MM - Is Hill being “a little sore” similar to his arm needing some rest last training camp? Or am I reading too much into this situation and he really did need a break? Great stuff as always. I am really enjoying the new video and Audio features of your website.

Question: Is Hill being “a little sore” similar to his arm needing some rest last training camp? Or am I reading too much into this situation and he really did need a break?

My response: There's no QB controversy in Singletary's mind. Shaun Hill is the starter. If there were any doubt, he would have found some play time for Smith in the blowout loss to the Falcons.

There were few complaints about Hill's play in the first four games. If Singletary is ready to make changes based on the Falcons game, probably Shawntae Spencer and Patrick Willis would be the only players to remain as starters.

And, Mike, thank you for the kind words. It's much-appreciated. --Matt M.

Matt, do you know what I think would be super awesome? A podcast of your First Take segments. I almost never get to see them. These are great though!

MM - Do you sense any worries from the staff and players that if the niners are behind in a game, they don't have the tools on offense to make a comeback......

Matt,

Any buzz on getting Michael Spurlock to return kicks? He seems to be much more explosive than Battle or Walker and he's had some success in the past doing so in Tampa. Thanks Matt and keep up the good work!

You are awesome. Thanks MM - I'm not sure what us 9ers fans are going to do when the big boys come calling to put you on the National stage. Certainly you have earned and deserve it.

MM - looking back to last week - which was a huge loss.

Did you sense any worries from the staff (especially Coach Sing) - that with all the talk during the offseason, about some teams been up and that we are a team coming up, that maybe they over-stated the success of the team against not so good teams....

I say this because this is Coach Sing worst loss - shouldn't their be more questions be asked?

seems more questions were asked about the coaching staff strategy after the loss to the vikings compared to this blowout at home to the falcons...

Matt,

In your opion, is there anyone out there worth trading a #1 pick for? I want to see what some options may be for the team in the next week or so. Thanks for your time.

matt,
the podcasts are great and greatly appreciated. I know the press demo has not been too savy with rss feeds until recently. Is it possible for you to create an RSS feed for the audio files so that we can use a media player to get these interviews.

My mobile device does not allow me to view or listen to these files when embedded in the page. Having them as an rss feed would allow me to subscribe to the audio feed and use a program such as itunes to play them or transfer them to said device and listen to them on the go.

love what you do! keep up the great work!

A couple of Niner related items from TMQ:

"And if you like enthusiastic offensive line play, you liked this contest (Jets/Dolphins on MNF) -- especially guard Justin Smiley of Miami, who looked like John Hannah in orange."

"Single Worst Play of the Season -- So Far: San Francisco trailing 35-10, Dre' Bly of the Squared Sevens intercepted a pass and saw green in front of him. Bly started showboating for the home crowd at his own 40, then was caught from behind by Roddy White -- one of the league's fastest players, the sort of thing Bly is paid to know -- and fumbled. Atlanta ball. Showboating when you are about to score the winning points, as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie did for Arizona, is bad enough. Showboating on your own 40 and when your team is down by 25 points is inexcusable. Dre' Bly, you are guilty of the single worst play of the season -- so far."

Ooof.

With all the cry babies posting "How could the 49ers leave Sheets vulnerable" It was nice to hear Sing's "as a matter of fact" answer. Sheets wasn't ready for the Big Time. People can stop the snivelling & move on to more importants things now like the O-line overhaul.

i agree. why would you think singletary make a qb change just because they lost to the falcons?? the qb is the LEAST place to look at. the defense gave up 45 points. there's more work to be done there. the OL has been totally bad. with a line like that, i can't believe we're still 3-2. if singletary made a qb change based off this game, and not because of injury, then for sure singletary shouldn't be a coach because of wishy-washy thinking. and we know that singletary is not that.

the "rest" that shaun got from last training camp was because of martz and nolan. nothing to do with singletary.

MM, As I have mentioned before I believe the O-line is hurting us....

Here are some ugly facts on our running game that I have dug up.

I looked at the teams we played and took the avg Rush yds allowed per game by those teams EXCLUDING their game against us and came to a scary realization. Besides the Seattle game we are a very poor run team.

