Go ahead. Admit it.
It's not your fault. After all, EVERYTHING was pointing our way. The Niners were on the rise; the Seahawks were rebuilding. The Niners were expecting a division title; the Seahawks were expecting another high draft-pick. And when we grabbed an interception on Seattle's first play, you couldn't help but think we were ready. You couldn't help but think, despite all these years of phony starts and broken vows: this time, it's real.
Go ahead. Admit it.
Once again, you believed.
Slowly but surely, the lie was exposed. Our first play indeed was
Frank Gore up the middle, proving how much our O had "evolved." And then, after Alex Smith had thrown for a first down, when our momentum now was just kicking in, I thought I heard it. I sat up, totally certain I must've heard wrong. But no, there it was, a cancer in my ears....
Timeout, 49ers.
My jaw dropped. You might remember: last December, on this field, our first timeout came just six seconds in. After the opening kickoff, of all things. This time, at least, we made it through 1:21.
I guess you could say we're improving. But it's then that I knew.
We weren't ready. This wouldn't end well.
And this was BEFORE a series of red-zone follies so thoroughly awful it toyed with absurd. First drive: on third-and-goal at the six, Smith bails out to Gore for a gain of one, and we're forced to settle for three. Second drive (after our D forces a three-and-out): Gore gets stuffed on third-and-ONE at the six, and though Mike Singletary does right to go for it--and PASS for it--Smith botches the throw to a wide-open man. Third drive (after our D forces ANOTHER three-and-out): on third-and-goal at the two, we send Moran Norris up the middle, a play with literally no chance of success. And then, though Singletary again wants to go for it, the players aren't lined up in time, and having wasted all THREE of our timeouts by now, we're forced to accept the penalty and the field goal.
A competent team is up 21-zip. We're up six.
Couldn't you clearly see what was coming?
From there the collapse was swift. The D earns itself a THIRD three-and-out, but a bad call on Nate Clements keeps the drive going. Four plays later, Clements gambles (as he does) and loses (as he does), and one play later the 'Hawks have the lead. On our next drive, Smith throws high to Michael Crabtree, who's utterly lost in space. One play after the interception, Tarell Brown makes the same gamble that Clements made--with the same result--and just like that it's 14-6. On our first drive after halftime, Smith again throws high at Crabtree, and this time the pick goes all the way back.
And, from there, we simply quit.
The defeat was total, and totally humiliating. After an efficient (though dinky) start, Smith faced constant pressure and reverted to his panicky roots, posting a rating of 53. With nowhere to go, Gore rushed for only 38 yards, and afterward he glumly observed, "It looked like they came in to stop the run." (Better get used to THAT, Frank.) Despite a makeshift Seattle line, our front seven barely touched Matt Hasselbeck, who posted a rating of over a hundred. And we've already discussed the reckless coverage.
The players, of course, were awful. Smith raised all the old questions, Crabtree could be serious trouble, the offensive line was as bad as last year's, and Drew Brees can't wait to go after our D. But c'mon. We're more talented than Seattle, and everyone knows it. And in the opening game of a crucial year, we simply weren't ready to play.
And only one man is to blame for that.
Though the game itself was embarrassing, it had nothing on Singletary's comments after. If he were anything like the character he plays, he'd never, ever offer excuses. But given the pressure he's under this year, his performance in this game was clearly his worst. And even though he's got Jed in his pocket, he's got no interest in facing the heat.
So there he was, thanking the Seahawks for giving his players some much-needed "medicine." There he was, blaming his players for being overconfident and overwhelmed. And worst of all, there he was, blaming Smith's HELMET for our clock-management issues, bewildered why this technical difficulty "just happens to us."
Nothing, you see, was the head coach's fault.
And that's why, though the Niners indeed were truly pathetic, Singletary himself was so much worse. The Great Motivator, exposed as a fraud. The master of accountability, exposed as a hypocrite.
The great and powerful Oz, finally exposed.
Back at home, he tried to save face. In a meeting with his players, he tried to "clear the air" about throwing 'em under the bus; it's unknown whether he took any blame. He also admitted--after Smith boldly debunked the helmet theory--the plays were going in too slow, and he vowed to "figure it out and nip it in the bud."
