Film Room: The mighty Larry Allen

Larry Allen. The name alone has inspired fear for more than a decade. It belongs to a man who’s big, who’s bad, who makes Joe Staley fetch mountains of Popeye’s chicken, and who might just be on the wrong side of 30. This week we have the future Hall of Fame left guard under the microscope (we ordered plus-sized glass slides).

Lauded as an excellent free agent pickup before (and after) the 2006 season, Niner fans seem to be souring on Allen, as some say he doesn’t look like the same player he was a year ago. At times he has visibly struggled in pass protection, but there are whispers that even his powerful run blocking has tailed off. Perhaps most damning is the talk that he’s not maintaining himself as well as other oldster guards who played well into their mid-30s: Will Shields (12-time Pro Bowler) and Ruben Brown (9-time Pro Bowler) to name a few ... or Jesse Sapolu, Ray Brown and nasty Kevin Gogan for a few names that might be more familiar.

This week the million dollar question is this: Has the legendary Larry Allen lost it? Have we seen the last outbreak of “Allenitis”? Read on and find out:

*1st Drive, following Kickoff (Q1 15:00, NO 0 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF25: (Gun) Smith pass short right to Walker for no gain.

Allen gives DT Thomas (6-0 306) a shove to his right into Heitmann, then looks left to help Snyder with DE Smith (6-3 282) but can’t get there fast enough to be a factor before the ball is thrown.

At the end of the play, Delanie Walker had his legs taken out from under him and landed awkwardly on his left shoulder. He rolled around in obvious pain for a few seconds as Vernon Davis ran over to help.

2nd & 10 SF25: Gore up the middle for 5 yards.

Allen fires off the ball, hits Thomas backward with a hand-punch, then moves through the line and pancakes DT Brian Young (6-2 298), springing Gore for a 5 yard run on the cutback.

3rd & 5 SF30: (Gun) PENALTY SF-Davis, False Start, 5 yards, No Play.

The Saints give a 3-4 look with Thomas as the NT, and he goes up against Heitmann as the ball is snapped. Allen helps out as the whistle is blown on Davis.

3rd & 10 SF25: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short middle to Battle.

Allen helps Snyder against the LDE, who goes nowhere.

*2nd Drive, following Saints TD (Q1 11:25, NO 7 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF29: Gore right tackle for -4 yards.

Allen pulls right and lays a hit on LB Fujita. Fujita seems not to care as he sheds the block and makes a tackle for a loss.

In Larry’s defense, this run looked like it was designed to go off-tackle and not to the corner. If Frank is running off-tackle, it’s a perfect block. Another thing to note is, the Saints brought 7 men to the line and the Niners blocked all of them. Um, except Fujita.

2nd & 14 SF25: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete deep middle to Lelie.

Brian Young, after getting nowhere against Snyder decides to try his luck against Larry Allen. He goes nowhere twice.

3rd & 14 SF25: (Gun) Smith pass short left to Davis for 8 yards.

Allen doesn’t really have anyone to block on this play, though he helps Heitmann with DE Antwan Lake (6-4 308) a little. In summary, the Saints go after the four linemen not named Larry Allen.

The Niners get new life after Craft is called for an illegal contact penalty. 5 yards, first down.

1st & 10 SF30: Smith pass short right to Davis for 19 yards.

Allen helps Heitmann neutralize DT Kendrick Clancy (6-1 305).

On the replays we see Vernon Davis is ridiculously open for 90% of the play.

1st & 10 SF49: Hicks up the middle for 6 yards, FUMBLES, RECOVERED by NO (Fujita).

Allen pulls right, hits RDE Smith and seals him inside. Afterward, Larry trips over MLB Simoneau who had been pancaked by RT Staley.

This was a great play except for the part when the running back gave the ball to the other team. Of course, that seems to be a recurring theme this year.

*3rd Drive, following Saints punt (Q1 7:59, NO 7 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF5: Smith pass short middle to Lelie for 6 yards.

Allen doesn’t have anyone to block directly this time, but he comes to Snyder's rescue when he sees W.Smith getting the upper hand.

2nd & 4 SF11: Gore left guard for no gain.

Allen crashes down on LDT Clancy and basically bodyslams him to the ground. Unfortunately, Larry can only do this to one person per play.

Not sure what daylight Gore was running to on this one. Looked to me like he tried to force a cutback that wasn’t there on a run that was designed to go over Snyder’s outside shoulder. Also, it didn’t help that Smiley pulled left, ran right into W. Smith and got shoved into Frank’s face.

3rd & 4 SF11: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short right to Battle.

Allen lines up against Clancy, who wants no part of him.

Smith’s pass bounced right off Battle’s hands. Again.

*4th Drive, following Saints FG (Q1 3:25, NO 10 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF21: Gore left guard for 5 yards.

Allen bumps Clancy then goes out to get an LB – Simoneau in this case. He slows Simoneau down but that’s about it. Still, the play is good for 5 yards.

For the second time in this game, the announcers say, “Let’s hear from Curt Menafee in Los Angeles!” and then there’s silence for about 8 seconds.

2nd & 5 SF26: Gore up the middle for 4 yards.

Allen blocks down on Simoneau who comes on a run blitz. Simoneau does nothing on this play, which means Larry did his job.

3rd & 1 SF30: Norris up the middle for 1 yard.

It’s hard to pick out exactly who, but big ol’ Larry Allen appeared to pancake two different players on this play. Looked like DT Clancy and LB Shanle to me.

1st & 10 SF31: Smith scrambles left end for 2 yards.

Allen helps wall off Clancy on this play and that’s about it.

This was the play where Smith took his first big hit of the game. It was from Fujita, near the sideline.

2nd & 8 SF33: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete deep middle to Davis.

Allen takes on Clancy again and stonewalls him.

Kendrick Clancy should have “property of Larry Allen” stamped on his forehead. On a less amusing note, this pass should have been intercepted. Smith’s first throw after the first big hit is a total duck.

3rd & 8 SF33: (Gun) Smith pass short right to Davis for 12 yards.

Allen takes on DT Lake. Lake goes nowhere.

1st & 10 SF45: Gore up the middle for 2 yards.

Allen crashes down on DT Thomas and pancakes him. Blew him a good three yards off the ball.

Larry Allen sure gets a lot of pancakes for a guy who is supposed to be over the hill.

2nd & 8 SF47: Gore right guard for 3 yards.

Allen fires out and tries to block Shanle. Unfortunately, speed is not one of Larry Allen’s strong suits. Shanle runs right past.

You can’t really blame this play on Allen because it was to the other side, and Shanle was one of the last people to arrive at the ball. So what was the problem then? To me it looked like Staley blocked two people and Smiley blocked none.

3rd & 5 @50: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short right to Battle.

Allen shoves Brian Young into Snyder, then comes back to handle W.Smith.

This incompletion we can place squarely on the shoulder(s) of Alex Smith. The pass was just too high for Battle to catch in-bounds.

*5th Drive, following Saints punt (Q2 12:05, NO 10 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF44: Smith sacked for -7 yards, fumbles, recovered by SF-Staley.

Young runs circles around Allen and strips the ball from Smith’s hands. A terrible play.

On the plus side, Smith didn’t really absorb a hit, and the Niners didn’t turn the ball over.

2nd & 17 SF37: Smith pass incomplete short right to Walker.

Allen’s up against Young again. This time Young goes nowhere.

3rd & 17 SF37: Hicks up the middle for 13 yards.

Allen pulls right and takes out DE Cooper. Hicks runs through the hole Allen vacated.

*6th Drive, following Saints TD (Q2 6:45, NO 17 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF21: Smith pass incomplete deep right to Lelie.

Allen stonewalls Lake. Heitmann helps a little.

2nd & 10 SF21: Gore right guard for 7 yards.

Allen pulls right. It’s not that he blocks everyone; it’s that people jump out of his way. The only guy he hits is Shanle, but that’s good for 7 yards.

3rd & 3 SF28: (Gun) Smith pass short right to Gilmore for 8 yards.

Allen isn’t matched up against anyone directly, but he helps Heitmann a little and then Snyder a little.

1st & 10 SF36: Smith pass short left to Lelie for 5 yards.

Allen helps Heitmann with Clancy, then takes on W.Smith. Alex Smith has plenty of time to throw this one.

If the Saints don’t make this ankle tackle on Lelie, it’s off to the races. Of course, they do make the ankle tackle.

2nd & 5 SF41: Smith pass incomplete short middle to Norris.

Clancy actually breaks through Allen and Heitmann, but Alex Smith steps up and avoids the rush.

3rd & 5 SF41: Smith pass incomplete short right to Gilmore.

Allen and Snyder run out left like they’re setting up a screen. They take W. Smith will them.

*7th Drive, following Saints TD (Q2 0:50, NO 24 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF30: (Gun) Smith pass short left to Davis for 14 yards.

Allen neutralizes Brian Young with an assist from Michael Robinson.

1st & 10 SF44: (Gun) Smith pass short middle Robinson for 11 yards.

Allen doesn’t really have anyone to block on this play, though he does help Heitmann by shoving Young once.

1st & 10 NO45: Smith spiked the ball to stop the clock.

2nd & 10 NO45: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short left to Lelie.

Allen again helps Heitmann against Young, then shuffles over and helps Snyder with W.Smith. Very helpful of him.

3rd & 10 NO45: (Gun) Smith pass short left to Battle for 9 yards.

Nobody really for Larry to block on this play. The Saints are still too busy going after the linemen not named Larry Allen.

4th & 1 NO36: (Gun) Smith sacked for -6 yards.

Allen blocks Lake, then Young. Then he stands around watching as W.Smith takes A.Smith down and Lake / Young jump on afterward for good measure.

[2ND HALF]

*1st Drive, following Saints punt (Q3 13:23, NO 24 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF44: (Gun) Smith pass short left to Gore for no gain.

Allen is matched up against H.Thomas, who goes nowhere.

2nd & 10 SF44: Gore left end for -1 yards.

Allen pulls left, hits LB Simmons. Actually, it’s Simmons who does the hitting. He blows up Larry’s block and gets in on the tackle.

3rd & 11 SF43: (Gun) Smith scrambles up the middle for 6 yards.

Allen doesn’t take on anyone directly, but he gets a piece of Brian Young, and helps against DE Grant as well.

*2nd Drive, following Saints fumble (Q3 9:04, NO 24 SF 0)

1st & 10 NO46: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short left to Gilmore.

Allen faces off with Young and doesn’t budge an inch.

2nd & 10 NO46: (Gun) Gore up the middle for 9 yards.

It’s Hollis Thomas this time. Allen turns him outside and springs Gore into the secondary.

Gore seemed to aggravate his ankle injury on this play. He walked off the field furious.

3rd & 1 NO37: Robinson right guard for 4 yards.

Allen pulls right and clotheslines FS Harper who falls to his knees.

Dirty play? Sort of. Did it work? Yes.

1st & 10 NO33: (Gun) Smith pass short middle to Robinson for 20 yards.

Allen neutralizes Thomas again.

Amazing effort from Robinson on this play. He broke four tackles and gashed the Saints for a big gain.

1st & 10 NO13: Smith pass incomplete.

It’s Kendrick Clancy this time. Allen might as well be a brick wall.

2nd & 10 NO13: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short right to Davis.

The Saints show blitz and send 8. Allen picks up OLB Evans.

Will Smith came unblocked. This play was a lot like the one against the Giants when Umenyora took the ball from Dilfer.

3rd & 10 NO13: (Gun) Smith pass short right to Davis for 2 yards.

Allen stonewalls Clancy again.

After this play, Nedney kicks it through the uprights to save the Niners from being shut out. Naturally, the following kickoff goes out of bounds.

*3rd Drive, following Saints punt (Q3 2:18, NO 24 SF 0)

1st & 10 SF13: Gore up the middle for 3 yards.

Allen blocks down on Clancy, then goes out to get Simoneau, but Simoneau slides past and helps make the tackle.

Unfortunately, none of the other linebackers were blocked either.

2nd & 7 SF16: Smith pass incomplete deep right to Davis.

Allen redirects Cooper, then helps Heitmann with Clancy.

The Niners line plus Gore picked up all four linemen plus two blitzing linebackers on this play. Gore in particular had a great block on Fujita. It’s too bad this pass was overthrown because Davis was open against Saints LB Simmons and would have taken the pass for probably 30 yards at the least.

