Nov 20th 2008 2:35PM by Adam Gretz (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC WestAnother day, another fine handed out by the National Football League. This time, the man on the receiving end is San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who will be handing over $20,000 for his tirade following the teams 29-24 loss in Arizona, as reported by Adam Schefter.

If you’ll recall, the 49ers had a bizarre set of play calls in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, including a dive play by Michael Robinson, the backup running back, on the final play of the game from the three-yard line. It resulted in a bunch of what were they thinking conversations, and ultimately led to Martz proclaiming the refs screwed his team “every way possible.”

While I think the league has lost all sense of reality when it comes to who it fines, and why, I’m not going to throw too many papers in the air over this one because, well, I have little sympathy for Martz or the 49ers in this case. They had every opportunity to take that game and win it, only to screw it all up with horrible clock-management and not having any idea where they were on the field. The only people who screwed the 49ers that night were the two Mike’s — Martz and Singletary.

Nov 17th 2008 1:09PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, AZ Cardinals, Cowboys, Jaguars, Giants, Vikings, NFL Media WatchWe knew that John Lynch was going to retire today, but we weren’t sure what was on the horizon for him.

Apparently, he quickly got a gig with Fox, and will be calling the Vikings-Jaguars game this Sunday. Awful Announcing tells us that he will work with Chris Rose and sideline reporter Krista Voda.

Unless you have DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket or are a die-hard Vikings or Jaguars fan who lives in a remote area, you probably won’t get to hear Lynch’s debut. It’s a shame, too, since the Vikings are tied atop the NFC North standings, yet their fans get the new guy.

Fox also put their No. 1 broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the gripping San Francisco-Dallas game. Good thing there is no Cowboys bias at the network*. After all, Fox is only doing the NY Giants-Arizona and Carolina-Atlanta games. You know, three first place teams and the young, exciting Falcons.

Nov 16th 2008 12:45PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC West, NFL Fans, NFL Coaching
I applaud Mike Singletary for trying to clean up Mike Nolan’s mess, and although his intentions aren’t solely altruistic — presumably, he eventually wanted to be a head coach — he has, in just a month’s time, instilled a no-puttin’-up-with-the-BS mentality that was lacking under Nolan.

That was evident when Singletary ran tight end Vernon Davis off the field after a stupid penalty (and his subsequent apology to the world), although the hard-nosed, physical approach to football hasn’t magically made the 49ers a playoff team. (I blame Mike Martz.) Not to worry, though; Singletary has a plan. And a slogan: “49ers Formula for Success.”

A formula for success seems like something you might not want to broadcast, but Singletary is a Super Bowl-wearing Hall of Famer. I’m a blogger. So here ya go:Continue Reading

Nov 16th 2008 5:55PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, Rams, NFC WestRemember last week? Well, it’s deja vu. Yes, Yogi, all over again.

It’s halftime in San Francisco.

The scoreboard reads 35-3 in favor of the home town 49ers. Seriously, the same Niners who have already terminated a head coach and sport a 2-7 record.

Let’s see what we’ve got right now in the embarrassing department …

- Two interceptions from Marc Bulger, one of which was a deep pass thrown into triple coverage.

- Shaun Hill, who began the season as a backup quarterback, has completed 12 of 14 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns against this Rams defense. Oh, and he’s also rushed for a touchdown.

- Frank Gore has shredded the Lambs defense for 67 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns.

- The Niners enjoyed a short 16 yard touchdown drive, thanks to a lost fumble by the hapless Rams.

Just think, it’s only halftime.

Seriously, I know Tony Romo was out and Steven Jackson was playing, but how the hell did these guys beat the Dallas Cowboys? Or how did they beat the Redskins in Washington?

This team is a colossal embarrassment right now. Steven Jackson isn’t the sole reason for this.

Nov 17th 2008 12:30AM by Adam Gretz (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, Rams, NFC WestJust one week after dropping a head-scratching, last-second loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers responded on Sunday as they pounded the Rams into submission, 35-16, giving Mike Singletary his first win as an NFL head coach. With the win, the 49ers improve to 3-7, which is good enough for second place in the NFC West. That’s just crazy. It also snapped what had been a six-game losing streak.

