49ers: Stop Telling Me and Just Show Me the Win!

All season long, the 49ers have used that slogan to tell the fans to believe once again.

The catchphrase from Mike Singletary is plastered all over the Bay Area. You can see them on billboards, bus stops, or even in the local paper. Quite simply, the 49ers team is not all talk. The action on the field will speak for itself.

One problem: We’ve heard a lot of talk, but no action recently.

The team is riding (or stalling) a four-game losing streak and after each loss, Singletary confirms to the media and the fans that the team is getting better and will “be there.” But when a team loses games (the 49ers had halftime leads in the last two), we start to wonder if the team is going anywhere.

It’s easy to believe Singletary and stay positive through the hard times, but how much longer can we stand and hope that his words come to fruition?

Thursday’s home game against the Bears will practically determine the season for the 49ers. At 3-5, two games behind the division-leading Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers cannot afford to add another loss to the streak.

As for Singletary’s prediction of a playoff berth, the probability decreases with every team struggle. In fact, the 49ers probably have to win five or six of their remaining eight games to even stand a chance in the division, and those wins have to come against division rivals.

Anything less and the 49ers go through another losing season.

Would you still believe in the 49ers playoff hopes if they lose on Thursday and drop to 3-6? Optimism can go so far when harsh reality really kicks in.

When Singletary talked about the hardships of the team, he said those situations bring out the best in him.

“In these moments—this is when I’m at my best. I think in these situations, you just have to rise above. You have to put your best foot forward. You have to look at where things are; you just have to call it like it is. I can’t get lost in the reality of the four losses. It’s not something that you want. It’s not a place where you want to be. But that’s where it’s at.”

If it takes a four-game losing streak to put your best effort forward, then I wish he could have had his best earlier.

When Santa Rosa Press Democrat reporter Lowell Cohn shared his thoughts on Singletary’s constant affirmation of better days for the 49ers, he spoke of what many people were thinking, but too afraid to ask. Singletary has said a lot so far, but the results don’t show up on the field.

Very contradicting to what he has preached.

Maybe that’s partially our fault. We expected so much from the team after their second-half surge in 2008. The organization was riding high and even president Jed York promised that the 49ers would be a playoff team. We wanted it so bad that we refused to believe that the team still might not be ready for it. The promotion and hype were what we wanted to hear and we stuck with it.

With a struggling offensive line, questionable offensive play-calling, a switch at quarterback, and constant injuries on both sides of the ball, can we really believe that the 49ers are a playoff-caliber team?

Singletary promised that the team would be better, and on Thursday, we’ll see if the team can. A loss to Chicago will more than likely eliminate any realistic possibility of a playoff appearance.

After the game, we might hear the same hopeful talk from the head coach—and I don’t want to hear it.

Maybe the team slogan should go through a midseason change. “Don’t Tell Me, Show Me” is apparently something the 49ers have not followed during the losing streak. The team should adopt another Bay Area slogan that is also misused:

“Just Win Baby!”

OK, maybe we can eliminate the image of Al Davis saying that phrase, but the 49ers are in desperation mode and there are no other solutions.

Don’t tell me…just win the game.

 

(Original piece from this page )

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San Francisco 49ers New Stadium Details

The 49ers have released some new details on the proposed new stadium in Santa Clara.

• The cost will be about $937 million to build.

• The stadium can seat up to approximately 75,000 people (68,500 for most events).
• Solar panels will be used to power many things at the stadium.
• There will be some kind of garden or flowerbed on the roof where plants can grow.
• Clubs, suites will not be spread around the stadium, but rather all in one tower.
• Grass or field turf? That has yet to be determined.
• If it gets approved, the scheduled opening would be 2014.
• It will be built in the parking lot near Great America.
• The city will pay about 10 percent of the costs.

The city of San Francisco has been unsupportive of the move, and with good reason. Many fans have voiced their dislike of the idea of the team not being in San Francisco. There are a lot of great memories and traditions in Candlestick Park and it would make sense for people not to want the stadium.

I personally would like the 49ers to stay, but the current stadium needs to get fixed up and it would not be worth it. The new stadium would not only bring the fans a wonderful new stadium, but it might be enough to maybe host a future Super Bowl.

The traffic getting to Santa Clara would be easier than getting to Candlestick.

I think the part of me that doesn’t want to see the new stadium is the part that loves the 49ers history, their name, and the place where so many great teams have played. The 49ers are San Francisco and moving them out just doesn’t feel right.

On the other hand, a new stadium and hosting a Super Bowl would be pretty nice. And it does make sense somewhat, since most of the players actually live in Santa Clara (near the headquarters) and they really only go to San Francisco for gameday.

Santa Clara makes sense, but I wish the 49ers didn’t have to move.

