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Wasn't the hype about the 49ers largely based on the belief that a Cards team without Kurt Warner meant a wide open NFC West? That was how I read it, the 49ers were the near universal tip to win this division, but no-one saw them as potential SB winners. (The Jets were a whole other matter, they looked like they should be SB contenders, and if Sanchez keeps his groove, this looks wholly justified.)

I'd still reckon any team that can go better than .500 will win the AFC West, and that means all is not yet lost for the 49ers.

But if they don't win the division, I would also chalk this down another example of what happens when you screw up first-round draft picks. Alex Smith, still, does not look the part, and Michael Crabtree already looks a prime waste of money. I can sort of forgive them for Smith, it's a QB league and sometimes that's the best way to acquire one, but Crabtree was an all-in punt that a College star at WR would sort out the passing game. It's never worked before, and now it turns out Crabtree is quite the jerk as well. That decision is on Singletary, and that's a very important part of why he's under pressure.

Finally, don't agree with you that Frank Gore is "one of the most powerful running backs in the NFL" - an elite RB certainly, and capable of torching defences and putting up big numbers, but "most powerful" I'd say not. Turner, Peterson, Barber, Williams, Jackson, off the top of my head, they all out-power Gore.

Anyone in Philadelphia booing Donovan McNabb should have his head examined. He always gave his best for that team and only left them once it became obvious he had no future left there.

Thanks for the reply of last weeks question Neil.The 49ers have been very poor so far this season and their defence was awful at the weekend.I think Singletary will be out of a job if he loses is next 2 games.

I don't expect much from San Fran this weekend. For a team that struggling the Georgia Dome is as formidable a place as any. Ryan's 13-1 at home and the noise produced makes it difficult for any opposition.

The 49ers lost 45-10 to the Falcons last year and the gap between the teams seems to be bigger this year. The contrast in the performances last week couldn't be greater. The Saints were only let back into the game following a bizarre tunrover and the Falcons were worthy winners yet San Fran were just terrible.

To give up 200 yards on the ground against the Chiefs does not bode well with Turner and Snelling pounding the ball this week. If the Falcons get the running game going and play-action involved I wouldn't be surprised to see the Falcons score 40 points for the second time against NFC West opponents this season.

Fortunately an 0-4 team doesn't need a tactical head coach but a motivator and Singeltary fits the bill. The NFC West is possibly the only divison in the NFL that can be won with such a bad start.

eddie george

to say that Michael Crabtree was a waste of a draft pick is a shortsighted thing to say, granted he has had a bad start to this season but last season pundits were heralding him as the next big WR. he was not drafted this year he was drafted lAST year.

Frank gore not a powerful runner? WOW that is a hard thing to say.
frank gore packs alot of punch for someone of his short stature and he is certainly the hardest worker on a football field you will see. And the blog didnt say that he was the MOST powerful but one of them which is impossible to argue against

the 49ers may have had a shocking start but against the saints they actually looked convincing but the DEFENdING SB CHAMPS scored a fg in the las second so its not all doom and gloom ..... just yet

I am an expatriot of England now living in the SF Bay Area. Most fashionable team here in this area is the 49ners. However I have called their games in this short season. They are a bunch of overpaid non-responsive players led by an agressive coach who cannot transmit his qualities to the players in a manner that will see results turn. The coach can be compared to the current Engalnd footie coah fabio. Both have the desire and passion as well as the know how of how to win a game. The problem I see with the 49ers as with the England national team is that these so called coaches have instilled fear into their players. The players are scared to make a mistake. THis does not take any blame from the players but it kind of shows that these two coaches have no man management skills.

I like Singletary and I think he has done a good job to at least get the 49ers playing. They were a train wreck when he took charge. It's too early to say, they have had a good performance and some good moments but nothing sustainable.

Alex Smith is lucky and unlucky, lucky not to have got the boot, but unlucky never to have had an offensive line capable of keeping defenders off him or helping Frank Gore get more yards so that he can use playaction.

The division is weak, I still think the 49'ers will come out on top. If not the news conferences of Singletary will be sadly missed.