3rd & 7 SF16: (Gun) Smith pass short right to Gilmore for 10 yards.

Allen keeps Cooper out of this play. Larry gives some ground, but not enough to cause a pressure.

1st & 10 SF26: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short left to Battle.

Allen and Smiley team up to keep Lake out of the backfield.

2nd & 10 SF26: (Gun) Gore left guard for 8 yards.

Allen shoves Clancy into Heitmann, then takes out Fujita, again springing Gore for a nice gain.

3rd & 2 SF34: Smith pass incomplete short right to Battle.

Allen gives Clancy a little push toward Heitmann but doesn’t do much else.

Smith had plenty of time, but nobody was open.

*4th Drive, following Saints TD (Q4 8:47, NO 31 SF 3)

1st & 10 SF20: (Gun) Smith pass short left to Battle for 7 yards.

No one to block for Larry. Alex Smith has plenty of time.

2nd & 3 SF27: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete deep right to Lelie.

Allen stonewalls Lake on this play.

Plenty of time for Smith to throw – he just underthrew Lelie, who was wide open on a crossing route.

3rd & 3 SF27: (Gun) Smith pass deep left to Davis for 17 yards.

Heitmann passes H.Thomas off to Allen who keeps him out of the backfield.

1st & 10 SF44: (Gun) Robinson right guard for 2 yards.

Allen hits W.Smith once coming off the snap, then gives up on the play. This is bad because it’s a draw, which is slow-developing. Smith ends up in on the tackle.

2nd & 8 SF46: (Gun) Smith pass short left to Battle for 6 yards.

Allen stonewalls Lake again.

3rd & 2 NO48: (Gun) Smith scrambles left end for 9 yards.

Antwan Lake is not having a good day against Larry Allen. stonewalled again. Larry plays this one to the whistle, which means he’s probably mad.

1st & 10 NO39: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete deep right to Battle.

Allen stonewalls Cooper. Lots of stonewalling going on.

Should have been a catch. Battle dropped yet another pass.

2nd & 10 NO39: (Gun) Smith pass short right to Hill for 6 yards.

Allen keeps Clancy out of the play.

Hill gets his first catch as a Niner – a nice tiptoe along the sideline on a comeback route. Hopefully many more to come.

3rd & 4 NO33: (Gun) Smith pass short right to Lelie for 9 yards.

Allen helps Heitmann keep Thomas from getting anywhere near Alex Smith.

Nice catch by Lelie. Not a great throw, but a good catch.

1st & 10 NO24: (Gun) Smith pass short middle to Hicks for 5 yards.

Same deal with Allen and Heitmann blocking Thomas.

2nd & 5 NO19: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete deep middle to Battle.

This time it’s Allen one on one against Thomas. Larry wins again.

May have been a case for pass interference on this play, as Craft tripped Battle on his way to the ball.

3rd & 5 NO19: (Gun) Smith pass short middle to Gilmore for 5 yards.

Allen and Heitmann doubleteam Clancy this time. He doesn’t fare any better than Thomas.

1st & 10 NO14: (Gun) PENALTY on SF-Heitmann, Illegal Procedure, 5 yards, No Play.

Looked like Heitmann double-clutched the snap.

1st & 15 NO19: (Gun) Smith pass short middle to Robinson for 12 yards.

Not really anyone for Allen to block on this play, though he helps with Lake a little.

2nd & 3 NO7: (Gun) Smith pass incomplete short middle to Gilmore.

Again, nobody for Allen to block.

3rd & 3 NO7: (Gun) Smith pass short middle to Davis for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Same old song and dance. Nobody to block.

Hooray, a touchdown! Too bad it’s about 45 minutes too late.

Final Thoughts

Larry Allen is still Larry Allen — he’s just older and slower. He still has a couple plays per game where he makes full-grown defenders look like children. While it’s true that he used to do that on almost every play, an old and slow Larry Allen is still better than most guards out there.

Where Allen gets in trouble is when teams force him to deal with speed rushers by bringing defensive ends inside. He still blows everyone off the ball in run blocking, but he can be beat if teams bring lots of blitzers.

Because of his speed (or lack thereof), Allen also has trouble bumping defenders, sliding off and going out to get linebackers. He definitely struggles when the Niners have him pull. But given those weaknesses, he is ridiculously good in straight ahead run blocking and doesn’t make mistakes in one-on-one pass blocking.

The Niners' line is definitely struggling, and Larry Allen is obviously not the same player he was 10 years ago, when he might have been the best player in the entire NFL. But all weaknesses considered, he’s still an asset to the team. Nolan was not lying when he said Larry is doing just fine. Read more on this article...

Kneejerk Knotes: Fine. I quit, too.

I'm only going to put as much effort into writing this article as the 49ers put in against the Saints today. Ok, so I've already done that.

As a bonus, let me just say this. These 49ers should be ashamed of themselves. They are a disgrace. They do not deserve to wear that uniform.

Here is my very short list (in no particular order) of current 49ers who truly deserve to be 49ers. Feel free to add to it if you can come up with any others.

Frank Gore
Alex Smith
Bryant Young
Nate Clements
Patrick Willis
Andy Lee

That's all that comes to mind. Disgraceful. Read more on this article...

Win the West: Week 8 picks

Another loss, another fall down the Win the West standings for yours truly (apparently the biggest homer on this site). Congratulations to all the guys who went a perfect 3-0 last week while I mired at 1-2, falling farther behind the pack.

A few of the non-homers have joined me in picking the Niners this week. I guess facing the Saints at home with Alex Smith is a little less scary than facing the Giants on the road with Trent Dilfer. Who knew?

Here are this week's picks:

Chris (14-4, 3-0 last week)
San Francisco 27, New Orleans 9
St. Louis 35, Cleveland 30

JR (12-6, 2-1 last week)
No picks yet

Ben (13-5, 3-0 last week)
New Orleans 34, San Francisco 13
Cleveland 27, St. Louis 14

Nick (13-5, 3-0 last week)
San Francisco 23, New Orleans 16
Cleveland 27, St. Louis 19

Eddie (11-7, 2-1 last week)
San Francisco 28, New Orleans 21
St. Louis 37, Cleveland 31

James (10-7, 1-2 last week)
San Francisco 23, New Orleans 20
Cleveland 34, St. Louis 24 Read more on this article...

Breaking the Huddle: We must march on

With a very winnable road game against Atlanta on the horizon, the Niners must take care of business at home today against New Orleans to further their hopes of being back to .500 by the time they travel to Seattle two weeks from now on a Monday night showdown.

A loss against the Saints could be a fatal blow to the 49ers playoff hopes.

QUARTERBACKS

Even though Saints QB Drew Brees started slow, he's heated up during the last two weeks (both wins). He has four touchdowns and one interception compared to one touchdown and nine picks the previous four games. The scenario has been simple for New Orleans: The less mistakes Brees makes, the better chance they have of winning. For the Niners, Alex Smith returns after missing three games with a separated shoulder. With running back Frank Gore bothered by a sprained ankle, Smith needs to get in a rhythm early to take the pressure off of Gore and the beleaguered offense. Smith has shown flashes of brilliance late in games, but now it's time for him to do it throughout.

Advantage: Saints

RUNNING BACKS

Reggie Bush (four touchdowns) beat Gore decisively in their first meeting last season and he didn't need Gore's home state of Florida to do it. Gore hasn't practiced much this week, but if Smith can't get it going early, he'll be called upon once again to shoulder the lion's share of the offensive load. Bush has been steady since Deuce McAllister went down with a season-ending knee injury. He's accumulated 331 total yards in three games and caught a touchdown last week against the Falcons. Bush versus rookie linebacker sensation Patrick Willis will be a highlight of the day.

Advantage: 49ers.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Finally Ashley Lelie will get some significant time, unfortunately at the expense of Darrell Jackson who's questionable for today's game. Lelie and Vernon Davis being on the field for most of the plays should finally allow Smith and the passing game to stretch the field. It might also create much needed space for Gore in the rushing attack. The Saints wideouts have been a disappointment thus far, especially Marques Colston who only has 26 receptions, 263 yards and two touchdowns through six games. Tight end Eric Johnson will be looking to extract revenge for being let go, but he shouldn't find much room to roam with the Niners linebackers covering him.

Advantage: 49ers.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Both of these units were spectacular last season. This year they've been mediocre at best. With tackle Jonas Jennings and center Jeff Faine both questionable for the contest, depth should play a factor. That's where the Niners clearly have an advantage on the line.

Advantage: 49ers.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Bryant Young started the season with four sacks in the Niners two wins. Since then, he hasn't sniffed a quarterback. The Saints defensive line has been man-handled for the most part.

Advantage: 49ers.

LINEBACKERS

It will be Willis' responsibility to keep Bush in check. If he does then the Niners should roll. Willis is currently averaging 10.5 tackles per game.

Advantage: 49ers.

SECONDARY

Outside of Mike McKenzie, the Saints defensive backfield has been horrible. Free safety Josh Bullocks has been especially suspect. If the Niners can't pass on these guys, they just can't pass. The 49ers secondary, however, has been solid. Look for Nate Clements to shut down Colston.

Advantage: 49ers.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Michael "Beer Man" Lewis faces his old team and I expect him to break off at least one long return. The Saints return game can be dangerous when Bush is back there. Both units are solid.

Advantage: Draw.

COACHING

It seems Saints coach Sean Payton has made adjustments to get his offense back on track. That can't be said for Mike Nolan and Jim Hostler.

Advantage: Saints.

PREDICTION

49ers 28, Saints 21 — Smith gets the passing game on track early as the Niners jump ahead and protect the lead with their defense and Gore.

Read more on this article...

Fantasy Fury: Week 8 preview

The times, they are a-changing.

Fantasy football was once the domain of elite running backs. These days though, fantasy's most valuable player is Patriot's quarterback Tom Brady. If you paired Brady with Randy Moss, there's a good chance you're running away with your league. Obviously, neither Brady or Moss are running backs, because most first-round running backs haven't did jack this season.

This means you should expect more quarterbacks and receivers chosen earlier at next year's draft, completing a transition Peyton Manning started three years ago when he broke Dan Marino's touchdown record.

Here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 8's matchups:

New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — This is the game Alex Smith lives up to his No. 1 pick status. He has to since tailback Frank Gore is hobbled by a sprained ankle. The Niners passing game should see its best day of the season with tight end Vernon Davis seeing the bulk of the action. Also, expect Reggie Bush and Drew Brees to be solid, not spectacular.
START: 49ers WR Arnaz Battle, 49ers defense.
SIT: Saints TE Eric Johnson, Saints WR Marques Colston.

Oakland Raiders at Tennessee Titans, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Titans running back LenDale White is the big start in this matchup. Expect 100 yards and two scores.
START: Titans defense; Raiders WR Jerry Porter.
SIT: Raiders RB LaMont Jordan; Titans WRs.

Indianapolis Colts at Carolina Panthers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Colts are too good and too well coached to fall into a trap. Expect Peyton Manning and Co. to get their usual. Sit Marvin Harrison until he's fully healthy. Age has finally caught up with him. Expect Reggie Wayne to outshine Steve Smith.
START: Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams.
SIT: Panthers QBs; Colts WR Anthony Gonzalez.

New York Giants at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 10 a.m. — I feel sorry for people in London who paid for this game. For those of you reading this ... The Dolphins do not represent what the NFL has to offer. The Giants on the other hand might represent the class of the NFC.
START: Giants RB Brandon Jacobs, Giants WR Plaxico Burress.
SIT: All Dolphins.

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears, Sunday, 10 a.m. — While I'm impressed with what the Lions and Packers are doing, I believe the Bears are ready to take center stage in the North Division again. Jon Kitna, God is not here today.
START: Bears QB Brian Griese, Bears WR Bernard Berrian, Bears defense.
SIT: Lions QB Jon Kitna, Lions RB Kevin Jones.

Cleveland Browns at St. Louis Rams, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Rams are as healthy as they're going to get this season. The Browns haven't been half bad, but are yet to win on the road. Expect a shootout.
START: Both QBs, Rams RB Steven Jackson; Browns WR Braylon Edwards.
SIT: Rams TE Randy McMichael; Browns RBs.

Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This matchup boils down to Donovan McNabb versus Adrian Peterson. Both should have huge days. The Vikings won't allow Brian Westbrook much room to run, but he will be useful in the passing game.
START: Eagles WR Reggie Brown, Eagles defense; Vikings defense.
SIT: Vikings QB Kelly Holcomb.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Tight end Heath Miller is officially Ben Roethlisberger's No. 1 target. Play him accordingly. This should be a high-scoring affair.
START: All the usual suspects.
SIT: Bengals RB Kenny Watson, Bengals RB Rudi Johnson.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Both defenses are must starts, since most of the points scored will probably come from that side of the ball.
START: Buccaneers QB Jeff Garcia.
SIT: Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew.

Houston Texans at San Diego Chargers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Expect an emotional game from the Chargers in front of their hometown fans after what San Diego has endured this past week with the wildfires. The Texans are a week away from being completely healthy.
START: All Chargers.
SIT: Texans QB Matt Schaub.

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets, Sunday, 1 p.m. — This should be Marshawn Lynch's breakout game. Expect over 100 yards and at least a score. Also expect Lee Evans to breakout. Evans is a notorious second-half player. If he's available, grab him while you can.
START: Bills QB Trent Edwards; Jets QB Chad Pennington.
SIT: Jets RB Thomas Jones.

Washington Redskins at New England Patriots, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Tom Brady gets my Heisman vote with the silly numbers he's putting up. 27 touchdowns and two interceptions?? Are you kidding me. The Redskins defense is one of the best units in the NFL, but they can rage all they want. They're not stopping the machine.
START: Patriots WRs.
SIT: All Redskins.

Green Bay Packers at Denver Broncos, Monday night, 5:30 p.m. — Expect this one to come down to the wire since most Broncos' games usually do. Brett Favre and Jay Cutler are both solid starts.
START: Packers WR Donald Driver, Packers RB DeShawn Wynn; Broncos WR Brandon Marshall.
SIT: Broncos RB Travis Henry.
LAST WEEK'S CALLS
Adopted by Angelina Jolie: I advised starting LenDale White (27 carries, 104 yards, TD for the Titans) and Heath Miller (five receptions, 50 yards, two TDs for the Steelers). I also said sit Travis Henry (17 carries, 51 yards and a fumble for the Broncos), who was completely shut down by the dominating Pittsburgh defense.
Adopted by Britney Spears: However, I made some of the worst calls ever on starting pass catchers. I said start TE Vernon Davis, WR Roy Williams and WR Santana Moss (should have learned my lesson from the week before). They combined for nine receptions and 53 yards. My bad!

Also, if anyone wants to send questions about lineups or matchups, feel free. Read more on this article...

Hit List: Reasons for hope

This week in Hit List, we look for hope concerning the future of the 2-4 San Francisco 49ers after their loss to the New York Giants.

HELLO, Observer readers. My name is Nick, and I have a confession to make. Earlier this week, I began writing this article directly following the 49ers' 33-15 loss to the New York Giants. At the time, I figured it was best to type up what was on my mind at the moment and then finish the article later in the week.

Here is how the article originally started:

HELLO, Observer readers. My name is Nick. I'm here to tell you that the San Francisco 49ers are completely screwed concerning the 2007 season. You can call me a pessimist or a disbeliever or even unfaithful. I really don't care at this point. The 2007 San Francisco 49ers are dead in the water. Kaput. Finished. It's over and done. Forget the playoffs or even making it to the post-season on a wild card. This is a 7-9 team if we're lucky. It's time to start thinking about 2008.

Now, at the time I wrote the above paragraph, things were looking pretty dismal for the Niners. Following last Sunday's game against New York, Santa Rosa Press Democrat writer Matt Maiocco (the true inside source for what's REALLY going on in Ninerland) typed up this article here, which led me to believe that all hope was lost for San Francisco in 2007. From where Maiocco stood, both Alex Smith and Frank Gore were not going to be ready for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints. And from where I stood, having both of the 49ers' main weapons on the sideline against New Orleans meant a guaranteed loss for San Francisco no matter who was calling the plays on offense.

But what a difference a few days make. As early as this Thursday, Maiocco was reporting many good things from Ninerland, and my confidence in the 2007 49ers was renewed. According to Maiocco, both Smittay and Gore will be ready to go this Sunday, and as a result, I've come down with a slight case of the "I smell an upset" disease. That's right. I believe the 49ers have a very solid chance to win this Sunday against New Orleans.

Now I could easily be off on this one, and I would not recommend to any of our Observer readers to bet money on the 49ers this weekend (especially with that tiny point spread). Yet, there are still many reasons for hope this Sunday when the Niners take on the Saints. Here are those reasons, for your reading pleasure:

• The 49ers are playing at home. If this week's game was in New Orleans, I'd have much more of a pessimistic outlook regarding the Niners' potential to win this Sunday. The Mike Nolan 49ers are kind of awful on the road, and I'm sure if you did the research, the numbers wouldn't lie. Yet, Alex Smith will be making his return to a packed house at Monster Park this Sunday, and I think Smittay will feel very comfortable knowing he is playing in front of his fans with a pretty healthy offense in front of him. Which brings me to my next point ...

• Alex Smith is healthy. I think it's obvious at this point that having Alex Smith back in the lineup is a good thing for the 49ers (the "PUT IN DILFER!" fans now know better). Yet, what might not be so obvious is that with Smittay back in action, I believe this 49ers' offense will begin to flourish a little bit. Why, you ask?

• Jim Hostler is desperate, but improving. With the Niners not putting up any Ws in recent weeks, it seems that offensive coordinator Jim Hostler (everyone's favorite 49ers Observer contributor) has been let off the leash a bit to get more aggressive with the play-calling. Evidence of this was seen against the Giants, as Hostler organized an aggressive (and overall pretty damn good) second quarter drive last Sunday that resulted in an Arnaz Battle touchdown. On that same drive, Hostler/Nolan even took a chance and FINALLY threw a deep pass in Ashley Lelie's general direction (that's right, friends ... Ashley Lelie is indeed alive), and he caught the ball for a 47-yard gain. Hostler also let Dilfer throw some deep balls Vernon Davis' way (more on that in a sec) as well as a couple passes to backup tight end Delanie "D-Love" Walker.

I believe this Sunday that Hostler will continue to do his best Norv Turner impression, free Alex Smith, and let the kid throw the damn ball downfield (which is what the 49ers should have been doing since Week 1). I believe at this point that Smittay is more than ready for the challenge, and I think he will have a fantastic opportunity to truly shine this Sunday against an average Saints secondary.

• Vernon Davis is healthy. Sure, Click-Clack was indeed back from injury last Sunday, running around the field against the Giants (and dropping a would-be touchdown pass in the process). But a week later, you have to think that VD will be feeling a bit better now that Smith is back behind center instead of Trent Dilfer. With Nolan and Hostler gradually going into desperation mode on offense, I would expect to see a bunch of passes thrown Davis' way come Sunday. In fact, I'll go ahead and guarantee that The Duke has his best game of the year thus far this Sunday, especially with Darrell Jackson sidelined with an injury. Which brings me to my next point ...

• Darrell Jackson is not healthy. Hey D-Jax. What have you done for me lately? Not a whole lot, buddy. That's why the news concerning the injury to Darrell "my-haircut-doesn't-fit-in-my-helmet-and-I-was-too-dumb-to-fix-it-until-after-Week-2" Jackson has me all excited like a small child before the Power Rangers/X-Men hour on FOX Kids Saturday mornings in the mid-1990s. In short, D-Jax's absence brings a huge opportunity for Ashley Lelie, and Lelie's speed is needed on the field now more than ever. Hopefully now that Mike Nolan is getting over himself and his issues with potentially the Niners' the best wide receiver on the active roster, Mr. Lelie will put up some big numbers and turn some heads at Monster Park this Sunday.

• The New Orleans Saints aren't very good. It's hard to believe how fast the mighty have fallen, but the 2007 New Orleans Saints are looking more and more like the Saints that football fans my age grew up with (or any age, for that matter). Marques Colston's dismal fantasy performance aside, the 2007 Saints are simply mediocre this year. They hold the No. 22-ranked defense in the NFL (the 49ers are ranked No. 17), they are 24th in points allowed (the 49ers are 19th) and 27th in total pass defense (the 49ers are 11th). Granted, the 49ers are ranked last in just about every offensive category this season. But against the Saints, there is hope that the 49ers will able to score early and often if the Niners' O-line can give Smittay some protection and open some holes for a semi-injured Frank Gore.

And with that, I'm outta here, friendly readers. I'll be back sometime next week with another HIT LIST to either celebrate the Niners' victory over New Orleans, or sort through another one of Nolan & Hostler's messes. With that said, here is who I liked and didn't like last Sunday against the Giants:

Eric Johnson will be a good former 49er and buy you a beer following Sunday's game: Ashley Lelie (he can spike the ball all he wants if he keeps catching the deep ball), Arnaz Battle, Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, Marques Douglas, Andy Lee and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky (Greg's definitely not responsible for the offense turning the ball over four times).

Brandon Lloyd wants to be your new MySpace friend: Trent Dilfer, Joe Staley, Jonas Jenings, Vernon Davis (catch the ball, buddy) and Ray McDonald. Read more on this article...

In the Tunnel: New Orleans Saints

What a difference a year makes, eh? The New Orleans Saints were the darlings of the NFC last season until they ran into the buzz saw that was the Chicago Bears defense. They were expected to improve upon that effort this season with a lot of components from that dazzling offense returning and some retooling of a defense that was just good enough to get them one win away from the Super Bowl.

The Saints haven't lived up to those expectations so far this year — something 49er fans know a thing or two about themselves — and they've only managed two wins, both coming in the last two weeks. They've lost some players to injury, and that famed offense of theirs has been playing mistake-ridden football that hasn't allowed them to achieve the level of output that they did a year ago. The defense wasn't their strong suit to begin with, and it's somehow managed to regress from last season.

Taking a look from top to bottom of this team is a little difficult to interpret. Much like our own beloved 49ers, we know a lot of these guys can get it done by what we've seen from them in the past, but for whatever reason, they haven't turned it into success so far in 2007.

Saints Offense

The Saints' offensive line has been injury-free for the most part this season. All five starters have been on the field together for all six of their games, and it appears that consistency is starting to pay off. They've been giving adequate time for the passing game and creating some opportunities on the ground, as well. This isn't an overly big or physical unit, but they can move in space, and that plays well to their running game.

As everyone now knows, Reggie Bush is the primary weapon in the Saints' ground attack now that Deuce McAllister is out for the season. We saw Bush torch the Niners for four touchdowns last season, and it was obvious that they just didn't have the speed to contain the dangerous rookie. He also catches a lot of passes out of the backfield and will split wide from time to time. The Saints have put the weight of their running game on this young man's shoulders, and last week against the hapless Falcons, he did manage to deliver, gutting out a tough two-point conversion on the ground to seal the Saints' second straight victory.

One of the biggest factors in the Saints' struggles early in the season was the poor play of QB Drew Brees. He threw one touchdown and nine interceptions in the first four games and was generally having a tough time finding his comfort zone. However, in the last two weeks he's turned that trend around and has thrown four touchdowns and only one pick. Brees is an incredibly accurate passer who has the ability to move in the pocket and make just about every throw. When he's at his best, he's one of the league's elite. When he's not, it's apparent that he'll turn the ball over and creat opportunities for his opponents.

Last year's rookie sensation Marques Colston has struggled to live up to expectations so far this year. A lot of this falls on the shoulders of Brees, though as he's not been finding any of his wideouts much this season at all. Other starting WR Devery Henderson only has nine grabs, and in actuality, David Patten has been more dangerous from the slot in three-receiver sets. Reggie Bush actually leads the team in receptions, and it looks like Brees is getting better at spreading the ball around to everybody.

A familiar face will be lining up against the 49ers from the tight end position. Eric Johnson, the former Yale man, is second on the team in receptions and has already established himself as a favorite target of his QB.

SAINTS DEFENSE

Talented defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith bookend the defensive line and were a big part of the Saints' success last season. This year hasn't gone quite as well. Nobody in the Saints' front seven has shown any consistency in getting to the quarterback, and stopping the run has been an issue for quite some time.

The Saints' linebackers haven't done much either when it comes to disrupting things in the passing game. OLB Scott Fujita leads the team in tackles even with missing a game to injury. Again, nobody in this unit is getting consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, so the anemic 49ers passing game may get a shot to break out of its funk.

