Coach Mike Singletary met with the media, and here are the issues he addressed:
--Safety Michael Lewis will not suit up for the game. He sustained his third concussion since mid-August on Oct. 11, and the 49ers are taking a conservative approach with him. "It's a matter of continuing to talk to the doctors and talk to the trainers and making a decision of what's best for him," Singletary said.
--Mark Roman, the team's third safety, will make his first start of the season.
--Third QB Nate Davis missed his second day with an "illness" and will probably not make the trip to
--Singletary was asked about the quarterback situation. "I wanted to go with the guy who gave us the best chance to win, and felt Shaun Hill was that guy," Singletary said. "Who knows what happens in a season, but coaches and myself believe in Shaun and his ability to move the team and help us win football games."
--How has Alex Smith looked in practice? "Alex looks fine, but you can bring guys in off the street in practice and they look fine. It's just a matter of continuing to get better . . . and Alex is getting better."
--Frank Gore will start at running back after missing the past two games with a bum ankle.
--Safety Reggie Smith, who sustained a severe groin strain on Sept. 27, will miss another game. With Lewis and Smith out, rookie Curtis Taylor will be the team's fourth third safety.
--"When you look at Isaac Bruce, Josh (Morgan) and (Michael) Crabtree, they're all going to play about the same. It just depends on how the game goes and the flow of the game," Singletary said.
--Singletary was asked if he's one of the team's best three receivers or is he getting there? "He's getting there. Obviously, you see the talent there. He's going to play that much faster when he gets it," Singletary said. "He's definitely a talented guy, and once the game starts, we'll see how it goes."
--"Do I expect him (Crabtree) to make plays? Absolutely. That's why he's playing," Singletary said.
--Delanie Walker will retain his role as the 49ers' primary kickoff return man, Singletary said. Arnaz Battle will handle punt-return chores.
--Defensive lineman Ray McDonald is coming along "fine." It will be a game-time decision whether McDonald suits up, Singletary said.
--Singletary was asked if he remembers his first NFL game, and he immediately answered, "That's a bad question."
Why was that a bad question?
"My first (start), I played the first play of the game and called a timeout and got benched for the rest of the game, and we won the game," Singletary said of a game in the middle of the 1981 season against
He said he called a timeout because Buddy Ryan told him the night before: "Whatever I tell you to call, that's what I want you to call. If you call anything other than what I said, we're going to have a problem."
Singletary said he got the call from the sideline and veteran Gary Fencik thought the call was something else. Singletary and Fencik were arguing in the huddle, and Singletary called a timeout. Ryan was not pleased.
"I got to the sideline, he (Ryan) tells me to sit down, curses me out and I didn't get up the rest of the game," Singletary said.
* * *
49ERS INJURY REPORT
Out: QB Nate Davis (illness), S Michael Lewis (concussion) and S Reggie Smith (groin).
Probable: RB Frank Gore (ankle, foot), CB Tarell Brown (illness), DE Ray McDonald (ankle) and CB Marcus Hudson (shoulder).
TEXANS INJURY REPORT
Out: S Nick Ferguson (knee).
Doubtful: LB Jamie Winborn (calf).
Questionable: LB Brian Cushing (foot), DE Mario Williams (shoulder).
Probable: K Kris Brown (right ankle), S Bernard Pollard (illness), LB DeMeco Ryans (chest).
Without Rossum, the chance for 49ers' kick off return TD is zero. Delanie Walker problably makes it to the maximum of 50 yard line. Niners are getting slower (Against Atlanta, Morgan and Bly got caught from behind)
True...
Walker and especially Battle aren't going to score us any touchdowns. as long as they don't fumble, I can live with that. I feel bad for Roman.. really nice guy. but just no instinct for the game. although at SS, might not be such a bad option... M. Lewis is great in the box, but just too slow in coverage. (I'm still dreaming of Taylor Mays)
try to remember... we just got our two best offensive players on the field at the same time for the first time this season. and yes, I am referring to Mr. Crabtree. he WILL be a difference maker in the NFL. there is just no way Sing plays him this much unless he is just leaps and bounds more athletic and talented than our other guys. I know someone in particular is going to mention that he's putting him in to save his job... please. Sing compromises his values for no one. Crabs must be playing because he's ready and that good. of course I'm biased as I thought he was far and away the best player in last year's draft.
I'm pretty excited about the game.
Wrong. D.Walk played wide reciever in high school, so he has the speed. He returned a kickoff for a TD in the preseason a year ago. Yes, I realize it was preseason but to say chances are "zero," imo would be, well, wrong.
