How Will They Be Remembered?
Hopefully Smith will get another chance with a coach who will know how to best utilitze him
So Alex Smith has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season and what will most likely be his career as a San Francisco 49er. I shudder to think of what might have been for this kid had he been placed in a situation that was even somewhat manageable, ala Aaron Rodgers, Phillip Rivers or even Jay Cutler.
Some are going to look back and say that McNolan made the wrong choice in 2005 taking Smith over Rodgers and those people would be dreadfully incorrect in their assessment. It’s not about the player taken with the #1 overall pick in that draft, it never was.
It’s about the head coach. It’s about the revolving door at offensive coordinator that was allowed to be in place without a single agonizing thought about what it might be doing to the franchise player’s career.
It’s about the four different offensive systems that Smith had to learn in four seasons even after his college coach, Urban Meyer made the statement that, “he’s not a guy that you throw the ball out there and tell him, ‘Go play.’ He wants to know what is exactly expected of him and then he becomes a dynamite player.”
Smith sadly, was never given that chance. He was never extended the opportunity and time to learn what was expected of him in the four systems he was forced to learn on the fly.
Looking back at the debacle that has been the Mike Nolan regime in San Francisco it is truly clear that the situation could have and should have been drastically different. It wasn’t however and this is the legacy that Nolan will leave when he is unceremoniously fired either before the season ends or the moment it does.
“Rollin’ with Nolan” once meant that the team, its coaches and fans were standing behind the man who was tasked with righting the ship that was so wronged by the befuddled Terry Donahue and Dennis Erickson.
There were high hopes as Nolan said all the right things, made all the right moves (or so it appeared) and basically pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. Most notably John York’s. In fact Nolan continued to do so at the end of last season when he, after two days of meetings emerged from the owner’s office to announce that he was retaining his position as head coach of the team. Albeit with reduced responsibility, York at least seeing that the power monger needed to be reeled in just a tad, a move for which he should be commended .
However deciding to hold on to Nolan for one more season was miscalculation in its own right.
The more important aspect of the cataclysmic events which have pushed this franchise ever farther to the deepest depths it has ever seen is that changes need to be made. In fact they need to be made sooner rather then later.
If it is a given (and it almost certainly is) that Nolan will be fired at some point in 2008 then it should be done with haste and with nary a glance in the rearview mirror. There is talent on this team, more so then many pundits would care to admit. It can have a winning season, but only if the move is made to get the appropriate man to lead it into battle.
It’s one thing for the fans of a team to lose their patience and belief in what the head coach is trying to accomplish, it’s another thing entirely when team insiders and players share the same sentiment. At this point I’m not sure if anyone has a clue as to what Nolan is hoping for other then making an effort to save his job which makes him not a man with the team’s best interest at heart but instead one who is hell-bent on his own desires.
If Mike Nolan had a heart and actually cared about the team and its fans then he would simply step aside and allow someone who knows what they’re doing to take over. Someone like Mike Martz for example, a man who is familiar with what it takes to win in this league.
There were two sequences in last weeks game where it was speculated that Nolan overruled Martz on his offensive play calls. The first came at the end of the second quarter when, facing a fourth-and-one the 49ers lined up to attempt the conversion. With the play-clock hitting zero it appeared that J.T. O’Sullivan would be called for a delay of game however the officials ruled that a timeout had been called beforehand.
In typical Mike Nolan fashion, playing not to lose instead of to win, the field goal unit came out and Joe Nedney converted the kick for three points. The second occurrence took place with the team facing a third-and-seven towards the end of the game. DeShaun Foster ran up the middle for six, the drive ended with another Nedney field goal.
The latter play is the more glaring of the two in that on a third down play like this Martz would have undoubtedly called a pass play, which he most likely did only to be overruled by Nolan. This might have something to do with the fact that Martz who almost always makes himself available for post-game questions disappeared from the locker room without speaking to anyone.
If in fact Nolan did pull rank on Martz and disallow him to make the calls in either of those situations that alone (at least in my mind) is reason enough to out an end to his tenure in the city by the bay. Martz is a renowned offensive mind and should be given full autonomy to call the plays as he see’s fit.
Nolan even iterated that this would be the case when training camp opened saying, “Mike [Martz], as I’ve said many times, has a great command of the offense. He’s had a lot of success as a head coach and as an offensive coordinator, and I respect that.”
If this is to be believed then Nolan has to relinquish control of that side of the ball to Martz and allow him to make the decisions at which he is so adept. Nolan should concentrate on defense, which is supposed to be his strength, although some would dispute even that.
If Nolan is intent on keeping his job past this season then he needs to learn when to keep his ego in check. Vetoing Martz’s play-calling on the opening week of the season was nothing more then him thinking that he knew better then someone who has been studying and immersing himself in offense since he came into this league.
Nolan’s actions need to be nipped in the bud immediately and someone near to the team needs to tell him so, which is highly unlikely being that no one else wants to lose their job either.
