Why we are a .500 team at best (Rams Game)

Sounds like a coaching problem to me.

I watched the Rams replay on NFL last night (a must for anyone who wants to mouth off in the zone with any authority, imho; you get angles and audio that aren't in the live broadcast) and have a slightly different take.
1. We have some real star power on this team: Willis, Gore, V Davis, and maybe Crabtree soon. Enough to build on. Willis played a great game, really kept S Jackson from having 150 yards.
2. We have some leaders. After Brooks had that 2nd offsides, Willis got in his face and set him straight. Troy Smith's speech in the locker room afterward was inspiring. Singletary's not so much.
3. The coaching is not quite as bad as I had thought. Johnson called a great game; only horrible penalties kept us from several more scores. Could have won by a lot. The penalties may be attributable to coaching, but seem more linked to inexperience (Brooks, A Davis) and maybe some pressing and trying too hard (poor Staley on his broken leg). The defensive scheme was OK.

What I saw in the Rams game was the raw material for a really good team, one that needs the O'Line to grow up, needs a pass-rusher, and a shut-down corner. And a QB for the future.
That said, I think the head coach is overmatched, maybe the least intelligent, most simple-minded guy coaching at this stratospheric level. So yeah, we could be a .500 team, but add a few ingredients and we could be a lot more, really soon.

I think NCommand nailed it (probably because I was thinking the same thing). This team has talented athletes, but too many of them have rocks in their heads, continually making the same dumb, unfocused mistakes over and over again. We are the third most penalized team in the league. Some will say it is lack of discipline, coaching." Yes, but they are what they are. They will be like the Raiders. I always remember when Walsh teams played NO in the old days. NO had lots of big, mean athletes, but you could count on them to self-destruct during the game.

Originally posted by Ajanke:
Sounds like a coaching problem to me.

yeah 3x

Originally posted by rivercity:
I watched the Rams replay on NFL last night (a must for anyone who wants to mouth off in the zone with any authority, imho; you get angles and audio that aren't in the live broadcast) and have a slightly different take.
1. We have some real star power on this team: Willis, Gore, V Davis, and maybe Crabtree soon. Enough to build on. Willis played a great game, really kept S Jackson from having 150 yards.
2. We have some leaders. After Brooks had that 2nd offsides, Willis got in his face and set him straight. Troy Smith's speech in the locker room afterward was inspiring. Singletary's not so much.
3. The coaching is not quite as bad as I had thought. Johnson called a great game; only horrible penalties kept us from several more scores. Could have won by a lot. The penalties may be attributable to coaching, but seem more linked to inexperience (Brooks, A Davis) and maybe some pressing and trying too hard (poor Staley on his broken leg). The defensive scheme was OK.

What I saw in the Rams game was the raw material for a really good team, one that needs the O'Line to grow up, needs a pass-rusher, and a shut-down corner. And a QB for the future.
That said, I think the head coach is overmatched, maybe the least intelligent, most simple-minded guy coaching at this stratospheric level. So yeah, we could be a .500 team, but add a few ingredients and we could be a lot more, really soon.

Excellent post and it's good to see others objectively rewatch the game and provide their perspective. There is no question re: our needs (and then some). Johnson did call a great game. Manusky didn't IMHO. With a rookie QB and WR's and offense that is designed to play within 10 yards and finding the soft zone AND their RB being their bell cow, we could have played them how every team has played us over the past several years: 8-9 men in the box, run blitzing up the gut and very tight along the LOS. This game should not have been close.

But I agree...we have a great foundation and that may be attractive to a better coach in the off-season. No doubt we have som serious talent. Now, if they could get their HEADS straight, their talent will follow...

Originally posted by excelsior:
I think NCommand nailed it (probably because I was thinking the same thing). This team has talented athletes, but too many of them have rocks in their heads, continually making the same dumb, unfocused mistakes over and over again. We are the third most penalized team in the league. Some will say it is lack of discipline, coaching." Yes, but they are what they are. They will be like the Raiders. I always remember when Walsh teams played NO in the old days. NO had lots of big, mean athletes, but you could count on them to self-destruct during the game.

That's a good example! I remember those days well.

