Responses Galore

The short Jason Cole story that Eureka81 cited on Yahoo is interesting, saying Scott Linehan's disinterest in the 49ers was partially due to the 49ers staying with quarterbacks Shaun Hill and Alex Smith. Many implications there - first that Alex Smith will actually stay, and second, that Linehan apparently has no faith in Hill, a player he knew when he coordinated the Vikings' offense.

Linehan worked for a long time with Alex's uncle, John L. Smith, and has known Alex for years. Say what you will about Linehan, he probably knows how to evaluate quarterbacks. Or maybe he doesn't, he did bench Marc Bulger this year, which contributed to his firing. I still don't get why so many in football think Hill can't play. He won with a team that has a fairly lengthy history of losing, doesn't that say something? So he looks like the resurrection of Billy Kilmer, who cares? Hill produces.

I applaud Linehan for not taking the job if he doesn't believe in the 49ers' quarterbacks. I also agree with Eureka on using your family as an excuse for not taking the job. Obviously, if Linehan takes the job in Tampa he'll have to uproot the family again. Just leave the family out of it.

According to Matt Barrows, who's on the scene with the full contingent of the 49ers' coaches and scouts at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Hue Jackson has emerged on the OC radar.

bc_inthe_bay writes that Steve Logan, the former coach of East Carolina, is mainly responsible for the development of Matt Ryan at Boston College. Just forget Jeff Jagodzinski and hire the Eagles' offensive coordinator, a guy who's actually called plays. It sounds as if Jagodzinski isn't an NFL head coach soon, his head will explode. Who needs that?

By the way, bc and others, sorry for the "Golden" Eagles labeling, instead of just Eagles. Maybe I was thinking of "Golden Bears" or "Golden Griddles."

Of course, I want to weigh in on the zone blocking debate. I agree that Joe Staley and Eric Heitmann are well suited for zone blocking and Chilo Rachal, although still raw, could fit any system. David Baas, and Adam Snyder wouldn't be effective, and neither would Barry Sims (the Raiders dumped him because of their transition to zone blocking).

The 49ers could acquire a zone-blocking line fairly easily because they are zone linemen are typically undersized and come relatively cheap. Also, do the 49ers really want to keep the line they have now outside of Heitmann, Staley and Rachal? That line has given up more sacks than any other offensive line in the last two years, and they're run blocking has been only fair.

Patm2143 sorry to hear about your disability, as a rec league junkie in my mid-40's, I'm so thankful for every softball and basketball game I can play, because I know it won't last. The 49ers have a utility man on the offensive line and it's Snyder. He can play anywhere on the line but center.

I heard Mel Kiper on radio last weekend, he also thought the 49ers might take USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. Pro Football Weekly had the 49ers taking another Trojan, linebacker Rey Maualuga with the 10th pick.

I've learned not to engage in political debates on this site, although politics is a big interest. But just one final thought, aren't Nazis fascists?

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | January 21 2009 at 10:07 PM

Responses and Martz

Unca_Chuck said when Mike Martz was hired that I maintained he would "take care of business" with the running game because of his experience with Marshall Faulk in St. Louis. I didn't say that. What I said was Martz would either be a sublime success or a disaster with his know-it-all reputation of being stubborn and the fact that his offense might not fit the personnel. I also cited back then, the same stat I used yesterday, that a Martz offense never rushed over 50 percent of the time in any season.

Unca cited the old "Patriot" formation when he talked about the drive in the second quarter against New England when the 49ers and Gore ran 9-and-a-half yards on first and second down. Then they go with the three tight-end two setback formation with David Baas as the third tight end in the "Patriot" and of course they don't get the first down. I've been hammering on this for weeks during the game-day blogs. In short-yardage, the 49ers should just never use that formation. It hasn't worked for three years.

I agree with KMAC's assessment about Martz out-smarting himself. Over the last 20 years, the 49ers have had some outstanding playcallers - Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, etc. Certainly no one can argue with Walsh, but Shanahan was up there. He would often call the same play twice sometimes three times in a row until the defense stopped it.

News of Thursday: Mike Martz talked to the media and said that Thursday's practice was the best of the year and that players are starting to click with his offense. He said since J.T. O'Sullivan missed minicamps, the offense has been a little behind. He doesn't feel that way any longer.

He also said that Delanie Walker was wide open on the second play of the game against New England because three guys chased Vernon Davis who went deep on that play (Walker dropped the high pass that would have gone for a long gainer). He was very positive about Davis and doesn't believe he's struggling understanding the offense. He expects more from Davis in the future.

