49ers assistant Johnson had right answers for Sing

49ers assistant Johnson had right answers for Singletary Jersey
Published: Thursday, Sep. 30, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 3C
Last Modified: Thursday, Sep. 30, 2010 - 6:30 pm
SANTA CLARA – Before he decided to fire Jimmy Raye, Mike Singletary Jersey asked Mike Johnson to write a list of things he'd do differently if he were the 49ers' offensive coordinator.
Handed that list Monday morning, Singletary Jersey was re- assured he made the right decision to fire Raye.
"I liked what I saw. I felt good about what I saw and with the conviction that he spoke on," Singletary Jersey said of the list from Johnson, the former quarterbacks coach. "And with some of the things that I've seen him do, some of the ideas, some of the creativity, I felt that it would be a good move."
Singletary Jersey said Wednesday the 49ers won't change their playbook or their offensive philosophy – "I want a physical offense," he reiterated – and that there won't be any changes to the starting lineup.
Instead, Singletary Jersey will look for more creativity with what the 49ers have at hand.
Quarterback Alex Smith used the words "variability" and "flexibility" when asked how he expects the offense to change under Johnson.
With Raye calling the plays, the 49ers used the same personnel groups – especially on first and second downs – in an effort to overwhelm defenses at the line of scrimmage. But that led to predictability.
Smith said the 49ers must be able to improvise and take advantage of a defense's weaknesses.
"It's certainly finding your mismatches … learning how you can isolate those mismatches and putting, like I said, guys into position to make plays," he said.
Johnson, who will address the media for the first time today, studied the spread system in 2008 and helped the 49ers implement it last season. Smith said he thought the 49ers would use elements of the spread but that they wouldn't commit to one style.
"You have to be able to present a lot of different things to the defense," the quarterback said. "You have to be able to make the defense defend a lot of different things."
Johnson has not decided where he will call plays in Sunday's game – in the coach's booth or on the sideline. The sideline would offer a more direct line of communication to Smith and presumably allow the 49ers to get out of the huddle more quickly.
But there are drawbacks to being on the field as well.
"You know, the sidelines are chaotic and emotional," Smith said. "It's hard to focus. I certainly would find it hard as a play caller, whereas you get up in the box, you can really get some quiet time, especially in between series to think about and plan out the next series."
If Johnson were to go to the booth, the plays would be relayed by new quarterbacks coach Jason Michael, who handled that duty last season.