Here is what I found:
Remember these teams rush avgs do not include our games against them:

Ari: 3 games
Avg Rush yds allowed: 88yds
We got 23 against them

Min: 4 games
Avg Rush yds allowed: 107yds
We got 58 against them

STL: 4 games
Avg Rush yds allowed: 132.5yds
We got 96 against them

ATL: 3 Games
Avg Rush yds allowed: 136yds
We got 100 against them (53 from a QB scambling not designed run plays)

We are not even coming close to the avg's other teams are putting up against these same teams.

Are they playing tougher teams? I dont think so. For example CLE,DET,GB,STL that the vikings played are not better than us.

So that all leads me to this question. Do you think comparing what we have done against the teams we played versus what others have done against them is at all telling of how strong we really are with the run?

Come on Matt!

Let your tech support know that your fans want to listen and subscribe to your podcast via iTunes!

Sheets wasn't ready for the Big Time.

As a starter or backup, maybe but since we didn't get a chance to see him play in regular season as a situational player that's just an opinion. He brings more potential to the table as a playmaker than some of the other situational offensive players. Couldn't he have been used as a return man for more versatility. We could use just a little more speed there. Now we'll have to watch Miami to find out if it was a mistake or not.
The O-line needs help from the OCs play calling as well as improving their execution. The 3 and outs aren't all their fault.

Oh YEAH!!! MM

Ask Mike this question if you get a chance.....

Is he satisfied with our rushing performance thus far in the year? Or.... On a scale of 1 - 10 where is our rushing game compared to where he would like it to be?

Thus far, the Seattle game aside I would think the majority of fans are highly disappointed with what we have done thus far as far as rushing.

C'mon we have the best in the business of WRs ala Jerry Rice and we get Wendell Davis ??!! Wow !. What's wrong with bringing in Jerry Rice ? He was at the facility for the Homecoming program (ESPN) and was talking to Singletary and the team on the practice field, why that can't happen ? JR helped DeSean Jackson get into the NFL speed and why not Crabtree ?

Just disappointed !

thanks for the stats Brekkon

Also, Matt (or if anyone else can tell me),

Do you have a breakdown of how many times Hill was rushed or hit? I know he had 3 sacks and one interception (via a tip), but I haven't been able to find the other stats from the Falcon's game.

(partly due to the fact that I didn't even want to look at a sports page until today). Brutal.

MM- It seems like the majority of the run plays are between the tackles... Do you know or have access to the percentages on what kind of run plays are being called??

I am interested to see what percentage of the run plays are draws, dives, bellys, ect.
thanks

Old9erFan, perhaps Jerry was asked but declined. Perhaps he was busy with prior engagements. Perhaps you could find something more substantive to wheeze about than a part time receiver coach who will probably be working here for less than a week.

Gilroy,

The 3 and outs are not all the O-lines fault? Aren't they the ones that are on field playing? Players need to execute & the bottom line is the O-line has not done their job. It's that simple.

Great players do not always make great coaches. I'm not above second guessing a coach, but you're taking it to an extreme.

Did anybody hear Steve Young on KNBR this afternoon? Steve thought Singletary was way out of line for going on to the field to confront a Falcon player. Here is a link to the interview:

http://www.knbr.com/common/global_audio/201/13302.mp3

Very simply, Raye and Sing are not good choices to coach the 49ers. In the Walsh era, was not about "who's the stronger man, who's the better man," it was about "who's the smarter man."

Sing is not a smart man. His use of cliche in every interview is plenty of demonstration of his...burp...intellect. He is single-minded (stubborn) to a fault, he has no vision and he has very few clues. Motivation and loyalty, which he has in abundance, will only carry a team against the weaker teams. We saw where he and Raye's approach got us against a good team.

Nowhere.

I realize it's too late to change anything for this year, but the 49ers need to bring in a coach who will get the 49ers back to 49er football - SMART FOOTBALL.

I remember watching footage of Walsh talking about the "rough and tough" guys, and how they usually got their asses kicked, because they're DUMB.

Sing is dumb. Raye is dumber. We need a smart man drawing up the Xs and Os. Dumb and dumber won't get it done.

