Dropping Huard Shows That 49ers Are Willing to Gamble with Their Roster

Yesterday I wrote that 49ers Coach Mike Singletary talks a good game, but on the field, he's been leaning rather conservative. San Francisco hasn't been mixing in even the most rudimentary blitzes in the preseason games, just to give opposing teams something to think about, and consequently they've had one sack in three contests. They've ranked dead last in pass attempts through three games, but have led the league in rushing. They declined to take a shot into the end zone with 25 seconds to go in the first half and refused to go for it on fourth-and-inches in the fourth quarter. It all seems cookie cutter and vanilla to me, a strategy built on looking competitive in the preseason, but not one on actually taking games by the throat and winning them the regular seasons. For a coach whose most notable soundbite is, "I want winners!" the 49ers sure do have the look of a team playing not to lose, even in preseason. I expressed my concern that this conservatism...