49ers Position Battles: Quarterback

As mini-camp for the 49ers continue throughout this summer, I want to take a look at each position on the team and break down each player that would either be trying to make waves during camp.

Currently on roster:

• Alex Smith (entering 5th year)
• Shaun Hill (entering 8th year)
• Nate Davis (entering 1st year)
• Damon Huard (entering 13th year)

At the end of the 2008 season, we assumed that the 49ers would give Shaun Hill the full-time starting job at the position. But when Mike Singletary announced that there would be a battle for the starting job (much like what happened the previous offseason), the team started to scramble.

Hill proved that he could lead the team to wins but apparently his recent performance wasn’t enough to win him the starting job.

With a healthy Alex Smith, the 49ers look to have both Hill and Smith battle it out for the starting job. And to provide some veteran stability, the 49ers signed free agent Damon Huard.

Prior to the draft, there were some speculations on whether or not the 49ers might draft USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. The team did draft a quarterback in the fifth round: Nate Davis from Ball State.

Huard was brought in to be the veteran backup quarterback and unless something major happens, that will probably be his position all season long.

Davis is an interesting case. For starters, his learning disability has not been an issue during practices and wasn’t an issue while he was playing at Ball State. Davis has a rocket arm with great accuracy. Given the fact that the offense isn’t going to be pass heavy like he had at Ball State, it will provide Davis a great chance to slowly learn the new playbook.

As for Hill and Smith, this is where it becomes a little interesting. Hill has had the most recent success of the two. In fact, you can credit head coach Mike Singletary’s hiring as coach to Hill. With Hill’s brilliant play this past season, he proved that he can manage the offense and at the same time, lead them for game-winning drives.

Even in the road losses to Arizona and Miami, Hill played well enough to lead the team to victory. Both those games came to the last play. The knock on Hill is obviously his practice results. As well-documented, he doesn’t always perform well during practices but it doesn’t translate into that onto the field during a real game.

Smith on the other hand has been a little bit of the opposite. Smith has had some really great throws in recent weeks and his shoulder has not been giving him any problems. But Smith has yet to play a regular season NFL game since Week 10 of the 2007 season—and the last few games he played came while he was still hurt.

It seems that right now Hill SHOULD get the upper hand on the quarterback battle. However, there still might be a little push in management to give Smith (No. 1 overall pick in 2005) the best opportunity to succeed. Regardless of how Hill does, Smith will be right behind him into the preseason.

There probably won’t be any final decision on this position battle until probably the second preseason game. By then, the team will have a better idea of who will be best suited to lead this team.

As for Huard and Davis, both will probably make the roster as backups. We might see Davis on the practice squad, but if he continues to show improvement, he might just squeak into the roster.

Michael Crabtree: The New 49ers Wideout Looks To Silence Doubters

San Francisco 49ers’ first round pick Michael Crabtree has the tools to become elite receiver in the league. And with the 49ers trying to establish a solid offense to compliment the potential of the receiver, you would think that the rookie would be attentive to all the details of the first OTAs.

Well, not exactly.

Crabtree was sighted to be looking around, not paying attention to the play on the field while he stood on the sidelines. Crabtree’s foot has sidelined him from any physical activities on the field for the OTAs, but it would be encouraging, at least, to see him being attentive to the offense.

The following day, Crabtree was standing right next to offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye trying to learn as much as he could about the new playbook. That’s a good sign to me.

Crabtree is an interesting case. The foot injury does put a damper in his growth this rookie season. Since he has to stand on the sideline and wait, it becomes a little harder to learn the playbook without actually participating on the field with the rest of the teammates.

But I am glad that he is trying to learn as much as possible while waiting for his time to hit the field.

And obviously, once he hits the field, he might want to prove to some doubters of his “diva” title. Well, I wouldn’t say he is a diva, but he has a lot on his plate once he is ready to make catches on the field.

I’m very hopeful for Crabtree. Since the departure of Terrell Owens in 2003, the 49ers haven’t had a big name receiver.

The last one was Antonio Bryant, but he never gave himself the opportunity to excel with his attitude problem. Crabtree could be that kind of big receiver, if not bigger. But let’s just hope there is no attitude problem with his game.

Five Questions for 49er LB Manny Lawson

When I first started writing for my 49ers blog, the 49ers had just completed the 2006 campaign at 7-9. In what looked to be a great 2007 season for me to cover, ended up as one of the ugliest years in recent 49ers history.

The departure of Norv Turner forced the team to rely on Jim Hostler to run the offense. With numerous three-and-outs, the 49ers defense was forced to stay on the field for the majority of the season.

