Jimmy Raye Did Not Give Alex Smith and 49ers a Chance to Win

The San Francisco 49ers battled the Indianapolis Colts and lost 18-14. The problem is the 49ers should have won this game and now the label of ” over-hyped” is going to be said of the 49ers.

It’s true, though, the 49ers were over-hyped after the team started out 3-0. Another sad part is the fact that the 49ers still have control of the division, but with Arizona improving offensively and defensively, the season is now all but over.

The game against the Colts was a must win. The 49ers defensive game plan was perfect and when a team holds the Colts to four field goals and a touchdown, the defense did a great job.

But the sad part is the offense could not match the defense. It’s amazing the Colts didn’t blow the 49ers out of the game because of how much time the 49ers defense was out on the field.

I believe it’s time for the media to start questioning the hiring of Jimmy Raye as offensive coordinator. Raye should have been brought in as a coordinator maybe as a coach of a specific area, but definitely not a coordinator.

Raye is proving why after another truly pathetic showing by the 49ers offense.

Frank Gore started it off early for the 49ers giving them a 7-0 lead on a 64 yard touchdown run.

Then there was the drive towards the end of the half that went for 89 yards in about a minute and a half. Smith was impressive on the drive, but it showed what the 49ers have to do with Smith to be successful because of how weak the offensive line is.

Put Smith in the shotgun and let him survey the field. When he has enough time to throw he can make those nice plays that 49ers fans saw in Houston and on that drive just before half time.

I have a hard time understanding why Raye didn’t spread the Colts defense out and allow Smith to make plays while from the shotgun.

I also think it’s time to call out Raye for not utilizing Vernon Davis more. Today he had three catches for 20 yards and one went for a touchdown.

Michael Crabtree continues to impress with his great hands, but he also made a rookie mistake by not taking care of the ball and on that turnover that helped the Colts have a short field and that ended up being the game winning drive for the Colts who scored their only touchdown of the game.

Let’s look at just how bad the 49ers offense was. Besides the two drives I mentioned that led to the 14 points, this is what the 49ers offense did.

The 49ers had 45 plays for 134 yards.

That’s an average of three yards per play! That’s unacceptable.

I do realize that two of the drives ended in turnovers, an interception off a tipped ball by Crabtree and a fumble by Crabtree as I mentioned before.

As for the scoring drives, it went for nine plays for 189 yards.  

In fact, punter Andy Lee was undoubtedly the player of the game for the 49ers. He punted eight times for an average of 50 yards per kick and half of the kicks ended inside the 20-yard line.

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Memo to Mike Singletary: Alex Smith Should Be Named Starter

Mike Singletary has been put into the same position as he did last year when he had a decision to make on who was going to be starter. Last year, it was Shaun Hill or J.T. O’Sullivan.

Hill eventually got the nod as starter after O’Sullivan continued to turn the ball over, and Hill has done a solid job since he has taken over as starter, but this season has been a little different for Hill.

Hill is not turning the ball over like the aforementioned O’Sullivan, but what is causing him problems is that teams are putting a lot of pressure on him to throw the football because the teams are stopping the running game of the 49ers.

Which leads to the problem Hill has currently faced is when the 49ers are going to pass the offensive line can’t hold and Hill get sacked.

Hill is not that mobile, so even if he eludes the first pass rusher, he doesn’t really have the ability to get rid of the second or third pass rusher.

Alex Smith, on the other hand, is more mobile. He can make plays with his feet and even if there’s pressure around him, he can still either throw the ball away or make the play with his feet.

Smith showed this today by throwing for three touchdowns in the second half against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately for the 49ers, even though the Texans were only able to muster three points in the half, it still wasn’t enough for the 49ers to win the game.

Yes, Smith did throw an interception with just over 30 seconds left in the game and the 49ers in position to at least attempt a game tying field goal, but stupid penalties also hurt the 49ers in the game as well.

Also, Arnaz Battle deserves some blame for trying to field a punt in the sun as well.

I believe that Smith gives the 49ers the best shot at winning games because of his ability to escape, and team’s have to respect his feet, otherwise he’ll run and get positive yardage.

There was the case in which Smith went back to pass got away from a defender and ran up field for 10 yards and ran out of bounds. Hill maybe able to do that once in awhile, but Smith can do it on any play.

It also looks like that with Smith at quarterback the 49ers were able to open the playbook a little bit more and the 49ers did something that they should have been doing all year.

The 49ers utilized their playmakers in the passing game, meaning hitting Vernon Davis over the middle going to Michael Crabtree after making nice moves to get to a spot on the field where he needed to be for the first down.

Josh Morgan did the same thing he found a spot in the part of the field where he was wide open and was able to take it for a 12 yard gain even though the ball wasn’t thrown very far.

In the first half, Crabtree had two catches for 22 yards. In the second, he had three catches for 34 yards. He also had a 22-yard gain negated in the second half because of Morgan was not lined up properly.

Even more impressive though was the rhythm that Smith and Davis had. In the first half, Davis caught one pass for six yards. In the second half he caught six passes for 87 yards and three touchdowns.

So, at this time Singletary has a decision to make after back to back poor showings by Hill and that is should the 49ers start Smith?

The answer at this point if you look at all the positive things that Smith did against the Texans the answer is very simple and that is Smith needs to start.  

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Memo to Mike Singletary: Alex Smith Should Be Named Starter

Mike Singletary has been put into the same position as he did last year when he had a decision to make on who was going to be starter. Last year, it was Shaun Hill or J.T. O’Sullivan.

Hill eventually got the nod as starter after O’Sullivan continued to turn the ball over, and Hill has done a solid job since he has taken over as starter, but this season has been a little different for Hill.

Hill is not turning the ball over like the aforementioned O’Sullivan, but what is causing him problems is that teams are putting a lot of pressure on him to throw the football because the teams are stopping the running game of the 49ers.

Which leads to the problem Hill has currently faced is when the 49ers are going to pass the offensive line can’t hold and Hill get sacked.

Hill is not that mobile, so even if he eludes the first pass rusher, he doesn’t really have the ability to get rid of the second or third pass rusher.

Alex Smith, on the other hand, is more mobile. He can make plays with his feet and even if there’s pressure around him, he can still either throw the ball away or make the play with his feet.

Smith showed this today by throwing for three touchdowns in the second half against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately for the 49ers, even though the Texans were only able to muster three points in the half, it still wasn’t enough for the 49ers to win the game.

Yes, Smith did throw an interception with just over 30 seconds left in the game and the 49ers in position to at least attempt a game tying field goal, but stupid penalties also hurt the 49ers in the game as well.

Also, Arnaz Battle deserves some blame for trying to field a punt in the sun as well.

I believe that Smith gives the 49ers the best shot at winning games because of his ability to escape, and team’s have to respect his feet, otherwise he’ll run and get positive yardage.

There was the case in which Smith went back to pass got away from a defender and ran up field for 10 yards and ran out of bounds. Hill maybe able to do that once in awhile, but Smith can do it on any play.

It also looks like that with Smith at quarterback the 49ers were able to open the playbook a little bit more and the 49ers did something that they should have been doing all year.

The 49ers utilized their playmakers in the passing game, meaning hitting Vernon Davis over the middle going to Michael Crabtree after making nice moves to get to a spot on the field where he needed to be for the first down.

Josh Morgan did the same thing he found a spot in the part of the field where he was wide open and was able to take it for a 12 yard gain even though the ball wasn’t thrown very far.

In the first half, Crabtree had two catches for 22 yards. In the second, he had three catches for 34 yards. He also had a 22-yard gain negated in the second half because of Morgan was not lined up properly.

Even more impressive though was the rhythm that Smith and Davis had. In the first half, Davis caught one pass for six yards. In the second half he caught six passes for 87 yards and three touchdowns.

So, at this time Singletary has a decision to make after back to back poor showings by Hill and that is should the 49ers start Smith?

The answer at this point if you look at all the positive things that Smith did against the Texans the answer is very simple and that is Smith needs to start.  

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Memo to Mike Singletary: Alex Smith Should Be Named Starter

Mike Singletary has been put into the same position as he did last year when he had a decision to make on who was going to be starter. Last year, it was Shaun Hill or J.T. O’Sullivan.

Hill eventually got the nod as starter after O’Sullivan continued to turn the ball over, and Hill has done a solid job since he has taken over as starter, but this season has been a little different for Hill.

Hill is not turning the ball over like the aforementioned O’Sullivan, but what is causing him problems is that teams are putting a lot of pressure on him to throw the football because the teams are stopping the running game of the 49ers.

Which leads to the problem Hill has currently faced is when the 49ers are going to pass the offensive line can’t hold and Hill get sacked.

Hill is not that mobile, so even if he eludes the first pass rusher, he doesn’t really have the ability to get rid of the second or third pass rusher.

Alex Smith, on the other hand, is more mobile. He can make plays with his feet and even if there’s pressure around him, he can still either throw the ball away or make the play with his feet.

