I'm tired of excuses. That's all this team has done since 2004. New coach. New scheme. Bad coach. Bad scheme. Bad GM. Bad players. Bad ownership. Bad bad bad bad bad. This is finally the year where I say screw it. Let's dispense with the excuses this season and get straight to the point.
Fact: Pete Carroll and his staff out-coached the 49ers
Case in point, the double move. Not once, but TWICE did the Seahawks call a double move against the 49ers. And it's not as if they picked on undrafted rookie Phillip Adams. These double moves claimed Nate Clements and Tarrell Brown as victims. Clearly Carroll's staff saw something on film and the 49ers defenders were as helpless as a fat kid in dodgeball.
Singletarry seemed unable to make a quick decision and it cost the 49ers a delay of game penalty on 4th and 1. And it often led to those dreaded "Communication Problems." You know what that sounds like? An excuse. I'm going to Dikembe Mutombo that right the hell out of here. Suck it up and make a decision, coach.
Fact: Pete Carroll and his staff out-motivated the 49ers
Whatever you think of Carroll's college atmosphere style, you've got to give the man credit. He's like the NFL version of Will Muschamp.
The Seahawks came ready to play. You could see it on every special teams tackle. You could see it when he called a screen FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE of getting the ball into (recently dispatched) Michael Robinson's hands.
This is Sing's game, right? MOTIVATION POWEEEEEEEERRRRRRR! (Think Old Spice Commercial).
He's not an X's and O's guy but he's a leader of men. He owns the locker room and gets the best out of players.
(Cue the post-game aftermath, Sheldon!)
Alex Smith: "The refs aren't waiting around to spot the ball based on what we're going to decide to do. That clock is rolling. We have to make that decision if you're going for it, then that play has to be called. You have to have a call ready. That happens fast." (Translation: Make a damn decision and do it fast.)
And of course, Matt Maiocco is reporting that Singeltary "called out" Alex Smith, Michael Crabtree and the offensive line in the locker room. Sure sounds like the team, after week one, is awfully motivated.
The 49ers are not a perennial powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. The only reason they can sniff the playoffs is because they are in the weak NFC West. Put the 49ers in any other NFC division and they would be battling for second (at best) or third (more likely) in each division.
But at this point in their development, they need to beat the teams they should beat. It's not as if they lost a close game against the Colts, the Eagles, or the upstart Redskins. They were BLOWN OUT by the SEAHAWKS. Let that one sit for a second... THE SEAHAWKS.
Ugh.
Come on now! Let's hear your excuses or your thoughts on the game. How did you feel getting throttled by the 5,000-transaction-before-the-season-started-because-their-roster-sucked Seahawks?
The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.
If Sing would of played TMays do you think the pass to MWilliams would of happen? NO WAY. That kid probably had so much pinte up angry he would of had 30 tackles. a wasted opptunity. he couldn't of been any worse the Mlewis.
WTH has Alex Smith done to be calling out players and coaches like that. If I was Smith, I would probably shut my mouth and work my butt off because the other QB in the 05' draft that SF passed up to draft you is doing pretty well! The 49ers got rid of McCloughan, and Nolan so now all they need to do is get rid of Smith and draft either Locker, Mallet, or Luck next year!
Response: At least he's speaking up. It's the most effective tng he's done all season.
Christopher Milk Kezar Guy
Hey this will really piss some of you off, but hear me out. The issue with the Niners and the Raiders is a SPIRITUAL one. There has never been a time when both of the teams were consistently down like the last 7 years. Here is the reason: Willie Brown, when he was mayor of San Francisco, made a policy that any business in SF must offer domestic partner benefits. Raiders decided to go along; what harm would it do? Any business that offers domestic partner benefits is basically saying that no matter what lifestyle a person lives, living together, etc. the company supports that lifestyle. The foundation of a civilized society is the family. And any policy changes that go against the traditional family will cause the business to fail. Walmart and Exxon/Mobil are 1 and 2 basically because they don't offer DPB. What about Apple? The company was dying in the mid 1990's when I emailed Steve Jobs, and told him that he needed to change his benefit package so that the company no longer would underwrite anti traditional family behavior. Steve made major benefit changes around March of 1997, which is the reason Apple returned to profitability. I wish there was a way to explain this to coach.
A must read by Lowell Cohn in PD! This is so friggen hard to take. Yes Alex sucked second half with a rating of 52% or whatever, but what was his rating the first half when he was 9 for 10? I'm not saying he's Steve Young, but this is the guy that was thrown into the colts game (#5?) as a rookie after Tim Rattay was getting hammered. And of course, ETC ETC ETC. The truth is, we were either going to be the SF Ravens and now today we're supposed to be (I cant believe Im saying this) the SF Bears. Look fact is like most of you are saying, Sing is a motivational speaker, but not an X'O's coach. I mean we were even turned down by the OC who chose the Rams over us. Basic issues: Ownership (thanks eddie for the screwup in Louisiana), then Sing and OC. Unless Sing does something drastic and upgrades the OC position with a true innovator, forget both the season and stare at a continued loss of years of niner competitiveness. It's not that Raye isn't a bright mind, Ive heard his interviews, he truly understands the game. But understanding your opponent and scheming them correctly separated Walsh, Holmgren, Shanahan, etc. from the rest. Or again, you can opt for the motivational motif!
