Martz not returning

[Gopher]

Don't have a link, but just heard it here on local SF radio station KNBR 680...

[Ursa Majoris]

No surprise. Singletary is going to try to re-create the '85 Bears in San Francisco and a pass-happy OC is surplus to requirements.

[Pope Flick]

No surprise. Singletary is going to try to re-create the '85 Bears in San Francisco and a pass-happy OC is surplus to requirements.

 

 

Well I don't know about that exactly, but "smash mouth" and "40 yard slant on 3rd and 2" do not mix.

[Randall]

The Lions did win several games with Martz.

 

I'm not saying they should hire him, but they did do better last year with him.

[Gopher]

No surprise. Singletary is going to try to re-create the '85 Bears in San Francisco and a pass-happy OC is surplus to requirements.

+1

 

Martz was Nolan's guy, brought in basically to save Nolan's job, after the offense struggled horribly last year to move the ball and score in the red zone (or even reach the red zone in some games). However, Martz's pass-happy offense doesn't really fit with Singletary's defense-first mindset. I would think Singletary would be looking for to run the ball down the opposing teams' throats and control the clock, similar to what Baltimore has done over the years. Martz did do a very nice job this year of transitioning from an offense based around O'Sullivan the gunslinger to Hill the game-manager, per Singletary's request. No question Martz is one of the great offensive minds in the game, and he'll find a job somewhere, whether it be as an OC somewhere else in the NFL or as an NCAA head coach. He just doesn't fit Singletary's style at all.

[Zooty]

I'll take him in Philly.

We don't run the ball anyway

[Randall]

I'll take him in Philly.

We don't run the ball anyway

 

 

Shanahan's now available.

[Zooty]

Shanahan's now available.

 

I meant as a coordinator.

 

Martz is a terrible HC and Shanahan had too much control in Denver. Terrible GM IMO

[Azazello1313]

now that shanny is on the market, do you think SF is wishing it waited a while on taking the interim tag off singletary?

[Gopher]

now that shanny is on the market, do you think SF is wishing it waited a while on taking the interim tag off singletary?

Interesting thought/question... I'm not a SF fan, but I would have to say no, only in the sense that Singletary is a much better fit, considering where this team is in its maturity process. Singletary is younger, more intense (think positive intensity, not that typical Shanahan scowl that we're all used to seeing), and will have the patience to work through some bumps in the road. I am not sure Shanahan would be willing to do that, considering where he is at in his coaching career. I could be wrong, but I only see Shanny going somewhere where all of the pieces (or at least most of them) are already in place. SF is still at least a few pieces away from being a SERIOUS contender. Sure, they may go 8-8 and win their division next year, but they're going to need to improve at multiple positions in order for them to seriously contend with the better teams in the NFC.

 

Question marks by position:

 

QB - Once the luster of Shaun Hill wears off, will he still be the answer? I was at the game on Sunday, and although I think most would agree that he's a decent game-manager, he also made some brutal throws at times... plays where you think to yourself "That looked like a Division II college QB throwing that ball." Not to take anything away from the 49ers wins down the stretch, but they didn't exactly beat stiff competition... Hill brought them from behind to beat a lowly Rams team that had dominated them for the first three quarters of the game. In the other wins, they beat teams (NYJ, BUF, WAS) who all proved to be big-time pretenders during the first half of the year. Not that impressive, so I can only take Hill's "winning record" as a starting QB as just what it is... a record against mediocre/bad football teams.

 

WR - Isaac Bruce was really the only consistent player in this group (and even he had some games where he completely disappeared), but he's about 87 years old. Whether or not he's going to be a part of this team's plans, further than another year down the road, is a big question mark. The rest of the WR's have a ton of potential, but were extremely inconstistent this year... Bryant Johnson, Jason Hill, and Josh Morgan all had a bright moment or two during the year, but nothing more than that. Arnaz Battle is a hard-working ex-college-QB who has a knack for making an occasional play, but you can't help but wonder if he would make many other NFL rosters. There is definitely a need for someone to emerge as the go-to WR in this group,especially once Bruce is no longer around.

