Bob DiCesare: Singletary makes believers of Spikes, 49ers
San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary opted not to drop his pants at halftime to illustrate a point, perhaps because his 49ers were never close to getting their butts kicked. And Singletary neither pulled his starting quarterback nor banished his tight end to the locker room early, acts committed shortly after he assumed the job of resurrecting a franchise haunted by distant glory days, same as Sunday's opponent, the Buffalo Bills.
No, this time Singletary set his team loose and let it play football, which a coach can do once his players have recognized his ability to lead, bought into his approach, concluded that they're better off now than they were before. That was the saddest truth Bills fans can take away from Buffalo's humiliating, 10-3 loss at The Ralph. Not only were their pretenders outscored by a franchise struggling for purchase, they also were thoroughly outcoached by a man in just his fifth game on the job.
How telling it is that while the Bills, at 6-6, acknowledged the blow this result dealt to their playoff chances, the 49ers, at 4-8, spoke in terms of hope and belief and eventual prosperity. The Niners feel like they're getting somewhere. The Bills? All we know is that next week they're off to Toronto, which now more than ever can be construed as a financial reprieve for season-ticket holders tired of footing the bill for the same-old, same-old.
The Niners traveled some 2,300 miles for this game, which this year's NFL trend says translates into automatic defeat. They were made to play in rain, sleet and snow, conditions to which they are most assuredly unaccustomed. Yet Bills coach Dick Jauron went on the defensive right from the opening coin flip, deferring possession to the second half, an overly analytical, defeatist position trumped by San Francisco's game-opening, 72-yard touchdown drive. Weren't the Bills coming off a 54-point outburst? And the coach elects to defer?
The Niners' defense protected that early lead wire-to-wire, even as the Bills mounted a reasonable succession of scoring threats. Three times Buffalo staked out prime real estate in the red zone and then sold it under cost. The Niners, it turns out, had Buffalo's schemes and tendencies down pat, knew them as well as the players they were defending.
"I think it's preparation, preparation by [defensive coordinator] Greg Manusky," said Takeo Spikes, the former Bill who was in on nine tackles, forced a fumble and ran down Marshawn Lynch at the end of a 50-yard run to prevent a Buffalo touchdown.
"We actually did two days of red zone work, somewhat on Thursday and then a true red zone day on Friday," Spikes said. "He can tell us what they're going to run, but a lot of people don't tell you why they'll run it versus certain stuff. And for him to be able to put us in that position, that's the reason why we're going to be effective in the red zone. We saw that. Certain calls you're going to be able to see certain stuff."
In case Singletary's messages failed to do the job, Spikes and former Bills teammate Nate Clements made sure the Niners were up for this one. Clements got his start here, Spikes his second chance after empty years in Cincinnati. They have fond memories of Buffalo, although not much has changed since they left.
"It was an emotional win," said Clements, who had six tackles. "We prepared hard this week, as we do every week, and we just wanted to come out here and compete to win."
"Big emotional win, very big," Spikes said. "Big from the aspect that my best years on a consistent level came here in Buffalo. I'll never forget that. I miss the environment. I can't explain it to you. It's unexplainable."
What Spikes can explain is the impact Singletary has had on the 49ers, the sense of camaraderie the new coach has built through unorthodox old-school means.
"Coach Singletary got a lot of heat .‚.‚. as far as his motivational tactics," Spikes said. "[But] as a player, you would want to be challenged. And as a player if you don't like to be challenged, or if you're getting called out, whether or not you're doing something wrong and you're going to get fined for it, I mean, you're no good. Even when times were bad, the belief that he continued to instill in us was the difference."
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments