I was on a 7:45 a.m. flight out of New Orleans this morning, so I was unable to get back in time for coach Mike Nolan's press conference.
* * *
Here are my articles for today's Press Democrat: "Lost in New Orleans" and "Deuce gets loose."
* * *
Here is a transcript of what I missed at Nolan's press conference (supplied by the 49ers' PR department):
* * *
Q: When you look back at some of the big plays that you seemed unable to unleash, was there a consistent theme to them?
Nolan: "The passes you're speaking of. Yeah, I think it was just mental errors, whether it be technique or obviously every defense has weaknesses, but they're always underneath. They're never vertical and so basically that's it - mental errors. Keeping the receivers in front of you."
Q: Is this offense too much of a high-risk offense, puts too many people out in pass patterns? Or were you confident that your offensive schemes were good enough to make sure to hold off that pass rush?
Nolan: "The offense is designed to use several different protections. I will say this: Sean Payton, one of the things he's done with his offense is try to make it very much like Mike Martz's in that he uses a lot of protections as well. I know Sean personally and he, in the past, has even said that's something that he tries to picture his offense about - the change of protections where you get players out. It's evident that New Orleans does the same thing. And at that point, obviously what it gets down to is doing your job. Protecting, and doing the right techniques and everybody being on the same page as far as the responsibilities go. Because everybody's got to be accounted for. Obviously, the running backs, as well as the offensive line, wide receivers, everybody has something to do with it. The quarterback has something to do with it. So it's not always on one position. I do believe that our offensive line can play better. But I also believe that as a total offense, more importantly, can do a better job as far as that goes. We turned the ball over a couple of times, which in our two losses has been a little bit of our m.o. But the beauty of the offense is it does put a lot of stress on a defense. As is evident, again, of the New Orleans Saints' offense. Our offense is very similar. Now they've been doing theirs longer than our guys have been doing ours, but at the same time you can see very often, as we've seen in the first month of football, that our offense has the ability to be pretty explosive. So in some cases you do take the good with the bad, but it's all philosophical as far as what you want to do. Do you want to just protect and stand in there a long time or do you want to get the ball out of there? As you noticed J.T. [O'Sullivan] throws a lot of balls very quickly as well to those slant routes and things like that that we get a lot of yardage out of. He could change the protection and sit in there for a very long time if he'd like and try to get one of the other routes. Or he could take advantage of what the defense is doing. Me being a defensive coach - they both create different problems. So it's just a matter of philosophical-what you want."
Q: When you had that confrontation with Vernon Davis, can you talk a little bit about what that was?
Nolan: "I have not spoken with Vernon since yesterday and I'd look for him to-"
Q: Did you talk to him on the sideline?
Nolan: "I did not talk to him on the sideline with the game going on. He's very emotional. He was excited at the time. I really don't know what transpired at the time, but he was right there in front of me and was really excited about whatever was going on so I pulled him aside. Because any player that's in that kind of mode, I don't think is best to stay on the field. At that time, I just called him off. Obviously I grabbed him. I said, 'Look, sit down. Sit down and calm down.' I turned my attention back to the game because we were on the field. But I have not had words with him since. But I will."
Q: Do you plan to?
Nolan: "Oh yeah. But I haven't gotten-I just want to see what-To be honest with you, I don't understand why he was so excited at the time. He just caught the ball. He had gotten up. I don't know if it was a play prior to that one, but I just know that he had a lot of emotion going on. He is an emotional player. I know that Pete Hoener has always spoken with him. Mike Martz spoke with him on the sideline. Like I said, it was more emotion than anything else."
Q: Did he get back in the game?
Nolan: "Yeah, he got back in the game. He did, but he didn't do anything. At the time I pulled him, it was about emotion, it wasn't about, he had said something or done something. Why I grabbed him, he was emotional."
Q: Do you sense a growing level of frustration with him?
Nolan: "I don't know if I'd call it frustration. He's a very emotional player. When he gets the ball, obviously every time he gets up, whether it's the first quarter or the fourth quarter, he's very excited and shows himself, but when you are losing I think anybody gets frustrated. When the game is like it was, I don't care what position you play. It was a little bit of frustration because you want to have leverage in a game. We didn't have leverage."
Q: How was his blocking, Vernon's blocking?
Nolan: "His pass protection was good. His run blocking a couple times, they slipped him. So is the case."
