That's right. It's 49ers offensive coordinator Jim Hostler. When he wasn't derailing Alex Smith's Hall of Fame career, I'm absolutely, positively sure he told me to pass on Google at 80 bucks a share and buy Krispy Kreme.

The cost of milk has soared. I blame Hostler. When he wasn't ruining the 49ers' running game, I'm sure he turned California's dairies into amusement parks, causing a milk shortage and a price spike.

My acid reflux acted up. Hostler again, no doubt. He had to have hidden my Priolosec OTC when he wasn't scribbling down plays on a napkin that wouldn't work in high school football.

Isn't Hostler to blame for all the world's ills? Or maybe it just seems that way when you listen to angry 49ers fans on sports talk radio and frustrated 49ers — paging Frank Gore — in the locker room.

Hostler had to know what he was getting into when he took the job last winter, going from 49ers quarterbacks coach to rookie offensive coordinator and replacing Norv Turner, that game-planning, play-calling deity.

Hostler had to know that if his offense struggled, he was going to shoulder more blame than Steve Bartman at a reunion of the 2003 Chicago Cubs.

Well, the 49ers' offense has certainly struggled, ranking last in the NFL in six categories. And Hostler has been roasted so often he should put an apple in his mouth.

Call me crazy or a contrarian, but I've taken a seat on the Hostler bandwagon, right next to his family, close personal friends and a handful of 49ers coaches and players. Yes, there's plenty of leg room and plenty of good seats available.

Hostler has impressed me with the way he's handled the criticism, accepting responsibility where it's warranted but never losing faith in himself. And he's impressed me with the strides — yes, there have been strides — he has made as a game-planner and play-caller.

Quarterback Trent Dilfer called Hostler a "superstar football coach" and said he is "as prepared, smart and as diligent as any offensive coordinator I've ever been around."

Calling Hostler a superstar coach might be over the top. But the potential for stardom is there if Hostler can survive the maelstrom of this, his 2-4 rookie season. "I never thought anything other than it would be hard, it would be something I'd have to keep fighting through and have to earn the respect of the players," Hostler said Wednesday after practice.

"I've got to earn Frank's respect. I've got to earn the whole offense's respect that I can do my job and do it at a high level."

The 49ers may have suffered a 33-15 loss to the New York Giants last week, but Hostler devised a good plan and called an aggressive game.

In the first half Sunday, Hostler called seven pass plays and six runs on first-down plays. He was doing more than just trying to play it safe and keep it close, as he did during a 9-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

At the start of the third quarter, Hostler called three straight deep passes. Dilfer's first-down pass to tight end Vernon Davis may well have gone for a touchdown instead of falling incomplete if Davis had made a better adjustment. On the next play, Dilfer hit wide receiver Ashley Lelie for 47 yards. Then he threw incomplete to tight end Delanie Walker deep down the left sideline.

This week it looks like Smith will be back in the starting lineup after missing all but three plays of the past three games. He took almost all the snaps with the first-team offense during practice yesterday.

Smith's return coupled with a more favorable schedule, starting Sunday at home against the New Orleans Saints, should make Hostler's job easier.

The Saints rank No. 22 in total defense. Not exactly the No. 1 Pittsburgh Steelers, No. 4 Ravens or No. 9 Giants, three teams in the 49ers' rearview mirror. Not one of the 49ers' final 10 opponents ranks among the top 10 in total defense.

In Turner, Hostler had a tough act to follow. But that act seems to have grown in stature since Turner's exit to become the San Diego Chargers coach.

Let's review last season. The 49ers ranked 29th in passing offense and 26th in total offense. In Smith's final 13 games last season, he passed for more than 200 yards twice. He never hit the 300-yard mark all season.

What the 49ers did well under Turner was run the ball. They ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing, and Gore led the NFC with 1,695 yards.

Hey, blame Hostler. He can take it. He probably gave Larry Allen and Jonas Jennings some bad blocking tips.

You've got to remember that Hostler has exactly six games of experience as an NFL offensive coordinator. Last season was Turner's seventh as an NFL coordinator. This is Turner's 10th season as an NFL head coach — he calls his own plays — and his 33rd season in coaching, college and the NFL.

Hostler, meanwhile, is taking a crash course.

"The bottom line for me is growing," Hostler said. "It's learning.