Bleacher Report - Articles by Stephen Purtill

San Francisco 49ers Bring the Circus to Town

Stephen Purtill — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:23:45 -0400

When I was a kid (well, a younger one, anyway), my parents took me to see Barnum and Bailey's traveling circus at the Cow Palace. I remember how much fun I had staring and laughing at all of the oddities, peculiarities, and just slightly left-of-center spectacles. Everything under the big-top—the animals, the acrobats, the clowns, and the cotton candy—sent delight through my whole being.

It's funny how, as you get older (though I like to think I've never grown up), the circus just isn't that great anymore.

I didn't get the chance to see the circus in person this Sunday, but I caught it on TV. You know where this is going.

The only thing missing from Candlestick Park on Sunday was a giant tent. The 49ers managed to bring the circus back to town, and they invited all of San Francisco to the parade.

It's more and more painful to watch the 49ers these days. Say all of the nice things you want about the new ringleader, Mike Singletary, but he can't save this season.

The poor performance on the field rests solely on the shoulders of the players. They've been missing in action for almost all of the first eight games. There's no shortage of contract money on the 49ers, but there is an absence of skill and passion.

Speaking of a three-ring circus, J.T. O'Sullivan has finally found his way to the bench (all the credit to "Samurai Mike" for that move), and not a moment too soon. Let the Shaun Hill era begin anew, again, in San Francisco.

The defense continues to let up long, methodical drives, and then get torched with big, back-breaking, home-run plays. Sunday was no exception, as Leonard "You Must be Distracted by My Shoes" Weaver crippled the 49ers twice with two huge scores after two simple swing-pass receptions.

The offense has no continuity. Mike Martz consistently forgets about Frank Gore. The offensive line would get swallowed by LSU's front seven. And no player has stepped up to become a go-to target and game changer.

Singletary will have the bye week to whip this group of clowns into shape and get this circus ready for national exposure as San Francisco battles Arizona on Monday night in Week 10.

If you never had the opportunity to attend a Barnum and Bailey's bazaar, you've got the chance to bask in all the glory that is the "Sourdough Circus" for the next nine weeks. As a tip (I remember this from my circus going days): If you eat enough cotton candy, your head will hurt for a whole other reason unrelated to 49ers football.

Mike Nolan Gone; Ownership Absent; 49ers Anything but Made of Gold

Stephen Purtill — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:39:59 -0400

The 49ers have finally pulled the plug on the reign of Mike Nolan.

It's about time.

After a career littered with bad coaching decisions, poor drafts, and constant losing the powers-that-be yanked the carpet out from under Nolan.

If you feel bad or sorry for Mike Nolan, don't. He made his own bed, and he absolutely has to sleep in it.

When the 49ers originally made the decision to sign Mike Nolan as the head coach—I, like most of the rest of fan-base saw the decision as a fantastic move. His father, Dick, coached the 49ers in the 1970's, and Mike Nolan's prowess as a defensive guru preceded him.

Yet, selecting Alex Smith to lead the franchise was the obviously the wrong choice (hindsight always being 20/20), and refusing to build around that selection has been an obvious downfall of the franchise in the last few years.

Part of me wants to say that Nolan did a lot of things right in his tenure. However, the other 98 percent of me doesn't believe any of that noise. He flat out couldn't coach.

Game after game, the guy would foolishly challenge pointless plays. He also had a niche for spending timeouts like they were dollar bills at a strip club. And it didn't help that he looked lost on the sidelines when his team was on offense.

Where has Frank Gore gone? What happened to the promise of a much stronger defense (that's aging and overpaid)? What color tie are you going to wear when you clean out your office?

Say whatever you want in his defense. Maybe he hired the wrong coordinators; maybe he listened to the wrong front office personnel; maybe his suit and tie got in the way of game day preparation. There has been nothing but regression in the last 23 games, after a brief taste of "potential" in 2006.

What does Mike Nolan do well? I cannot think of a thing. Even in his press conferences he's so aloof from what's going on around him that he must be a delusional human being.

If Mike Nolan is anything, he is an over-glorified coordinator. He is in the same class as Cam Cameron, Mike Martz, and Norv Turner among others—brilliant coordinating minds, but pathetic leadership abilities.

And with that in mind, the 49ers will apparently make assistant head coach, Mike Singletary, the new leader of the club.

Singletary has no coordinating or head coaching experience, but has all of the respect of players and coaches and fans in the NFL. He is a Hall of Fame linebacker, with a fire for football that burns brighter than the glinting gold of the 49ers helmets.

And the best of luck to Singletary. He should have been a head coach a while ago, and it's too bad that it has to happen this way. However, Singletary really doesn't seem like he will be the right or the long-term solution in San Francisco. Sorry, fans, "interim" is his tag, and that's how it should stay.

