FIRST... just to carry on some tradition from the prior blog. IMO, it makes me sick to see improvements from a personnel standpoint (Bruce, J. Smith and Spikes just this year) and really see no improvement in the Win column. I`ve been a die hard Nolan fan, but at this moment it impossible to point the finger somewhere else. The coach is the one that motivates, the one that makes his team overacheive or underachieve, and in our case its the latter. Right now, I would love to see Singletary`s field passion on this team. Even if we crach and burn. Can you imagine this team playing defense like the Bears from the 80`s (which I honestly think can be acheived with the talent level we have). But I guess we`ll have to wait an see.

I've been one of those who accuse the defense of being a read and react defense. But I have never accused the players of not having passion. I've sat in the upper deck for every home game and watched them play. I'm even nuts enough to put my binoculars on individual players and follow them through a play. That is partly why I feel that it is the coaching that is lacking. The players want to do it. The scheme doesn't turn them loose to do it.

So every time that Nolan says that the problems are technique or mental breakdowns, my reaction is that he's blaming the players and not himself. He's the head coach, so he is ultimately responsible. Plus the fact that he makes it clear that he is heavily involved in the defense, makes him more of a target for my scorn.

The play calling has been far too conservative this year. If the team truly does have a good defense, it should be forcing the issue and not relying so much on a gimmicky scheme. The base personnel should be on the field more, attacking the offense. As it stands, they sit back in a 4-2-5 and let the game happen in front of them.

Aggravating, to say the least.

I'm not a big fan of the 3-4. It's more of a read/react, bend don't break defense. I don't think they have the up front personnel to do this. Nolan tries to compensate by being cutesy. Cutesy does not engender aggressiveness. Their offense seems to dictate to our defense too much. Defensive guys shouldn't have to be that bright; find ball, stop ball not what's my assignment on this call.
--oversimplified but generally speaking

Everyone with the exception of Justin Smith seems to be underachieving on the defensive line. The safeties aren't making plays, or worse, they're out of position for the big plays. The linebackers should be the strength of the defense on a team that strives to put a 3-4 on the field, yet they don't get their chance when we run the "B.S." with a 4 man front. You usually expect the defensive units to control the first few games of the season while offenses get on track. That certainly didn't happen for us this year.

We let the offense dictate what we're going to do, and we're so afraid of getting caught in a mismatch, we leave the nickle on the field at all times. You would think that having the defensive radio would help minimize that problem.

The thing that bugs me the most when I'm watching (well, watching the live updates on nfl.com and your posts here since I live in STL) is wondering will the defense give up 3 yards on 3rd and 2, or 5 on 3rd and 4. Generally, the defense has done a decent job avoiding the big play, NO being the big exception. However, all to often they give up piddly little plays, 3 yards here, 4 there, 5 on second an 10, etc. Not enough to skew stats, but enough to give teams manageable 3rd downs, and to KEEP THE CLOCK RUNNING.

It irks the hell out of me watching opposing offenses CONSTANTLY gaining small chunks of yards no matter what they do. The defense has shown some flashes of greatness, but there needs to be a steady glow, like a high wattage spotlight.

Oh how the Yorks must feel now after hearing Nowin sell them hook line and sinker that all he needed was as offense and they would be "rollin". We have an offense - how's that workin' out for ya Nowin? Nowin is an idiot, he can't coach, he can't develop, he can't draft, he can't game plan, he can't game manage, he's a jerk, he throws coaches and players under the bus, he's condescending, and above all, he's a loser. The only thing this guy has done his entire career, was inherit one of the best defenses of all time in Balt - and even that unit he made worse. I didn't blame the Yorks until this year when they kept this a-hole - but now it's on them.

I tend to disagree that the 3/4 is purely a "Read and react." It's biggest advantage is the fact you can bring heat from anywhere, confuse defenses using zone blitzing schemes and hide coverages with linebacker placement. I certainly wouldn't call Rex Ryan, or Dick LeBeau's defenses "bend don't break." They attack quite often. Any defensive alignment can be R&R or Attacking, it's all in scheme.