Smith showed this today by throwing for three touchdowns in the second half against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately for the 49ers, even though the Texans were only able to muster three points in the half, it still wasn’t enough for the 49ers to win the game.

Yes, Smith did throw an interception with just over 30 seconds left in the game and the 49ers in position to at least attempt a game tying field goal, but stupid penalties also hurt the 49ers in the game as well.

Also, Arnaz Battle deserves some blame for trying to field a punt in the sun as well.

I believe that Smith gives the 49ers the best shot at winning games because of his ability to escape, and team’s have to respect his feet, otherwise he’ll run and get positive yardage.

There was the case in which Smith went back to pass got away from a defender and ran up field for 10 yards and ran out of bounds. Hill maybe able to do that once in awhile, but Smith can do it on any play.

It also looks like that with Smith at quarterback the 49ers were able to open the playbook a little bit more and the 49ers did something that they should have been doing all year.

The 49ers utilized their playmakers in the passing game, meaning hitting Vernon Davis over the middle going to Michael Crabtree after making nice moves to get to a spot on the field where he needed to be for the first down.

Josh Morgan did the same thing he found a spot in the part of the field where he was wide open and was able to take it for a 12 yard gain even though the ball wasn’t thrown very far.

In the first half, Crabtree had two catches for 22 yards. In the second, he had three catches for 34 yards. He also had a 22-yard gain negated in the second half because of Morgan was not lined up properly.

Even more impressive though was the rhythm that Smith and Davis had. In the first half, Davis caught one pass for six yards. In the second half he caught six passes for 87 yards and three touchdowns.

So, at this time Singletary has a decision to make after back to back poor showings by Hill and that is should the 49ers start Smith?

The answer at this point if you look at all the positive things that Smith did against the Texans the answer is very simple and that is Smith needs to start.  

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Question to Mike Singletary: Why Was Jimmy Raye Brought In?

There are plenty of words to describe the concept of Jimmy Raye’s offense and none of them are positive words. Which also begs the question: why did Mike Singletary bring Raye in as offensive coordinator?

As the picture suggests, Raye is not a young coordinator; he’s been around awhile. The possibility is that Raye was brought in because of his experience and not necessarily the results he has created most recent. Raye is 63 years old.

Most fans know that when someone gets older, they are set in their ways and are more than likely not going to change the way they think. Well, Raye’s inability to change and use his better players is hurting the 49ers.

When opposing teams don’t have to put an extra guy in the box to stop the run and the 49ers still cannot run the football, it’s time for a different approach in the calling of plays.

It doesn’t mean call the same play over and over again and hope one or two plays becomes big yardage.

The offensive line for one isn’t good enough to do that and it’s been in shambles for years.

Shaun Hill doesn’t get that much time in the pocket because of that, so when the running game isn’t working, teams gear up for the 49ers to pass and send their pass rusher who can easily get to Hill.

What’s also sad about the hire is the fact that thanks to Raye’s age he’s not going to be around for very long. Meaning that it’s a good possibility in the next few years the 49ers will be hiring their eighth offensive coordinator within 10 years!

Again, it goes back to the question what was Singletary thinking with the hire?

Let’s take a look at the last coordinator job Raye had, which was for 2004 and 2005 with the Oakland Raiders. For the 2004 season the Raiders went 5-11, and in 2005 the Raiders went 4-12.

It doesn’t look good on a resume if the team you’ve last coordinated for goes 9-23 in two years. When looking at the Raiders offensive rating in those seasons, the rushing attack was dead last in 2004 in attempts and yards.

Passing-wise the Raiders were fourth in attempts, eighth in yards, and 11th in touchdowns. The issue was it’s the same thing that the 49ers are looking at now.

The Raiders would get down early in games and be forced to throw the football because looking further into the rankings, the Raiders ranked 28th in interceptions thrown.

In total, the Raiders ranked 18th in points, 17th in yards, and 24th in first downs.

In 2005, though, Oakland got worse for points. The Raiders dropped to 23rd, yards down to 21st, and only got better in first downs, which went from 24th to 18th.

Rushing-wise the Raiders were 31st in carries, 29th in yards, and 17th in rushing touchdowns. In terms of passing sixth in attempts, 10th in yards, and ninth in interceptions.

Again, that was his most recent coordinator position. Most recently he’s been a coach for a specific position. From 2006-2008 he was the running back coach for the New York Jets.

In terms of coordinator positions before he came to the Raiders, it was one year in Washington in 2001. It’s also not a huge wonder why Raye only lasted a year in Washington, either, although the team went 8-8.