Maybe you've heard the name "Mike Holmgren?" My God, please, please, John York, go pay him whatever it takes to bring him back to the job that he wants to have. And at the worst, throw Pete Carroll's name around just so we know you're trying to return this franchise to the glory it once used to possess.

And this isn't to add a soft cushion to break the fall of Mike Nolan, but the ownership of the York family has really demoralized this once proud organization. Where are they even today? As the news of Nolan's firing broke, the York's have refused to make any comment on the situation or make any public appearance so as to even dispel any rumors—if indeed, that's all this firing may be.

This is the San Francisco FORTY—FREAKING—NINERS. Five Super Bowls. Thirteen (if you count Jerry Rice) Hall of Fame players and coaches. The West Coast Offense. There is no need for any "Committment to Excellence" like you might find across the Bay; there just "IS" the 49ers. That's it, and that's all that there should be.

Goodbye, Mike Nolan. We certainly and amply knew thee. I wish we could forget, but we'll have to be reminded every time we tune in to watch the next nine games.

The offensive line is pathetic. The defense is atrocious. The 49ers don't play with any aggression, urgency, intelligence, or passion. They are a complete and utter reflection of their now former head coach.

The 2008 College Football Season: Bring Your Best Argument and Condiment

Stephen Purtill — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:07:21 -0400

It's that time again. Get your gear on, paint your faces, and prick your skin so we all know what colors you bleed. We're going to war.

Ready? Set? Argue.

The polls that you see every Sunday morning are pointless. Look at them. Find your team. Cry about why they're not ranked higher. Move on.

Here are the things that you need to know:

1. All polls are wrong. They doll out a list of 25 teams ranked solely because about 100 people said so. The influence that biased writers and subjective coaches have on these lists is unimaginable. Can any one of those teams beat the other on any given day? Absolutely.

2. All polls are right. To a degree. Unfortunately, the chances of 100% accuracy are non-existent. However, it's nice to know that Ball State can be on the same list as Alabama—even though there's reason to believe that the Cardinals might get swallowed by the Crimson Tide. But I wouldn't know who would be the underdog if it wasn't for the little numbers next to their names.

3. No poll likes the little guy. Even though teams like Ball State and Boise State crack the top lists, there's a wink and a nudge at the thought that it's really and truly all about the BCS conferences. At last check, the Pac-10 and Big East are BCS conferences and the Mountain West and WAC are not. Is it bad that in a head-to-head battle royal, those non-BCS conferences would most likely produce more winners?

4. The polls don't matter. At least right now. Georgia was ranked No. 1 coming into the season, won three straight games, and fell to No. 3. Remember, it's not all about where teams are ranked by humans. Computers end-up making the final decision on who plays in what bowl game.

While the AP poll and USA Today poll get some mention in those outcomes, their influence is, at day's end, somewhat negligible. Besides, we all know that Texas has to play Missouri and Oklahoma; and LSU has to play Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The whole top 10 will explode in the weeks to come.

5. The polls do matter. See above. What? We all need something to argue about. Honestly, Alabama looked like the No. 1 team in the nation—at least for four hours—on Saturday night. But Oklahoma, who beat TCU came away with the top spot.

And really, that's only because pollsters couldn't bring themselves to vault a once No. 8 team, Alabama, who beat a once No. 3 team, Georgia, into the top spot over a team like previously ranked No. 2 Oklahoma, who beat a once ranked No. 24 TCU team...Or wait, isn't that why the polls don't matter?

6. The SEC needs to shut up. Alright, guys, we get it. You've got a great conference full of ridiculous talent, amazing teams, astonishing stadiums, coaching legends, rabid fans, and more barbecue grills than the Bush administration has screw-ups. But, a loss is a loss is a loss. An SEC conference loss shouldn't get more credence than a Pac-10 loss, unless it's to any team that plays in the state of Washington. Having a stranglehold on America's ketchup supply does not give you the leeway to suggest that a 10-1 SEC team is any better than a 10-1 Pac-10 team.

7. The SEC can run its mouth all it wants. If you haven't noticed, that conference is, for lack of a better term, extraordinarily prodigious. It's next to impossible to win a road game within the SEC—unless the other team is dressed for their own funeral. Honestly, even Vanderbilt is a good football team. That'd be like saying Stanford is competitive.

8. I'm slightly out of my mind. It would be tough not to notice the verity of that statement.

So, whether you're one of 93,000 people who attended a funeral in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday night, or you're a Pac-10 apologist who still believes that USC really is the best team in the nation (see number eight), the moral of the story is to let the season play itself out.

Where your team sits in a poll is irrelevant right now. What really matters the most is trying to get the South to send some ketchup to rest of the nation—there's a lot of great college football left to be played and my burgers are crying for some sauce.

Desperately Seeking O'Sullivan: Where Is the Real J.T.O.?