Matt,IF THIS DEFENSIVE SCHEME WAS ANY GOOD SHOULDN'T WE SEE A GOOD DEFENSIVE EFFORT AGAINST A GOOD TEAM AT LEAST EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE? We saw this same defense last year, only it's deficiencies were blamed on Hostlers offense (or lack of). The two years before the same thing but it was because of lack of talent. We've consistantly seen 3rd and long converted on them mainly because the db has been playing with way too much cushion with way too many time consuming long drives. Going back to Seiferts days as DC, when the D had bad game they usually came back with a good game. Seifert would say they went back to basics, simplified the scheme and just let the players play. Since it seems to be different players screwing up each time in Nolan's D this scheme appears too restrictive. I think it limits the players ability to make plays. Nolan tries to make it a one size fits all game plan with no major adjustments. I doubt his defense scares any good OCs since they've got way too much game film of what they can do to keep their offense on the field to score. I also think Mark Roman's relative invisibility on the playing field really hurts.

Whether playing read & react or attacking defense, when a defense plays poorly, the fans demand that they play the other way since the current way is not working. Both systems work in the NFL but it comes down to players and the Niners interior Dline is not stout. Win the battle for the line of scrimmage and the defense or offense will be good.

Also doesn't help when the coaching isn't good. The consistent theme in the Nolan era is that they are not well coached, so they don't execute and the games always look sloppy. Always.

Matt,

The problem with our defense is MIKE MARTZ. Our defense is constantly on the field because our offense can't control the ball. Even when the offense scores we score in 4 plays. The point of offense is to control the ball and the clock so you can wear down the opposing defense. All Martz wants to do is score as quickly as possible. The more our defense is on the field the more fatigued they will get and the more chances the opposing offense will have to figure out ways to beat our defense. This philosophy does nothing but put added pressure on our defense. We need to start feeding the ball to Gore, one of the best backs in football, and let him take over the game. By doing this we keep our defense fresh and limit the amount of plays and looks the opposing offense gets. Mike Martz is the worst coordinator in the league and he is dragging our defense down with him.

As for the defense I think a lot of our problems are with the scheme. We run such a vanilla base defense that our players aren't put in a position to make plays. It seems like every snap we are lined up the same as the previous play. We need to start mixing up our looks and moving players around. The line other than Justin Smith, hes an animal) also needs to step up the intensity and get much better penetration into the backfield.

I think there are multiple problems going on with the defense, none of which are a lack of caring. First, they do lack an identity but not in terms of being "aggressive" or "read and react" but in terms of being a 3-4 or 4-3. When Nolan took over, he said they would be a 3-4 team. Both Billy Davis and Manusky were hired because of their experience in a 3-4. 3+ years later, the personnel still doesn't seem to fit either. They don't have a run stopping NT or stand-up rush OLBs to play the 3-4. But, they also don't have the pass rushing DE's to play a 4-3. So they try to switch back and forth but end up being not very good at either. Second, it looks like they are trying to be too cute with the scheme. Take the 66 yard TD pass to Moss for example. The stumble by Harris has been mentioned a lot this week but part of the reason why he stumbled was because he was moving around, acted like he going to blitz and then tried to backpedal just before the snap. I know you want to disguise the coverage but they were also playing a QB in his 3rd career start. Maybe if Brady was playing you have to try to do all of that but it was Matt Cassel and early in the game. Third, there has to be a scheme issue if the most experienced secondary in the league is having as many communication and "technical" problems as we've seen recently. And, for the most part, this secondary has been together for over a year. Seems again that the scheme has the players thinking too much instead of just playing. What happened to letting Clements take the other team's best receiver and then giving Harris some safety help? If its really about execution, then simplify the defense, let the defense attack and the players play.

Matt- i really believe that our probelms start in the trenches. i feel all good teams have strong trenches, O&D lines. Offensivly we just dont man up.we dont pass protect well enuff, but worse than that we just consistently get stopped on 3rd,4th, and short as well as goaline. this has been a problem for the last 3-4 years, and we have to pass on 3rd and 2, i mean its rediculous. thats why we go 3 and out so much. i dont feel like we are in THAT man 3rd and longs. and i feel the skill guys have been pretty good. the recievers are improved, JTO has looked good with time and Gore is Gore. The D line has gotten no push and cant stop a 3rd and short. the D cant get off the field and that starts up front. I really feel like if we can fix that this is a 10-6 team at worst. i know easier said than done

