Master Motivator Mike Singletary has faced numerous issues in 2010 and it has me asking, does he have control over his players and coaches?  I think Singletary still has control of the ship but the wheel is shaky.  Here are the issues Singletary has faced:

• Firing of general manager Scot McCloughan:  We still don’t know the reasons for McCloughan’s dismissal other than he was let go for “personal reasons.”  Those reasons could include Singletary.  That is just speculation but when you are not given a straight answer from the 49ers front office about the firing the 49er Faithful is allowed to speculate.  It would make sense though as this was around the time Singletary’s issues started and would be the reason for other issues, see below, that seemed uncharacteristic of players coached by Singletary.

• Kentwan Balmergoes AWOL, gets traded: I thought the Master Motivator would be able to bring Balmer back after going AWOL and motivate him to be the player the 49ers envisioned when they selected him in the first round in 2008.  Balmer never showed up and never talked to Singletary which resulted in him being traded to the Seahawks.  Balmer could have acted the same way on any other team but I would never have thought he would pull that on a team lead by Singletary.

• Glenn Coffee retires:  This was the biggest news of the off-season and the most surprising.  How could a second year player with so much talent abruptly quit and retire at the age of 23?  The Master Motivator could not convince Coffee to play out the year and see how he felt at the end of the season?  Well, Coffee said he found God back in college and his heart has not been in football since.  With Singletary being a religious guy as well, he wears a cross on the sidelines during games, I am sure once he heard that he respected Coffee’s decision and let him go.  But you cannot tell me that Singletary did not have an idea or had not talk to Coffee about his dedication to football and his religious beliefs.  

• Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis: The confrontation between Crabtree and Davis was warranted because Crabtree was acting as if he was a veteran by deciding not to play in the preseason games.  I commend Davis for calling Crabtree out but now we are seeing the repercussions of a wide receiver not getting reps with his quarterback.  The question I have is did Singletary give in to Crabtree not wanting to play?  I don’t believe that Crabtree really could not play in any of the games.  Singletary allowed him to sit which probably pissed off some players like Davis.

• Play calling problems:  With offensive coordinator Jimmy Rayestruggling to get plays called in a timely manner, a problem dating back to last season, I think I now understand why this never got fixed.  Singletary is the Master Motivator for his players and an overall game planner for his coaches.  He is not however an X’s and O’s type of coach when it comes to the offense so he defers a lot to Raye and his staff. He knew of the problems but they came to the boiling point on Sunday against an underdog team and loud fans. 

• The “Rat”:  Singletary talked of a “rat” being on the team that was the source of the Yahoo Sports story.  Singletary obviously does not know who the rat is which means he may have lost more than just one player in the locker room.  Singletary is frustrated by the rat and showed it in a radio interview on Thursday which according to the San Jose Mercury News was pulled down from the stations web site.   

The majority of players on the 49ers have Singletary’s back and I think it is just a few players that are disgruntled.  However it is still a problem and contributed to the 49ers loss last week.  Singletary needs lean on his captains like Vernon Davis who he helped turn around into the best tight end in the NFL to reach out to the players that are not happy and fix the problems. Crisis mode rarely comes this early in the season and the 49ers are just on the brink of being in full mode but we have to trust Singletary.  Calling for him to be fired will not help.  That is something for after the season if the 49ers regress back to under .500.  Singletary will right the ship and that starts with a win on Monday Night Football against the reigning champs.

What I don’t understand is if this was an issue last season why hasn’t it been solved this season?  Why did Mike Singletary allow Johnson to be the man to relay the plays in to Smith if Michael was mostly successful at doing the job?  Smith did say the Yahoo report was ridicules but also added,

“It’s something that we’ve gotten away with at times in the past, especially last year.  Just battling it and hurried at the line of scrimmage. But I think over the long run, it hurts you. You have less operation time at the line of scrimmage, you’re burning timeouts. You’re taking unnecessary penalties.”

