If this continues, the bus will roll over Hostler

By Chris Cluff  |   Monday, October 08, 2007  |  Comments( 5 )

San Francisco 49ers
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On paper, the San Francisco 49ers looked like they were set up to be pretty good on offense this year. After all, they had a powerhouse runner in Frank Gore and a quickly improving quarterback in Alex Smith, a solid returning line as well as imported veteran receivers in Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie.

But on the field, none of it has been as advertised. Gore has struggled behind a suddenly underachieving line, Smith was playing poorly before he got hurt and the new receivers have been useless. Add it all up - or subtract it all down - and the Niners are on pace to be the worst offense in league history.

So why are the 49ers the worst offense in the NFL? There are a lot of reasons, but the main one might be the fact that Jim Hostler has done a poor job of replacing Norv Turner as the man calling the plays.

People were concerned when Turner left to coach the San Diego Chargers, but some of those worries were assuaged by the fact that Nolan maintained some continuity by promoting Hostler from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator. Alas, Hostler has not been up to the task.

The game plans and playcalling have been conservative from the get-go, and Gore has faced a lot of eight-man fronts from defenses that have been unconcerned about the dink-and-dunk, side-to-side, go-nowhere passing game.

Coach Mike Nolan said he is evaluating every part of his offense during the upcoming bye week.

"There's a lot of searching going on," Nolan told reporters Monday. "If it was just one (area), it would be a simple problem. But there have been dropped balls, missed blocks, missed protection calls. It could be scheme. It could be play-calling. It could be the head coach. It could be a lot of things."

Nolan seems to be hoping the return of Smith, tight end Vernon Davis and left tackle Jonas Jennings will help when the 49ers resume play on Oct. 21 against the New York Giants.

But Nolan doesn't seem inclined to change the play-caller. And why should he? It's too late now. Nolan's a defensive coach, so he's not going to call the offense. That's the job he gave to Hostler, and that's the guy the 49ers are stuck with.

"He's in charge of that area, and he'll be making the calls," Nolan said. "I do believe that it's not accurate to put one person under the bus, because all you've done there is just postponed the next person under the bus."

But it seems pretty obvious that if Hostler doesn't find a way to get his offense moving in the next two weeks, Nolan will have to give him a push when the bus goes by at the end of another non-playoff season.
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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