Response: The only ownership failure here is the failure to put the right people in costing positions. Even Eddie D succeeded because of the fact that he hired Bill Walsh. What would Eddie be without Bill? He would be the pre- Dan Snyder Dan Snyder.
This team lacks an innovative scheme. In that, I agree.
sfniner
No, really, that was embarrassing. I cannot remember a more embarrassing moment in niner history (I am remembering a pretty awful moment in Atlanta with bird fans doing the ooh, there it is . . . Really, Alex is right. Calls for no huddle and decision downs like any 4th down or certain kinds of third downs have to be plays that are second nature to the team and easily communicated with simple verbage or hand signals. Alex needs to feel comfortable making the call if he doesn't get the communication fully, or audibleing if he sees a big problem with the play. The coaches need to feel comfortable with him in that role. If either one of those questions ios unresolved then we need a different quarterback, or different coaching staff, or probably both. I still believe that we can be a playoff caliber team this year, but somehow we need to be able to trust our quarterback to lead the team. If Alex isn't worthy of our trust after all of these years, I really can't imagine why he is our starting quarterback. . . And that would fall back (pretty hard) on our coaching staff.
Response: I think Smith is right. The coaching staff needs to get their stuff together. Its bush league to not be able to get plays in.
JediNiner
Out-coached? Like Carroll was so clever that he planned to spot the Niners 21 pts. and it just worked out better? Niners screwed up in many well-documented ways. But Pete Carroll was bailed out of his own blowout opener. He did not out-coach anyone as much as he didn't bumble like SF. FireJimmyRayeNow . . .
Response: Carroll's zone schemes confused Smith. You could tell he had very few places info after Seattle adjusted in the second half. Smith faced constant pressure due to the blitzes. Carroll's staff, perhaps not Carroll, identified that the defense was susceptible to the double move. The 49ers' adjustment amounted to abandoning the run and crumbling under pressure. Sing and Carroll are responsible for the coaching of their teams since they are the head coaches. Sing was outcoached. It's okay, you can admit it.
Trevor
Have you ever heard of coach thank the opposing coach for kicking their tails? No, you don't and reason you don't is that it is disresptful to your team. You just told the NFL you think your team are bunch of children that needed to be spanked. And you just thanked another parent to spank your kids for you. If I was a player I would demand an apology to the team before I kicked your ass. I hope coach gets a job as a pre-school teacher that's where this idiot belongs.
I also like Singletary, and I'm extremely disappointed in his comments after the game. He should have stood up and taken the blame for this disaster on his shoulders and that of his coaching staff. You don't lose to a team like the Seahawks 31-6 unless your team is unprepared to play. I do not share the other poster's optimism about the potential of Alex Smith; I think he's demonstrated that he's nothing more than an NFL backup; he doesn't have the intangibles to be an effective starting QB. Even if he could be a decent 'game manager' QB, that would be OK, but he's not even up to that, evidently. I think even Steve Spurrier may have been a better QB than Alex. The QB standard is very high in Ninerland, and Alex is so far ahead of only Jim DrunkonMiller and possibly Scott Bull.
Response: The hope surrounding Alex Smith is wearing off for me me too. The only thing I like is the fact that he's, albeit in a subtle Alex Smith way, calling out the coaches.
George
QUESTIONS FOR COACH SINGLETARY. 1) What in game adjustments are you making? 2) Are you more interested in being a father figure - displanarian or coach? If your interested in mentoring chirdren I recomend pre-school teacher. If you want to be a coach you need to construct a game-plan and a game plan for adjustments (during the game). What will that be against the Saints? 3) What mistakes did you personally make before and during the Seattle game. I think every coach and player needs to stand before this team and account for those errors. 4) You personnally thanked Coach Caroll for kicking your tails. Why? 5) Are your players learning more from other teams coaches? In games where they are getting there ass whooped or are they learning more from your coaching staff on what in takes to win? 6) What did you personally learn from the Seattle game? And how are you going to take what you learned to beat the Seahawks later this year?
