At his news conference this afternoon reporters asked Jimmy Raye what kind of offense the 49ers will have next season. This is what he said:
"We would like to be a physically, tough-minded football team and that doesn't mean to black box us in any direction, meaning what we are going to do is limit this and limit that. What we would like to do is have an offense with enough versatility to take care of the contingencies of the defense, give the playmakers that we have an opportunity to make plays and do what is necessary to give us a chance to score points and move the football. There's no reason for us at this time to back ourselves into a corner or paint a picture that we are this or that. We are basically going to do what we do to give ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter."
Clearly, he's saying you can't pigeonhole the Niners as a running or a passing team. They will be diversified. That may be true. But at the end he says the 49ers want to win in the 4th quarter -- i.e. keep it close and then win. Sounds a little like Mike Nolan. But we really won't know anything until we actually see the team play. It's nice to know they won't just run -- at least that's the preliminary indication.
As I see it, the biggest roadblock for Raye is Vernon Davis. As the OC for Kansas City he turned Tony Gonzoles into a star.
If he could do that for Vernon it would be great. We just havent seen anything like that from him yet.
Note to Lowell: The Niners drafted Michael Crabtree. It wasn't just to have him block on sweeps.
Lowell,
Have to disagree on your interpretation.
Being up by 15 in the 4th and running the clock gives you an equal amount of opportunity to 'win in the 4th.'
I would be surprised if Raye new exactly what type of a team they are going to be. He has yet to see his QB's in action and their new best WR has yet to take part in drills.
I think they want to establish the run, and if they can throw off of that they will. If Hill and Smith and co. prove ineffective, they won't. I lok forward to seeing how it pans out.
Growing up in the 80's it sucks that we play for field goals. I loath the fact that our once vaunted offense was relegated to three runs and a kick. When do we make defenses adjust as opposed to adjusting to what we are given? That is passive, vanilla to me. I hope OC Ray will remember the legacy of the 49ers and bring an aggressive proactive and intellegant playcalling style that maybe run oriented but also efficiently utilizing the other talents we have at WR and TE.
Until the 49ers get to work in TC & show something on the field during Pre-Season there's nothing but bantering going on here which means nothing. But you know what? I can't wait to see the new version of the 49ers. I'm feeling pretty positive about all the upgrade players we got thru FA, the draft & UFDA. No question there is more talent on this team since the Garcia era.