I agree with the general sentiment. The team has been a real tease so far. The offense does just enough to get us excited. The defense will swarm the other team early on, force a three and out, and get us all excited. Then as the game goes on, the team just cannot keep it up. I think we all agree on how vastly improved the team is from a personnel standpoint from four years ago. Coach Nolan deserves some credit for that. However, the team is just not playing for him. Manusky and Martz are excellent coordinators, and I hope we can find a way to keep them around to build upon what they have already brought to the team. However, the head coach sets the tone, and it is becoming more and more clear that the tone that has been set by our current head coach isn't going to translate to wins. I am a firm believer in stability being the most important trait a succesful organization must strive for, but I believe Coach Nolan has had more than enough opportunity to prove his capability. The team needs a wake-up call. Coach Nolan should be let go before the bye week (sooner if it were practical).

There are few teams in this league that can match our talent and experience on defense. Especially in the secondary. However, we may not be using our players appropriately. Lets go down the line starting with the secondary. We have big physical corners, but they play eight to ten yards off the WR instead of press coverage.
The safeties: Mark Roman rarely gets beat deep because he knows he is too slow, so he plays deeper to make up for his lack of speed. Good job Mark. Now, M. Lewis doesn't play deep enough when asked to cover, and he isn't fast either. But he plays the run very well, yet he is asked to cover deep to often leaving the linebackers to handle the run alone. P. Willy and Spikes are actually playing very well this season, see stats, but its tough to consistently strafe off an offensive lineman on most running plays. Couple that with the fact that they are playing mostly with two true linebackers. That means the offensive lineman have a one less person to block. The result has been a very soft run defense. Lastly the D line, which imo should look like this: RE Justin Smith, LE Parys Haralson, DT Soapy, and DT Ron fields (who is a much better player than Franklin, much better). But our D linemen are asked to hold there position and take on blockers instead of make plays in the back field. My point is that the talent is there but the coaching is not.

I believe the Defense is pretty discipline and does some of the little things right. But the defensive scheme on some of these games and plays to me is confusing. For example, patriots 3rd and long in the 4th quarter. Mike Nolan had to know that if the patriots kick a FG, the game is pretty much over. It looked to be that they played deep to deny the first down,but failed to recognize that a play of 10-15 yards would have gotten them a FG attempt.That was right after a penalty set the patriots beyond a FG attempt. I think calls like that and the scheme has cost the niners games this year.If they hadn't pulled it out in Seattle after being down 14-0, the niners would be 1-4 right now.

Mile High 9er - So true! What's the point of paying big bucks for "shutdown" corners...then line them up 10 yds deep? Insanity. Considering that Nolan is the HC with the power to veto or implement any scheme/strategy he sees fit on D, our D is useless. He doesn't have anything to offer except standing on the sideline pulling a mean and ever more quizzical expression. Still not much longer of the Nolan nightmare left now.

29 of 70 on third down thats a 41% conversion rate. Arguably the best Def the Ravens are 16/54 = 29%

Hey buds,
I can agree to believe that the problem the niners are facing is Mike Martz. I know we all watched the game last weekend vs. the patriots, well right off the bat things Martz did made no logical sence. First off, we get the ball off NE's first series due to an interception that sparks the D, uproars the crowd, and has us looking good.... that lasts for about 5 seconds due to Martz. The O comes out, bombs away on first and/or second down I dont recall (I know there was a pass or two, no runs), but we lost some fire on that play. We Should have at least ran once, threw a screen once, or a slant to VD in the flat, anything but gunho gunho bombs away. That was just one incident but there were several more, we should have eaten up the clock with a variety of runs, screens, and short passes. We have a GREAT TE and RB core, we need to utilize this... Direct snaps, used for runs or passes to robinson, he is a QB/FB/RB afterall, confuze the D... not to mention Foster, he helped the Panthers get to the playoffs a number of times over the past 5 years, we need to get him some touches. And VD and Walker, we know what we should be doing with them, they have to respect all aspects of the game this way and they will no longer be able to stack 8 in the box. The opposing D's still stack the box, and JT cant drop back and get sacked every play, we have to open it up. I know Martz has man love for Bruce, but please.... somebody else besides Gore and Bruce need touches, seriously every team in the league knows who is going to get the ball, they stick 4 defenders on them two alone. That leaves 7 to cover the other 9, figure something out martz, its getting sad to watch. At least we can play O now, at least, but singeltary needs to be coach, he can get the most out of everybody, the cordinators are used for the coaching, the head coach needs to be the one to rule all... Singeltary will/needs to be head coach soon, or he will be gone to ST.Louis, Detroit, Minn, or some other job real soon... afterall I'm sure he's sick of it also.

