Posted By: StonerLab (24/07/2008 3:56:52 PM)
Comment: Yes! Finally the last of the draftees signs. You have to commend the front office for yet again getting all the young players signed-sealed & delivered 6 years running. It's so important to get the young guys in from the get-go. Hopefully this is a great 1st step in a bunch of positive things to happen thru out TC. With the 1st day of TC starting tommorrow I'm soooo done about talking about the past. The past is just that...the past, this about the now & I look forward to seeing things change for the better. Let the hitting begin!

Posted By: papa (24/07/2008 2:07:26 PM)
Comment: Hi Matt: How long do you think Nolan coach's for Eddie D. ?

Posted By: IL Giacomo The Great (24/07/2008 12:54:14 PM)
Comment: That's not a bad price for Balmer if he's going to be a starter for the next 5 years. Although he'd probably try to renegotiate at about the 3 year mark if he's a baller...which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

Posted By: Indiana Jim (24/07/2008 12:40:24 PM)
Comment: Re: Mike Nolan's attitude - I hope last year's issues are more indicative of his grief and stress over the loss of his father, than an integral part of his character.

Posted By: Santa Rosa, CA (24/07/2008 12:14:01 PM)
Comment: Nolan did screw up the Smith thing, but I think he definitely has a long way to go as a head coach. He had no clue where start on helping the offense last year when it needed help. I thing Martz is going to be a big help here. Maybe even save his job since Nolan had us looking more like the Ravens then a 49er offense!

Posted By: NFL LINKS (24/07/2008 12:05:39 PM)
Comment: In doing my research for fantasy football, I've compiled a comprehensive list of links for all the local coverage for every team...so I can get closer to the action than just going over to espn.com. I have to say Matt, after reading all the other coverage your blog is not only far and away the best 49er blog, it's one of the best in the NFL. Keep up the good work!

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (24/07/2008 11:26:17 AM)
Comment: NJM: We've kinda discussed this before in the past. Nolan is a very stubborn person who wants "his" guys on the team. I agree with you completely that it is not a good situation when a player is afraid of the coach. There is a precedent of coaches calling out individual players in the press so that they perform better (the big tuna is a great example). Although it may have been a ploy to pull the team together and rally around Alex, I don't think Nolan is that sophisticated. Nolan has great rapport with players individually. If you watch him working with the players, he seems to interact well with them and they respect him. I am not confident that he has the finesse to be a head coach though. Because of Nolan's stubborness, players are afraid to come out on the other side, get in his doghouse and disappear. Nolan nutted the Smith thing from the start

Posted By: PDX Mike (24/07/2008 11:03:32 AM)
Comment: NJM- I was thinking the same thing. If that attitude in Nolan is accurate, it would also explain some of the play last year. The O-line especially appeared to focus on individual play as opposed to playing as a unit. That makes sense if Nolan makes it clear that backing your comrades is not a virtue and that players will be called out if they struggle. This is a team sport and the players need to be confident that others on their team have their backs.

Posted By: NJM (24/07/2008 10:49:38 AM)
Comment: Matt -- Just getting caught up now and hoping you might be willing to follow up on your post from yesterday when, in an answer about last year's Nolan-Smith saga, you wrote: "...I think a lot of Alex's teammates were terrified to publicly stick up for Alex because they feared the wrath of the head coach." As someone who has spent 25+ years around a number of great business leaders, it is unfathomable to me that the leader of a team would make subordinates afraid to rally around the single most important person necessary to assure the success of the organization. To me, Nolan's approach is sort of like the President of the United States under-cutting the Secretary of State before a critical trip to the Middle East for peace talks and making it clear to the rest of the administration that anyone backing this person will be punished... In Mike Nolan, I see a coach who continues to degrade the confidence of the only QB on the squad who had enough potential to consistently take his team to the playoffs over an extended period of time. I just don't get where he is coming from as a "leader" of men. Sorry for the long rant, but that was just a stunning comment you made, and I was wondering if you or anyone else had more thoughts about it. Would love to get more opinions on this.

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (24/07/2008 10:42:15 AM)
Comment: I was a little late in my prediction, but I knew that Parag was going to get it done! Seems a like a decent deal. I was thinking about the comment that Smith held on to it too long. While I agree that was a problem, I think that he was also following directions. The offensive scheme under pressure wasn't to dump the ball off or use a hot read system. He was instructed to hold onto it, let the OL and others shift to pick up the blitz and let the routes progress. So while he certainly was slow to get the ball out, at the same time I think he was trying to stick to the game plan.

Posted By: ninermaniac (24/07/2008 10:25:43 AM)
Comment: Alright! time to go sack happy! The first practice is on its way, but i hope they practice safe to allow the players to get back in the routine again.

Posted By: SonocoNinerFan (24/07/2008 10:00:45 AM)
Comment: Outstanding! Let's get it started in here!

Posted By: 49ER FOR LIFE (24/07/2008 9:55:04 AM)
Comment: ...I agress wholeheartedly Randy. I've watched the signings the last couple of years, but it still makes me nervous..

Posted By: Randy in Santa Rosa (24/07/2008 9:50:39 AM)
Comment: Right on! Not a bad deal either... Gotta give a lot of credit to Paraag & McNolan for getting our picks signed on time for camp the last few years... Something Donahue could rarely do.

Posted By: 49erJeff (24/07/2008 9:49:57 AM)
Comment: Glad to see the 49ers front office on top of things. Nothing like getting them rookies into camp late.

Posted By: oneniner (24/07/2008 9:47:46 AM)
Comment: First pick signs......yippeeee