The original claim was made far back in the 1990’s when the late and great Bill Walsh was named General Manager. In his eyes, the team had many problems but one of them was too many individuals. The team had made too many gambles on players more interested in both paychecks and self-serving interests and had drafted too many egocentric players to boot. The result was both a lack of quality character on the team that led to a weak leadership but also a general lack of team unity. He himself wrote in “Finding the Winning Edge’, his own book, about the importance of finding natural football players and especiall players of high moral value and strong character. In order to polish and push guys to their edge they need character. Morals often make sure they blow off steam in safe, legal ways while character convinces them to pursue on towards perfection. Prima Donnas who lack the moral fiber and internal fortitude fall apart fast and become problems.

Despite his wisdom, it’s well document how he still took a gamble on oft-troubled RB Lawrence Phillips (Now serving a 10-ytear sentence in the California State penal system) who also most famously flopped on the block that ‘ended’ Steve Young’s career. But he also used this as a basis for his very productive and energizing 2000 draft that grabbed lots of high quality players that packed the roster with fresh talent.

This message was lost for a time during the Donahue era. It can be said though that it was still largely followed. While Rashaun Woods was no prima donna in any case nor was Kwame Harris or even Mike Rumph, history would show that they were hardly born football players. Woods seemingly loved bass fishing more than trying to live up to his potential and Harris’s love for the piano did little for his balance issues and his inability to display consistent anger and fury in most games. Then there was Rumph, who played every down like his feet started a foot deep in mud and routinely let guys run by him at full speed before he would turn and pursue from a standstill. It cannot be said that these guys were not good people and lacked morals. Harris himself did a fair amount of positive charity work for the team and attended  many functions and they all did to some degree. Also, none of them flamed out and burned out as bad as Druckenmiller or McGrew, two guys seemingly more interested in being the big boy of Virginia college scenes or just getting the paycheck, respectively.

But with the return on Mike nolan came not only the especially strongly toted ‘football player’ tag in his search to gut the roster but also very Walsh-like concepts of character and leadership. When he drafted OLB Parys Haralson the words of ’strong character’, ‘team captain’, ‘hard worker’ all popped up and only recently have we seen the benefits. Even top pick QB Alex Smith, a quarterback tossed to the wolves and has had 2 season ending injuries for a club that has done almost anything possible to not help him succeed still wanted to stick around rather than start fresh with another club. Feeling indebted to the team that may have paid you but gave you the shaft and gambling on a new coaching regime? That’s character for you.

I’m not writing this article to pump up the much-maligned Alex Smith. The fact is that the even Nolan went back on his own perfect ideals to some degree. We made a grab at a 2nd-round rated CB in Tarell Brown in the later parts of the 2007 draft despite his troubles and we did the same for a RB in Thomas Clayton. Granted their troubles were entirely contained in 1 instance of discovered marijuana while riding in someone’s car and a stupid attempt to make a getaway from a parking ticket attendant. As Nolan noted, both were isolated incidents that both got punished for and neither was a serial offender. More importantly, they knew it was a stupid mistake and that they had both rebounded from it. Evidence also supports their case and due to in depth investigations, the team made wise choices overall. Neither has been a problem child.

Then enters Singletary. In one game and his first game at that, he showed more control and tenacity than Nolan ever did at any point. Benching his starting QB before the half by putting in the backup with only a little time left on the clock? That’s a message sender. Any coach normally pulls the plug during halftime to prep the backup. Singletary was so furious he did it before hand to make a statement that he was fed up entirely. Not even some paltry kneel downs for O’Sullivan. He also took a bloat-headed TE Vernon Davis and sent him to the showers early. That’s control.

One has to wonder now if perhaps Singletary has taken his desire for control and to find football-minded players a bit too far with recent finds. Top pick Crabtree was publicly vilified by CLE coach Eric Mangini as a “prima donna wide receiver’ and a problem child. I think this team has him accurately pegged as an athlete who is confident on the field and wary off of it. Such athletes often sport entourages, like the one Mangini clearly noted, in order to make them feel as powerful off the field. Meanwhile Crabtree did everything right in draft day interviews. In his own words, he won’t demand to get the ball, he will just try to work harder to get open and be a better blocker if not. A classical ‘it’s not me, it’s the team’ attitude. But yet some will say we are taking on some risk by grabbing such a highly touted WR with 2 Biletnikkof awards who may tumble if not the #1 on his team let alone not a top WR in his league at first.

That argument aside, Singletary must have some vision of intense locker room control. While players like Coffee, McKillop, Pascoe and Taylor come across as not only solid and high character picks with very strong work ethics (Pascoe) and chips on their shoulders (McKillop), there is the opposite cases as well.

Enter late round grab DE Ricky Jean Francois, a problem child if there is one. Rated as a very, very good prospect out of high school, he was counted on to provide continuity to the already talented LSU defensive line. Yet he not only had suspension problems while on the team, he is reported by ESPN scouts as having “a mouth worse than Warren Sapps’” and that says a lot. Meanwhile he also was defensive MVP of the 2008 BCS title game while also being a strong track and field participant. Opposite him comes one of the most touted undrafted players in RT Alex Boone. An OT with plenty of size and power but also a supposed lack of consistency in favor of a sense of entitlement. Then there is also the highly rated undrafted free agent in RB Kory Sheets. A Purdue product, he was hardly the center-piece of a pass friendly system at Purdue. Yet he featured plenty of evasive skills and showed the could pierce small line holes for good yardage and reportedly has a solid prima-dona complex brewing.

Then there are the more serious cases. As undrafted players and very late rounders, the aforementioned trio would hardly be remembered in they fail big time in camp. Singletary took on the king of kings when it comes to attitude, he drafted a top rated WR in the 1st round. Crabtree is used to being the best (2 awards for being the best in NCAA ball) and also used to winning. Plus he has his own entourage and attitude and is only predicted that he may to some degree implode if he doesn’t explode quickly on the field.  A top level WR has expectations and an ego to balance while building himself into a quality NFL power.

All in all, Singletyary bitten deeply into the pie of ‘talent over character’ this time around. Of course, we hardly have made the gambles that teams like MIN did in WR Harvin or CLE in OT Smith. But for the first time in a while the character debate has changed. Not only did picks go to players who had ‘isolated incidents’ but rather systemic personality issues but we did it with top undrafted names to boot. So to some degree Coach Singletary must be betting on current influences and himself and his staff to straighten out these crooked arrows. As things stand, Jean-Francois could be a steal for DE depth and Boone could very well become a starting OT who blocks for Sheets who has a shot as a 3rd down speciailist.

Either way, there is an effort on this team to move away from the ‘core of character’ that has been built up. I think that the front office finally feels, along with the coaching staff, that the basis for good character and lead by example players are there. Now it’s time to see if that core can manage to control a few talented but errant rookies.

Sidenote: I am aware that this posting has a very similar theme and topic to a recently published bay-area article. The writing of this post predates that article and was written independently.