As a diehard 49er fan, I will root for this team with the same fervor whether they are playing under or over .500 ball . I am not one of those phony, imposer fans who squeal when things go well, and cry foul when things go bad. I am the same all the way, although I have my moments of frustration even desperation. We all want to see the San Francisco 49ers retain back their championship form, and continue the dynasty.

I genuinely back all of the 49er management and put my trust in them, the team are in capable hands. I like the idea of Jed York taking up the leadership and running things.

Sometimes we just need to make a bold move, like snatching Terrell Owens (T.O.) just for a one year, because we all know he would be a steal as he has a lot to prove in order to stay in the NFL or to play for a NFL team. But the disruption T.O. is, the Niners are equally served by not having him on the team. The 49ers will snatch a couple of really good free agents or players who were released and hit paydirt with the draft, the outlook remains very optimistic.

Our new head coach Mike Singletary, whom we call Coach Sing, has made some offensive-minded coaches wary of his gung-ho approach over smash-smouth football and a power running game. Offensive coordinators love to throw the ball. They are hired based on their quarterback's stats and the production on the offensive side of the ball. But Jimmy Raye, our newest and latest Offensive Coordinator, as enthused he is about the power running game, understood and agreed with Sing's power running game philosophy, it wasn't hard for him to because generally when we play NFL football, we don't hand off the ball on every play. The bonus is that we will still throw the ball, and that is the beauty of Sing's power running game philosophy. We want to prove that we not only can throw the ball, but we can run too, and run at WILL.

As a fan, naturally, I like big name players. I like flashy wide receivers who showboat their prowess, with the ball in their hands prancing in the end zone. There is no bigger thrill than seeing sleek catches and the run after the catch. As a result, I hope that the ever-productive Isaac Bruce stays on with the Niners. He doesn't show off, but he is a big name and the top 5 receiver in the game, active or inactive. We do need a Randy Moss or a Terrell Owens, even a Chad Johnson. The reason players get let go, because the team as a whole have strong ties with the community, participating at charity fundraisers, and they have important sponsors or endorsements to foster, but these players are able to start over in a new city, with a new team and their own advertising agenda. They are not let go because they have lost a step. Every team has to protect their fan base and community ties. Even the team chemistry has to be portered over.

The old adage, "I am a possession receiver," is getting old. Any college receiver drafted into the NFL can be a possession receiver. I want explosion, the impeccable route running, the powerful receivers who can bowl over an opposing player as well as elude them. We need all of our receivers to be possession types, because we will not throw as much due to a more balanced array of a run and pass game. We need to make something out of the catches instead of just the 'POP" and "THUD." As a receivers coach, one wouldn't want his wide receiving corps to be stopped in their tracks when they catch balls.

That makes the power running game more effective, if our wide receivers can be as physical, too.

If anything, Coach Sing will inspire all of his players to step up and finish games on a strong note everytime, games will be played hard all four quarters.

My hope for this year, is for the SF 49ers to stop all opposing teams on their tracks, taking off their masks and exposing them.

Literally.

Raye has 12 years of experience as an Offensive Coordinator in the NFL, a track record that if looked at statistically, an upgrade over the previous OC's that either walked away from or were fired by the 49ers management, in addition to his 30 years as a coach.

Some of the successful Offensive Coordinators have been successful in the NFL due to their creativity or unique ability to have great chemistry with the starting quarterback, developing the back-up quarterbacks to maintain the high level of play, spending countless hours shoring up the offensive line just for that purpose. 

Raye comes in as an extremely experienced offensive coordinator, but can he open up to the passing game, make the crafty calls, utilize the personnel the best way it can be, and include a little creativity in his play-calling schemes?

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to become too predictive even if our intent was to befuddle defenses by both running and passing the football. Will Raye keep opposing defenses on edge, or better yet, lull them to sleep downfield while boxed in against the run? Will he be smarter than we estimate, and leave opposing teams wishing they didn't underestimate him?

