Matt - You said that Offensive coaches are better at game management but Martz was horrible at it even with the Rams. Not having all those charts is why I like Singletary. He is going by the feel of the game and his gut than what some old chart says he should do. He now has coaches that he trusts and will let them do what they are hired to do.

I am a huge fan of what Coach Singletary brings to the table, but I am concerned that game management will be haphazard, especially early in the season. Raye's rustyness calling plays, and his being in the booth will probably exacerbate the issue, unless the QB Coach has the offensive players' and Singletary's ear.

Reading your SPD article today, Matt, I can't help but get the impression that you and the other guys who cover the team don't expect this year's team to pick up where last year's team left off. Would you say that is a fair characterization?

Do you think this team is better than last year's team at the end of that season? And do you think the rest of the NFC West has improved while we have stagnated?

Thanks for the awesome coverage, Matt. There's no better place to be online for passionate 49ers fans.

....i recall a couple of years we played the seagrls and it was kinda of a close game...

...next time we played them it turned out to be a blowout....

...i have the same feeling about sunday....

...we played them close last yr and looks like we will be blown out this sunday.....

LOL at U of so little faith!! We will win this game guaranteed. Write it down. 1-0

A lot of good that game management chart did Nolan. I have never seen a HC look so clueless on the sidelines, and in his slick suit no less. The single biggest upgrade for the 49ers this season is HC. I'm not sure that Sing will be a great coach, but anyone is an improvement over Nowin. And I would put the blame for the game management blunder in Arizona last year on Martz, he is historically horrible at managing a game.

As far as the teams prospects this year, the division is wide open again. 49ers can finish anywhere from 1st to 4th, but beating the defending champs this week would give the team the confidence to stay in contention for the rest of the season... division games will be essential and winning 4 or 5 of those games would put us in good shape.

Wanna bet?? If we win you leave this blog, swearing never to return again, if we loose I leave the blog and start and Alex Smith worship blog only for you.

21-17 niners

Sounds like Sing was caught off guard by your question and could not give a straight answer immediately, so he bought time. Matt was this your impression?

"#1 Put the onus on him to accept the contract that's commensurate with No. 10 pick"

No bias there. Jeesh. Wouldn't a more accurate question be: tell the Niners don't budget an inch on their July offer and to swell out their manly chests with pride on how tough they are while the team misses the playoffs for the nth year running.

I think Sunday's game will be very interesting and, perhaps, a harbinger of the season. I expect that this game has been "circled" for a number of reasons for some time. It is the opener, against the defending champ and all the bad stuff that happened at the end of last year's game at Arizone. More importantly, however, this game marks the beginning of Singletary's first complete season. Singletary's success as interim coach, his desire to change the tone and have the 49ers be a physical team and all the momentum and good feelings come to head with this game. A Cardinal blowout victory would be a substantial blow and likely eviscerate all the good feelings and momentum. Conversely, a decisive 49er victory will only build upon the good feelings and create an even greater roaring momentum heading into the home opener against the other perceived division contender the Seahawks. A hard fought close game, win or lose, will in large part preserve the status quo. Those who see the glass half full, and most importantly the team, will continue to believe going into the home opener. Those of the contrary persuasion will say "same ole 49ers". I suspect we'll likely know how this season will play out by 5:00 pm on Sunday, September 20. If the 49ers are 0-2, there will be deep depression and the calls for Holmgren will be trumpeted from every hilltop. If the 49ers are 1-1 things will be pretty much as they are now - hoping the 49ers' season duplicates that of the SF Giants and chasing late season playoff hope. If they are 2-0 fans will be clamoring that the 49ers are back and talking playoffs. The next 10 days are going to be an emotional roller coaster. To keep that ooaster going we have to hope they don't go 0-2

Gosh. I was expecting Sing to be totally blindsided by MM's grilling interview and to admit he knows jack about game management and that's why he lost the last Cardinal game.

In 20/20 hindsight, in that game he should have thrown the red flag, run onto the field, dropped his pants - anything to interrupt the game and give time for his team to understand what the eff the zebra's had just done to his team. But that would have required quick thinking and I don't blame him.

I blame the refs. They effed up and cost the Niners the game. If it had been the Pat's the rules would have been changed to prevent it happening again. But it's the Niners so who cares.

