Mike Singletary had his first day-after game press conference today at the 49ers' team offices in Santa Clara.
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Every team in the NFL has so-called cancers, 49ers interim coach Mike Singletary said. With his actions on Sunday, Singletary seemed to be calling out Vernon Davis.
But, Singletary said, "I'm not including
As interim head coach, Singletary said he will continue to look at the makeup of the locker room. "My eyes will always be looking around for those people who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves," Singletary said.
As for the so-called "cancers," Singletary said, "Those guys will continue to eat at a team until they eat at the very soul of the team."
But Singletary said today during his day-after game press conference that
"
"What you have a problem with is with some of the decisions he makes at crucial times. '
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Singletary said he and offensive coordinator Mike Martz looked at the film together this morning and pointed out some things about both quarterbacks -- J.T. O'Sullivan and Shaun Hill.
Singletary said no decision has yet been made which QB will start when the 49ers return to action Monday, Nov. 10, against the Arizona Cardinals.
"We're going to continue to have conversations about that," Singletary said. "We have some time to really reflect and decide how we want to look at it going forward. We'll make the right decision. Whatever's best for the team, that's what we're going to do."
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Singletary was asked about his post-game press conference that received a lot of national play on Sunday. Is that going to be how Singletary speaks after all games?
"Maybe I'll drink a little more water," Singletary said. "Maybe I'll breathe a little bit. I had a chance to talk to the players and coaches, and I came in there that's kind of my personality. I don't talk a whole lot, but when I'm talking I do know what I feel and I do know what I want to say."
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Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, who was up in the booth all last season and for the first seven games this season, spent Sunday's game on the sideline. Singletary said 49ers director of football operations Paraag Marathe is still up in the booth. He assists Singletary with clock management issues.
"Yes, Paraag is there as the clock guy who is constantly feeding me information when I need it, and that's a good thing," Singletary said. "He and I talked before and after the game, as well as some this offseason. The relationship was there. And I welcome that."
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By the way, I truly appreciate the rational comments on the previous blog. I knew the tone of that blog might not be a popular with the readers, and a lot of you made some very strong points.
One point I'd like to make: It's a standard thing in the NFL that whenever a coach leaves, that coach is bashed. In many cases, it's revisionist history. But as I've noted, there are always disgruntled players in every locker room. There are guys on Super Bowl winners who think they should've been playing more.
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After the day wraps up here, I'll be heading to Stockton this evening to speak to the 49ers Booster Club there. Looking forward to a fun evening.
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The rehabilitation of Vernon Davis begins.
So, who are these "disrespectful cancers" on this team
A compelling 7 days in 49ers land. Thanks MM for all the hard work. I hope you get a few days off during the bye week to hang with the family etc.
Thanks, Mike. Very nice of you. I'll probably take off tomorrow, and then have a three-day weekend. --Matt M.
As long as the Yorks own the team, ALL is hopeless! Jed York is the face of ownership, give us a break. My left nut is more qualified than Jed York. 49er fans have the power. Boycott the team! STOP renewing your season tickets! Let them move the team to L.A. The city of San Francisco will sue to keep the 49er name, just like cleveland did when Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore, and the 49ers will be reborn under new OWNERSHIP.
How can it Not Be Hill????
You can't dramatically change the offense, the defense, or the personnel in mid-season. What can be changed? How about concentration and discipline? I think a direct line can be drawn from concentration to penalties and turnovers. During the current losing streak, the Niners have been called for 45 penalties. Their opponents? 33. JTO has thrown 10 interceptions over the last 5 weeks. Opponents? 4. Niners have fumbled the ball a jillion times, they've lost 4. Opponents? Lost 1 fumble to SF. To me, this is the kind of nonsense that clearly signals a team that lacks concentration and discipline. This is where Singletary can make an immediate impact on the W-L record.
Your insights are incredible Matt and I love ya!
