The problem with losing a pass rusher

Did anyone notice last year that the pass rush looked really bad? In my memory, the low point was actually a game the team won. In week 12 against the Cardinals, Kurt Warner, playing in a wheel chair, threw for almost 500 yards. Take a look at the game clips - Warner drops back, sees his number one option is covered, remembers he forgot to send his pastor a thanksgiving card, takes a shower, shaves, sees his number 1 option is still covered, re-grows a beard a la Charlie from P.O.5, and throws a 50-yard touchdown.

As any casual observer of the füsball knows, teams can't win without pressuring the quarterback. Teams that get sacks win, while teams that don't get sacks lose. There's evidence suggesting that losing even one pass rusher from your roster is enough to send a defense from better-than-average to worse-than-average. And here's the kicker - when teams that lose a pass rusher try to replace that pass rusher via free agency or a trade, they still decline. Schatzy from Football Outsiders makes the case:

Does adding a top pass-rusher help as much as losing a top pass-rusher hurts? No, not even close. In fact, top pass-rushers switching teams have an effect roughly opposite that of top offensive linemen switching teams: Offensive linemen tend to have a bigger impact on their new teams, while top pass-rushers tend to have a bigger impact on the teams that lose them.

I mention all this just to show that a team needs a pass rush to be successful in the NFL.

As I stated in the opening, it seemed to me like the 2007 49ers couldn't sack groceries. Unfortunately, it appears I was right. According to Football Outsiders, the 49ers D-Line ranked 25th in adjusted sacks (sacks per pass attempt adjusted for opponent, down, and distance). The defense overall ranked 29th in DVOA against the pass. What did they do this offseason to improve their pass rush? Watched their leading pass rusher retire and replaced him with a guy who piled up all of two sacks last year (and who bears a remarkable resemblance to this guy). This doesn't inspire much optimism.

10 reasons 49ers fans can and should hate the Cowboys

You know what I hate more than the Cowboys? Nothing. A couple days ago, NFL.com held a debate over the greatest playoff rivalries in the game. All the debaters agreed 49ers-Cowboys is a top five rivalry. Jeffri Chadiha at ESPN even claimed,

[The mid-nineties] was the last time we saw two legitimate powerhouses tussling on an annual basis.

Still, I finished these articles feeling they failed to appreciate how much loathing there is between these two franchises. In that vein, here is a thorough list of all the reasons the 49ers fans can and should - nay, MUST - hate the Cowboys.

1. 1970 - After decades of mediocrity, Dick Nolan finally leads the 49ers to the post-season. Pissing on our parade for the first time, the Cowboys knock the 49ers out of the playoffs.
   
2. 1971 - For the second year in a row, the Cowboys knock the 49ers out of the playoffs.
3. 1972 - Bench warmer Roger Staubach comes into the NFC Championship game off the pine, throws two touchdown passes in the last two minutes of the game, and ... the Cowboys knock the 49ers out of the playoffs.
   
4. 1981 - The 49ers wipe the floor with the Cowboys 45-14 early in the season, but the Cowboys make it to the NFC Championship game nonetheless. In that game, Joe Montana leads an 89 yard drive, ending with Dwight Clark's catch over Everson "Posterized-On-My" Walls in the most glorious play in the history of anything on this or any other world. (Why is this a reason to hate the Cowboys? Because fuck the Cowboys, that's why.)
5. 1992 - After winning fourteen regular season games, the heavily favored 49ers blow it in the NFC Championship game when Bucky Fucking Dent makes the only play in his life that ever mattered, and ... the Cowboys knock the 49ers out of the playoffs.
   
6. 1993 - Hair Crimes Johnson is so drunk at a pre-NFC Championship game press conference that he predicts the Cowboys will win. George Seifert is so drunk during the game that the Cowboys do win, and ... the Cowboys knock the 49ers out of the playoffs.
   
7. 1995 - After helping the 49ers win the Super Bowl the prior year, Deion Sanders pulls an Anakin Skywalker and signs with the Cowboys, who he promptly helps win a Super Bowl.
8. Ms. Tarrell Owens.
   
9. 2005 - Mike Nolan's first season the Cowboys score fifteen points in the 4th Quarter to win by three.
10. 2008 - While the 49ers have snowball's chance in hell of making it to the playoffs this year, they will play the Cowboys in a regular season game for the first time since '05. Afterwards, we'll all have one more reason to hate the Cowboys.
    

Is this the best rivalry in football? Probably not, and definitely not at this moment. Are the Cowboys the 49ers' biggest rival? Maybe. Regardless, for all the playoffs the Cowboys have knocked the 49ers out of over the last 40 years, we really owe them a big debt of fuckyouitude.

Jedi Jed

Earlier this week, several sources reported Keena Turner was promoted from co-host of the 49ers GMC Post-Game Wrap-Up & Apology Show to 49ers VP of Keeping Current Players in United Way Commercials and Former Players Off the Welfare. The news was announced in an e-mail distributed to the press from Jed York, who forgot to CC me, but whatever. You'd think this information would come from a press liaison. But the fact that it came from Jed got me thinking. It's well-documented that Jed is being primed to take over the organization when his parents lose interest. Apparently, he's being primed to deal with the media as well.