No we won't (know how the season will play out on Sept 20). If the season was decided by the first two games, the league wouldn't have the teams play 16.

Seriously, Mr. Crabtree, get out of this blog's comment field, sign the contract the Niners have offered you and get to practice.

I'm still amazed. What you believe has been logically deconstructed and shown to be wrong by more people than just me. You have no backing for what you think other than "The Yorks are billionaires so they should give Crabtree whatever he wants," and in spite of all that you won't budge an inch. Rational analysis of the situation just seems too much to ask. For the sake of our country, I hope you don't vote.

Jeez oneniner, would you like some cheese with that whine. Either sit down and watch Singletary get this team back to winning ways or go root for some team you know will win.
Singletary's game management skills are probably a whole lot better than anyone wants to give him credit for. He seems to be a very intelligent man who is a hall of fame player that obviously played in this league at a very high level. Since he was also a student of the game, he knows way more about game management than all the people who want to question his abilities plus this guy is a true leader. This guy is not just the average ex-player.

I wish him well. Being a NFL Head coach is one tough job. What I want on Sunday is good O Line pass protection play and a better pass rush. Those are the items which we need improvement and will be our best indicators.

I know Coach will have them playing hard.

The thing that worries me about Singletary is the only Head Coach he's really had to draw on for experience is Nolan and he was one of the worst game managers I've ever seen (and I'm not only talking clock management). He's already done it once calling timeout and kicking the field goal with 11 seconds left in the 1st half instead of letting the clock run down to 3 seconds and calling the timeout. That right there is one huge coaching mistake and the kind of thing Nolan did all the time (just screwing up fundamental aspects of the job).

How many delay of game, 12 men on the field & illegal formation calls have gone against us the last 3 years? Those are all coaching mistakes and it seams like we had 2 to 5 every game.

Then how many timeouts did we burn on the players not knowing the play or the calls coming in late and then not have them for the end of the half or game when we really need those timeout.

The difference between good teams and great teams is coaching and until that gets resolved it doesn't matter how much talent you have in the players.

...i do like that Raye is going to script opening plays......always thought that a smart idea...(by walsh)

Matt,

I thought Sing's clock management was atrocious last year. With his penchant for honesty, I was suprised that he sounded like he hadn't done anything to improve his game (clock) management skills. Also I thought he missed the point of your Miami, Arizona question. His screw up at halftime of the Miami game where he could have run down the clock and prevented Miami from even getting another possession was ridiculously bad. I don't believe that error can be attributed to a communication issue with the QB.

Was it your impression that he misunderstood your question, specifically about Miami?

Question: Was it your impression that he misunderstood your question, specifically about Miami?

My response: Perhaps. But I was actually referring to the fact that the team spiked the ball to stop the clock with more than a minute remaining. After wasting a down, they failed on a fourth-down attempt to lose the game. --Matt M.

Comment: You said that Offensive coaches are better at game management but Martz was horrible at it even with the Rams.

My response: I did not say offensive coaches are better at it. I wrote, "It's always been my impression that defense is the more reactionary side of the ball, and those who coach offense are more in tune with managing a game." In other words, I think offensive coaches have had more experience dealing with it. --Matt M.

...Blame the miami loss on the right guy...stop trying to sugarcoat it....we lost because of one guy = S. HILL

Which QB in the NFL has 46 attempts in a game and cant score 1 touchdown. - S.Hill... he was 30/46 for 233 - no tds

The 49ers drove inside the Miami 25 four times without scoring a TD......4 TIMES - whose fault was that? = S. HILL

Pennington attempted 19 passes - his stats were 12/19 156 2 ...HE HAD 2 TOUCHDOWNS

No way you get close to the 20 four times and then blame the coach.....he did his job, which was to get the team there, it was up to the QB to score...

..and the consistent S.Hill did what he did best - play for a field goal

Miami had the ball for less than 10 minutes in the first half, but led 14-3 at halftime.......

..No No No.....Here we go again

"the team spiked the ball to stop the clock with more than a minute remaining"

...the team didnt spike the ball.....SHAUN HILL SPIKED THE BALL......lets be honest here....

Oh yeah! Forgot about that one. That was even bigger than giving an extra possession. People can blame Martz all they want but Sing was the Head Coach. He should have put on his big boy pants and accepted the blame for all that buffoonery. If memory serves, he kinda threw Martz under the bus on those things.