The Redskins for the year were ranked 28th in points, 28th in total yards, 29th in first downs. Rushing-wise, the team fourth in attempts, eighth in yards, and 20th in touchdowns. Passing-wise, the Redskins ranked 30th in attempts, 28th in touchdowns, and sixth in interceptions.

For Raye’s offense, that looks more similar to the offensive philosophy the 49ers have this year. Run the football as much as possible, but again the Redskins also weren’t a high-flying offense, either, averaging 16 points per game for the year. 

Furthermore, you can make similar comparisons to the teams. With the Redskins, the team had at running back Stephen Davis and 49ers, of course, have Frank Gore.

At receiver, the Redskins had Michael Westbrook and Rod Gardner, and the 49ers have Vernon Davis and well now Michael Crabtree.

At the quarterback position for the Redskins it was journeyman Tony Banks and for the 49ers it was journeyman Shaun Hill leading the charge, although Alex Smith has come in today to replace the ineffective Hill.

Well the answer to the question why did Singletary hire him? There really isn’t a good answer for it. As you can see, the offenses that Raye has been the coordinator for have been less than impressive in his most recent stints.

I would have been much more inclined to say hiring Raye as running backs coach, tight end coach, or even wide receiver coach would have been a better move!

Even though Raye is not the best man for the offensive coordinator position for the 49ers, as fans we’re going to have to learn to deal with it because Singletary has the man he wants.

Lastly, here’s the big thing if the 49ers can get a quarterback who can keep defenses honest and not turn the ball over.

The 49ers will be fine because then the team’s can’t just look to stop the run and most of that has to do with the development of the two young wide receivers, Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan.

Then the 49ers offense could definitely be very special, because Vernon Davis is not only an outstanding blocking tight end he’s becoming a tremendous receiver as well!

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Question to Mike Singletary: Why Was Jimmy Raye Brought In?

There are plenty of words to describe the concept of Jimmy Raye’s offense and none of them are positive words. Which also begs the question: why did Mike Singletary bring Raye in as offensive coordinator?

As the picture suggests, Raye is not a young coordinator; he’s been around awhile. The possibility is that Raye was brought in because of his experience and not necessarily the results he has created most recent. Raye is 63 years old.

Most fans know that when someone gets older, they are set in their ways and are more than likely not going to change the way they think. Well, Raye’s inability to change and use his better players is hurting the 49ers.

When opposing teams don’t have to put an extra guy in the box to stop the run and the 49ers still cannot run the football, it’s time for a different approach in the calling of plays.

It doesn’t mean call the same play over and over again and hope one or two plays becomes big yardage.

The offensive line for one isn’t good enough to do that and it’s been in shambles for years.

Shaun Hill doesn’t get that much time in the pocket because of that, so when the running game isn’t working, teams gear up for the 49ers to pass and send their pass rusher who can easily get to Hill.

What’s also sad about the hire is the fact that thanks to Raye’s age he’s not going to be around for very long. Meaning that it’s a good possibility in the next few years the 49ers will be hiring their eighth offensive coordinator within 10 years!

Again, it goes back to the question what was Singletary thinking with the hire?

Let’s take a look at the last coordinator job Raye had, which was for 2004 and 2005 with the Oakland Raiders. For the 2004 season the Raiders went 5-11, and in 2005 the Raiders went 4-12.

It doesn’t look good on a resume if the team you’ve last coordinated for goes 9-23 in two years. When looking at the Raiders offensive rating in those seasons, the rushing attack was dead last in 2004 in attempts and yards.

Passing-wise the Raiders were fourth in attempts, eighth in yards, and 11th in touchdowns. The issue was it’s the same thing that the 49ers are looking at now.

The Raiders would get down early in games and be forced to throw the football because looking further into the rankings, the Raiders ranked 28th in interceptions thrown.

In total, the Raiders ranked 18th in points, 17th in yards, and 24th in first downs.

In 2005, though, Oakland got worse for points. The Raiders dropped to 23rd, yards down to 21st, and only got better in first downs, which went from 24th to 18th.

Rushing-wise the Raiders were 31st in carries, 29th in yards, and 17th in rushing touchdowns. In terms of passing sixth in attempts, 10th in yards, and ninth in interceptions.

Again, that was his most recent coordinator position. Most recently he’s been a coach for a specific position. From 2006-2008 he was the running back coach for the New York Jets.

In terms of coordinator positions before he came to the Raiders, it was one year in Washington in 2001. It’s also not a huge wonder why Raye only lasted a year in Washington, either, although the team went 8-8.

