Singletary’s Monday Presser
http://49ers.com/blog49/
December 8th, 2008
Head coach Mike Singletary called the win a total team effort, but here were some things that immediately jumped out at him.
“Defensively, I just felt there was so much energy. Guys were running to the ball, making plays. It was just what you want it to look like. A lot of physicality was there. Guys played with a lot of passion and hustle. I was very excited.
”Offensively, as the game continued to move, I saw the offensive line really doing a great job, imposing their will on the opposing team.
“One thing that jumps out is Vernon Davis. I don’t know if there’s ever been a tight end to block better than Vernon Davis. He did an exceptional job. He was outstanding. The best I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about period. As a blocking tight end, for him to be on a defensive end, linebacker, whoever he was on, he was driving, he was moving them. It wasn’t like they didn’t know he was coming. It was very impressive.”
Asked again why he hesitates to endorse Shaun Hill as a starting quarterback for 2009, Singletary made it known that it’s not about what Shaun has or hasn’t done, but that he’s only interested in talking about the now.
“We are playing right now. After this season, I really don’t know what is going to happen. There are a lot of uncertainties. I’m going to talk about right now, I’m going to talk about next week,” explained Singletary.
“I’m very excited about what I see. I’m very excited about what he’s doing. I’ve asked Shaun to really, for himself, get to that point, establish yourself as an NFL starting quarterback, establish yourself as a championship quarterback in your mind and at the appropriate time we’ll address it. The most important thing is for Shaun Hill to continue the progression.”
Running back Frank Gore has not been ruled out by any means for Sunday’s game in Miami. Singletary said the team would monitor his progress throughout the week and hope that the added incentive of playing at home would also serve as extra medicine.
If Gore couldn’t go, there is a possibility that Thomas Clayton could be activated from the practice squad.
DeShaun Foster took the majority of the reps after Gore suffered the ankle injury against the Jets, and fumbled the ball once. Although David Baas recovered, it was the second time Foster has put the ball on the ground in recent weeks.
“The thing DeShaun really runs into, he’s trying to get extra yards. He’s trying to make something happen. Frank Gore is in all the time. When DeShaun gets in, he’s trying to make something happen. He just needs to take the ball and go, get what you can and then let’s line up and start over again. That’s just something he’ll have to continue to work on and he’ll get better.”
As reported during Sunday’s broadcast, Singletary and his wife drove over to former head coach Mike Nolan’s house following the 49ers first win under Singletary (against the Rams) to deliver a game ball.
“The biggest thing about that I just felt that every thing I’ve had a chance to do since I’ve been head coach – a lot of it stemmed from Mike. To me, winning that first game was as much his as it was mine, because of everything he did, and all of the time he put into me, teaching and the conversations and all of the things we talked about. I wanted to make sure that i let him know that I’m always indebted to him as a friend and a mentor.”
Singletary prefers to shy away from talk about whether or not he’ll be the head coach for the 49ers in 2009, but he did answer the question today about his contract status.
“My contract is done at the end of this year. I’m a free agent so to speak.”
Over the last few weeks Singletary has been using a former NFL head official, Ron Blum, to help out with rule interpretation in the coaching booth. Singletary explained his decision to seek Blum’s assistance.
“A few years ago, I said to myself, I’m going to take this (rule) book and sit down and go through all of the rules, by the time you get through the first quarter of it, and you pick up the phone or drive and visit a ref and talk to them about the rules, it’s not the rule itself. It’s the perception of the rule. It’s so grey that you begin to think I need to go about this in a different way. I need to have someone around me who has some awareness, wherewithal that can explain some of these rules. I know what the rule is, but then it is ruled differently. Either I’m going to drive myself nuts trying to figure this out or you get someone who speaks that language. You get someone who knows that world.”
http://49ers.com/blog49/
December 8th, 2008
Head coach Mike Singletary called the win a total team effort, but here were some things that immediately jumped out at him.
“Defensively, I just felt there was so much energy. Guys were running to the ball, making plays. It was just what you want it to look like. A lot of physicality was there. Guys played with a lot of passion and hustle. I was very excited.
”Offensively, as the game continued to move, I saw the offensive line really doing a great job, imposing their will on the opposing team.
“One thing that jumps out is Vernon Davis. I don’t know if there’s ever been a tight end to block better than Vernon Davis. He did an exceptional job. He was outstanding. The best I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about period. As a blocking tight end, for him to be on a defensive end, linebacker, whoever he was on, he was driving, he was moving them. It wasn’t like they didn’t know he was coming. It was very impressive.”
Asked again why he hesitates to endorse Shaun Hill as a starting quarterback for 2009, Singletary made it known that it’s not about what Shaun has or hasn’t done, but that he’s only interested in talking about the now.
“We are playing right now. After this season, I really don’t know what is going to happen. There are a lot of uncertainties. I’m going to talk about right now, I’m going to talk about next week,” explained Singletary.
“I’m very excited about what I see. I’m very excited about what he’s doing. I’ve asked Shaun to really, for himself, get to that point, establish yourself as an NFL starting quarterback, establish yourself as a championship quarterback in your mind and at the appropriate time we’ll address it. The most important thing is for Shaun Hill to continue the progression.”
Running back Frank Gore has not been ruled out by any means for Sunday’s game in Miami. Singletary said the team would monitor his progress throughout the week and hope that the added incentive of playing at home would also serve as extra medicine.
If Gore couldn’t go, there is a possibility that Thomas Clayton could be activated from the practice squad.
DeShaun Foster took the majority of the reps after Gore suffered the ankle injury against the Jets, and fumbled the ball once. Although David Baas recovered, it was the second time Foster has put the ball on the ground in recent weeks.
“The thing DeShaun really runs into, he’s trying to get extra yards. He’s trying to make something happen. Frank Gore is in all the time. When DeShaun gets in, he’s trying to make something happen. He just needs to take the ball and go, get what you can and then let’s line up and start over again. That’s just something he’ll have to continue to work on and he’ll get better.”
As reported during Sunday’s broadcast, Singletary and his wife drove over to former head coach Mike Nolan’s house following the 49ers first win under Singletary (against the Rams) to deliver a game ball.
“The biggest thing about that I just felt that every thing I’ve had a chance to do since I’ve been head coach – a lot of it stemmed from Mike. To me, winning that first game was as much his as it was mine, because of everything he did, and all of the time he put into me, teaching and the conversations and all of the things we talked about. I wanted to make sure that i let him know that I’m always indebted to him as a friend and a mentor.”
Singletary prefers to shy away from talk about whether or not he’ll be the head coach for the 49ers in 2009, but he did answer the question today about his contract status.
“My contract is done at the end of this year. I’m a free agent so to speak.”
Over the last few weeks Singletary has been using a former NFL head official, Ron Blum, to help out with rule interpretation in the coaching booth. Singletary explained his decision to seek Blum’s assistance.
“A few years ago, I said to myself, I’m going to take this (rule) book and sit down and go through all of the rules, by the time you get through the first quarter of it, and you pick up the phone or drive and visit a ref and talk to them about the rules, it’s not the rule itself. It’s the perception of the rule. It’s so grey that you begin to think I need to go about this in a different way. I need to have someone around me who has some awareness, wherewithal that can explain some of these rules. I know what the rule is, but then it is ruled differently. Either I’m going to drive myself nuts trying to figure this out or you get someone who speaks that language. You get someone who knows that world.”