I think we we're really lucky to win that game... the defense wasn't great. They let gradkowski and campbell chuck ...
hey pundit, are we gonna get to see some highlights again this year?? i think most fans that visit this ...
The 49ers look flat on offense with the exception of gore. Nate Bynam has dropped 2 balls on one ...
Don't miss any of the action this year at the SBG Global 
Joe: Great points. I too hope to see a few more parades down Market in my time. This team was blessed to only have the greatest WR of all time but HOF starting quarterbacks from 1981 to 1999… actually blessed is an understatement.
Adam: I never said Rice should be faulted for anything, let alone being born when he was. Dilfers ring is a product of the Ravens defense, without the team never wins the title.
Joe played in only 11 games in 1993 his first season in KC. He passed for 2144 yards in those 11 games and had 13 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He did that was a washed up Marcus Allen carrying the ball and with Willie Davis and JJ Birden as his starting receivers, they had 52 and 51 catches respectively. He also took that team to the AFC Championship game.
Not bad for being 37 years old and lacking a true #1 receiver.
Ita a team sport regardless.And Joe was the bomb no doubt.But compare Joe’s stats to other QB’s,then compare Jerry’s stats to other WR’s.That was really my point.You’ll get much more people to argue with you about Joe being the best QB in NFL history than you will with Jerry being the best WR in NFL history.There’s really nobody to compare Jerry with.People can argue that Dan Marino,Brett Favre,Tom Brady,Steve Young,or John Elway among others were better than Montana.But I am not one of those people.
You got serveral good points adam, but the only reason I have Montana slightly over Jerry is the importance of the position. Adam, how do you see this game against the hawks?
Some dipshit NFL analyst has us losing 40 to 10 or some retarded outcome like that. I think JTO will have a monster day against that secondary.
40-10?WOW.Find out if he wants to wager on that score.What an idiot.It’s not hard to jump on the 49ers suck bandwagon,but stay the fuck off the niners are goin to the playoffs bandwagon after we start hitting our groove.We are gonna stomp these bitches sunday.Make sure you keep his website close,so you can write him a nice response after we whoop that ass.
Ok I found out who the idiot writer is..Peter King. I was wrong about the score he predicted. He actually said Seahawks 40, 49ers 17 but its still a blowout. What a dumb fuck.
http://www.fannation.com/peter_king_challenge/peter_king?bcnn=yes
The bitch writes for SI.com. Hes gonna shit his pants when he finds out we won.
I can’t believe he wrote that crap.He is usually better than that.After the game we will rub it in a bit.
It could be worse Joe and Adam, King could have been Colin Cowherd who picked Seattle to win becasuse, and I quote;
“I’m not sold on Alex Smith. Smith continues to have problems in San Francisco. Seattle and the points untill the young Smith proves himself.”
I hate ESPN for reasons like this.
james seriously these people get paid thousands to do this and some mothafuckas till think that alex smith or starting or that the seahawks will win
Joe Montana was #1.
James I disagree with your article. I would of responded
sooner but I lost my father this week. Your 1st one was
JTO trying to get them to jump off sides. For a 1st down.
When they couldn’t they called a time out. They planned
on kicking a field goal.
on the your second one. 3rd and 7. The draw play to Faulk
was very prevelant with the Rams and Faulk. Use to burn
the 9ers regularly.
Its a shame that your hatred for Nolan has clouded your
perspective.
Hey James just wanted to say that I enjoy ur comments and agree with you almost everytime. I thought Colin Cowherd was a Niner fan I guess he aint anymore if he doesnt even know about alex smith. Thats crazy Hey Colin theres a thing called the internet DONKEY.
we niners fans have been spoiled for having two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time throwing to the goat in jerry. we were so use to success and being the envy of the rest of the league for 2 decades. it just fuckin sucks we been on the bottom end of the league for sometime now. every damn year i have high hopes for ths team, EXEPT, dennis ericksons dumb ass year. i know im damn sure ready to start talking crap to my friends about how my niners kicked the shit out of their team who ever it is. i want that time to be NOW. and for the greatest niner ever, i seriously cant answer that question. its between joe and jerry.
you guys remember 94. steve rolling off the field in detroit. next thing you know KABOOM. one of the greatest offensive explosion in nfl history. god that was great. hopefully we see that kind of production again. not to mention our defense was bomb too. just watching it on youtube
Hey Joe, don’t listen to these ESPN self-proclaimed experts. They are all complete morons. We as fans know more about what’s going on in the NFL and with our team than these asswipes do. What’s even worse is that these dipshits get paid to spew hot garbage out their mouths every week. ESPN as a whole are the biggest bandwagon jumpers in existence. It’s not hard to say that the team who won last week is going to win this week. No insight whatsoever. SI is the same. Peter King is a jerkoff. I’ll bet he didn’t even realize the Seahawks have no wideouts before he wrote that horseshit. I guess I’m just so sick and tired of all the negative press surrounding the 49ers for so long that I’m ready to kick someone’s ass.
We need to end the negative press by winning some freakin games thats the only way people will take notice of us once and for all. I HOPE WE BEAT THE SEACOCKS GO NINERS AND GO DUCKS!!!!
Jerry.. my deepest condolences. I know how its like to lose a parent.. god bless his soul.
Welcome back, we are going to crush those Seahawks, we have too many doubters, we HAVE to win this game!
Jerry, first and foremost I am deeply sorry to hear about your loss. I cannot imagine losing a parent man. My prayers are with you and your family.
Ok, it has nothing to do with any hatred for Nolan… it has to do with those two plays and typically how they might have been called by Martz in the past. On the first play it was 4th and 1, Arizona had already gone for it on 4th down twice by then I think. Point blank, they should have gone for it there regardless of getting the line to jump or not.
Just because I am no longer a Nolan backer does not cloud my judgement… you really need to go back and read the article Jerry, it was all speculation as to what might have happened during those two sequences, never one did I say that any of it happened for certain. None of us know for sure what took place on those two plays between the two coaches.
What would make you think anything went on during those 2 plays.What evidence do you have to even bring the subject up.Martz is calling the plays.Plain and simple.As Jerry said above,Martz ran that draw play many times before with Faulk,so why wouldn’t he run it with Gore.
Thought we were going to move on there Adam… I guess not.
Because it was the same as last season. It appeared to be conservative play calling, which as anyone knows is Nolan’s forte.
Do some reading in the aftermath of the game and you will see that I am not the only person on the planet who had the same thoughts. You ask the question as if it’s not possible that others had the same initial opinions as I.
Are you on the sidelines when the plays are being called Adam? Have you spoken to Martz and Nolan about this? Didn’t think so, you are speaking as if you are in the know about this subject, not even thinking there mighht be the slight chance that you really don’t know if Nolan is doing anything on the offensive side of the ball during games.
Also it was Foster who carried the ball on the draw play, not Frank.
Really, I was fine letting it go man. We had our little banter back and forth and that was cool but don’t try and piggy back on Jerry while also trying to stir the pot once more. Now, can we really move on from this discussion as was you initial suggestion, or are we going to delve back in?
I think I recall the Sleelers punting on 4th and 1.I wonder if Nolan had something to do with that.It’s awfully conservative.What happened to Niner Pundit?His articles where alot more interesting,and professional.And when people disagreed with him he accepted that.You’ve been on this site a couple weeks and you’ve flip flopped more than John Kerry.
Here’s some positive news I didn’t know.Our offense is ranked 6th in the league in yards per play(6.61) and our defense is ranked 5th in yards per play(3.96).At least it’s some good news.
And I found this to be pretty interesting also:
Those who wonder why Dashon Goldson can’t seem to displace Mark Roman at safety should read the following statistic. It comes courtesy of 49ers PR staffer Ryan Moore who looked at the opening day starting secondaries – two cornerbacks, two safeties – of all 32 teams. What he found was that Walt Harris, Nate Clements, Michael Lewis and Roman are the most experienced unit in the NFL by a fairly big margin. They have a combined 499 games played. The next team on the list is Denver with 477 games played. The 49ers’s secondary also has a combined 426 starts. Second place in that category goes to Baltimore with 368 games started. It’s indicative of how much stock Mike Nolan – who was very particular when building his secondary — puts in experience. Roman has played in 115 games, starting 86. Goldson has played in 11 games and started zero.
Actually I think Niner Pundit erased my posts when he didnt agree with me about Desean Jackson and Aaron Rodgers. See, those players are who I wanted in the draft and made the comment, “I told you so” without saying it to anyone in particular. I guess he didnt like the comment and told me they only had one good game and that I shouldnt say that. In my personal opinion, they will continue to do well this year with their respective teams but I guess he wanted it off the board.
joe…your posts are still there. I didn’t erase anything. I have no problems with the I Told You So’s. Thing is you usually wait until more than 1 game to throw them out.
Adam, good pointing that out that were moving up the charts on both D and O. I also heard that about our secondary. They said the Rookie Seahawk receivers were going to go against the most experienced secondary in the NFL. As far as Roman though, if Goldson is a better player than him the coaches should recognize that and play him instead regardless of experience.
Niner Pundit, my bad then..thought you did since I couldnt see it anymore. As far as Aaron goes, maybe one game is too soon. In my opinion, Deshaun is so talented, been training hard all his life to get to this position, proving his doubters wrong, the man is just talented and hes for real.
Joe and James thanks for your support. My father was 82 and
a real 49er fan. He’ll be missed. Go niners.
I have no issues whatsoever with you disagreeing with me Adam, you ask questions in an attempt to stir the pot and I answer you. I can accept when people don’t share my opinions, you on the other hand once again can’t seem to let the topic go even though – again – you were the one who suggested we “move on” so who’s flip flopping now?
Second, I have been a member of this site for the last four years there my man but nice try.
Your little quips are hilarious Adam; really I wish that I possessed your comical prowess. I have flip flopped huh? Hmmm I had a change in opinion in regards to one subject but you go ahead and continue over exaggerating in an attempt to make yourself look better you internet warrior you.