The Redskins for the year were ranked 28th in points, 28th in total yards, 29th in first downs. Rushing-wise, the team fourth in attempts, eighth in yards, and 20th in touchdowns. Passing-wise, the Redskins ranked 30th in attempts, 28th in touchdowns, and sixth in interceptions.

For Raye’s offense, that looks more similar to the offensive philosophy the 49ers have this year. Run the football as much as possible, but again the Redskins also weren’t a high-flying offense, either, averaging 16 points per game for the year. 

Furthermore, you can make similar comparisons to the teams. With the Redskins, the team had at running back Stephen Davis and 49ers, of course, have Frank Gore.

At receiver, the Redskins had Michael Westbrook and Rod Gardner, and the 49ers have Vernon Davis and well now Michael Crabtree.

At the quarterback position for the Redskins it was journeyman Tony Banks and for the 49ers it was journeyman Shaun Hill leading the charge, although Alex Smith has come in today to replace the ineffective Hill.

Well the answer to the question why did Singletary hire him? There really isn’t a good answer for it. As you can see, the offenses that Raye has been the coordinator for have been less than impressive in his most recent stints.

I would have been much more inclined to say hiring Raye as running backs coach, tight end coach, or even wide receiver coach would have been a better move!

Even though Raye is not the best man for the offensive coordinator position for the 49ers, as fans we’re going to have to learn to deal with it because Singletary has the man he wants.

Lastly, here’s the big thing if the 49ers can get a quarterback who can keep defenses honest and not turn the ball over.

The 49ers will be fine because then the team’s can’t just look to stop the run and most of that has to do with the development of the two young wide receivers, Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan.

Then the 49ers offense could definitely be very special, because Vernon Davis is not only an outstanding blocking tight end he’s becoming a tremendous receiver as well!

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Question to Mike Singletary: Why Was Jimmy Raye Brought In?

There are plenty of words to describe the concept of Jimmy Raye’s offense and none of them are positive words. Which also begs the question: why did Mike Singletary bring Raye in as offensive coordinator?

As the picture suggests, Raye is not a young coordinator; he’s been around awhile. The possibility is that Raye was brought in because of his experience and not necessarily the results he has created most recent. Raye is 63 years old.

Most fans know that when someone gets older, they are set in their ways and are more than likely not going to change the way they think. Well, Raye’s inability to change and use his better players is hurting the 49ers.

When opposing teams don’t have to put an extra guy in the box to stop the run and the 49ers still cannot run the football, it’s time for a different approach in the calling of plays.

It doesn’t mean call the same play over and over again and hope one or two plays becomes big yardage.

The offensive line for one isn’t good enough to do that and it’s been in shambles for years.

Shaun Hill doesn’t get that much time in the pocket because of that, so when the running game isn’t working, teams gear up for the 49ers to pass and send their pass rusher who can easily get to Hill.

What’s also sad about the hire is the fact that thanks to Raye’s age he’s not going to be around for very long. Meaning that it’s a good possibility in the next few years the 49ers will be hiring their eighth offensive coordinator within 10 years!

Again, it goes back to the question what was Singletary thinking with the hire?

Let’s take a look at the last coordinator job Raye had, which was for 2004 and 2005 with the Oakland Raiders. For the 2004 season the Raiders went 5-11, and in 2005 the Raiders went 4-12.

It doesn’t look good on a resume if the team you’ve last coordinated for goes 9-23 in two years. When looking at the Raiders offensive rating in those seasons, the rushing attack was dead last in 2004 in attempts and yards.

Passing-wise the Raiders were fourth in attempts, eighth in yards, and 11th in touchdowns. The issue was it’s the same thing that the 49ers are looking at now.

The Raiders would get down early in games and be forced to throw the football because looking further into the rankings, the Raiders ranked 28th in interceptions thrown.

In total, the Raiders ranked 18th in points, 17th in yards, and 24th in first downs.

In 2005, though, Oakland got worse for points. The Raiders dropped to 23rd, yards down to 21st, and only got better in first downs, which went from 24th to 18th.

Rushing-wise the Raiders were 31st in carries, 29th in yards, and 17th in rushing touchdowns. In terms of passing sixth in attempts, 10th in yards, and ninth in interceptions.

Again, that was his most recent coordinator position. Most recently he’s been a coach for a specific position. From 2006-2008 he was the running back coach for the New York Jets.

In terms of coordinator positions before he came to the Raiders, it was one year in Washington in 2001. It’s also not a huge wonder why Raye only lasted a year in Washington, either, although the team went 8-8.