This isn't the first time Jed has been in front of the mic for the 9ers. On draft day, he gave a very candid interview on KNBR at team headquarters. I, for one, was impressed with Jed. He fielded questions about the team's draft strategy, his uncle Eddie, and the team in general. In doing so, he sounded like a true football fan. In 2006, Jed sent a letter to friends (again, forgetting to CC me) describing the decision to move the team to Santa Clara. The letter, which eventually became public, ended with the following.

I can promise you I will do everything I can to make the 49ers the best team in professional sports. The 49ers will have a new stadium in the Bay Area soon. We will also win a lot of football games and start competing for the Super Bowl.

Nancy Gay, who published the letter, had this to say about Jed.

He is very passionate about the team and the stadium project. He is a smart young guy, but doesn't pretend he knows everything. He is involved in every aspect of the stadium construction and planning, more than many people think. Probably more than many San Francisco politicians are comfortable with.

Jed building a public image is no small thing. His father, Dr. J, is an ogre with the media and the fans. That's likely part of the reason the organization has Mike Nolan playing mouthpiece for everything the organization does. Jed, on the other hand, seems to be taking a page from uncle Eddie's book and warming up to the media. Also like Eddie, and unlike John, Jed is taking pains to build himself an image as a fan first, businessman second.

More comparisons to Eddie will inevitably follow as the Jed era draws near. But that won't happen any time soon. Jed is still in his 20s. Still, it's heartening to think that someday we'll have a fan in the owner's box again.

49ers receivers lead league in career yards ...

... accumulated for other teams.

That's right, after browsing the stacks at NFL.com, I found that the trio of Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson, and Ashley Lelie combine for more career receiving yards while playing for teams other than their current teams than any other receiver group in the NFL. By a lot.

1. 49ers - 20,221
2. Cowboys - 16,021
3. Buccaneers - 15,265

Interpret this as you will. One thing's for sure - Isaac Bruce is old. But Terry Glenn and Joey Galloway, who contributed to the runners up, have been around for a while too and they are still contributing.

I'm f'ing huge in Germany

The outpouring of personal interest stories about J.T. O'Sullivan recently is giving me cramps. In yesterday's Merc, even Dan Brown got in the act. Brown's is probably the best written article on the subject. It's definitely the most well-researched. But in some ways, it's also the most bothersome. It's bothersome because it's a huge waste of everybody's time.

When he's not haunting Ellen Page, O'Sullivan is employed as a third-string Quarterback by every team in the NFL.



Third-string. He's not taking reps with the first team, he's not taking reps with the second team. Third-string. He's gone from backing up the guy who backed up Jon Kitna to backing up the guy who backs up Alex Smith. Is that really all that newsworthy? At this point, I'd rather read about the guy who does the 49ers laundry because he has just about as good a chance as O'Sullivan as getting on the field for the opener.

Some of the writers went monkeyshit crazy when Nolan said O'Sullivan was in the running for the starting spot. But read what Nolan has actually been saying. Here's Nolan on KNBR (audio link) last week:

These guys [Smith and Hill] are competing for this job because both of them, for different reasons, have the ability to score points and lead this team ... O’Sullivan will compete for the job, not as much as Alex and Shaun, early on at least.

So O'Sullivan won't compete early, but he will get a chance later? One of the most frequent arguments for giving O'Sullivan a shot is his familiarity with the Mike Martz play book. That is something that will take Smith and Hill time to digest. But with each day of practice, Smith and Hill grow more familiar with the offense and O'Sullivan's advantage dissipates. So O'Sullivan's time to compete is EARLIER, not later.

So how, exactly, is O'Sullivan supposed to supplant both Smith and Hill when O'Sullivan is 1) not competing with Smith and Hill early on and 2) when he does get reps, he's pitching to the third string? Answer: he's not. He's there in case the two guys in front of him get hurt.

So how about some stories on more interesting members of the team?

Related reading:

Barrows keeps a level head on O'Sullivan ... consistently.
So does Kawakami.
Scott Ostler says O'Sullivan might be the front runner.
Mark Maske makes the familiar-with-the-system argument. (The Washington Post has a sports writer? And he writes up the 9ers?)

Die Porkchop, Die

Laywer: Well, what about that tattoo on your chest? Doesn't it say Die Porkchop, Die?
Sideshow Nineraguan: No, that's German for "The Porkchop, The."
Parole Judge: No one who speaks German can be an evil man! Parole Granted!

Bad news is good news. Especially when it involves injuries to Seattle's O-Line. Sando reports the Seahawks are shuffling already and it's the first day of OTAs.

Just met Chilo Rachal

Well, "met" is a bit of an exaggeration. He was standing outside a store on Market St and I stopped to gush like a 9-year-old girl at a Miley Cyrus ass kissing contest. Funny thing was, he seemed really flattered, like he didn't expect people to recognize him. Hey Chilo, you're 6' 5" and 315 lbs., people are going to notice you.

I'm not a journalist, I'm a fan. So when I meet players, I freak out a little bit. Inevitably, I end up rooting for players I've met for no rational reason. Chilo's no exception. If you read this blog, expect to hear me push the guy all year. Starting now.

I like Jonas Jennings. I think the success the offense had in '06 was directly attributable to Jennings and Allen on the left side of the line. What's more, a lot of the guys on the team talk about Jennings when they talk about the team leaders. That said, if Jonas Jennings starts every game this season, I will eat my hat. Now that Chilo's bumped out to back up Jennings at Right Tackle, Chilo's virtually guaranteed some starts. I look forward to seeing what he can do.