Q&A with Matt Maiocco

by Ciro de Mauro and Angelo Pellegrino

 

 

Ciro e Angelo: Hi Matt, Thank you for your great availabitity. Let's begin with some questions concerning "our" 49ers. In your opinion, how Nolan convinced York to retain him? Do you think he's the right man for this organization?
Matt: After the season was over, Nolan and York met for a couple days. The focus of those talks was what the 49ers would do in the future. Nolan outlined his plan, including the firing of offensive coordinator Jim Hostler, and told York of his plan to get the 49ers into contention in 2008. York liked what he heard and decided to retain Nolan as head coach.

C e A: From "Win the West" to "One meeting, one practice and one game at a time". Is Nolan good in motivating the players? Do you think the players play for him?
M:His message resonates with some players more than others. But the same can be said for any coach in the league. There are certain players on both sides of the ball who want to win for him, but I think Nolan has tried to allow the players to take “ownership” of the situation. He has encouraged participation in the offseason program in order to make the team feel more “invested” in the results.

C e A: It's impossible to judge a draft before the start of the season, but we'd like to know your opinion about changing players position.
49ers select DT Balmer in first round, but they plan to use him as at DE; then OG Rachal in second round, but they plan to use him at OT:
it wasn't a better idea to draft players that doesn't need to change position in the transition to pro level? When you do something like that you never know if the player will be able to adapt...
M: The position change with Balmer is subtle. He played DT in college, which is very similar to playing DE in a 3-4, so I don’t see that as much of an issue. With Rachal, the team is so thin at tackle that they decided to see what he can do. It is possible that if the 49ers sign a veteran tackle, such as Barry Sims, that they could move Rachal back to guard and keep him there for a while. But, yes, generally, it is a good idea to keep a guy doing what he knows best – especially when you select a player in the early rounds. In the later rounds, you can take a risk and see if a position change works out.

C e A: How do you judge Nolan and McCloughan in acquiring veteran players (via free agency or trade)?
M: League-wide, the success rate in free agency is no better than in the draft. (Roughly, 50 percent.) They’ve gotten some good players through free agency, but they’ve also had to pay a lot of money. Getting the salary cap in order in the first year enabled them the opportunity to go after Nate Clements, Michael Lewis and Justin Smith. They swung and missed on Darrell Jackson (in a trade), but they hit a home run with free agent Walt Harris. They overpaid for Jonas Jennings, who was considered the best left tackle in that free-agent class. If Jennings stays healthy, plays well, and the 49ers win this season, all of a sudden that signing won’t look so bad. However, he has already been moved from left tackle to right tackle, which is not nearly as marquee of a position. Overall, there’s been some good and some bad.

C e A: We think that at the opener, but perhaps also at the beginning of training camp, the starter QB will be Alex Smith. What do you think he can do in Martz system?
Is he the 49ers QB of the future? Will he be able to have a good relationship with Nolan after the miscommunication of last year?
M: I agree that Smith will be the starter. Watching him on the practice field, he is clearly the most physically talented of the quarterbacks. The sky is the limit as far as what Martz can do with him. This is Smith’s fourth season. Although it’s just his first season with Martz, we should know at the end of this season whether Smith will be the team’s QB going forward. I thought Smith had a chance to become a suitable NFL quarterback after his second season. For a variety of reasons -- mostly, he played three games in which he could throw the ball – we don’t know any more about him now than we knew a year ago. If something happens, and Smith does not win the job, it will be official that will be among the worst busts in draft history. But until then, I’m keeping an open mind.

C e A: WR coach Jerry Sullivan is known to be a very good position coach: why do you think WRs have been so bad in 2007, but also in 2006 and 2005?
It's only lack of talent in WRs corp or Sullivan has not been so good in teaching them?
M: The biggest reason the 49ers’ receivers were so bad was because, well, they were so bad. Battle is a solid player, but who else have the 49ers had at receiver the past three seasons? Antonio Bryant was a pretty darn good player, but he got into trouble and was let go. Sullivan is a technician. I think some veterans have a difficult time adjusting. For instance, rather than take Ashley Lelie and working with what he already had, Sullivan decided to have Lelie take a step backward in hopes of making a dramatic improvement this season. Sullivan started from scratch with Lelie. We shall see how that works out.

C e A: Why Mike Singletary is still a 49ers coach? A lot of teams showed interest in him the past offseason for a HC position, but nothing happened. Do you think he can be Nolan successor at the end of this season?
M: When Singletary interviewed for a few jobs after the 2006 season, he was clearly not ready to be a head coach. He didn’t have a list of assistants ready to join his staff, so he didn’t have answers when he was asked about his future offensive coordinator, etc. He also did not have an agent. I think a team like the Falcons interviewed him one year and, therefore, decided not to give him another chance. Maybe they felt like he wasted their time in ’06. I don’t believe Singletary would be among the leading candidates for the 49ers job, because if Mike Nolan were fired, there would probably be a significant house-cleaning.

