Shaun Hill...is he or isn't he? He definitely deserves a longer look. He may not be silky smooth, but he finds the open man...and gets the ball there. Given the A.Smith financial debacle, I'd like to see us draft a QB in the 2nd or 3rd rounds, if possible, and have him learn patiently while Hill gets his proper shot next year. I just worry that when defenses get a substantial reel on him he might struggle more. Still, its great while it lasts!

Matt,

Tim Kawakami was talking Ralph Barbieri and Dave Flemming (in place of Tommy) on KNBR and he stated that Mike Singletary is everything that Mike Nolan had promised to be. He even called Coach Sing the "Uber Nolan".

Yet, when asked if he thinks Coach Sing should get the job, he said that the Niners should also take a long look because of offensive woes in previous seasons under Nolan.

But correct me if I am wrong here: if Nolan was everything he was suppose to be, then Nolan would still be head coach of the Niners. If Coach Sing is the Uber Nolan, why not he become the permanent head coach under the same conditions/requirements?

That would be the logical choice, yet there is all this "Well, he is a defensive coach..." and "He may make the same mistakes as Nolan..." However, Coach Sing recognized changing the QB, changing the offensive philosophy, and putting in the right personnel as well as giving our draft choices a shot.

If Nolan failed at that and got fired, why would we let go of Coach Sing? It has to come down to two things: 1) long time fans yearning for the days of old, which does not happen overnight and will require another complete turnover and 2) racial bias. I mean honestly, there is no other logical explanation.

Traj

Nate Davis laid an egg against Buffalo last week, so the niners could have an early shot for him in the 2nd or 3rd round.

"Quarterback Shaun Hill is a candidate for the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week. He's the first 49ers candidate for one of these awards this season." - didn't he win the offensive player of the week after beating the rams....

He won NFC offensive player of the week. The Fed-Ex air award is a better award. Its for the whole league.

Mr. Miaocco - you need to stop this nonsense. "49ers still not sold on Hill; why not?" and it'll all make sense." - you the press are partly to blame for forcing coaches to name a starter you thought was good based on your own opinion......you did the same thing during the jto fiasco......now yu want the org to make the same mistake........we know yu are not a fan, but plz relax...focus on the real news.....the fans are not pressed to know who our starting qb is....and it is irresponsible of you to keep focusing on this.....why do u care anyways?.....hill has a contract, he his going no where, why can't you wait till the off season to go paparazzi.....dude chill out.....focus on the real news.....you have posted 5 stories after the game but none of Gore's ankle......what is ur problem?

Does make sense, Matt, but I think Lowell forgets that there's another Hill on the team, so maybe Singletary has gotten used to calling both Jason and Shaun by their full names.

"I’m also saying Shaunhill already has done enough to be seriously considered as next season’s starter." - you bloggers need to stop.......NO HE HASN"T DONE ENOUGH TO BE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED.....what is wrong wit you people?

"Does make sense, Matt, but I think Lowell forgets that there's another Hill on the team, so maybe Singletary has gotten used to calling both Jason and Shaun by their full names."

My response: Lowell was just having some fun with it. And I'm glad you're bright enough to know that my comment about it "making sense" was in reference to my use of the combined names Lowellcohn and Shaunhill. Thanks. --Matt M.

It's really ridiculous to expect Singletary to name Shaun Hill the starter for next year when Singletary hasn't even been named the coach for next year! Meanwhile, everybody talks about Martz being gone while he IS under contract through next year. Crazy. Here's a thought, JTO is gone cause he's on a one year deal, Alex Smith is gone because he makes way too much money....Do the Niners sign Derek Anderson as a veteran to back up Shaun Hill? I'm sure they'll get some old salty veteran this offseason, let's hope he's not as old and salty as Jaime Martin though...

I'm pleasantly surprised by the job Singletary's done with this group.

I was a big believer in Nolan and McCloughan's plans, and to an extent, I still am. I'm saddened that Nolan never got things to click all the way, although I'm glad that Singletary is getting the team's young guys some playing time. That was possibly Nolan's biggest mistake - not providing continuity and chances for the young guys, two of the three ingredients you really need to shape a young team. (Veteran leadership, the other ingredient also helps, and in that respect I think Nolan did a great job - but one out of three's not going to cut it.)