The Redskins for the year were ranked 28th in points, 28th in total yards, 29th in first downs. Rushing-wise, the team fourth in attempts, eighth in yards, and 20th in touchdowns. Passing-wise, the Redskins ranked 30th in attempts, 28th in touchdowns, and sixth in interceptions.

For Raye’s offense, that looks more similar to the offensive philosophy the 49ers have this year. Run the football as much as possible, but again the Redskins also weren’t a high-flying offense, either, averaging 16 points per game for the year. 

Furthermore, you can make similar comparisons to the teams. With the Redskins, the team had at running back Stephen Davis and 49ers, of course, have Frank Gore.

At receiver, the Redskins had Michael Westbrook and Rod Gardner, and the 49ers have Vernon Davis and well now Michael Crabtree.

At the quarterback position for the Redskins it was journeyman Tony Banks and for the 49ers it was journeyman Shaun Hill leading the charge, although Alex Smith has come in today to replace the ineffective Hill.

Well the answer to the question why did Singletary hire him? There really isn’t a good answer for it. As you can see, the offenses that Raye has been the coordinator for have been less than impressive in his most recent stints.

I would have been much more inclined to say hiring Raye as running backs coach, tight end coach, or even wide receiver coach would have been a better move!

Even though Raye is not the best man for the offensive coordinator position for the 49ers, as fans we’re going to have to learn to deal with it because Singletary has the man he wants.

Lastly, here’s the big thing if the 49ers can get a quarterback who can keep defenses honest and not turn the ball over.

The 49ers will be fine because then the team’s can’t just look to stop the run and most of that has to do with the development of the two young wide receivers, Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan.

Then the 49ers offense could definitely be very special, because Vernon Davis is not only an outstanding blocking tight end he’s becoming a tremendous receiver as well!

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

The Media is Turning Dante Wesley Into a Villain

Most NFL fans—unless you’re a Carolina Panther fan—didn’t know the name of Dante Wesley until today. There was a play that happened with less than 20 seconds left in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which ultimately got Wesley ejected from the game.

The hit itself was monstrous. Leading with his shoulder, he hit Clifton Smith high, which knocked him out just under a minute. Smith was diagnosed with a concussion due to the result of the play.

Now the question comes how will the NFL rule against Wesley, because there’s no question he deserved to be ejected for the hit. Was it a dangerous play even if—as he claims—he mistimed the play? Absolutey.

Yet, what hurts his cause is the officials got the penalty wrong. It was not fair catch interference on Wesley, it was interfering with the punt returner from catching the football.

There’s no halo rule in the NFL anymore, meaning that as soon as the ball is caught the returner can be hit.

I’ve watched the clip of the hit as it was shown on Fox, and here’s the link to the hit. It shows the play from all angles, and there was no fair catch being signaled for.

At the beginning of the clip until about five or six seconds into it you may see the hand come up to signal for it, but on every other angle of the play there is no fair catch being signaled.

I can see the argument from Wesley that he did not see the returner signal for a fair catch and that he mistimed it. The question, though, is why did he leave his feet and why did he go so high on the hit?

Those questions must be answered by Wesley, and looking at any rationale on the play there’s really no reason for what he did. Wesley does deserve a big fine and a suspension for a game, but anything more than a one-game suspension is going overboard.

It’s the media response on the hit that is going to hurt Wesley the most. The hit will be replayed over and over again, making Wesley look like a villain. I see it as a major mistake that deserves punishment.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Seahawks Aren’t the Best in the NFC West: The 49ers Are

I was looking on the front page of Yahoo Sports in the NFL section when I saw an interesting title in regards to the Cincinnati Bengals. It was an article by Charles Robinson explaining how the Bengals could possibly collapse from their surprising 4-1 start.

That column was part of Robinson’s “Inconvenient Truths.” As I scrolled further down to see what else was in the article, I noticed a title that I could not help but disagree with. That title was “The Seattle Seahawks are the best in the NFC West.”

In that section, Robinson goes on to explain how the Seahawks looked good against a decent Jacksonville team. He goes further in regards to how the Seahawks play so much better with Matt Hasselbeck in the lineup—which I agree with, they do play better with him in at quarterback.

Yet, even with Hasselbeck it still doesn’t make the Seahawks the best team in the NFC West. Yes, their last game was impressive with the 41-0 shutout of the Jaguars, but let’s face it—the Seahawks have an uphill battle to climb. It’s not far, but they are still chasing the leader of the division, who in my opinion is the best team in the conference.

Currently, the Seahawks are 2-3 with victories of St. Louis and Jacksonville. Their losses have come at the hands of Chicago, San Francisco, and Indianapolis. So, hypothetically if the Seahawks defeat, Arizona the Seahawks improve to 2-1 in the division.

