coach is no excuse. Sure, some things are forgivable as rookie mistakes, but Singletary is showing that he simply does not possess the basic skills to be a head coach. You were right to cite Josh McDaniels as a good example of how successful a rookie head coach can be; he's both exceeding expectations and showing that he understands all aspects of the game. A.J., your criticisms of McDaniels are way off base. As a columnist, as opposed to a mere poster, you should hold yourself to a higher standard and not just blurt out unsupported assertions such as "McDaniels is an overrated putz...check out his record against quality opponents." Here is a link for you. The web site coldhardfootballfacts.com keeps what they call "quality standings," which measures how teams do solely against quality opponents. You will note that the Broncos are in first, and the site states that "Denver boasts five Quality Wins, easily the most in the NFL right now."
Dec 9, 2009 at 8:20 AM
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Omar Garcia
I do agree that the season as a whole has been a big giant rollercoaster, and that some of the losses as hard as they've been are caused by the coaching staff for lack of preparation or clock management (Minnesota and Seattle come to my mind) though unfortunately that is part of having a rookie HC. nonetheless this coaching has shown improvements in players and playmaking, and as hard as it is to accept it removing it will be a mistake. Alex has improved more than I expected, and I was a fan that wanted to get him out of the team before the season even started. Yes we need help but i think an assistant to the HC with experience might be the thing we are missing, even as a consultant (Gruden, Holmgren, Shanahan could do that). If Sanchez needs help learning how to slide, then I say let's give Sing some help to make the right decisions when the time comes. I hate to have to wait to see if this experiment might work, but if we gave Nolan 5 years to waste we can at least give Sing a couple.
Dec 9, 2009 at 7:31 AM
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Pierre
Well i must say i almost totally agree on what is said but one sing ... oops ... THING! "Smith has proven a lot of us wrong" I don't agree. He just proved that a lot of OCs were wrong trying to make him play in an offense that didn't fit him! And that i must say is the ONLY positive thing that came out of Raye: showing us that one thing. Now thanks jimmy and "be gone with him" (yep if you think it's a reference to star wars and me comparing Raye to Jar Jar you were right!) That gives me an idea for "the greatest thread" ...
Dec 8, 2009 at 11:46 PM
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AJ Bolino
Jeff, the radio show would be fun...I can think of worse things to do than talk football! Now to your points...I believe that Sing has had worse games than the one in Seattle...like the home game against the Falcons, for example. I am also less inclined to get on him for the time outs in the first half...especially after hearing that Jim Mora Jr. was shuffling in late substitutions...something his Dad was infamous for. When I compare this last game to Sing's very first real game as head coach, I can't help but think he's gotten better...he knew where the ball was spotted on the last play of the game. I'd get into McDaniels, but I think he's an overrated putz...and if you look at his record against QUALITY opponents, you'd think so, too. BTW...if you think the Pats are a quality opponent, take a look at their road record. The Broncos' win over the Pats wasn't a sign of how good the Broncos have become...it was a sign of how far the Pats have fallen. Now to your suggestion of Mike Shanahan as HC...are you serious? Shanny couldn't get it done after Elway and Davis retired. I'd say Gruden, but he won with a team Dungy built, then ran it into the ground. Billick? Hell no. Any others?
Dec 8, 2009 at 10:00 PM
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SanFranAddic
Great title, Jeff! I got your next one right here: "Fired, with an F!"
Dec 8, 2009 at 6:50 PM
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DK
Don't mean to be a spelling nazi here but don't you mean "We've survived?" you said We'd: "We did survived. After all we did been through." As far as firing sing, who do you intend on bringing here? Shanahan, who hasn't been anything without Elway. Holmgren, does he want to be here? Smith has finally shown what he can be and you want to get rid of sing (and along with him, the staff) and start over with (probably) a west coast system. That's like starting all over again especially having the team learn ANOTHER offensive system. I want to see what these guys can be in the same system for more than 6 months. You can't see how players and coaches will grow firing people everytime something goes wrong.
