Back to the Drawing Board

And I don't mean for next week. I mean for next season. It's become clear that the problems with this team start at the top. That's right. I'm turning my scope from Hostler to Nolan - and so are many others (Killion, Kawakami, Ostler). Going back to last season, this team has had 4 character-defining games and each time it has fallen absolutely flat on its face. Last year's losses to St. Louis, Arizona, and Green Bay and the debacle against Seattle this year all point to a team that is woefully unprepared and chokes under pressure.

To separate this from the typical "we-suck-fire-the-coach" reasoning, the new stadium initiative becomes a key reason why Nolan should not be with the team next year. He is building a boring team centered around a predictable offense whose primary goal is to avoid mistakes the defense cannot overcome. The top three teams in the NFL right now (New England, Indy, and Dallas) are all coached by defensive-minded coaches who have learned that a potent offense is key to putting your defense in a position to win. The Yorks will teach Nolan this lesson - or will find someone that has already learned it. If the 49ers' ownership is looking to push a stadium initiative - either in Santa Clara or San Francisco - it cannot reasonably expect a city to pony up the cash if the product on the field is averaging just over 10 points per game. People come to the park to watch the ball fly around, not inept ball control offenses. Changes may be minor or they may be wholesale. But a change is needed and Nolan has not indicated he has the stomach to make it. He has done a decent job of assembling some talent, but is too bull-headed and lacks the creativity required to take this team to the next level. I'm getting fed up and the rest of the fan base has to be getting there too. And we are the ones that buy the season tickets, jerseys, overpriced concessions, and watch this team so that it can charge ridiculous amounts for advertising so our anger means something.

Shooting for 7-9 every year is tiresome and this franchise is better than that. We are now in Year 8 of the post-Montana/Young era, all of which can be considered rebuilding years. I can accept rebuilding year. But not a rebuilding decade with no end in sight. I will never lose faith. But I have started to lose hope. This team is stuck in a labyrinth of crappiness. Whether it is the ownership, the GM, the coach, the talent level, the stadium...karma continues to haunt us. The idiotic "faithful" that blindly back the team are no better than a pack of retarded monkeys. There is not something rotten with this team; everything is rotten with this team. I see myself losing some perspective here, but fuck it. I'm pissed and I have goddam good reason to be.

There are still 9 games to be played in 2007. Saving Nolan's job should require going 5-4. This team has regressed to the same point it was at exactly a year ago (2-5). Last year that could be chalked up to learning. That excuse doesn't fly this year. Based on the atrocious play over the last 16 quarters, this season can already be labeled a disappointment. Expectations have gone from "10 wins and playoffs" (admittedly a little high) to "will we ever win again?" And that reminds me of the Erickson Era, which no one will tolerate.