On the injury front, safety Michael Lewis (elbow) returned to practice in a limited fashion while linebacker Manny Lawson stayed out. Lawson might practice Friday. He said on radio that he put his percentage on playing at over 50 percent. Lawson said his hamstring pull was a three-week injury. On Sunday, it will be two weeks. Lawson also said the defense is going back basics and that they've been practicing in a 3-4 for most of the week.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | October 10 2008 at 12:47 AM

Responses to Responses to Responses

Apologies to UnCa_Chuck. I always mess that up. For Sidewinder and Del_Mar_Dennis, I will keep one thread during the game so everyone can discuss, argue and throw internet spitballs. Thanks for the solution.

Marcos brought up a good point about Mike Martz creating tension during training camp with his quarterbacks. While his coaching tactics have been unusual, they've been pretty effective seeing as he made the lightly-regarded Kurt Warner, Trent Green, Marc Bulger and Jon Kitna into productive players.

Marcos also brought up the fact that stories seem contrived and dishonest. The Thursday post was mainly to provide insight on Martz's coaching style, in fact that was the name of the post, "What it's like with Martz."

In many cases, just like Marcos, I like to back assertions with facts. When Kurt Warner said the first option isn't as open as much when Martz first installed his offense, the facts certainly backed that up. Martz's offenses the last five seasons not only haven't won, they've produced more turnovers than touchdowns. I don't see how that can be avoided this year, unless J.T. O'Sullivan turns into Warner and Martz has a brilliant season game-planning and play-calling.

One more thought about the accusations of yellow journalism in Thursday's post about "What it's like with Martz." Three of you hotly contend that assertions that Martz showed favoritism to O'Sullivan were patently false and those who say otherwise are just making up controversy.

My question is, how do you know Martz didn't play a favorite? I don't know. Mike Nolan doesn't even know. As I wrote before, I don't think he did, but I do think it's possible. Even if he did, the main point is O'Sullivan out-played both quarterbacks in games and practices. JTO is the winner. FlyingV should get credit for also noting O'Sullivan's command and resolve in the huddle and never think I don't like you. You're a great counter balance to those who believe my sole mission in life is to bash Nolan. You always thought I wasn't hard enough on him. Keep it up. Many of you brought up Scot McCloughan's statement that Alex Smith won't be a 49er next year if he doesn't start. I don't think McCloughan thought about the timing of his answer and I'm glad he didn't. He has made the same statement for several weeks. It was on this blog last month and both Matts, in their blogs, have written it. But since McCloughan made the comment in a group of media, it became a larger story because it was splattered all over television, radio, the internet and newspapers all on the same day. I don't think it should be construed as a slam on Smith. He already knows the deal.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | September 05 2008 at 10:54 PM

Responses to Responses

Unca_Chuck invited into the muck and mire, so here goes. NoFear49er wrote that my last post was a smear and hit piece. After re-reading what I wrote, I'm not sure whom I'm smearing. Would it be Mike Martz? J.T. O'Sullivan? Alex Smith?

I did write,"At some point, it's all about performance. O'Sullivan was the best quarterback in training camp practices and preseason games." O'Sullivan was the best and he deserves to be the starter and it was a fair competition from what I witnessed. I was just relating what Mike Silver had written. I'm also curious, why does Silver's story ring false? Martz is a hard coach, and I could see him criticizing his quarterbacks. Kurt Warner's quotes will tell you that.

Also, comparing an off-the-cuff comment about spiking the Gatorade of Smith and Shaun Hill during a Chargers' game post to Silver's column is completely missing the point. I was joking. Silver's column was serious, and the failure to link to Silver's article was an oversight. Further, just because I link to the story doesn't mean I agree with it. I never said whether I agreed or disagreed.

So, did Martz favor O'Sullivan over the other two? I don't know for sure. My suspicion is no. I think Martz was frustrated by Alex Smith's and Shaun Hill's play early in training camp and that's when the team turned to O'Sullivan. Also, from what I can tell, players support O'Sullivan, and it goes back to what StonerLab said about resolve and commanding the huddle. In the end, I agree with becamefanin57. It doesn't matter, for whatever reason O'Sullivan was the best quarterback.

As far as Marcos's comment about Jon Kitna throwing for over 4,000 yards for two straight seasons, that statistic doesn't figure in sacks. When calculating tackles for loss, Kitna threw for 3,878 yards last year and 3,870 yards in 2006. Those yards far surpass anything the 49ers have done in the last two seasons. But it should be noted that Martz's offense hasn't produced wins. In the last four years,. Martz-coached offenses are 24-40.

The statistics all support Warner's assertion that the first option doesn't get open as much as it used to. In the first three years of Martz's offense, his quarterbacks threw 116 touchdowns and 60 interceptions. In all three of those years, his St. Louis Rams finished first in scoring and first in passing yards. In the last six seasons, his offenses have thrown 133 touchdowns and 140 interceptions. Scoring dropped to 24th, 3rd, 19th, 11th, 21st, and 16th.

