SB Nation User Blog: Rishi

Discussion on Paraag Marathe

Rishi — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:08:24 -0000

So it seems that, this season, Marathe has become a favourite whipping boy for Niners fans. There has been a lot of discussion around and even here on NN on Marathe.

I'm interested in hearing people's thoughts on Marathe and what his role should be in the team. Obviously, none of us can change anything and this is all up to the Yorks. Still, it's worthwhile.

Marathe's role is in statistical analysis. Unfortunately, football is not the statistical game that baseball is, so stats can only do so much. Still, that's what we do when we discuss drafting a new QB here. He also seems to have a role in choosing when to challenge based on probability.

Anyway, thoughts?

Pete Carroll to the Niners?

Rishi — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:42:46 -0000

Uncertified link

* I mentioned the 49ers job to Pete Carroll during a post-practice interview, and before I could finish my question he interrupted (politely) and explained that the Niners have a coach, that he has a job and that he could not comment on any aspect, or potential aspect, of the situation.

Fair enough — Carroll has to take that approach. Nevertheless …

* I heard that in order for Carroll to seriously consider the Niners job, the Yorks would have to offer upwards of $5 million per year and allow Carroll to bring his USC staff with him and install his own general manager (perhaps longtime NFL pal Pat Kirwan).

But multiple sources told me that if the Yorks are in fact willing to make changes at coach and GM, that Carroll very much wants them to make an offer — he wants to have the option to return to the Bay Area (he’s from Marin), the Niners (former defensive coordinator) and the NFL (former two-time head coach).

Of course, as a very well-placed source told me at the time, Carroll wanted the Yorks to make him an offer before they hired Mike Nolan. But they balked, thinking Carroll was out of their price range.

Just thought it'd be interesting to speculate.

I personally wouldn't care to have him as the Niners coach - he has the personality and energy to be one of the best college coaches, but I really just don't think he'd gel well with the players on our team.

On the flip side, his fame would generate a lot of interest in the team and maybe he will be a great motivator.

Thoughts?

Breaking: Just TurnOvers throws another game away

Rishi — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:47:39 -0000

Every single week this happens, there will be more and more calls to replace JTO.

Yes, it's been covered very well - the gameplan in the fourth quarter was atrocious. Terrible playcalling. I'll chalk this up to Nolan not knowing how to play with a lead due to lack of experience with the situation. I'll also chalk it up to Martz' greedy desire to inflate his statistics, so he wants to pull away from the running game and take Gore out and instead make JTO look great.

But, at the same time, the Niners still had a last chance to win and, as expected, JTO throws a pick-six. Bye bye all hopes and chances anymore.

Honestly, say all you want, but it really is time to give Shaun Hill a chance in a game situation. See if he throws a pick-six with the game on the line.

The JTO era in SF is over.

Dear Mike (Nolan and Martz): Reopen the QB Competition!

Rishi — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:52:35 -0000

Yes, I'm saying it.

After Just TurnOvers' second horrendous outing, it's clear that not only is JTO not the long-term answer, he may not be the short-term answer.

To be clear, Martz has had an immediate impact on our offense. We're putting up points, hitting the red zone, and making plays. It's impressive to watch... when it works properly. But witness JTO now and in the season opener against Arizona - he's running the offense relatively effectively, but he turns the ball over way too often and puts undue pressure on the defense.

Yes, the Saints loss is not all his fault - Drew Brees had enough time in the pocket to comb his nonexistant hair. But at least, allow a fair competition in practices if JTO falters again against the Pats. I don't want to see another Niners season go down the tube.

Pac 10 Football (clap clap clapclapclap)?

Rishi — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:02:19 -0000

It's been discussed here, on ESPN, on blogs, everywhere.

Something is grossly wrong with the state of Pac-10 football. The big question is "why is this happening"?

Lost in all of this Pac-10 hatred, of course, is the fact that other leagues are still doing worse. The ACC has had some terrible losses and has one undefeated team (Wake Forest). The Big East in 2006 had three big teams - WVU, Louisville, and Rutgers, all of which now are struggling. The Big Ten has OSU and Michigan, their two flag wavers, slacking.

But things in the Pac-10 are horrid. Outside of USC and Oregon, no team is carrying the banner properly (I'm willing to excuse Oregon's loss to Boise State because they were down to their fifth-string, no joke, QB). Arizona State had big expectations, but lost to UNLV and got throttled by Georgia. The rest of the teams in the Pac-10 have no realistic aspirations, except ours truly - CFN, for instance, is willing to rank Cal in the top 25 and excuse that loss to Maryland on time zone adjustments and humidity.

There is, however, no question that the Pac-10 needs to step up to avoid being the Pac-1. Most of the Pac-10 teams are done with their non-conference slates, so this means that, in order to gain national respect, the Pac-10 has to be dominated by two or three teams - USC, Oregon, Cal. ASU winning the conference or even placing in the top three would reflect horribly.

