This is why we are second rate

[6025]

[ATTACH]841[/ATTACH]

I figured this thread was the best place for this.

Anyone see the NFL Network's "A Football Life" feature on Eddie DeBartolo? Love or hate the Niners, this guy was a great owner for that franchise. Talking to the Niner players it was clearly evident (mainly because many of them said or implied this) that they would do anything for that guy. They all loved and respected him. It really does start from the top. Contrast it with Deano or Alex...

[Steve]

It's not that we don't practice tackling, we just don't use this technique. The technique our guys use is more off an upper body technique. You can see bits and pieces of it in the OTA and TC clips. I would rather see us use the technique the seahawks use, but that is not really part of our problem.

Our issue isn't really tackling anyway. When our players are missing tackles it is usually because they are in poor position. Too many guys taking plays off, or freelancing. And while there is some effort behind it, it is applied stupidly. There is little or no accountability and/or leadership. Guys make the same mistakes over and over again. Not every play, most of the game our defense plays OK, but there are stretches were it is one mistake after another.

I would rather see us go after someone with an approach more like Mike Zimmer of the Vikings (http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/po...of-mike-zimmer). Zimmer forces every defensive player to know everyone other player assignment too. It really reinforces that that it is a team game, and that everyone needs to work together and do their job each and every play, to the point he does oral quizzes of the players in the full defense meeting, so everyone else knows who is unprepared. That is something we have sorely missed. It's similar to something NE does. If a player makes an assignment mistake you have to stand up in front of the entire team (not just the offense or defense) and explain why you made that mistake.

[Lightningwill_420]

I figured this thread was the best place for this.

Anyone see the NFL Network's "A Football Life" feature on Eddie DeBartolo? Love or hate the Niners, this guy was a great owner for that franchise. Talking to the Niner players it was clearly evident (mainly because many of them said or implied this) that they would do anything for that guy. They all loved and respected him. It really does start from the top. Contrast it with Deano or Alex...

I have more respect for the Spanoses than I do for DeBartalo, who is a white collar criminal.

[6025]

I have more respect for the Spanoses than I do for DeBartalo, who is a white collar criminal.

Be that as it may, he paid the price and it's still a fact that as an owner he consistently won and got his players to love him too. He gave his players first class treatment in everything. One player was left partially paralyzed and he set up an annuity fund to make sure this guy was set for life. They interviewed a ton of guys and nobody had a bad thing to say about him - nobody. The common theme was they wanted to win for him - he treated everyone in the organization well, and the players responded accordingly. His main goal was to win. The fans were beneficiaries of that. Hearing about these things and comparing them to the Spanoses is a joke, transgressions notwithstanding.

[Lightningwill_420]

Be that as it may, he paid the price and it's still a fact that as an owner he consistently won and got his players to love him too. He gave his players first class treatment in everything. One player was left partially paralyzed and he set up an annuity fund to make sure this guy was set for life. They interviewed a ton of guys and nobody had a bad thing to say about him - nobody. The common theme was they wanted to win for him - he treated everyone in the organization well, and the players responded accordingly. His main goal was to win. The fans were beneficiaries of that. Hearing about these things and comparing them to the Spanoses is a joke, transgressions notwithstanding.

Here's an excerpt from Debartolo's Wikipedia page. Sounds like a jackass to me.

In 1992, Debartolo was accused of sexual assault at his Menlo Park condo, by a cocktail waitress he met at a local bar. The married DeBartolo, who denied any wrongdoing, was never charged, but reportedly paid $200,000 to settle the case out of court.[5]

DeBartolo was involved in the corruption case of former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards. DeBartolo pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to report a felony, and received a $1 million fine and two years of probation in return for his testimony against Edwards.[6] Edwards was on trial for extortion and other charges, among which were the $400,000 he demanded from DeBartolo to gain a river boat casino license.[6] DeBartolo never received the license, was fined by the NFL, and barred from active control of the 49ers for one year.[7]

That legal battle led to another, and as part of a settlement, DeBartolo gave up control of the 49ers in 2000, ceding control of the team to his sister Marie Denise DeBartolo York. York had previously been the president of the DeBartolo family-owned Pittsburgh Penguins. In 1991 he arranged to sell the NHL franchise to assist the DeBartolo Corporation in the aftermath of the real estate collapse of 1987. Many shopping malls were sold to the Simon Property Group in 1996, which operated for a few years as the Simon DeBartolo Group.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_J._DeBartolo,_Jr.

By the way, in the NFL, Debartolo cheated the salary cap, his star receiver wore Stickum, and his entire offensive line wore silicon on their shirts and were into chop blocking. The Debartalos were the Krafts of the 80s and 90s.

[6025]

I'm sure we could find instances where everyone has been a jackass in their lives. But my only reason to bring this up was his style of ownership, how he was able to produce championships by creating an environment where his employees loved him and wanted to be there. Unlike an ownership group we've all had to suffer with since 1984. Hopefully not much longer.

[Lightningwill_420]

I'm sure we could find instances where everyone has been a jackass in their lives. But my only reason to bring this up was his style of ownership, how he was able to produce championships by creating an environment where his employees loved him and wanted to be there. Unlike an ownership group we've all had to suffer with since 1984. Hopefully not much longer.

Yea, I know. If I were a billionaire white-collar criminal shopping-mall/real-estate tycoon who ignored the NFL salary-cap rules, I could overpay all my employees and make them love me. If my employees all cheated, they could probably win a few championships. If the League got angry at me and made me give my team to my sister, I'd swing a deal with her in which I would get all of my rich dad's real-estate holdings and I could still show up for a conference championship party. Then she could move San Francisco's team to Santa Clara.

I've made mistakes, but I've never tried to rape anybody or bribe a governor. And, if I did, I couldn't just refuse to cooperate with authorities in my rape case, pay off everybody, and turn into a rat on the governor I tried to bribe, and get away with all of it. Why?
A) Because I'm not fucked up enough to rape anybody or bribe the government.
And, B) I'm not a billionaire white-collar criminal shopping-mall/real-estate tycoon.

Do you really think those are the only shady things DeBartolo has done? If one is ballsy enough to bribe a governor, who else has he bribed to get what he needs?

P.S. I'm no longer suffering due to the Spanoses. I've come to terms with the truth that my fandom was a 37-year mistake and have moved on. The NFL is a bad league owned by bad people. I have no respect for any of them.