Something about the 49ers' mentality that, in retrospect, seems oddly harmful, was that Nolan was always trying desperately to WIN. I mean, I know that's the point, and we all would have been pissed if it seemed like Nolan wasn't doing all he could to ensure the team would win...but in the long run, it might have been more helpful to surrender a season, the way the Chiefs basically have by going with guys drafted in 2007 and 2008. They had just enough vets on the team (Gonzalez, Surtain, Law last year) to mentor the young guys, but enough spots left that the young guys knew they'd be allowed to play without getting instantly yanked. As a result, their record's really ugly (and I think Edwards is a good parallel for Nolan) - but I think that they'll be scary in three years.

At least Edwards threw the young guys out there, and he should be applauded for that. Nolan, on the other hand, refused to throw young guys out there, even when we were clearly out of games. It sort of reminds me of another frustrating Bay Area team - Don Nelson's Warriors, and how he stubbornly refuses to give guys like Wright and Randolph playing time even though people like Biedrins and Ellis ONLY developed through experience.

Nolan and his staff had an almost pathological fear of developing their young talent anywhere other than the practice field. I think this fear came from...well, not a lack in the front office's drafting abilities, but more from a belief that the Niners had absolutely no margin for error against virtually every team in the NFL. That meant that the only shot they had at winning games in the here and now was to try sticking with the veterans, the known quantities, rather than risking the present for the future's sake and playing the young guys. So they sacrificed "the future" in the name of wins, even though - in hindsight - it was never realistic to expect a ton out of the Niners so soon after essentially being cratered in 2003-04.

Now that some of our young guys are seeing the field, they're making improvements on a weekly basis - game action just can't be replicated in slower, "gentler" practices on an empty practice field. They're proving that the past four years HAVEN'T been a waste - that we have some good young talent, and a foundation we can build around. We may not sky-rocket to the top, but the future looks less awful than it used to. (I feel like I've been saying the same thing for a year and a half, however, so maybe I'm too optimistic for my own good.)

Basically, I think Nolan's plan was solid, but he didn't trust himself enough to follow it all the way through, to do what was necessary at the risk of losing his job. Now Singletary's taking that plan and, while still making some of the same mistakes Nolan took heat for constantly, is executing it more effectively. As a Niners fan, I hope Singletary's the real deal; I've been burned so many times in recent years, and I'd love to have discovered the answer to so many of our woes in our own backyard.

One more thing: I know that Holmgren's become a fashionable name around here, both because Parcells has done so well in Miami and because you still remember Holmgren from his time TWO DECADES AGO in SF. However, you need to remember two things:

1) Holmgren is an AWFUL G.M. The Seahawks were not successful until they stripped personnel powers from him. I made a post months ago that outlined Holmgren's substantial drafting shortcomings; you can look up his 1999-2002 drafts on Wikipedia, and he lost his front-office powers afterwards. The short version, for those of you who don't like to do research, is that he did awfully: the ENTIRE 1999 draft busted, the only guys from 2000 who ever experienced success were Alexander and Jackson (neither of whom are any good anymore), the 2001 draft yielded TWO good players out of TWELVE(Hutchinson, Lucas), with a couple of decent ones (Womack, Evans, Robinson), and the best player from 2002's draft was the hated Rocky Bernard. In other words, the best players Holmgren drafted were Steve Hutchinson (awesome, but I'd rather have 10 years of Patrick Willis than 10 years of him), Shaun Alexander (rather have 10 years of Frank Gore), and Ken Lucas (I'll take ten years of Joe Staley over a #2 CB). That's it. I know it's all the rage to rip on McCloughan, but Holmgren was a far worse drafter, and there's no reason to expect him to be better a DECADE after his Super Bowl win than he was a year after it.

2) Parcells raided every level of the Cowboys' organization, which was already functioning far better than the Dolphins, to infuse the team with new life. Is Holmgren going to raid the Seahawks, who are even more dysfunctional than the Niners, and make everything magical again?

Bottom line: Holmgren's just a name. He's burned out and exhausted, and his four-year track record isn't even as strong as our current guy's. Be careful of what you wish for.

