Day and Night: Old 49er OC Martz Vs. New 49er OC Raye

The biggest difference between the Mike Nolan regime and the Mike Singletary staff has to be the position of offensive coordinator. Last year under Nolan, the team took a chance on the "throw first, ask questions later" style of Mike Martz. Martz is known in NFL circles as a "mad genius" for his onetime prolific style of offense that carried his St. Louis Rams to back to back Superbowl appearances.

Unfortunately for every big play one can attribute to Martz, there is a sack or an interception to go along with it. In fact, the 49ers led the NFL in sacks last year with the quarterback hitting the turf 55 times. The emphasis was on the quarterback play and not the running back. This worked fine in St. Louis when the Rams had Kurt Warner. The Niners have Sean Hill or Alex Smith...it doesn't take a mad genius to know they shouldn't be the focal point of the offense. Instead the workload should be given to pro bowler running back Frank Gore. Enter ex-NY Jets running back coach and new Niner OC Jimmy Raye.

If the offense looks anything like the way Raye has publicly desired it to, it will be a return to smash mouth football. This is the type of football that emphasizes the running game. Expect Gore to carry a heavy burden of the offensive load and rookie bruiser back Glenn Coffee to be implemented in short yardage situations. The 49ers would love to see Gore return to his 2006 pro bowl form. Hill (or Smith) will be expected to complete short yardage throws while the running game will set up the play action pass in order to stretch the field.

The 2009 offense should look look completely different than the 2008 offense. The Niners would like to pound the ball and control the clock while reducing sacks and interceptions. It is a good idea in theory and if it is executed prooperly, the Niners should have an offense that would make Chuck Noll proud.