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The 2007 San Francisco 49ers are not the laughing stock of the NFL.  Yes, I said it.  There are much more laughable matters at hand, to whit:  the 2007 Miami Dolphins.  At first it was chic to laugh at them for showing Florida for what it truly is:  A place where old people go to die.  In this case, it’s a place where old careers go to die.  Witness Trent Green, recipient of many concussions, likely done after this year.  The defense is old, and the franchise has no influx of youtful talent.  They also traded away their best wide receiver, unless you really like Ted Ginn, Jr.

The 2007 Atlanta Falcons are the laughing stock of the NFL.  A young rookie head coach who anticipated working with the multi-talented Michael Vick (and likely fixing his throwing mechanics which are worse than Vince Young’s), only to find himself embroiled in scandal after scandal.  His players don’t trust him, he doesn’t trust his players, and they eke out a win against the hapless 49ers.

The 2007 New York Jets are a laughing stock, with living proof that the Quarterback rating is useless as a stat:  Chad Pennington has the fifth-highest career passer rating in league history!  The 2007 Cincinnati Bengals, well, really only the defense is a laughing stock (as well as supposed guru Marvin Lewis), while the offense seems to still be alive.

Meanwhile the 49ers are, along with the St. Louis Rams, more like the biggest head-scratcher in the NFL.  The Defense seems to only have gotten better with additions Nate Clements, Michael Lewis, Marques Douglas, and rookie sensation Patrick Willis.  The offense featured a quarterback entering his third year, a pro-bowl running back entering his third year, an offensive line that remained intact from the previous year, two veteran free agent pick-ups in the Wide Receiver corps, and rising star Vernon Davis completely healthy and ready for his breakout year.

No wonder preseason analysts predicted this team to be a surprise.

No wonder I cringed when I first heard it.

So the team is now coming off their sixth-straight loss, when last season their longest streak was three games.  Immediately fans assume that the coaching must be to blame.  Early on, criticism fell upon rookie Offensive Coordinator Jim Hostler, and he still retains a lot of that as he seems to find difficulty in adjusting his playcalling to events on the field.  In hindsight, perhaps the hiring of Jim Hostler was a vast mistake, despite Norv Turner’s early departure leaving us precious few options.  Nolan decided to keep his new hire in-house to maintain continuity.  Small wonder a rookie Offensive Coordinator has trouble filling the shoes of a man many call an Offensive Genius.  Troy Aikman was his, after all.

Right.  So were Mark Brunell with the Redskins and Jay Fiedler/A.J. Feely with the Dolphins.

Fans, as well as Bay Area media, are clamoring for Mike Nolan’s firing or demotion, the scrapping of the entire offensive coaching staff, the drafting of yet another savior quarterback, the signing of some savvy veteran (who will end up like Trent Green or Steve McNair?), and/or countless other scenarios.

We’ve seen Mike Nolan go through growing pains before, and this is what’s happening to Jim Hostler.  This is also happening to the team as a whole, because no one is living up to expectations.  There were no real expectations to live up to last season when the 49ers went 7-9.  Every win was a surprise, and a pleasant one.  This was a team on the rise, and fans were close enough to smell 10-6 and the playoffs.  But the team is inconsistent, and across the board they are defying expectations.

This season it started with the offensive line, with pass protection break ing down more often than not, and the vaunted running game stalled, which overflowed to the quarterback who was forced to throw more often, who in turn is reliant on his wide receivers to catch the balls.  Now only a doofus would have said that Smith was making horrid throws in the first two games, or even against Pittsburgh, rather people were just dropping them.  When Smith finally came back against New Orleans, he was obviously hurt and his throws were off.  Now he comes back against Atlanta when he finally feels 100%, and his throws are off again.  This of course, must be absolute proof of another #1 overall pick gone bust.

We know from beat writer Matt Maiocco that his footwork was not up to snuff against Atlanta, and we know from Smith himself that he was rushing his throws unnecessarily.  He himself admitted to poor play, to getting his mechanics off due to thinking there was pressure when there was not, and just generally stinking up the joint.  But other players succumbed as well.  The Offensive Line and Michael Robinson were unable to get a push in one-yard situations.  Though Alex Smith overthrew some great plays, his receivers continued to drop some as well.  Though it seemed Hostler was bogged down with the run, his setup of the Bryan Gilmore play, by lulling the Atlanta Defense into clock-churning run defense, was absolutely perfect.

Plays have been there to be made all season long.  Whether it’s a throw, a catch, a block, a hole to hit, a cut, a tackle, a coverage–whatever.  The plays have been there, and despite the mantra of “Make the Play” coming out of the New Orleans game, players still failed to make the plays.  They must start making the plays, bottom line.  That is what it comes down to, and that is the most frustrating part of the deal.

People can cry about it all they want–and they have been–but even the best coaches can’t make a player make the plays.  Players are paid to make the plays, but perhaps some people are right in that Nolan has refused to bench players who haven’t made the plays.  When you’re a young team trying to build momentum, benching players oftentimes breaks a spirit rather than motivates it.  It’s a fine line to walk, and none of us know the minds of the players in that locker room.

Let’s say this season is a bust.  Where do the 49ers go from here?  I think that Matt Maiocco is right when he says Jim Hostler will probably stay on next season for the sake of continuity, and Hostler continues to learn as the season progresses.  I would say that they will more likely bring in an offensive consultant–-quality control, let’s say–-like a Jim Fassel or somesuch.  Nolan could comfortably allow Fassel to mentor Hostler (as well as Smith) because even coaches need coaches, and perhaps Hostler needs that senior offensive mind to set him at ease.  I think Nolan would be even more inclined to let the offense do its job without getting his input every time.

For now, I think we let the season play out, much as last year.  At least this time there won’t be any expectations, and perhaps they can be the surprise team again.  If not, no one will expect them next year, and I could do without such big expectations.  Either way, I think the 2007 49ers will be a laughing stock.

Because I believe we’ll be able to look back on the season that was… and laugh.