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SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Can you believe it? The 49ers may just have some Super Bowl credentials after all.
A year ago, the New York Giants ended the season with the critics circling around Tom Coughlin, claiming the team underachieved, wanting him ousted as coach. To me, that sounds a little bit like the way this season ended for Mike Nolan.
A year ago, the Giants had a young quarterback who was consistently inconsistent, a former No. 1 overall pick who simply didn’t look like he had what it took to be a big-time winner in the NFL. To me, that sounds a little bit like this year’s appraisal of Alex Smith.
A year ago, the Giants made a change at the top of their football department, allowing Ernie Accorsi to retire after nine years as the Giants’ general manager, replacing him with Jerry Reese. Mike Nolan controlled the Niners’ football department for just three years, but the 49ers replaced him with Scot McCloughan.
And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, McCloughan selects eight guys in his first draft in charge and they wind up being key players for the Niners next season. No first-round pick? Don’t be picky.
A year ago, the Giants had longtime veteran Tiki Barber — a super guy who’d become the face of the franchise — retire at the end of the season. The 49ers had longtime veteran Bryant Young — a super guy who’d become the face of the franchise and a model of professionalism — essentially retire at the end of this season.
Sounds pretty much like the 49ers are where the Giants were a year ago. And the Giants are in the Super Bowl.
What? You want to bring up things like offenses, defenses and the fact that the Giants were a decent team last season? Listen, the road to a Super Bowl has to start somewhere, and if all the 49ers have going for them heading in that direction is a coach on shaky ground and a quarterback with question marks, don’t be downplaying it.
Forgive me, but it’s hard to be serious about the 49ers at this point in the season.
Random thoughts:
» How many coaches does it take to make a quarterback? It sounds like a joke and, when it comes to the 49ers and Alex Smith, it just may be. Mike Nolan, Mike Martz and Ted Tollner have their work cut out for them.
» Chris Webber, a soon-to-be 35-year-old, bad-legged veteran? I’m not doubting Don Nelson, but this move smacks of Brian Sabean and the Giants. Is Sabean consulting with the Warriors?
» Pedro Feliz to the Phillies? Who will ground out weakly in a key situation for the Giants this year? Another hole for Sabean to fill.
» I don’t care who occupies Barry Bonds’ locker in the Giants’ clubhouse this season. I care about who occupies Barry’s No. 3 spot in the Giants’ lineup.
Tim Liotta is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to The Examiner.
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49er PURGATORY!!! HELP US GLEN, GOD HELP US! said:
This team is so boring they don't even SUCK bad enough to create a news story. Hell, at least Steve Young's concussion kept us busy for a year. I can't blame them after last year's over-hyped expectations but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PEOPLE! HAS THERE EVER BEEN A MORE BORING 49ERS TEAM? I'm sick of team players! I want some "killers."
4 agree | 3 disagree
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examiner reader said:
Smith, Nolan. Nolan,Smith. Who cares? Nolan was a bad hire and Smith was a bad pick. Shawn Hill looked good in relief because A)he is a great talent? or B)Smith and Dilfer were not hard acts to follow? do the math..
4 agree | 7 disagree
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Ken said:
I think it's just the lull between volcanic explosions. It's quiet now because there's nothing to push it to the surface, but just wait till the regular season. When are the Niners going to give Alex real WR's? And even if this year goes well (and by that I mean .500), I'm afraid Martz will get swept away like Turner. What happens IF the OC happens to become a better field general than the HC?
7 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
they need to draft a wide reciever
6 agree | 8 disagree
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TheReg said:
Staley had NEVER played LT before in his career as a football player. Its very hard to switch, your used to watching a guy go right rather than left. This year he will be much improved, i dont see why we let kwame harris go, he was NOT a bad tackle and if need be could have played LT while smiley played RT that would have helped alot, but we'll see what they do with the draft, and FA until day 1 of the season. give smith an o-line and gore some blockers and you can watch out for a tough young defense and a strong explosive young offense. The more concerned with the run the other team becomes, the more open Vernon "the Duke" Davis will be, and if you have ever seen him after the catch, he only goes down with about 3-4 players hitting him...lol dude is a beast.
5 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Anything will be better than the offensive coaching crap they put on the field last season. Last year stunk up Candlestick, Bill Walsh field, the Niners rep.
8 agree | 4 disagree
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notme said:
no idea if this is going to work out, but i love martz's attitude. not just the system, he personally reminds me of martz. last year, it felt like the coaches never gave the offense a chance... that they had no confidence in the offense. we know that won't be a problem with martz, who is well-known for being, if anything, blindly overconfident.