Q: Did you have to keep him in at some point because of the protection problems
Nolan: "Like I said, we mix up our protections quite a bit. So whether it's a six man protection or seven man protection without getting real technical with that, he's stays in on some of those and some of those he's out. It's just a matter of mixing up protections for the play. If you have a play-action pass, a lot of times you don't have a lot of receivers out on a play-action pass. Again, it's just a matter of mixing."
Q: So you're not contemplating any changes?
Nolan: "We've talked about some different things, but kind of what you said, we're kind of limited in what you can."
Q: Is Chilo [Rachal], for instance ready to step in?
Nolan: "Not today, but he's getting better and these last couple of games where he's been active for the game. He's gotten additional work in practice because of that, but at this point to put him in there because he's been a guard more for us than he is a tackle, so we're not in a spot to make any moves inside or outside because right now we've been pretty solid inside. Again there aren't a lot of options."
Q: How much did [Kentwan] Balmer play?
Nolan: "I didn't bring the numbers down here with me, but Kentwan is getting better, he's doing a good job. When we talk about him, it's been positive. He also does a nice job in the special teams area. He does a couple things for us there in field goal protection as well as kickoff return he does well, but on defense he's doing a good job. We do not hesitate to put him in the game."
Q: Do you think he is going to get more action?
Nolan: "I think as he goes along, sure. I'm going to guess he had a dozen, 16, maybe 20, maybe."
Q: The secondary had a tough time and I guess certainly that is related to the amount of time that Drew Brees had to throw. It just seemed like there were some plays, their receivers were a little bit more aggressive in getting to the ball. Do you see it that way? How did you assess your secondary's performance?
Nolan: "Well, you can call it what you want when you lose."
Q: Well, we are trying to kind of-
Nolan: "I know. The vertical passes are the ones that got us in trouble. They were, but if you don't see the big plays, then obviously you keep the ball in front of you and we played a pretty solid game in the secondary. But, the explosive plays that occurred, they did occur and they are inexcusable. You want to find out why they happened and like I told you, there are some mental lapses, mental errors. It wasn't like somebody got whipped on an all out blitz. Two weeks ago against Denver, Denver all out blitzed and [Robert] Meachem had a 70-yard gain down to the 5-yard line I think, but they have an all-out, zero, everybody's got their own guy, no matter what, no help at all. For ours, we didn't have that much time on those deep balls so there was a guy deep as well as the player itself should have stayed on top of the receiver. That's not just physical, as much as it is mental, keeping yourself out of harm's way so to speak. That's where those big ones get attention. Anything underneath, they are going to complete some balls underneath, obviously they are a good team. I thought we did some outstanding things defensively in the game as far as [Reggie] Bush goes, all those things. I'm even embarrassed to go to the positives. But, again it's about winning and losing so again, you ignore the positives sometimes when you lose the game. We need to address the things we did poorly, get them corrected and make sure we change the problem and still do the things we did well, well."
Q: In the third quarter, you challenged a reception by the Saints. Why did you challenge it?
Nolan: "You know what, I took my time on that too, that challenge, because I wanted to slow the game down. Obviously, it was a challenge that was, the significance of it wasn't a great deal. But, at the time I was thinking about burning a time out just to slow things down. So I just used a challenge instead. At the same time I looked, I thought he bobbled it, and when I looked up at the screen I saw that he didn't have complete control when he went to the ground, so I thought I might get it back. But to me, more than anything, I just wanted to slow things down. If you have the opportunity, because I've frequently have seen in the first few weeks, even on third down, I've called a timeout maybe once a game, and it's played to our advantage thus far this season. Where I think, 'Look it, I just want to get this situation just right so we can get off the field.' If there's a preceding play that gives me an opportunity just to challenge, because I don't lose anything, I'm going to lose a timeout either way. Something like that did it. But, otherwise, like I said, it was to gain time as much as anything. Just maybe I could win it and keep another challenge."
Q: Do you know how many times you've done that? Thrown a flag partly to slow the game down?
Nolan: "I think I did it against the Denver Broncos when we won two years ago - three years ago? Two years ago. It was the one where Walt Harris picked the ball up, and it wasn't on any of the film, and there was a fumble. They didn't rule a fumble. They kept looking at the film longer, and longer, and longer and next thing you know there was an angle that showed Walt picked the ball up, so they gave us the ball. It wasn't even a turnover. I mean, nobody had even thought the ball had been fumbled. As a matter of fact, they made a rule because of that, that if everyone stops playing, and they used that play as an example. If everyone stops playing, then they won't call it a fumble either. They'll just call it dead play. So that, that kind of caused them."
