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The San Francisco 49ers lack discipline and that is on Mike Singletary and the coaching staff. This is particularly noteworthy because Singletary prides himself on discipline and playing the game the right way. This lack of discipline with the current 49er team shows up in three glaring areas.

First and foremost, it manifests itself in terms of penalties. In the first ten games, the 49ers have been called for 80 penalties. In addition there are roughly two or three additional flags that are not counted because the opposition declines the penalty. That comes to roughly 100 flags thrown on them this season, or an average of ten penalty calls per game.

Many of these penalties show a lack of focus and discipline. False starts, jumping offside, holding penalties because a lineman is getting beat and special teams penalties have become the norm for the 49ers. The 49ers are simply not good enough to overcome these kinds of mistakes.

The defensive secondary is another main culprit for the lack of discipline. The Niner defensive backs have frequently been victimized deep, by biting on fakes and getting burned. Veteran Nate Clements frequently gambles for interceptions, but often gets beat with a pump fake or an out and up move.

Safety Dashon Goldson has also been victimized. He tends to get caught out of position on run fakes, as the receiver runs by him for a long gain. Opposing teams will usually try the flea flicker play at least once a game, as Goldson has shown a propensity to leave his coverage responsibility and bite on the run.

The free safety is supposed to be a ball hawk and create turnovers. Thus far in 2010, Goldson has no interceptions, no forced fumbles and no fumble recoveries. He is playing well below expectations.

Taylor Mays has also been beaten, but that is due more to his inexperience, than a lack of discipline.

The third area where we are seeing a lack of discipline is with the receivers. On too many occasions, they are not running their routes with the precision and sharpness necessary to get open. This puts a lot more pressure on the quarterback who expects the receivers to be at a certain spot, but often needs to look to find them.

When a receiver is not where they're supposed to be, the extra split second that a quarterback needs to find them puts the onus on the offensive line to protect for a fraction longer. In addition, it becomes harder for the quarterback to hit the receiver in stride so he can gain more yards after the catch.

Route running is a science and the 49er receivers need to improve on this area. The coaching staff has to be more diligent with the receivers on this point.

As the head coach, it is Mike Singletary's responsibility to eliminate this lack of discipline. Thus far, he has been unable to make a significant impact in this area and the 49ers continue to make the same mistakes over and over.