How many voices can Crabtree handle. Between Jerry Sullivan, Jimmy Raye, Mike Singletary, Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Isaac Bruce (+ the rest of our receivers), and this Wendell Davis character. I think Crabtree has plenty of people working with him. Crabtree will take what bits and pieces from some or all of those men. Crabtree is a real quick learner from my understanding. In his first year at Texas Tech he won the Biletnikoff award. Just think about all the receivers to enter college. How do most freshman/1st year receivers play. They certainly don't win the Biletnikoff award...

Sly1k, it won't help with Jimmy Raye calling the plays.

You must have been watching a different game. The reason the Falcons scored 45 points is because of the pathetic offense. We lead the league in three-and-outs, and guess what? Hill is a part of that reason. If you keep the defense on the field the entire game, that's what happens. I don't see why there shouldn't be a QB controversy if Hill keeps playing like the way he has. I know the OL has been playing horribly, but if Hill can't beat teams that are blitzing him non-stop, maybe we should try someone else out who might be able to.

They're not good enough.
Singletary is a great motivator. But, if he'll become a good enough coach to win a championship, who knows? Personally, he wouldn't be my choice. Scott mcCloughan is a failure. He was bad as a head of personnel and he's worse as a GM. The roster has too many average guys on it after McCloughan's 5years with the team.
Hill is a good back-up QB.
The O-line is average.
Gore is great, but injury prone,
AND WORST OF ALL the 49ers went into this season telling the world they're a smash-mouth running team but they did nothing to improve the line and their only back-up RB is a 3rd round rookie! Every good team in the NFL has at least two really good running backs.
The 49ers went into this season needing a pass rush, an impact safety, a better O-line, a better tight end, help for Gore at RB, and a big time question mark at QB.
What did they solve? Not enough.
When will they get rid of McCloughan and bring in some people who know the ropes of building a legit NFL franchise?

After 2 years off, Alex was not ready in training camp. Alex is being evaluated and will coninue to be evaluated. I think they are seeing how well alex knows the offense. Clearly they are not going to make a change right now, but they will soon. The team knows now, more than ever, that hill is not capable of winning these types of games. Alex is also staying around to throw more balls with crabs. I smell smoke. There is no controversy now, but sing is getting prepared for one.

I just feel that until our OL gets their act together and our players develop ... we won't know whether Jimmy Raye is good/bad. I just don't understand why we don't use play-action pass heavily ... especially on first down. We run on first down almost every time. I would love to get the stat on run/pass percentage on 1st down. We could also use the philosophy of using the pass to set-up the run (especially while our run blocking is poor).

I agree completely. Teams will continue to blitz hill because they smell blood. He can't beat the blitz. Like I said before, hill makes our line worse.

"Kory is a good runner, but there's a lot more to football than running." Singletary said. He cited Sheets' deficiencies in pass protection. (And that just happens to be the area that RBs coach Tom Rathman really stresses for his pupils.)"

What a crock. Just because Singletary says it, it is so? Yea coach, we need more good blockers that are poor runners, is that the ticket? This team never gave Sheets the opportunity or coaching support to become a better blocker. Yes, lets keep 7 WR on the active roster while we are too clueless or stubborn to activate and coach up one potentially great runner even with Gore injured. This coaching staff is in *way* over its head and it's starting to show more and more as time passes.

Yes, I am scratching my head on that statement also. Does not sound right. 7 wrs when we only use 3 at most?

Brekkon,

I agree with your comments on the running game. We are not stacking up to the rest of the league.

I believe that the reason our running game is deficient is because we have made it clear to the opposition that we are going to run up the gut and "hit 'em in the mouth". When opposing team’s line up against us, there are typically eight in the box. Even the safeties play in tight. That is a lot of bodies to get through.

Another interesting thing I read was that even though Coffee had a successful pre-season; Raye told him NOT to run a will; but instead hit the designed holes as drawn-up. Often times he is running into the back of our O-linemen.

Our O-line looked great in preseason. I believe we simply have to mix it up.
Pass on first and second down. Or, run some plays “off tackle”. Everything is “off guard”.

Run,Run,Pass
Run,Run,Pass
Run,Run,Pass
Run,Run,Pass

It’s all too predictable

PhD,

I too am beginning to believe the same thing as far as the coaching staff goes.

Why limit yourself at RB when you say you are a run first team.