I would like to suggest that the defensive breakdowns we have seen may be the result of using defensive schemes that are not well suited to the talents of the players available. As a simple example, Lawson, one of our better players, sits on the bench because the scheme requires 5 DBs. This is in contrast to the offense, where it seems that Martz invents plays that match the talent he has available: for example, using Rossum on an end-around. If this is a valid criticism, it means that the defensive coaching needs major adjustment. And it raises the question of whether the defensive coaches have the mindset necessary to change their approach.

Niners have the talent on defense. They just don't seem to call the right schemes. It's the coach's fault. It's all the coaches on defense to blame, as well as the head coach. Niners should hire me as the defensive coordinator. In Madden '09, I was able to shut out 6 teams in a row during the regular season. What more could you want on a resume?

Hi Matt- I agree that talent-wise there's no reason that the defense isn't much better. I was thinking about this year versus last year (not that we were great last year, but I expected us to get better, not worse), and one big difference came to mind: Bryant Young. I know BY wasn't the "fired up" type, but do you think that his presence helped the defense function as a whole?

There are many truths in these comments.

Nolan is not even a decent coach. Aside from the Ravens (who did not really need a D-coordinator), Nolan's defenses have always been in the lower echelon. In Washington, he had the lowest ranked defense despite highly priced personnel. He must go.

The D-line stinks. There is no way to get pressure other than to blitz. Not good. When the D-line stinks, every weakness of your secondary will be exposed. Linebackers will be making too many tackles, and usually 3-5 yards down the field. Which means many sustained drives.

The criticism of Martz is a joke. He has run balanced offenses up until the Niners get way behind. On one series last week, he ran Gore three times in a row and punted-- is that what you want? We do not have a dominant offensive line with which to play ball control. If we are going to score, we need to mix it up. Last week JTO continually got flushed to his left because Sims just is not an NFL level tackle anymore. Staley is mediocre at best. We should be kissing the ground that Martz walks on for making the offense interesting at least, despite one of the worst lines in the NFL.

Those who have suggested that you cannot win in the NFL with a bad offensive line and defensive line-- you win the prize. The game is won in the trenches, folks. There's no point in putting on new 24" wheels if the engine doesn't work.

Die-Hard Nolan fan??? Say What??? (Why?) Anyway....4-3, 3-4,....the 1984 team ran a 3-4, right? (Michael Carter at nose tackle) and went 17 - 1 and rushed Marino into the ground with a whole bunch of defensive lineman. Y'all are getting much too complex here. You need good ENOUGH players, but then.....to once again quote Bill Walsh (folks - you need to see those videos with Walsh actually addressing the team in the meeting room - VERY educational) - ...you need to beat the other team to the punch...on both sides of the ball, and you need to be smarter than the other team. It's kinda useless even to talk about Nolan. We ALREADY know he's not good ENOUGH. There will never be any greatness with him. So, who are the prospects for the next great coach? (Doesn't have to be a coordinator by the way - Andy Reid wasn't one.)

You all are confusing me with this 3-4, 4-3, it is very clear to me that the Niners base defense is a Nickel package. Didn't you all see the Seahawks and Patriots game?

Clearly Nolan does not know how to manage his talent. He has tried for years to implement a 3-4. Arguably, our strongest position on D is the Linebackers- Yet we still have no commitment.

IMO, Nolan has to go. What can he possibly teach this team? What else does he bring to the table? I thank him for helping build this team up to where it is because it is better then when he got here.

I wouldn't even care if we kept him around for another year. This would allow us to enter talks with Holmgren and have a set plan with a Coach who can bring a winning attitude to the team.

Matt, I hate it when you use stats. You're really bad at them.

First of all, yardage is not well correlated with wins. The correlation is just 0.20 which, from a statistical perspective is so poorly correlated that it's considered meaningless. For example, just a few years ago the Cardinals were 6th on offense and defense in yardage stats. Had yards been the measure of winning they'd have been 13-3. But they were losers.