8 agree | 6 disagree
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Sam in Reno said:
Assuming they fix the offensive line the 49ERS should be fun to watch. Staley,Baas and Snyder are all future pro bowl players. They need a good center and another tackle.
5 agree | 8 disagree
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Sam in Reno said:
Smith has performed well under a good offensive coordinator (Norv Turner) I think Mike Martz can make him a winner. No QB can be successful behind a horrible offensive line.Larry Allen needs to retire and a good center needs to be groomed. The O line istill a year away. Assuming the guards are Snyder and Baas with Staley at one tackle they need to find another offensive tackle and a new center.
27 agree | 32 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
4:28PM-Maybe you should read the post from 7:22 again. My whole point is that the teams offense, OL most definately included, did not perform as well as they did in 2006. Staley was a rookie so I think It's a little early to start crying "bust" (especially when he had many positive moments/games.) Of course 55 sacks will kill an offense but how many of those can you contribute to Staley?
33 agree | 11 disagree
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hindsight said:
let see.. the offensive line gives up 55 sacks and somehow it doesn't relate to the failure of the offense? yikes again..
25 agree | 13 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
5:04PM-Hindsight is 20/20, If the offense would have performed like 2006, the 2007 defense would have put the team into the playoffs. There was no reason to believe the Niners would be worse than the 06' team. Staley will end up being a Pro-bowl lineman,just wait and see.
38 agree | 26 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Please! Are you saying that Joe Staley was worth the seventh pick in this year's draft? I watched Michael Strahan put a hat trick on him and others manhandled him.Good luck to Smith or Hill if he is moved to left tackle..Yikes!
41 agree | 31 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
While I tend to agree that Alex Smith is not the 49ers QB of the future, I like this move. It let's Shaun Hill know to come to camp and work hard cause there is going to be competition for the starting job. Besides, Smith is an acceptable 2 String making 2 string money. I would like to see the Niner's steal one of these sleeper picks, by taking a Colt Brennen or a Dennis Dixon. I can see both of these guys becoming mid-round steals. The team usually makes pretty sound, well thought-out draft decisions but this year take a chance on one of these ? QB's. The OL needs some beef but winning may be a bit of stretch next year, so why not get your potential QB of the future now and fix the OL with your safe picks or next year free agency.
37 agree | 23 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Smith is the biggest bust since Ford Motor came out with the Edsel. Giving Smith another vote of confidence is just laughable.
42 agree | 25 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Alex Smith has had enough time on the field to prove he can't play. The 49ers have tried everything, new recievers, new offensive coaches and so on. At what point will Nolan admit he screwed up by taking Smith. We fans are the ones suffering, not Nolan.
37 agree | 34 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Most importantly, we extended Michael Robinson, our future starting rb. He is under the radar, but that will change in time. MROB all the way! FRISCO
31 agree | 17 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
...What's the largest city in the USA without a sports arena? I believe that would San Francisco. SF is not a sports town and is not going to spend billions on the 49ers. Santa Clara won't spend it, either. If the NFL wants a new stadium for the 49ers, it should pony up the billions that it has and build it itself.
48 agree | 27 disagree
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SR raider fan said:
Raising ticket prices? for that team? let's see the Yorks try and buy all the extra tickets that will be available this year with raised prices... Silver and blacked out won't be alone. Of course John wants the Santa Clara voters to approve his loser team some money for a stadium, as long as he doesn't have to go into his tight ass pockets and spend less of his own$. Please good voters of Santa Clara don't vote anything for this rudderless ship "the 49ers", the Yorks have proven time and again that they can't make sound decisions of any kind and don't deserve to be rewarded with tax payer's $ for a stadium, and you the avid fan, stay away from Candlestick point! don't honor this bozo York, force him to sell the franchise he has destroyed.
26 agree | 31 disagree
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Dave said:
Bottom line, we need Eddie D. back. John York was the worst thing that can happen to the 49er organization. The City of San Francisco will never give the 49ers a new stadium. If any team deserves one, it's the Five-Time World Champions. Not the Giants. Maybe if the 49ers start catering to the Gay and Lesbian communities like the Giants did, they might just get the votes needed. Let's face it, the majority of 49er fans come from all over California. Maybe they should consider Sacramento. Sactown has been supporting the crappy Kings for years now. Also, the triple-A Rivercats out drew the Athletics their first season. GIVE THE TEAM BACK TO YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW John York.
