Ummm.....WTF?

So, how much of this article can we believe? Michael Silver has always struck me as a huge douchenozzle, but is he totally off base on his reporting very often?

Let's start with the VD saga of Sunday:

“You don’t need to be sayin’ nothin’ to me right now,” Davis barked at the coach, according to witnesses. Singletary ordered Davis to take a seat on the bench, and shortly thereafter the coach approached and stressed the importance of avoiding stupid penalties.

“I said I don’t need to hear it,” Davis snapped, cutting him off.

Hmm, this is a total contrast to every other report I've heard of what happened, but it sure explains Singletary's over-the-top response if it's true. And as for the team's reaction?

Meanwhile, on the 49ers’ sidelines, most of Davis’ teammates were quietly singing the praises of ‘Coach Sing.’ ”

Explained one veteran defender: “Vernon does this crap all the time, and Nolan would always let it go. He created this monster. The good news is that Coach Sing wasn’t having that.”

Added another veteran defender: “No one’s bigger than the team, right? We were all happy to see that this (expletive) won’t be tolerated.”

Wha wha WHAAT?? I havn't heard the team's dislike for Davis reported ANYWHERE else.

I also specifically remember Maiocco saying that he thought Nolan was well respected in the locker room, but this article reports the EXACT opposite:

Conversely, Nolan’s lack of locker-room cred had a lot to do with his awkwardly timed departure last Monday evening. To his credit, McCloughan had heavily foreshadowed the move in a long conversation between him and Nolan on the Niners’ flight home from Newark, N.J., following a defeat to the Giants.

Nolan, several Niners players say, lost the team last season, which began with high expectations following a 7-9 campaign in ‘06. Midway through a year in which San Francisco would lose eight consecutive games and finish 5-11, Nolan gave a speech to the team on the Monday after a defeat in which he announced an end to his lenient ways. It soon became known derisively in the locker room as the “Warm and Fuzzy” speech.

“He got up there and said, ‘I’m done with the warm and fuzzies,’ ” recalled one player who witnessed the talk. “He said, ‘I’ve made it too warm and fuzzy around here for too long. No more (expletive) warm and fuzzy.’ It was comical. He was up there ranting and raving and clearly trying to be something he wasn’t.”

Added another Niners player: “It was a total front. I had a comeback waiting for him if he ever said it again: ‘It’s real warm and fuzzy on the sidelines, (expletive).’ ”

WTF? If any of this is true, how the hell did we not here about it until now? After this he goes on about how McCloughan went out of his way after his promotion to not rankle Nolan's feathers, then claims that the QB "battle" was a total front and that Martz wanted JT from the start.

Nothing real surprising there, but then he drops the line that makes me really wonder WTF is going on with this team, and question the credibility of this dude:

Not known for his people skills, Martz baffled his players after their 33-30 comeback victory over the Seahawks last month when, at a team meeting the following day, he told them, “You shouldn’t be satisfied, because it’s not just about winning. It’s about trying to be the best offense in the league … the best offense in history.”

......WHAT?? If this is true, then Mike Martz is effing insane and should not be allowed within 1000 feet of a football stadium. I really am not sure whether or not to give this any credibility, seeing as how there's nary an actual source named. But wow, if any of this stuff is true, then this team is more effed up than even we thought. I strongly recommend you read the whole thing and take it all in.

JT O'Sullivan can go back to making UPS Commercials

That is now that he's done with his 9th NFL team in as many, errr, less than as many years.

The STINKertary era begins

Get it? GET IT?

That was quite frankly the most pathetic effort in a meaningful game I've ever seen in my life. Where was this passion that we all thought Singletary would bring? If anything, the team was even flatter to start this game than they've ever been before. Mike Martz, teh geniuz, seems to have so answers on offense, or the personnel is so terrible he really can't do anything with it.

Shaun Hill- I'm sure there's some reason JTO started over him this season, but I still havn't ever seen him do anything that warrented being benched. He's not the most explosive QB ever, but when you've got a great RB and decent WRs, you just need a guy who won't eff up your chances of winning, and he doesn't. He doesn't make stupid turnovers. He doesn't fumble when someone breathes on him. He can run a little bit. Why the hell has he been on the bench?

And I can't even begin on the defense. When you let a Fullback take 2 catches over 40 yards for TDs, you have given up and have no pride left. What an absolute joke of a defensive performance. They weren't doing all that terrible at the beginning, but they must have realized they didn't have a hope in hell in this game and just mailed in the second half. Unbelievable.

