Funny thing is that Alex Smith and Singletary are saying that it was because Alex let it fly after that. Well, that's not exactly it. After Singletary ripped Smith on the sideline, 13 out of 15 plays were run out of the shotgun. You know, the formation that everybody in the world knows that Smith is successful in except Mike Singletary and the offensive coaches. In those 13 plays, Smith was 11 for 12 in completions and threw two touchdowns (videos of both drives are below) and in the first drive of the game where they marched down and scored a touchdown Smith was 5 for 5 that drive with the touchdown throw coming out of the shotgun.
The reason that the 49ers offense hasn't change since the firing of Jimmy Raye is not that Mike Johnson lacks creativity, it's the fact that Mike Singletary won't get out of the way. Whether Johnson wants to fully admit it or not, he is doing exactly what Singletary wants and that is to have Frank Gore on the field all the time and run the ball as much as possible. It is only when the 49ers are down that they let Alex Smith pass the ball.
Singletary even admits that he still has control over the offense in his press conference on Monday:
On Offensive Coordinator Mike Johnson’s scheme:
“I think [offensive coordinator] Mike [Johnson] was trying to follow through with what we had talked about during the week. This is not a game that we wanted to go in and just throw the ball all over the place. We wanted to try and formulate a balance, and as the game got going, you know, there were a couple of things that were there, as we thought they would be, but for one reason or another it did not happen. But I think as we go forward, Mike is still getting situated and still getting his feet underneath him as well. So I’m sure that he’s learning too. So hopefully going forward there will be a better mix.”
Mike Johnson isn't as willing to say the same thing but he admits that Singletary is involved:
On how much control he has over the game-plan and whether there is truth to the perception that he is being held back by what Singletary wants:
“It’s all perception. It’s all perception. And I think, like I said, going forward you will see a different style, slightly. But we have a core philosophy that we believe in, that coach Singletary believes in. But I think you will see a better balance of all the things I’ve said earlier. And I think going forward you’ll see that.”
Mike Johnson is right, it is all perception. But remember, "perception is reality" and the reality is the 49ers offense is not creative, and is very predictable. All the teams know that they are going to run the ball up the middle for the first play of the game if not the first drive. I guarantee you that the Oakland Raiders will put eight men in the box against the 49ers in the first play.
I would like to see the 49ers come out in shotgun formation, and throw the ball to start the game, not just run the ball up the middle like they do 66% of the time they run the ball.
If the 49ers want to win a game this season, Mike Singletary is going to have to be kicked out of offensive coaches meeting. His 1985 vision of how to win football games is archaic. In 2010 teams pass the ball to setup the run, not run the ball to setup the pass.
The first TD drive after the Smith/Singletary blowup:
The 2nd TD drive:
Mike Johnson's entire press conference transcript is after the jump.
Offensive Coordinator Mike Johnson
Post-Walk-Thru – October 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers
On whether he has gotten into the groove of play-calling and what he wants to establish on a game-to-game basis:
“I think it’s evolving. I think that as that game got going the other day, it started getting into a rhythm and a comfort zone of what we want to become. I think overall, I think we’re making improvements in some areas. I think were getting better on third down, improving that area. I think we’re getting back to the way we were last year in the red zone, being efficient there. There are still a couple areas though, I think we want to improve as an offense and get better at and I think we’re going to make some of those improvements this week.”
“Well, we knew we liked Crabtree. We knew he was a good football player, we knew he was aggressive, we knew he was a playmaker, touchdown deal, and to have him fall in our lap, we had a couple other guys that we were targeting, the personnel department and that area, and he fell in our lap and that was a decision that we had to make and I’m happy that we have him.”
On what worked well for the team in the two final drives of the Eagles game:
“Well I don’t know if it’s just that situation. I think the one area that we have to really make improvements on is really taking care of the football. If you look at the first drive, we come out and score, the second drive we were going again and then we have a fumble. So I think that area right there is the area that we want to improve on. Those are the disruptions I think that are really stopping us from becoming explosive and efficient from an offensive standpoint. I think, to answer your question, in the two-point, two minute situation and fourth quarter two-minute situation, I think it’s something that we’ve practiced and I think it’s something that we’re comfortable in. Takes away a lot of the thinking and you just go out and react. And that’s where I think we have to become a better offense in the middle of the game. And not worry about anything else but just react to every situation that is shown, because our team is very capable of being the team that everyone thought we would be, and the team that I think we’re going to be from here going forward.”
On whether teams have been putting cornerbacks on TE Vernon Davis more than in year’s past:
“I think there are some teams that have placed corners on him, they’ve placed safeties, and they’re trying to jam him at the line of scrimmage and that’s where we as coaches and myself, we have to find ways to make sure that teams do not take him away. And I think you saw that in the second half of the game against Philadelphia. He’s an explosive guy and sometimes we have to make sure that we not let teams take him away and that we’re still attacking them with Vernon Davis.”
On how the Raiders limited Chargers TE Antonio Gates and whether that gives him a heads-up as to what to expect them to try against Davis: “Yeah, well you know what you’re going to get. The Raiders are going to be a defense that, they’re going to place a couple guys on him, we know who those guys are going to be, and it’s going to be up to Vernon and the rest of our guys to beat those guys one on one. But it gives you a good picture of what to see, what to expect, and how to attack them in certain ways.”