In that year, I was very hopeful for 49ers linebacker Manny Lawson to continue his second season as a great pass rusher for the 49ers. With the 49ers’ first round selection of linebacker Patrick Willis in the 2007 NFL Draft, Lawson had a great chance to be part of a very young, explosive linebacker group.

Since starting my blog, my hopes for Lawson’s success have been derailed by injuries. Lawson would suffer a leg injury during practice two games into the 2007 season and was used sparingly in last year’s revamped 3-4 defense.

The 49ers were rumored to be interested in drafting a pass rusher this past April to replace Lawson. When the 49ers opted to not draft a new linebacker, it was a sign that the team might still believe Lawson could be that pass rusher of the future. And I still believe he could be that kind of a player.

If given the chance to interview Lawson, there would be a lot of topics I would want to cover. But these are the five questions that I really want to ask the 49ers linebacker:

1. You tore your ACL in 2007 and had a hamstring injury in 2008. Are there any extra precautions you are taking entering this year’s training camp, to make sure you don’t re-injure yourself?
2. In your first year with the 49ers, you played in all 16 games and collected 57 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Last year, you were able to play in 14 games, but were left out of the team’s nickel defensive schemes. What changes have been made in this year’s defense to allow you more playing time at linebacker?
3. The team was rumored to select a pass rusher in the NFL Draft but opted not to go that direction. This must be an indication that the team still believes in you, to be their main right side pass rusher. Are you approaching this season to show management that they made the right choice?
4. In your recent blog entry, you talked about how some reporters mentioned your new weight gain. You did assure them that the weight gain would not hinder your play on the field, even though you do enjoy the occasional snacking. You said that if your performance hinders, you would try to get back into shape. Is there a certain weight that you feel would be too heavy for your body frame?
5. As the OTAs approach, what do you like to do outside of football to keep yourself occupied and mentally sharp?

49ers QB Battle: Throw Nate Davis into the mix

Even though this offseason’s quarterback battle will mainly be between Alex Smith and Shaun Hill, the quarterback that could benefit most from this is Nate Davis.

The rookie quarterback out of Ball State was drafted in the fifth round and could be projected as the team’s third string quarterback. He even could end up as the fourth stringer behind veteran Damon Huard.

But how can he benefit from a battle that doesn’t even involve him?

Now, the 49ers would be fools to not name Shaun Hill their starter for the 2009 season. Everything that has gone right for Hill has gone accordingly and he should be rewarded with the starting role. With an impressive 7-2 record as a starter, Hill does give the 49ers the best shot to win.

Let’s say that Hill does get the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. Who would be No. 2? You would think Alex Smith will take that spot, but Davis could be a solid challenger to Smith.

Smith is the pet project of the Mike Nolan era. With that No. 1 overall pick status looming over Smith, the “bust” word starts to creep closer and closer around 49ers camp.

The 49ers surprised some by restructuring Smith’s contract to keep him around, but if he does not perform well, he should not be rewarded with the No. 2 spot. If Davis does play better, Smith’s career in San Francisco might as well be over.

Smith says that he has fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery and is ready to handle the upcoming battle for the starting job. But with a lot of uncertainty behind Smith, Davis would benefit from the battle for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.

Davis has been criticized for having an unorthodox way of gripping the football, but that doesn’t take away from his ability to throw the ball deep and accurately. In fact, those are the skills that I have yet to see from Smith at the pro level.

Davis looks to have more upside (and more potential) at this point than Smith does. If Davis outperforms Smith this offseason, the 49ers should not hold onto Smith as the future of the franchise. They need to let it go and move on.

Dyslexia, the learning disability that Davis has, should not be a problem for Davis as he learns the playbook. He has said that he is a great visual learner and as long as he is able to visualize the play and picture it, he will be just fine on the field.

As Davis continues to battle for a position on the roster, he might just be good enough to make it to No. 2. He probably won’t win the top spot, but he could very well set himself for a bright future if he can show his goods in training camp.

Over recent years, backup quarterbacks have excelled when the team’s starter is unable to perform. In recent memory, we can recall a Tony Romo or a Matt Cassel quietly taking notes as a backup. When their time came, they never looked back.

How I Became a 49ers Fan: Thanks Dad

I’ll admit it: I joined the 49ers Faithful via the bandwagon.

I became a 49ers fan because they were winning and I didn’t know much about sports at the time. It was Jan. 1995 and the 49ers had just won their fifth Super Bowl—the first team to achieve such a feat.

In 1995, I was a nine-year-old boy that was just getting into sports. I had just picked up playing basketball with my friends in elementary school and it seemed that a lot of my friends enjoyed active play during recess.

