The problem with this pattern is the false sense of hope (and hype) it creates going into the following season. "Sure, Nolan/Smith/the defense/the receiving corps had a rough go last year," we fans would say,"but things are looking up." In reality, things weren't looking up. The following season would come and the 49ers would continue to eek out victories against bad teams and get utterly destroyed by good teams when it mattered. So the optimism created by the previous year's strong finish was never really warranted.
Like a recurring nightmare, it's happening again. The media is lobbying for Young Jedi to anoint Mike Singletary the head coach for 2009. In perfect harmony, they're lobbying for Singletary to anoint Shaun Hill the starting quarterback for 2009. This is logical. The team appears it will finish the 2008 season on the upswing and most of the recent success can and should be attributed to Singletary and Hill. With a little more cohesion on the o-line and some much needed consistency in the offensive coordinator's office they'll head into 2009 primed for a winning record. But I can't help but ask, is this a mirage?
I mean, I'm happy for the victories and all. And I sincerely hope the 9ers actually are a better team than they were in 2007. But the fact is, they're substantially the same team that they were in 2007. Sure, the receivers are different, the o-line's been reshuffled, and Martz is calling the plays. But other than that, they're pretty much the same old 9ers. Justin Smith is good, but so was Bryant Young. Some might say Shaun Hill is a difference-maker, but at least some are slow to hop on his wagon.
It appears the 49ers still are not sold on Shaunhill [intentionally misspelled], still believe he’s OK, but over the long haul is not a winning quarterback — at least not a big winner — and can’t take them where they need to go. It seems clear no one in that quiet building in Santa Clara is about to say Shaunhill is next season’s starter, or even that next season’s starter currently works in the building.Let me be the first to say, that may be an accurate assessment. It worries me that most of the ink spilled over the last few days has been dispelling this logic. Even the Lowell Cohn article the above-quoted material comes from goes on to say "[Hill] is the genuine article — has presence, the knack, the feel — whatever you want to call it." Maybe we could wait until the man gets that 6th NFL start under his belt before claiming he is the "genuine article."
As the last three seasons have taught me as a fan, you can't put all your eggs in one basket, particularly when that basket didn't do shit until it was already eliminated from the playoffs.
Sorry.