> In 20/20 hindsight, in that game he should have thrown the red flag, run onto the field, dropped his pants - anything to interrupt the game and give time for his team to understand what the eff the zebra's had just done to his team. But that would have required quick thinking and I don't blame him.

Everything you suggest here is either a 5 yards delay of game or a 15 yards unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With the clock running (or starting on the whistle) a dead ball foul against the offense at that score and time means taking 10 second off the clock.

If he had done anything like you suggest the game would have ended immediately. Leaving the 49ers with no chance to run any play whatsoever.

> I blame the refs. They effed up and cost the Niners the game. If it had been the Pat's the rules would have been changed to prevent it happening again. But it's the Niners so who cares.

The referees followed the rulebook to the letter. Blame the rules. Not the refs.

LOL at "No way you get close to the 20 four times and then blame the coach.....he did his job, which was to get the team there, it was up to the QB to score." Does the OC stop calling plays once the team reaches the 20? Do they hang up their headsets? The fact is Martz struggled calling plays inside the redzone. I'm not saying Hill is without blame, but the OC does not only call plays between the 20 yardlines. Football is the ultimate team game, where coaching makes a huge difference. Look at your boy Alex Smith, coaching killed his career (not to mention his inability to get rid of the ball on time and read defenses).

SB: But that calling time out (FG) with 11 seconds left ,was in a preseason game. If you had read Sing's responses to the question you would know that he said he would manage the clock differently in the real season . Preseason games have many other considerations and we can't possibly know whay he called that time out. Maybe he wanted his ST's to get to cover an extra kick off,so they could get better at it?

...did you watch the game last nite?....pitts vs titans - two teams that have no problem saying they are going to the superbowl

...all this talk about holdin on to the ball makes you clueless about how the game is played....

...second...about Martz - all i have to say is look at his fingers - he has a SUPERBOWL RING, which makes me believe the ultimate blame is the QB...

And 0in my recollection,Martz was clueless in that last Arizona game.He didn't even know until the next day that the ball was on the 1/2 instead of the 1/2 yard line. And the only one who kept a calm and cool head and also did as he was told in that caiotic situation,was S. Hill. Everyone on the staff PRAISED Hill the next day for being the ONLY one who kept his head and knew what was going on.
The OC made the call and the QB had no choice but to carry it out ,because the Refs didn't tell the sidelines and there were no time outs left etc etc etc. That sequence actually helped the staff to remember how calm and clear headed a leader Hill is ,and I am sure helped them make up their mind that he was their QB going forward.
Martz is gone ,he messes up things like that quite often when he was here and I believe he cost us two games last year. And the refs made it even harder on him in that Arizona game. And in the Miai game the headsets went out at just the wrong time.Can't blame the coaches for that,just bad luck. With sing as HC and Hill as QB,I bet we make some of our own luck this year !!!

...Big Ben = 2 superbowl rings

.....whtz the knock on him - He holds on to the ball too long

OC response - It is fustrating sometimes because the O-Line has to hold the blocks longer but since he got to the league we have or will not CHANGE HIS GAME AT ALL...eespecially holding the ball too long

WHY = because we win when he plays like that.

...listen to the SB winners ...not the whinners

Dang, everyone's so riled up here you'd think it was Monday after an embarressing loss.

Classic Coach Sing, "why do you ask?" Even in an interview he's not about to concede control.

Sixth Ring, careful with the bets, he'll find a way to wiggle.

Houston, I will continue to blame Martz. Had he been Sing's selection at the beginning of the season I would feel different. Sing gave Martz the respect he thought he deserved until he screwed up and cost us a game (Martz recently admitted this). The relationship between Sing and Martz after that was very different, Martz did not have as much freedom. Bottom line, Sing learned from this mistake in judgement.

Oneniner, I still think you're a funny guy.

...WHAT!!!!.....S.Hill must be feeding this guy

...Shouldn't S.Hill had told martz about the distance....

I see QB's every time showing the distance with their hands apart...

...you think Tom brady wouldn't have said something?

..."Everyone on the staff PRAISED Hill" - YOU JOE WILSON LIE...

..i guess this guy was at the meeting.....show us the quotes...