My question though would be, why not Spurlock? Dude is still on the team, right?
kick off or punt return would have been perfect for kory sheets. his explosiveness would really have added to it. oh well, we lost him. i think delanie walker will do fine. you think he's slow, but he's actually fast. he's a big guy, and big guys look slow when they're running.
i can see why this qb controversy really bothers the coaches. just because hill had this one bad game, where the defense gave up 45 points, and the OL didn't show up, the media bombards singletary with "maybe a qb change?" i know it's your job to ask questions, but it's the media that just fuel the fire and causes the touble.
i think hill will rebound (if the OL can help out here) with gore back and crabtree drawing attention away from the other receivers. i can't wait for the game! defense will show up and put a stop to air-shaub! niners 24-13!
"My question though would be, why not Spurlock? Dude is still on the team, right?"
I totally forgot about Spurlock... and that's a good question.
second that. what about spurlock?? we keep him and let others go? how come he's not punt returning or kickoffs?? he's the biggest mystery out there!
MM - can you please ask singletary what's the BIGGEST reason the niners even keep him?
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Smith by Sing,was it ,lol. Poor alex.
Yeah TC, I thought the same thing. Ouch.
I just hope they play better on the road than has been the case this year. The Texans seem to be catching fire at just the wrong time and the O line has been at their worst on the road with stadium noise. Tough game and even tougher the next week !
Hate to think about how many haters will be around in two weeks if the Niners don't pull at least one of these next two out .
For all the Mark Roman haters, it's time to say a little prayer that he has the game of his life. Not much else to do, other than wallow in fear.
Matt,
With all the hoopla about Crabtree, Brandon Jones seems to have fallen off the radar. 49ers signed him before Crabteer fell in their lap. Is he going to get any playing time? We don't even know if this guy can play. Is Josh Morgan better than him? They paid a lot of money to Jones and no one is even talking about him. What is going on?
Ken Dorsey looked like a HOF QB in the pre-season. So did Tim Rattay! So who cares if Walker beat a bunch of pre-season scrubs, most of whom never played an NFL game and, no doubt, half of whom probably didn't even know their assignments?
Beating scrubs in pre-season is NOT an accomplishment. And don't get me started on HS ball. That's totally irrelevant. Out running a bunch of HSers that can't run better than 5.3 isn't gonna do it for you in the NFL.
So let's wait and see. And be realistic. He hasn't been great shakes when used as an emergency fill-in a return man in the regular season. He simply lacks the burst and elusiveness you need in a top-flight return guy.
His being promoted was just more of that stupid wishful thinking that seems to have rotted Singltarylan's brain.
Talk about a pessimistic outlook... why don't you grow some and root for your team rather then cry an complain over every little thing.
I hope Walker breaks one just so you look like a jacka$$!!!
I can't help but think... this game will be dictated by the Snyder move inside to guard. one thing the guy can do is power block... now, I'm still not sold on the line as it is for pass protection, but if this helps open things up for gore... then it could be the difference maker.
our fortunes aren't dictated by our QB... it that line of ours. how far we go this season really depends on them. (I know... not an appealing thought) I don't know what the hell happened to Rachal... but I hope he pulls his finger out soon. he looked so promising?
Moses: Walker has been a really good kick off returner for us for years. He is very consistent and we are lucky to have him. Nobody is saying that he is a track star but he does have really good speed for a TE and has shown he can do a really good job at kickoff returns.
And Roman needs to be replaced and not be on the roster next year BUT he is pretty good in run support and can cover better than Lewis. He is simply HORRIBLE at FS but at SS he is mediocre and sometimes fairly good. In reality I think both Lewis and Roman should be gone next year ,or at least only kept for backup duty or 3rd string.
Walker can brake tackles at least. But what happened to Morgan moving into that role? Also I wouldn't mind seeing Jason Hill or Brandon Jones do some return work. They are supposed to be the fastest two people on the team, and we're paying 16 million for Jones so we might as well get some use out of him.
I actually agree with you this time 333 !
I would not be surprised to see Morgan on punt returns if Crabs starts getting the huge majority of the playing time at WR and Moregan has more down time .
They probably have tried Hill in practice as returner and maybe even Jones(although probably not,since he has only been in game shape for about 2 weeks now). Maybe they just prefer Battle because he is reliable. They certainly don't want to have turnovers on punts returns,right after the defense gets off the field. (although even Battle bobbled a few lately ).
***Good question though MATT, ask the ST's coach why it is battle on punts and Walker on KO's ,have they tried the speed burners Jones and Hill and Spurlock in practice and rejected them for some reason? ***
Thats the power of the 49ers, people who have nothing else in common (on the surface), can bond over a common love for our football team.