Q: If Manny Lawson can't play, who would play in his spot?
Nolan: "Parys Haralson is who backs him up. So, more than likely, it will be Parys. With the ability, possibly, to pull Tully [Banta-Cain] up. We'll see how it goes. It will not only affect the defense, but it will affect the special teams. So, right now that would be the likely move."
Q: There were times where J.T. O'Sullivan held on to the ball too long and he didn't sense the blind-side rush. What are the things he needs to do, specifically, at this point to overcome those things?
Nolan: "Well, I think it's clear to see when he plays, he moves the ball. You can see he's in command of what he's doing. He's very coachable. He takes what Mike [Martz], Ted [Tollner] and even myself, which I don't say that much about what he should do [on] certain things, to heart, and he listens very clearly. He tries to do it exactly like it's supposed to be done. I think he just needs to continue experience each game as it comes. As a football team, we have to secure the ball. He had a few turnovers in the game with the fumble that he got on the sack and then the other two [interceptions]. But, he does a lot of real good things. For us to be in that game and not be playing all that well like we were at the end there, right before we threw that interception at the goal line on the 10-yard-line, which would have made it 17-21. You know, we're right there knocking at the door. He just needs to continue playing. I've been encouraged by what he does. He encourages - when he's on the field, he does some things that give, I think, give everyone from the players to the fans and the coaches alike, gives us that feeling that we have a chance to score."
Q: Any line-up changes coming this week?
Nolan: "No, because we continue to mix everyone in. Now, somebody may appear like they're playing more because of the personnel usage and maybe we have more snaps, but every game goes that way. Like I said, Isaac Bruce catches no balls in the first one, catches them in the second game. Game plans have things that do that and who the defense takes away."
Q: I'm thinking more in the secondary. Will Dashon Goldson play more this week?
Nolan: "We'll have the same thing there. That's an experienced group. It was not - you know, what occurred at the beginning with the big plays was not a good thing. That has not been a recurring theme in the secondary, what happened."
Comments | Add Comment
Posted By: Max from BayArea (30/09/2008 8:53:43 PM)
Comment: Matt:
With all the problems of pass protection, is it feasible for Nolan to use more "tackle eligible" formations? I don't know at this stage if Raschel is skill enough to be put in as an extra lineman. Another big body might help some.
Posted By: oneniner (30/09/2008 8:07:44 PM)
Comment: Syoung75 .....yaaaaawwwn...dude, whatever the coaches are doing is not working!!!...we have been through this already last yr and the yr before.....did yu just say JTO has an accomplished resume ?.......let me guess palin is your last name....
Posted By: Syoung75 (30/09/2008 7:38:03 PM)
Comment: Although it has been awhile since I have posted on here I have been keeping close tabs on your editorials and the commentary that follows...I would like to say this, for the most part, there are SOME educated 49ers fans on this forum but a good portion of some of these bloggers are way out of touch with reality...some of these people who post on here actually think they know football and think they know MORE football than Mike Nolan and think they know more about personnel than our general manager...Gentlemen/ladies, I am not trying to be a jack ass, but this coaching staff has spent countless hours with this team through mini camps/OTA's/Training Camp and preseason, so I think we could all assume they know what kind of players they have, what they can or cannot do and what kind of personnel groupings they can put together to beat their opponents...all of this talk about Nolan's "sub package" and how it is terrible has no fact base...I bet the majority of the people who blog and gripe about this package on here does not even know the dynamic functions of how our defense aligns on our opponents when we see various formations, let alone how our players are failing in some of their responsibilities on gameday within that package...the scheme works when executed properly and the principles are applied but enough about the sub package talk...I would like to say one more thing, some of you are never satisfied...one week JTO is the king, this week he is a loser and people wonder about his ability...I think we should all be even keeled on this football team and just let it all work out-don't crown anyone too early and do not denounce any one too early but give nolan his due/credit, the guy has an accomplished resume and has been around alot of good football people and has also surrounded himself with a hell of a coaching staff, I would like to presume that their is not a finer group in the NFL, things will shape up
Posted By: 49erAli (30/09/2008 6:01:55 PM)
Comment: Hi Matt, Great job as always. It seemed to me that the Niners kept getting burned by having 1 or more safeties on a Saints' WR. Any idea why we didn't have a 3rd or 4th Cornerback on those plays rather than a 3rd safety? I didn't see much of Tarrell Brown this week even though he had a great game against the Lions. Could it be that the coaching staff made this adjustment due to the absense of Shantae Spencer and they don't have faith in the CB's behind him on the depth chart? Thanks.
Posted By: NJM (30/09/2008 5:09:52 PM)
Comment: Presumably, Manny Lawson cannot rush the passer. Presumably. But we know he's fast -- very fast. We also know he, much like Julian Peterson before him, has the skills to blanket most TEs and RBs in pass patterns. So here's the question: Why would you go with 5 DBs when you have a Round 1 talent like Lawson capable to covering non-WRs "and" adding extra beef near the line to help contain the run? Am I the only one confused by this? Would love to hear Nolan answer that one on "Loss Tuesday."
Posted By: Jackson (30/09/2008 1:55:50 PM)
Comment: Does anyone really buy the "trying to slow the game down" excuse for Nolan throwing the challenge flag on a 5 yard completion?
It was only the 3rd play of a drive and that would take some pretty quick thinking on his part...and when has Mike Nolan been accused of being a clever game-day operator?
Posted By: Raffaele (30/09/2008 12:53:31 PM)
Comment: Matt, I'd like your candid appraisal of the New Orleans game. I know you published your grades for the various aspects of the fiasco; now, after further thought and analysis, what are your conclusions? For example, if Nolan is the key to the previously-improved offense, as you wrote earlier, is he the key to the offense meltdown in New Orleans? Or was Martz lost? Where is the fault with defense--players or coaches, or both? I'd like to see your current thinking. Thanks.
Posted By: Cyrus (30/09/2008 12:20:24 AM)
Comment: JJ-- I just don't think that Nolan agrees. I believe he does not feel that timeouts are more valuable at the end of a game than they are at any other point, for the team to catch their breath on offense or defense. It would be interesting to see stats on what percentage of halfs in which the 49ers have >=2 TO left with 2 min to play in a half vs the league avg.
Posted By: mike in MD (29/09/2008 8:55:37 PM)
Comment: About that big sub. Everything Nolan puts his fingerprints on when it comes to coaching or interfering with someone else's game plans he contaminates. He can organize & recruit but he just can't coach. He might think he can but he's too damn CONSERVATIVE which is his downfall. I wish he'd just stay out of Manusky's way as well & keep his hands off!
Posted By: oneniner (29/09/2008 8:50:27 PM)
Comment: i blame the loss on JTO ...the game was 21-9 for a long time....it was about to be 21-17 before the roof came down on us. ...there is so much you can ask of your defense considering we were playing a pro-bowl qb.....if JTO could do a lil more like take advantage of the agressive pass rush, steve, garcia did this well......mcnabb, romo, eli etc do it well........JTO collapses under pressure, he doesn't make something out of nothing......Alex Smith knows how to do this!
Posted By: LodiGrapePicker (29/09/2008 8:44:34 PM)
Comment: Nolan needs to go into politics. He says a lot while saying nothing. Why doesn't he just come out and say his players were out-coached, and the Saints were a better prepared team? The next game sure will be exciting...NOT!
Posted By: mike in MD (29/09/2008 8:34:53 PM)
Comment: hey Reno that was hilarious but true! LOL's Sometimes JTO tries to go for too much instead of hitting the open receiver right away. He's got to re-program himself when facing these killer DLines & blitzers coming up. No doubt some of that was on him but he was running for his life in that game & to his credit re-composed himself & still put together some solid drives for us. If he could have converted those end zone TO's for TD's we easily would have been in that game. I think he's making good progress under the circumstances of our OL. His next lesson that Martz should be coaching him up on: Cutting down the TO's IN THE RED ZONE & being much more careful here. Might want go to more safer shorter quicker passes & of course don't forget to use Gore. One thing I've noticed he's been successful connecting on some hot reads which is great but has he ever audibled to a run play? He could use that & switch to a draw play if he reads blitz coming wide from the edges.
Posted By: Jeff (29/09/2008 8:25:25 PM)
Comment: Matt, can you tell me why, in your opinion, Sopoaga isn't being moved to the NT position? Franklin continues to get dominated almost every time he's on the field. With DE's like J. Smith and McDonald, why not take Franklin out? Soap seemed to be making progress at the NT position when he was at it in the past.
Posted By: jj (29/09/2008 7:58:07 PM)
Comment: time outs in the 2nd half are extremely valuable. That is some horrible logic on his part.