In the secondary, Mike McKenzie is their undoubted leader and gets the No. 1 assignment every week. He's only got one pick this year and, in my opinion, far too many tackles. Same goes for safeties Roman Harper and Josh Bullocks, who have more tackles than most of the linebackers do. It's obvious that teams are getting into the Saints' secondary with both completed passes and breaks in the run defense.

To summarize, the Saints have won their last two games after losing their first four and the Niners have lost their last four games after winning their first two, so it's easy to say that these two clubs are headed in opposite directions. It should be noted that the Saints haven't looked spectacular in their two wins but the Niners have looked absolutely awful in most of their losses.

So what's going to happen? The Niners are at home and look to have their starting QB back in the lineup along with tight end Vernon Davis. The Saints' defense isn't the best, so it could be an opportunity to finally get things rolling. Conversely, the Saints' offense has started to really pick things up, and if the real Drew Brees shows up, the Niners' already tired defense will have more than they can handle. Let's hope the home team has hit the panic button and can pull off a minor upset of another franchise that has let its fans down this year. Read more on this article...

Film Room: Patrick Willis

Prior to this year’s draft, Patrick Willis was billed as the next Ray Lewis. Draftniks said he could be a perennial Pro Bowler. The day of the draft, there were some questioning if Nebraska DT/DE Adam Carriker would be the better pick, due to the Niners' need on the defensive line. At this point, It remains to be seen if Carriker will turn out well with the Rams, but it’s obvious that Willis was the best player available.

Over the course of the season, we’ve heard everyone talk about how Willis “jumps out at you” on film. The question of the week is, does he hold up to close scrutiny throughout the entire game? Does he show up for a few plays and then disappear for the rest? Does he make rookie mistakes? Read on and find out.

[1st HALF]

*1st Drive

1-10-NYG 17: Manning pass short right to Shockey for 14 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis drops into coverage, drifts left, and tackles Shockey after Clements whiffs.

1-10-NYG 31: Manning pass short right to Burress for 4 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis reads pass and flows toward the play, but Clements makes the tackle.

2-6-NYG 35: Jacobs right guard for 9 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis comes on a blitz but runs right into LG Seubert as the play goes to the right.

Note—Jacobs ran over SS M.Lewis about five yards downfield. Looked painful.

1-10-NYG 44: Jacobs left guard for 4 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis reads run and heads toward the line, sees the play going to the left side and runs that way but again right into Seubert who came out looking for an LB.

Note—Smith flies in and blows up LT Diehl’s block, sheds him, and makes the tackle. Good play, considering he didn’t have much help.

2-6-NYG 48: Manning pass incomplete short right (to Ward).
Formation: 4-3 (Willis at MLB)

Willis drops into coverage, sees Manning dump the ball off, and jets over but runs into an official. Didn’t matter because Ward dropped it, hearing Derek Smith’s footsteps (yes, you read that right).

3-6-NYG 48: (Shotgun) FLAG Willis, Encroachment, 5 yards, No Play.
Formation: 3-2-6 Dime

Willis is coming on the blitz, but comes a little too early.

3-1-SF 47: Manning pass short left to Burress for 9 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG) – M.Lewis in the box.

Willis reads pass and drops back, sees Burress catch the ball and sprints to make the tackle, but Clements is there first. Clements didn’t tackle Burress so much as trip him. Seems like Willis is in the camera’s field of view for every play.

1-10-SF 38: Jacobs left end for 5 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis comes on a blitz, runs right into FB Hedgecock and knocks him back about a yard. Jacobs shows some good agility as he dances around Patrick’s outstretched arm and turns the corner for a nice gain.

2-5-SF 33: (Shotgun) FLAG McDonald, Encroachment, 4 yards, No Play.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel

Note—McDonald blew Shockey up on this one. Too bad it didn’t count. Shockey was flat on his back and leapt to his feet from that position like Bruce Lee. Can Vernon Davis do that? Probably.

2-1-SF 29: Jacobs right tackle for 11 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Willis over LG)

Willis flows to the play, but he flows right into Giants C S.O’Hara. Willis sheds the block, but not fast enough.

Note—If I’m not mistaken, Dashon Goldson made his first tackle as a Niner on this play. Also, I notice the Giants make it a point to block Willis even when they’re running to the other side of the field.

1-10-SF 18: (Shotgun) Manning pass short middle to Jacobs for 9 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis over LG)

Willis drops into coverage and disappears from view.

2-1-SF 9: Jacobs left guard for 2 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis flows left and vanishes into a sea of players.

Note—Bryant Young did a backwards leap onto the pile at the end of this play. Kind of funny to see. He still looks good out there.

1-7-SF 7: Manning pass incomplete short right (Ward).
Formation: 6-2-3 Goal Line (Willis over LG)

Willis reads pass and drops into coverage in the end zone.

Note—Blown coverage. Moore’s responsibility was to cover Ward out of the backfield. Good thing he dropped the sure touchdown.

2-7-SF 7: Ward up the middle for 3 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis flows to the ball, submarines under a block, and brings down Ward after a short gain.

3-4-SF 4: Manning pass short right to Toomer for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis drops into coverage in the middle of the end zone. Toomer catches the ball on the back right edge. Not sure whose responsibility he was, but I believe Spencer was near.

Note—Tynes shanked the extra point.

*2nd Drive

1-10-NYG 42: Jacobs left tackle for 8 yards
Formation: 4-3 (Willis at MLB)

Willis runs to the right side into RG Snee’s block. He sees the ball going left, disengages, and sprints to Jacobs as Haralson makes the tackle. You have to love how Patrick brings 100% effort to every play.

2-2-SF 50: Manning pass incomplete short left (Jacobs).
Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel (Willis over C)

Willis comes on the blitz but gets lost in trash behind NT Franklin.

3-2-SF 50: Ward right tackle for 2 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis flows to the ball, sheds LG Seubert’s block and gets set up to make a tackle right at the line of scrimmage, but Seubert follows him and blocks him in the back just as Ward arrives. Pretty cheap. The refs gave Ward a generous spot too.

1-10-SF 48: Ward right guard for 6 yards.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Willis over RG)

Willis reads run, but comes through the wrong lane and Ward ends up behind him.

Note—SS M.Lewis came on a blitz but only got one arm on Ward. At the end of the play as Sopoaga was dragging Ward to the ground, Walt Harris ran in and popped the RB’s helmet off with a shoulder to the chin.

2-4-SF 42: Jacobs left end for 11 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RT)

Willis reads run and flows to the left side of the field, dodges around RG Snee who dives at his knees. Harris chases Jacobs out of bounds just as Patrick is getting close.

1-10-SF 31: Manning pass short right to Jacobs for 5 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis drops into coverage, and closes on Jacobs immediately after the catch, slams into Snee, spins, and gets in on the tackle along with DE Ray McDonald.

2-5-SF 26: Manning pass short right to Shockey for 4 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LT)

Willis drops into coverage on the opposite side of the field.

3-1-SF 22: Droughns right tackle for 2 yards
Formation: 4-3 (Willis over RG), shaded to the strong side

Willis disappears into one end of the pile, and when the play ends he’s the one at the other end who is latched on to Droughns, somehow having made the tackle.

1-10-SF 20: Manning pass short left INTERCEPTED by D.Smith.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis drops into coverage.

Derek Smith comes up with his first interception in three or four years. It was a good time for it too, as it seemed the Giants were closing in for another touchdown.

*3rd Drive

1-10-NYG 26: Jacobs up the middle for 3 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over C)

Willis runs up and takes on LT McKenzie’s block and is knocked off balance. He stumbles sideways then backwards.

2-7-NYG 29: Jacobs right tackle for 6 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis flows to the ball, but gets stuck against NY’s backup TE Matthews’ block and can’t disengage.

3-1-NYG 35: Droughns right tackle for no gain
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LT)

Willis drifts toward the play, but it’s over by the time he can get around the wall of linemen (both OL and DL). Luckily, the Niners line wins the battle and Douglas makes the tackle.

Note—After this play we see a shot of SF DL coach Jim Tomusula all wild-eyed and pumping his fist.

*4th Drive

(following Dilfer / Gore fumble)

1-10-SF 27: (Shotgun) Ward up the middle for 11 yards
Formation: 4-1-6 Nickel (Willis over C)

Willis flows toward the play, but he tries to run between DE Fields and C O’Hara and gets stuck. Bizarre.

1-10-SF 16: (Shotgun) Manning pass incomplete short middle (Jacobs).
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis over LG)

Willis drops into deep coverage. Jacobs drops an easy catch.

2-10-SF 16: Jacobs left guard for 11 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis gets a little fooled by misdirection toward the RT on this play, but quickly recovers, reverses field, fights through some trash, and hustles over to make the tackle alongside M.Lewis.

Note—Derek Smith got blasted by Jeremy Shockey on this play, springing Jacobs for the long gain.

1-5-SF 5: Jacobs right tackle for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over C)

Willis flies into the hole where the play was intended to go and blows up the FB Hedgecock. Jacobs bounces it outside (where Moore is supposed to be) for the touchdown.

Note—Plays like this really make you miss Manny Lawson. In defense of the Niners, it looked like DE Young was held.

*5th Drive

(following Dilfer INT to Madison)

1-10-SF 30: Manning pass short left to Shockey for 6 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis reads pass, drops into coverage, shadows Shockey, and brings him down the moment the ball arrives.

2-4-SF 24: Jacobs right end for 4 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis reads run, flows toward the RT, makes the hit about two yards past the LOS. Jacobs falls forward to gain 2 more.

Note—Jacobs is one of the few backs in the league who does not go backwards when Willis hits him. It probably has something to do with him being 6-foot-4 and weighing 264 lbs.

1-10-SF 20: Manning pass incomplete short left to TE Matthews.
Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel (Willis over LG)

Willis drops into coverage and disappears off the screen.

Note—This should have been a catch for about 6 yards. Matthews just dropped it. Clements was nearby.

2-10-SF 20: Jacobs right end for 7 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis reads run and flows toward the ball, sheds LT McKenzie’s block (he’d run out to the second level), and is the first man to hit Jacobs as the right side had been almost entirely sealed off.

Note—On a lot of these runs it’s like Willis is the only man between the RB and the end zone. Other people really should be making these plays, but Patrick seems like the only guy who can get off blocks and sprint to the ball.

Following a NYG timeout due to the D formation.
3-3-SF 13: (Shotgun) Ward left guard for 2 yards
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis over C)

Willis drifts over, but doesn’t really get in on the play because McDonald took care of it.

Tynes kicked a 29 yard field goal after this play.

*6th Drive

1-10-NYG 11: (Shotgun) Manning pass short left to Ward for 6 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RT)

Willis drops into coverage.

2-4-NYG 17: (Shotgun) Manning pass incomplete short left (Ward).
PENALTY on R.McDonald, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, No Play.

1-10-NYG 22: (Shotgun) Manning pass deep right to Toomer for 24 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis drops into coverage and doesn’t factor in on the play.

Note—This one looked like it was on Walt Harris.

1-10-NYG 46: (Shotgun) Manning pass short left to Burress for 1 yard
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis doesn’t go far from his starting spot over the Center. Looks like it’s his job to cover the middle on this play. After the ball is thrown, he comes up to force Burress out of bounds after Clements misses the tackle.

2-9-NYG 47: (Shotgun) Manning pass short middle to Toomer for 8 yards
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis drops into coverage, then comes up and makes a nice hit on Toomer after the catch.

Note—Walt again. Not a good day for him so far.

3-1-SF 45: (No Huddle, Shotgun) Manning pass short middle to Burress for 18 yards
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis drops into coverage as M.Lewis comes on the blitz.

Goldson makes another tackle. This one looked like Clements' fault to me.

1-10-SF 27: (No Huddle) Manning spikes the ball to stop the clock.

2-10-SF 27: (Shotgun) Manning pass short right to Ward for 6 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis drops into coverage and doesn’t figure in on the play. Harris is nearest as Ward runs out of bounds.

Note—These 4-1-6 formations are more like 4-2-5 with M.Lewis playing as a second linebacker. That’s part of the versatility he brings to the table. After the play they showed Tomusula red-faced and screaming, using a hand signal that looked like the “hook-em Horns” sign that Texas fans all make.

3-4-SF 21: (Shotgun) Manning pass incomplete short left to Ward.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis drops into coverage over the middle.

Note—Ward went uncovered into the flat. Would have been a first down if he caught it. Luckily the Giants seem to drop as many passes as the Niners.

Tynes kicked a 39 yard field goal after this play.

[ 2ND HALF ]

*1st Drive

1-10-NYG 7: Jacobs up the middle for 5 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis gets blocked by LG Seubert and can’t shed fast enough to be in on the play.

2-5-NYG 12: Manning pass incomplete short right to Shockey.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis reads pass and goes to cover the flat. Doesn’t figure in on the play. Good coverage by M.Lewis.

3-5-NYG 12: (Shotgun) Manning sacked at NYG 5 for -7 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis at MLB)

Willis lines up outside the LT and comes on the blitz. He arrives at the QB a split second after Moore, who is credited with the sack.

Note—This formation was tricky because Niners DC Greg Manusky stacked DE/OLB’s Moore and Banta-Cain as well as Willis over the LT Diehl.

(After this play, Norris blocks Feagles’ punt for a SAFETY.)

*2nd Drive

1-10-NYG 20: Jacobs right end for 6 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis runs over from the opposite side of the field to make another solo tackle. Kid

Note—This formation could be read as either a 3-4 or a 4-3, as it looked just like the regular 3-4 except with M.Lewis lined up in Derek Smith’s spot as an ILB. Also, Lewis could have made the stop after 3 yards but Snee grabbed his facemask pretty blatantly and shoved him out of the play.

2-4-NYG 26: Jacobs left end for 12 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RT)

Willis reads run, sprints toward the play, but gets stuck in trash and can’t get close.

1-10-NYG 38: Ward left guard for 2 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis sheds RT McKenzie’s block, then runs right into TE Matthews.

Note—This was a good play by M.Lewis, slicing through traffic and making the tackle.

2-8-NYG 40: Manning pass incomplete deep left to Toomer.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over RG)

Willis drops deep into coverage.

Note—Toomer dropped another one. Clements got turned around. Should have been a gain of about 20.

3-8-NYG 40: (Shotgun) Manning pass short right to Burress for 11 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Willis over RG, M.Lewis over LG)

Willis shows blitz, then drops into coverage.

1-10-SF 49: Manning pass incomplete short left to Hedgecock.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Willis over C)

Willis drops into coverage and doesn’t figure in on the play.

Note—Another dropped pass. If the Giants could catch the ball, this game would be 40 to 9 instead of 26 to 9.

2-10-SF 49: Jacobs right tackle to SF 49 for no gain.
Formation: 3-4 Under (Willis over C)

Willis reads run and dodges some blockers but before he can get to Jacobs, Moore and Haralson make the stop.

3-10-SF 49: (Shotgun) Manning pass short middle to Shockey for 13 yards
Formation: 3-2-6? (Willis showing blitz up by the LG)

Willis drops into coverage and is one of about 5 Niners who get dragged by Shockey for 4 or 5 extra yards. Looks like they are playing for the strip not for the tackle.

Note—Another interesting formation: three down linemen, Willis and Banta-Cain stacked over the LT, and M.Lewis lined up as MLB. Willis and Banta-Cain both went into coverage, though, and Lewis came on the blitz.

1-10-SF 36: Manning pass incomplete short left to Burress.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over C)

Willis drops into what looks like man-to-man coverage against Shockey.

2-10-SF 36: Ward left tackle for 1 yard.
Formation: 3-4 Under (Willis over C)

Willis creeps up toward the line before the snap, then runs to the ball, though the tackle is made just before he gets there.

3-9-SF 35: (Shotgun) Manning pass incomplete short left to Ward.
(Penalty on NYG, Illegal Formation, declined.)
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis over RG)

Willis drops into coverage.

*3rd Drive

(following Dilfer INT to Pierce)

1-5-SF 5: Jacobs left end for -2 yards
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over C)

Willis gets blocked out of this play by Giants C O’Hara. It’s surprising when this happens because it’s so rare that Willis gets pushed out of any play.

2-7-SF 7: (Shotgun) Manning pass short left to Jacobs for 2 yards
Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel (Willis over C)

Willis drops into coverage in the endzone, then runs up and assists on the tackle.

3-5-SF 5: Manning pass incomplete short right to Toomer.
PENALTY on SF-56-B.Moore, Roughing the Passer, 3 yards, enforced at SF 5 - No Play.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Willis over C)

Willis drops into coverage in the endzone again.

Note—As Manning threw, Moore reached up for the ball. His arm came down on Manning’s head. There was no hit. It was not a violent play. Apparently this qualifies for roughing the passer in the NFL.

1-2-SF 2: Droughns right tackle for no gain
Formation: Goal Line (Willis 10 yards off the LOS over C)

Willis sprints up to the line, blows up Hedgecock’s block, and wrestles Droughns down. What a beast.

2-2-SF 2: Manning pass short left to Shockey for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Formation: Goal Line (Willis 3 yards deep in the end zone)

Willis comes on the blitz and gets in Manning’s face, but he’s not quite quick enough.

Note—Shockey beat ILB Derek Smith for this score.

*4th Drive

1-10-NYG 2: Droughns up the middle for 4 yards
Formation: 3-4 (Willis over LT)

Willis reads run, and runs right into backup TE Boss’ block.

2-6-NYG 6: Droughns left tackle for 1 yard
Formation: 4-4-3 (Willis over RG)

Willis knifes through and makes the first hit, though he doesn’t wrap Droughns up. Derek Smith comes in to clean the mess.

3-5-NYG 7: Wright pass incomplete short right to Moss.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Willis over LG)

Willis drops into coverage and doesn’t figure in on the play.

Final Thoughts

Watching Willis closely, it seems obvious to me that he is carrying the linebacking corps. Of the rest of the defense, Clements did not have a good day against the Giants, but he definitely carries his share of the weight.

As for the game, I think we can place the blame squarely on Trent Dilfer’s shoulders. He made three catastrophic mistakes that led to 17 points. He was at least partially responsible for another mistake in the fumbled handoff that led to another seven. Alex Smith may not be Dan Marino, but he doesn’t make the mistakes we saw Dilfer make in his three games as the quarterback.

So, in summary: Willis good. Dilfer bad. Read more on this article...

Line of Scrimmage: Was Gore right?

This week Ben and JR debate the merits of Frank Gore's comments about offensive coordinator Jim Hostler.

After last week's loss to the New York Giants, the 49ers' fourth in a row, Gore stated that because of Hostler's lack of experience and the lack of output by the offense in comparison to last year, some players may be subtly questioning the coach's play-calling ability and therefore not performing up to standard.

As an undoubted leader of the team, was Gore doing the right thing by speaking out?

NO: Use any cliché you want, but there's no getting around the fact that football as we know it is the ultimate team sport. And without almost universal solidarity amongst the players, coaches and front office, it's very difficult to be successful. By publicly questioning his offensive coordinator, Gore has irritated an already festering wound. If there were any players that were on the fence before about their feelings towards the coaching staff, it's just that much more likely now that they're going to start feeling the same as their star running back and start blaming the OC.

Now, instead of focusing all of their attention on their opponents, the team starts thinking that they have to overcome the errors of their coaches, and at that point it just becomes too easy to take a play off here and there and think, "Well, it isn't gonna work anyway." When you consider the consequences, you can understand why this is such a volatile situation. We've seen teams give up on their coaches before (i.e., Dennis Erickson), and it's not a pretty sight.

Plain and simple, Gore's job is to run, catch and block whenever he's on the field to help this team win. I don't give a damn if he doesn't think the offensive coordinator is capable or not, he just needs to buckle his chinstrap, do his job and collect his big-ass paycheck. We all know that the career of a professional football player can end on any given play, so you better work like every play is your last. If what Gore says is true, then there's more than a few players who aren't doing this, and all of a sudden it's not that hard to understand why the offense has sucked so badly this season.

Gore does need to step up and lead, but you don't take your followers anywhere by being negative about things you can't control. By casting a shadow of doubt on Hostler, he can only make things worse.

— JR

YES: This is one of those cases where things may need to get worse before they get better. Frank Gore speaking out like he did is certainly not the ideal situation for a team that is struggling to stay together. At any level of any sport, you always wish (if it's your team) that these things would get handled in-house and that the media won't have a chance to catch on and create more dissention.

I get that argument. It's certainly a valid one. But what if Gore pressed the right button? What if he said what everyone else is afraid to say in that locker room? Is this another case of Chris Webber going up against Don Nelson? I don't think so. I think it's a frustrated young player in a room full of frustrated veterans. And you know what? I agree with Gore. I absolutely think players are questioning Hostler. If I were on that team, I would, too.

It's a fair point to tell Gore to shut up and play since he's making uber-bank for doing what he does. I'm not indifferent to the fact that he'll be rich long after he leaves the game. But what good is that money when you have no rings and when your knees are all busted up since your offense was no good and you got pounded?

Players speaking out against coaches never works, and I don't think it will this time, either. Eventually, things will get bad enough that someone will get fired or traded. That's the way the business works. For now, I'm actually encouraged that someone had the guts to say something and stir the pot a little. Who on the 49ers' roster is a guy who stirs things up? It's not Trent Dilfer. It's not Alex Smith. Vernon Davis can't since he doesn't do anything to back it up.

Gore is one of the few guys who has room to talk since he's actually accomplished something in the NFL. If it takes him calling out the offensive coordinator in public to get it done, so be it.

— Ben

Read more on this article...

Kneejerk Knotes: The more things change ...

Forgive me if I struggle to put together a coherent stream of thought this afternoon. I am a beaten man. Random notes today.

* This feels a lot like the Steelers game, and not just because of the nearly identical scores (37-16 and 33-15). They were both road games — long trips to face very good opponents. Both times, the 49ers tried with some success to open up the offense. Both times, they still lost by big margins. They're simply not as good as these teams, and they're not as good as we all thought they'd be.

* I'm surprised to be saying this, but it was the defense that was the over-conservative unit today. There was almost none of the exotic blitz looks that have caused teams problems this season. Far too often, it felt like they were just sitting back and waiting for something to happen. When they finally got a little creative, what was the result? A sack of Eli Manning inside the 5-yard line that led to a blocked punt for a safety.

* So, to summarize: The offense looks better when it's aggressive. The defense looks better when it's aggressive. BE AGGRESSIVE! (Chant with me.)

* There were a few times that the 49ers looked like they were in this game (just like against the Steelers). Today it was turnovers and penalties that did them in, plain and simple. Oh, the turnovers.

* I don't think Mike Nolan should be fired. I don't think Jim Hostler should be fired. I do think the offensive changes made over the bye week will have a positive effect. But until the O-line begins to do its job (without penalties and without surrendering sack after sack), this team will accomplish nothing.

* Thank goodness we finally saw the team take some shots down the field to Ashley Lelie. It's amazing that it took this long. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

* I have one personnel move to suggest (a series of moves, actually). Release Michael Lewis (the Beer Man, not the safety), put Lelie in the starting lineup alongside Darrell Jackson at WR, and make Arnaz Battle the No. 3 receiver and starting punt returner. Please.

* The NFC West is one horrible, horrible division. The 49ers are a bad football team, yet if the Rams can upset the Seahawks today, they'll still be tied in the loss column with first-place Arizona and Seattle. If they could just get this mess turned around, they actually could still challenge for a playoff spot (8-8 could really win this division).

* Even if they did, though, it would only mask the problems this team still has. The priority next offseason must be on offense. They need a true No. 1 receiver, and they need to replace guys like Larry Allen on the offensive line. As much as I hate to say it, the 49ers are still a year away from being a legitimate playoff team. Read more on this article...

Breaking the Huddle: Huge game

This really is a big game against the Giants, a team that's been as hot as anyone lately.

A win on the road against a possible NFC playoff team could be the spark that sends the Niners on a nice run of their own.

QUARTERBACKS

At this point in the season there's no question who has the advantage. Eli Manning has finally assumed the position of offensive captain and is off to his best start as a pro. Trent Dilfer will go again for the Niners since Alex Smith isn't quite ready. He's been horrible so far. Dilfer will have to be at very least average to have a shot.

Advantage: Giants

RUNNING BACKS

At some point Frank Gore will explode and once that happens, it may not stop. The return of tight end Vernon Davis and use of wideout Ashley Lelie could create much needed room for Gore this week since the Giants will have to respect their speed. New York's backfield has been hurting for the most part this season, but their depth at the position saved them from production falling off. The three-headed monster of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Rueben Droughns will take turns attacking the Niners interior defense today.

