A friend of mine who knows a thing or two about football wrote me a long email about the 49ers. He disagrees with me about Mike Martz, thinks he is not good for the Niners over the long haul. Maybe, but if the Niners fire him they have to start all over with yet another offensive coordinator.
My friend makes an important point about Shaun Hill, says Hill should be the starter next season. He's earned it. In addition -- and this is key -- my friend says the 49ers should not use a high draft choice to select a QB. He says it's better to create a top notch offensive line to protect the QB. Which leads us to Scot McCloughan. Has he been a whiz at personnel? My friend says spotty in that dept.
Lowell, I am not sure if the previous drafts are the work of Nolan or McCloughan, but either way the picks have been questionable. I agree that the team should build the offensive line,(and defensive line) first, and then develop a quarterback for the future without burning a first round pick on this position. Wish we could be more confident about McCloughan's ability to select "need" picks. The upcoming draft will probably tell us whether he should have followed Nolan out the door. It sounds like Martz was out the door as soon as Nedney kicked the winning field goal, now what?
Hi Lowell, Question for you...If Hill has "earned it" and Smith is out, where does that leave the niners for the long haul? If you friend suggests drafting a late round QB, who do you think fits into that scenario? I guess it depends on the O.C. Who in the college ranks do you like as a mid to late round pick? I know you are high on Cassel, do you think the niners might still go after him? Make him their #1, with Hill as the #2? Is there really no chance of A. Smith competing for the #1 spot next year? What is Singletary's view on Smith? Like or dislike? Thanks...
Forget the high round draft choices in the draft that everyone drools over! Just a few make it big. It also depends on the offensive system, coaches and type of QB situation the draftee comes in to! Cassel is the perfect example.
How he performs in college football is not the key element in whether a QB will succeed or not. A lot more goes into MAKING an NFL QB good let alone great. The eyes and mind of the drafter is the key! He can see the prospect now, and what he needs to do with him to make him fit the system in the future. Remember Bill Walsh?
Hi Lowell I don't want to put words in your mouth so correct me if I am wrong. But I believe I remember you being pretty critical of Martz a few weeks ago. Basically you alluded to him being a loose cannon. Now you want to keep him? I think Hill has done a good job this season and has vision. Obviously he needs time in the pocket and a running game like any QB in the NFL in order to be effective. I don't know why we haven't put together a great O-Line in all these years. The game is won in the trenches and if I go back to the Raiders of the 70's the reason the Snake was so good is he literally had all day to find people open. The O-Line is the key to success. Yet we haven't given it much attention over the years.
Hard to give a score on McCloughan considering that The Suit had his finger on the trigger. But considering that the players on the team have been playing much better since The Suit was fired, maybe the drafts weren't so bad.
I would feel better with another football mind in the hierarchy somewhere between McCloughan and Jed, but what do I know?
As for Martz, if it's the offense that he ran the last half of the year, then bring him back. But the Niners are going to need a running back in a year or two.