Response: Sing can't be bothered with X's and O's. That's what Manusky and Raye are there for.
ajsjohnson
Where is the leadership on this team? Instead of passing the buck (I was hoping we were done with this when Nolan left) it would be refreshing to have a coach who owned up to his responsibilities the way he insist his players do. I try very hard to support Coach Sing, but his shortcomings are so great they simply can't be ignored. His motivational skills are supposed to be his forte, but they were conspicuously absent yesterday. If he were a master motivator, we would not have folded like a cheap tent at the first sign of adversity and our #1 WR would have found the "motivation" to practice during training camp so he wouldn't s**t the bed on gameday. Combine that with his very obvious weaknesses and--you get my point. Don't get me wrong--players are making big bucks and shouldn't need help to get motivated.. What is just as frustrating as a coach who can't coach are players who spend a whole offseason having the notion that they must take ownership pounded into their heads and then forgetting it completely as soon as the bell sounds. Patrick Willis is a great player, Frank Gore is a great player, but noone has stepped up to lead--there is no Ray Lewis on this team.
Response: The leadership problem is magnified when you try to sift through the multitude of stories coming out of 4949 Centennial today. It's the radios, no it's the coaches, no the QB threw a bad ball, no the WR ran the wrong route. Things are slipping.
Coach Dum Ass
"I want very much to tell Pete Carroll thank you very much for kicking our tails,'' Singletary said. After that comment Coach Carroll said "If you would like me to kick you in the balls coach, I would be more than happy to do it". Coach Sing replied, "Yes Sir, I need it". After this exchange Coach Sing told the media "I have been humbled by this experience, I can't tell you how important it is for a young coach like me to be kicked hard and forcefully in the Balls". "I have learned much from this experience ..... I have Balls and they hurt very much .... I hope my players will take a good look at my Balls .... and realize we all have to have to make a commitment ..... and sacrifice for my stupity".
Response: Lol. That was an interesting little story.
George
I love the comment from Sing. He would like to thank Coach Carrol and the seahawks for kicking our tail. Hey Coach, after I kick you in the balls would you like to thank my shoe. Would you feel more humble and have stronger desire to wear a cup if i kicked your scrotum up and between your ears. Maybe you should forget about the game plan against the Saints next week. Or any game-time adjustments to exploit the weeknesses of your opponent and start praying more. I think you should get a bigger wooden cross to wear around your neck. How about trying a big rock that weighs 25 pounds that you could chissel into a cross to wear. That would really be a statement coach, It would say alot about commitment and a strong work ethic to your players. Because no one else in San Francisco thinks you have a clue. Start praying coach because all you got going for you is your faith. I wish i had faith, maybe i would believe in you.
This was terrible.The line didn't block.Gore looked slow smith couldn't hit his grandma if she was right next to him.crabtree played like an inexperienced rookie.our fullback has bricks for hand.that was some of the worst play calling..everybody looked schocked and confused and gave up.preparation is a big key to success in the NFL they were not prepared they were outcoached outmotivated eventually out played.what I find puzzling with this team as singletarry as the head coach they lack discipline.They showed me they are just satisfied getting paid.but not producing not performing to the best of their ability.no 49er pride.like Lombardi said winning is a habit.unfortunately so is losing.The 49ers have not crossed over to the winning side yet.after this loss we will see how much character and fight they have in them
Response: Gore didn't look slow. There were even a few times where Gore had some decent holes. The problem was consistency. Again, 3rd and 4th down with a yard to go and you can't pick it up. Terrible.
Oh, and that throw to Norris was Smith's fault.
Johnny
I completely agree. Nice peice. We looked terrible. I was embarrassed yesterday. You're right we should have won the game. We can put this loss on everyone's shoulders. O-line played badly, sing made bad decisions, crabtree looked bad, alex not as sharp as should be. It was a terrible display of what should be our best team in the past 10 seasons. I really hope that the O-line can get better and actually get some push, I think Alex will get his stuff together. and I agree about the excuses, I'm tired of them. We controlled the first half of the football game in every category except points. we should have won, we didn't want to very badly, they played terrible. I'm sick of it!
Response: What sucks is that you're (almost) right. This should be our best team since 2004. It's not 10 years, but 6 years is still a long flippin' time to watch bad football.
CraigNinerFan
1. You are right ..this type of loss was unforeseen, should never happened and sucks big time and there are NO excuses! 2. I'm a big fan of Coach Sing BUT he has to take some heat for this loss...ie...why didn't he have crab and alex play a few plays in last pre-season game? 3. JRaye may be more conservative than most 9er fans are use to..but it wasnt his fault on the missed Morgan td or the Norris fiasco. 4. The Niners were still in game at the half and knew they were getting the ball 1st to start the 2nd half. Both the defense and offense looked worse in 2nd half and that's as much on the coaches as the players! 5. If Niners dont figure out problems sooner rather than later this season will be one of waste and doubt! 6. Clearly the major problem with Niners will be the offense or lack thereof. What happens with Alex, Crabtree, and O-line will dictate the rest of season IMO.
Response: Well, one thing is reminiscent of the old days - it's all about the offense.
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