-Gore being ran like the workhorse he is

No.

if hill gets the starting job at qb(he probably will), then gore is going to get a boost n carries and very ell should. he’s the best player on the offense and should get worked. meaning foster will get more action as he spells for gore. “Just keep watching”

I actually think there are some fairly interesting points that you’re making here that I want to address in more detail when I get home from work, but I want to say first that you almost lost me twice along the way:

First at the same point that you lost marcello. While I don’t think that Gore is being underused, I agree with you in a sense in that I do believe he is being misused a lot of the time. But seriously, this isn’t a change that Singletary is likely to bring. The offense is still in Martz’s hands, and by those hands go the types and number of touches that Gore gets.

Second, when you preemptively accused me/us of thinking like Damon Bruce. It’s a mistake to bite the hand of your audience by assuming their stupidity. You can’t get people to take you seriously when you dismiss them before they’ve even read what you have to say. It’s bad form.

I’ll respond thoughtfully to the actual post when I get off of work.

i think we’ve grown a little impatient. especially with how bad our 9ers have been for some years now. alex smith was coming along until the injury. lawson is great when healthy. and VD has the tools to be great. these guys are still young. the jury is still out on lawson and davis. smith has along way to go to get the bust label off of his back. he has to get healthy. he’s the same age as many rookies and first year players. he still has time.

One of the best press conferences I’ve seen in a long time.

This is actually the first thing in a very long time that I’ve pretty much agreed with Ralph Barbieri about. As usual, he’s obnoxious and extreme about it to a fault, but the idea is there. The press conference is nice. He’s saying things in a way that we want to hear them, but he’s still not saying anything with substance and he’s still just talking. And I’m not encouraged by talking. I’m encouraged by what he does as a coach, not as a speaker, and so far – a 21 point loss – it wasn’t all that good.

Which isn’t totally fair. He did kick VD out of the game, and he did make the change at QB. I wouldn’t say that benching JTO took balls, but it was obviously the right thing to do at the right time. And that should encourage us vaguely about his coaching sense. I will say that benching VD took balls, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that it was the right thing to do. Calling players out publically and making sweeping, visible gestures out of roster moves is a fine line to walk. On the one hand, I want to say that VD deserved it, but on the other hand I would say that it was a bit of a thoughtless move. How does this play out over time? Maybe VD shapes up. Maybe Bryant Johnson argues a call and gets benched in a fit of Singletarage. Maybe Gore jaws off on the sideline and gets taken out for three quarters. At this point, there’s really no telling how much this decision was calculated versus how much it was rash and reactionary, and there’s no telling how much either trait is symptomatic of Mike Singletary.

Clearly, changes are coming, though. And, like you say, there are many reasons to look forward to those changes.

We already know that Hill will be starting the next game. I like the decisiveness, though, again, it’s kind of an easy decision to make. We can look forward to Hill because he makes faster reads and has a quicker release. He takes advantage of the short field and converts higher percentage plays. He also protects the ball better. We won’t be getting the ball downfield, and I’m not remotely prepared to say anything for even his short range accuracy, but this is change we can look forward to.

Blitzing. We saw a little more blitzing and if that is any indication (which it might not be) we can likely look forward to more. But we should look forward to it.

The offensive line has already been shaken up a little by Singletary. I think Baas got some significant playing time over Snyder (?) in the last game already (correct me if I’m wrong), and if we assume that it can’t get any worse, then the mere fact that the OL coach is new should encourage us that things will get better.

There’s no reason to expect that Frank Gore’s role is going to change significantly. Not if you’re a betting man, anyway. I’ve talked about this. I don’t need to go on about it.

Talking about guys who “want to play” is just talking. It’s stupid. It’s blind rhetoric designed to make fans buy into an idea. I don’t buy for a second that any of these players don’t “want to play.” It’s their entire livelihood to “want to play.” If they don’t “want to play,” they wouldn’t be in the damn league to begin with. It means nothing in terms of the actual players and the actual play of the players and the actual game. Saying you want guys who “want to play” at the NFL level is just saying that you want a guy who “can play well” using fan friendly words.

I’m not sure about seeing more youth as a product of Singletary. Josh Morgan and Kentwan Balmer were going to see more time to begin with and were already seeing more time to begin with, and we were seeing some other guys get in on defense from time to time.

As for Gore and Foster, I’ll say again that I don’t see why any of us should believe that Mike Martz’s offense is going to change because Mike Singletary is the coach. Singletary names the starters, but he doesn’t make the decisions on a down by down basis. Martz is going to do was Martz is going to do, and Martz is going to do what Martz has been doing all year long, which mirrors what he’s been doing the entire time he’s had any playcalling powers in this league.

And I’m not even going to start with Vernon Davis’ ability to change his attitude or Mike Singletary having control in a way that Nolan didn’t. Davis’ attitude may or may not change. I’ll believe it when I see it. Right now Singletary’s control involves a powerful oratory and a fiery temper. A fiery temper can light fuses, and speeches only work until it’s clear that you’re still losing game after game by three touchdowns.

We have a LOT of waiting to do to make any honest statements about this team and this coach. We have reasons to be encouraged, but we shouldn’t take part so willingly in celebrating fan friendly word games and rash personell decisions.

My only concern is that people start getting all hyped about Singletary simply because he’s a motivator and he yells at people. To me, it reeks of the same false promise that got us excited about Nolan when he decided to wear his fancy Reebok suits. It’s all just posturing.
So, right now, this press conference means nothing to me. Until I see results on the field, I am not sold.

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