This team is completely screwed. Offseason needs:

Head coach
Defensive Co-ordinator
Offensive Co-ordinator
Offensive line coach
Linebackers coach
Defensive line coach
Tight-ends coach
Defensive backs coach
Owner
Stadium
Quarterback

I think you get the picture. I know it's not fair to judge Singletary on one game, but there was not a single aspect of this team that was in any way different, let alone improved, during this game. It is going to be a catastrophic embarrasment on national TV in 2 weeks. Maybe, juuuussst maybe he'll be able to change something over the bye, but forgive me for needing to see it first.

Side note: I did like him telling Vernon to quite being a little baby and GTFO. Twould be nice if that lit a fire under the prick.

The Singletary Era Begins

Watching the talking heads on ESPN eulogize the great Mike Nolan is pretty funny.

What a relief.

For the record: Chris Berman is disgusted at this development. He obviously hasn't been watching this season. Probably all those deux deux duex's.

RESULT

THANK THE GOOD LORD IN THE HEAVENS. Rotoworld brings news that I can only hope and pray is accurate:

ESPN's Michael Smith reports that 49ers head coach Mike Nolan is "likely coaching his last game" against the Seahawks this week.
"Barring a dramatic change in course," Smith said on NFL Live, "The team is going to relieve Nolan of his coaching duties and replace him with assistant head coach Mike Singletary." It's not a shock after Nolan was nearly fired last offseason. Since Singletary figures to leave Mike Martz and the offense alone, the possible move doesn't have a huge fantasy impact.

Please, please, pleeaaassee let this rumor be factual. We get the two-fur of ditching Nolan and giving the job to Singletary, not Manusky. Somebody in the front office is using their brain!!! This is exciting!!!! Makes me think McCloughan is actually smart, and that Nolan was standing in the way of progress all along. I cannot wait for that press release.

BTW, there is absolutely no way of knowing whether or not Singletary will be any better, but at this point I think we all prefer the devil we don't know to the idiot we do know.

Getting serious for a minute...

...what exactly are the chances that Mike Nolan is the head coach on Nov. 10th in Arizona on Monday night? I have to admit, I live in an apartment where I have to try to "borrow" internet access right now, and I don't have TV, so I haven't been able to see the entire length of these recent games, but I've been able to watch snippets of the live game and highlights, and from what I've seen lately, the offense is actually going downhill, not improving like we thought it would.

JT O'Sullivan is now the New York Giants version of Kurt Warner- throwing terrible INTs, and fumbling the ball every time anyone even breathes on him. The offensive line looks to be quite awful- Gore has nary a hole to run through, and Jimminy Thaddeus has all of 1.459 seconds to find an open target. What the hell is going on here? And nobody can blame that east-coast BS either, because it was the same in the Pats and Eagles games, and they weren't road games. Why did Vernon Davis disappear? Why is Gore getting 11 carries again?

And then there's the real reason we should get that sweet, sweet press release on the morning of October 27th: the defense. Mike Nolan's defense. He is getting the absolute least out of a marginally talented group that I could possibly imagine. Are they great? No. The defensive line is actually pretty bad, but this defense has some very talented players, and they are a complete seive out there. Brandon Jacobs is very good, so you'd expect to give up some plays to him, but Correll effing Buckhalter? He's ok, but this defense made him look like Westbrook wasn't actually injured. Then you've got the genius move of keeping your fastest and most athletic LB on the sidelines for 2 entire games. Absolutely ridiculous.

One of the arguements I've seen Maiocco make in Nolan's defense is that he took over a team with absolutely no talent and then improved the roster quite substantially. That may be somewhat true, but if so, why is his team still woefully awful? 2-5 after 3 1/2 years is not at all an improvement, I don't care how bad the roster was when you took over. 2 straight seasons with 4 (+?) game losing streaks shouldn't be happening when you've "improved the roster".

Here's something we've never ever evveerrr seen a Mike Nolan-coached 49ers team do: win a game they weren't supposed to win. Notice what the Rams did last week? Or this week for that matter? We would have made Brad Johnson look like Tom Brady. Or what the Raiders did against the Jets? Or the Dolphins against the Pats? Or the perfect example: Chiefs over Broncos. Even the crappiest of the shytiest teams have those games once in a while where you just go "WTF? They won that game?" Have you ever seen the 49ers do that with Mike Nolan coaching them? No, no you haven't. Some may want to count that game in Seattle in '06, but if we're honest with ourselves, we'd realize that the Seahawks totally sucked that season and we were damn lucky to pull that one out.

I honestly cannot see a single reason to keep Mike Nolan. The only good news about this season is that, even at 2-5, we're still only 2 1/5 games out in the division. Maybe if the correct move is made in a couple weeks, we'll actually have a shot, since we know the Tards will do what they always do: be an utter and massive disappointment to everyone.

Mike Nolan: Wrong for the defense, wrong for the 49ers.