 

TE - Vernon Davis... What more needs to be said? Is he going to be nothing more than a physical specimen who is a head-case, or will he come at least somewhat CLOSE to reaching his potential? The highlight play of the year for him was an 11-yard run on a direct snap to him, for a first down... That pretty much says it all.

 

OL - Joe Staley has helped, but they're still a player or two away from being considered anything more than sub-par, or average at best.

 

DL - Pass rush was non-existent in most games this year... The Niners only recorded 29 sacks this year, while giving up 54. Still hurting from the departure of Bryant Young.

 

LB - Anchored around a stud in Willis. Takeo Spikes had some nice games, particularly earlier in the year, as well. This group is not helping much from the outside, in the pass rush department, though.

 

DB - A group that was disappointing as a whole, especially when you consider that two of the team's bigger FA acquisitions over the past couple of years were in this group (Clements and Lewis). Lewis has been decent, Clements somewhat below what expectations, while others (Roman and Harris) didn't play very well all year. The entire secondary for SF recorded a whopping 7 INT's this season, contributing to the team total of 12. Not enough big plays... definitely an area that I'm sure Singletary will be looking to improve in.

 

Overall, they're not THAT far off, but like I said, still missing a few pieces. I just think this is a much better fit for a guy like Singletary than it is Shanahan. I see this team being somewhat similar to Jacksonville from a few years ago... Defensive-minded, run the ball (ball-control offense), with a group of WR's that may be talented, but not any one that sticks out as being a stud. Of course, the biggest similarity would be that they're coached by a fairly young former LB.

[BeeR]

I like Mike. Idiotic pants thing notwithstanding. No-nonense guys like that are what this league desperately needs.

 

Martz continues to be way overrated but he did OK with what he had, which was basically Gore.

[Avernus]

I'll take him in Philly.

We don't run the ball anyway

 

his system doesn't match what Reid does....but it suits what McNabb's strengths are...

 

I'd like to see him here as an OC, but I don't know if I seriously want that..

[bushwacked]

now that shanny is on the market, do you think SF is wishing it waited a while on taking the interim tag off singletary?

 

I think SF is banking on Holmgren as GM and/or HC in 2010.

[Bier Meister]

i would have been happy with:

hc- mike, oc- martz

hc- shanny, dc- mike

*hc- holmgren, oc- shanny, dc- mike

[mitpdub]

Interesting thought/question... I'm not a SF fan, but I would have to say no, only in the sense that Singletary is a much better fit, considering where this team is in its maturity process. Singletary is younger, more intense (think positive intensity, not that typical Shanahan scowl that we're all used to seeing), and will have the patience to work through some bumps in the road. I am not sure Shanahan would be willing to do that, considering where he is at in his coaching career. I could be wrong, but I only see Shanny going somewhere where all of the pieces (or at least most of them) are already in place. SF is still at least a few pieces away from being a SERIOUS contender. Sure, they may go 8-8 and win their division next year, but they're going to need to improve at multiple positions in order for them to seriously contend with the better teams in the NFC.

 

Question marks by position:

 

QB - Once the luster of Shaun Hill wears off, will he still be the answer? I was at the game on Sunday, and although I think most would agree that he's a decent game-manager, he also made some brutal throws at times... plays where you think to yourself "That looked like a Division II college QB throwing that ball." Not to take anything away from the 49ers wins down the stretch, but they didn't exactly beat stiff competition... Hill brought them from behind to beat a lowly Rams team that had dominated them for the first three quarters of the game. In the other wins, they beat teams (NYJ, BUF, WAS) who all proved to be big-time pretenders during the first half of the year. Not that impressive, so I can only take Hill's "winning record" as a starting QB as just what it is... a record against mediocre/bad football teams.

 

WR - Isaac Bruce was really the only consistent player in this group (and even he had some games where he completely disappeared), but he's about 87 years old. Whether or not he's going to be a part of this team's plans, further than another year down the road, is a big question mark. The rest of the WR's have a ton of potential, but were extremely inconstistent this year... Bryant Johnson, Jason Hill, and Josh Morgan all had a bright moment or two during the year, but nothing more than that. Arnaz Battle is a hard-working ex-college-QB who has a knack for making an occasional play, but you can't help but wonder if he would make many other NFL rosters. There is definitely a need for someone to emerge as the go-to WR in this group,especially once Bruce is no longer around.