Understand this. A defect in the most basic aspect of coaching. An inability to consistently do what any HIGH SCHOOL team can do. He had this problem last season. He had it this preseason.
And until this week, he didn't know he had it at all.
But don't worry. Now that he's on it--and now that, you know, this crucial season's underway--NOW he'll "figure it out." (Of course, if the plays are lame or the players can't run 'em, it hardly matters how fast they're called.) These players and coaches--sniping already--will "stay together," and they'll find some way to be "a very good football team."
You know what, Coach? I don't believe you. I don't believe a word you say. I don't believe you've got a clue what you're doing.
And that's the bottom line, the end result of this fiasco. By all means, prove me wrong. Show me you can pick up the pieces, in time for the champs on Monday night. Give me even a kernel of truth.
'Cause one game in, it's all in flames, and I do not believe.
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Marge
I was seriously at DefCon 5 until I saw this post.
Jul 17, 2011 at 2:08 AM
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Terry B.
Just when I thought things couldn't possibly get worse, you channel Ronald Reagan.
Sep 20, 2010 at 11:58 AM
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Dan
There you go again...
Sep 20, 2010 at 9:35 AM
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Terry B.
Congratulations, Dan, you've finally figured me out. I believe that I'm superior to all mankind, and I've decided to demonstrate my superiority by arguing with homers in the comments section to a column on a San Francisco 49ers fan site. That'll show the world. Dan, a bit of advice. Before you hit the "Submit Feedback" button, take a few deep breaths, quiet your mind, and bring yourself to a place of peace. Then go back and read what you've written and ask yourself if it makes any sense. You will save yourself much embarrassment this way. Now that you've calmed down, go back and read your last post. I called you a hypocrite for criticizing me for something and then turning around and doing the same thing yourself. You responded that you're not a hypocrite because I did the thing you criticized me for first. Yes, Dan, hard as it is to believe, you really did write that. Embarrassing, isn't it? BTW, did you catch the Seahawks game yesterday? Certainly looked like a team that the favorite in the NFC West should be able to handle easily.
Sep 20, 2010 at 7:46 AM
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Dan
Terry, you missed the whole point of my comment: You aren't superior to anyone. Not me, not NinerTico, not Mike Singletary, not even G.W. Bush. What kind of person is going to point out that Singletary isn't your coach unless you're on the team? If the guy wants to call him our head coach, fine. He feels as if he's the 12th man, part of the team, that's his coach. I will defend the guy because I don't like your attitude. You can call me names all you want, you're wrong. I'm not a hypocrite for doing what you did first. That's like calling someone a hypocrite for jumping in a fight after pointing out that you started it. You did, you always do and I'm jumping in. Because you're wrong. A-head is an accurate description for you. Don't cry about me calling you names, that might make you a hypocrite. Also I don't see Singletary getting fired yet, so you can hold those party plans. I hope you have a day that matches the tone of your post. I don't think anyone cares about your logic anyway mister Spock. Save it for the Romulans.
Sep 18, 2010 at 5:43 PM
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Terry B.
Dan, congratulations on elevating the level of your discourse from "the next time you see Brees and your mouth is open tell him to bring it" to the simple "A-Head." What you've lost in rhetorical flourish, you make up for in economy of prose. At this rate, you'll be the next David Foster Wallace in no time. Dan, your hypocrisy really knows no bounds does it? First you criticize me for defending Jeff on the grounds that he can defend himself, and then you jump in and defend NinerTico. However, since your defense of him is to agree that his views are not logical, I suspect he'd rather you kept your thoughts to yourself. It does not surprise me that you've decided to make yourself the webzone's champion of illogic. Anyway, I was not "chastising" him. I was merely pointing out the illogic of saying that you support someone solely because of that person's title. If this is your position, then you would support Singletary even if he drove the team into ruin. Why not say you support him because you think he's got the team on the right track? That would be wrong but at least it would make sense. According to you, supporting someone solely because of his title shows great character. I disagree. When George W. Bush was driving the country into ruin, what showed more character, speaking out against him or saying that you support him solely because he's the president? I don't know if you emerged from the homer world this weekend, but if you did you would have noticed that Singletary was making the 49ers the laughingstock of the NFL. From not being able to get the plays in on time (in his second season!), to calling out his players, from looking for a "rat," to calling a Yahoo! article a "Dad Gum Yahoo Commerical," he was the butt of jokes everywhere. Then he was caught making up lies about the headsets. What a week. But you just keep supporting this, Dan. I know you'll be happy and proud no matter what. I just hope Jed is capable of being disappointed.
