I got several emails and comments on this blog critical of my take on Mike Singletary dropping his trou at halftime in the locker room last Sunday. I welcome comments, even critical comments of my writing. But come on. No one can defend Singletary.

The criticisms of me took a few forms. I had praised San Francisco at the expense of Chicago -- and I still do. I mean, who would want to live in Chicago if you could live in San Francisco or the Bay Area? I admit my friend Ira Miller recently moved to the Chicago area and I'm still scratching my head.

Let me try this. The 49ers -- when they were the 49ers as opposed to the chumps they are now -- expressed something fundamental about San Francisco. A lot of people said they played with finesse. They played with a lot more than finesse, but finesse was a component. It meant brains, cunning, cleverness, imagination and beauty. Yes, beauty.

The Mike Ditka Bears were the exact opposite -- and remember Singletary is a product of the Ditka Bears. They were smash mouth and ferocious and they were known for defense more than offense. They were terrific. I'm not putting them down at all. I am saying they expressed something about Chicago and that's why Chicago fans loved them so much. Of course, they also loved the Bears because they won.

I wonder if Singletary can bring the Ditka mentality to a Bill Walsh area. It's fair to wonder that. I also wonder if dropping his pants is an indication that Singletary is tone deaf to what's going on around here.

And remember a current player almost certainly told the media about Singletary, ratted him out. At least one player thought Singletary taking down his pants was ludicrous.

Another criticism of me came in this form. People walk around nude in locker rooms all the times, so why make a big deal about Singletary?

I find this criticism disingenuous but I'll answer it anyway. Sure, guys walk around nude. An inevitable stage of getting undressed or dressed is the nude moment. It's unavoidable as you discover every day in the privacy of your own home.

Getting dressed or undressed is a lot different from the coach opening his belt, unzipping his fly and yanking down his pants to give his players a visual metaphor of butt kicking. What Singletary did is so Bears. It is crude and worse than crude, it's juvenile. And as metaphors go it's way too obvious and uninteresting.

If he keeps doing stuff like that the players will tune him out and he'll have no chance whatsoever of returning as head coach next season.