I know I have talked about a "losing culture" here in SF. As a fan, you can just "feel" that they will find a way to lose; somehow, someway. Even in the Rams game, there was not a doubt in your mind the Rams would march right down the field with a little over 2 minutes left in the game and score (praying it was ony a FG). If we HAD stopped them, we'd be all surprised. My friends, THAT is a losing culture. 2010 so far has been about finding new and creative ways to lose each and every week. We have the talent on many levels...but brains from top of the organization down to the field?

How can we change a losing culture?

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by excelsior:
I think NCommand nailed it (probably because I was thinking the same thing). This team has talented athletes, but too many of them have rocks in their heads, continually making the same dumb, unfocused mistakes over and over again. We are the third most penalized team in the league. Some will say it is lack of discipline, coaching." Yes, but they are what they are. They will be like the Raiders. I always remember when Walsh teams played NO in the old days. NO had lots of big, mean athletes, but you could count on them to self-destruct during the game.

That's a good example! I remember those days well.

I know I have talked about a "losing culture" here in SF. As a fan, you can just "feel" that they will find a way to lose; somehow, someway. Even in the Rams game, there was not a doubt in your mind the Rams would march right down the field with a little over 2 minutes left in the game and score (praying it was ony a FG). If we HAD stopped them, we'd be all surprised. My friends, THAT is a losing culture. 2010 so far has been about finding new and creative ways to lose each and every week. We have the talent on many levels...but brains from top of the organization down to the field?

How can we change a losing culture?

Last night must have been "re-watch the game" night. I too watched it again. As you, I was a little surprised we won. Lots of mistakes by almost everyone. Not what one would expect of a playoff team.

Yes, there is talent here but it IS about the coaching.

I have been preaching position coaching ever since Nolan came here. I understand the problems he inherited resulting from being hired so late but it has been 6 years and little has improved. Of course part of that is the fact that the good coaches want to go to the better teams and to join a HC with a similar vision to their own. As we all heard, two of the better offensive minds turned Singletary down because his philosophy did not work well with their own.

To your question, you change the culture by starting from the top - with the HC. He must have answers to obvious problems. He must have strategies and tactics that will help average players succeed. Singletary seems very driven but he is too inexperienced to have those answers. Consequently, I believe an experienced, positive coach will do a lot to get the talent on this team playing CONSISTENTLY at the level they are capable of.

I was impressed with the Billick interview yesterday as well as his history with two very different situations. He seems less emotional than Gruden who would be my second choice. I believe Billick brings the kind of experience and attitude necessary to turn it around.

We are not a .500 team, we are 3-6.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by excelsior:
I think NCommand nailed it (probably because I was thinking the same thing). This team has talented athletes, but too many of them have rocks in their heads, continually making the same dumb, unfocused mistakes over and over again. We are the third most penalized team in the league. Some will say it is lack of discipline, coaching." Yes, but they are what they are. They will be like the Raiders. I always remember when Walsh teams played NO in the old days. NO had lots of big, mean athletes, but you could count on them to self-destruct during the game.

That's a good example! I remember those days well.

I know I have talked about a "losing culture" here in SF. As a fan, you can just "feel" that they will find a way to lose; somehow, someway. Even in the Rams game, there was not a doubt in your mind the Rams would march right down the field with a little over 2 minutes left in the game and score (praying it was ony a FG). If we HAD stopped them, we'd be all surprised. My friends, THAT is a losing culture. 2010 so far has been about finding new and creative ways to lose each and every week. We have the talent on many levels...but brains from top of the organization down to the field?

How can we change a losing culture?

That does start with coaching right there. We have to look at the teams philosophy. Offensively it's ultra conservative. If the Niners are up in a game the plan is to run out the clock. I mean they do this in the 3rd quarter. Defensively when the chips are on the line 9 times out of 10 Manusky dials up a soft ass zone and prays some pressure gets there. And we already know what the defense does with a lead late in a game. This type of football philosophies are creating an overall softness with this team. The coaching staff should be encouraging the guys to be aggressive and to go out there and win games. Instead they are promoting not to lose the game. Not to make the big mistake that loses the game. That's what's wrong with this team. Hey if you go out there and you make a mistake while being aggressive and going after then it is what it is. But instead they got players playing overly soft thinking way too hard and they look up and the wr's are still running right past them. Let the cb's get up and just play football instead of 19 yards off.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by excelsior:
I think NCommand nailed it (probably because I was thinking the same thing). This team has talented athletes, but too many of them have rocks in their heads, continually making the same dumb, unfocused mistakes over and over again. We are the third most penalized team in the league. Some will say it is lack of discipline, coaching." Yes, but they are what they are. They will be like the Raiders. I always remember when Walsh teams played NO in the old days. NO had lots of big, mean athletes, but you could count on them to self-destruct during the game.