Sing knows football, and by hiring Raye he is not mistaken.  It might not come out as glamorous as Martz's offense was but over the past couple years the 49ers have developed a mentality that moving the ball downfield with good game management was sufficient enough until all the right personnel is set into their place. This is not just some random act of over-confidence changing the face of the team. Sing has to put into play his philosophy and prove that it works. It's about running the football and getting the football into the end zone at all costs, even if it takes the running game to another level.

It's time to get back into championship level the 80's 49er's had, if we can maintain the intensity Sing tries to instill and much more, let's not the glamorous aspect of the game warp the thinking, the motto, and the vision we have now. We need both a star receiver that is very clutch, and a star running back (that we already have in Gore), to make Sing's offensive philosophy work. And a quarterback who is not restricted to the running game mentally but ready to throw the ball downfield when his number is called.

It's about preparation, and Sing's team will not fail the players as astute they are in preparing the team for game day, and it's up to the personnel to buy into the newly anointed offensive philosophy that probably has Gore pumping iron and ramming into the meat ribs at the Butcher's shop as we speak, pumped up for the prospect of barreling through defenses.

Bam! Yes, the butcher's table was pounded by a butcher's knife, and whoosh, the opposing defenses will be dissected with a clean surgical cut, defenses will be surprised even with Raye making the chess moves.

Because, it was all planned, let's start grading all categories with all straight A's. If not, at least, Sing's team will be relentlessly pounding with the run game.

But that's not all to it. We will score one way or another.

If that helps to win games, maybe Raye will dust off his anonymous status and become more recognized or renowned for his offensive machine than his longevity as a NFL coach. Or just for his experience. It's time for experience to pay off.

And it's time to become a commodity, not a liability so that the front office has to drum up yet another Offensive Coordinator.

With Singletary's emergence as the latest Head Coach, coupled with the latest Offensive Coordinator change, put an interesting twist to the 49er philosophy. Over the years, Offensive Coordinators postured, miked, yelled x and o's into oblivion, and grimaced over their offensive troubles to no effect.

Then Sing, the new Head Coach immediately in charge, set some new standards, one of which is the most important- FINISH GAMES. It doesn't mean finish your gatorade and giddyap back to the field, pulling up your socks. It means maintain the same or more intensity throughout the game til the final ticking seconds. Hold up in the trenches the whole battle. Being that NFL football is such a violently collision sport, we need an "Army general" to come in and bark the orders, set every man in his right place, and teach his players to be able to finish the games on a strong note.

But this article is about why we chose Raye and how the newest offensive coordinator fits the bill. The most pressing issue was finding an offensive coordinator that would line up with Sing's offensive philosophies which stress a pounding running game that is relentless and which is an extra incentive to pull all the strings, opening up the pass game in all its' precise dissection of perplexed defenses scrambling to contain both the running and passing games. Bringing Raye in enables the offensive side of the ball to be run with great experience, unleashing the great players we have on roster to freaky proportions, utilizing the running game at will against opposing defenses who will bite and succumb to the passing game at times, because Gore will run with a full green light and at will, which forces defenses to decide how to approach it as the game is played.

Why was Raye relatively unknown considering the fact he has 12 years of experience as Offensive Coordinator (OC)?

First off, he served as OC or a coach for many teams, not just one team over the past decade. When coaches work for so many teams, sometimes they get lost in the shuffle. Obviously when a NFL team has continued success in the playoffs, these same coaches will be in the limelight always and toasted for their success. Raye's offensive teams have been average at best, he is not glamorous as an OC. Raye will not coach a quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in one season, that is for sure, because the running game will be pounding the trenches, at least with the 49ers. Also, his offenses have not always been top-ranked or the greatest show on earth, not much ado but Raye has the heart of a lion, something that Sing was looking for.

Look for a McMahon type of quarterback in the fold, he was a strong and tough resilent player who had success both with his quarterbacking and being such a good leader that everyone played well around him. McMahon embodied what the team was about, what Singletary was about, and now with Raye becoming OC, Singletary will be embodied with like-minded staffers all ready to implement the game plan that fully compliments Sing's coaching style, everyone are not only on the same page, but in the same philosophy trait.

The previous candidates interviewed before Raye was hired dropped out because Sing's philosophy was too old-school for them. My opinion is that, returning back to smash-mouth football with old school coaching might be the push to having better than a .500 season and possibly into the playoffs, with the players and personnel the 49ers have. They also dropped out because they did not want to wait while the parade of potential candidates postured for the job.