That still leaves them behind the 49ers in divisional play, considering the fact the 49ers are 3-0 in the division right now.

Hypothetically, if Seattle loses, the team falls to 1-2 in the division, which makes it a much tougher road to get into the division race.

Also, the Seahawks have been having injury issues with their offensive line, so that could spell disaster for them as well. The team is now without Walter Jones, Rob Sims, Sean Locklear, and Brandon Frye.

Seattle’s running game hasn’t been that effective this year, either. Julius Jones leads the team in rushing with 285 yards and a touchdown. That averages out to 57 yards per game.

Looking further into the rationale of Robinson is the notion that the Seahawks receivers are closer to the Arizona team. I’m going to have to say it’s not close to the Cardinal team either.

Seattle’s top two receivers are Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who average 71.6 yards per game and 65 yards per game, respectively. The third receiver, John Carlson—who’s a tight end—averages 47.8 yards per game. Which is decent from your wide receivers and tight end, but it doesn’t compare to the top three of Arizona.

Arizona, on the other hand, has Steve Breaston with 81 yards per game, Larry Fitzgerald at 65 yards per game, and Anquan Boldin as the third receiver at 63 yards per game.

The Cardinals are 2-2 on the season. The team has beaten Jacksonville and Houston, and the losses have come against San Francisco and Indianapolis.

If the Cardinals lose to the Seahawks, they fall into an 0-2 hole. If the team wins, they improve to 1-1, meaning the division race would look like this if the Cardinals win:

San Francisco 3-0

Arizona 1-1

Seattle 1-2

 

If the Cardinals lose:

San Francisco 3-0

Seattle 2-1

Arizona 0-2

 

So, it’s easy to see who’s on top of the division—it is the 49ers.

Now, let’s look at it in more depth what have the 49ers been able to do against the Seahawks and Cardinals.

Let’s go over the Cardinals, who the 49ers beat in Arizona. The reason is simple—don’t let Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin beat you. The 49ers did that for the most part.

It required a career-high in catches for Tim Hightower—the Cardinals’ running back—and Jerheme Urban, who caught five passes for 74 yards.

Fitzgerald was held in check with six catches for only 71 yards and a touchdown, and Boldin caught just two passes for 19 yards.

The 49ers’ defense also came away with two interceptions and sacked Kurt Warner three times.

What also is also important to note is that even though Frank Gore managed only 30 yards on the ground, it was Shaun Hill coming up big with a huge 80-yard drive to get the 49ers the 20-16 lead, and the defense held on for that final margin.

The 49ers did beat the Seahawks rather easily by having Gore carve up their defense. Gore became the first running back since Barry Sanders to score two touchdowns in a game with a run more than 75 yards.

Basically, the 49ers’ offense was give the ball to Gore and let him do the work. He finished the game with 16 carries and 207 yards for the two touchdowns. 

Defensively, the 49ers did great stopping Hasselbeck, who had to leave the game with a broken rib in the second quarter. Hasselbeck threw for a touchdown but also an interception. The only issue was the 49ers were able to get only one sack.

Houshmanzadeh and Burleson were held to four catches for 62 yards and four catches for 46 yards—neither of them had a touchdown.

In fact, the most effective receiver and rusher for the Seahawks was former Cal star Justin Forsett.

The 49ers at this point could easily be 4-1 instead of 3-2, but we know what happened against the Vikings. The 49ers didn’t show up against the Atlanta Falcons, but I don’t expect that to happen again anytime soon—especially with Mike Singletary around.

As for Robinson’s claim that the Seahawks are the best in the division, it’s just not the case. The 49ers are the best in the NFC West—the only thing that could happen is if the 49ers squander it.

They still have some tough games left, three games on the road and one at home. The three away games are Indianapolis, Green Bay, and Philadelphia. The one home game is against Chicago.

That means the 49ers, who now stand at 3-2, would end the season with a 10-6 record. The 49ers have already proven they can beat the teams in their division.

Now looking at Seattle they have some tough road games and those are at Dallas, Arizona, Minnesota, and Green Bay. Home games include Arizona and San Francisco.

For Arizona they may have a tougher road to climb. They have some tough road and home games coming up as well. Starting with the road games the Cardinal are at Seattle, New York Giants, Chicago, and San Francisco. Home games include Minnesota and Green Bay.

One last thing the 49ers actually have a running back they can give the ball to and keep defenses honest. Seattle and Arizona do not have one!