On how essential it is to the offense to get WR Michael Crabtree involved in plays:
“It is very essential. I think we said earlier, a couple weeks ago, that we want to make sure that we get the ball to 85 (TE Vernon Davis), 15 (Crabtree) and 21 (RB Frank Gore) every week and make that we get those guys opportunities to make plays. And the more we get those guys the ball, if you look at our touchdowns the other day, Crabtree had one, Vernon had one, and Frank Gore had one. So if we get those guys the ball enough, those guys are going to make plays and score points and that’s going to be a big part of what we do going forward.”
On whether he wants QB Alex Smith to be more aggressive with the ball and how he can help him do that:
“We want our entire offense to do that, not just Alex Smith. We want our entire offense to come out and attack and react, not play back on our heels. And that’s something that we’re pushing forward with our tempo, some of the things that we’re going to do going forward. We want an offense that’s attacking. And it starts with Alex Smith, but it doesn’t end there. It’s everybody. And I think our entire offensive team has played that way to a certain point at portions of every game. And we have to make sure that our entire team is going and attacking, not just Alex Smith.”
On whether the eight runs in first-down situations against the Eagles is attacking, and whether they need to attack more:
“Well there needs to be a better mixture, I would agree with that. If you look at our eight runs though, six of them were efficient. And our deal is to make sure that we’re in third-and-short, and put ourselves into manageable third-down situations. And the answer to the other part of that equation is, we were 63-I think 63 percent on third-down. So all of those things kind of go together. But you’re right, there needs to be a better mixture of run-pass, but the bottom line is to be efficient on first-down and have a four-yard-plus play most of the time in the game.”
On whether he is cognizant of the number of run plays on first downs and whether it is just the feel or if they keep track of it:
“We do keep track of that, and that’s what (offensive assistant) Chris Beake does for me in the box. And he was aware of that and I was aware of that. If you look at our last game against Atlanta, there was a better mixture of run-pass, but that defense dictated that. So the one thing that we didn't want to do was to make sure that we were in a third-and-long situation. So therefore we made sure that we were efficient on first down. First drive we go down, we score. Second drive, we’re going down again, and we have a disruption with the turnover. So I think that the mixture is definitely something that’s on my mind, and making sure that we have a better balance of run-pass, run- action pass keeps all those types of things that go into that. And going forward I think we’ll do a better job with that.”
On the stat that says they run up the middle 66 percent of the time and whether that makes it easier for defenses to predict what they are going to do, and whether they need to have more of a mixture of runs:
“I think it makes it easier for the defense to stop it if you don’t have all of the complements. And that goes into what we were just talking about again. We have to make sure that we complement our core runs. Our core run is the power play, which is an inside run. It’s one of the best runs that (RB) Frank Gore runs, and it’s something that he has been successful with his entire career. And it’s up to myself and the other coaches to make sure that we complement that core run with all the bells and whistles to make sure that they can’t just come down and squeeze the A gaps with eight-man pressure.”
On whether that core run has been successful this year:
“It’s been efficient. So successful, efficient. The bottom line is that we haven’t won games, so we can’t say that we’ve done what we wanted to do. But I think going forward we’re going to evolve into what we want to become, and that’s a more balanced, well–rounded offense that has all the bells and whistles and all the complements to complement our core run, which is the power.”
On his definition of efficient:
Efficient? A four-plus-yard play.”
On whether RB Frank Gore’s fumbles were due to fatigue or trying to hard:
“No, I don’t think – I think Frank just had an off-night. I think he’ll be the first one to tell you I think he had an off-night. The first fumble was a very good hit on the ball. And he was squeezing the ball and the guy put his hat right on the ball and it popped out. Now, we still have to hold that, but they made a play there. The other one I think he was carrying a little loose and he fumbled. We have to make sure that we lock that ball up and have it secure on every single play. But I think it’s something that we just have to make sure that we handle. We have to make sure that we take care of the football.”
On inheriting the offensive plan and whether everything is there play-calling wise:
“I think a good portion of it is there, but like I said earlier, we are evolving into what we want to become. And the first week you can’t change everything and do everything that you want to do or it’s total disruption to the offensive team. So as we go forward, I think there will be an evolution into the type of offense that I want to run, and we want to run as an offensive staff. So to answer your question, it’s a good portion of it, but not everything we want to do, no.”
On the type of offense he wants to run:
“I want to run a balanced, efficient, running offense that has all the core run-action passes, boots, keeps, have the ability to spread you out when that dictates, and then be efficient on third-down and a highly explosive red zone offense.”
On whether RB Brian Westbrook has a part in that evolving plan:
“Brian Westbrook’s role will increase. And it goes back to what I said a couple times already. You can’t change the entire offense in one game, because if you look at our practice and the way we practice and the reps you have, you don’t have time to make sure you get everything taught properly. But as we go forward, I think his role will increase and he will help us out. And we’re going to use him and we’re going to use other guys also.”
On how much control he has over the game-plan and whether there is truth to the perception that he is being held back by what Singletary wants:
“It’s all perception. It’s all perception. And I think, like I said, going forward you will see a different style, slightly. But we have a core philosophy that we believe in, that coach Singletary believes in. But I think you will see a better balance of all the things I’ve said earlier. And I think going forward you’ll see that.”
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