38 agree | 36 disagree
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Ken said:
Yes, I feel more secure with Carmen Policy handling the issue. I am apprehensive about Jed running anything without qualifications or experience. A couple of SF Chron columnists tried to compare him to a young Eddie D. - but backed off after Jed's bizarre public manifesto of Nov 2006 (excerpt below): "...The worst part of the last few days was listening to our fans boo my parents as we honored Jerry Rice yesterday at halftime. There is no way I will allow such obstacles to keep me from achieving my goals..."
53 agree | 41 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Let the Fans decide, they're the ones paying for the tickets. Survey the season ticket holders, let democracy work it's magic -- bypast the politicians, who can't even keep wacko bus drivers from working at MUNI or from being on its payroll.
54 agree | 53 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I think the City and County of San Francisco should buy the San Francisco 49ers from the Yorks to keep the team in the City. Look at Green Bay. They, the Green Bay Citizens, own the Green Bay Packers (there are a few other cities around the world as well that own their own their own professional teams like in New Zealand, Australia to name a few) then you won't have problems about teams moving from place to place and back to the same place again (like the Oakland Raiders). Everyone in Green Bay has a win-win situation, the local government because of income from the games and other sales from the games, and the citizens because the taxes for property is not there as well as additional funds for other city uses. Now, it might be expensive to buy the team but that could be an option.
58 agree | 55 disagree
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examiner critic said:
Someone tell the mayor most 49er fans don't live within the City limits!!
59 agree | 48 disagree
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Sam in Reno said:
I do not believe that the voters of SF give a damn about the 49ERS. They will come up with several others priorities and conditions. They are probably printing protest signs now. The stadium will be built outside SF by a new ownership that has the money to build one without government help. York and company would have a hard time building a lemonade stand. Carmen Policy is a good man but he is working for a dope.
50 agree | 55 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Did Montana ever lose a Super Bowl?????? Oh that's right no he didn't so you can cut that little cry baby brady out of this blog. No one I mean no one was cooler than Joe
48 agree | 25 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
There is Joe Montana and everybody else.
61 agree | 47 disagree
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outtamojo said:
"In the late ’70s, the NFL drastically changed the rules on defensive contact so that linebackers such as Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke and Jack Lambert could no longer clothesline receivers coming across the middle, and defensive backs such as Jack Tatum and George Atkinson could no longer commit mayhem on receivers well past the line of scrimmage." When they talk about the best teams of all time, one wonders how a Randy Moss or Welker would have handled the maulings regularly dished out to receivers.
80 agree | 61 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
otbricki said:
How can you compare a retired guy with one who still has half his career to go? Brady has a pretty good chance to get 6-7 rings if he continues at this pace, and the Patriots keep their organization intact?
59 agree | 54 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Montana was the cornerstone and the beginning of the great 49er teams. Walsh initially put him in situations to develop his confidence and look what happened. Maybe Nolan should have done the same with A. Smith. Walsh had DeBerg back then, Nolan has Dilfer.
77 agree | 54 disagree
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King of the Dynasty said:
I don't know who the second best all time NFL QB is. Joe's number one. I don't have a problem with that.
76 agree | 52 disagree
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John, Lafayette said:
Elway was the best college quarterback that I have ever seen and he didn't even play as a freshman. Even without "the play" in the 1982 big game, his exploits leading up to the ending are still legendary. Marino always gets short changed when discussing quarterbacks, but he was arguably the best pure passer ever.
89 agree | 56 disagree
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Charles of Marin said:
You bet ya! Joe's the MAN!
68 agree | 45 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Alex Smith is the greatest qb ever... Montana comes a distant second.
92 agree | 52 disagree
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sscl said:
I agree. Everyone forgets the 1981 team. Landry himself said "all they ahve is Monatana". Dallas was superior in just about every position but qb. ( Ronnie was till a rookie) nOone can think of a pro bowler from 1980, some barely remmeber the name elliot. He and Walsh made players play better than they were. Nowadays everyone thinks if you put out a team of probowlers you automatically win. NONSENSE! The NFL is replete with stories every year about "extremely talented" teams that dont win squat. Case in point: Anyone remember our last Niner superbowl team which broke all kinds of records with Steve Young? ( they got their but handed to them from KC with some old has been qb) Sadly the days of flair , panache and cutting edge , intelligent football has gone East of San Francisco. Camelot is dead.
91 agree | 56 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
the 49ers better loose
104 agree | 100 disagree
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