That's right, there is no "Win Monday" with Mr. Singletary in charge. Well, at least there wasn't one today. He did not rule it out in the future.
Singletary said he likes the idea of the team coming to work after a win and being able to talk about what happened the previous day. "You have something to share," Singletary said. "Who else would you want to talk to about a win?"
The 49ers, like every team in the NFL, typically has Tuesdays off.
Here are some other topics that Singletary addressed today:
--Singletary said it is very important to have an offense and defense that mesh together. He recalled times during his playing days when he would discuss what the Bears' offense would be doing in an upcoming game with QB Jim McMahon.
"When we were going to play a very difficult offensive team and the quarterback was really hot and everything else, I would talk to Jim McMahon and say, 'Hey, what are you guys thinking this week?'
'Mike, we're thinking about throwing the ball. We think we can score some points.'"
Then, Singletary would tell the quarterback, "Help us out a bit over here."
Said Singletary, "Any time you're trying to build a team, that team has to complement each other. . . . If you look around the league, the teams that have been successful have to have offensive and defensive teams that are built and structured intentionally so that they can complement each other."
--Singletary was asked about the perceived creative tension between himself and Mike Martz and how that might be productive for the team.
"I got to be very, very honest," Singletary said. "When I look at Mike Martz, I'm very pleased with everything he's doing. There's nothing that's an issue for he and I. We don't ever have an issue where I disagree with him. We don't have that.
"Normally, we're on the same page. There hasn't even been a creative friction. Right now, it has just worked."
--Michael Robinson sustained a shoulder stinger, but should be fine, Singletary said. Cornerback Tarell Brown has a tight neck, but he is expected to be OK. Safety Michael Lewis had a knee sprain but he went back in the game.
--Mark Roman is back wearing the radio device in his helmet. Second-year linebacker Patrick Willis had the responsibility earlier in the season.
"I think Patrick was relieve when we did that (gave it back to Roman) because there are so many things that the coaches are still trying to convey and the ball is about to be snapped," Singletary said. "And Mark Roman is trying to get calls out. Pat is trying to relay it to Mark Roman, and he's trying to get it out to the corners and it's just not getting there fast. On the back end, you can get beat just like that. We just thought it would be better with all the communication going on in the back end that Mark Roman would get it back and have the speaker in his helmet. And Pat would just control the front seven. That would be easier on Pat, so that he is not turning around and trying to relay messages, so that the ball would be snapped and he's not ready."
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Singletary, a deeply religious man, appeared at his press conference today wearing a large cross around his neck. He wore the same necklace yesterday on the sideline during the game. The NFL is very strict when it comes to sideline attire. But don't worry: Singletary did not violate the league's sideline dress code.
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I concur... a nice win, but they've got far too much work to do, particularly with this brutal road trip coming up. Romo looked out of sorts Sunday, they need to get some pressure on him to keep it close.
I totally agree with this move (meeting after a win)...its a step in the right direction for building a winning attitude. Now the players will see how it feels on a monday following a win rather than a loss and its gotta be a feeling they're going to want to duplicate.
We need a few Mike Rumphs on TO in the secondary. Start Goldson... we need to knock TO into next week.
That was a great hit by Rumph, but if I remember correctly, TO held onto the ball. Clements vs TO should be a good one... I can see TO throwing a fit.
I'm more worried about Harris covering Roy Williams. If Romo and Williams choose this week to get on the same page, the niners could end up in a world of hurt.
Reminder: In Week 3 against the Lions, Walt Harris held Roy Williams to two catches for 18 yards. --Matt M.
I remember Dilfer on KNBR talking about the very thing Singletary was saying about the Offense & the Defenses philosophies needing to mesh together. I totally agree. Mike might not be an expert on X's & O's but every time I hear him talking football the man totally GETS IT. I really am pulling for him.
I agree with Pat passing off the radio. Roman lucked out, that's the only reason we need him out there. The 1 or 2 plays he made this last game doesn't excuse him for his abysmal play for as long as I can remember.
