Mike Singletary speaks to the media after the team's 45-10 loss to the Falcons.
(Samuel Lam)
The 49ers looked amazing last week against the Rams. On Sunday, they looked just like the Rams. Turnovers, penalties and ill-advised actions cost the 49ers their perfect home record and gave the 49ers a nasty taste in their mouths in their 45-10 blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
In what was the team's worst home loss since 1967, there are a lot of questions that were raised during Sunday's game. One big question concerns the offensive line. Tackle Adam Snyder's left thigh contusion added to a list of many injuries the 49ers had to endure. Backup takle Tony Pashos has looked very subpar in his short stints in the offensive line. Quarterback Shaun Hill was sacked three times during the game, which led to Hill's carer-high 53 rushing yards. That's a good stat for all the wrong reasons. Entering the game, Hill was sacked a total of 16 times (third most in the league) and it doesn't look like there is going to be much protection help on the team.
“I was not agitated with my teammates or players or anything like that. I was agitated with myself at times. I was agitated with myself at times, agitated with the way things were going perhaps. Most of that frustration was towards myself.”
Even though Hill tried to shoulder the blame for the loss, it was obvious that there were a lot of holes that needed to be patched up on offense.
Adding to the failed quarterback protection from the offensive line, the running game has been very unacceptable. The 49ers gained 100 yards on the ground on Sunday. But if you take away Hill's 53 yards, that only leaves 45 yards for rookie Glen Coffee and 2 yards for fullback Moran Norris. Not a good stat when a non-running quarterback outgains the backfield.
When asked if there was any setback from the subpar team performance, Coffee said that there is an opportunity to learn.
“I don’t believe in setbacks. There are bumps in the road and there are things that can slow you down, but there are no such things as setbacks. You always improve. You can always take something from a loss. So it won’t be a setback.”
The positive attitude is a good thing for the 49ers to take into their bye week. Usually, a loss prior to a bye week means that the team will have to endure a lot of "what ifs" from the previous game. Head coach Mike Singletary has made sure that the team will learn from this loss and move on.
The team sits at 3-2 with a half game lead over Arizona in the division.The 49ers are where most critics might expect them to be after five games. The 49ers clearly did not play up to the level that they could on Sunday. A lot of it could be contributed to their mental lapses on the field.
Atlanta Falcons guard Harvey Dahl was doing a lot of trashtalking throughout the game, which resulted in a personal foul from linebacker Takeo Spikes towards the end of the game. Prior to that, Singletary got into a shouting match with Dahl.
"I should not have done that. Even though the player was talking to me, I should not have said what I said. And it wasn’t anything bad, it was just something that shouldn’t have happened. As a coach, I just needed to overlook that and move on, but you get caught up in the heat of the moment.”
It's encouraging to see Singletary try to protect his players and as a head coach that is passionate about many things, this kind of act from Singletary is forgivable.
However, I don't think there will be much forgiveness for cornerback Dre Bly.
Fortunately, Singletary didn't see that unfold. But once he looks at film, he will surely give Bly an earful. Bly's explanation?
“I feel like if I would’ve had the ball like this, if he hit my arm, it wouldn’t have even been close, because I felt like I fumbled the football as I went down to the ground. Like I said, I’m going to be me. That’s who I’ve been my whole life, that’s who I was in college, I have fun. Dre is going to be Dre. I felt like I had the ball tucked at the time, and he made a great play. I’m going to be me. Like I said, I’m going to be me. I’m not going to change who I am.”
That was the same attitude that tight end Vernon Davis had before Singletary changed his ways and made him into a better player. I think we might see something like that from Bly soon. And the rest of the team better prepare to get an earful from the coach.
Follow me on Twitter for updates. Check me out here @SLam49ers
Comments
Bly his no D.Sander. Hold on to the ball before you start running you mouth and then have nerve come out said something that 49er should have him sit out fora year.
Bly is an 11 year veteran and should no better. No wonder no team wants him and he's been bouncing around from team to team.
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