However, it is a childs game being played by men/boyz making lots of money. If a man has to scold his child we don't not go "well let me ponder this, he was playing with fire and..." NO, wrong is wrong. Mr Linebacker has set the tone. Men beg for true leadership, we love it. You motivate me in the right way and I have no problem following you to the end of the earth, if your soft..forget about it!! I am going to do my own thing. That is what history tells us weather it's football or life.
Yeah, its interesting that Singletary didn't dispute saying something in the team speech about cancers, but did dispute that he was referring to Vernon.
I'm left to think either that WAS a reference to Vernon but he's trying to slow things down, or that wasn't a particular reference to anyone, but he wanted to wake up the whole room, or it was a reference to certain veteran defenders. i look at a 60 yard touchdown on a short pass to a fullback (UNTOUCHED, no less), when there were SEVEN people back in coverage, and I'm asking myself how hard people like Walt Harris and Mark Roman were really playing. Besides being veterans depressed about playing on a loser, these are also players tight with Nolan who maybe weren't all that motivated this week.
Just guessin'. If we see Brown/Strickland and Goldson starting after the bye, we'll know.
Good comments, and right on target. Slop between plays INEVITABLY leads to slop during plays, and Singletary knows it.
I personally like Singletary a lot. But I am realistic, he doesn't have the personnel. McNolan did not built a strong team. Let's be honest 31 other teams have the same goal.Gone are the days of the miracle drafts of Bill Walsh. What we MUST build is a good player personnel department and I am very disappointed with MCloughlin.
We must have a consistent Offensive Coordinator over years, not six different ones in a row. Martz won't be here long and we will again change to another offense.
Besides that all we need is receivers, O Line, D Line, safties, and a QB.
I really want Mike Singletary to succeed!
Singletary only said he cannot coach, cannot winwith players who think they are bigger than the Team. Nothing about being a cancer to the team.
I do believe there is a struggle between Martz and Singletary about who the QB should be. JTO might give them the best chance to have the entire Martz playbook at their disposal during games, but Hill just gets it done with checkdowns instead of the 50 yard bomb once in a game after a dozen QB turnovers. IF JTO can get the ball out sooner and HANG ON to the ball, not forcing interception in the end zone, THEN he might be a good quarterback for the rest of the season, until something better comes along. What I would give to be a fly-on-the-wall during the Singletary/Martz chats about quarterbacks...
Martz is not Singletary's man. And he will be gone after the season, no matter whether Singletary becomes head coach or not. When York #3 made the interim change, and didn't pick Martz, that was pretty much a given. ANd any new coach, Singletary or not, would have to be nuts not to be looking for a qb--even though I think JTO has some top-level skills, was thrown into a mudhole over his head, and might deserve a chance to try again with better protection and more basic play-calling until he learns to handle pressure.
niner88, the reference to cancers is from a Michael Silver article where a niners player basically told him that Singletary had a locker room rant at the players about cancers after the game. And it sure doesn't sound like Singletary was refuting that article.
Matt...take a deep breath...Nolan is gone. You unfortunately got cast under the spell that so many
of his players did. He's gone and the niners are
better off because of it. You have said you are not
a fan of the niners in past posts and that makes
sense but you obviously were a fan of Nolan and
that...well that is a bit sad.....so I am here to
say get over it..singletary knows davis is not a
football player just like bill parcells knew he had
to get rid of jason taylor and zach tomas....
every good coach picks one or two when they assume role of leadership and bounce them( especially if they are in fact expendable)....first hoops
practice of year with high school kids/first spring
practice with football....etc....you should be
applauding what singletary
Hey Matt. Enjoy the Stockton Goal Rushers dinner. Those are some great folks down there, and they host a great dinner. I regretfully did not renew my membership this year as I cannot get to Stockton (my hometown) from Fresno on a weekday evening as often as I would like.
I wonder what happened to the JTO lovers......"Didn't i tell you so"...
How did we go from "Something Special" to this mess in 6 days???
This team is a long long way from getting turned
around. Singletary is trying to let everyone know
that this is his team now and if you continue to make
the same mistakes that he will not put up with it.