But my biggest influence on sports may be my father. My father immigrated to the Bay Area from Hong Kong in 1981 and was very fortunate to have seen the 49ers win their first Super Bowl that year. And by trying to understand America’s sport, my father would continue to follow the 49ers. And it was very helpful for my father to see the 49ers win three more titles that decade. He would become a supporter of every member of those championship teams.

Then head coach George Seifert couldn’t compare to what Bill Walsh had established in San Francisco. My dad made sure that I was aware of his opinion on that matter.

When the 49ers traded Joe Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs, my father was furious. His hero had left and was replaced by Steve Young. Young in his own right was a great quarterback, but his style was so different from Montana that my dad just couldn’t accept it.

Young scrambled the instant the pocket broke and his running style was something my dad never got accustomed to. Rather than be a pass-first quarterback like Montana was, Young was more of a run before you pass type of quarterback.

But as I first started to follow football, Young was my quarterback. Montana was traded, so I had no memories of him on the team. All I knew was that Young was the quarterback I grew up with and I supported him.

My dad told me that Young was a failure and tried to convince me that the 49ers would never succeed with Young under center. Even after the 49ers won their fifth title, my dad refused to accept Young as a good quarterback. He would constantly compare Young to Montana—an unfair comparison—but the standard my dad held.

Actually, I shouldn’t have been a 49ers fan. I grew up in the East Bay in Richmond. My favorite teams were the Golden State Warriors and the Oakland Athletics. Both of these two teams play in Oakland. Naturally, I should have been a Raiders fan. But at that time, the Raiders were in Los Angeles, so the 49ers were the only football team I knew. And as the years continued, my dad continued to egg me about Young. And for those years, I continued to support him just to prove my dad wrong.

Thanks dad. Without you, I might not have been so driven to follow the 49ers at such a young age. And don’t get me wrong, I love Joe Montana. But your hate for Steve Young made me love the 49ers just that much more.

49ers Expect More Run in New Offense

Out with Mike Martz, in with Jimmy Raye. That was the shakeup this off-season and the hiring of Raye as the new offensive coordinator means that the pass-happy offense Martz installed will no longer be in effect.  In fact, the 49ers will expect just the opposite this upcoming season: more run.

Raye was hired after working with the New York Jets in 2008. In that season, Raye produced a top five running back in Thomas Jones. For the 49ers and their star running back Frank Gore, they hope that they can reproduce such success.

The 49ers struggled with their offensive identity last season with a quarterback battle that lingered all the way into the preseason. With the favoritism of Martz’s protégé, J.T. O’Sullivan, the 49ers struggled to find any offensive rhythm.

It was after head coach Mike Nolan’s firing and the quarterback switch to Shaun Hill did the 49ers string together a more balanced attack.

As the 49ers will still feature another quarterback battle this offseason, the clear choice will be Hill under center. However, the offense will be run-oriented. The success to last season’s 5-2 finish came at the hand of Hill’s short passes and a better management of the clock.

This season, newly hired head coach Mike Singletary will look to do just that to start the season. The 49ers will not work into a lot of passes, but rather establishing a hard-nose ground attack.

Offensive coordinator Raye will definitely provide the team more schemes to run the ball. The 49ers were in need of a right tackle this offseason and they fixed that problem with the signing of free agent Marvel Smith. The 49ers also added running back Glen Coffee from Alabama in the NFL Draft to help complement Gore in what the team envisions as a new “two-back system.”

As Raye installs a more run-oriented offense, the most pressure will now be put on the shoulders of Gore and whoever ends up as the quarterback. Much like 2000 Ravens, the responsibility of the quarterback may not be to throw the deep touchdown passes, but rather just to help the offense move the chains.

Let’s assume that Hill wins the quarterback battle. Deep, 40-yard passes will not be required of him, but rather swing passes and simple check-down passes would work just fine. Every now and then the team might call for a deep ball, but the running game is where the 49ers will make the biggest splash.

Gore will be expected to get at least 300 carries this upcoming season. Gore has been held under that mark the past two seasons. Gore reached 312 carries in 2006, his Pro Bowl year, with a total of 1,695 rushing yards. With this many carries, Gore should be able to reach the 1,000-yard rushing plateau for the fourth consecutive season. This time, I expect him to reach it way before the team’s final regular season game.
Raye’s new offense will probably require Gore and Coffee to split the duties in the backfield. Gore will still get the majority of the rushes, but we could certainly see Coffee get a chance to get possibly 150 carries.

The 49ers did bolster their passing game with the return of Isaac Bruce, the signing of Brandon Jones, and the selection of Michael Crabtree in the NFL Draft. But as the old saying goes: “A successful running game opens up a good passing attack.”

That’s the approach the 49ers will have this year under the new offensive of Jimmy Raye. And for all we know, it may just be the right offense for a team searching for a new offensive identity.

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