SB Nation User Blog: spenczar

Crazy-Eyes Nomellini

spenczar — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:43:59 -0000

Found this entertaining bit about Leo Nomellini, an old Niners great on the defensive line. It's George Plimpton interviewing his old Lions teammate, John Gordy. Kind of makes you realize what a terror Leo the Lion must have been:

"What sort of player is the toughest for an offensive lineman to play against?"

    Gordy settled himself in the chair opposite. "The quick ones," he said. "Like that Alex sleeping back there in the hotel. Or Art Donovan of the Colts. Leo Nomellini of the 49ers. He was a horror. One time in San Francisco, Earl Morrall, who was quarterbacking for us then, came out in the papers the day before the game and said that Leo Nomellini was over the hill. I gave this big yell when I read it, and I said, 'If you think he's over the hill, you go and play against him.' Nomellini was a raving maniac trying to get to Earl that afternoon. Of course, to get to him he had to get through me, and oh Christ!"

    "What could you do?"

    "You could just hope for the best," he said. "If you had to play against Leo or Donovan, one of those great cats, it meant that for five days before the game, from Tuesday on, it was very hard to sleep nights."

    He grimaced. "The worst thing about playing Leo Nomellini was that he had these eyes that crossed. He had no teeth either, and his mouth was always open, so that behind the bars of his helmet he looked like a death's head. But it was the eyes that were the worst -- those awful crossed eyes. Sometimes you can pick up from a guy's eyes where he's going to make his move; he'll flick a look, and you can read him. But Nomellini's! One one way, one the other. Hell, if you ever looked at those eyes, you could feel the strength drain out of your kneecaps -- like a sparrow facing up to a cobra. It was not a heartwarming sight."

Singletary: "I was born to coach."

spenczar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:44:39 -0000

I don't know about you, but I am excited about Mike Singletary. Hell of a coach, looks like.

A week ago he said that he feels better suited to coaching than playing. Quite a statement coming from a Hall of Fame linebacker who some peg as the best Middle Linebacker ever.

"I am having the time of my life," Singletary said Wednesday as the 49ers (4-8) began preparations for Sunday's visit from the New York Jets.

"This is what I was born to do," he continued. "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind. ... I'm enjoying it simply because of the staff and because of the players. When you've got players like that and a staff like that, it makes it fun."

He's got players who believe in him like no coach before us. I can't remember anyone who got this kind of praise coaching for the Niners:

"He's a great motivator, but that's just one of his strengths," defensive back Donald Strickland said. "Everybody in this locker room has great respect for him, and the coaching staff has kept us in position to win games. Making a coaching change in the middle of the season could have been a distraction, but everybody here has kept working hard, and (Singletary) just increased our confidence all around."

I think we're set up for great things with Samurai Mike in charge.

Climb in the wayback machine...

spenczar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:58:52 -0000

EDITOR'S NOTE 7:37PM: Perfect timing on this FanPost from spenczar. I'll admit that I voted for the first option.

Sometimes it's fun to take a look at the early predictions we made. For instance, look at this poll from the preseason:

via http://www.ninersnation.com/2008/8/22/599312/49ers-officially-name-j-t

I'd like to toot my own horn a little for being one of those lonely 20 voters in favor of Shaun Hill. Today, I think almost everyone would agree we'd be better off. Or does anyone disagree? Was JTO the way to go from the beginning?