1. Part of the 49ers problem with the Martz system has been the less than stellar play of the offensive line. When your offense is going to give up a lot of sacks anyways, a bad offensive line doesn’t help matters. However, I think JTO’s turnover problem was a combination of the Martz offense and JTO’s own bad judgment. A lot of his turnovers were not on deep bombs down field, but rather 10-20 yard passes where he either locked on his receiver or didn’t notice the safety coming in to make the pick.

JTO has the mobility to escape a collapsing pocket, but sometimes it’s better to throw the ball away. He seemed to hold on even longer than a Martz offense would.

2. This brings us to question 2. One of Hill’s strengths is his decisiveness. If the play is there to be made he’ll make the pass, otherwise he’ll throw the ball out of bounds or at the feet of a nearby running back. I do think we’ll see a toned down version of the offense in less big plays deep. However, I think this will create more consistency overall, which is something this offense desperately needs.

3. I think Martz has certainly improved the offense from last year, but seeing as they were at rock bottom, that might not be saying a lot. I think we’ve gotten everything we could expect from a Martz offense, both good and bad. I realize the truth behind you run when you’re winning (as opposed to winning because you’re running). However, the biggest disappointment has been the use of Frank Gore. I’m not worried about whether he rushes 25-30 times a game, but rather his overall touches. With Hill at the helm I think we’ll see more Frank Gore receptions because Hill is more willing to check down to him. The prototypical 49ers fan frustration might be the Eagles game when the 49ers were leading heading into the 4th quarter and basically abandoned Frank Gore. For those that recall the game, it did not end well.

From my limited knowledge of his system it seems like the plan most of the time is to stand in the pocket as long you can and heave the ball down field.

First of all, I’ll say that this idea sheds some light on the problem. The Martz offense isn’t actually about sitting in the pocket as long as possible. What it does involve is a strong focus on 5-7 step drops, which are longer developing plays and will give the appearance of sitting in the pocket as long as possible. The true key to the Martz offense, though, is precision. It’s not an ad lib style offense. The receivers have very specific routes and the quarterback has very specific reads. The plays are designed so that the quarterback will take his drop, make his reads, and release the ball. If your first read is there, you get rid of the ball early. If none of your reads are there, you throw the ball away. If you don’t throw the ball away, you get sacked. There is literally no wiggle room there. The offense is designed to give the quarterback just enough time to make his reads and release the ball. Anything that happens after that is not only not by design, it’s not really considered.

One thing that Martz has said again and again in some form is that if his receivers run their routes precisely and his quarterback makes his reads quickly, none of his plays should ever fail.

The problem with JTO in this offense was three-fold: 1) his reads were slow, 2) he tried to extend his plays, and 3) he completely failed to protect the football under every circumstance. You can see how these things all cause problems in the Martz offense. You can also see how the Martz offense causes problems for any quarterback who isn’t highly developed. Martz doesn’t help his players, but what really killed us was that JTO didn’t help himself. He could have tucked the ball to his chest when he scrambled. He could have thrown the ball away when he ran out of reads. He could have done any number of supremely obvious things in order to improve his production, and he didn’t do a single one.

I’ve heard that Singlatary wants to tone down the offense, but I also believe that the offense remains Martz’s above all. And because of that I would speculate that no changes will be coming. Adjustments aren’t made in the Martz system for personnel. The idea is supposed to be that any competent personnel can execute it. The main benefit with Hill is that he makes SIGNIFICANTLY faster reads than any quarterback we’ve had since Garcia. The second biggest benefit to Hill is that he protects the ball. Say what you will about his talent, but he’s been stingy with turnovers in limited his play. Those things are going to work heavily in his favor. What he lacks is arm strength and touch. He doesn’t have a very accurate arm and he doesn’t have a very strong arm, both things which work against him in a Martz offense. He’s also never been tested against a real defense, so we’ve actually never seen the real Shaun Hill.

It will be interesting.

