Singletary's theory: All for one

<p>Although the offense and defense are comprised of entirely different players, Mike Singletary believes it is important to consider the units are connected.</p><p>He has been on the job as interim 49ers head coach for less than a month, but already Singletary is trying to create an environment in which both sides of the football team work together.</p><p>It’s a carryover from his playing days with the Chicago Bears. Singletary said there were times when the Bears might be playing an especially hot offensive team and he would want to know about his own team’s offensive approach.</p><p>He said he would ask quarterback Jim McMahon about the game plan. And if McMahon said the offense expected to throw the ball around and put up some points, Singletary might say, “Help us out a bit over here." It is a message that he is getting across to his players, too.</p><p>“We’re one team,” 49ers cornerback Walt Harris said. “Coach Singletary is trying to emphasize us playing as one and not as three different sections of the team: offense, defense and special teams. So we have to understand how defense helps the offense, and offense helps the defense, and special teams helps both sides. That’ll help us become a better team.”</p><p>Singletary said that connection throughout the roster has to be kept in mind when it comes time to install game plans, as well as when the roster is being built.</p><p>“Any time you’re trying to build a team, that team has to complement each other,” he said. “If you look around the league, the teams that have been successful have to have offensive and defensive teams that are built and structured intentionally so that they can complement each other.”</p><p>Pleased with Martz</p><p>Singletary has spent a lot of time with offensive coordinator Mike Martz, getting to know him and kicking around philosophies.</p><p>Martz has a well-deserved reputation as someone who likes to mash the accelerator to the floorboard. But when the 49ers held a 32-point lead at halftime Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, Singletary knew it was time to ease off a little in the second half. He said Martz did a “heck of a job controlling himself.”</p><p>In several glimpses of the 49ers sideline captured by TV cameras it has appeared that Singletary and Martz have experienced some ... oh shall we say ... creative friction. But Singletary disputes that interpretation.</p><p>“I’ve got to be very, very honest,” Singletary said. “When I look at Mike Martz, I’m very pleased with everything he’s doing. There’s nothing that’s an issue for he and I. We don’t ever have an issue where I disagree with him. We don’t have that.</p><p>“Normally, we’re on the same page. There hasn’t even been a creative friction. Right now, it has just worked.”</p><p>Hill vows no more spikes</p><p>Quarterback Shaun Hill figured he could not improve on perfection. So why even try? No, we’re not talking about Hill’s perfect first-half passer rating Sunday against the Rams, followed by a second half in which he attempted just six passes.</p><p>We’re referring to an end-zone spike he had after scoring a touchdown several years ago in NFL Europe. When Hill scored Sunday on a second-quarter run, he handed the ball to center Eric Heitmann to spike.</p><p>Here’s the NFL Europe story: “One of the (NFL Europe) sponsors had this sign at the (back) of the end zone, and if you spiked it in front of their sign — the TV gets to see this company’s logo — they would donate money to this charity,” Hill said. “So I run over there right in front of the sign and give it a good spike — great rebound on the ball. It was nice. Yeah, I didn’t want to tarnish that spike at all.”</p><p>Hill said that play will be the one and only spike of his professional football career.</p><p>Roman around</p><p>The green dot has returned to safety Mark Roman’s helmet.</p><p>Roman began the season as the defensive player entrusted with relaying the plays to his teammates. He was the player whose helmet was equipped with a radio device to receive communication from the 49ers sideline.</p><p>Linebacker Patrick Willis took over the duties for a few weeks, but Roman is back in charge of communicating the plays to the 49ers defense.</p><p>“I think Patrick was relieved when we did that (gave it back to Roman) because there are so many things that the coaches are still trying to convey and the ball is about to be snapped,” Singletary said.</p><p>“We just thought it would be better with all the communication going on in the back-end that Mark Roman would get it back and have the speaker in his helmet. And Pat would just control the front seven. That would be easier on Pat, so that he is not turning around and trying to relay messages.”</p><p>For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com</p>