Hi Matt,
Intresting stuff about Singletary's first start and Buddy Ryan.
I wonder if next time you can ask Coach Sing aboput another episode from his Bear days. I am referring to the time when the Bear Defensive players (including Singletary if I remember rightly) carried Buddy Ryan off the field after their Super Bowl win. I have always thought Ditka must have been seriously PO'd. I wonder if Singletary still thinks the players did the right thing, and how he would feel now if the Niners won the SB and the defensive players carried Manusky off the field.
I am sure there is a lot more juicy Ditka / Ryan stuff that has yet to see the light of day.
I agree that the prospects of Walker and Battle returning kicks seems very...safe. No real TD threat. Sure they could, but pretty unlikely.
But to be honest, I am more worried about a lot of other things in this game than that. A lot of us 2nd guess Sing and his choices, and his plan, but the 49ers were not going to turnaround in a season. The ATL game was uh-uh-ugly, but I'm going to give him a little more leash than that.
If they come out and play disciplined, tough and execute well, then I will look at the ATL game for what it was -- an under prepared team coasting along on all their hype. If they come out flat, or are out-coached again this Sunday, then I think it safe to say, we have some real problems.
Rick: very different scenario. Ryan and Ditka couldn't stand each other by the end of that season. The defensive players were fiercely loyal to Ryan and it was commonly know that it was his last game with Bears, so I don't think they meant it a insult to Ditka so much as a "Thank you" to Ryan. Remember... they (players) felt they were the best defense ever up to that time and Ryan did invent the 46 defense they were using. I don't know of any of the defensive players having a problem with Ditka.
the only way it would be applicable is if Manusky and Sing were feuding
I still think we should use Bruce only on third downs and see if Hill and Hill can make the connection again. Also as mentioned on here, why not let Brandon Jones get some playing time now that he's back healthy. I did have a pretty good TC before getting injured. I know Bruce is a great guy and a future HOFer but it's time to let the young guys step up. I'd like to see Crabs, Morgan and Hill/B. Jones in our three receiver set. Bruce just doesn't have enough left in the tank to be an every-down receiver and he's been very quiet as of late.
I can't wait till Sunday, I've had a bad taste in my mouth for two weeks.
Dang it, I was hoping no one would catch that. I shoulda known better. My bad, I said HS when I really meant college. But yeah, you may be right. That's why I asked about Spurlock.
Realistically? I have faith in D.Walk...as long as he doesn't fumble the ball again!
Ditto. I couldn't even watch the following monday night game after that falcons debacle.
The only thing that's equally bad as telling me that Alex Smith is starting is telling me that Mark Roman is starting. HORRIBLE.
Mark Roman .....the Alex Smith of the defense.
The D-backfield is screwed with Roman back there, he is terrible.
9er1:
At least he is not starting at FS. At SS they don't ask Roman to do as much and although he might screw up ,he can't screw up as big time at SS as at FS.(at least not as often,lol).
I'm making my Crabtree prediction now for the Houston Game:
11 catches 238 yards 5 TD's .. and 1 TD passing on an end o'round... the receiver on play ironically enough will be Michael Crabtree, who after throwing a perfectly spiraled 60 YD laser, darted past the defense to make a spectacular leaping catch in the corner of the end zone.
In response to to his play, Mike Singletary immediately hand over the starting QB job to Crabtree, who in the postgame press conference declares he's humbled and he still has a lot to learn and needs to do a better job of getting the ball into the hands of himself more often.
"Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Smith by Sing,was it ,lol. Poor alex"
Have you heard Singletary give ringing endorsements about anybody yet? He doesn't.
re: Roman "but at SS he is mediocre and sometimes fairly good.
the problem this weekend is Houston's a passing team with another good QB and receivers.
Top Cat - true, he is even worse and more exploitable at FS. If he was playing FS again, i'm not even sure i could watch. He is THAT bad.
sing says this "--Singletary was asked about the quarterback situation. "I wanted to go with the guy who gave us the best chance to win, and felt Shaun Hill was that guy," Singletary said. "Who knows what happens in a season"
but who knows what happens in a season...hmmm is this a clue to let us know shaun hill is doomed! i hope so!! put in smitty!!!! hills noodle arm is pathetic.
Smith is horrible, case closed. Accept the facts, he is finished. Talk about noodle arm...Smith either throws into the dirt, or 7 feet over guys' heads and 5 feet behind them. He is NOT a starting NFL QB, it isn't even arguable anymore.