Certainly talent had a lot to do with Martz's early success. When Warner wasn't winning MVP awards, Marshall Faulk was. The Rams had a powerful offensive line led by left tackle Orlando Pace. Martz didn't have that kind of talent in Detroit and he doesn't have it now. I contend Martz will make the 49ers' offense better. But there's the potential to make the defense worse with adverse field position from turnovers.

Here's a first. The 49ers have no injury report. Everyone's healthy going into opener. The Cardinals meanwhile might have to adjust their defense if nose tackle Alan Branch (sprained ankle) can't play.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | September 05 2008 at 12:49 AM

Blogging Tonight

For those of you looking for options for tonight's Raiders-49ers game, I'll be blogging live. It ain't TV, but can you interact with TV?

And speaking of interaction, I haven't addressed your responses in a while so here goes. Indianajim called my assessment of offensive coordinator's Mike Martz's frustration with quarterbacks Alex Smith and Shaun Hill as a gateway for J.T. O'Sullivan to enter the arms race patently false. None of us know what's blatantly true or false unless one of you has bugged the coaching offices in Santa Clara.

Martz did say it would be "organized chaos" for eight days and then the quarterbacks should start to feel comfortable. Then on day seven, he inserted O'Sullivan into the mix. So he jumped his own assessment by one day and it well could have been due to a lack of progress by Smith and Hill.

Yes, the Martz scheme takes time to learn, but it took Kurt Warner one preseason game to get it down, and Jon Kitna a training camp to learn it. Is O'Sullivan really that far ahead of Hill and Smith at this point? Smith and Hill were the headliners in May minicamp and then through three weeks of OTA's and then the first week of training camp.

O'Sullivan did spend a training camp last year with Martz, but once the season started, he spent most of his time as the scout team quarterback, just like any other backup quarterback. Sure, O'Sullivan is ahead, but not that far.

After a while, it just comes down to hitting the 10-yard out, the 15-yard in, the fade, the seam route, etc. That's what we should all be looking for tonight.

I'm inclined to agree with Skeebars and Scootocon on Alex Smith. His second year under Norv Turner, Smith was passable for a second-year quarterback. Imagine if Smith didn't play again after separating his shoulder last year against Seattle.

He would have finished the season with a 2-1 record after coming off a decent second season where he clearly improved at the end. To judge Smith on anything that happened after defensive tackle Rocky Bernard belly-flopped on him is questionable.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | August 08 2008 at 02:50 PM

Blackout Possibility

Del_Mar_Dennis heard wind of Friday's exhibition opener being blacked out because of the opening ceremonies at the Olympics. Actually the Olympics have nothing to do with it, we're dealing with the old NFL blackout rule if the game isn't soldout. No official word is out until tomorrow, 72 hours before the game, but it looks like the game is headed for blackout.

Channel 2 will likely have the game, which starts at 7 in Oakland at 10 p.m. on tape delay. Meanwhile channel 5 will probably put it on at 11:30 p.m.

Could this be a harbinger of things to come? It's also possible that regular-season 49ers games could also be blacked out, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | August 04 2008 at 08:09 PM

Responses to Responses

For those who don't know, the team signed second-round pick Chilo Rachal. That's three down and three more to go with first-rounder Kentwan Balmer, third-rounder Reggie Smith and fourth-rounder Cody Wallace yet to be signed.

Now to the responses on Tuesday's right-guard post. T_MadMan took me apart after writing that Tony Wragge wasn't the strongest guy on the team, that Rachal hasn't moved back to guard, that Wragge wasn't part of two games in 2006 when the team yielded no sacks and that the name of free-agent guard is Jeb Terry not Terry Jeb.

With Larry Allen not likely to be back and Bryant Young retiring, Wragge is not only the strongest man on the line but also on the team. Matt Barrows of the Sac Bee wrote a story two years ago saying that even with Allen and Young, Wragge was able to hoist huge kettle weights no one else could and that includes Isaac Sopoaga. Rachal has indeed moved back to guard, and the fact he's listed as a tackle doesn't mean he's a tackle. The 49ers had Delanie Walker listed as a wide receiver even though he was still a tight end.

Wragge received a game ball with the rest of the line when the 49ers didn't yield a sack against St. Louis on Sept. 17, 2006. Then when Eric Heitmann broke his leg in the first quarter of the Seattle game Dec 14, the line, again, didn't give up a sack. Not mentioned was Wragge's play against the Raiders, when he went in after Jonas Jennings hurt his pinkie in the first series. Gore rushed for 134 yards that day and the 49ers won. He also started the final game of the season at center in a win at Denver when Gore rushed for 158 yards.

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Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | July 17 2008 at 12:44 AM

Responses to Responses

After two weeks on vacation another week to get my bearings, we now go to responses to responses and we have a cornucopia of issues to address. Including RichnSanRamon challenge of my theory the 49ers' offensive demise coincides with their increasing largeness of their o-line, a theory that's reflected league-wide. (check out the June 12 post).

