The San Francisco 49ers Are a Hot Mess
By Jason Lisk
At this point, though, the 49ers seem like a team that has collectively closed their ears. Since the preseason, we have had an altercation between Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, a 3rd round pick from last year unexpectedly retired, the offensive coordinator was so bad at getting the plays in on time that the team burned timeouts and he was ultimately fired just three games in, former starting safety Michael Lewis requested (and was just granted) his release, and most recently, Michael Crabtree may have just thrown his quarterback under the flying in reverse team bus in evaluating the new coordinator’s performance on Sunday.
This team hasn’t exactly handled the offseason of expectations well, which is like saying that the French didn’t exactly do a great job of slowing down the Germans in World War II. When he was hired, Singletary preached actions over words, but he may need to heed his own advice. Prior to week 2, he publicly said they were going to stop Drew Brees, not try to stop him. Bravado is great and all, but those are just words. Don’t say it, do it. It’s no surprise that a week later, Vernon Davis made similar remarks about winning in Kansas City. A team that started 0-2 shouldn’t be publicly talking about anything, and they shouldn’t show up ill-prepared following a “moral victory” against the Saints. But they did, and got drilled.
That’s what is most concerning about the 49ers. Every team has some games where they have turnovers and bad luck and things get away. This team has gone from a team with some bad luck in the first two games, to a team that saw its defense get torched in the third, and then fail to hold a lead when good fortune turned their way (14-0 after a great block punt recovery by Taylor Mays in the back of the end zone). That kind of result isn’t necessarily surprising during the Singletary era. The 49ers have been stingy early in games, outscoring opponents 126-82 in the first quarter of the 29 games coached by Samurai Mike, only to be outscored for the rest of the game on average.
It’s a team that has talent. Patrick Willis is one of the best middle linebackers of the last thirty years, and if he stays healthy, can find himself in the same company as guys like Lewis and Singletary. Aubrayo Franklin has been a good nose tackle, and Justin Smith has resurrected his career in San Fran. On offense, there is promise, but we don’t know how the recent draft picks will turn out. The team spent heavily in the draft on offensive line, and so far the line has been a disappointment. Crabtree is still less than 16 games into his career, and Vernon Davis is as gifted as any tight end in the game. The QB situation is obviously a concern after four games, with one flash of promise against the Saints but otherwise underwhelming results. It’s still not too late in 2010 because they play in the NFC West, but they need to stop talking and start playing. Mike Singletary needs to start coaching and stop given such a harried impression on the sideline as well. Things have a way of trickling down from the top. If he doesn’t get it turned around soon, this team will be looking for someone else.