I'll say it again..#31 REGGIE SMITH. That was a great hit in the backfield this last game. He really looks like a player. Reminder: In college he had 20 STARTS at Strong Safety, had 8 INT's & 22 PASSES DEFLECTED. This young man absolutely needs more playing time to see what he's got preferably at any 1 of the Safety spots.
Matt that was against a conservative OC who was pushing to run 1st. This is against Dallas' OC (forget his name)...you know those boys like to air it out. If shootme's caution raises it's ugly head it could be trouble for Harris. But hey no worries, Roman's got his back. Yeah right...lol's
John Kitna is NO Tony Romo, I'm also nervous. I hope Dallas takes the Niners lightly, and they pull off a miracle. Any chance VD stands on the star? That would be hilarious!
Matt, with Roman again handling the radio duties is there any chance left now that he could lose his job to someone else for the rest of the year? One thing I hate about interim coaches is that they'd rather win than make the team better; they have such a short timespan to prove their worth. That said, I see no way Singletary is going to want to replace Roman as long as he doesn't screw up badly out there. I'm not sure they have anyone that's ready to step into the role, but shouldn't they at least give some young guys a chance? Looking at Roman's numbers, or lack thereof, he has 40 tackles and 0 INTs and 0 sacks through 10 games. Pretty mediocre.
I guess it’s just me. I struggle listening to Coach Singletary because he seems to have trouble speaking in complete sentences and staying on point. And, he seems wishy-washy to me (see history of VD comments). Yet I hear often how “articulate” he is. My kid would flunk out of HS if he spoke or wrote this way. Am I wrong? I guess this bothers me because he sounds a whole lot like Coach Nolan…just add the cross, change a few starters and & drop the pants. I hope to see what most of you seem to see, but I just don’t. Those who buy into his "motivational" excellence are potentially "drinking the Kool-Aid" as they say. I hope this style works because I am a forty-niner fan. I can say I don’t think this works in business, from what I have seen. The rah-rah with out specific operational specifics (x’s & O’s in this case) can wear thin quickly. Even Coach Fassel of St. Louis had a nice honeymoon. Forrest Gump could have done what I see happening. But, that’s all I have to say about that.
Mark Roman (NFL.com).....
2008 / 4 PASSES DEFLECTED / 0 INT'S
2007 / 4 PASSES DEFLECTED / 0 INT'S
2006 / 6 PASSES DEFLECTED / 1 INT
I think tackles are deceiving for a safety. It might be alright with MLewis @ SS because we expect him to cheat up for run support. But for Roman I think it works the other way. He's mainly on coverage & having a lot of tackles tells me he's allowing his receiver to separate too many times allowing him to catch the ball but he's there or has the angle after a long ball for the tackle.
I think singletary isn't good at post-game press conferences, in particular, because he's a very emotional person. He's done plenty of motivational speaking in the past, but that's going to be mostly rehearsed. When you're emotional, however, sometimes the words get tied up. Nolan seemed to be talking without saying anything... Singletary just seems to have a hard time verbalizing his thoughts in an emotional state. I, for one, don't give a damn. So long as his players understand what he's saying, are willing to buy into his concept, and that gets some wins, he could randomly pick words out of the dictionary at his press conferences and I'd be fine with it.
I am also worried about Walt Harris. Even in the victory against the Rams he was getting beaten repeatedly. He was also awful vs. in the Cards game. Good offenses will exploit Harris and Roman. They are liabilities right now. It's going to be a long day for us if we don't generate any kind of pass rush on Romo due to the fact that Roman is the invisible man out there and Harris is always out of position. Let's hope Manusky is more aggressive this week and brings heat on Romo. We need to hit him even if we don't get sacks. We cannot afford to let him get into his grove coming back from his injury.
just a fan - Ha ha ha - that would be hilarious. I would love to see VD standing on the star flexing TO style. Talk about everything coming around full circle. Best part: Instead of Cowboy coming to decleat Vernon, I think it would be Singletary. Now that’s a hit I would like see.
hey why don't wanna Yoooz put a web cam in front of your tv and log into Ustream or Stickam or another one of them there steaming web sites so I can watch the game down here in HB Cali.