This thing has been going on long enough and Mike S.
did not have the position to comment on it. It all
came to a head like a bad zit yesterday on the field
and Vernon's penalty was the breaking point.
I really hope Mike S. will be the coach next year and
try and get a veteran presence in the locker room to
handle problems like this in the future. Mike S.
probably should not have made that public yesterday
but there is no one right now (veteran) to handle
that in the locker room where it should of been handled,
so he had to do it himself.
I love the fact that Singletary is not gonna take any crap from anyone & he's making a statement that everyone including himself our going to have to be accountable frome here on out. Singletary can't change personnel but what he can do is change the attitude. Players play the game and although the 49ers don't have alot of good players they can focus & execute better which can equate to a few victories. I for one would like the whole coaching staff back if for no other reason than to have continuity for the 1st time in several years. What a concept eh? ...to have the same philosophy 2 years in a row?
Dear "I told you so" One-niner: OK--some thoughts on JTO from a recent admirer. In previous games, I thought JTO has looked very good--at times. Good scrambler without scrambling too often, good release, good accuracy. I also thought he looked absolutely rattled from the beginning of the game on Sunday. Obviously, if he cannot learn to deal with pressure w/o turning the ball over, he is not an NFL quality QB, as you have repeatedly insisted. But I believe most QB coaches will tell you that QBs have to be developed, not thrown to the wolves. I think Singletary was absolutely right to make the switch on Sunday. I also think JTO was expected to perform in a sophisticated offensive scheme without adequate preparation and without adequate support from his line. He may be history, but I really would like to have seen what he could do with more practice reps pre-season and more development time within a system that fit his skills. He probably will never get the chance. I don't think the Martz approach will work for him, at least not unless it is modified (as it apparently was when Hill went in). And he may never recover his confidence after what happened in the last weeks. Could he have performed with careful development and reasonable support? I don't know--and neither, I suspect, do you. But there certainly were flashes of quality in between all the g-damned turnovers.
OK to praise a "rival" columnist? Ann Killion totally nailed it the other day when she went over the personnel of the team. Mike Ditka said last week that Singletary will be a very good NFL coach, but you "have to have the horses." When Bill Walsh ran the team, I gave a lot of thought to what made him successful. Three factors in NFL success (or lack thereof): 1. Motivation, Leadership, Handling people, 2. Scheme/Game Plan/Xs and Os as they say. 3. Personnel aquisition (drafting, trades, FAs. Walsh excelled at all three, but which is MOST important? In my thinking, it HAS to be #3. Though Walsh could install an offense (in 1979) that set some records and "made" Steve DeBerg into an NFL QB, the team couldn't win. Same the next year. BUT, when he got Fred Dean, Ronnie Lott, Jack Reynolds, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson the next year, viola - Super Bowl. And Walsh never stopped getting great players - got Russ Francis after that SB win, got Jerry Rice after a 17-1 season, got Charles Haley, John Taylor, etc etc etc. And don't forget Seifert's second SB after we got Deion Sanders. This team will never win or contend, spending TENS OF MILLIONS of dollars on ORDINARY NFL players (and you know who they are) and in some cases, VERY ordinary. The drafts under Scott have been absolutely terrible. Great that we have a star RB and inside LB. But c'mon guys. You need impact/great players at at least some of the following: QB, Pass rush, Off Tackle, Cornerback, Guard....and we have NO great players at ANY of these positions (Clements and Justin Smith are really just decent NFL players) and until we get someone who can recognize and acquire playoff caliber talen, it really doesn't matter that much who the coach is (if you want to win big). It is kinda stupid, by the way, to knock Mike Martz. He is in the upper echolon of NFL coaches. How do we know that? Because he gets the most out of his personnel. Production ALWAYS improves when he comes-a-coaching. Do you remember last year? But he cannot make JTO into Dan Marino. Martz puts his players in the right spot to make plays and that's what you ask of a coach. BUT YOU GOTTA HAVE THE PLAYERS. So when Ralph said to Scott on KNBR, "maybe YOU should be fired", he wasn't far off the mark in my humble opinion.