And if you read that article yesterday about how Hill earned such praise from his team mates over him dealing with Martz' mess ups so effectivly,you would not say such foolish things about our teams starting QB. (But then he is not YOUR teams starting QB,that would be Alex Smith ,in your own little fantasy league,lol).
31 other teams to choose from.Pick one you like ,you obviously don't like the Niners.

.."With sing as HC and Hill as QB,I bet we make some of our own luck this year !!!"

...oh oh oh....lol...its now "i bet"......its no more "I know"....

this guy is pathetic.....

A couple comments;
1) Last year Martz didn't allow any audibles so blaming the QB for everything is ridiculous, Hill was simply trying to execute the plays called and that is a team effort.
2) I heard a great interview with Joe Montana and Colin Cowherd and #16 said Walsh told him QB'ing success was 75% mental and 25% physical. That is the reason Hill is our starter, he is more football smart. Colin was comparing Montana to Marino and although Dan had all the physical skill you could want he didn't have the mental game to go along with it resulting in a losing playoff record with really good teams and one of the best HC's of all time in Shula. Joe din't have the arm but he had the mindset and we all know what he accomplished.
3) Loved the comment last night by the Steelers HC "the most VIOLENT team will win. That is right out of Sings sermon. I hope the Niners get 25-life for what they do to Warner & the Cards this week.

Matt,

Great job on the interview with Sing because being an NFL HC one of things that get's underestimated or maybe not noticeable enough is "time management" I have to say & it's no surprise to me now is that Sing is just a "no-nonsense - keep it simple" kind of HC & I really like his brutal honesty. It's very refreshing to say the least, man if the 49ers can somehow win this game on Sunday it could be HUGE for the 49ers pshycy & confidence for the rest of the season. Again the only 2 things that concern me is Hill's ability to throw the ball down field with effectivness & the O-line's pass protection. If the 49ers are solid in those 2 areas I think they can win.

Is that a personal attack Matt,to say about another member "This guy is pathetic" ?
It looks like you have a legit chance to do us all a favor and ban the one who posted the personal attack and broke your rules ?

...they did have audiles - it was built in the plays...i.e hot reads etc....

Or Oneniner could just apoligize for his personal attack? (with no basis in fact,as is usual with him),

Matt,

First and only Crabtree question of the year. If the initial offer the 49ers presented to Crabtree is not officially announced (meaning at this point what the 49ers are currently offered is all guessed upon)...than couldnt the 49ers actually up their offer to Crabtree and than just tell the public that was there initial offer.

I am not saying they should do this, but the concern against upping their offer is one of everybody else reaction to it. That of impending FAs they are trying to sign, a bad signal to future draft picks....but what I am saying is if nobody actually knows how much the 49ers are offering, why cant they up it if they want to?

...you forgot to mention

..."you would not say such foolish things about our teams starting QB."

.....i not only consider that an attack - i consider it tampering with the message - you owe me 2 comments of shhhh...

As usual oneniner,you are completely incorrect. Saying someone (you) wrote something foolish is NOT calling that person a fool.Not a personal attack ,but an attack on their idea,which is encouraged in a proper discussion. But you on the other hans called me personally pathetic. You called me a name and stated as an attack that I am a pathetic person,not that mt ideas are sometime pathetic,(which may be true,lol).
YOU ARE ONCE AGAIN WRONG,as usual.

If you are a man ,then apoligize. If not ,then continue on as you are and drop down a notch in everyone opinion,which would probably drop you down to lower than a ants knees in everyones personal opinion,lol.(notice i did not say you personally are lower than an ants knees).
But then,that is only opinion and not personal attack.

oneniner, Top Cat, I think you guys need to get a room.

16280, I love the 25-life comment.

..omg...this guy is gonna cry.....

...if it makes yu feel better, save the tears for when your QB is going to be benched

...FYI - take it easy dude...there was no mention of your name;.....i could have been calling S.Hill pathetic - which he his ...isnt he?...:)

Tonymantana: Yes they could easily do that. I believe that if Parker called the Niners and agreed to negotiate fairly,that the Niners probably would up their offer somewhat. Not anything near what Parker wants,but I think the niners would be more than fair.

Maybe I'm missing something but if 9er management is negotiating contracts based on other people's reaction then we have the wrong guys running the team. The 9ers have determined what they believe the fair market value to be for this player. Why would they secretly up the offer by several million dollars when they don't believe the player is worth that much money? Would you secretly pay $50k for a car you thought was only worth $40k and then lie to your wife about how much you paid? The lie might make life at home a little easier but you still paid $10k more for something than you should have...

Top_Cat - you have got to be kidding me. Please stop parenting this blog. Oneniner has been posting this way for years, if you are not used to it then maybe you should just stop reading his posts.

In other news, Roger Goodell's thoughts on Crabtree:

I asked Goodell during a recent sit-down he held with reporters in New York whether he was monitoring the situation, and whether Crabtree's stance might ultimately lead to others doing the same thing if they're not happy with the team that drafted him or the parameters of a contract offer.
"It's not without some loss to him," Goodell said of the possibility of sitting out the entire season. "He would lose his entire compensation from this season. I wouldn’t look at it that way. I’m following it but not party to the negotiations. It’s a matter that the 49ers are handling, and they’ll make a judgment."
Longtime NFL exec Joe Browne, who was sitting next to Goodell in the conference room at the NFL headquarters, then brought up the name of the last player to hold out an entire season.
"You think it helped Kelly Stouffer?" Browne asked rhetorically.
Good question.
Stouffer was a first-round pick of the Cardinals in 1987, and missed the entire year in a contract dispute. Stouffer's rights were traded next year to the Seahawks, who viewed him as their quarterback of the future.
Didn't quite work out that way. Stouffer made only seven starts in Seattle, and was gone after the 1992 season.
Your move, Mr. Crabtree.

Don't get me wrong NONiner,if we were in private,I would have no trouble calling you what you are,but this is not the place for such foul language,lol.

..lol....obviously clueless to think i care about everyone's opinion to make me feel better about myself..

....if that was the case i wouldn't last on this blog......

by the way.....i am not a man - so i wont apoligize - i am a Gay fish....lol

Mike: I am used to it and I try to ignor the guy,as most members do. But but this time his personal attack on me just touched a nerve or something. I had hoped he would man up and apoligize or that Matt would ban him for a while and give us all a break from his hatred of the team and hatred of any fan who posts things that are not hatefull.
I wish there was an ignor feature.

...cmon OLD MAN .....you can't even handle the truth

....i do have to say - Boy would i look dumb if S.Hill comes out and has a big time game..lets say 400 yrds - 3 tds. ..in victory on sunday....

....Naaahhh....not happening...lol

Mike: Sounds like the Commish is just not getting involved until the niners make a decision to file tampering charges.

ignored ! LOL

Matt. I feel that it is premature for me to comment on the specifies. I would like to comment on my impression that I find you to be my most trusted source for being my "Eyes and Ears" in bringing the team alive to my mind. I appreciate your rare talent to know the sweet spot in the tricky game of sports reporting verses self promotion. Let the season begin.

What was it that Pachino said to his older brother in Godfather 2? "You are now dead to me Fredo" ! LOL

MM – Here’s an idea for another poll (and maybe a solution to what’s becoming a growing problem on this blog) ---

Question --- Should those who wish to comment on this blog be limited to ONE comment (of no more than 200 words) in connection with each of Matt’s posts?

Of course, I don’t have anyone in particular in mind (LOL)

You may be right but doing something was a better option than doing nothing. In 20/20 that is.

As for rules and following them to the letter. That's BS. Refs use their judgment all the time. In this case they unfairly put the Niners at a disadvantage and should be held responsible for that. You just cant move the ball back two yards and blow the whistle to start the game. That's bush league.

Very funny Jerry (Is that Jerry Jones? ? lol

Cut with the lol already. Nobody gives a flying eff what you're doing.

I am usually having fun talking Niners and I appreciate your point of view and that of most of the others,and i learn from reading them. And I often laugh because I am having fun and a pretty happy guy. But i do use the lol too much,because there are no emoticons on the site and lol seems the best way to let everyone know I was smiling when I made this or that comment. I didn't want people to think I was not smiling when I made some of the comments that could have been taken wrong.
Sorry if it bothers you,

...there is a rumor crabtree is about to sign today or tomorrow...

I fail to see the connection with Stouffer "holding out" and his lack of football talents.

I do however see a connection with Brown, a longtime NFL exec, siding with the Niners.

What about John Elway who refused to sign for the team who drafted him? Guess he was a bum too.

Yo OneIdiot...

Why don't you put your pride where your mouth is...