Points are better correlated, but they're not perfect either. Consider that Mooch's 10-6 49ers scored fewer points AND gave up more than Erickson's 7-9 49ers.

There are a couple of stats, however, that do some powerful explaining on why the 49ers defense has struggled this year. First, is turnovers. Second is average field position.

Our offense is turning the ball over, on our side of the field, quite a lot. That really hurts the defense. Second, our special teams haven't been all that great in shutting down kick-returns.

Because of this, we're 32nd in defensive field position with opponents starting, on average, on the 35 yard line. That's, on average, going to cause you to surrender about a point a drive more to your opponents on a per-drive basis than if they were starting at the 25.

See, real stats. Not relics from the 1930s with no explanatory power.

Anyway, you're not a geek so.... Please stop going there. You're much better at telling us what happens on the field without the biases of fandom and/or fan-anger. And for that, I am your fan.

As I've said before, the offense is light years better than 07, the defense is disappointing. I think Nolan has taken this team to the limit of his ability. With Nolan as HC, the offense will alway be a potential disaster. If Martz leaves, he starts from scratch, again. With Nolan as HC, the defense will always be too conservative. But even when his scheme gives up innumerable 5 yard plays, he still can't take away the big scoring plays. I think the Niners have made some good progress from the absolute bottom of the barrel to rank about 21st of 32 teams. I don't think Nolan can take us into the top half. That said, I would not like to see Nolan fired during the season. That smacks of giving up on the year and creating a chaotic atmosphere. We have too many young players and that won't help them develop.

I'll sum it up quickly. Nolan plays not to lose. Players are taking on the identity of their coach.

I am behind Mike Martz. JTO has looked indecisive and flustered, especially the last two weeks. He gets happy feet and leaves the pocket before the pressure really dictates that he do so. He also hangs onto the ball entirely too long. The way I see it, JTO earned the starting job with this team by realizing his shortcomings, buying completely into the Martz system, and simply doing his part. The last few games it looks as if he has gotten away from that and is trying to do too much by himself. Neither does the offense allow for that, nor does he have the ability to do so. How often did we hear over training camp from JTO himself that the offense is all about throwing to a spot and the receivers being responsible for being there. Anybody remember the "chemistry not being a factor" comment? I am not witness to what happens behind closed doors every day in Santa Clara, but it is plain to see that something is just wrong with what Mike Nolan is putting on the field on Sundays. What we need right now is a new face on the sideline and behind closed doors to tell Mad Mike to open it up, and Manusky to let the dogs out and eat. Coach Nolan has placed a hard ceiling of mediocrity over the team that is just not going to be broken. It's time for a change.

I had a sick feeling from the second quarter on, and the word that kept surfacing was coaching, unfortunately. New England is very tight in what they do, they stay with their assignments. If the Niners are staying with their defensive assignments they are in trouble. 2nd and 2 will be their demise. They have to fill the gaps.
Houzmanzadeh is a really good player, but there are already good receivers here, just not enough offensive plays to make it matter.
I remember Coach Walsh saying there were only three stats that mattered.
First downs, 25 of them, balanced
Plus in Time of Possession
Plus in Giveaways/Takeaways
With these stats in hand he felt they would win. Can't argue with it at this point.

The players are playing for Nolan, I've never questioned their passion.

My frustration is that we need to stop reacting and start dictating on defense. We need to utilize our key players better... More 3-4 would be nice. We need to be more aggressive in our front 7 play calling and scheming. BLITZ! When we do, good things happen. We have the talent in the secondary to afford us more blitz opportunities... Let the players play.

You want to form an identity on defense? Aggressive, downhill smash mouth play is a good way to start.

The Great Bill Walsh thought of a football game as a fight. You come out and explode on an opponent. Then you control the ball. Walsh always ran the ball after the first half if he had a lead. The best defense is when their offense doesn't have the ball. Martz's scheme stresses his own team's defense because he doesn't run an offense which controls the ball. It called Time of Possession and we suck at it! So that is one of the reasons the defense is playing poorly. Defense is more tiring to play and they get worn out. We rank 27th in T.O.P in the NFL at week 5. Lions 32 and the Rams 30.