Posted By: Macro from Stockton (29/09/2008 7:43:08 PM)
Comment: So Nolan is actually saying that Management, Paraag Marathe, is calling down whether to challenged plays? LOL! You have to be kidding! I can just see Jeddie yelling "Marathe Marathe thrown the Red Flag, NOW!!" That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard! BTW his experinence? "Prior to joining the 49ers, Marathe worked at management consulting firm Bain & Company from 1999-01 as a Senior Associate Consultant, where he advised clients in a variety of industries including private equity, venture capital, software, retail, sports footwear and health clubs. Before that, Marathe worked in the corporate consulting group at the International Management Group (IMG) from 1997-99, where he concentrated primarily on stadium naming rights deals and corporate sponsorships" A Bean Counter LOL!
Posted By: Reno Roy (29/09/2008 7:15:19 PM)
Comment: It's time to SINK THE SUB. I favor an underwater nuclear weapon. Blast it into the next dimension, never to raise it's ugly, 'bend, don't break' philosophy again! The sub is the equivalent of the end game 'prevent defense' that is aptly scorned the 'PREVENT VICTORY' defense. Haven't any of our coaches looked at the last Super Bowl? The way you keep a passing game under control is to put the quarterback on his anal substrate (that's a.s.s. for short) . The defense should have two objectives: (1) Stop the run and (2) NAIL THE QB EARLY AND OFTEN! If we lose, at least lose being AGGRESSIVE! This old crap of letting teams carve us like a Christmas goose is unacceptable and unwatchable! Damn it Nolan, quit trying to out-scheme people and turn it loose! Show some brass ones for Christ's sake. Even if the 9ers lose, at least we fans could take some pride in seeing an aggressive, prideful defense going all out. And another thing. What the heck is O'Sullivan waiting for? THROW THE DAMN BALL!!!! You don't have time to wait! THROW IT! Quit staring down field! THROW IT!! Oh, one more thing. THROW IT NOW!! Thank you and good night. Oh and one more thought. THROW IT NOW YOU #!%&@#$#@%!!!!!
Posted By: jp (29/09/2008 7:02:48 PM)
Comment: you have to remember the team is what its all about if you ever disliked some one on a team it doesnt matter its how thay work together all that is put aside for one reason and thats to win after the game hate all you want just dont bring it to the field.
Posted By: Scott Penrose (29/09/2008 6:54:39 PM)
Comment: Why is it that everyone else (fans, beat writers, coaches, players, opposing coaches, etc.) know that the "Big Sub" package does not work, except Nolan. One of Nolan's biggest faults is that he does not know when to change something for the betterment of the team. There is no point to have more db's on the field when you can not get to the passer bottom line. Why the hell does Nolan not know that, especially coming from places like baltimore. It is just ridiculous. He cannot change something when everyone else knows it is not working. For some reason he clings to one scheme or person (T. Dilfer) even though it just does not work. We could have been realistically 8-8 last year if we beat the rams, falcons, and baltimore, but know he had to stick with dilfer and divine intervention came in to at least give the team a chance to win. Hill at least made the offense more feasible with a 5-1 td to int ratio, and he was able to move the ball down the field. Why does Nolan have to be stuck in his ways. That is his biggest fault and if he wants to be successful in this league he will have to change that.
Posted By: RednGold (29/09/2008 6:51:18 PM)
Comment: Barry Sims gave Charle Grant film highlights for his career. At some point, Grant tossed Sims on the ground like a kid. We need to think a about plan B, if Sims fails gain. I also think we should activate Tully Banta-Cain for the Pat game. (The pass rush sucks any way and we have nothing to loose). May be playing against his former team, TCB will get another motivation to redeem himself.
Posted By: Jake (29/09/2008 6:36:27 PM)
Comment: Nolan is a Fool, he doesn't understand how to manage on Gameday. Does he ever understand a situation???? The 49ers should win these next two games at home, New England and Philly aren't that good. New England is old and got throttle at home by Miami and Philly has a QB who puts up great fantasy numbers but has never won anything and struggled in Chicago against an okay Bears team. Both teams have to fly across countr to play these two games. The time is NOW for Nolan, win these 2 games and prove you have made strides or get the HELL out of TOWN! The setup is perfect, two struggling East Coast teams back to back at home with a chance to get to 4-2 and really arrive. If it doesn't happen it NEVER will HAPPEN under Nolan. Enough of the BS, prove your worth!