 

TE - Vernon Davis... What more needs to be said? Is he going to be nothing more than a physical specimen who is a head-case, or will he come at least somewhat CLOSE to reaching his potential? The highlight play of the year for him was an 11-yard run on a direct snap to him, for a first down... That pretty much says it all.

 

OL - Joe Staley has helped, but they're still a player or two away from being considered anything more than sub-par, or average at best.

 

DL - Pass rush was non-existent in most games this year... The Niners only recorded 29 sacks this year, while giving up 54. Still hurting from the departure of Bryant Young.

 

LB - Anchored around a stud in Willis. Takeo Spikes had some nice games, particularly earlier in the year, as well. This group is not helping much from the outside, in the pass rush department, though.

 

DB - A group that was disappointing as a whole, especially when you consider that two of the team's bigger FA acquisitions over the past couple of years were in this group (Clements and Lewis). Lewis has been decent, Clements somewhat below what expectations, while others (Roman and Harris) didn't play very well all year. The entire secondary for SF recorded a whopping 7 INT's this season, contributing to the team total of 12. Not enough big plays... definitely an area that I'm sure Singletary will be looking to improve in.

 

Overall, they're not THAT far off, but like I said, still missing a few pieces. I just think this is a much better fit for a guy like Singletary than it is Shanahan. I see this team being somewhat similar to Jacksonville from a few years ago... Defensive-minded, run the ball (ball-control offense), with a group of WR's that may be talented, but not any one that sticks out as being a stud. Of course, the biggest similarity would be that they're coached by a fairly young former LB.

 

 

That's solid analysis. Maybe too good for someone in my BOTH league

 

Shanny would have been nice since he was the OC when the niners won with Steve Young. He has a westcoast background and utilizes smaller(faster) offensive linemen via the chop block. What made Shanny work for his SB wins in Denver though was a veteran team with strong leaders in Elway, Atwatter, and a healthy Terrel Davis didn't hurt. This niner team is extremely young, and probably confused with the carousel of coaches and philosophy coming and going every year. Singletary, while doesn't have a an extensive head coaching experience, can get the attention of the younger player. For the older guys aka 'locker room cancers' Singletary has no problem with getting in their face and jettisoning them from the team.

 

Regarding players,

O-line needs help. The RT(former LT) was Jonas "Glass" Jennings. Ronnie Lott went public last year to dump his arse and the niners retained him again this year and got the same thing, a turd on IR. I don't think he has the heart to play pro football and has missed some ridiculous number like 40 games over the last 5 years.

 

RB- They need a real FB to plow a path for Gore. Gore gets most of his yards on his own. With a good FB he would be incredible if he was spotted 2-3 yards.

 

WR-Bruce is probably gone, and Morgan and HIll are 'nice'. If a top tier WR comes along at#10 maybe they take a shot.

 

DL- The DL is porous. If they want to continue with a 3-4 they need a solid NT, not a blob of nothing in Franklin. He's been thrown around like a rag doll on too many plays this year. Maybe this is where they spend their top pick.

 

LB-s ok with P52D running the show.

 

DB's- they need a decent FS. Roman doesn't like to get dirty and is better suited for flag football. Singletary stated this was a position he wants to fix next year.

 

QB-Hill is 'nice' as a game manager, but not a QB of the future. I think the niners draft a young QB and let him carry the clipboard for a year and see what happens. JTO is gone, and Alex Smith has to take near league minimum or walk the plank as the next #1 draft QB bust.

Edited January 1, 2009 by mitpdub

[tazinib1]

I like Mike. Idiotic pants thing notwithstanding. No-nonense guys like that are what this league desperately needs.

 

Martz continues to be way overrated but he did OK with what he had, which was basically Gore.

 

Trust me when I tell you, you do not want Martz even SNIFFING the HC office of your team. I still do not forgive The Mad Scientist for single handily destroying the Rams SB team.