There is nothing that says a 3-4 defense must be a read-and-react defense. Is the Chargers 3-4 defense read-and-react? The Carolina Panthers once had a 3-4 defense featuring Kevin Greene and Lamar Lathan at the outside linebacker positions, and the two of them were one-two in sacks. The problem is, we aren't really a 3-4 defense, we're a 4-2-5 defense. We're trying to stop the run with six in the box, and when our safeties get run-conscious they give up the big pass plays.

We need a "Ronnie Lott" type on defense. A "woo" hitter. We also need to let Singletary supplant Nolan at the break to see if he can fire up the troops. In addition we need to draft much better than we have been. Make every pick count instead of squandering them on potential. Draft the best football player available no matter the positional need. I am a big proponent of an aggressive style defense as well as offense. I believe Dr. Martz should be kept under the scarlet and gold banner.

I think the problem is the "bend but don't break" philosphy. This philosophy is the full game version of the prevent defense philosophy. By definition you invite the offense to play on your side of the line of scrimmage and are catching rather than attacking. And, as a result, when you do attack you rarely do so well. Rather, you are slow, staccato and often arrive late. The long TD pass to Randy Moss last week being the perfect example. Big plays happen against all defenses. I happen to think they happen no more frequently against good aggressive defenses. And, with a good aggressive defense, you'll at least have more plays on the other side of the ledger to offset the big plays when they happen. Stated another way - do you play to win or not to lose. Nolan better become more aggressive with his defense because he needs to win his job to keep it. Otherwise, he'll be playing the home version of playing not to lose.

Hi Matt, Great blog, keep it up. This D certainly has an identity: Under-acheivers. They are a terrible tackling team. Forget scheme, forget Manny Lawson only on special teams, forget Nolan losing the stratagy battle for a second. Without tackling there is no defense. Blitz, dont blitz, do whatever you want. What's gonna happen when a Niner gets near the ball? Unless it's Clements, Willis, or Smith, it's a whiff.

The defense has five players who have guts: Smith, Willis, Clements, Harylson, and McDonald, who have guts. You need 11 guys with guts to play effective defense. That's the prob.

I don't think there's a lack of passion, but there most certainly is a lack of aggressiveness. How often does this defense gang tackle? How often are linemen, linebackers, and safeties getting carried for 2-3 extra yards? I distinctly remember a play where Deuce McCallister, coming off 2 knee surgeries, carried Justin Smith 3 yards before going down. I don't feel like this defense flies to the ball, and I don't feel like this defense hits hard as a whole. Maybe everyone is just waiting for Willis to make a play.

I'm curious Matt as to why, after reading this entry about how disappointing the Niners defense is, you had a hunch just yesterday that were Nolan to be fired, Manusky would get the job. It just sems a little curious.

Another question: What is the story with Ahmad Brooks? Will he ever play or is there just no place for him?

Thanks

I don't think Mike Martz is the problem, as some people state. Last year's defense showed glimpses of its talent and was on the field even more due to our horrendous offense.

Some columnist (don't remember who, but I don't think it was you, Matt) made a not-so-snide remark prior to the season that the 49er defense wouldn't be that good because with Nolan, it has been an every other year for each unit -- offense improves one year, defense sucks, then the next year the offense sucks and the defense improves. No reason provided, just a comment which seems to be proving out so far.

My favorite theory is more of a conspiracy theory. Now that Martz has come in to run the offense with an iron hand and basically can tell Nolan "hands off" with his offense, Nolan has nothing better to do but to go over and start mucking with Manusky's defensive strategy. When Manusky first started last year, I'd watch the calls, and he seemed to be a very aggressive playcaller. He favored varying coverages and blitzes from different angles and players.

That all seems to have disappeared this season amidst some sort of obsession with a stupid nickname for a Nickel defense, or Nolan's "Big Sub". Just a guess is that Nolan fell in love with this conceptually, and forced Manusky to incorporate that into the defensive play calls and scheme. Its comical how Nolan continued to defend it even though it barely worked against a Seahawks team which had to sign WRs off the street.

Also at least until the second half of the Patriots game, I've been wondering what has happened to Patrick Willis. He hasn't seemed to be the same flying to the ball self he was all of last season. Even in the Patriots game, he was getting blown out of the hole (although in fairness, by some huge OTs pulling). Is the fact that Spikes just isn't a take-on kind of LB affecting Willis' play as well?