We won't see Smith playing for us this year unless Hill gets hurt. Even then, Davis is better, but he has the "rookie" tag thing going on, otherwise he'd move up to starter. Smith is done here guys, time to move on from it. We will have a different clipboard holder next year, and Alex will be 3rd string somewhere else, just like Tim Couch was. Sorry.
im excited to have taylor prob getting some playing time at safety too. matt do you see us drafting a CB next year?
Did you try to borrow some money from Smith and he turned you down or something? Those are pretty strong statements about a guy we haven't seen play in a real game for 2 years. We sure didn't get a good look at anybody in preseason other than Davis and that was mostly against backups.
We won't know if he's made any progress or not until we see him play again. If he hasn't then the Niners should get rid of him, not just because of your reputation as a highly respected NFL talent evaluator. You do have one don't you?????
Hi Matt, The return game has been neglected by the 49ers almost as a tradition. When Walker builds up a head of steam he's impressive but you need a burner that's shifty. Anytime Rossum touched the ball I thought he could take it to the house, he just left that impression. The Houston game will show us where we are at. They've been hot but have always been an up and down team and if Gore gets going we have a shot. The key to the game IMO is not letting them get too many touches. Please no pitch and catch.
Do you really think that the Shaun Hill questions are only the result of a media "causing trouble"? Poor performances by the OL and the defense notwithstanding, anyone watching that game with any objectivity whatsoever could see that Hill had a miserable game as well. In fact he hasn't had a real good game other than perhaps against the Vikings. I didn't need to wait for the press conferences to figure that out; neither did Singletary. In fact, neither did Hill.
don't count alex smith out yet. remember how well he played in
2006? especially the second half of the season. Hurt in 2007 & 2008. when he gets his chance,which will be soon I hope, he will
lead this team to the playoffs.
Could all the teams talk about how well Crabtree has picked up the playbook be just a ploy to make him a better decoy against the Texans?
It will be interesting to see how many times the 49ers run the ball when Crabtree is on the field.
It's not like there are that many routes for a receiver to run, it's just more about what to run in certain situations. if they aren't making do hot routes, or options, then it shouldn't be too hard for someone to run a route associated with a called play.
oh so my point is it's not a stretch to believe crabtree has picked up the playbook like a fish in water. he's been footballin' since 3 yo.
9er1, Smith hasn't played for 2 years, how do you know he is horrible. Why is this so personal? I'm not a Hill fan, but I thought let's see what he can do "managing the game". I really don't want a QB managing the game because I've seen the greatness of Montana and Young. Hill clearly is just getting by - not a playoff QB. At some point, we should try Smith and if he doesn't work out, we draft a QB and take a long look at Nate Davis. I'm beginning to believe Singletary feels the same way - he knows we need better play at QB but he is supporting Hill (for now).
I don't need to borrow any money, player. I respond to posts about Smith because I am sick of hearing about the guy, and because I want to.
He's a bust. You can sit there and make excuse after excuse for the guy. Bottom line - if he's not hurt, he's taking 8 seconds to throw passes 7 feet over WRs heads. And this is 5 years later. If he had any inkling of talent it would've shown through by now, no matter how many obstacles he's faced. You and several others who want to give the guy 10 years to "develop" on 49er payroll....forget it. This is the what have you done for me lately league. And lately, Alex hasn't done anything for us, even if he isn't hurt.
GET OVER IT PAL. It's only football, and the 9ers are doing what's best for the QB situation by playing Hill and drafting Davis, and probably drafting another QB in '10. Don't take it so personally, it will be ok, you'll be fine.
Here's another thing I'm sick of.
No, Hill isn't the best QB in the world either. Obviously we all know this. BUT, just because Hill is more of just a simple game "manager" and not a hugely talented guy, doesn't mean we regress completely and start Smith who is even worse. That's like a 17 year old kid telling his parents if they don't buy him the Lexus he will just ride his bike. We've been down that road. Smith lost out to Hill...for a reason. He also lost out last year too.
Forget it. if Hill gets hurt, Smith will unfortunatley go in and make everybody happy with his 3 INTs and 115 yards/O TDs a game. And after a few games of that, we will hear the screams for Davis.
Go figure.
I wonder who's the one taking it so personally, (PAL). I'm not the one the one who's obviously upset at the mention of Alex Smith's name. Have you actually read your posts? There's alot of anger there for a player who hasn't even played yet this year!!! An objective person wouldn't make the statements you make when the guy hasn't even played in 2 years. If he'd been losing games as the current starter or even backup, your opinion might have some validity but since he hasn't........ Unlike you, my observations and conclusions about players not getting the job done(ie: Roman) are based on watching CURRENT performance or lack of it. I'm not a Smith fan or hater, just a long time fan who knows the Niners need a stronger armed QB with the current surrounding cast. Your viewpoint is just as baseless as oneniner's, only on the opposite end of the spectrum.