At this point it’s clear the 49ers are in charge of their own destiny and all they do now is have to execute and they’ll be in the playoffs as the NFC West champions.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Dave Checketts Drops Rush Limbaugh Like a Bad Habit

Throughout the week, Rush Limbaugh has been making headlines by being part of a group that would like to bid on the St. Louis Rams if the team does go on the market.

Limbaugh would have been a minority owner of the team.

Dave Checketts originally asked for Limbaugh to be part of the group that would purchase the Rams. Checketts is also the owner of the St. Louis Blues hockey team.

What Checketts didn’t realize was the backlash of even asking Limbaugh to join in, which if Checketts had actually thought more thoroughly, he would have never asked Limbaugh in the first place.

What people have failed to realize is that a potential owner can come up with all the money in the world and make a bid for a team it still doesn’t mean that they’ll become owners. The potential owner has to go through a process that includes the approval of the other NFL owners.

So, when Limbaugh was announced as part of the group looking to purchase the Rams it didn’t mean that the NFL was going to refuse the bid, it meant that the other NFL owners were going to reject it.

Not only were the owners not going to accept the bid, but commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear that someone like Limbaugh was not going to be able to have an ownership role.

There’s another argument that I’ve seen or been told multiple times after a comment on an article written by Bryan Flynn titled “Why Denying Rush Limbaugh Ownership will not be Easy,” is the fact that Flynn believes that Limbaugh wasn’t going to get to be owner because he was conservative.

He uses Dan Rooney as an example of a liberal who owns a NFL team and that is the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Flynn doesn’t separate Rooney’s political beliefs from Rooney, the owner of the Steelers.

With Limbaugh, it’s hard to separate the political views and what he could do as an owner. Making it even harder is Limbaugh’s previous comments on race, which have nothing to do with what political party he’s associated with.

In fact Flynn believes that Limbaugh can sue because he’s being discriminated against, which is sad because there’s been comments to him detailing with the fact that Limbaugh would not be able to sue and if he did try he’d be laughed out of court.

Another sad argument that Flynn has is that he uses the fact that there have been players who have been arrested or been convicted of a crime that have played in the NFL. 

Yet, playing in the NFL as a member of a team and bidding on a NFL team to own it is a completely different concept. A NFL player can come into the league via free agency or being drafted.

For someone to be an NFL owner they need to be able to bid on the team and have it accepted by the other NFL owners.

When a player signs with a team as a free agent the other NFL owners can’t say “sorry, we don’t like the player so your contract with him doesn’t stand.” The owners can say “sorry we don’t like this person attempting to buy one of our teams.” 

Too me though, Limbaugh has won because he created another controversy. Now his name is back in the spotlight and he’s using it to further gain audience members because he’s going to do the “oh poor me” routine.

As for Checketts, he realized that if he had Limbaugh on as a minority owner he would never have the chance to get the team. So, he did the right thing and told Limbaugh to go away.

It’s not hard to understand Checkett’s decision considering that there were NFL players who stated point blank to the media they’d never play on a team that was associated with Limbaugh this includes members of the Rams football team.

There were also the owners of the Indianapolis Colts who stated he would not accept the ownership if Limbaugh was part of it. Goodell even made comments that would make you believe that Limbaugh would not have been able to be part of the ownership group.

Also, by having Limbaugh as a minority owner it would also mean the Rams would be alienating their fan base by having him around. There’s a quote from Teddy Mitrosilis in a comment on the article I wrote which was titled, “Rush Limbaugh an NFL Owner? Don’t Count on it!”

It was “I don’t think it’s a good idea for politicians or political commentators to be involved in sports. I don’t like the idea because sports is our safe place. That’s our break from real life, from everything that we deal with on a daily basis. I don’t want my sports convoluted with politics. I don’t want to hear about political issues when I’m watching the Patriots-Colts, Yankees-Red Sox, or Lakers-Celtics. I want to get lost in the game, and I think that is part of the issue that we are missing. I’m not saying it would be right or wrong to have Rush in the NFL, I just would rather keep sports and politics and separate as possible.”

With that comment, it just goes to show that the NFL, NFL owners, NFL players, and Checketts all realized that instead of being a safe place for fans of the NFL to escape to, it would be putting the idea of politics right into the living room.

Let’s face it, if Limbaugh owned the Rams, anytime they played, regardless if it was at home or away, there would be people talking more about Limbaugh than the game itself and that is why Checketts had Limbaugh removed from the group.

There will be no lawsuit that Limbaugh can file, but Limbaugh got what he wanted: attention.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

« Previous Page — Next Page »

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010