Nolan and Manusky are calling plays on D based on last year's offense and not this year's offense. There fear of the big play has suffocated the team. The defense is just painful to watch and cannot get a stop on third down to save their lives.

Stop being so afraid of the big play, it will happen from time to time. In fact our submissive style still gave up a ton of big plays to NO the other week so there's no guarantee it will stop the opponent. The only guarantee is that you won't give the offense the time to try to make something happen. Hopefully that is not by design by Nolan.

We have some offense now and we should at least give them the chance to catch up. You could almost see making excuses for other areas the team struggling with through the years, the debacle of Alex Smith, the horrible offensive woes, but this is Nolan's wheelhouse. This is what he was hired to do. If he can't put together a better defense than this then he has failed at a greater level than any of us were expecting.

When I read this column I kept thinking of the old adage the team reflects the identity of the head coach. I've watched many Nolan press conferences and I can't really put a description on his identity. When you look at the defense as separate parts, you think DBs - pretty good, LB's - pretty good, D-Line - decent/needs improvement... Thats the same way I think about Nolan. Seems to have many of the pieces but just can't put it all together.

I think the problem with the D is the line and the safeties. I really feel like the D-line with the exception of Smith underperforms and doesn't tie up enough blockers to allow Willis et al to make plays. Also, you look at the top D's in the league and they usually have a play making safety (Polamalu, Dawkins, Reed). I would give Goldson a shot, seems he may be more of a gambler ball hawking type guy.

Reality time folks! We have yet to beat even an average team in 5 games. Door-mat Detroit & hapless Seahawks are our only wins. Seattle had 5 play-makers out for that game and we just won. Whose is kidding who? This is a big game and the Niners really need it. If we lose here it could be a long cruel fall.

Bottom line is, this is Nowin's 4th season. He had an open chequebook 2 years ago, a plethora of high draft picks, and has not 1, not 2 but 3 potential HC's on his coaching staff...yet we still suck. How much longer will it take the Yorks to realise that the reason this ship is so far off course is coz the damn Captain is an idiot. I gave him every chance to succeed, and was a staunch fan in the beginning. But now, it's so plainly obvious that he is in above his head and that we continue to go nowhere with him at the helm. FFS, end this nightmare, Yorks

Predictions for this game: 1. We lose. 2. We turn the ball over. 3. Our D gets handled. 4. Mike Nowin stands around on the sideline with an expression on his face that replicates the kind of stroppy look an 8 year old girl would pull in reaction to being told that she can't watch Hannah Montana.

For those of you calling for some consistency and a simplification of our D - here is an encouraging quote from Man-Law on the radio: "the defense is going back basics and that they've been practicing in a 3-4 for most of the week."

Took the words right out of my mouf. When a team is winning, you certainly notice all the intangibles. Eli Man. wasn't an "elite nfl qb" until he won a superbowl, before that, he had no "fire," no "go get 'em." I know it's still early, and 2-3 in the NFC Worst ain't the end of the world.

Matt, does the NFL keep stats on Points per Possession, which IMO is the one single stat which best ranks a defense. At the end of a season, I try to calculate this stat, but it is difficult cuz the official stats that the NFL publishes to the world do not include "possessions" - So I determine "possessions" by adding together opponents' turnovers, punts, KOs & failed 4th down attempts, plus TDs (by offense, not defense or special teams) & FGAs. If you're going to rank the 49er Defense after 5 games, I suggest you calculate points per possession for all 32 teams, & note where 49ers rank. (Maybe you ought to consider taking on an [unpaid] intern.)

The defense has not stepped up in the last two weeks. The game in Seattle, was the game that I was really impressed with. The plays that were made were forced and Willis' interception return for a touchdown was perfect. That was a huge play that tied the game and changed the momentum. I am really not impressed with the nickel-dime defense. I think it is not utilizing the players we have to the best of their abilities. Lawson is a quick linebacker that is good in coverage and when he is healthy we better see him playing more then first down. The game last week against the Pats was very disapointing in all aspects. It seemed like the Pats could convert on every third down they had. They had a lot of short third down plays that converted easily and that really hurt the defensive unit because they couldn't come up with the stop and get off the field. Also, it was very concerning when I noticed Strickland lining up to guard Moss. That was a mismatch that the Pats seemed to take advantage of. I don't think it is a matter of going back to basics, but going back to the 3-4 set up that Nolan installed and not some vanilla react defense. Nolan doesn't seem to be a very aggressive defensive coach. He is more in the not let the big play happen mindset. Guess what Nolan....we have been getting beat deep in the last two weeks.