Advantage: 49ers.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Plaxico Burress (507 yards, eight TDs) has been for the Giants what the Niners are surly lacking: A reliable big play receiver. Darrell Jackson has been a non-factor for San Francisco since Dilfer stepped in for Smith.

Advantage: Giants.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The Niners definitely have more talent and depth on their line, but you couldn't tell by looking at their offensive production. Some of the Niners problems on the line have been a lack of imagination in play calling and schemes, but the interior has to be better this week.

Advantage: 49ers.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora form one of the best defensive end combos in the NFL. If they're able to get to Dilfer, it could be a long day for the Niners. The Giants are averaging almost five sacks per game during their four game winning streak.

Advantage: Giants.

LINEBACKERS

Very few linebacking corps can match the Niners athleticism. Patrick Willis has been a beast a third of the way through his rookie campaign. The Giants linebackers are solid, but not fear-inducing.

Advantage: 49ers.

SECONDARY

If Nate Clements and Co. can shut down Burress and Jeremy Shockey then the Niners have a great shot at pulling the upset. Manning is still not above making bad decisions every once in a while. I expect Clements to capitalize on those mistakes. For the Giants, rookie Aaron Ross has made his mark already and has provided them with a bookend to go with veteran Sam Madison.

Advantage: 49ers.

SPECIAL TEAMS

If "Beer Man" Michael Lewis can get the return game going, this would by far, be the Niners best special teams unit I've seen. Look for Joe Nedney to bounce back after missing the potential game-winner against Baltimore last week.

Advantage: 49ers.

COACHING

I hope to see something completely different from OC Jim Hostler this week. If not, then we can park our playoff bandwagon until next season.

Advantage: Draw.

PREDICTION

49ers 23, Giants 13 — Dilfer can't get worse, can he? The return of VD and addition of Lelie should create enough room for Gore to put in some serious work. The defense doesn't need much. They showed that against the Ravens.

Read more on this article...

Fantasy Fury: Week 7 preview

Most fantasy leagues are being separated into two groups as we speak: Those owners riding players like Larry Johnson, Drew Brees and Shaun Alexander until either the wheels come completely off or they return to form and those owners who have decided to get out while the gettin' is good, which means they dealt away those players in hopes of still getting some value for their superstar.

There's advantages to both, but the key is to make the decision one way or the other.

Think it through, make the call and have no regrets.

Here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 7's matchups:

San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants, Sunday, 10 a.m. — New York's Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress have become must-starts, but don't expect a walk in the park. San Francisco's defense is stout. So far, its only drawback has been having to stay on the field so long because of the ineptitude of the offense. Trent Dilfer is making the start once again for the 49ers so it could be another long day for Frank Gore and Co.
START: 49ers TE Vernon Davis.
SIT: Giants RB Brandon Jacobs.

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints, Sunday, 10 a.m. — New Orleans finally put together a solid performance last week against Seattle. Expect and even better one this week against the lowly Falcons.
START: Saints QB Drew Brees, Saints RB Reggie Bush.
SIT: Falcons RB Warrick Dunn.

Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This is not a good matchup for Buffalo's rookie quarterback Trent Edwards although this could be a close game because Baltimore's offense has had no rhythm all season.
START: Ravens defense; Ravens RB Willis McGahee.
SIT: Ravens quarterbacks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Tampa has shutdown the bad offenses and struggled against the solid attacks so far which means this could be a shootout because Detroit's defense can't stop anyone.
START: Lions WR Roy Williams, Lions RB Kevin Jones; Buccs QB Jeff Garcia.
SIT: Buccs RB Michael Bennett.

Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Washington is in much better shape health-wise. The Cardinals Kurt Warner is a game-time decision and if Tim Rattay starts knock all Cardinals down a notch. I expect Redskins tailback Clinton Portis to have a breakout performance.
START: Redskins WR Santana Moss, Redskins TE Chris Cooley; Cardinals RB Edgerrin James.
SIT: Redskins WR Antwaan Randle El.

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Last year, Vince Young single-handily led Tennessee to a victory in his hometown. This season, Houston's defense is much improved and Young might not even play. I believe the Texans get some payback this time around.
START: Texans QB Matt Schaub, Texans TE Owen Daniels; Titans RB LenDale White.
SIT: All Titan WRs.

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This just in: New England can do whatever they want to whomever they want, however they want.
START: All Patriots.
SIT: All Dolphins.

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Both Larry Johnson and LaMont Jordan should set the pace of this great AFC West rivalry. Expect both to have huge games.
START: Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez; Raiders QB Daunte Culpepper.
SIT: Chiefs QB Damon Huard.

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, 1 p.m. — The Jets are almost playing for next year at this point. Cincy isn't far away if they keep snapping at each other. Expect Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson to bury the hatchet is this one.
START: Jets RB Thomas Jones; Bengals defense.
SIT: Jets QB Chad Pennington.

St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Marc Bulger returns for St. Louis. Unfortunately his offensive line won't be. Seattle is quickly becoming a predominantly pass oriented attack. Ride Matt Hasselbeck the rest of the way.
START: Rams WR Torry Holt; Seahawks WR Bobby Engram, Seahawks K Josh Brown.
SIT: Rams WR Isaac Bruce, Rams TE Randy McMichael.

Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Adrian "All Day" Peterson has officially arrived. At this point he's a must-start even if he is still splitting carries with Chester Taylor. Expect the Cowboys to throw early and often against the worst passing defense in the NFL.
START: Cowboys QB Tony Romo, Cowboys defense, Cowboys TE Jason Witten.
SIT: Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson; Cowboys RB Julius Jones.

Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Both teams would like to run the ball, but they won't. This game should feature several big plays.
START: Eagles RB Brian Westbrook, Eagles WR Reggie Brown.
SIT: Bears RB Cedric Benson; Eagles TE LJ Smith.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos, Sunday night, 5:15 p.m. — I honestly believe Pittsburgh's defense can stop anyone so this is a bad matchup for Jay Cutler and the Broncos offense, especially without wideout Javon Walker. Expect Willie Parker to be the difference.
START: Steelers TE Heath Miller; Broncos WR Brandon Marshall.
SIT: Broncos RB Travis Henry; Steelers WR Santonio Holmes.

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars, Monday night, 5:30 p.m. — These are usually very competitive contests and Indy's offense is usually knocked down a peg. Halfback Maurice Jones-Drew will be the key to the Jags success.
START: Colts RB Joseph Addai.
SIT: Jaguars RB Fred Taylor.
LAST WEEK'S CALLS
Stephen Colbert: I called the Adrian Peterson explosion (20 carries, 224 yards and three touchdowns) and yet I don't get anything from the Nobel Society. Freakin' Gore wins everything. I also advised the Cleveland combination of Derek Anderson (18 for 25, 245 yards and four total touchdowns) and Braylon Edwards (five receptions, 67 yards and three touchdowns) plus I told you to start Carolina's DeAngelo Williams (121 yards on only 10 carries and a TD).
Bill O'Reilly: The only thing that appeared on Washington's Santana Moss' stat sheet was a fumble. I should have told you to start Reskins' tight end Chris Cooley (nine catches, 105 yards and a score), but I told you t sit him instead. I also told you to sit quarterbacks Jeff Garcia (20 of 31, 274 yards and a score) and David Garrard (22 for 34, 221 yards and two touchdowns), but they both had solid performances. Read more on this article...

Win the West: Week 7 predictions

Ok, ok, so we took a bye last week along with the 49ers. Can you blame us? I think we all needed a break after those last two games.

Fortunately for the Niners, it was a really bad week for the rest of the NFC West, meaning San Francisco is still within striking range of the division leaders, Seattle and Arizona. Even better for the 49ers is that the great Tim Rattay could be starting for the Cardinals. So at least we don't have to worry about them.

Funny, I seem to remember Eddie and I being at the top of these standings a few weeks ago. I guess that's what happens to unfailing homers when the home team goes on a losing streak. It's no coincidence that both of us have fooled ourselves into thinking the Niners might pull off an upset against the Giants tomorrow. Rest assured that if the 49ers continue to struggle, there's a good chance Eddie and I will, too.

Here are this week's picks (and by "last week," we really mean "two weeks ago" since no picks were made last week).

Chris (11-4, 3-0 last week)
N.Y. Giants 20, San Francisco 10
Washington 23, Arizona 7
Seattle 31, St. Louis 14

Ben (10-5, 3-0 last week)
N.Y. Giants 27, San Francisco 14
Washington 31, Arizona 14
Seattle 30, St. Louis 21

Nick (10-5, 3-0 last week)
N.Y. Giants 20, San Francisco 13
Washington 24, Arizona 13
Seattle 27, St. Louis 10

JR (10-5, 2-1 last week)
N.Y. Giants 27, San Francisco 10
Washington 23, Arizona 13
St. Louis 31, Seattle 24

Eddie (9-6, 2-1 last week)
San Francisco 23, N.Y. Giants 13
Washington 28, Arizona 16
Seattle 31, St. Louis 17

James (9-6, 1-2 last week)
San Francisco 16, N.Y. Giants 13
Washington 30, Arizona 10
St. Louis 24, Seattle 21 Read more on this article...

Hit List: Accepting the Giant truth

This week in Hit List, we take a good, hard, honest look at the 2-3 San Francisco 49ers from a very different perspective, as the team comes off its Week 6 bye and heads east to take on squash pro Eli Manning and the New York Giants.

BUENAS TARDES, Observer readers. Nick here again with your weekly dose of HIT LIST. If you visited the site recently, you may have noticed that it has been somewhat quiet around these parts for the last week. This is mostly because us Observer writers have been pretty busy with our lives outside of 49er football (and the Niners had the week off anyway). Yet, as the 49ers face the Giants this Sunday and Mike Nolan finishes sorting through his team's various suggestion cards, we here at the Observer are back in action and ready to dish out some cutting-edge wisdom for your reading pleasure regarding all things Niners.

So the 49ers are now 2-3, thanks to some excellent decision making by Nolan and offensive coordinator Jim Hostler against Baltimore. I don't know how many of you out there watched "Ravens at 49ers: NFL Mic'd Up" last Saturday on the NFL Network, but after the program concluded, a few things were made very clear to me regarding the current state of the 49ers as a result of the loss to Baltimore:

• Mike Nolan has been coaching scared, and Jim Hostler has been pretty much following suit. Nolan to Hostler on the 49ers final drive of the game: "Hey Jim. Just to make you aware of it now, a field goal is ahead, all right? I don't want to slow you down ... if you want to throw it, throw it." I would think most head coaches would be gunning for six points instead of three during the final drive of the game (with PLENTY of time left to set up a competent drive), but you can draw your own conclusions on why Nolan was reminding Hostler about the importance of a field goal in that situation.

• The players on the offensive side of the ball are getting frustrated with the coaching staff. Trent Dilfer to Arnaz Battle, while sitting on the bench: "This isn't a very fun way to play, is it?" Battle, responding to Dilfer: "Nope. You just gotta try to stay positive." Again, draw your own conclusions.

• Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky is not only great at his job but is also a bona-fide badass. The man is a truly passionate leader and appears to be in full control of an absolutely dangerous 49er defense. He is without a doubt the most valuable commodity the 49ers have right now ... player, coach or otherwise. Praise be to Manusky.

• Defensive tackle Marques Douglas is the new Bryant Young. The man truly is the "best player no one knows," a title that some would argue 49ers linebacker Brandon Moore held last year. You can get mad at Nolan all you want for turning the Niners into the San Francisco Ravens, but the man gets all the credit in the world for bringing studs like Douglas to San Francisco.

• Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is a lot smarter than most would think. Lewis plays with a level of intelligence and intensity that Derek Smith can only dream about. Niner fans can only hope that rookie linebacker Patrick Willis can one day perform on the same level as Lewis (at least on the football field) and dominate opposing offenses with ease.

Having shared what I learned last Saturday with you, I come to you now as a beaten and broken man, deeply saddened by the current state of the San Francisco 49ers. Most Niner fans I have spoken to have pretty much accepted that this Sunday at the Meadowlands will most likely bring San Francisco another loss, and that Trent Dilfer will be lucky to leave New York with all his limbs attached. The general sentiment is that the only reason to watch the game is to see if Nolan and Hostler will finally open up the playbook to the section labeled "PASS" and to see if the 49er defense can somehow pull off what could be the biggest upset of the 2007 NFL regular season thus far.

