And so we return for another week of the Mike Singletary approval ratings. Last week, his approval rating came in at a healthy 96%, which isn't all that surprising coming off a nice little road win in Buffalo. Seven people actually said they did not approve of his rating and I really am curious why these people chose no. I don't mean that to be critical. I mean, are they people who like to be contrarians no matter the question? Or maybe they really do have a problem with what Mike Singletary has done so far as head coach.
Even if you want Mike Holmgren or Bill Cowher coaching here next year, it doesn't mean you automatically have to disapprove of what Singletary has done so far. Either way, I'm just curious what causes folks to take issue with Mike Singletary.
Now the 49ers are coming off probably their best win of the year. On the one hand, the Jets were coming off an ugly loss to Denver in the Meadowlands and clearly struggled. On the other hand, the Jets were leading the AFC East and given their veteran leadership, one would expect them to bounce back with a vengeance. Not so much say the Fightin Singletary's.
Two things from that game have jumped out at people. First was the onside kick to start the game. It showed that he had studied the Jets issues on onside kicks the previous week where they played straight up for kickoffs. Second was the attempt to call a timeout to end the first half. The general thought in the media is that it showed his confidence in his defense, contending that the Jets could have run one more play to end the half.
While I think there is more to the man than those two plays, I do think it's small things like that, which add up to make Singletary appear to be a very solid coach. Of course he's only coached 6 games, but I certainly approve of things to date. The health of Frank Gore will certainly make for an interesting lead into the Week 15 matchup at Miami. This weekend will be even more interesting since it's another West Coast/East Coast 10am matchup. The 49ers victory over Buffalo remains the only West Coast victory in a 10am East Coast game. Can Coach Singletary and his boys make it two in a row?