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Ask quarterback Alex Smith the reason for the communication breakdown in the loss against the Seahawks and he blames it on the plays not being called fast enough.  Ask Mike Singletary or Raye and they will say there were issues with the radio in Smith’s helmet.  Singletary agreed with Smith that Raye should be on the sidelines so we will see if they implement the plan on Monday night against the Saints.  Regardless of who/what is to blame for the communication breakdowns it caused the 49ers to lose a chance at a touchdown score in the second quarter with the Niners on the Seahawks 1-yard line on 4th-and-goal.  Instead the Niners settled for a field goal and gave credence to the Seahawks fans in thinking they caused the delay of game penalty.  The process for relaying plays goes from Raye up in the booth to quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson who radios the call to Smith’s helmet.  Being up in the booth might be an advantage for Raye in that he can see how the defense is reacting to plays however when it costs you touchdowns, timeouts and confidence it makes sense to be on the sidelines.

2. Michael Crabtree should put in extra hours during the week:

You miss all of the preseason games because of neck strains and you go into the first game of the regular season thinking you are ready to be the star wide receiver.  Enter reality.  I am not sure if it is Crabtree’s cockiness or based on his 11-game stretch last season in which he played well with only two weeks of practice before he started his first NFL game that he thinks he can put in minimal work in the preseason and have a successful game in week one.  This is what tight end Vernon Davis was so upset about with Crabtree.  He could have played during the preseason with his neck strains but did not because he most likely viewed the games as unimportant.  The games were important if only to get Smith and Crabtree in sync on passing routes.  Instead it was no coincidence the two interceptions that Smith threw were targeted for Crabtree who was overthrown but it had more to do with the receiver not running the correct route and the QB/WR not being in sync.

3. The Specials Teams must become special:

Watching the Chargers vs. Chiefs on Monday night made me realize how bad the 49ers special teams unit still is this season.  The addition of Ted Ginn Jr. will help with returns but the 49ers best blocker on special teams the last couple of seasons, Michael Robinson, is no longer on the team.  How is it that the Chiefs can find two rookie returners in Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas who are so explosive and yet the 49ers return team seems to get worse each season? This is where having a legitimate and proven general manager helps which the 49ers lack.  If you were watching the game on Monday night you saw how a kickoff and punt return can change the momentum of a game in a second.  These are the type of game changing plays the 49ers lack in their arsenal.  With the 49ers offense struggling they cannot rely on the special teams for an explosive play because of the lack of adequate returners and blocking.

4. Use running backs Anthony Dixon and Brian Westbrook:

I understand that Frank Gore is the running back workhorse and best player we have on offense but Dixon and Westbrook did not play one down on offense.  Yes, Dixon is a rookie but he showed promise in the preseason and it would have been good to see if he could carry the production over to the regular season.  Westbrook only played in seven games last season and had two carries in the preseason but if he is healthy why not have him in on a few plays. I think a change of pace with running backs could have been good for the 49ers.  Grant it they were down by two scores shortly after the start of the second half and gave way to the passing game but for Gore to get all of the 17 rushing attempts does not make sense.  Gore will only last so long as the lone workhorse at running back.

5. Don’t thank another head coach for “kicking our tails”:

After Sunday’s loss coach Singletary thanked Peter Carroll for “kicking our tails” and sending us a wakeup call.  First, if you are the favorite to win your division and you lose to a divisional opponent that is expected to finish third in the NFC West you are not suppose to say the Seahawks beat us but we beat ourselves.  Regardless of whether or not that is the truth a true division favorite would not give so much credit to another team.  Singletary needed to channel Jets head coach Rex Ryan and be defiant saying something along the lines of, ‘it was a fluke, and we are the favorites to win the division and still are despite the defeat.  We will be back to full force next week and will take down the Seahawks on December 12.’  Instead Singletary talked as if conceding that the Seahawks are the better team.