Sing’s Monday Presser (Rams)
http://49ers.com/blog49/
November 17th, 2008
Head coach Mike Nolan typically gave the players the day off after wins, but Mike Singletary had his team report as usual on Monday.
“I like to see the players the next day. I like them to come in and talk about it. I think you can bond from it. You don’t have to go practice. There’s some downtime, some bonding time, looking at the film and enjoying those moments.”
Singletary said it’s not to say he wouldn’t ever announce a “See you Wednesday,” but that right now, he felt the team should come in.
Singletary elaborated on a point he made following Sunday’s win, which his intentional focus on getting all three phases of the team to complement each other.
“When we were going to play against a very difficult offensive team and the quarterback was really hot and everything else, I’d talk to Jim McMahon and say what are you guys thinking this week? ‘Well, Mike, we are thinking about throwing the ball and we think we can score some points, or you know what, help us out a bit.’ That’s the way we talked, and it got back to the coordinators and we talked to Coach Ditka, and those things would happen because We were thinking about winning; we weren’t just thinking about stats. We weren’t just thinking about how good the defense could be. It goes back and forth. That’s really when you begin to win and that’s when you begin to think of a family and a team.”
The offensive line has given up only three sacks in the last two games, which is a serious reduction than what had occurred during the first half of the season. Singletary said it’s been due to a combination of factors.
“I think it is a combination of the offensive line playing longer together. I think the continuity is better, the communication is better. When that happens, you get in sync, which is extremely important. Then, you get a quarterback and understand where he’s going to be and where he’s going to step and that gives you a better idea of where protection is going to need to be set. It’s a combination of things.”
Singletary also said that it has to do with playcalling by Mike Martz for his two different quarterbacks.
“When you look at Shaun Hill vs JTO, there are certain things you call for this quarterback maybe a little different than the other.”
Singletary thinks the 49ers are in good shape injurywise. RB Michael Robinson has a banged up shoulder, but should be fine. CB Tarell Brown went out of the game with a tight neck, but should be okay. S Michael Lewis suffered a knee injury but finished out the game. He also said that WR Josh Morgan is coming along from his groin injury.
LB Patrick Willis wore the defensive headset for a few games, but the 49ers have gone back to safety Mark Roman. Singletary said that given the communication that goes on in the backend, he felt that it was quicker for Roman to handle the responsibility with the headset and realy things to the secondary, and allow Willis to take care of the front seven.
Monday Morning Quarterback
November 17th, 2008
I’ve been re-watching the game this morning, something I’ve tried doing for most of this season because it happens so fast live and since I’ve got so many spots on the site to update during the game, it’s hard to keep track of everything going on.
It was obvious in Sunday’s post-game press conference that everyone is wondering why Shaun Hill hasn’t been the team’s starting quarterback all along. Right now, Hill is crushing the poll on the homepage in terms of what most excited our fans.
Personally, I voted for the turnovers by the defense, but then again, Hill is playing the way I expected him to play.
Singletary expressed similar sentiments when he was asked if he’s surprised by what Hill has done.
“I knew that last year, way before training camp. I mean, last year when I saw him play, I really liked what I saw, I thought he did a good job. He managed the game, he made some throws, guys were excited. In training camp, I just thought it was a manner of him learning the offense and having some confidence going forward. Sometimes, it may take a little while.”
Hill started off training camp in competition primarily with Alex Smith. As we all know, JT O’Sullivan emerged and Hill never saw much time in the preseason other than cleanup duty. I think part of the reason was both Hill and Smith were learning the offense, but I also think it’s because Hill plays his best in games, not practice.
As Frank Gore said after the game, “He’s not the prettiest quarterback you’re going to see, but he’s a football player. Shaun is just a football player. When we’re practicing, he might have a tough week, but when he’s in the game, he’s a gamer.”
Hill is still going to have some bad throws now and then in a game, and he got away with one on Sunday. I think it was to Jason Hill, but it was off the mark and fortunately fell incomplete, but he’s not going to force a throw to a receiver if he’s not open, he navigates the pocket well and avoids sacks, and he doesn’t panic. He keeps looking downfield and will find an open man. Best case in point on Sunday, the throw to DeSean Foster.