I'm a pissed off 49ers fan and I approved this message.

0%:

Both the chances that this isn't a 2 touchdown blowout, and the chances that Mike Nolan keeps his job after the bye week. EXACTLY THE SAME TEAM as last year so far.

Some thoughts on the game while they're fresh like an open wound

Was anyone else completely disheartened on the first Eagles drive when you couldn't see Clements or Harris in the TV frame? This is such a sad, passive defense.

The game provided an instructive comparison in offensive lines. When the Eagles pass protected, their o-line provided a rock-solid wall rarely penetrated by a Niners defender. When the Niners pass protected, the linemen immediately fell back in a loose, pocket-like structure that almost immediately collapsed into JTO. I guess the conclusion here is the 49ers offensive and defensive lines are terrible.

Maybe if Mike Nolan wore his headset, he would be able to communicate with other coaches. Just a suggestion. In fact, he might have heard that Hank Baskett didn't catch that pass.

JT O'Sullivan has been a different QB since the New Orleans game. They must have really rung his bell, because his pocket presence is gone, and he's running scared. Bodes well for next week in the Meadowlands, huh?

Mike Martz. It was fun when he appeared to motivate the Niners offense earlier this season. I suppose some coaches would decide to go pass-whacky with a slim lead and a defense that can't get off the field, but those coaches are no longer employed.

I've been enjoying these "Martz vs. the opposing coach" storylines they keep hyping before the game. It's hilarious because Martz always seems to be 2-8 or 1-4 against the opposing coach.

THAT is how you start (Gameday thread?)

• BOO YES. Quick drive for a TD and a STUFF on 3rd-down defense. THAT is what I'm talking about! Bout fooking time, too.
• And now VERNON EFFING DAVIS hits a big play!?!?!?!?!?! YEAAAA BABY
• That 4th down play was pure Frank Gore. He's good.
• Takeo Spikes? Takeo Spikes? Dude has 3 INTs in 3 games!
• They didn't do anything with the INT, but that was still a HUGE play...and then Andy Lee..WTF?
• Quick question: Why is this defense such a sieve against the run? Good lord this is awful.
• Well that sucks. My online access cut out for some reason and then JT throws the pick. WHY can't we have consistency for once? Jeez
  

Classic Mike Nolan (AKA, another awful loss)

It'd be a relief to become one of those overly-dramatic fans and state, with grave conviction, "No more 49ers football. I'm done." Fact is, I dropped $260 on the Sunday ticket for the pleasure of watching Mike Nolan and Mike Martz fail on a weekly basis, and I'll get my money's worth, damn it.

Who doesn't enjoy watching the 49ers defense get mauled by consecutive 13 and 14 play drives? It's even better when it happens in 4 of the 5 games played this year. At least I know I can go do some yard work in the second and third quarters next Sunday. Because if we know one thing about Mike Nolan, we know he is consistent. Consistently out-coached.

Time of possession? That's for losers (seriously). Why, Martz' grand scheme can score in four plays anytime (except when it really counts).

And how about that hallowed Big Sub package? It's a hollow turd unable to stop even the longest third and long. There's not much you can do defensively without a defensive line. That's kind of a "key" component.

Maiocco reported Mike Nolan knew the name of one Patriot: Wesley Walker. Nolan's familiarity with the name translated perfectly to the field. As that little buttplug Welker scorched the pathetic Niners defense time after time, Nolan was probably canvassing the sideline, "Hey, where's that Walker guy? I've never seen "Welker"."

And we all know that the way to beat Randy Moss is to let him run free. Am I right? The secret to victory is letting Randy run those little 10 yard outs all day, because that way you'll make sure he doesn't burn you for a 70 yard TD...oh...wait.

I laughed out loud when Martz pulled out the direct snap to Gore LATE IN THE SECOND HALF. This tells me one thing: Martz' playcalling "feel" is a lie. He sticks to his plan come hell or high water. That play was probably intended to run in the second quarter, but with the unbalanced time of possession, it got pushed back. He sat on the one play that gave the Patriots fits two weeks ago. He didn't even try it. It would have been perfect on that 3rd and 1 where Gore got stuffed, no?

Are we watching the unraveling of Jiminy Thaddius O'Sullivan? What happened to the pocket presence, and those great sidesteps? Oh, right, New Orleans knocked those clean out the box. Sure, the interceptions were bad, but the throwaway on 4th and forever was a 'head in hands' moment.

The sad news is: there is no upside. It's not going to get any prettier. Mother of god imagine how bad this team is going to be in the Meadowlands in two weeks.

The 49ers will get a new coach sooner or later, probably throw in Shaun Hill as the sacrificial sack doll, and continue to flail against any offense slightly more competent that Detroit's. Booze is the only answer.