Sep 18, 2010 at 4:04 PM
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Dan
@Terry B. You realize you are chastizing NinerTico for trusting someone he believes can lead a winning team, right? The fact that you don't understand why doesn't surprise me. You wouldn't. It's not a good thing either, so you can stop acting like you're all superior. The fact that you troll this post area and cut down everyone who voices their support for the coach does not suggest superiority. It pretty much makes you no better than the people whose opinions you fervently try to distort, discredit, and discard with faulty logical reasoning. Of course you don't understand the logic of "he's our head coach so I support him." It wasn't meant to be a logical statement. It was more a statement of character. It was a statement saying more than a logical reason. It said, I'm standing behind this team through thick and thin. I'm standing behind the coach even though he had a bad game. I am not going to abandon my support of my team and my team's coach (who he can refer to as his head coach if he wants to, A-Head. It's a comment post based on informal opinion, for God's sake) because of one really, really horrible stinker of a disappointing, lousy game. There's nothing wrong with that.
Sep 18, 2010 at 10:14 AM
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Terry B.
NinerTico: You state that "he's our head coach so I support him." I just don't understand that logic. Under that standard, we could have 15 more games exactly like this one and you would still support him. I understand rooting for him to get a clue and improve, but supporting him solely because he's the coach makes no sense. (There's a more fundamental problem with your statement, of course. Mike Singletary is not your head coach, unless NinerTico is a pseudonym for one of the players.) There's obviously nothing wrong with loving the team, supporting it, and rooting for it every week. We all do. But to offer your unqualified support to a head coach who in his second season can't even get the plays in on time makes no sense at all.
Sep 16, 2010 at 1:24 PM
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NinerTico
TerryB! You a funny guy. LOL My post says nothing of "convincing" me to continue to support Singletary. Instead, I did blame him. He is ultimately responsible. However, he's our head coach so I support him. I have faith he will turn it around. He's done it before. Of course I should be burned at the stake, right? WTH is wrong with me supporting my team when the chips are down? There isn't. I love my team and will continue to do so until someone else comes along and I root for them! By the way, I have said this in many posts. On Sunday, we were the laughingstock of the NFL and Singletary must answer to that, accept, and fix it. He will. Go Niners!!!!!!!!
Sep 16, 2010 at 9:33 AM
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Niner Swagg
For the nonbelievers that don't believe in the coaching staff or the team and don't think the niners can turn this thing around after ONE game, you need to take your a#$ across the Bay and be a raiders fan. I heard they were looking for a few good fans. Niners for life!
Sep 16, 2010 at 6:01 AM
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Danthemanuk
Well said. It was really embarrassing, after 8 months of hype, to watch that game. Being a fan in England I rely on the internet for news and don't get a real sense of what it's like to hang out with fans and what-not so to have MASSIVE expectations shot down so quickly was truly heartbreaking. I support the Niners no matter what, but it is soooooo difficult to support a coaching unit that can't coach and players who can't play. Not all of them, but Smith was terrible and Crabtree was more of a hindrance than a help. It'll be reeeeaaally interesting to see the Saints game...
Sep 15, 2010 at 9:22 AM
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Joeymac49s
I agree 100%. One question, where was Westbrook during the game? Have J. Raye or Sing. seen him play at all?? The guy delivers when a big play is needed. Why are we not letting him try? Obviously running up the middle wasn't working, obviously 3-yard dump-off passes every other play wasn't working, why not get a game-changer in there and see what he can do. This is a reason I really wanted a dynamic playmaker in the draft. e.g., Dez Bryant (who will be better than Crabtree mark my words), Spiller, Best, hell even a McCluster. Why don't we like fast players? D. Jackson comes to mind. Thank god we solidified our line taking a player who everyone knew came out a year too early. How's he doing for us?? However, after ALL this my biggest problem comes down to Smith. I have never been a Smith basher but watching him play compared to Sam Bradford, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan or Matthew Stafford is sickening and they're years younger than him. I can't take watching him as my QB any longer.