From 1980 to 2004 the 49ers and Broncos had the lightest lines and the highest winning percentage, and won seven Super Bowls over that time. RichnSanRamon wrote that the Cowboys and Redskins had two of the heaviest lines over that period and won six Super Bowls, and then threw in the Bill Parcells-coached Giants as another team with a big line that won two more. By any measure, the heavyweights win eight titles, the lightweights seven.

Except that those three teams didn't qualify as one of the five heaviest lines in the league over the 25-year time period. The Redskins, despite having portly Washington lawyers outfitted in dresses and pig noses in a Miss Piggy-like tribute to their lines' corpulence, were relatively light. Only tackle Joe Jacoby weighed over 300 pounds. Center Jeff Bostic weighed 260, guard Russ Grimm, 275. Guard Mark Schlereth, at 285 pounds, went from the Redskins 1991 title-winning team to the Broncos as part of the lightweights and won two more Super Bowls.

Parcells favors a big defense, but a relatively light offensive line. When he first got to Dallas he joked about how fat the offensive line was and put everyone on a diet. A falling out between Larry Allen and Parcells over weight and Allen's ankle injury eventually led to Allen's release and his signing by the 49ers.

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Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | June 26 2008 at 09:48 PM

On Butler and Taylor

On Ezra Butler: For those who missed it, a promising rookie free-agent linebacker, Ezra Butler, was released by the team Tuesday after his arrest for a DUI and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. At least one NFL scout believes Butler is a second-round talent, but the rest of the league obviously doesn't agree or he would have been drafted.

Butler's release started a rollicking discussion stream on the issue of weed and whether the 49ers should have cut him.

The Kid says pot isn't drug abuse no matter how much you ingest. Anything that alters your consciousness can and will be abused. Pot might not be physically addictive, but for addicts anything that keeps them high or altered will be abused, whether it's weed, Elmer's or NiQuel.

The NFL is too hard on guys who get arrested for non-violent offenses. The 49ers might have felt compelled to cut him because the NFL might have taken action because this is Butler's second offense (he failed a drug test for pot in college). Roger Goodell's legacy shouldn't be how many guys he suspends, but how many guys get clean and return to the game.

Some of you have said Butler is stupid. Certainly, driving around in a Hummer and getting caught with an illegal substance, looks abjectly stupid on its face. But Bulter is probably an addict, just like Sigmound Freud who abused cocaine or Ernest Hemingway who abused booze. Are those guys unintelligent or just addicts?

For the all-pot team, how about Warren Sapp and rookie cornerback Aqib Talib?

On Jason Taylor: Jake 2007 makes a compelling case for signing Jason Taylor, the disgruntled Dolphin. The 49ers probably won't do it because it's too much of a risk. Mike Nolan and to a lesser extent, Scot McCloughan, are on edge. If they sign him to a big contract and Taylor flames out, they might both get fired, so they won't sign him.

But Taylor could fit because he probably wouldn't play in the 3-4. Just like Bill Walsh did with Fred Dean, Taylor would be brought in on passing downs as a designated rusher when the defense goes to a 4-man line. In his years with the 49ers, Dean never started.

The other issue with Taylor is motivation. He's gotten a taste of Hollywood with his Dancing With the Stars gig, which might indicate that football is no longer his top priority. But Dean was a risk too. He smoked, didn't work out and liked to have a good time. But he had Hall-of-Fame ability and made the difference defensively. Taylor might be able to do the same.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 28 2008 at 11:36 PM

Responses to Responses

Sidewinder asked how quick defensive lineman Ron Fields's hands are compared to Isaac Sopoaga's. Fields's are faster, hence his move to nose tackle. Fields is undersized for the nose, but if he's active and plays with leverage, he could be effective. As Mike Nolan noted in the past, Sopoaga might not have the dirty-job mentality to play nost tackle, but Fields might.

Allforfunnplay sees Fields as more of a three-technique defensive end. Typically, that player is fast off the ball and weighs 290 or so. That player is usually asked to fire into a gap and be as disruptive as possible. It's Bryant Young's old position. Fields is more of burly run-stopper than a three-technique player.

Renoberger postulated the idea of putting Tully Banta-Cain at inside linebacker, specifically, the ted spot. At 270, Banta-Cain is probably too big to play that spot, he's also never played it before and being on the inside is a different world with reading blocks, shedding blockers and making tackles. Banta-Cain isn't great against the run on the outside and he's terrible in coverage. It would be best to keep him on the outside.

The 49ers seem pretty high on Parys Haralson. He's a tough run stopper, but needs to improve his pass rush. He's still a young player.

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Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 23 2008 at 10:33 AM