What I am saying here, Sing's creation of smash-mouth football might work with Raye in the fold, because of his experience as OC and his philosophy, although his past offenses was not run-centered statistically, his philosophy will enable Sing to carry out his vision for the Niners, because he did run the ball, and understood the effectiveness of forcing defenses to play both the run and the pass.

Raye as an extremely experienced OC will not misuse personnel but play to their strengths which is exactly why Sing acted in declaration of having a run-oriented offense by hiring Raye. The previous candidates realized during their interviews that Sing was completely set with his criteria for this offense, and that they probably would not stay for the length of time necessary to see the offense through. One year is not ideal for any offensive scheme with the revolving door of offensive coordinators coming in and out, which is why Raye's record and willingness to honor the full contract stood out compared to all the previous OCs in post-Mooch era, enticing Sing to go with Raye.

Is it an act of desperation, white flag waving to the enemy? NO and NO. That is not Sing.

Sing is pulling a Patton.

not a team that makes us RAISE hell, cussing.

Or brings us to DESPAIR as we try to REPAIR things,

I could make a ROCK song out of this, but I'd get DOCKED,

Good or bad, there are songs to WRITE,

and maybe a rock star can DRINK SPRITE..

and put us on the BRINK of FRIGHT TACTICS and poor LACTIC TOLERANCE

for all this DULL, lulling, BULL.

Because, I am FULL of it about the fact the 49ers LACKED the DANCE..

And because being rendered dumb, we SLACKED off on our CHANCE..

And off to FRANCE Nolan is...

While Singletary re-examines his backside and his FAITH, the team has to determine if "Singletary SAITH so," because nobody wants people to tell them, "I TOLD you SO."

The RED and GOLD is going to GO under five hundred, and lo, it's time for us to go to BED and stop thinking about who STOLE the game from the 49ers,

as deep their HOLE is,

even what their ROLE is,

how to DOLE out touchdowns instead of being STOPPED at the one-yard line, I'd have HOPPED over the TRENCHES,

and let Nolan and the FRENCH MUSE...

as we USE our weapons BETTER..

Not a MICHAEL Robinson or by WASTING 23 seconds..

MICHAEL Jordan BASTING the rims wearing no. 23 is more of a go-to than Robinson will ever be...

If Martz gets SMARTER, Robinson will be BARTER BAIT.

Worth the WAIT, though!

Up to date as a new 49er running back since the beginning of the season he only has 11 rushes for a measly 26 yards, so who is he, what is his role with the 49ers and why only 26 yards rushing in 8 games played with the 49ers? He was a fairly successful running back with a different NFL team (Carolina Panthers), he had 850 more yards in a 16 game season with the Panthers last year, as opposed to his 26 yards in 8 games. That shows his yardage totals for 2008 in a 16 game season is on pace for 52 rushing yards!!

Yes, 52 yards. Just, if his role continues that way, or if he keeps exhibiting his inability to find the holes. If I wanted to have an attitude about it, I'd declare loudly that he sucks. But is he relegated to the role of a running back blocker for Gore? Or to blocking other players while serving as a decoy running back?

Or this whole thing is not a decoy?

Well in any case welcome to the 49ers, because they are not doing too well, either.

But I am not satisfied with my welcome to the 49ers, because I don't want the 49ers to sign any player who will not factor at all in any of the games they play. I want every player to have some impact on the team which is the necessary component to create nutrients to build a potentially championship caliber team.

So where does that leave Foster?  I'd like to see him to average 50 yards a game, and let Gore romp his way to over 100 yards every game. Just give me 50 yards, Foster, and I'll be happy.

And a touchdown, thank you.

First here I am going to go into a litany of what the 49ers need to do to return back to their winning ways, then I will analyze the upcoming 49ers-Cardinals game on Monday Night Football, the gladiator arena of all sports, and in terms of spectators, there are Monday Night Football fanatics, especially those that look for the Budweiser commercials and play it out as if it was inspired by the iconic Monday Night Football beer choice, Budweiser.