You seem about ready to have a coronary at the mention of Smith's name. Alex Smith! Alex Smith! Oh sorry ,you OK?????? Calm down. LOL
will gore and crabtree save hills job?.....you betcha....that is a lot of cover-up offensive talent being injected at once.....gore takes the ball out of hills hands on run plays and crabtree will effectively make gore's screens better ( i suspect).....hill has to get better
the offensive skill players are at the beginning of a metamorphism. I do believe bruce should be transitioned out (of course i will hedge this opinion because singletary is loyal to this one player).....need speed that can truly threaten downfield at this position to clear out the underneath slants etc for crabtree (and to be effective requires a QB who can deliver the deep throw-and a OL which protects the goods)...and Davis has demonstrated enough to also help with crabtree clearouts with up the seam routes...Yep i think hill has been saved....this in the season event smith was never afforded.....hill has some great weapons at his disposal...a veteran perfect route runner in bruce.....a speedster with improved hands and excellent blocker in davis....untapped speed in hill and jones....now the messiah (j/k sort of) in crabtree ...and finally gore the great cow bell.....the OL is probably good enough(based on last half of last year)... With the explosive threat of all these legitimate weapons IF the opposing defenses still stack the box then it sends a clear message - defenses don't believe hill can deliver and they will continue to overwhelm the OL to get to Hill and, therefore, Hill should be removed....simple as that....and if raye doesn't effectively set up the offense schemes with these kinds of weapons at his disposal to cause the defense to pause then he also is a liability, along with hill's ineffectiveness, to attacking any and all parts of the field. The houston game is not some much a litmus test for me as the indy game will be after that. If niners do well against houston will that cause indy to rethink its approach to the 9rs offense?
moving snyder inside a spot to provide up the middle running prowess will be interesting development for edge plays...
ps. niner's defense was not totally responsible for 45 points given up.....half of those points fall on the offense and special teams...
I do not understand why we do not use on of our young cornerbacks or wide receivers to return kicks & punts?
It seems like that's what most teams use...and they tend to be the fastest players on the roster. How about Crabtree?
It's a fair question and you're not the only one who's been wondering. It seems like the only phase of the team that is going to be aggressive and utilize speed is the "D". STs and the"O" seem to be satisfied using plow horses instead of race horses
Hill did not "beat out Smith" last year. Hill wasn't even getting training camp reps because of a 'supposed' tired arm. He didn't move out of his very familiar 3rd string spot until it was determined that Smith's shoulder was still not healed from the 2007 injury and would require another surgery. I seriously doubt that Hill would have had an opportunity to play at all last year if Smith had still been on the active roster. But he did get that opportunity and has shown that he can play well enough to beat the bad teams.
Yeah, JTO beat him out. that's how bad he was. Hill then eventually took it over, as we all know.
Nobody is doubting we need a STRONGER ARM!! But the stronger arm is NOT Alex Smith, it would be Davis, but he isn't ready. And the QB they draft in '10 won't be ready either, so for now it is Hill!
I will say this and leave it at that...HILL, with a "tired" arm and broken thumb is better than Alex Smith in his best day!! Even Alex's best days in 06(his big claim to fame) are far below average by NFL standards! Like I said, get over it. Hill isnt the best QB in the world, but he's the best WE have for now. Next year it will be different!!
A Halloween thought:
Who wouldn't like to be at 9er1's house with a video camera if oneniner showed up Halloween in his Alex Smith costume trick or treating. Might get UGLY!!!!!!!!!!!
I wasn't sponsoring Smith; I was merely refuting your unfounded claim that Hill beat Smith out last year. Smith went into camp #1 but was hampered by a still injured shoulder; Hill was #2, and O'Sullivan was a distant 3rd. O'Sullivan was promoted because neither Smith nor Hill were able to distinguish himself in the Martz system. At that point both Smith and Hill moved down a notch to #2 & 3 respectively. Subsequently Smith went on IR and Hill moved up to #2. That isn't an argument in favor of anyone; it is just an unblemished retelling of the facts.
The more telling fact is that McCloughan and 49er management screwed up in not providing better depth at the position. If one is to really believe that the current roster is capable of being a playoff team, it is criminal to have to pick between Smith and Hill to play QB, the most important position an any NFL team.
Even funnier is if he showed up at my house with other kids who had on Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf, Rick Mirer and Heath Schuler jerseys!! I'd have them all in for a "bust" party. Now THAT would be funny....