Sep 14, 2010 at 11:39 PM
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Dan B
This team doesn't deserve me as a fan.... I should have realized after the draft when we didn't draft one player that was built to help the passing game (off, def). Picks #11 #13-Run-grading maulers. #49-Bad in coverage, great against the run. Bowman-A very poor man's Willis. and the list goes on. Byham, Dixon....literally everyone on this effing team is run-oriented. Yet no great teams are built for the run. Yeah some have great runners but they're usually in the presence of good passers. Mark my words jeff. 2 years! 2 years before singletary and his failed philosophy is gone with him. I literally hate that man! FYI-I have just reached the acceptance stage!
Sep 14, 2010 at 11:14 PM
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Telecat
Jeff, remember what we've written about before? It's all coming to pass. I can only imagine what state of apoplexy Jed is in right now. If it was Eddie, only two words would apply to Dumb, Dumber and Li'l Abner. "They're gone." With regard to the question of "who are you going to bring in," I think you could bring in Penn and Teller and get more wins than we'll get with Dumb and Dumber. Certainly it couldn't be any worse. What I wouldn't give to have Eddie D back. One thing I've discovered is many who blindly support Dumb, Dumber and Li'l Abner are too young to remember when the 49ers were winning Super Bowls and dominating every opponent. They are not familiar with the high standards of those teams, nor are they familiar with the smart, tough, fast and athletic football played by those great teams. They're dumb like Dumbletary. Walsh himself said it best. "Every time some guy thinks he's rough and tough...four out of five of those guys get their asses KICKED, because they're dumb." He was talking about Singletary's '84 Bears. I'll take Bill's brand of football and the trophies it brings over dumb football and one trophy, every time.
Sep 14, 2010 at 9:26 PM
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Shane
StL 9er fan: don't feel bad bro, i was once like you, loved Jeff's writing but wld always argue for the positives (that's called the denial phase, right Jeff?) i have now hit acceptance. My best friend even said to me sunday i can't believe how well you're taking this. well it's simple, the pain has just become too much to bear and i have gone into shock, i'm numb. How anyone can argue anything other than that was a complete train wreck, i wld love to watch the games at your house so i can smoke some of that too cuz you're high if anyone thinks there is anything good to take from that. even when we were doing "good" we cldnt get a playcall in. we still never took a shot downfield. we still ran Gore up the gut everytime. (btw coach, we do have westbrook just in case you forgot, i know you have too much on your plate as it is.) Raye is garbage. he is lost! he doesn't even know what to call. Worst part is Sing was RIGHT to go for it on those 4th downs but now he won't cuz the execution wasn't there. Anyone that has been arguing pro-sing/raye... there it is. There is nothing left to say. Just one game? STOP. these are all the same problems from all last year!!! that was game 17! just awful.
Sep 14, 2010 at 8:55 PM
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rjberryx
Playcalling needs fixing - fast. But you are all stupid to call for firings after one game - yeah, the whole pack of you - group think! Say we did fire Raye and Sing - who you gonna bring in on short (no) notice to make things better? Think people. Or are you all just too impatient with your instant-fix mentality to wait for 3 or 4 games to draw properly weighted conclusions?