Stephen Purtill — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:50:10 -0400

The body watch is on! Consider this a quick memo to all 49ers players and personnel: Keep all long belts, ropes, razors, painkillers, and strong alcoholic products away from J.T. O'Sullivan.

It was only a matter of time before the 49ers and their quarterback would take a major step back.

Sunday's debacle in New Orleans was a glimpse into the immediate future for San Francisco (the defenses of the upcoming teams on the schedule are a lot more frightening than the Saints'). Not only was the loss ugly, the performance from J.T.O. was disheartening.

After three weeks of stellar play and an impressive start to the season, O'Sullivan managed to remind fans why he was a career backup.

It wasn't just the two costly interceptions thrown in the end zone, but also the consistently erratic play of the 49ers' signal caller that really hurt San Francisco's bid to start 3-1. Sunday's game in New Orleans is one San Francisco absolutely could have won.

Having praised O'Sullivan for his escapability and moxie to keep plays alive with his feet in previous articles, Sunday's contest was a chance to crush him for trying to make too much happen.

Granted, the 49ers' offensive line might be the worst in the league, but that shouldn't keep J.T.O. from throwing the ball away and living to play another down.

In addition to the pair of atrocious red-zone interceptions, O'Sullivan also fumbled—attempting to turn a dead play into a miracle—in 49ers territory. This led to the Saints' first touchdown. In effect, J.T.O. was really the Saints' top offensive player on Sunday.

Particulars and statistics aside, O'Sullivan's body language and mannerisms after the turnovers and short offensive series were not those of a quarterback meant to lead an NFL team.

Certainly his heart is not in question—he has shown time and again that he is a staunch competitor. However, a quarterback has to have a short memory. Even Brett Favre, one of the league's most boisterous quarterbacks, keeps his emotions in check after a turnover.

And that's where the body watch comes in.

To see a quarterback visibly shaken after his poor play is not altogether uncommon, but O'Sullivan really brings that drama to a whole new level.

Shot after shot of J.T.O. on the sideline had to leave fans wondering when trainers were going to bring him a box of tissues for his tears, some ice for his hot head, and a chaise lounge and notepad for general psychoanalysis.

It's one thing to have a bad game, but it'll be a whole new situation when O'Sullivan goes to sleep at night and wakes up in a cold sweat—nightmares of Charles Grant and the rest of the Saints' defensive line devouring him for lunch.

So again, this is a plea to anyone who will be around J.T.O. in the next 48 hours: Keep him calm and remind him that he's only started four games in the NFL and is bound to want a mulligan at some point.

Just try to tell him that his window of opportunity to remain in that position beyond this season will start closing fast with displays similar to Sunday.

If O'Sullivan starts next week's game with extra long wristbands and a turtleneck, most of the fans will know why. Hopefully though, for his mental sake, J.T.O. will revert back to the quarterback he was against Seattle and Detroit.

Yet, J.T. O'Sullivan probably isn't the only 49er that's going to suffer severe mental trauma Sunday night. The loss at New Orleans wasn't entirely his fault.

The offensive line was terrible, as per usual. The play calling of Mike Martz was awful—maybe mix in a screen on an over-pursuing defense. The coaching decisions of Mike Nolan—a challenge flag on a six-yard completion?—were laughable. And the defensive backs were consistently torched down the field for huge gains and momentum swings.

But that's not any excuse for J.T.O.'s performance.

The total O'Sullivan package—especially the poise that he showed in previous weeks—has to show up every week if the 49ers are going to have a chance to win the NFC West. He's the quarterback. He's directly accountable. He has to be better. He has to be tougher.

Never let them see you run, J.T.

49ers fans should have a lot more to worry about than whether or not their quarterback is going to be behind center next week.

There's Something About J.T.: 49ers O'Sullivan Might Be Right Man for the Job

Stephen Purtill — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:53:58 -0400

Was there ever any doubt as to who was the right man to quarterback the 49ers this season? If there was, it sure seems like a long time ago.

J.T. O'Sullivan, the well-traveled career backup, has certainly found a home in San Francisco—at least early on. And there really is something about O'Sullivan, a former UC Davis Aggie, that may well endear him to the 49ers fanbase.

It wasn't just the win at NFC Western Division foe Seattle last Sunday that was impressive, it was how J.T.O. orchestrated the comeback. Down 14 early, the 49ers quarterback kept his team in the game by consistently converting third downs and managing to escape a menacing pass rush.

While he was sacked eight times, the number would have been much higher if not for the QB who considers himself a "tough sack." The fancy moves of O'Sullivan may actually remind some 49ers fans of Steve Young.

With the comeback reminiscent of many a Joe Montana performance, skeptics are quick to point out that J.T.O. is simply the product of Mike Martz' offense. After all, it was Martz who brought O'Sullivan to San Francisco from Detroit.