Singletary need to give Martz the green light to go to the air on Monday Night Football television. That will be intimidating enough for the speedster Cardinals, because they are more of an offensive team than a defensive team, at least in my opinion. Fitzgerald needs to be shut down, and Bolden is priming to make a comeback, so he needs to get double coverage. In my opinion both Fitzgerald and Bolden are legitimate threats. They will score if the 49er secondary doesn't close up on them. They are the best wide receiving corps in the NFL, at least that is what I think, and if the 49ers secondary suffer miscommunication or lapses with their defense, they will be scorched for touchdowns by them.

49er quarterback Shaun Hill, in addition to throwing crisp passes and avoiding interceptions, he needs to turn up a notch because if the Cardinals' passing game elevates, the 49ers have to, too. He needs to do a great job of managing the game and create multiple scoring opportunities.

Frank Gore, our best running back and an extremely talented at it, powerful at the line of scrimmage and by breaking tackles and transporting himself through holes. He needs to break 100 yards to help the team gain high total yardage in this game which is necessary to counter all-pro receivers Fitzgerald and Bolden. I cannot stop talking about these two receivers because they can make the big play anytime that can hurt the 49ers' chances of winning. Clements and corps must stop them head on and stifle their WR threat.

I would like to see Tollner more involved in the Martz offense because he can coach the players more while Martz does the play calling and the tinkering with the schematics of his offense.

Zeigler has been signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and I think it is a move that will help the 49ers because he did extremely well during the preseason and we need to get back to that rolling tempo. Zeigler is a good receiver and can pull off some great plays that brings the 49ers back into the lead.

I think the score will be 31-20 49ers. Hill will throw for 248 yards and two touchdowns, with a couple by Gore and perhaps Davis, with one interception, his first of the season. Jason Hill will have a 89 receiving yard game and Isaac Bruce will have 76 yards, with Davis grabbing 35 yards and Zeigler getting 40 yards, and  the rest spread out with a couple others on the receiving end.

Gore will run for 103 yards, and have 55 receiving yards for a total 158 yards accrued in the mismatch against the Cardinals.

And Singletary will pass out some Armani boxers to his team in gratitude to the team for allowing their minds to be imprinted by his infamous pants down dramatic demonstration during a halftime pep talk to his team in the locker room, perhaps to promise them the reward of Armani bathrobes to cover up their asses, if they came back to win the game, or at least close out the game with pride and integrity.

If not this time, next time will be pride and glory.

And if this time it's all pride and glory, it's on Monday Night Football!

It's on the house.

Ho Humm.. Ooops. Why I said oops? Because Mike Nolan  chose a new offensive coordinator, and some new weapons.

Now new Head Coach Singletary is left to salvage what is left of the season, with quarterback O'Sullivan having thrown most of the season away, with his inconsistencies.

Isaac Bruce, one of the top receivers in the game, since his 153 yard explosion of a game, has been generally quiet, simply getting into the end zone at times, but he needs more yards, because that usually means more damage has been done.

Bryant Johnson who? I think we all can recall he had one 78 yard receiving game. Other than that, not much. Was he doing better with the Cardinals as the 4th receiver than he is as the 2nd receiver with the 49ers?

Arnaz Battle, he has been around but...same result this year as the previous years...

O'Sullivan is a culprit of creating turnovers either by fumbling or getting intercepted. If he secures the ball and makes the throws he can make, he will look more like a pro bowl caliber quarterback. Some efficient quarterback with high rating scores are the ones that avoid interceptions even turnover rates. That is why Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz brought with him O'Sullivan into the fold, because he has that potential. O'Sullivan has found himself into a predicament where he is not helping the team win.

Martz has the offense but not the right players for it. O'Sullivan can fit in with the offense but he has areas of weakness that has to be disposed of before Martz realizes he is not the right fit as quarterback for this type of offense. We need a quarterback that can escape the pass rush and one that will not throw too many interceptions, and one that can throw the ball downfield, who secures the ball the way he is supposed to, and who can scramble if he has to. O'Sullivan can be brilliant on one play and utterly stink in the other. He'll take it away from you and in another, give you a gift wrapped in a bow. I kind of wonder if he wears his own socks...because, he stinks up the place and doesn't look like himself, the dazzling self he was during the preseason.