Sep 14, 2010 at 7:26 PM
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BBAWOODY
Ok,ok,ok......just calm down people. I was just as pissed as you all after the 9ers' disgusting mockery of a football team sunday afternoon. Yes, I said here we go again, "same ol' niners"....but then I had to calm myself down and think, DAL, IND, MIN, and SD all lost on the road, most to division rivals, and were all expected to win their divisions (with the exception of MIN) easily. Look, expectations are usually overblown and overinflated. I know the 9ers faced the worst (on paper) of the teams that won, they still dominated the game with the exception of that 7 minute stretch when SEA scored 28 points. Yes they have to capitalize on their RED ZONE opportunities and not turn the ball over, but I STILL believe that they will be successful and WIN THE WEST, THIS YEAR! The Cards lost their opening games the last 2 years, to US, and still won the west, so a bad start virtually means nothing. The 9ers now have NOTHING TO LOSE on monday and EVERYTHING TO GAIN. If they can pull out a win against NO what will we ALL be saying? 1) "WHERE WAS THAT LAST SUNDAY?", or 2) "I KNEW IT ALL THE TIME". Don't give up on them yet, at least not until you hear the "FAT LADY" warming up.
Sep 14, 2010 at 4:41 PM
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steve
Jeff you are saying what everyone that is a Niner fan already knows. Props to you, you said it last yr. and you said it again this yr. Unfortunately for the niners it does not matter how good the players are or not. If your coaching staff is incompetent it doesn't matter. How pathetic is it knowing your players are busting their butts this pre-season, working hard because they believe in themselves only to realize their coaching staff is going to ruin their season. I really feel bad for this team, i can tell they worked hard this offseason. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do when their head coach is incompetent. Doesn't matter how many times you rep the plays, if you are too damn stupid to even get the playcall to your quarterback. I feel for you alex, i don't think a professional quarterback has ever had two bigger frauds for a head coach (Nolan and Singletary) than you.
Sep 14, 2010 at 3:08 PM
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Bahamian49er
It's a sad reality 9er fans, our team is going to go 0-5. Question is, will they axe Sing halfway thru a season like they did Nolan? There's no way the Saints will lose on a Monday night. The Chiefs are back, fast & dangerous as ever. & after the numbers ATL put up last year in SF, you think a road victory is within reach there? Phili?! 9ers haven't beat Phili since 02 or 03? I don't see a victory for the 9ers until 10/17 vs. the Raiders. The schedule eases up down the road. Let's just hope they show some resilience. Someone in the front office needs to wake up & realize that money spent on a veteran QB is money well spent=McNabb. Think McNabb would've looked that disastrous in Seattle? If there's a quality veteran QB out there next year, PLEASE SIGN THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 14, 2010 at 2:00 PM
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munch52
Jeff, I always enjoy your articles... man i think you really nailed this one. I'm from Louisiana, and it's hard being a niner fan in saints country. But i'm not a believer of sing... At some point if we keep losing, he will lose this team. I'll be attending the ATL game...with my signs ready (sing...must go!) if this nonsense doesn't stop.
Sep 14, 2010 at 1:34 PM
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STL Niner Fan
During the preseason I posted several negative comments to your gloom-and-doom pieces. And again, while I'm not a big proponent of projecting success/failure from preseason results....sigh....dammit you were right man. This utter debacle we witnessed on Sunday was the worst possible showing we could have made. Nothing was any different from last year....nothing....in fact Smith himself played worse than last year. A whole offseason and preseason seemingly wasted. How could you not be ready to play this first game? You had 8 months to prepare for this game? WTF? Damn me for buying into the hype that Smith will be better, that the playcalling will evolve into something more dynamic and less predictable. I surely thought that after 8 months of preparing for a new season the coaching staff would actually look back on last year's mistakes and try to correct them. WTF did we even do this offseason? Seriously? I want an answer to that question because I saw ZERO improvement and ZERO evolution of the offensive playcalling. And how in God's name did Smith lose accuracy over the offseason? He threw plenty of strikes last year but yesterday he can't hit the side of a barn? DAMMIT.
Sep 14, 2010 at 1:07 PM
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CraigNinerFan
Being a big fan of Coach Sing, but a bigger fan of the Niners, I think this loss stunk from the top down. Yes, the Yorks should have sold the team...but they haven't and probably won't, so what now? IMO Jed should sit with Coach Sing and demand some answers or at the very least some accountability. He should make it clear that this TYPE of loss is unacceptable! That if Coach needs to replace JRaye (a la Martz) sooner than later then so be it! If Alex needs to be replaced (a la Shaun Hill) then so be it! etc. Jed needs to be sure that Coach Sing understands this is NOT the time for feel-good messages and sometimes in families somebody has to be shown the door! IMO Coach Sing has done a B-grade job BUT a B can turn to a C real fast and C-grade play is not gonna get you to the playoffs! IMO the MAJOR problem is Smith. Having good or better gametime instincts can overcome lots of things in a football game. In 6 years Alex has shown me he doesn't have them. And his skill level isn't good enough to compensate for the lack. Wishing your QB to be as good as Montana or Young or JMcmahon is one thing...having him be is another. Go Niners!! 2010 ain't over yet!!!