However, a lot of people felt Jeff Garcia was little more than a West Coast system standout, but he won a lot of games, and a lot of hearts in "The City."

Stopping short of crowning J.T. O'Sullivan the next Montana, Young, or Garcia with just two games (and a 1-1 record) under his belt as the 49ers starter, he definitely possesses some intangible qualities many San Francisco fans can quickly and readily associate with those former greats.

Poise under pressure in the pocket, nimble feet, a strong arm, and an attitude to never give-up on any play make J.T.O. the quintessential 49er quarterback. He even has a swagger to him, carrying himself with the aura that he should be the QB and there never was any offseason controversy.

If he lacks anything, it may be the leadership quality that not just Montana, Young, and Garcia possessed, but all great NFL quarterbacks have. But with each passing week—pardon the pun—we learn something new about the signal caller.

Suffice it to say, that particular quality rests within J.T.O. It has to. He's waited a long time to get this opportunity, and the passion he has for playing the quarterback position will be manifest as he leads the 49ers through a now wide-open NFC West.

And to everyone who still believes he's just a system quarterback, look at what that system made out of the one time AFL Iowa Barnstormer, Kurt Warner. Two league MVPs and a Super Bowl ring later, he's probably still the best quarterback in the NFC West.

That is, only until J.T. O'Sullivan throws a bunch more wins the 49ers way this season.

Is he the right man for the job? Yes. And not just for now.

49ers Panning For Gold: Is There Hope For San Francisco in 2008?

Stephen Purtill — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:02:12 -0400

Three preseason games into the 49ers 2008 NFL schedule and the sun may be shining on San Francisco this season.

Of course, it's tough to judge how a team will perform in the regular season by simply examining preseason games, but there are some definite bright spots for the 49ers thus far. The defense is stacked with talent, special teams has a home run hitter in Alan Rossum, and the offense may be the surprise story of the NFL in 2008.

The 49ers were awful last year, so really, there is only one way to go and that's up.

The defensive line looks fast on the outside—and the addition of Justin Smith, whose motor is off the charts, will help some of the bruising and athletic linebackers like Manny Lawson and Patrick Willis fly free to the quarterback.

This is predicated on the interior linemen holding their own and stopping the run, and that should be something to watch as the season progresses. The secondary, loaded with hard-hitting veteran talent, will certainly aid in stopping the opponents ground game, but some of that age may become evident when teams look to throw the ball over the top and try to burn the 49ers downfield.

Case-in-point in Thursday's preseason contest, the Chicago Bears seemed to find open receivers deep down the sidelines and in holes across the middle of field for huge gains.

However, expect the defense to be resilient and the strength of this team. They just need to get off the field more often than last year.

And only a strong, ball-control offense can help that situation. Much has been made of the obvious quarterback controversy, and rightfully so. Even Mike Nolan still isn't sure who he'll name the starter for week one.

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz did the smart thing by bringing in J.T. O'Sullivan, who knows Martz' system; yet, in doing so, he may have ultimately spelled doom for the 49ers former number one overall draft pick, Alex Smith.

Both quarterbacks showed glimpses of greatness in Thursday's game; however, O'Sullivan may well have cemented his spot as the starter--making a set of spectacular plays and throws in only one quarter of action against one of the NFL's better defensive units.

Frank Gore will run (and well)—and with Martz, he'll have to catch the ball, too (see Marshall Faulk). Vernon Davis looks like a man possessed. The offensive line is building a strong rapport and should be solid throughout the year.

The nice surprises will be at the wide-out spots, where the 49ers have struggled since losing Terrell Owens. Veteran Isaac Bruce will team nicely with ball control receiver Arnaz Battle. Burner Bryant Johnson was added as a trustworthy deep threat.

Watch for the emergence of hometown boy Jason Hill, and maybe the steal of the '08 draft, a polished receiver out of Virginia Tech, Josh Morgan.

The special teams ought to be just that. Joe Nedney is as sound a kicker as they come. Andy Lee is--and not just statistically—the best punter in the NFL (apologies to Shane Lechler). Alan Rossum is still fast and knows how to set-up a return game.

If need be, watch out for second year running back, Thomas Clayton. One important thing to watch for, however, is that Andy Lee not need to attempt as many tackles as he has in the preseason.

There's no reason to think that this team cannot compete in the weak NFC. What's more, the Western division isn't all that powerful.

Head coach Mike Nolan knows he's on the hot seat, and he has to win. And win now. The taste of what could be in 2006 was soured by the team's dismal performance in 2007.

If San Francisco can find a way to win 10 games, they should be playoff bound. And with the talent they have amassed on the field and in the coaching booth, the 49ers may be more than panning for riches in 2008, they could be looking at a veritable gold rush.