The prime reasons in my mind for the Pac-10's poor showing OOC is two-fold: willingness to schedule tough BCS and non-BCS games and the fact that non-BCS leagues are "catching up" with BCS teams. Hell, look at the AP rankings - there are six, count them, six non-BCS teams: one from C-USA, two from the WAC, and and astonishing three from MWC (more than the number of teams from the Big East and Pac-10 - combined!).

The Pac-10 is clearly in rebuilding mode, though. This national perception may linger around all year. Maybe next year.

I'm done rambling - thoughts?

Niners Nation sports bar?

Rishi — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:47:10 -0000

EDITOR'S NOTE 9/4 10:25AM: This was originally posted a week and a half ago. As we're a community of 49ers fans, it'd be pretty cool to get people together at specific locations for 49ers action. I've posted a link to this FanPost on the left side of the front page so people will always be able to check it for updates on bars to visit. I'll make srue and keep the comments open so people can keep posting. And every so often I'll promote it back to the top of the front page to keep it fresh in people's minds.

As I said before, consider it the classifieds for finding a good 49ers bar in your area of the Bay Area or anywhere else in the country or world.

______________________________

So I figure since there's a good collection of die-hard Niners fans here, there should be an official sports bar that the fans go to watch games at. I remember there was one before and maybe it's still the official NN bar, but some updates on that would be great.

All I know is it'd be great to hang out at a sports bar with Niners fans since most of my friends are lame and like other teams, don't watch the NFL, or root for whatever team is doing well.

If you were Nate Longshore...

Rishi — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:32:39 -0000

Would you want to transfer? I was thinking about this today in the morning, in-bettween slamming down on the "snooze" button.

As danzig has pointed out numerous times, Longshore with better decision-making = top NFL prospect. He has the frame, the arm strength, the footwork, the mechanics, etc. down. Of course, I'm sure we all know that there's almost no way Longshore is going to get any more chances to start for this team and he's a senior. Still, though, he could definitely start for a number of other teams that don't run a spread or require a mobile quarterback. If he transfers, he'd have to sit out a year, but then he can play for one more year and try to salvage his NFL dreams. Otherwise, there is no way he'll get drafted - off the top of my head, the only backup QB to ever get drafted was Matt Cassell, and he was backing up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

On the other hand, Tedford has showed unwaivering faith in Longshore, especially last year. To transfer from Cal would be to betray that trust. Plus, I suppose if he wanted to be in the NFL, he could have a superb pro-day and show off his arm and mechanics during drills. A team may be willing to take a flyer (6th/7th round) on him.

Thoughts?

No, no caption contest. Just, Jerry Rice's stare is increasingly starting to freak me out. It's...

Rishi — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:44:35 -0000

No, no caption contest.

Just, Jerry Rice's stare is increasingly starting to freak me out. It's almost forcing me to go back to work. Almost.

Breaking: O'Sullivan to start against Chicago

Rishi — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:31:41 -0000

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcwest/0-2-289/Smith-caught-in-49ers--conflicted-priorities.html

O'Sullivan, scheduled to make his third consecutive exhibition start Thursday night, is playing under a one-year deal counting $491,000 against the salary cap. Smith's contract counts 20 times as much, more than $9.9 million.

The real question is this: why? This isn't a quarterback competition if the other QBs don't get a chance - honestly, the Colts are having a bigger QB competition than this.

Here's what we know - JTO is getting first-team reps in practise. He has started two preseason games already. His only claim to fame is really "knowledge of the Martz system". O'Sullivan looked horrible in his first preseason game and terrible in his second, until the first-team defense left the field.

Apparently, though, playing with a first-team offense against a second-team defense and performing well is comparable to playing with a second-team offense the day after your best friend's funerals. Come on, I'm smarter than this!

Isn't competition about giving a chance? Shouldn't Smith and Hill get first-team reps agaisnt the first-team defense so the competition can be fairly evaluated?

I'm quickly losing faith and, more importantly, excitement over this incoming season. I'll eat my words if JTO somehow brings this team to a playoff berth, but I do not like the way the coaching staff is managing this.

And forget this "best chance to win" nonsense. It's preseason. This is how you determine who gives you your best chance to win. Hey Mikes, try it out!

Shaun Hill?

Rishi — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:17:02 -0000

If you've read any of my comments, you know I am not a fan of O'Sullivan as starting QB for a number of reasons. Like a number of 49ers fans, I'm hopeful that Alex Smith can be who we wanted him to be, but was also impressed with Shaun Hill's performances, no matter how weak the defenses, in his starts. There's seriously a possibility that Shaun Hill can be our "diamond in the rough", our discovered talent. Yes, he doesn't practise well, but he plays well in game situations, makes plays, and protects the ball.

The reason I'm bringing this up is it seems Shaun Hill is becoming the odd-man out in this joke of a QB derby. O'Sullivan got one start in a preseason game against the Raiders and was terrible. Smith can't get the start in the next preseason game because he has to go to his friend's funeral. What about Hill? Why is O'Sullivan starting again against the Packers? Are people seriously forgetting how Hill somewhat salvaged our season last year?

If O'Sullivan will be promoted just because he knows Martz' complciated system, then this isn't a fair competition. Give Hill a starting chance in the preseason. Come on.