Posted By: bummer (29/09/2008 5:40:27 PM)
Comment: oneniner- you're so right! we need a qb that brings more to the table. like some damn bbq! if only we had that someone on our roster, a young and talented qb that could take over and that everyone already had a jersey of...hrmm...oh wait, no, not alex, i mean Sean. =)
Posted By: Coop (29/09/2008 5:18:12 PM)
Comment: Does anyone else notice that Nolan makes excuses or downplays the mistakes of players he likes (e.g. O'Sullivan's turnovers), but is extremely blunt concerning players he presumably dislikes (e.g. Alex Smith's play last year after being injured). Nolan seems rather childish regarding whom he chooses to praise versus scorn.
Posted By: SactoBob (29/09/2008 5:16:46 PM)
Comment: Nolan's excuse for that challenge is one of the silliest things he's said. He should have gone with, "Larry Allen told me to."
Posted By: THA GRINCH (29/09/2008 5:02:14 PM)
Comment: Is it just me or has being a Niner fan the last four years been like the movie "groundhog day"?
Keep watching the same team lose the same way and then getting the same speech from the coach..Very weird would someone please pinch me?
Dont worry about JTO..You cant wright this guy off after one game.Hes still better than anything weve had since Garcia.Dont over react.Hell probably light the Pats up next week.
Posted By: Jed (29/09/2008 4:41:03 PM)
Comment: At least Vernon is a starter. Bravo. More than we can say about A.Smith, Baas, Lawson, Br.Williams, J.Hill, Balmer, Rachal, R.Smith. How many Day 1 picks are busts or undeveloped? "From the standpoint of throwing darts at a board and letting players figure it out on their own, we're very pleased." Anyone see Jeff Fisher and the Titans whining about Vince Young, Pacman, bad WRs, or free agent money?
Posted By: Cyrus (29/09/2008 4:36:11 PM)
Comment: What did you warn us of Barlow? That you can't spell your name correctly?
Posted By: Simran (29/09/2008 4:17:42 PM)
Comment: Matt, where is Eric Johnson these days? I thought he was on the Saints and now I don't see him anywhere on an NFL roster. Is he injured?
Posted By: oneniner (29/09/2008 3:55:21 PM)
Comment: "He tries to do it exactly like it's supposed to be done." -- ....Coach we need a QB that does it exactly like it's suppose to be done but in his own signature way.....I felt M. Martz was our QB on sunday, we need a QB that can bring more to the table.....
Posted By: A to the F (29/09/2008 3:39:05 PM)
Comment: Gosh I hate Nolan. He's so mealymouthed, its pathetic and his cluelessness as to what's going on on offense is just sad. The simple fact of the game was that the defense was outcoached, and the Big Sub is the reason why. We can't get any pressure on the QB, we can't stop the run, and they still complete big receptions. How about a blitzing 3-4 scheme? I mean, isn't that what we're supposed to be running anyhow???
Posted By: steveh (29/09/2008 3:22:29 PM)
Comment: its ok you wouldn't of ask him anything important anyway.
Posted By: Berger (29/09/2008 3:22:03 PM)
Comment: IMO, the biggest change the 49ers could make going forward is to send more pressure at the QB. A QB can't throw a ball 40 yards down the field if he is on his back.
Posted By: Kevin Barlow (29/09/2008 3:13:52 PM)
Comment: I WARNED ALL OF YOU.
Posted By: SF49ersNC (29/09/2008 3:11:36 PM)
Comment: "We'll have the same thing there. That's an experienced group. It was not - you know, what occurred at the beginning with the big plays was not a good thing. That has not been a recurring theme in the secondary, what happened."
UMMMMM----- I think I do not know how to be a coach. Will someone fire me?
Posted By: Houston 9er (29/09/2008 3:08:23 PM)
Comment: Matt, it's conceivable, maybe even likely, that the 9ers will be 2-6 going into the bye week. Do you think Nolan will be fired in the bye week if the team is 2-6?
Posted By: Marco from Stockton (29/09/2008 3:04:25 PM)
Comment: At least the chow was good Matt! Heard you on KNBR. Pats after a bye week for them. Let's see of Matt Cassel is better after two weeks to prepare? Quite a test for our O Line this week! Who knows what Belichick might do? He has always beaten Martz by dropping more dbacks in formation but he might blitz more against JTO. It is will be interesting to see what the stragety is.
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