With that said, the current state of the San Francisco 49ers hurts my soul. Sundays will be a bit easier to swallow when Smittay returns with a healthy shoulder, but my ability to generate either humor or solid analysis with this team is quickly diminishing week by week. I'll continue to write HIT LIST, and maybe recruit Jim Hostler to submit another blog entry, but here's the thing ...

I saw all of this coming over a month ago. The Hostler issue, the O-line's lack of protection of Smith in the pocket, Nolan's irrational neglect of Ashley Lelie, and all the rest. Prove it, you say? You can read my bit of Ms. Cleo-esque prognostication right here, and I really hope you do. You'll realize that these issues with Hostler and beyond could have been addressed weeks ago, not during Week 6 and 7 when Alex Smith is crippled and your offense is ranked dead last in the NFL.

I propose you readers at home play a game this Sunday. Take a mandatory swig of your favorite beverage every time there is an Ashley Lelie appearance this Sunday, because apparently Nolan is finally going to let Mr. Lelie come out and play. I suggest you do the same for every Dilfer throw to Vernon Davis. And I also suggest you guzzle down that drink if Nolan gets the guts to let Michael Robinson or Arnaz Battle throw a pass on a gadget play.

Without a doubt, these are desperate times, and Mike Nolan knows it. Even when the 49ers were 2-0 this season, he was feeding the Bay Area press bullshit (profanity is needed here, sorry) about the sorry state of the Niners offense, and now he's paying the price. I'm going to give Nolan and Hostler one last free pass this weekend in New York (in that I'm a bit more OK with the 49ers losing this game, like I was with Pittsburgh), mostly because I think it's going to take a miracle for them to correct all of their mistakes from this season with Trent Dilfer at the helm. It's not that The Dilf can't win the game, but I just don't see him being able to scramble away from the pressure that Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora will be bringing on Sunday.

But regardless of whether the 49ers win or lose, if Mike Nolan & Jim Hostler don't let Dilfer throw the damn ball downfield early and often this Sunday, you're going to begin to see a new side of HIT LIST, starting on Monday. Stay tuned, because I don't plan on being too polite about it.

Oh, and FREE ALEX. Read more on this article...

In the Tunnel: New York Giants

The New York Giants are riding a four-game winning streak coming into their home game Sunday against the 49ers. The Niners, on the other hand, have dropped three straight since eking out their first two games and are in desperate need of some positive activity on the offensive side of the ball.

This is going to be a tall order against a Giants team that has so much momentum right now, but it's really tough to say what we'll see out of San Francisco from week to week, and coming off a bye doesn't help clarify things much. The Giants and their besieged coach, Tom Coughlin, weren't expected to do much at the beginning of the season, and many predicted that they'd be the dogs of the NFC East. They still have some ground to gain on the Dallas Cowboys, but they're definitely within shouting distance at this stage and have come forth as a major player in the NFC playoff picture.

GIANTS OFFENSE

It was frequently predicted that the retirement of Tiki Barber would mean the end of New York's offensive production. The big fellas playing up front have put the league on notice that it wasn't all Tiki who produced the yards — they were paving the way for him, and now they're doing it for tailbacks Derrick Ward, Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns. This unit has started every game together, and the consistency has paid off so far. Left tackle David Diehl is in his fifth season, and he's started every game for the Giants since being drafted out of Illinois. His prime responsibility these days is keeping people off of quarterback Eli Manning's ass, and he's done a good job so far this season.

All three of New York's tailbacks have had some success at different times this year thanks in large part to the offensive line. Jacobs is the appointed starter, but in his injury-related absence, Ward turned in some nice performances. And Droughns is a good runner when called on. All of these guys can pound the rock between the tackles and aren't likely to go down with arm tackles. It looks as though Ward and Jacobs are a little nicked up from their win over the Falcons, so Droughns could be a major factor in this matchup.

Eli Manning is doing his damnedest to finally silence the critics that have dogged him his whole professional career. Is he putting up Peyton-type numbers? No, but other than Tom Brady, who is? So far he's got 11 TDs to eight INTs for a rather average 83.7 QB rating, but one thing that stands out from Eli's past performances is his completion percentage. He's above the coveted 60 percent mark this season, something he hasn't done in any of his past three years. It's clear that he's getting better protection than in years past and he's also making better decisions. Even without safety valve Tiki Barber, Eli has definitely taken a step forward with his game.

It's certainly no secret at this point, but Manning's favorite target is the towering Plaxico Burress. Of Eli's 11 TD throws, eight of them have gone to Burress, and it doesn't appear as though that trend will change anytime soon. When the Giants are in the red zone, double coverage on No. 17 is an absolute must. He hasn't been practicing lately due to an ankle injury, so he may not be 100 percent, but he still needs to be prepared for. The other starting wideout, the aging Amani Toomer, has almost as many catches as Burress but only one for a score (which he finally tallied last week against the Falcons).

Jeremy Shockey also plays a big role in the offense, and he also has nearly as many catches as the wide recievers. He, too, is seeing a shortage of touchdowns, though, and hasn't shown great chemistry with his QB thus far. Nevertheless, we know Shockey can be a problem if he's mismatched with a slower linebacker.

GIANTS DEFENSE

Much has been written about the Giants' proficiency in getting to the quarterback this season. Most notable was defensive end Osi Umenyiora's six-sack game against Philidelphia. New York's other defensive end, Justin Tuck, already has 5.5 sacks. Altogether, the defensive line has recorded 15 sacks through six games, so it's obvious that the Giants don't necessarily have to bring an extra attacker to get to the quarterback. Michael Strahan still finds his way onto the field fairly often, but much like Bryant Young, he's rotated to keep him fresh.

The Giants' linebacking unit has benefitted from good D-line play and aren't asked to rush the passer nearly as much in their 4-3 alignment. They've made a lot of tackles, with middle backer Antonio Pierce leading the way. It's a young, solid unit, and as made evident against the Falcons last week, they can play in both the pass and run game with a great deal of effectiveness. The Giants' defense is currently ranked 10th and 12th in the league in pass and run yards, respectively, and a big part of this consistency has been the play of the linebackers.

The Giants have covered up some of their shortcomings in the defensive backfield with the strong play of their front seven. It's a mostly young unit with rookie Aaron Ross leading the team with 3 interceptions, but savvy vets like Sam Madison are also making contributions. It's definitely not the strongest unit of this defense, but they're not pushovers, either.

The Giants are big favorites at home over the 49ers, and as we draw closer to gameday, it's looking more and more like we'll have to wait on the return of Alex Smith. The Niners are definitely fighting an uphill battle, but if there's any reason for optimism, it's that the Giants haven't played much in the way of competition during their four-game win streak and could be looking ahead to their next game in London against the Dolphins.

One other point of note is that the Giants' turnover ratio currently is at minus-3, thanks largely to Eli Manning's eight interceptions. If the Niners' defense can generate a few opportunities and the offense can (finally) capitalize, then San Francisco could pull off the surprise victory. Read more on this article...

Line of Scrimmage: Bye week work

This week Ben and JR debate what area of need they're hoping the 49ers addressed over the bye week. After three straight losses, there's no shortage of problems to address.

Third-down efficiency: For my part, there is one thing that needs to be improved upon that could be the cure-all for the team. Three words: Third. Down. Efficiency.

From what I've seen so far, the team has trouble converting on third downs both offensively and defensively. Yes, we've got the offense to thank for the defense being worn out, but the "D" isn't doing itself any favors by allowing teams to convert on third-and-long, something I've seen way too much of so far.

Although it all comes down to execution on the field, I think the offensive coaching staff needs to get a whole lot more creative in crunch time. As everybody well knows by now, the 49ers' offense is about as plain vanilla as they come, and at no point have they shown any enthusiasm for making a big play. Adding a few new wrinkles to the third-down playbook of the last two weeks would be an awfully welcome sight. Maybe they could actually catch someone off-guard for once.

As for the defense, a little more aggression would be nice to see as well. Although they've done a great job so far this year, it's obvious that the team is going to need some points out of the defense on a fairly regular basis — much like the Bears got last season when their offense sputtered. To achieve this most quickly, they need to create turnovers in the passing game, hopefully giving the opportunistic Nate Clements a chance to break one for a score.

I'd like to see more disguised blitzes, with the secondary sitting in the zone to wait for a hurried throw. Guys like Parys Haralson and Manny Lawson (now injured) both know how to play out of a three-point stance from their experience in college, so why not line them up on passing downs and then have them drop into short coverage, asking the other linebackers to apply pressure? Anything to keep the offense off-balance and reacting instead of acting.

Summarily, I just want to see more variation and creativity in high-pressure situations. It seems that when the chips are down, Nolan and Co. are playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

— JR

Running game: Tough to argue with third-down efficiency as an area the 49ers should be working on. Then again, what team wouldn't be working on improving that facet of their game? I think the 49ers' problems are much more systemic, and they need to start from the ground up.

Yes, the passing game is dreadful, and it would behoove the 49ers to work on it before letting Trent Dilfer look like an idiot again. But, you know what a quarterback's best friend is? A running game. So, why not work on it? I know, I know, Frank Gore can't operate because teams are stacking the box against him since they know Dilfer can't beat them. But let me remind you that Gore wasn't playing all that well with Alex Smith in the lineup, and he's surely not playing well now.

All of which brings me to my overall point. The 49ers' running game is in need of repair. Gore was great last year and carried the team on his back for long stretches. But he never has been and never will be a workhorse running back. I think it's pretty much been proven over the last few years that you have to have two running backs to be successful. OK, Maurice Hicks is a "nice" backup, but the 49ers need someone who can come in and be the man right alongside Gore.

Look at the good teams this year. New England has relied on a diet of Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk while Laurence Maroney has been injured. Great backs? No. Two backs capable of duplicating each other's game? Most definitely. In Dallas, Marion Barber and Julius Jones are splitting carries. The backs don't need to be great, they just need to be similar enough in style where you don't have to alter your game plan when the starter exits.

It's tough for 49ers fans to hear that the running game is a problem because, coming into the season, everyone was looking to that piece of the puzzle as a strength. I'm telling you right now, it's not.

— Ben

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Fantasy Fury: Week 6 preview

Sometimes a good player on a bad team can be a fantasy God-send.

Take Ronnie Brown for instance. He currently leads the league in total yardage (712) and is averaging a touchdown per game (5) for the winless Miami Dolphins.

These players are so valuble because they represent the poor team's best shot at winning, which means they will get the rock at all costs and in every situation.

They're usually available for cheep too so keep an eye out.

Here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 6's matchups:

Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears, Sunday, 1 p.m. — No one can run on Minnesota so whatever success the Chicago will have has to come through the air which makes Brian Griese a solid start.
START: Bears WR Mushin Muhammad; Vikings RB Adrian Peterson.
SIT: Vikings RB Chester Taylor; Bears RB Cedric Benson.

Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This is an ugly matchup, but one thing stands out: Tampa Bay can't stop the run. Expect Tennessee rely on their ground game.
START: Titans RB Chris Brown; Buccaneers QB Jeff Garcia.
SIT: Titans WRs; Buccaneers RB Ernest Graham.

Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Browns have proven to be a good enough team to beat teams like Miami. With Jamal Lewis out, expect quarterback Derek Anderson to attack the Dolphins mediocre secondary. Ronnie Brown is now a must-start every week.
START: Browns WR Braylon Edwards; Dolphins WR Chris Chambers; Browns TE Kellen Winslow.
SIT: Dolphins QB Cleo Lemon.

St. Louis Rams at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, 10 a.m. — St. Louis is still without Pro Bowlers Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson which mean Baltimore's defense is in line for a huge day.
START: Ravens RB Willis McGahee.
SIT: Rams WR Torry Holt; Rams RB Brian Leonard.

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew finally got on track last week against Kansas City. With Fred Taylor banged up (SURPRISE!), expect the Jags to rely heavily on Jones-Drew.
START: Texans QB Matt Schaub.
SIT: Jaguars QB David Garrard; Texans K Kris Brown.

Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This is a matchup of two very solid teams. Expect the quarterback play to be the difference. Both Brett Favre and Jason Campbell have been playing well. The Packers defense has been tough all year so it wouldn't surprise me if the Redskins weren't able to move the ball on the ground.
START: Redskins WR Santana Moss; Packers WR James Jones.
SIT: Redskins TE Chris Cooley; Packers RB Brandon Jackson.

