As Hunter Might Say, There’s Haight-Ashbury and Hate 49ers

It should come as little comfort to the San Francisco 49ers that they, at the lowest depth of their gloom, have piqued the interest of maverick journalist Hunter S. Thompson, whose drug-induced views of the world have filled bookshop shelves for years.

So it has finally come to this--Fear and Loathing in Candlestick Park.

The 49ers on Monday received an interview request from Thompson, recently hired as media columnist for the San Francisco Examiner.

Now, Thompson is hardly your average sports columnist, so pity the 49ers lest they catch him on, well, even a good day.

A sampling from a recent column: “The day has been ugly and my heart was full of hate for everything human.”

The 49ers can only hope that Thompson didn’t see Sunday’s 23-21 loss to the Lions. And what hate in his heart might he possibly have for human Joe Montana?

The 49ers don’t need any more headaches. The reigning NFL champions, the latest one-year football dynasty, are fading faster than the paint on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Seven weeks into the schedule, the 49ers, winners of 18 of 19 games only a season ago, Super Bowl champions, are sputtering like a 1962 Rambler. Three and four.

Wasn’t it only yesterday that the 49ers came into Anaheim, buttons popping, and made rag dolls of the Rams in a 33-0 win.

A loss this Sunday in Anaheim would shove the 49ers five games behind the Rams with eight to play. Amazing.

One local paper pretty much summed up sentiment in the Bay Area when it stripped a simple word across the top of Page 1 after Sunday’s loss to Detroit. Somehow, “Booooooooooooooooooooooo” in big type really hits home.

“It’s been rough,” said All-Pro defensive back Ronnie Lott, who was moved from cornerback to safety a few weeks back after having been hung out to dry one too many times by wide receivers.

“It’s hard to go out and get a burger these days. There’s been no peace. I can’t walk around with a smile because people are always asking questions.”

Everyone wants to know what’s wrong with the 49ers, but they say they don’t have any answers. They say they aren’t haunted by 1982, when they fell to 3-6 in the strike-shortened season that followed their win in Super Bowl XVI. They say they are not beset with internal strife. “We have the togetherness of brothers,” defensive tackle Gary Johnson, said.

But brother, can you spare a win?

The fall of the 49ers seems as mysterious as an incurable disease.

The retirement of their inspirational leader, linebacker Jack Reynolds, has hurt.

But, as offensive line coach Bobb McKittrick said, “You can’t keep a guy around that can’t play just because he’s a good cheerleader.”

There have been no serious injuries to starters. And there isn’t much drop-off when comparing team statistics through seven games of 1984, either.

Even Coach Bill Walsh, in all his cerebral splendor, can’t figure it out.

“Our errors and miscalculations have disrupted us,” he said, presumably meaning that everyone’s messing up.

But look a little closer and you’ll see that Walsh and his staff are plugging a new leak every week.

Drip. Defensive end Fred Dean, the team’s designated sacker, does not have one this season. He has six tackles in seven games, and in four of them, he had neither a tackle nor an assist.

Drip. Wide receiver Fred Solomon, apparently in a funk over losing his starting job to rookie Jerry Rice, has not caught a touchdown pass this season. He had 10 last year. Walsh says Solomon will start this week against the Rams.

Drip. Veteran guard Randy Cross was nearly trampled to death by the Chicago Bears’ defensive line in the 49ers’ 26-10 loss two weeks ago. Cross called it the worst game of his 10-year career.

Drip. Defensive lineman Dwaine Board, who had 20 tackles in his first four games, has had seven in his last three.

Drip, drip. Walsh, who could have run for mayor of San Francisco last January, has not escaped the wrath of criticism. In Sunday’s two-point loss to the Lions, Walsh declined a five-yard penalty that could have pushed Detroit out of field-goal range. Eddie Murray instead made a 45-yard kick, the difference in the game.

Walsh was also criticized for replacing Joe Montana with Matt Cavanaugh on the 49ers’ final and potential game-winning drive, even though Montana was suffering terribly from the flu, and for not being an inspirational coach.

The biggest drip of all, of course, has been quarterback Joe Montana, pro football’s top-rated passer of all time and the most valuable player in two Super Bowls.

But this year, he’s been Joe Blow.

And Montana hasn’t handled it well.

Earlier this season, a fan wrote to Joe, saying that he had walked away from his television at halftime during a game with Atlanta because the 49ers were playing like Mickey Mouse.

Montana took it personally. On 49er stationery, he issued his reply, which the fan forwarded to the San Francisco Chronicle for publication.

“I’m glad you left the game early,” Montana’s reply started. “We don’t need your kind of support. You’re not a real 49er fan faithful. Hope you enjoy watching T.V. . . . P.S. Suggest you subscribe to the Disney channel if you like Mickey Mouse.”

Montana was steamed that the paper ran the letter but not half as mad as he was when some reporters started blaming his performance on his daughter, Alexandra Whitney Montana, not yet a month old.

Montana had one of his worst games of the season in a 20-17 loss to New Orleans Sept. 29, completing only 12 of 26 passes for 120 yards with 2 interceptions. And maybe Montana did have other things on his mind. His wife, actress-model Jennifer Wallace, gave birth to Alexandra two days later.

But one columnist criticized Montana for poor family planning, wondering why Joe and Jennifer couldn’t have waited until the off-season to have a baby.

Montana, rarely subjected to media criticism throughout a mostly spectacular career, is finding the adjustment difficult.

“I always thought that the media, especially in your own area, was to try to help you,” he said. “But it seems like they’re trying to tear us apart up here.”

But how do you explain his season?

There are a couple of theories, the obvious one being that Montana hasn’t had much protection this year. Still, he’s one of the game’s best passers while on the run.

The second theory is that the 49ers, with the addition of deep threat Jerry Rice, have stretched the offense beyond the reach of Montana’s arm. Montana is not a great deep passer.

But Walsh is tired of everyone criticizing Montana.

“It’s a team and a coaches’ problem, not an individual one,” he said. “But it’s hard to believe that a team that has accomplished what this one has, has lost confidence. It’s confusing, what’s going on.”

So who’s next for the beleaguered 49ers? The unbeaten Rams, that’s who.

“We might have to play the perfect game to beat them,” Walsh said.

The words seemed funny coming from his mouth. Last season, the 49ers played patty-cake with the Rams and barely worked up a sweat.

Deep down, you still get the feeling that Walsh knows something others don’t, that the 49ers will emerge from this fog and return to the mountain.

But time is running out.

Ram Notes The Rams, with 54 yards net at Kansas City, fell to last in passing in the NFL. They are ninth in rushing and 25th in offense overall but second only to the Giants in defense. Sunday’s opponents, the 49ers, are eighth in offense and 11th in defense. . . . The game will mark “Blue and Gold Day.” The Rams have asked their fans to wear the team colors. . . . The 49ers will start Michael Carter at nose tackle. Manu Tuiasosopo has a sprained ankle and a back problem but could also play. Carter, the Olympic shotput silver medalist, is just coming off injured reserve. “He’ll make a big difference in their defense,” Ram offensive line coach Hudson Houck said. . . . The NFL says that if the Rams and Chicago Bears win again this week, they’ll be the first pair of teams to win their first eight games since 1934, when the Lions and Bears both opened 10-0. Ram Coach John Robinson was not impressed. “I don’t care about that stuff.” he said.