Week 5 -- Martz has a flashback

When Mike Martz was named Offensive Coordinator of the 49ers this past off season, I was initially quite irate. I judged him on his performance with the Lions, where he was an undisciplined, pass-wacky nut, seemingly bent on getting John Kitna killed. But after having my attention called to his tenure with the Rams, where he had All-World running back Marshall Faulk, I could see an offense that utilized the star back in such a way that he would have 25 touches per game (combined rushes and receptions), thus maximizing the output of an already amazing offensive asset. I figured that, with Frank Gore in the Marshall Faulk role, Martz would go Rams-style with the offense, not Lions-style.

That was true for the first four weeks of the season. Sunday, however, we got Lions-style. And JT O'Sullivan did his best John Kitna imitation on top of it. And the Niners lost, 30-21.

JT was alternately gawd-awful and brilliant...unfortunately, he was mostly gawd-awful (14-29, 130, 3 TD, 3 Int). And Frank Gore? He had 7 touches in the first quarter...and only 9 the rest of the game. Hello? Martz? Meet Frank Gore. He's the offense you f'ing moron!

The defensive secondary looks like they're playing scared. But the front 7 showed flashes of brilliance, combining for 5 sacks. Linebackers Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes had 18 and 14 tackles, respectively. Of course, given NE had an almost 2-to-1 time of possession advantage, the Niners had many more opportunities to make those outrageous numbers. And the old "can't get off the field on 3rd down" bugaboo persists: the defense allowed first downs on nearly half (8 for 17) of NE's 3rd down plays. Meanwhile, the dormant offense was only 1 for 9 on 3rd down.

The highlight of the day was the retirement of Steve Young's number. I don't mind saying that Steve is my all-time favorite 49ers player. This was an honor he definitely had coming.

Up next, Philadelphia, a team that has owned the Niners for years. This week it could get UGLY. *sigh*