If the Niners with Hill at QB beat the Cards this Sunday. You SHUT YOUR MOUTH and take it like a man.

If Hill ends up playing like S**T then ramble on all you want. No gray area... they WIN you SHUT UP. They lose you talk all you want.

On a sidenote... I have a 3 month old Nephew who cries less then you do.

Sorry TC, I'm in a foul mood about Crabtree. Apologies.

I think oneniner isn't hearing a rumor, he's hearing my nightly prayer. Morning, noon and nightly.

This team badly needs a bunch more playmakers on offense. Defense looks good enough. Offense looks terrible. Having Crabtree not signed is such a misguided strategy for Jed. You play hardball when you're on top of the league, not when you're a permanent bottom feeder. There you beg, steal & borrow. But what does he know about business? SFA.

No worries Realfan. I am sure all my posting is rather aggravating . Just a bored retired guy who loves the Niners and comes here to keep up to the minute on the latest news and opinion. I'll try to be less of a pain,but you know how it is,someone says something that you know is wrong or you think is not full correct and you want to correct it or at least put your 2 cents in on the subject. Sometime I guess I put a couple of bucks worth in instead of my 2 cents.(see,I didn't put those 3 dreaded letters after this post !).

...lol-lmao.....hey - u made me do it.

Oneniner: Do you have a poster of Alex Smith over your bed so you can have a both hands free? What does Vaseline and Kleenex cost when bought in bulk?

Holding the ball too long is a little different when doing so doesn't allow the gap a receiver gained to close back down because your indecisive in throwing the ball, as Alex does!

That is how he holds the ball to long you nit wit!

.."doesn't allow the gap a receiver gained to close back down "

...maybe the receiver should keep running - like the pittsburg receivers were doing last night...

...just a little common sense....just a tiny little

Thank you for the feedback. I am in good company with my appreciation.

Matt, I'm going to translate your conversation into what the two of you were really saying.
MM: "Everything was working in the AZ and Miami games and then you blew it by mismanaging the clock. So what are you studying in the offseason to make sure it doesn't happen again?"
MS: "Are you kidding? We were way too screwed up to even get to clock managemnt. So what we've been doing this offseason is correcting all the mistakes we made. If those corrections are made, and I screw up clock management, then you're right, I need to study clock managemnt."

If the niners do these things well this season, they will have a good season, regardless of who is the QB.
1. Protect the QB
2. Do not fumble the ball
3. Do not give up long TD passes
4. Catch the 3rd down passes

i have a feeling the real concern for the 49ers is the CB, the overpaid one.

You know over a week ago you said you'd explain something to me and you still haven't delivered.

In case you've forgotten and didn't see the multiple other times I've tried to remind you of it, can you explain the factual basis for your stated belief that Michael Crabtree would have been the deciding factor in winning at least two games the Niners will now lose by virtue of his not being on the field?

Or was that another example of you popping off when you didn't have your facts straight like when you accused the Niners of offering Crabtree a contract smaller than the one Aaron Maybin and Knowshon Moreno got and equal to Orakpo's at #13?

Completely unfair. But I guess you thought it was funny?
But I often do wish we had a bug in the Niners meeting rooms,so we could hear what they really think.

...maybe the receiver should keep running - like the pittsburg receivers were doing last night...

Maybe Alex should learn to throw the ball the second the receiver gets open like Ben did last night.

How many cuts can a receiver make to get a gap and still be in the area he is supposed to be in within 5 seconds.

Also, PITT offense now and SF offense when Alex was starting were not comparable in terms of how it is performed.

In Alex's system he was supposed to drop and get rid of the within an allotted time/progressions. Alex was always slow through his progressions and I cant say for certain but SEEMED to be afraid to make the throws he needed to make.

Ben's offensive scheme allows for plays to develop and when a receiver cant get open he will PUMP fake with such a convincing manner that it can often cause defenses to react and open up a gap. Then Ben will through it before that gap closes UNLIKE SMITH.

For someone who criticizes others lack of knowledge of the game you sure don't make a case for yourself.

Nice back-and-forth Matty Mac, goin head to head with Samurai Mike?! Wow!

MM: "Do you use charts?"

MS: "Charts? I don't use no dog-gon' charts! Can not win with them, can not coach with them, CAN'T DO IT!"

...dude.....Yaaaaawn....eat a stick.

...you have no idea how this game is played...you just a fan of football cuz of their jersy's....

Realfan: You really don't think the offense is going to be improved over the pretty good one we ran last year when hill was there?
I would bring to your attention once again,that the starting offense did not run one play together in preseason,not even one play together.So we will not know until this sunday and really will not know until about a month of the season is gone.But it looks promising to me with the pieces that are there.

And if i were Jed ,I would have requested a sit down with Crabs and the agent both present. Just a talk to see if there is any chance the agent and player are going to be fair.I gues that Parker would not allow his brainwashed client to actually hear the other side of the matter straight,without being filtered through the shark of an agent.But I would try. And maybe Jed and Scotty and Paraag HAVE tried to reach out but have hit a stone wall? We don't know.

This is what i said to you two threads ago, when you made the same comment about big ben:

LMAO come on man, you can't be seriously comparing Alex Smith to Ben Roethlisberger in that context, right?

Smith is 6'4", 217.
Roethlisberger is 6'5" 240.

He's bigger, stronger, and has proven he can escape adverse situations to make plays. I actually do think he holds the ball too long, but his line was holding up for him, and the Titans were only bringing a four man rush for much of the second half and OT. He also made some ill advised passes, and took a 19 yard sack for holding onto the ball too long. Smith hasn't proven he can make plays given the time. He takes the sack much, much more often. Absolutely incomparable.

That's your response that I have no idea how the game is played?

too funny.

Sorry just because you eat alex smiths stick doesnt mean every one else does.

Prove to me I know nothing about football.

Better yet prove to me how you are such an expert on how the game is played.

Just as I thought.... you're too much a coward hiding behind your keyboard to accept the challenge.

oneniner = BROKEBACKNINER

I certainly hope the 9ers play with as much passion as the fans on this blog. Of course, they should leave all the bickering, name calling, and foolishness to all of us since we have perfected it. Good luck to all of you on Sunday. I'll be screaming at my TV as usual. Hopefully the 9ers play well and my kids don't learn any new words from me.

Fantasy football is what happens to a person that watches a game. A fan. A booster. An Alum nigh. The players are the only ones that are experiencing reality. A coach that understands this is rare. When I played the game ,I would have thrived on the opportunity to take out my coach. The A hole would have been annihilated. He was asking me to do stuff that he couldn't do him self. The modern game of football at a pro level is heavy into cerebral. More like chess. The reality for the players hasn't changed from the time I was playing on a rock strewn dirt field that ate any body part unfortunate enough to come in contact with it. (no pads) Great motivation to stay upright! The 9ers new coach has played inside the game. Please do not bore us with your disconnected postings. This season can be magical.

I will piddle my logic here
Crabtree is a kid......he has final say and control of his situation...but clearly there are others speaking out on his behalf....bodyguard and sanders, so assume he is fine with this activity since he has never spoken out to refute.

He is in the bay area....not sure this really suggests anything except quick turnaround time....or that he likes the weather here better than dallas. Don't understand why nobody has tracked his activities since he has been here. Has taken passes from dilfer, but doing a route tree is little indication of anything since no adrenaline is involved.

Next Cleveland had the original 5th pick and they said no....So that eliminates Crabtree from being a top five pick. A QB went in that spot. Oakland said no outright by taking a different kind of WR so that eliminates him as a top 7 pick.

Crabtree entered the draft this year because of predicted information provide to him by his entourage or agent. Just like a stock or IPO. It didn't pan out as expected. The best Crabtree could get in the scenerio that that transpired was to be an 8th pick, but of course this didn't happen either.

I have reviewed a number of Crabtree college games...IMO he does not have clear downfield separation speed. His routes are not crisp. He has great hands and leaping ability making him a possible great red zone player. But the issue here is can he really gain separation space in the NFL. I do not consider his body of work to be elite....no matter what the statistics suggest or his awards.

Niners did not try and move up the draft to select crabtree so they don't believe him to be worth anymore than the 1oth pick.

So in my opinion it comes down to whether i think the 9rs are presently enamored enough with his skill set to meet crabtree halfway. Halfway would be between the 8th pick and 10th pick... meaning 9th pick money. He clearly was not going to be any higher pick than 10th. He rolled the dice by entering the draft and here he is. Do the niners want to financially coddle crabtree?

So what does the draft really represent.... Is it slotting based on record...yes of course....is it slotting based on compensation...guess that is the crux of the argument.

