For a man just fined $20,000, offensive coordinator Mike Martz was in a chipper mood Thursday. Martz gushed over quarterback Shaun Hill and raved over his rapport with new coach Mike Singletary.

As for that fine?

"That's something that we'll deal with, but it's not something to discuss," he said.

The NFL penalized Martz for comments made after the 49ers' 29-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 10. Martz said the officials failed to communicate where the ball would be spotted for the final play. The 49ers thought they would be at the 1-yard line; officials placed the ball closer to the 3 and the 49ers' running play came up woefully short of the end zone as time expired.

Martz made his strongest comments to CBSSportsline.com, saying: "We got screwed because of the spot, first and foremost," and "It cost us the game."

Mike Pereira, the NFL's vice president of officiating, has said repeatedly that referee Tony Corrente and his crew followed proper procedure during the final minutes of the game.

Fortunately for Martz, there was no such controversy Sunday as the 49ers breezed to a 35-16 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

In that game, Hill became the first quarterback in 49ers history to record a perfect passer rating of 158.3 before halftime.

"Close to it," Martz said. "I thought he was outstanding, just outstanding. He was impeccable with his decisions. He was relaxed. He saw things. The game slowed down for him."

That's high praise for a player who finished a distant third in quarterback competition during training camp. Martz said Thursday that Hill struggled during the preseason because he didn't understand the timing of the offense.

Now, Martz said, "His decisions and what he sees are further along than I would have expected, to be honest with you."

For his performance against the Rams, Hill was selected as the NFC offensive player of the week, a development that would shock anyone who sees him during practice. Balls flutter. Throws sail. Interceptions are bountiful.

But in six career games in which he has thrown a pass, Hill has topped the 100.0 passer rating four times. Martz explained the transformation by saying that it takes a quarterback — even a two-time MVP quarterback — several days to digest his game plans.

"Kurt Warner never looked good on Wednesday. Wednesday's were awful for Kurt," Martz said.

As Singletary noted this week, Martz spends much of the practice sessions pounding on Hill like a jackhammer. Martz is so tough on the quarterback that Singletary sometimes pulls Hill aside and tries to rebuild the confidence — the good-cop, bad-cop routine.

Hill said this week he enjoys Martz's demanding nature and even joked that it helps game days feel more relaxing.

Martz said that's the way it should be.

"You've really got to get your (quarterbacks) in a game environment. You're cheating them if you don't," he said. "You have to put the pressure on them to make impeccable decisions and get the ball out quick. "& To just go out and kind of practice, I don't think there's any sense in that."

Martz sometimes looks just as harsh in his dealings with Singletary. Television cameras have caught the coordinator and head coach in animated exchanges several times in the three games since Singletary took over for Mike Nolan.

The conversations look heated, leading to speculation that Martz and Singletary aren't always on the same page. During the Arizona game, for example, the two appeared to disagree over Singletary's decision to kick a field goal rather than go for it on fourth-and-short.

On Thursday, Martz laughed about how those scenes are interpreted. "It's just so stupid, but what are you going to do?" he said.

He insisted that his relationship with Singletary is smooth, even during the heat of the action.

"He's terrific during the game on the sideline," Martz said. "I told him the other day that it's fun to have him on the sideline because he's so under control. There's a real nice exchange going during the game. Real good."