San Francisco blew the game open with 28 second quarter points, as Shaun Hill completed 15-of-20 passes for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He connected with Vernon Davis and Bryant Johnson for scores in the second quarter onslaught.

Frank Gore led the 49ers with 106 yards on 18 carries, while also scoring on runs of one and five yards. So, what was the difference between this week’s game and the meltdown in the final minutes of this past Monday’s game? Obviously it was Singletary’s five-point plan for success. For the most part, the 49ers were successful in nearly all areas of the plan, so, hip-hip-hurray for progress.Continue Reading

Nov 15th 2008 1:55PM by Adam Gretz (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, AZ Cardinals, NFC WestIn the hours following the Cardinals win over San Francisco on Monday night, we were all trying to figure out why the 49ers were running the ball from the three-yard line — with their backup running back — on the final play of the game.

At the time, it seemed like a perfectly legitimate question, and, naturally, 49ers offensive coordinator offered us a not-so-legitimate answer — it was the refs fault.

Former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan — who is always wearing his pants, by the way — wasn’t interested in hearing any of that nonsense. From :”It’s unfortunate the way it came down for them, but you really have no one to blame it on but yourself. You can’t start pointing fingers everyplace else. You have to be ready for that stuff because you do practice it, and the Niners do practice it. When it happens like that you’re going to take criticism as we all do.”No argument here.Continue Reading

Nov 12th 2008 12:55PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, AZ Cardinals, Bears, Chargers, Chiefs, Eagles, Giants, Packers, Titans, Vikings, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC West, NFL Referees

Lots of controversy this week surrounding the boys in stripes, whether warranted or not, so let’s jump right in …

Incident 1: Mike Martz says the Niners were “screwed every way possible” by the officials. Ah, I love a good example of lacking accountability. I’m sure it was the officials who told Martz to run the football on the previous play with around 10 seconds left and no timeouts. I mean, that’s the only way “every way possible” works as an accurate statement.Continue Reading

Nov 11th 2008 2:05PM by Adam Gretz (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC WestNow that the J.T. O’Sullivan experiment is, for the time being, over in San Francisco, the 49ers turned their offense over to Shaun Hill last night and, well, we’re still not exactly sure what happened. Basically, the 49ers are right back where they started — in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. Heck, forget franchise quarterback, they just need a quarterback.

If only they had taken a signal-caller with a No. 1 pick in recent years, somebody to help turn the franchise around and … oh. Right. Alex Smith. Yeah, about him …

Earlier this season, 49ers general manager Scott McCloughan made it clear that the only way Smith, the former No. 1 pick, would be a member of the team in 2009 is if he clearly, without a doubt, was the starting quarterback heading into the season.

Well, as it turns out, there’s another way he could find himself on the team: If he takes a pay cut. From John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle:Continue Reading

Nov 11th 2008 4:45PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, AZ Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Fans, NFL RefereesI’ll admit I watched the final play of the 49ers-Cardinals Monday Night Extravaganza in bewilderment — like the other 47 people who actually stayed up for the exciting conclusion.

And, like Gretz, I just assumed that Mike Singletary had turned off Mike Martz’s headset in the final two minutes. Which explained why the 49ers decided to break out the world’s slowest-developing running play with three ticks on the clock, no timeouts, and the game on the line.

Funny story: not only was Martz’s headset functioning, he’s also fully responsible for the dubious play call. One thing, though: he dialed up a running play the officials re-spotted the ball.

CBSSports.com’s Clark Judge had the enviable task of asking Martz about it:Continue Reading

Nov 10th 2008 8:15PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, AZ Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Fans
It’s the most exciting Monday Night Football game of the season — the 2-6 49ers travel to Arizona to square off against the division leading 5-3 Cardi– Nope, there’s absolutely no way to make this game sound interesting.

But because we’re professionals here at FanHouse, and more importantly, because there’s a slim chance Mike Singletary drops trou in the middle of the field to send a clear message to Vernon Davis that NOBODY IS BIGGER THAN THE TEAM (well, except pantsless coaches), we’ll be here to document the atrocities as they unfold in real time.

Plus, if the Cards get up by 50, there’s a small chance we’ll see Matt Leinart. So there’s that.

Either way, we’ll be here and YOU’RE INVITED! Fun starts at 8:15-ish.Continue Reading