Empty Promises from an Empty Suit

My last post after the Philadelphia loss called for the firing of Mike Nolan. After a heartless performance against the Giants this past weekend it was obvious that the players no longer believed in the system or Mike Nolan. Can Francisco played one of the sloppiest games I have ever seen.

The Niners looked like a team that was throwing their hands in the air. The players were not focused and played with no enthusiasm. It was as if they didn't care. Mike Nolan was to blame. He is the person for laying out the game plan and keeping the team focused.

In today's NFL it is a surprise that Nolan made it the 3 1/2 years that he did. Realize that he was in his first head coach position and he also had all player personnel decisions as the GM of the organization that is until the end of last season. I think he knew it was coming. A storied franchise like the 49ers and their fans can only see their team lose so many times before heads roll.

So in a game that involved a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, a ball kicked out of the end zone for a safety, six sacks, three turnovers and a running back that gained 1 yard per carry, the result was expected for these types of errors and now the King is dead.

Long live the King, or should I say long live Mike Singletary. Coach Singletary has been an assistant the entire time that Nolan has been there and I am not sure what he will do that is different but it doesn't matter because if he does well then great. If he does poorly then the Niners hire someone else.

Singletary played the game with an intensity not yet matched. He would stare down a quarterback with a ferocious tenacity. If he can get his players to play with the same fire then we might see something special in San Francisco. That being said here is the remaining schedule and it will not be easy to turn things around.


Sun 10/26 Seattle 4:15 pm
bye
Mon 11/10 at Arizona 8:30 pm
Sun 11/16 St. Louis 4:05 pm
Sun 11/23 at Dallas 1:00 pm
Sun 11/30 at Buffalo 1:00 pm
Sun 12/7 NY Jets 4:05 pm
Sun 12/14 at Miami 1:00 pm
Sun 12/21 at St. Louis 1:00 pm
Sun 12/28 Washington 4:15 pm

The above teams have a combined record of 28-28. The Niners can realistically win 5 out of the remaining 9 games but they would need to win 6 to keep from having a sixth consecutive losing season.

A couple of things can happen for this season. The Niners could turn things around and make something out of this season or they could tank and pick up another high draft pick, you know like Alex Smith. Good luck Singletary, you will need it and I will be routing for you.

Is this the end of the Nolan era?

It should be! If you will recall three post ago I mentioned the four games that we are currently in were crucial to the season and possibly the job of Mike Nolan. Well after the past two games I have come to the conclusion that Mike Nolan is not the answer.

Mike Nolan has had enough time to put together a winning season and has yet to come close much less make the playoffs. The addition of Mike Martz was supposed to be the missing link to this problem because offense was all we needed. Nolan put players in a defense that was supposed to be the strength of the team. What went wrong?

I hate to say it but at times Mike Nolan seemed more concerned about what he was wearing rather than the performance of his team. Well after six games in the 2008 season the wheels are falling off. The Niners lost to Philadelphia today 40-26 after leading by 9 points at the end of the third. Nolan's defense gave up 23 points in the final 11 minutes of the game and the Niner's who looked like they were going to dominate an opponent they lose focus and lose the game.

Don't get me wrong the players played hard and the Niner's seemed to be firing on all cylinders. Special teams blocked a field goal and returned it for a TD. Frank Gore was running over people and JT hadn't been sacked but then the fourth quarter came.

It is my opinion that the 49ers must move on NOW. The 49ers have lost three in a row and with the team traveling to the meadowlands next week and have a good chance of losing their fourth straight. Mike Nolan will not do what is necessary to salvage the season and there is a good chance that he will poison the current roster. The Niners could promote Martz to interim head coach and then make a play for Bill Cower. He is a master of defense and with the talent on the Niners roster he will easily turn the defense into a unit that is worthy of elite consideration.

One thing is certain that Nolan, like Alex Smith is done in San Francisco. If not now he will be gone by seasons end. To wait means that the will be competing with Oakland, St. Louis, Seattle and other teams for his top tier coaches. If they settle then we will be having this same discussion in 4 more years.

Thanks Mike for giving it the ole' college try but for the sake of the 49er's faithful it is time to move on.

The Mustache Bet

So I live in Texas and I have been a fan of the Niners since the 1985 season at the ripe old age of 8. Being anything other than a Cowboy's fan in Texas is sacrilege. The is unless you live in Houston and root for the Oilers/Texans.

My brother breathes Silver and Blue. He would live in Dallas just to be close to the Cowboys. He loves everything about them. So imagine his little brother turning to their #1 conference rival. I mean remember the NFC championship games? What a site. So I was picked on constantly. My brother would tease me by calling the Niners the (sorry it is offensive) Gay Bay Forty Faggots. We were kids, what can you say.

Well fast forward to present. It seems as though every time the Niners and Cowboys play in Texas we go to the game. Remember the game where Terrel Owens stood on the star in Texas Stadium? We were there. So this year is no exception. The difference this year is we have made a bet.

THE BET

I have bet my brother and several other Cow fans that the Niners will beat the Cows at home. If the Niners lose then I will grow a 1970's style porno mustache. Yes one similar to that of Ron Jeremy's and John Holmes. The same goes for them if the Cows lose. I then have to wear it for a month. I will post the results of the bet online on this blog.

So GO NINERS! I have never grown a mustache before but I do know when I grow facial hair the upper lip always grows in a different color. So I don't care if the Niners lose all of their games, just beat the Cowboys. If you don't I could look like this guy. HA

What happened?

I mean seriously what happened. What happened to the ferocious Mike Nolan defense? Why are they giving up what seems to be 30 points a game? I said it a couple of weeks ago that this current set of four games would make or break the 49ers season. If they cannot compete with the big boys then what does it matter?

New England came in again with the swagger of a champion and on a 4th and 2, they said my balls are bigger than yours and went for it after they Niners held them. This was in the first half and yeah they were behind but they certainly did not need a touchdown. It is just what a team like New England does. After that point the Niners never led again and lost the game 30 to 21.

This game leaves me scratching my head because the Niners had a real chance to make a statement and they just failed. It is almost like they gave up. Now I am not taking away from the Pats. They are the best team in the league that is when Brady is healthy. But where is the moxie? Where is the guts to hold Kevin Faulk on that direct snap.

Philadelphia is next and we have looked terrible against them in the previous few years. In fact the Niners haven't beaten Philadelphia since 2003 when Jeff Garcia and Terrel Owens was on the team. The NFC East is the toughest division in football and the next two games are against NFC East opponents. If the Niners are going to make a statement they will need to do it this week at home.

I will go out on a limb and say that if the Niners lose the next two games Mike Nolan will be replaced with Mike Martz. It is already rumored after this season that Mike Holmgren will rejoin San Francisco in the front office. Also a Superbowl winning coach is still out there, Bill Cower. Hopefully we can get something moving pretty quickly because it is getting really hard for me to root for a team unwilling to make the necessary changes to win.