1. To use some coach-speak, I actually think Hill gives the team the best chance to win right now. He doesn’t turn the ball over like O’Sullivan and he keeps the offense consistent. Going forward, one possible situation would be the 49ers drafting a QB in the 2009 draft, but rather than throwing him to the wolves, let Hill (or even Alex Smith if he comes back at a league minimum contract) be the man for 2009 and 2010. One could compare it to the Steve McNair development. He was drafted in 1995 and in the 95 and 96 seasons he made brief appearances and slowly developed before being handed the reigns in his 3rd season.

2. While Martz has a huge ego, he certainly seems to be taking the situation well. I’d imagine given the train wreck of a season, he might not be as disappointed in not getting the job. I believe he’s signed to a 2-year deal and if he sticks around through next year and the offense gets turned around he’ll get offers that might be more attractive. I think he’s enough of a professional to accept the situation. And Singletary getting promoted wasn’t a stunning decision (as opposed to moving up some other random assistant) because he was being groomed for a head coaching job.

3. As I mentioned in response to Charle

I think the firing of Nolan was the moment that the team threw in the towel for the year. Shaun Hill isn’t just damage control. He actually seems to be the better option. He’s almost certainly not a long-term solution right now, but he’s still young enough that you have to believe this is his chance to establish himself in that role. He doesn’t have the latent talent (hey, those two words use the same letters), and his chances are clearly slim from a pure scouting perspective, but if the team had been looking for nothing more than a pure damage-control stop-gap after JTO, you would be seeing Jamie Martin instead this week.

…from a fan of a team that had been shitty so long it had fossilized into a coprolite. So it’s meant in jest.

Oh, and Oakland is the one with nuts.

1. It’s certainly hard to tell what will get purged in the offseason. I remain convinced that the 49ers have a lot of talented football players on their team, but they’re just not bringing it all together. If the season continues like this I’d actually expect the biggest turnover to be among the coaches. If the defense doesn’t improve I don’t see how DC Greg Manusky returns. And if the 49ers go out and get a more veteran coach, I’d expect Martz to get axed as well.

As far as players though, if Delanie Walker can show some consistency, Vernon Davis could certainly find himself with a pink slip.

2. The fans certainly miss Eddie D, although one can argue the team went to hell after he left because of the shenanigans he and Policy pulled with the salary cap. One interesting note on that is that John and Denise York’s son Jed is officially becoming the face of the franchise (he introduced Singletary), and many people see a lot of Eddie in him in the way he acts and his mannerisms and whatnot. Eddie also happens to be his god-father.

As much crap as the York’s get, I really think they’ve improved as owners over the years. Mike Nolan was not a bad hire at the time, and the only real complaint might be that they waited too long to fire him. In the last couple years, they’ve opened the checkbook and stepped out of the way which is all you can ask of an owner.

3. They’re working on new uniforms that should debut in 2010 I think. Apparently they’ll include some more of a throwback look, although nothing has been released yet. I vote old school though.

4. I think it’s more likely that a stadium is built in Santa Clara than at Candlestick Point. Given the availability of CalTrain I don’t think it will be all that bad. All I ask is that they stay in the Bay Area. Whether it’s SF or the South Bay I don’t really care. Just don’t go to LA!

5. If he can show some improvement he could definitely be brought back in 2009. The next few weeks are going to be key for him. Like I said above, this Monday night game is a make or break for the season and might very well be for him as well. I do eagerly await his post-game comments after his first win. At the very least he’s brought a new kind of entertainment to the post-game.

6. At least the 49ers aren’t run by Al Davis. He’s running that team into the ground as he grows more and more senile. At least we know we don’t have a QB of the future. The Raiders have yet to realize Jamarcus Russell isn’t the answer.

will be a new head coach (if a big-name guy, he’ll bring his own men to replace the current staff), and maybe a FA defensive lineman. I think they’ll draft a QB and either stick with Shaun Hill or pick up a cheap free agent from this list (My vote would be Collins, and have the team adopt a Tennessee-type mindset of running first, and throwing when you have to).