These coaches and players were brought to the team for the sole purpose of winning, which has not been achieved. There are never enough spark-plugs to make it a smooth running engine of a team. We need to close it out with the final nuts and bolts and make sure it is a well-oiled machine which makes everything work. It takes BOTH the coaches and the players, EVEN the support of the team management, to make it work.

When the 49ers were running up scores 30-plus points or more, Mike Nolan's job was safe. When they had their rug pulled up from under, from O'Sullivan's poor showings in the regular NFL season, Nolan got fired immediately before the bye.

Singletary yet again, is not an offensive-minded coach, the departed Nolan wasn't either, so the offense is completely in the hands of Martz. The head coach will only make quarterback switch decisions if he thinks it is necessary as sometimes offensive coordinators are loyal to their quarterbacks despite their performance. The OC can see how the quarterback is progressing but the head coach wants RESULTS. But, Singletary may make better game management decisions than Nolan did.

Return of investment is what everyone wants all along, we sign players to a multi-million dollar contracts because we expect a huge return of investment (ROI). Losing badly by giving away the ball and creating penalties that we can prevent is NOT a ROI. It's a dead giveaway.

Remember NFL stars say "I want my MONEYYYYYYY!!!"

I say, and we say, "We want our MONEY'S WORTH!!!!!!!!"

And we all want our return-of-investment. No shit. We have to start winning.

Or nobody will want to sign with the 49ers, either.

Both.

Given that anybody else pulled the stunt, pulling down his pants, there would be endless echoes of snickers bouncing around, but guess who pulled the gutsy stunt, pulling down the pants (with the boxers left on, whew), it was hall-of-famer Mike Singletary.

Singletary is excused, because he gives great pre-game pep talks, with a powerful way of giving speeches to the team. He is a great coach, a dynamic one, and one with a great commanding figure,  especially when he is on the field and in the clubhouse,  all the players listen carefully.

Due to the pants down fiasco, there might be some head shaking and criticism, but most will concede that Singletary is more serious than that and means business when he says it, which comes from his heart. He didn't do it as a joke, but as a literal visual aid to jolt his team back to their senses and to teach his players to start putting back on the game face, how to build up their adrenalin levels. Singletary did admit it was a bit overboard for him to drop his pants down in front of his team like that, but he wanted to bring across a point, he was willing to sacrifice himself a bit for the sake of the team.

Singletary has the next eight games to prove that he can coach in the NFL level and possibly guide the team to a turning point. He will tone it down but he will continue to try to motivate his team into playing a higher level of football.

Singletary is sane. He pulled a far-out move, maybe a little too far , but he did it with a sound mind and a round butt, his own brand of far-fetchedness.

As some snickers can be heard in some circles, respect will be given to Singletary because he is capable of bringing change for the better, he knows how to coach a team despite adversity; he was a pro bowler while playing for the Chicago Bears and helped them to get to he playoffs. Now as a head coach, can he do the same thing?

Singletary is the perfect choice to lead a team despite adversity.

When we come under such an offensive system the Martz offense provides, we need to become true students of the offense. Because if you try to do too much, you get sacked. If you try to do too little, that's not what the offense represents. And if you are in the middle, not too little or too much, it's too mediocre for a flashy offense.

And if you turn over the ball trying to run this offense, then you need to be benched, because it's all about winning and all about being the best offense in the NFL, possibly, in the history of the NFL. Martz has such a vision.

Do we?

Well it depends how badly we want to win. And sometimes when we want to win badly, we force the ball and turn it over. That is part of O'Sullivan's struggles, secondly, it is one of the reasons he always was benched in his entire NFL career. Coaches have seen his errant play at times and poor decision making, trying to force the ball instead of managing the ball game AND letting things happen in a smooth flow.

O'Sullivan is talented. He's good. He's a pro bowl-caliber quarterback. He is on his way. But what can he do while he is being benched in favor of Shaun Hill?

LEARN.