I could blah blah blah on and on.....but it comes down to this IMO.....pay him 9th pick guarantee money as a show of good faith with incentives for 7th money. Otherwise let him sit out the season and hope for a good trade in March and be ready to move past the void of the 2009 # 10 pick if he re-enters the draft.

Because I don't know the guy personally what can i say about his soul.....but I do not think the niners should not bow to his wishes...just like i don't think the niners should have drafted Vernon....ROI is just not there.

so even though i think it is OK for the niners to capitulate a bit on the salary demands (9th guraranteed money) I will chose to vote let him re-enter draft because in my estimation on film i have seen of him he is not a great receiver that will make defenses change schemes.

If 9rs can trade him trade him for picks across a couple of years, i.e. 2nd next year and 1st year after. Or guesstimate where crabtree would go next year based on Tom Shay and stiff hair's predictions if he re-entered, since clearly he took the guys 2009 prediction as dogma.

I'm kind of a simple kind of guy when it comes to a 49er football game on TV! I just want to turn a 49er game on! Grab my beer and chips! And not have an idea who's going to win!
NOW THAT WILL BE EXCITING!

I'm not 100% with your logic but I am 100% with your bottom line that the Niners need to get off their asses and start negotiating with the kid & his agent. Standing pat ain't working.

Assuming the published guesstimates are correct, I'd start by upping the 5 year/$20m/$16m guaranteed to 6 years/$24m/$19.2m guaranteed.

Worked for the Seahawks when they busted the slotting system in signing Curry. But of course they did sacrifice their reputation with the rest of the league (heavy sarcasm).

But.... but..... but......... Mel Kiper said Michael Crabtree was the most talented player in the draft! What room do you have to actually watch Texas Tech games and see Crabtree not get separation downfield against crappy Big 12 defenses and then come to the conclusion his padded stats don't mean he's the second coming of Jerry Rice?

Smith has also proven he is not as durable

oops, i think i piddled under the wrong blog tree....should have been under the other crabtree voting blog..

i have to admit my room was in germany so maybe my vantage point was skewed

the only person I read that posts more than one screen full is Matt. This is not the place for essays.

People are forgetting that Singletary is still practically a rookie HC, and there's always going to be growing pains for the first 2 years of a beginning HC's career.

People seem to forget how horrible Bill Belichick's clock management/planning skills were during his beginning stint with the Cleveland Browns in the 90's (which forced him to resign back to assistant head coaching gigs before having a horrible 5-11 first-season with New England - before the system/maturity came into play).

Husten 49re. Precisely. I cannot imagine a person that does not have an overview slightly above the average bothering to post. I am listing.

.

Dear mr. Snake person. No body forgets anything.We just change the past. Makes us comfortable in our illusions. What do you really now about Snakes? Met the snake Goddess? She is an immortal. Here to teach us. Been there ?

why should i care about opinions on my verbosity ... skip it if it is not pleasing to ur eye.....and yet matt hasn't personally mentioned anything to me....

anyways, i don't post that often, maybe once during a month or two span

Sorry to bust your bubble... but you should look up Mike Tomlin ;)

In the airport... On my way to Phoenix to REPRESENT!!!!

GO NINERS!!!!

....nobody is talking about the players........focus on the act of holding the ball ....

..Its ok for Big Ben to hold on to the ball......Not ok for A. Smith to do the same.......

JGwindsor: Actually Crabtree did post some comments on a website and told his fans not to listen to the garbage that was being spewed through the media .And even his agent said that the Cousin did not speak for Crabtree .
Stop listening to the garbage ,as crabs said.
It's just business between the kids agent and the team.
There is a real game coming up on sunday,with players who have signed contracts !

Go Niners, knock Warner out of the game. I want to see total domination with an old school beat down.

Lucky bugger! Give them a yell or two from me. Go Niners.

Question: Will Paraag Marathe be in the booth?

Singletary: "He'll be up there. I'll communicate with him, as well as the other coaches. That's something we continue to do. It's a work in progress.

Ok, I have never heard an explanation of why Paraag is in the booth. I thought he was a contract negotiator for the organization? Does he have a coaching background or some other type of expertise that can help the team?

I am also very curious of how Paraag will be involved in the coaching booth during games, hoping to get some insights from MM or others, thanks!