This week marks the 49ers 2010 bye week and also the midpoint of their season as they've now played eight games this season. I thought we'd use the bye week to bring back some past approval polls. Last year we ran a Jimmy Raye Approval Rating, and it seems only fair that Mike Johnson gets a poll. As we've started doing with Coach Singletary, I'm going to do this as a 1-10 poll to try and flesh out the gray area in the rating.
One drawback to any poll at this point is the potentially temporary change at the QB position. Does the use of Troy Smith this past Sunday affect your opinion of Mike Johnson's performance as offensive coordinator. In Tuesday's Mike Singletary Approval Rating I mentioned how some folks were jumping on Johnson in such short time, but nobody really went after the bait. Troy Smith or no Troy Smith, I do think the offense has improved under Mike Johnson. There are still some fairly key issues that must be addressed. The most important, in my mind, is figuring out how best to spell Frank Gore. However, getting consistent offensive line play could help fix a lot of problems.
I will say that when it comes to actual play-calling, there has been improvement. The need to establish the run still exists, but at least we're seeing some outside pitches. This past week saw a wide variety of intriguing play-calls, most notably the quick slants that gave Troy Smith some confidence. Of course, we find ourselves once again in some kind of holding pattern as far as what to expect from the offense given the lack of updated information about Alex Smith's shoulder. I remain convinced we'll get one more week of Troy Smith. If that's the case, it will be interesting to see how much more Coach Johnson opens up the playbook for Troy Smith.