Firstly, I agree with Kem99 and I just wanted to add/ask, that it was my understanding that Nolan, A). identifies his defense as a 3-4 and builds around that base system because you can carry more linebackers on your roster and that therefore bolsters your special teams, and you can draft "tweeners" in later rounds at cheaper prices. And all of this coincides with Nolan's "money ball" approach to building a franchise... something he included in the powerpoint presentation for the Yorks during his interview for the job. B). Didn't the Ravens suffer under Nolan's defense when he implemented a 3-4? And wasn't Ray Lewis very, very upset with him? And got injured one season they were running it from taking on a block or something? And didn't the Ravens switch out the defense as soon as Nolan left and were full throttle again as a result? There's even an NFL Films Special about Middle Linebackers with Ray Lewis and Sam Huff where Ray Lewis discusses utilizing the 4-3 when a stud middle linebacker is present because it maximizes his greatest ability: "To go sideline to sideline." I wonder how many tackles P. Willis would be getting in a standard 4-3.

Matt-...."Good offenses keep the ball and avoid three-and-outs, while good defenses get off the field quickly."........You could also expand on how our offense is not keeping the ball and avoiding 3-&-outs. It's easy to point to a group and blame them, when we all know if the QB on the offense played like he should we would be a better team. If JTO is not leading the league in turnovers and we play ball control offense with our pro-bowl RB (yes my friends we do have an elite RB)...........How come nobody is concerned about this?

I caught the Live Wire segment today where Patrick made a highly respectful remark regarding Mike Singletary and how when Mike speaks to him on technique or positioning he is all ears and values his critical evalutation and input. Given the obvious respect Patrick has for his mentor I can't help but wonder why the great Mike Singletary isn't turning this LB group into maneaters? I feel there is some underlying meddling from Nolan and the reports that Norv suggested about play calling while he was OC here may also hold validity. Nolan is qualified to be labled a Control Freak, he obviously works hard and enjoys his work, but like Coughlin in NY, it will take someone to break rank and speak candidly about the scheme and complexity of the plan.
Nolan shows no flare for the dramatic. I do expect that from Martz and have yet to see anything worthy of the Wild Hog attack used so daringly on the Pats several weeks ago.
We possess numerous young guys on both sides of the ball, yet we manage to use the same 3 on offense. Can we throw a wrinkle in somewhere? Gore should have enough people focused on him to allow VD or someone other then Isaac to enjoy some success without too much effort? We can all agree that VD is not working too well on deep routes, how about the slot? He motions enough to make you dizzy bit doesn't factor into the chains being moved enough. I'd love to see MRob and Gore paired in the backfield more and perhaps utilize MRob's QB pedigree at least as often as we throw incompletions to VD 25 yds downfield. How much of a weapon can MRob become in the Martz system? Between he and Frank, we could easily sustain a short passing attack which allows plenty of flexibility to motion and reverse from.
The key is to create matchups that favor your personnel. As Berger stated, Nolan plays not to lose. We need creativity not blind obedience to an outdated predictable system.
I expect more creativity from Martz as time goes on, I just hope Nolan is allowing him to scheme like the Mad Scientist he's known to be?

It seems like they are playing with a monkey on their back, maybe the should go out there and just play. The front 4 obviously needs to show more pressure and the safeties need more pep in their step. The run D i just cant understand, the RBs are just running through the gaps against the 3-4 and the blockers come up and take out the LBs. They need to force the RBs to the outside and crowd the line. The O needs to rely on the run game in critical situations, they also have Foster. JTO in the passing game may need a check down at times or just needs to throw it away.

It seems like they are playing with a monkey on their back, maybe the should go out there and just play. The front 4 obviously needs to show more pressure and the safeties need more pep in their step. The run D i just cant understand, the RBs are just running through the gaps against the 3-4 and the blockers come up and take out the LBs. They need to force the RBs to the outside and crowd the line. The O needs to rely on the run game in critical situations, they also have Foster. JTO in the passing game may need a check down at times or just needs to throw it away.