Sep 14, 2010 at 12:32 PM
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Andrew from Rishikesh
Good article Jeff, we had this false sense that something was happening this year, as we did last year and the year before and the year before. Anytime an offensive team calls timeout at the goal line, nine times out of ten it does not work. In a way, and I hope I'm wrong, let this thing blow up early so the team will hire a real coach. And with a new stadium on the horizon you can take it to the bank that the next coach will be a Gruden or a Cowher. I am hoping that this team will make it but I've had that same hope for eight years. A team has deep issues when it can't get to the line of scrimmage.
Sep 14, 2010 at 12:24 PM
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Dan
Terry, to answer your question, no. I can't point to an actual sentence written by Jeff that is structured "I hate Mike Singletary." Yes I did observe a team of players who were playing good enough individually to win that game. As a team, no. It's my understanding that Clements was where the defensive play called for him to be. Also I saw a bad call against Clements that could have easily been a 14-point difference in the game. So I don't fault Clements. I also don't fault Anthony Davis for being a rookie. Two sacks is not good but I've seen worse, and only one false start? In that environment I would have expected more. Especially from a guy with so many question marks coming into the draft. While Hasselbeck did seem to have too much time, most of his success was manufactured by exploiting our weaknesses extremely effectively. Pete Carroll and Matt Hasselbeck deserve the credit for that win as much as Singletary and Smith deserve the blame. Coach Singletary seems to think there are other players to blame and Smith made good throws, but I don't see it. In my opinion Smith didn't bring the moxie and Hasselbeck certainly did. That's my simple version, take it however you want to.
Sep 14, 2010 at 12:23 PM
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Terry B.
NinerTico: Good to hear that this game convinced you that you could still believe in Singletary. Would you be interested in purchasing some land in Florida? If so, I'll get back to you as soon as the tide goes out.
Sep 14, 2010 at 11:37 AM
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NinerTico
It WAS Mike Singletary's responsibility to get this team ready in all facets of the game. He failed miserably leading to all this kind of press. The ones that have wanted another HC, another QB, and another OC jumped as fast as they could to point the finger and say, "You see!!!!" So what? Does that mean I don't believe? No. Will I still root and cheer for my team? You better believe it. Do I still believe in Singletary and the rest? Yes. Call me what you want, but I never give up on my team. The time will come to "clean house" if need be, but it is WAY too early for that folks. You just may get your wish if we continue to fail. Ultimately, Jed will not tolerate losing and will have to fire the one person he thought could do it, Coach Singletary. Continue the good fight my man, glad to know that you're there to say you're right and you don't believe. It's OK that you don't believe as there are many like me that do and we will be here to continue the fight. Again, it's early. Go 49ers!
Sep 14, 2010 at 10:26 AM
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Terry B.
Dan, what game did you watch? Everyone but Alex Smith played good enough to win? Frank Gore's 2.2 ypc? Crabtree looking like he's never seen the playbook? Our DBs out of position and getting torched? Anthony Davis committing a false start and allowing two sacks and a forced fumble? Hasselbeck having enough time to roast weenies? If you think everyone but Alex Smith played good enough to win, no wonder you still see a 10-win season. BTW, do you feel happy and proud this morning? I sure don't. Also, I saw the game, and it WAS Mike Singletary throwing another game away with poor clock-management and an appalling lack of preparedness wasn't it? Also, since you're so opposed to twisting words, can you point to where Jeff said he hated Mike Singletary? In fact, didn't Jeff write last week "And that's all I want, Coach. Believe it or not, I've got nothing against you. Do I think last year you were stubborn as a mule? Sure. Do I wish you were part of the Walsh tree? Yeah. Do I ask too many rhetorical questions? Maybe. But all I want is for you to do what must be done for us to win. As long as you do, you're fine by me"?
