Ask, and ye shall receive, schlecko...
This is an idea straight from the Story Ideas Open Thread, one that I really enjoyed, and decided to turn into a front-page story. This, as the title insists, is a cathartic release of tension over the first half of the 2008 San Francisco 49ers season. More specifically, this is for you, the Niners Nation, to get your frustration out about this man, J.T. O'Sullivan...
via media.sacbee.com
This past season the San Francisco 49ers employed a quarterback by the name of John Thomas (or J.T.) O'Sullivan, a journeyman QB than had made eight stops at seven different NFL franchises along the way to the bay (Saints, Packers, Bears, Vikings, Patriots, Panthers, Bears again, and Lions).
Brought in as a QB familiar with new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's complicated-as-[site decorum] offensive scheme, J.T. was signed to a one-year contract on February 29th, 2008. At first, he was not expected to compete for the starting QB job. However, as the season progressed, we found out that J.T. had grasped Martz's offensive game plan quicker than the other QBs on the roster (being familiar with it from his stint with the Lions), and on August 22nd, 2008, then head coach Mike Nolan announced that J.T. had moved up the depth chart to the number 1 QB.
And then it happened...
Game after game we would witness our 49ers throw away games as J.T.O. AKA Just Turn Overs, Just Terrible O'Sullivan, Just Take (him) Out, etc, would seemingly gift-wrap the ball and present it as a present to opponents time and time again. In the two wins he was leading the offense for (@ Seattle and vs. Detroit), he had 3 TDs and zero intereceptions. It was the losses that killed him/us. In the six losses where he was at QB, he had 5 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and 11 fumbles, six of them lost to the defense, resulting in a grand TD to INT ratio of 5:17, or 3.4 turnovers for every one touchdown thrown.
We all know what happened after that. Mike Nolan was fired after a loss to the NY Giants (it hurt, I was there) and Mike Singletary was named interim Head Coach. After JTO's week 8 debacle against Seattle (Fearless Leader's first game as a Head Coach) J.T. was benched for the remainder of the season, and Shaun Hill became QB of the 49ers, turning them around from 2-6 to 7-9 (that's a 5-3 tenure as starting QB there folks) where he had a 13:8 TD:INT ratio, be it not for that god-forsaken run up the middle on MNF by Michael Robinson vs the Cardinals, Hill might have led us to the playoffs (I can't believe it still hurts)...
Now, why did I give this outline of pain and anguish from last season? Because it is time to let it all out folks. Consider this your "I hate you J.T. O'Sullivan" thread. Vent your anguish over the last season, over how crappy JTO was, over how things could have been different if J.T. didn't hand other teams games. I understand there are people out there, such as Fooch, that are happy JTO came along. Without him, Sing would not be head coach, Martz and Nolan might still be in town, Hill might not be QB now, we might not have gotten Crabtree, whatever; I understand, and agree, with some of those positions. If that be the case for you, maybe you might want to skip this thread. For those still hurting from last season, you've come to the right place. Guys, let it out all at once, and lets move on.
I am going to make a rare exception to the rules here, and I'm going to put it in bold letters so everyone knows how super serial I am about this:
FOR THIS THREAD, AND THIS THREAD ONLY, I WILL ALLOW CURSING, SWEARING, AND AWFUL, AWFUL LANGUAGE. IF YOU ARE NOT OK WITH FOUL LANGUAGE, AVOID THIS THREAD LIKE THE PLAGUE. I REPEAT: FOR THIS THREAD, AND THIS THREAD ONLY, FOUL LANGUAGE IS ALLOWED ACROSS THE BOARD!!!
To set the stage for this abuse, I have a few clips for you guys to remind you how awful it was with J.T. at the helm of the team. We have Week 4 vs the Saints, Week 5 vs the Patriots (a game we DEFINATELY could have won), and his last game, Week 7 vs the Giants. Sorry...