Why court Kurt Warner when you say you are a run first team.

Why make a WR your first choice in the draft when you say you are a run first team.

I like Singletary, and I respect what he has done for this team. He has changed the attitude for the team, and that is hard to do. But as they say "the Rah Rah" only goes so far. Soon we are going to have to get creative. That's where the likes of the great minds of Shanahan, Walsh, Jim Johnson (Philly), Buddy Ryan, Belichick, Holmgren etc. These guys weren't known because of their brawn or play but for their minds and schemes.

If we don't like the thought of a new OC every year, then get a great OC and give him an understudy to eventually take over. Walsh and Belichick lost OC's every year but maintained the same playbook and philosophy every year. To go out and get a career OC like Raye is like keeping mediocrity in-house.

TeleCat,

Ditto.

However, Singletary could be a great figurehead and motivator as long as he keeps great minds around him.

The first rule of management is to surround yourself with good people.

voiceofreason:

I don't think Sing is a guy who would allow a WCO coordinator to work. He wants to re-create the '85 Bears, even though they were a one-year wonder, not a dynasty. He'd want smashmouth because rough and tough guys are dumb. Sing is dumb and when the losses start piling up, his "motivation" will be lost in the sneering of players who have figured out they know more about football than he does.

A coach like Singletary can succeed if he surrounds himself with top-notch coordinators and coaching staff. I think Manusky's doing a good job...not that impressed w/Raye so far. If he doesn't open up his playbook after the Atlanta debacle, then the offense won't improve. It's true, the OL hasn't performed well...they were horrible in the Falcons game. To me, if what you're doing isn't working, you try something else. Let's see if Raye's capable of doing that.

If the O Line plays Houston the way they played Atlanta then Smith will HAVE to play because Hill will get crushed by Okoye and Williams The Texans are a good team. Their D is legit. AND Andre Johnson is the best WR not named Larry Fitzgerald.. If the DBs play SOFT they will be smoked... Hopefully their game with the Bengals this week will be on to scout...

How in the world can anyone make absurd generalizations about rough and tough guys being dumb? How do you know Singletary is dumb? He went to college. He progressed on a career path with undeniable success. He has digested playbooks, and negotiated staffs, and advanced his cause with powerful people. At first blush he seems pretty smart to me. He could be as dumb as a horse, or brighter than Einstein, but unless there are people close to him who are posting comments on this board, it is simply unfair and defamatory to call him dumb. He may do dumb things, as we all do, but to claim him dumb solely on the reasoning of his using cliches in a business where everyone, despite their varying intellects, uses cliches every day, is irresposible at best. He seems also to be doing a damn good job at the position for which he was hired, a better one on paper than old friend Bill Walsh did in his first trial. The team has beaten the defending conference champions, and almost won against an excellent team on the road. They lost terribly to a very good team at home, but that was one loss. Their turnovers are down, and they are pretty cohesive. It seems as if this fellow is a very smart man, especially when it comes to coachng a football team. Shame on you.

Well said, NYLA.

NYLA: 45-10, 29th in offense and 30th in passing says you don't know what you're talking about.

Players need to execute & the bottom line is the O-line has not done their job. It's that simple.

I don't think it's that simple. Raye's play calling helps put them in 3rd and long a lot. Granted, the O-line is playing sub par,especially the guards, but maybe the OC ought to quit calling the runs up the middle where they keep getting stuffed all the time especially when the formation gives the play away. One of the unknowns coming into this season was Raye's play calling ability, so far I'm not impressed. How about a little more creativity, his attitude of we're going to keep doing this until it works won't cut it when there are only 16 games. Just like adustments are made at halftime in a game, you don't wait til the end of the season to figure out it's time to change some things that aren't working. Tooooooooo Late!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe "it's" only part of the problem.

Oh, by the way, NYLA, that part about rough and tough guys being dumb? That's a direct quote from Walsh. And he said it shortly before the NFC Championship game against Singletary's Bears.

The 49ers won, 23-0.

Any questions?

Matt,

The comments about Sheets makes me think whether Rathman looks for RBs like himself. Is it really realistic to expect a small slasher-type RB to be good at blocking? For example, is Sproles good at blocking? I just haven't seen enough of him to know.