You're right about Holmgren. However, I think Singletary has given everybody the change they've been looking for. Holmgren was a "scrap everything and start over" solution but Shaun Hill and Mike Singletary have given us all enough hope that we're not willing to start from scratch again.

I still don't know what to think about Hill. On some days, I feel like the Niners should develop him - he's really not a veteran in the traditional sense. On other days, I feel like he's a potential "Kitna for a Palmer" - a guy who shepherds the team through next year before turning everything over to the guy the Niners draft to hold a clipboard in '09.

I don't need to see the Niners win all of the next three games to want Singletary back next year. I'll take a competitive game against the Dolphins (who I'd like to see win the AFC East), another torching of the Rams, and perhaps an upset of an increasingly banged-up Redskins squad. At the very least, we shouldn't just grab Hot Coordinator X over him - unless there's a clearly better option out there, I have no problem with asking Singletary back and giving him a full-season evaluation. If he's better in Year Two than in Interim Year, keep him for good and build a team culture that reflects him.

Good news. Hopefully, Martz stays next year and we can finally have some offensive continuity for once.

Hire Singletary already, Yorks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rx0Ecx5BLk

If the 49ers lose Martz, they'd better get a very good offensive head coach or another great offensive coordinator. Shaun Hill will turn into a journeyman backup without an excellent play caller.
Aside from that, with Shaun Hill as the permanent QB, they'll need a much better defense, and more than one running back.

I agree that "Kitna for Palmer" is exactly what Hill is. But isn't that good enough? They can draft a young guy next year or the year after and play 2009 with Hill at the helm. I can live with that. I have to believe with what he's shown so far (assuming we see similar play the rest of the year) they're not going to pursue Matt Cassel or someone like that in the offseason. The QB class of 2010 is deeper than the '09 class. Maybe they should fill other needs first next year.

They do need another back! A short yardage bruiser that can those first downs. A bulked up former QB is certainly not the answer. Maybe Clayton? He's bigger than Gore at least...

Mike, last week you were kind enough to provide me with the exact time of a monster block by Chilo Rachal. That got me thinking. I, like a lot of 49ers fans, TiVo every game so I can go back and look more closely at line play and technique. That said, I know you put a lot of effort into reviewing film and picking out standout plays, good or bad. Would you mind listing a few of your highlights or lowlights after every game and the time at which they occured, perhaps in conjunction with your Game Grades?

Best,
Jersey Niner

Years ago there was talk that another starting quarterback was a terrible practice player. I think it was Johnny Unitas or maybe Sonny Jurgensen. All they did was win games, kind of like Shawn Hill. Enough said.

Man, i was hoping Martz would go.

Hill will learn to be a better practice player but practice is just that..practice. Hey , Oldtimefan.....Johnny U was cut by the Steelers who then the next year cut Len Dawson. Sonny J was a high draft pick of the Eagles and was an awful practice player. Give Hill this year to really settle down and next year he will be even that much more ahead of the game. They should still draft a qb in the 3-4 round and sign a free agent qb in the offseason. Not to shoock anyone but I would offer Alex a one year deal. Remember how bad Jim Plunkett was beat up mentally and the Niners waived him. He sat on the bench for a year with the Raiders and later led them to a Super Bowl win over the Eagles. Smith should take a one year deal. Niner Nation wants to see him be successful after all is said and done. He needs to toughen up physically and mentally. But then he has $30 million from us so can he really Man Up?

"Not to shoock anyone but I would offer Alex a one year deal." um as far as I know Smith still ahs 2 years on his contract, 2011 is voidable, so your one year offer makes no sense at all, since he doesn't even have to negotiate to get one year. The niners would have to buy him out to get rid of him and that's $$$.

One thing I find interesting is that everyone is talking about drafting another qb to replace shaunhill, but I would rather them draft a big ole fullback to just smash people up for frankgore so he doesn't have to keep pushing the pile by his lonesome and have people falling all over his legs.

Sorry Shield_Battery....my error. But a fullback??? Oh please why not draft a tight end? Or better yet a punter? Maybe we could get a kicker like Steve Miss A Mile (a little Niner trivia).