*SIGH*
Man WTF? What. The. Fuck.
I want Hostler fired so bad, but a fourth Offensive Coordinator in 4 years isn't going to fix anything. Dilfer is not the answer. Smith isn't making any progress this year because of a combination of injuries, no confidence and learning a new OC. The line is the exact same group as last year, but they are facing "stop the run defenses" first, and with the combination of horrible play calling, KNOW that 3rd down is going to be a passing down almost every fucking time. And since Smith and Dilfer are playing so bad, kiss play action good bye, because opposing defenses aren't buying it or just aren't concerned because the Niners don't have a true #1 receiver and none playing with any kind of speed to get deep.
Gore, for the above mentioned reason, on top of injuries and the loss of his mom, is just having a terrible/mediocre season.
The defense isn't playing that bad, but I think they are really missing Lawson's speed on the outside for pass rushing and they need a true run stopping NOSE TACKLE, NOT a defensive tackle who is trying to play the position.
Special teams, AGAIN, has been the biggest bright spot, although Neadny is slowly losing range, and missed a game winner against Baltimore.
Vernon Davis is finally getting his game rolling, and Hostler is finally starting to use him.
So here is what they need to do this off season:
WIDE RECEIVER.
WIDE RECEIVER!.
WIDE RECEIVER!!. Draft 'em, trade for 'em, use Create a Player on Madden if they fucking have too. They NEED to get pressure off of Gore and give Smith some deep threats that he has confidence in. He has that with Battle, but he just doesn't have good speed and is much better suited trying to beat a Nickel CB or linebacker from the Slot, than a #1 or 2 CB.
NOSE TACKLE!! If they are going to insist on running the 3-4, they have to get a TRUE nose. 6'2" 350+ LBS and built like a barn. With, Steven Jackson, Edgerrin James and Shawn Alexander twice a year, they need it.
I would like them to pick up a few more CBs. Teams know that they can spread out the D and will have mismatches on the fourth and fifth receivers.
I hope they can make a play for Deangelo Hall, who I'm pretty sure is going to want out of Atlanta, but I don't know if they can, or want to, take the hit of having 2 80 million+ CBs. Although in the NFC West, and the receiver corps they play against, it would certainly be worth the money.
I am absolutely torn on the coaching staff.
I think Nolan is doing a good job. I like his attitude and still believe he is the right guy right now.
I'm pretty sure that Mike Singletary will be a head coach next year, which will be a huge loss for the line backing corp as well as Nolan.
The Defense, while they play well for Manusky, doesn't seem to apply enough pressure with their blitz packages, (This should get better with Lawson's return next year.) and I believe they will also suffer with the loss of Singletary. Manusky though is a bright spot.
Jim Hostler.
This guy, before he came to SF in 2005, was at the Kansas City Chiefs in 2000, the New Orleans Saints in 2001-02 and the New York Jets 2003-04. Not exactly the coaching tree I would want to get the second most important coach from.
The problem is, people thought that with Norv Turner at OC 2 years in a row, the Niners would make huge strides offensively and be at least a darkhorse playoff contender this year.
Then S.D. decided to fuck up TWO teams because, like a little kid, the GM didn't like Marty, so he fired a 14-2 coach that lost to the PATRIOTS (yeah, they aren't any good) in the playoffs. Let me restate that...
14 AND 2 and lost to a team that was two players away from probably going undefeated and winning a FOURTH SB in 7 years. This is a rant for another time though. The outcome? We lost our VERY good OC, and went on to a third in 3 seasons.
So now we have Hostler. The good news was that he wasn't changing the system. The bad news was that he wasn't Turner. However, the question is, will he be better next year? He hasn't shown any signs of progress so far this year. Then again, Mike McCarthy was absolute CRAP in his 1st and only year as OC here, and now he is 9-1 as a head coach and is assured a playoff spot and may even win the conference and get home field.
NEWS: Nolan says there will be NO changes on the coaching staff this year as far as anyone getting fired or demoted. Well, I guess I can stop bitching about that for a while...