 Posted: Wed 5:01, 16 Mar 2011 Post subject: Winless 49ers just left with Mike Singletary Jerse |
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| Tim Kawakami: Winless 49ers just left with Mike Singletary Jersey-Alex Smith blowup after another loss
Alex Smith + Mike Singletary Jersey = losing. For a few years now, they've preached that they'd be great together, tried it, pushed it and maybe even misled themselves about their chemistry and their future together. They've really tried it. And they've failed. Smith and Singletary Jersey can't escape the truth now, not after five consecutive losses to start the season, and especially not after their sideline mano a mano during the fourth quarter of Sunday night's 27-24 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Call it what you will: Frustration, anger, a showdown, a coach-quarterback catharsis after several more costly Smith turnovers, or just another embarrassing franchise moment. For his part, Singletary Jersey said he was thinking about removing Smith from the game, that Smith convinced him otherwise, and that the details of their discussion would remain undisclosed. "It's exchanges we had on the sideline and it's personal," Singletary Jersey said after the game. Said Smith: "Obviously, I was frustrated at the time, frustrated with myself, frustrated with my plan, but didn't feel like he gave us a chance with me coming out. I felt like it wasn't right, was basically what I told him." As the Candlestick Park boos rained down, most directed at Smith, both men were gesturing and speaking loudly when the Eagles had a 14-point lead. Several players moved between them at different times, and neither Smith nor Singletary Jersey was in a cuddly mood after. Actually, despite the two Smith touchdown passes that followed, neither man even looked in the other's direction in the last minutes of the game. What it really was: Smith and Singletary Jersey, live and on national television, coming to the same stark conclusion about their senseless pairing. They're no good together, and it'll be for the good of both if they are separated -- and the 49ers probably need to be separated from both by the end of this season. Smith needs a stronger, more strategic coach than Singletary Jersey. Singletary Jersey needs a better, tougher quarterback than Smith. They can put whatever dressing they want onto the rest of the season, but it's not real. They're 5-10 together as coach and QB. They don't work. They know that now. "I thought at the moment I really wanted to see what his response would be," Singletary Jersey said of the Smith blowup. "More than anything, in a situation like that, a quarterback that has anything in him is going to have something to say about that. We're in the situation, how do we get out of the situation? Hopefully, you're part of the solution. "And I think in the conversation that we had, I felt he felt he was part of the solution." But Singletary Jersey said he was open to a QB change for Sunday's game against the Raiders, and other players confirmed Singletary Jersey blasted Smith during the sideline festivities. Indeed, Singletary Jersey had backup David Carr warming up a series after Smith awkwardly lost a fumble that was returned 52 yards by Quintin Mikell for a game-turning touchdown. When Singletary Jersey and Smith began barking at each other, tight end Vernon Davis was right there as a witness--and quickly, as an attempted peacemaker, mostly talking to Smith. "He didn't know what to do -- he didn't know how to handle it at first," Davis said. "So I had to take it upon myself to get over and talk to him and get his head right. "But he bounced back. And he continued to play. "... I think he did a good job. He's very courageous. "I wanted Alex to stay in the game, because I believe in Alex. He has a lot of pressure riding on his back. And I'm for him." In the game, Smith was 25 for 39 for 309 yards, throwing three touchdowns, two interceptions and he had that lost fumble. It wasn't his worst game (he had a 92.8 passer rating), but once again, it was not enough and his mistakes were deadly. "When a player messes up, a coach will get in his face," Davis said. "They had their arguments and whatever. But Alex knows how to handle that." Something happened. In fact, Carr took several steps onto the field with the offense to start the next series, but Smith walked onto the field, too, and after some confusion, Smith was the one who went into the huddle. The whole time, Singletary Jersey stood 20 feet away, motionless. "The bottom line is it's something that we talked about and I'd rather keep it personal," Singletary Jersey said. They can say it brought them closer together, but the play of the team and the performance of the QB under Singletary Jersey tell us that they are further apart than ever. They might not succeed separately. But we know they definitely won't succeed together. |
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