Dec 8, 2009 at 5:00 PM
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AJ Bolino
Jeff...I'll defy you right back. First...we all knew we were getting a rookie Head Coach when Sing was hired. That is what it is. Has he gotten better? Yes. Will he continue to improve? For the Niners' sake, I hope so. I'll leave you with two questions: first...is this team better now than it was when Sing took it over? Yes. I defy you to argue otherwise. Next...who would we replace Sing with? Name a more competent option that is available, and would be willing to come here.
Dec 8, 2009 at 1:45 PM
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ed
there are very few people who are visionaries...fewer that will do what they have to do before it turns into a situation that cannot be corrected. this is the year that three coaches are available with 49er roots. one of these days people will have to see that the bad karma will never go away until we stop playing around and get back to our roots. it's the one thing we haven't tried...Walsh must turn over in his grave watching this franchise not see what is so obvious.
Dec 8, 2009 at 1:41 PM
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Nick S.
People are wondering why Jeff wants Sing gone. Maybe it is because he has the same issues that Nolan had on game days. Granted, Singletary has the entire team playing harder/better in general, but it is the game day management that is killing this team. A head coach should know when a trick play is being called on a punt return. Apparently, Al Everest called this play on his own (trusting Battle & Jones with trickery... why I'll never know). That simply should not happen. Add into that Singletary's lack of ability to inject any input into the offensive game plan besides "run more please" or "pass more please" and you are looking at a head coach that has cost us at least two games this season (Minnesota & Seattle). I'm not saying we should necessarily fire Singletary, but the notion of wanting someone better should not be dismissed either.
Dec 8, 2009 at 12:58 PM
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Paul
Jeff, I do not understand why anyone would settle for less than the best. And that goes for all things in life. The best wife, the best job, the best house, you get my drift. So what is it about this coach, why do so many fans want to settle for less than the best? I can only hope that "York The Younger" was brought up with the desire for the best or else we are in for more of the same.
Dec 8, 2009 at 12:47 PM
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Ninerdawg
Jeff, you constantly bash Sing/Raye. I don't see why you want to change coaches again. Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, have definitely improved under Sing's watch. All the Alex Smith supporters should be glad they have Sing, bc I was one of the 1st ones to want to give Alex Smith the boot, but he is definitely making strides under Raye. When Sing hired Raye, I'll bet you anything, it came from our GM, that they find someone who can help Alex Smith resemble anything of a #1 pick. I also believe that's what ran off other OC candidates, knowing Alex Smith was the QB, and the offense would be limited. To me, when you ask for a coaching change, that means you have a talented team, but not playing to their potential, and you need a savvy enough coach to take them there. This last game was clearly on the players, and their lack of focus, and not coming up with big plays. Everybody throws out Shanahan, Gruden, Holmgren, it's a reason they're not coaching right now, Gruden took a Tony Dungy built team to the SB, and did nothing else after that, just look at the Bucs now! Didn't we beat Denver when Shanahan was coaching, and killed ther playoff spot? Holmgren might be a good consultant, but not HC.
Dec 8, 2009 at 9:26 AM
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AJ Bolino
So...you want to bounce Sing, huh? Have you even the faintest notion what that would do to this team? Our QB? Any of the progress we've made? Christ on a cracker! Lighten up, and realize that it was going to take more than one season to get this team turned around. If Sing is fired, or Jimmy Raye let go, we'd be lucky to get Daffy Duck to head things up for us. Am I bummed that we missed the playoffs? You bet. Do I recognize that with a bit of tinkering, this team could be really good? Damn straight. Why don't we see how the season finishes out before we knee jerk our way into an even worse predicament than the one we're in. Sound good?
Dec 8, 2009 at 8:34 AM
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Tony Mobley
"Finished" wasn't the F-word I was thinking at the end of this game, but you're close enough.
Dec 8, 2009 at 7:01 AM