Newton: First Impressions
First Impressionsby Nick Newton
08.14.05 -- The figurative groaning, creaking, and squealing was almost literally audible Saturday as the surface rust from the long offseason slowly wore from the engines of the newly refitted SF NOLAN Battleship. There's alot of pre-season left to go, but now that the new vessel has had her maiden voyage, I cant wait to nail down a few first impressions.
I awoke today, after a long night of celebrating the return of 49er football. I opened my eyes in an empty house, behind the recliner, wearing only one white tube sock, (though my feet were bare). I lay there and pondered even trying to write a piece on my first look at the team. After all, I'm not an analyst. But then I thought of all the opinions, views, and thoughts that I have read on this site and others, professional and.....otherwise, and figured "why not?". So here goes my best shot. All you pros out there, let me know how I did.
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Coaching: Nolan was wired for sound briefly and from what I heard he is very interactive with his players. At one point he praised Linebacker Derrick Smith for a play, but then went on to give him a few thoughts on what he had noticed. When something of interest was happening on the field, his attention was sternly fixed to the situation, not walking up and down the sidelines with his hands on his hips spitting and shaking his head (but give him time, Im sure this season will be a trying one). When a player late in the game was called on consecutive plays for an infraction, Nolan was seen making notes on his sheet. Over the offseason and into the pre-season, I have developed an enormous trust in Mike Nolan and his decision making. While there were a few play calls that I didn't agree with, I wasn't disgusted. The assistant coaches have yet to make their mark good or bad, but Singletary's interaction with his players was strong as well.
QB's: Alex Smith didn't do as well as everyone would have liked, but he did do better than Chicagos Rex Grossman. Other than that comment, I would say that I couldn't fairly evaluate Smith because he didnt have his starting line with him. Rattay did exceptionally well with his playing time and game circumstances which turned a few heads. I would like to see Rattay start the next pre-season game at Denver to see how he does against other starters. Make no mistake, Alex Smith is our long term investment, but I'm not opposed to him sitting out for one year behind Rattay if Tim performs well. Dorsey? Are you still here? One of the three players we shouldve ditched last season. In my opinion Pickett is a much better gamble. Okay, Okay, Okay. So I'm being a little hard on Dorsey. He could turn out to be a decent quarterback..... But not here...There is too much money around him and not enough opportunity or room for him to grow. His continued employment here is hindering Pickett, and could possibly ruin Ken by letting his otherwise decent potential rust out as a third stringer. Do whats best for both parties and send him to Miami.
RB's: Which brings me to the second of the three players who in my opinion shouldve been dropped. Barlow. I hope he proves me wrong and averages 10 yards per carry this year. But as of now all indications are that once again Hicks is more interested in the position. Barlow could be an excellent back, but last season and last night he just didn't seem motivated.
TE/WR: Bleh. Johnson didn't play, but Brandon Lloyd showed some enthusiasm and confidence. Im not sold on PJ Fleck. Look for Battle to come up big this season. Other than those mentioned, this could rival QB as our rawest position.
Defense: I'll adress this one as a unit, because that's how they're starting to play. Generally the defense is starting to gell and function as one. I'm not totally sold on this new defensive scheme, and it seemed a little shaky at times, but worked well at others. The Linebacker corp needs almost no tweaking. The tackling (from the starters) has improved lightyears all over the field. Our pass coverage needs some work but Parrish is the man. Rumph is the third player that needn't still be here. There are better and cheaper options for cornerback and safety out there.
Kicking: Saving the best for last. Well. Not really. I pride myself on this position so excuse me for sounding like I'm on a soap box. I don't like anything I've seen from Nedney, which thankfully, hasn't been much. I'm not a fan of his form, or his school. His kicks, while they punched through, lacked accuracy even from short distances. My favorite was Yliniemi going into this pre-season. (Incidentally, last pre-season too). But in a sickening display eerily reminiscent of Owen Pochman, Jose Cortez, and other bad names, he missed a very short field goal with a good snap, good hold, and in good weather. With Todd Peterson in Atlanta, we are dangerously close to picking up the kicking curse right where we left off. However, there is a scenario that I've been watching closely. St. Louis brought in first year kicker Remy Hamilton to compete with Wilkins. I've always been a Wilkins fan and wouldn't mind him at all if the Rams decided on a new boot this year. Even if the Rams released Hamilton, he looks alot better than our current crop.
Punting: Based on past and current performance, Andy Lee should be our punter until he retires.
Last notes: The whole team needs discipline work. The penalties last night were sickening particularly on the two Hicks runs, though I thought one of the interference calls on our defense was a bad one. I want to point out how important it was for a variety of reasons that we win the first game of the Nolan era. It gives the team a sense of change from last years debacle, and starts us off with momentum that will hopefully carry over into the regular season. Whether or not it does is yet to be seen, but one thing is for certain; The SF NOLAN has been deployed, and has won her first battle.
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