Sep 14, 2010 at 9:10 AM
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Dan
I saw the game, it WAS Alex Smith overthrowing just about every pass right? Coaching problems aside, since you already covered that in your 17th or 18th in a row I-hate-Mike-Singletary rant, I think everyone else on the field played good enough to win the game. I have to give this loss to the coaches and QB as they well deserve it. Alex only had to be mediocre and we would have won that one. That won't be the end of the season, I expect the 49ers to still win 10 games. We still have the rest of the talent we need. Alex is just obviously not going to be as good as I hoped. Panicky is a good description. I wonder if the Seahawks are doing the same thing we did to the Cardinals last year. We somehow managed to dominate the Cardinals and only the Cards last year. Then we lost to just about everyone else. The Seahawks looked good against us, though we did just give them half their points. I don't think they will play that good for the whole year. I'm disappointed not to see Westbrook out there yet.
Sep 14, 2010 at 8:46 AM
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Marco
Dead on Jeff! One question though, if someone puts a gun in a child's hand, and the child shoots someone, who does one blame, the child or the incompetent moron who put the gun in the child's hand? The 49ers' problems start and end with the Yorks. Where is Jed "lucky sperm" York qualified to pick a head coach? The answer is simple, he is NOT! So what we have is an INCOMPETENT owner, who picks an INCOMPETENT head coach, who picks an INCOMPETENT offensive coordinator, and the fans expect success. The fans hold the power, boycott the stadium, do NOT renew season tickets, and run the Yorks out of town! Until that happens, the 49ers will continue to be a punchline for late night comics!
Sep 14, 2010 at 7:57 AM
The San Francisco 49ers have been a frontline story in the NFL two weeks in, starting off the season 2-0, showcasing their top units on both sides of the ball.
But, they're not the only ones showing out, and the NFL isn't the only football league in the spotlight right now.
Instead, you could argue that the most popular football team in the country isn't even in the NFL...
That moniker goes to the University of Colorado Buffaloes and new head coach Deion Sanders, who have flourished early in Year 1 of the new regime, finding themselves within the AP Top 25 for the third consecutive week.
Despite the difference in league, the 49ers are definitely paying attention to what Sanders is building at Colorado, so much so that the entire team was
There was a common theme from the San Francisco 49ers when reporters asked about the team's impressive 3-0 start to the season. The locker room is ecstatic about the fast start but also knows they aren't where they want to be just yet.
Last season, the 49ers lost four of their first seven games. The team was 1-2 after three games. So, remaining undefeated through Week 3 this season means a lot.
"That's the goal, and real happy to be 3-0 right now," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "It's really cool to do it after a Thursday night game. There's not many times in the NFL where you get to enjoy a win more than just that night, so it's always cool when you win on Thursdays.
"I told the guys if they want to win and have a weekend off, we got to earn it, and
Brock Purdy was admittedly off his game early on against the New York Giants Thursday night, but by the time the game was over he compiled some impressive numbers, especially considering what he was up against.
The 49ers quarterback was off target at times over the first two quarters of his team's 30-12 win over the Giants Thursday night, as he completed 14-of-25 passes in the first half with 157 yards and a touchdown. But Purdy finished the night having completed 25-of-37 passes for 310 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, with a passer rating of 111.3. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Purdy was blitzed on 33 of his 39 dropbacks, which is the highest blitz rate in any game
The San Francisco 49ers improved to 3-0 on the season after a 30-12 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football—dominating from the jump and never letting up a two-possession lead after a 17-6 advantage going into halftime.
However, that dominating performance doesn't mean that the 49ers played at their peak, at least according to Kyle Shanahan, who was pleased with his team's play on a tough Thursday night, but still pointed out a couple of improvements to look at going forward.
"Yeah, definitely, [I still think we have some work to do]," Shanahan said. "We did real good, time of possession, I think we had like 40 minutes. I thought our defense played real well. I thought they stepped it up. They started doing that in the second half last