That's a good example! I remember those days well.

I know I have talked about a "losing culture" here in SF. As a fan, you can just "feel" that they will find a way to lose; somehow, someway. Even in the Rams game, there was not a doubt in your mind the Rams would march right down the field with a little over 2 minutes left in the game and score (praying it was ony a FG). If we HAD stopped them, we'd be all surprised. My friends, THAT is a losing culture. 2010 so far has been about finding new and creative ways to lose each and every week. We have the talent on many levels...but brains from top of the organization down to the field?

How can we change a losing culture?

Just like with the education system that im working with in NJ. You change a culture, when you actually accept how things are and then go from there. I mean just like AA, they say the first way to recovery is realizing that you have a problem.

Well i think thats our main problem. From QB to WR to Defense, to ST. We are painting all these pictures with glimpses of good here and there, instead of consistent play. We used to always mess with A. Smith not knowing which guy will show up. Well with our team, no one talks about which team will show up on the field.

We won 2 straight, so thats a start right. But i think the culture can only change when we realize the actuality of what we have. If we have a backup thats been in the league for 5 to 8 years, then take that for face value.

We have the bad habit of picking up guys that havent proven s**t, and then we think that we are gonna magically bring out some potential that no one has. And it hasnt worked for us yet. Or we pick up and draft guys that arent crucial needs, or we dont know how to use them, i.e. Westbrook.

Culture changes when we as an organization can just wake up one day and say u know what. This is a problem we gotta fix it, that is a problem we gotta fix it, not like now where our mindframe is, this seems to be working, that seems to be working.

I loved the days when a coach would say, yeah we suck but will BE BETTER, not get better. Then make all the moves needed, whether the fan base liked it or not.

I'll stop with this quote from Joe Montana, "During the days we won championships, if we loss a game, THE PLAYERS knew which person, area, or part, that didnt do theirs, and we help them accountable. We KNEW that if we all played to our potential, there is no one that could beat us. The coach gave us the game plan and his ways of wisdom helped, but we governed ourselves and knew that if we lost it was on us, and no one else. " If u missed a catch that was on you, if you missed a pass that was on you, a tackle, open running gap, missed blocks. Accountability was the key.

[ Edited by Jersey9er on Nov 18, 2010 at 09:51:06 ]

More inspired coaching and a QB who can make plays at critical times and save the rest of the team from itself.

We always wonder why Mike Singletary's coaching methods ( tho promising at first) has not been effective.

My theory is this:

MS, as a Hall of Fame player with that rare drive and passion, demands the same consistent high level of intensity game in and game out. 110% everytime - over a 16 game season. But the majority of players are not like Mike Singletary. The majority dont play at 100% the entire game, much less over the course of the season. Sure, there are some key games where all players muster a supreme effort like a make or break game, or a game that puts the team in the playoffs or a game against a key rival. But over the course of a 16 game season - playing a game as physically demanding as NFL football, these athletes wont always be at 100% effort and efficiency no matter how loud and often you yell and scream at them. Maybe our guys are trying so hard to be like Mike and that's why they're overreacting, jumping offsides all over the place, or just mentally exhausted.

This is where someone like Bill Walsh comes in or other coaches known as effective teachers of the game. These guys coach players and install game plans and exploit individual player matchups that make their players effective EVEN when these players are playing at less than 100%. And maybe these players play out there more composed, relaxed, and less prone to mistakes. They know that the plays and schemes they're executing will work and beat the other team, as opposed to trying too hard in order to compensate for a play or a scheme that is predictable and countered by the other team.

Originally posted by Ajanke:
Sounds like a coaching problem to me.

This team is built and coached to keep games close and try to win them at the end. Its not built to destroy teams like great teams should be. This is a mere continuation of the Mike Nolan era and needs to be completely destroyed.

Originally posted by CrankDatCrabtree:

Originally posted by Ajanke:
Sounds like a coaching problem to me.

yeah 3x

yeah, this...

- 98