@ erf100

No question Crabtree has time to turn things around, but three games in and six catches later, you can't say he looks like a first-round talent. My issue is more using a top-10 pick to draft a WR, few teams do it because it works out so rarely and Crabtree is a case in point (Heywood-Bey is another). As you point out, he's not a rookie either, which makes his current stat-line even more disappointing.

Re. Frank Gore, it's a relative measure of course, I figure you need to be punching top-5 to be called "one of the most powerful" RBs in the league and I'd say what's impossible to argue is that Gore is in the top-5. Top-10, perhaps, but not top-5.

I have to totally disagree with The_same_Eddie-George and the points he is making and then his justification afterwards.

There are many reasons why Crabtree is currently not living up to your expectations:
1 - Jimmy Raye's play calling is so vanilla, Walls Ice Cream have already offered him a new job. Play Action, flea flickers, end arounds, they simply don't exist other than on the Panic page or the "this is a really inappropriate time to call this play, but i'll do it anyway" page it would seem.
2 - Crabtree has now missed both Training Camp's because of his hold out and due to injury, this is massive in terms of how much he can actually learn and develop a relationship with his Quarterback.
3 - Wide Receivers don't generally "break-out" until their 3rd year in the NFL. Sure, some Rookie WR's put up nice numbers in the right system, but Crabtree in Raye's Offence was clearly a waste of a talent. Crabtree might be the best WR in college football history, he will easily make the transition over to the NFL when the 49ers open up the playbook and he will easily be one of the top 10 WR's, if not higher, in the NFL.
4 - Alex Smith. His days are clearly very numbered. It's playoffs or bust for Alex and the Niners now, and even if they do make it, I can't help but feel his time in SF is done. He'll be no better than a backup in the NFL anywhere else. If he can't find a wide open Full-back 5 yards away, what hope does Crabtree have stretching the field or going across the middle in traffic? The 49ers really need to look to Jake Locker or Andrew Luck in the draft if they are high enough to make a move.

To call him a jerk is out of order. You only have to read any respected San Francisco beat reporters articles to understand what a very private person he is and how he's as keen as anybody to be on the same page as his offence and Quarterback.

The 49ers are in a hole. I myself and Coach Singletary clearly didn't see an 0-3 start with potential to now be 0-5. Singletary was under pressure and firing Raye buys him some more time, but anybody expecting anything different over the next 2 weeks might be bitterly disappointed. Luckily, the NFC West is so poor they have a shot at still making January football, but 0-5 might be a hole too deep.

If I were Coach Singletary, I'd be begging Kurt Warner to bail him out just for this year until we can re-assess our QB situation. Clearly they have had contact before over the protracted talks that took place last year.

Not sure if I can add links, but I write for a UK based website and I also covered this in my blog at footballdiner.com

Just to add another point Re: DHB in Oakland. How can any WR succeed when JaMarcus Russell is your Quarterback? Again, give him time to adjust to the speed of the NFL, give him some consistency at Quarterback and you might well be surprised on what he can do for Oakland. Granted, he went way too high in the draft, but this is Oakland, always expect the unexpected with Al Davis. They won't get top 10 talent out of him, but he will be a steady guy to have around for a few years, particularly with his speed, but he gets far too tough a time from people which isn't his fault. Other than his drops, but that's fixable with the right coaching.

Eurgh, I'm a 49ers fan and I'm defending the Raiders! :D

Brian, I think you kind make my argument for me.

In my first post, I said Crabtree was a lousy choice because expecting a "College star at WR would sort out the passing game" was a fool's errand. Now you point out how Crabtree is unsuited to the 49er play-calling, I feel even more vindicated!

And whilst I agree that most receivers tend to take a few years to come into their own, when you are drafted 10th and hold-out for top dollar, you've got to do a whole lot more than what Crabtree has shown so far. Don't think that's unfair to Crabtree.

The DHB comparison I think is right on point. Both were extravagant top-10 draft picks - both came into passing offenses with misfiring QBs, so both seemed like an expensive shot at treating the symptoms rather than the cause of the problems. DHB, however, is not getting into fights with team captains, and hard to recall a single story of him being a disruptive influence (must be a first for a Raider...). Anyway, you can take Neil's word rather than mine on how Crabtree is viewed, little evidence that he's liked by his team-mates, never mind the press.