Let's go back to my quote in the "What Will We Get out of Singletary?" fanpost where I described basically but most acutely what he will bring to the shaken franchise, the San Francisco 49ers,

 "I write as I have SEEN, heard, witnessed, and researched on Mike Singletary who is as good they come, probably the most fiercely competitive up to date, he is going to strike a fiery note when he starts singing as the 49er's new head coach. "

Indeed, Singletary has taken the microphone and he has started singing. And it's a fiery note. Davis gets both a penalty and a boot from the field for a playful poke, and O'Sullivan gets benched in place of Shaun Hill, who came in to play a better managed game.

When you turn over the ball, it becomes a thing where you become the casualty, because of the inability to hold on to the ball, or to better protect it. It draws the ire of the coaching staff and fellow teammates, because they have to feel more invincible than this, their vulnerability are exposed if you cannot protect the ball.

So  that is where Hill comes in, Singletary is giving him the chance to just to do a better job of managing the ballgame as a quarterback, O'Sullivan's play was just too errant for him to continue at this point, the message the new head coach is giving is, we have to start winning games. It is by a marked improvement in game management from the huddle.

It is true Singletary cannot continue to publicly discipline his players in front of 70,000 fans, but he wanted to send across a very clear message that he will not tolerate players that contribute to attitude that leads to losing. It's about the team, not about their own self-centered selves. The TEAM wants tickets!! Not just you, me, the rest of the team, or the newly promoted to head coach Singletary, but everyone in this room! And if you are going to be the one to ruin it for all of us, so that we cannot get our family or friends tickets, then just turn around and walk the other way out of the stadium into the desert.

Ok?

Singletary is obviously A-OK with it. He'll echo it, with a booming voice exuding a sense of authority and an old-school nonsense approach, he was embarrassed by the 49ers' pathetic lifeless performance, almost sheepish but annoyed, he laid down the law during and afterwards. It's turning into the wild west affair, and will continue to be, until his players get the message.

It's been a long time coming, that guy Singletary, from the moment he took the reins of the 49ers, if he couldn't win in his debut as a head coach, at least he was able to motivate the players in working on correcting the trend of losing and turn it into winning ways. It's on its' way.

As I said, he is old-school and that is the approach needed in any effort to turn around the misfortunes of the 49ers back into the traditional winning ways, the vision Mike Nolan brought to the team when he was hired, the torch has been passed to Singletary. The difference Singletary brings is a more tougher approach and better motivational skills needed to lift up the 49ers at some turning point. Nolan endorsed Singletary for the head coaching position, not because he will carry the team as the motivational speaker, but because he has the commanding figure to bring change and lift the team upwards back into a winning tradition. It might not happen in the first couple of games, but Singletary will keep on preaching until they all get it.

Sometimes it takes old-school mentality to stop the losing ways, and the process is painful and demeaning sometimes, the way Vernon Davis probably felt when Singletary ordered him off the field, my hope is that Davis will respect him with admiration for having the stomach to make such moves in front of all the fans and players, and learn from it. Davis knows Singletary is a hall-of-famer, and he cannot discount him despite the fact he thought that was new for a coach to ban him from the field for such an infraction (15-yard penalty for poking a player in the facemask), Davis' reaction was that it is the way Singletary coaches.

Was that a good reactionary response?

Singletary's was good, and the right one, even as people speak in hushed whispers that we don't do that to grown up men who are NFL players.

49ers, stop turning over the ball like giving away carrots, the game is not to be played as if rabbits were all over the field. It's a game where we go to steakhouses, not crawling and feeding off the garden. We have to play like real men and protect the ball, and protect the quarterback, and catch the ball, and steal it, whatever, but take possession of the ball and move the ball.

Singletary is bringing a fresh infusion of the feeling we are not a charity anymore, giving away wins. Singletary will motivate his players to earn their wins. If other teams want to beat the 49ers now, they have to keep in mind Singletary refuses the notion of being a charitable 49ers because he does not want to give any leverage to any team that looks to keep walking over their red carpet.

As long Singletary keeps his disciplining ways in check, the 49ers will respond to what he as their new head coach brings.

Let's rock. Let's play smash-mouth football, and discard our barbie dolls. It's a man's game now.

And maybe a couple of apologies to debut with.