Perhaps our team has hamstrung itself by doing too much working out off season. Maybe it's that they are already acting like Super Bowl victors of the year before. Certainly, the offensive strategy has been the West Coast Offense reduced to it's lowest common denominator. One of the 49ers' long-term problems has been scripting the plays at the beginning of the game: so when a penalty is called moving the ball back, a play is called on 3rd down that will advance the ball a few yards short of a first down.

Another problem that I see is inherently controversial: the team has two weak starters, one on offense, the other defensive. The latter is Chiki Okifer. Occasionally he makes a play, but normally I see him being wrestled to a stop by a blocker, and then hovering around tacklers and ball carriers on the ground, still standing, acting as if he is doing something. The team needs a tougher tight end there: Engelberger or Davis off the practice squad. On offense, I think it's about time to give up on J.J. Stokes. He's a good blocker, etc, but, finally, he needs to be cut and replaced by a classic, tall, pattern-running expert with super hands. I think that NFL Europe veteran Clomen is the right man for the job. He was among the last of the players cut. Seeing McCaffertey yesterday reminded me that the 49ers let him go, at the same time they gave up a lot of draft choices to go for Stokes. This poor player evaluation was committed under the old regime (which in this case, redeemed itself by drafting Owens on the 3rd round).

Finally, there is the matter of continually poor kick returning: say what you will about Vinny Sutherland, he still always seemed to manage making a positive ten or 15 yard return, even if he never "broke one" in 14 games. For the moment, I say cut Williams, likeable as he is, and try out Robertson, re-sign Sutherland, or sign the Raiders recent cut, Reggie Barlow as a returner.