The only thing I ever watch is Football or baseball, it's kind of like music. I like both kinds HIP and Hop or country and Western or Roc and Roll......
Can you help a guy out????
Re. Singletary being articulate, if you haven't seen this, it may change your mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zMyEhKO8dg
Or perhaps a better word for Sing would be "eloquent".
Matt, can you confirm that Rachal will be named the starter this week and that it's a front-office and not a coaching decision?
I know all that matters is wins & losses, but I think Singletary has done a fantastic job. If Nolan was still the coach, the score of the rams game would have been a lot closer or worse.(J.T.O. would still be starting) We wouldn't have even been in the Cards game, and that stupid big sub is all we'd see. I hope he remains the HC for years to come.
One advantage I can see for us in Dallas is a stronger running game then the 'Skins showed last night.
I view this game as a playoff game of sorts, to see how we measure up with what I perceive to be a team lacking focus.
The best thing that could have happened was their win last night and, them looking at us as an automatic win.
Here's where Singletary and his ability to pump up the pride of the club and maybe inspire a little extra from Rachal or other rookies, can make a huge difference over a laid back Wade Philips.
Not to be overly optimistic, but I'd treat this like a playoff game and see if our OL can make a statement with a strong ground attack to keep Romo and Co watching us move the chains with Frank/Deshaun/MRob perhaps?
I think we can give Dallas a good game win or lose. Go Niners!
Coach Singletary speaks from the heart...his message seems to get across to his fellow coaches and players. That's all I care about...the media will ask him questions to get a better sense of who he is as a head coach and what his expectations are. I think he's doing fine...I guess some fans just have to criticize him about something. Too bad for them...
On Coach Sing's communication style. I really like what he has to say. I like his passion and his accountable attitude. He seems to be turning up the heat on the players to play and act the "right" way. Having said that, sometimes his act seems a little contrived. After his first game a few times he said, "you don't want me to get into that...". Some of his bravado seemed a little off. I hope that was just the moment but it seemed weird.
Our three wins come against teams that are 4-26 this year. They are the three teams that have worse records in our Conference. No doubt Singletary has them playing with passion, but let's see them win against teams that are not doormats or have major injuries to their stars (Hasselbeck QB, Jackson RB, Kitna QB). Let's evaluate Hill against good defenses before we crown him the second coming of Montana. I like Coach Singletary a lot, but we have spent six years in the cellar and the decision about the future coach & QB can't be a swing and a miss again. Next year I doubt the Niners will sell out as the full effects of the economic down turn hit NFL tickets sales, especially the 49ers and raiders. I still worry about the OC. Will Martz will leave? Will we have another yearly OC change?
I hope this does set up as a trap game for Dallas. What gives me hope that we can run against Dallas is how we ran against AZ. They run a hybrid D where Dallas is a straight 3-4 but AZ's front 7 aren't slouches. They're solid. I'd be curious to see where their D ranks vs the run. If we can have a good showing running vs Dallas' big boys that would be sweet & give our OL some confidence going into the 3 games afterwards vs the remaining good teams...Bills, Jets, & the Fins.
Foster's been a diappointment. Ever since JT hung him out to dry with that short pass in the preseason where he got blasted he hasn't been the same. He seems like he's just collecting a paycheck. Rachal..I really like this guy. I hope he continues to keep getting some PT.
I can't wait for this next game. This is where the real test starts for Coach. If we can show up for this next game (a W would be unbelievable) the next 3 Sundays afterwards will be buzzing. I hope our boys will come out swinging & surprise us. Niners!
Reading the comments, its like we haven't had a drink (win) for so long that now we're drunk on one light beer. I'm hopeful we can play well in Dallas, too. I like Singletary, so far. I'm going to wait for a few more games, though, before I form an opinion about Singletary for next year.