C e A: Giants proved that having a very good pass rush is important to win titles. In 2007, 49ers are not be able to put pressure on opponent QBs and in the offseason the team doesn't spend so much in that area: what's the plan in order to get better? New schemes? Some later acquisition or the improvement of the players at roster?
M: Well, perhaps they did spend a lot in that area. It looks like the 49ers plan to use Justin Smith a lot as a pass-rusher at outside linebacker. I think, overall, the team feels with Smith, Manny Lawson and some combination of Parys Haralson and Tully Banta-Cain – along with better coverage on third downs – they can make an improvement in that area.

C e A: VD showed flashes of greatness but also lack of concentration: who is the real VD?
M: It would not surprise me if we continue to see what you described for a while. He is an extraordinary talent who can put up some big, big numbers as a receiver. But I think he will always battle some consistency problems.

C e A: A great offence starts with a great OL: San Francisco, we have a problem!?!?
M: Maybe not as much as you might think. If the 49ers can find some continuity at the tackle positions, things could turn around in a hurry. Joe Staley has a chance to be a pretty good left tackle, though he undoubtedly will have some rough patches in his first NFL season at that position. Jennings will do a good job – as long as he remains healthy.

C e A: And now some questions concerning the NFL. What's the opinion of coaches and players concerning Belichick and the Spygate?
M: From everything I’ve heard, Belichick and the Patriots were not alone. But they kept taping signals even after the league office sent out a memo telling teams to stop. It would’ve been next to impossible to turn around that knowledge to their benefit in the same game. And for future games, you’d think that the team would change its signals because the coaches are on the sideline sending in the plays in full view of everybody. Personally, I think it showed the Patriots’ arrogance more than it showed that their cheating was responsible for a couple Super Bowl victories. Mike Nolan was among the coaches who spoke out against the Patriots last season. He said their conduct “crossed the line.”

C e A: Do you think Los Angeles will have an NFL team in the near future?
M: L.A. has to get a stadium built first, and that’s something they’ve been unable to do since both the Raiders and Rams left after the 1994 season. It’s unbelievable that a city that big does not have an NFL team. Eventually, it’ll happen. But when? It’s anybody’s guess.

C e A: Is more probable to have 17 regular season week or a ProBowl transfer/abolition?
M: Both might happen. But I’d think the most likely occurrence would be the 17-game regular season. Players get paid by the regular-season game. So in adding another game, that means more revenue.

C e A: The NFL demonstrate a lot of interest in european market, especially in UK, with the NFL International Series. Here in Europe, the game raises a lot of interest from the fans. What is the reaction of US fans in loosing a home game of their team? Do you think in the future London or another eurpoean big city could have an own NFL team?
M: I don’t think you’ll see a team full-time in Europe, just because of the travel headaches it would create. That team would be at a distinct disadvantage. It would be difficult for that team to remain competitive. I think the fans here have been understanding about losing a game to an international site. But for the life of me, I can’t fathom why the NFL made New Orleans – of all places – give up a home game. No city in the U.S. needs the revenue that comes in from a home game like New Orleans. The city continues to try to rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans forgets its problems for three hours on Sundays when the Saints are in town and it turns into a bustling downtown area. Why couldn’t the NFL sent the Saints to Europe while maintaining all eight regular-season games scheduled to be played in New Orleans?

C e A: NFL owners voided the last years of CBA: 2010 could be the last year of salary cap era for the NFL. Which teams do you think will benefit more from that? And what about the equilibrium in the league? Do you think the interest and the success of the NFL will be demoted? Do you think a new CBA will be signed before 2010? And who do you think is right in the quarrel: the owners or the NFLPA?
M: Who’s right in this argument depends on which side of the fence you’re on. It’s a money grab. I would side with the players. The vast majority of the players in the league are just trying to hang on. They have to get their money while they can. If the players don’t get the money, it lines the pockets of the owners. There are such great physical risks to playing professional football, and the league has done an awful job of taking care of their players after their careers are over. I believe it works to the advantage of both the players and owners to have labor peace, so I expect it to happen. If not, certainly teams such as Washington and Dallas stand to outspend the competition and gain an advantage. Meanwhile, the 49ers would need a new stadium – and larger sources of revenue -- to remain (or become) competitive.

C e A: Which are your front runners teams for SB?
M: I like the Chargers in the AFC. I think the Patriots’ time was last year, and they blew it. I don’t think their defense is going to be as good this season. In the NFC, Dallas would be considered the front-runner. But they have an odd mix of characters on that team that it would not surprise me to see that situation implode.

C e A: At the end a personal question, if you want to reply: We think your family comes from Italy, that's right? From which city/region? Do you still have some relatives here in Italy? Have ever been in Italy for holidays and what do you think about our country?
M: My father is 100-percent Italian, though he was born in the U.S. Unfortunately, he was never able to visit Italy. I’ve been to Italy twice, including once for my honeymoon. My relatives in Italy live in Milano. They also have a residence in a little village in the province of Pavia called Valverde. My family is fantastic. We found that the language barrier was no barrier at all. Now that I have two small children, it’ll be very difficult to get back to Italy for a while. But my wife and I definitely plan to visit again. We love Italy.

C e A: Thank you very much, Matt.
M: Thank you for asking me to take part in this question-and-answer session for 49ers fans in Italy. I have such great admiration and respect for the people of your fine, beautiful country. Both times I visited Italy, it was an emotional experience that left me deeply touched.

Link al blog di Maioccco: http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com