FanHouse EricHeitmann

Earlier this season we had quite a bit of fun with 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz, after he laughingly proclaimed that journeyman J.T. O'Sullivan could be the best quarterback he's ever coached. It was laughable because, well, Martz has coached Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger, two pretty good NFL quarterbacks.

While Martz knows infinitely more about football and quarterback play than I ever will, I'm quite certain O'Sullivan, owner of about 12 different sets of team authorized luggage, is not a better quarterback than Warner (two-time MVP, Super Bowl champion) or Bulger (steady NFL starter for about seven years) and, frankly, he never will be. Actually, if O'Sullivan duplicated Jon Kitna's career (another Martz favorite) I'd be kind of surprised. So, right off the top of my head I'm thinking O'Sullivan, at best, is the fourth best quarterback Martz has had under his wing. Actually, if you include current starting quarterback Shaun Hill, well, you get the idea.

All of that aside, Martz, the mad scientist that he is, was at it once again today, when he told the local scribes in the bay area that 49ers center Eric Heitmann is "by far" the best center he's ever coached. From Matt Maiocco of the Press Democrat:

This much we know for sure: Alex Smith won't be playing this Sunday. After that, it gets a little cloudy. He separated his right shoulder. It's a grade three separation which won't require surgery. No, wait, it could be a grade two, which won't require surgery, but it could also be a grade three, which would. A grade three would end his season. A grade two is four-to-six weeks of recovery. Or maybe he'll be back against the Giants on October 21st. Who knows.

All that matters is that Smith now has to refer to Rocky Bernard as "sir" and dance whenever he's told. Whether you like it or not, this is Trent Dilfer's team for at least the short term. The San Jose Mercury News notes that the 49ers were stupid for committing so much money and time on Smith at the expense of quarterback depth, and are paying for it now.

But what's done is done, and when you're watching Dilfer throw interceptions between picking dirt out of his helmet, at least know who to blame for his presence.

On the play, center Eric Heitmann begins blocking Bernard (and actually grabs his facemask) but then switches off of Bernard to block Lofa Tatupu, who is coming from Heitmann's right. Heitmann assumes that Larry Allen, who isn't blocking anyone, will take over on Bernard, but Allen's too late. Allen gets a hand on Bernard but the big defensive tackle is on Smith in a second, driving his shoulder into the ground. Heitmann and Allen – appropriately, I guess – end up running into each other like a couple of Keystone Cops.

What's more concerning than the miscommunication is that Allen wasn't blocking anyone to begin with. Shouldn't an offensive lineman always be blocking somebody?