The fact that the players are getting mad when the team fumbles the ball late in the game when they're up by more than 20 has to say something about how Singletary has changed the team for the better. I don't think something like that would've happened under Nolan.
Mike in MD - Dallas is 15th in the NFL allowing an average of 105.5 yards per game (YPG) rushing. The Niners by comparison are 16th allowing 106.8 YPG. Arizona, who you compared, ranks 7th with 89.8 YPG.
Mike in SF #2 - NICE...we should be ready. Thanks for the stats. I'm psyched. If Dallas let's up (or not) we could surprise them. Can Singletary & the boys keep up the intensity & quality ball for 3 weeks in a row? That's what I want to see answered. I'm ready to crack some brews, can't wait.
If you're ever interested in league stats, you can find almost anything you're looking for at nfl.com. Player stats or team, offense, defense, whatever. Just an FYI.
shootme - thanks man. Yeah I was in a hurry & didn't have time to check it after my morning post.
Thanks for the video JBG, it really show a side of Singletary as a coach that we haven`t seen so far. Matt, do you think that the reaction that the players are having to Singletary could possibly reel in a couple of impact free agents for the Niners next year? In all honesty, I really don`t think the draft will help us inmediately as compared with free agency. A team shouldn't rebuild solely on free agency, we're past that point already. What we need is a couple of impact players (Haynesworth for example) to turn the corner.
I would much, much, MUCH rather get a solid NT in the draft if one's available. If one is available in the top ten and turns into a Rogers / Haynesworth / Sapp type of player, we'll have the nose locked down for a LONG time. Defensive line is one of those positions that's a relatively easy transition for college players.
MM - Will you guys get access to T.O. on tomorrow's conference calls? I'm sure you are thrilled to interview him again.
Shootme - really? I can think of a LOOOONG list of high draft picks on the D-line that are total busts. In fact, I think its ranked 2nd after QB busts. Recent D-line busts in the top 15 that come to mind are: Jamaal Anderson, Gains Adams, Brodrick Bunkley, Travis Johnson, Jonathan Sullivan, Michael Haynes, Jimmy Kennedy. In fact, other than Mario Williams give me a top 15 D lineman that has produced from the last 6 or 7 draft classes? Glenn Dorsey isn’t even having the impact people thought he was going to have. There may be 2 or 3 out of at least 20 high pick D-lineman that are not busts and/or underperformers. D-lineman is one of the toughest positions to hit on in the top of the draft.
I think Julius Peppers is worth the #2 overall pick he got in '01. He had a bad year last year, but he is having another pro bowl year right now. Nonetheless I think the Niners are better served getting an offensive tackle with their top pick, having a training camp battle for the left side, and the winner between Staley and that pick plays the left. The other plays the right. I think we should draft a QB no earlier then round 2. Miami was thrashed for the Jake long pick, and that is one of the reasons Chad Pennington is doing well. He was always hurt with the Jets because he was unprotected. ANY average QB turns into an above average QB with time to throw the ball.
Are you reading over my shoulder or something? I just posted a blog on that very topic. --Matt M.
hey matt, any update regarding ahmad brooks? a few weeks ago a win against the 'boys' might have seemed insurmountable now i believe that a win is a good possibility if we cut back on turn-overs and create a few of our own. on a side note; to those nit-pickers who have a problem with 'sings' alledged mastery of the english language we should remember that he is a football coach not a politician. let's be fair in judging him for what happens on the football field not behind the microphone. the great bill walsh was a skilled public speaker but he will be known for his mastery of the west-coast offense and superbowl victories not his linguistic prowess. just one more example, former stanford basketball coach (now cal coach) mike montgomery is regarded as a great public speaker but that wasn't enough to keep his job with the golden state warriors because ultimately he was measured by the bottom-line; wins and losses. i guess we can find fault in anything if we want to, but if 'sing' can produce some wins this season his language will not be at the top of my 'fault' list.