Would our record be better than what it is had the move been made to Hill earlier? Who knows? JTO looked pretty convincing after wins over Seattle and Detroit, and polls on nfl.com even included him as a potential first-time Pro Bowler.
But Hill is definitely getting the job done and he played a clean game as far as turnovers, which is the usually the most determining factor in wins and losses, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do the remainder of the season and whether or not he’ll be the guy in the future.
I also think the overall offensive philosophy has been adjusted the last two weeks as the 49ers have been able to stick with the run, shy teams away from the blitz, and create some longer drives.
It’s been good to see so many more guys involved too, including Foster, who looked solid all through the spring, particularly in the passing game.
A few other quick hits before I head down in a few minutes to blog from the presser…
CB Walt Harris notched the interception, but another huge play by him helped set the tone of the game early on and that was when he got a hand in to break up a pass to Donnie Avery on a post pattern, that likely would have either gone for a touchdown or set the Rams up inside the 5 on their opening drive. St. Louis instead had to settle for a Josh Brown field goal from 48 yards out, which he missed. That was his first miss from under 50 yards on the season.
Ball security can’t be stressed enough for the 49ers offense, but safety OJ Atogwe came up with a picture perfect punch to cause the Frank Gore fumble. He used his left arm to secure the tackle and then just swung his right arm up to pop the ball out.
Right tackle Adam Snyder pulled on the play and Gore actually cut inside of him and just found a huge hole that was sealed off by Joe Staley and David Baas.
The subsequent stop by the defense was another HUGE momentum builder. Marc Bulger went to Kenneth Darby on a 3rd and 1, but Patrick Willis exploded downhill to make the stop short of the first down. Notching a three and out after the turnover really helped the offense put the mistake behind them, as they went on to score a touchdown on their next drive.
In talking to some of the coaches, safety Michael Lewis had one of the better games among the defensive players. Lewis finished with 11 total tackles to lead the team, a sack, a tackle for a loss, a quarterback hurry, and a pass deflection that resulted in the Nate Clements interception. Lewis was shaken up on a 1st and 10 play in the 3rd quarter on what looked to be a dirty and late hit to his knee, but the veteran safety returned to action.
Tags: shaun hill
Posted in Nuggets
Post-Game Injuries
November 16th, 2008
Safety Michael Lewis suffered a knee injury but finished out the game.
Cornerback Tarell Brown was forced out of the game with a neck strain.
Running back Michael Robinson also suffered a stinger in the game.
Posted in Gameday, Injury News
Sing Postgame
November 16th, 2008
Head coach Mike Singletary is happy over the win, but he was also clearly disappointed over the second half play somewhat.
“I won’t use the word displeased. I was very, very proud that they played hard and that we won the game. I wasn’t displeased, but I pointed those things out that we had to correct.”
The corrections all boil down to finishing.
“Finishing means, the offensive line when we were backed up drives it out. Finishing means we don’t jump off-sides. We don’t walk off the field, we jog off the field.”
In terms of his first win as the team’s head coach, Singletary said he wondered if his parents, who are deceased now, saw the win.
In one of the funnier moments of the post-game presser, Singletary said that he was proud of Mike Martz controlling himself and not continuing to wing the ball and score 80.
Singletary said he just kept offering positive reinforcement to his offensive coordinator Mike Martz for running the ball.
As to the play of Shaun Hill, Singletary said, “The first half was outstanding. I thought he did a great job. For the most part in the second half, I thought he did a pretty decent job. Then things started to break down a bit, not all his fault. We just have to continue work on it – offensive line, running back, everybody.”
Singletary said coming into the game that the 49ers defense knew it had to control the Rams vertical passing game. But early on, it was a few big runs by Antonio Pittman that hurt the 49ers defense. Singletary talked it over with defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, who made the proper adjustments.
“They got some runs early and it shocked me a little bit. We’d slant one way and they’d adjust and we would not and guys were getting caught in the slide and getting cutoff and getting slashed. We corrected that going into the second half.”
Singletary also commented on an exchange between Vernon Davis and DeShaun Foster along the sidelines that was caught on television.
“All I can tell you is this, sometimes in a family you have disagreements. No one is perfect. You just have to learn to work through things together. Learn how to respect each other and work with each other so we can accomplish what we want to accomplish without hurting feelings.”