Philadelphia Eagles at New York Jets, Sunday, 10 a.m. — I can't remember the last time Philadelphia lost after a bye week. Expect Donovan McNabb and Co. to go to the air early and often.
START: Eagles WR Reggie Brown; Eagles defense.
SIT: Jets QB Chad Pennington.

Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This is close to a must win for both teams. Cincy has more fire power so I expect them to come out on top. Look for Carson Palmer to have a huge day agaisnt Kansas City's aging secondary.
START: Chiefs RB Larry Johnson; Bengals WR T.J. Who's your momma.
SIT: Chiefs QB Damon Huard.

Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Carolina is in such bad shape that they had to unfreeze Vinny Testeverde to start. Not that he could be any worse than David Carr has been. Expect plenty of mistakes on offense for the Panthers. Also, many teams mid-season savior Kurt Warner gets his first start since Matt Leinart's injury. Expect a solid performance.
START: Cardinals RB Edgerin James; Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams; Cardinals defense.
SIT: Panthers QB Vinny Testeverde; Cardinals WR Bryant Johnson.

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — This isn't Miami. San Diego has handled Oakland the past few seasons. Expect more of the same. We might see a statement game from LaDainian Tomlinson.
START: Chargers QB Philip Rivers; Raiders WR Jerry Porter.
SIT: Raiders RB Dominic Rhodes.

New England Patriots at Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Some might call this a Super Bowl preview. Yeah, if you mean a blowout victory for the AFC. In his 16 starts, Tony Romo is yet to meet a 3-4 defense and he gets the best today. Expect Romo to look a lot like he did last week against Buffalo.
START: All Patriots; Cowboys TE Jason Witten.
SIT: Cowboys WR Terrell Owens.

New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 5:15 p.m. — New Orleans absolutely sucks and I don't see that changing here. Expect Seattle to establish the run early which will lead to play-action opportunities later for Matt Hasselbeck.
START: Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander; Saints RB Reggie Bush.
SIT: Saints QB Drew Brees; Saints defense.

New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons, Monday, 5:30 p.m. — New York should roll in this one. Expect solid performances from the Giants offense.
START: Giants defense; Falcons RB Jerious Norwood.
SIT: Falcons RB Warrick Dunn; Giants WR Amani Toomer.
LAST WEEK'S CALLS
I won a medium frie in McDonald's monopoly game: I predicted Kenton Keith (28 carries, 121 yards and two touchdowns) would be a solid fill-in for Joseph Addai and he was. I also said Maurice Jones-Drew (9 carries, 82 yards and a score) would break out and to sit Shaun Alexander (11 carries, 25 yards) against Pittsburgh. You are welcome!
Baltic avenue again!: I pretty much told you to start and sit all the wrong quarterbacks. I wanted you to bench Jason Campbell (23 for 29, 248 yards and 2 Tds) and start Matt Hasselbeck (13 for 27, 116 yards and an interception), Jon Kitna (16 for 29, 106 yards and 2 Ints.) and John Joseph Harrington (16 for 31, 87 yards and an Int.). I'll do better next week. Read more on this article...

Line of Scrimmage: Who's more pissed?

So far, the play of the 49ers’ offensive line has not been pretty. The offense has been stagnant as a result, and it’s safe to assume some of the more talented skill players have to be frustrated with the kind of help they’re getting from the “big uglies” up front.

So this week, Ben and JR tackle the question of who should be more pissed off at offensive line coach George Warhop: Alex Smith or Frank Gore?

SMITH: George Warhop, you are the weakest link! Goodbye! You and Jim Hostler deserve each other, because neither the line nor the offense as a whole is playing well. If I'm Alex Smith, I'm one pissed off dude, but I'm pissed at a whole bunch of people.

Start with Warhop. Why on earth is the line playing so poorly? There's a ton of freaking talent up there. Jonas Jennings is finally staying on the field a little, Larry Allen is Larry Allen, and Eric Heitmann is a serviceable center. The late, great Bobb McKittrick would have had this group cutting and pounding and beating the holy hell out of the opposition. Maybe we can get Jeremy Newberry back for cheap? Harris Barton, we need you!

Smith should also be pissed at Hostler. This one's obvious.

Moving on, why not get pissed at Norv Turner? You took off on developing me as a top-level quarterback to go ruin another franchise? You should have recognized that our team was headed in the right direction and you were a main reason for that. Now I'm stuck with this guy who doesn't know what the term "vertical pass" means and a head coach that plays it safe every single time. And you're proving again that you can't be a head coach in the NFL. Dude, stick to what you're good at.

As long as we're assigning blame, lets blame the front office. Ooh, you got Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie. Does Lelie even still play for the 49ers? You cut Bryan Gilmore, the one guy on offense with legitimate speed, and then figure out that Taylor Jacobs is really not the answer so you get Gilmore back. Yeah, he's gotta be happy with you guys.

The last guy Smith can blame is Trent Dilfer. Why Trent Dilfer? Why the heck not? The team is going to fall apart while Smith is sidelined because Dilfer was never good, isn't good now and never will be good in the future. If Smith's so-called "tutor" is teaching him how to play like this, we're in for a long couple of years.

That's a lot of blame, but hey, Alex Smith deserves to be pissed. Then again, it could be worse. Matt Leinart lost his job to Kurt Warner, then broke his collarbone and is out for the season. Good thing he's got that baby to go home to.

— Ben

GORE: Ok, Alex Smith has been smacked around and is currently sidelined because of poor offensive line play, so I could understand his frustration with the poor job of preparation Coach Warhop has done with his protectors. That’s one good reason, but if I’m Frank Gore, I’ve got about 2,000 reasons why I’m about to call up the guys I played with at Miami who didn’t get drafted and already had one foot in the state pen to ride on this fool.

As we all know, Gore made the statement that he wanted to rush for over 2,000 yards this season, and he hasn’t even broken the 100-yard mark in a game yet. Do you really think this is because of a broken hand? Neither do I. We’ve seen the games, everybody, Franks getting hit in the backfield more than Jenna Jameson did in her glory days. It’s tough to gain yards when your blockers are doing more to get in your way than in the opposing defense’s way, and right now, Frank’s looking more like a chump than a champ.

Considering the personnel is essentially the same as last year, the blame for this has to fall squarely on the shoulders of the line coach. It’s his job to get them ready for the season, make sure they’re playing as a unit and not as individuals, and prepare them for the opponents they’ll be playing each week. Obviously this hasn’t been the case thus far. The 49ers’ offensive line has look disjointed, confused, and simply overwhelmed by most of their opponents so far.

As a former offensive lineman, I know the importance of continuity and communication, especially if you’re playing on the interior. Was it a good idea to let Larry Allen workout at home and away from the team? Was it a good idea to start a rookie right tackle in place of Kwame Harris, who was a beast in the running game? Was it a good idea to assume that Eric Heitmann would be the same player he was a year ago after suffering a broken leg? I doubt anybody can look at things now and answer a definite “yes” to any of those questions.

So now you have a starting lineup that’s only played a handful of games together as a unit, two interior lineman (Allen and Heitmann) who both have serious questions about their remaining ability to play and a rookie who can pass block well — but the team’s making no great attempt to establish the passing game.

It looks like Warhop got stars in his eyes when he let Allen off the hook in the offseason and made the decision to start the highly-touted first rounder Staley. Running the football is this team’s bread and butter, and the personnel decisions upfront should reflect that. What Warhop has done so far is put the biggest names on the field instead of the biggest contributors.

Meanwhile, the biggest name on the team, Gore, has to deal with the consequences, handcuffed with the knowledge that if he complains he’ll be labeled a malcontent and another flash-in-the-pan running back for San Francisco (see Kevan Barlow). Wouldn’t you be pissed?

— JR

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Film Room: Tully Banta-Cain

It’s no secret that Tully Banta-Cain was the booby prize in the Adalius Thomas sweepstakes. He was an immediate upgrade at outside linebacker, but probably not as dramatic an upgrade as Niner fans would have liked.

In comparison to Thomas (5 years, $35 million), Banta-Cain’s contract was relatively modest — 3 years, $9 million. In spite of the lower dollar figure, hopes were soaring after assistant head coach Mike Singletary went on record with the Sacramento Bee saying 10 sacks would be his minimum expectation this year.

Going into Week 6, Banta-Cain has 1.5 sacks, which leaves him on pace for five on the season. It’s safe to say that Tully and Singletary, as well as the fans, are wondering if the production is ever going to meet up with the hype. With that in mind, here’s this week’s Film Room: Spotlight on No. 95, Tully Banta-Cain.

[1st Half]

*1st Series

1st and 15 BAL15: McGahee runs inside left for 5 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain is not a factor, as he's on the other side of the play and gets walled off by Ravens rookie RT M. Yanda (6-3 310).

2nd and 11 BAL20: McGahee runs outside left for 2 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain instantly sheds TE Q. Sypniewski’s (6-6 270) block only to absorb a hit from FB L. McClain (6-0 260). Somehow, Tully gets around McClain, too, and brings down McGahee. Great play.

3rd and 8 BAL22: McNair throws incomplete short left.
Formation: 2-3-6 (Banta-Cain lines up as a standup pass-rusher outside LT)

Banta-Cain comes to rush the passer along with 6 other Niners, but he's held by LT Terry (no call).

The rest of the blitzers get picked up pretty masterfully by the Ravens' line and backs. Still, McNair was lucky to get the ball off because DE M. Douglas had beaten C M. Flynn (6-3 305) pretty badly and was no more than a step away.

*2nd Series

1st and 10 BAL1: McNair throws short right to McGahee for 10 yards.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain on the slot WR)

Banta-Cain creeps up before the snap and comes on a blitz, but it’s a quick screen to McGahee on the other side of the field.

1st and 10 BAL11: McGahee runs inside right for 13 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain comes on the snap, but overextends himself and then gets blocked in the back by Ravens TE Sypniewski.

Willis overpursues and Derek Smith misses an ankle tackle, springing McGahee for the long gain.

1st and 10 BAL24: McGahee runs up the middle for 1 yard.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain is delayed by Sypniewski for a split second as Willis crashes through to make the stop at the line of scrimmage.

Marques Douglas continues to play like a man possessed. He’s going full-speed until the whistle on every down.

2nd and 9 BAL25: M.Smith runs outside left for -1 yard.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain runs right into Sypniewski as the play goes to the opposite side of the field.

Douglas blasts through (again) for a stop in the backfield.

3rd and 10 BAL24: McNair scrambles up the middle for 7 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain at DE over LT)

Tully gets a good speed rush on LT Terry but just as he’s getting close, McNair steps up and scrambles (Hudson's brings him down).

*3rd Series

1st and 10 BAL25: McNair throws short middle to Sypniewski for 6 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain comes on the snap, but he’s picked up by FB McClain, and McNair gets off a quick throw.

2nd and 4 BAL31: McNair throws short left to McGahee for 4 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain comes again and McClain keeps him out of McNair’s face.

McGahee tries to juke Clements. Not gonna happen. He ducks out of bounds after a short gain.

1st and 10 BAL35: McGahee runs inside right for 7 yards.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain back with the ILB’s, roughly over the LT)

Banta-Cain sits back and reads the play. As he sees McGahee coming through the line, he moves to take an angle, but he’s cut off by the LT, Terry.

McDonald comes down the line from the LDE spot (on the LT) to make the tackle. Good to see him in a game finally. He's awful athletic for a big guy. Like Bryant Young some 14 years ago, McDonald doesn't appear to have an ounce of fat on his huge frame.

2nd and 3 BAL43: Smith runs inside right for 1 yard.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain runs right into TE Sypniewski and LT Terry. He actually bull-rushes both of them back toward the play. In fact, he pancakes Terry, but can’t make it through the trash in the middle to be in on the tackle.

Haralson tackles Smith after body-checking Ravens backup FB J.Green aside. Parys showed good ability against the run all game. He may not be quite as athletic as Lawson (who IS?), but the kid can play.

3rd and 1 BAL45: McNair throws short middle to Mason for 1 yard.
Formation: 3-2-6 Nickel (Banta-Cain at RDE)

Banta-Cain gets a good jump on the ball, but runs right into RB Musa Smith’s cut-block.

Manusky turns the Nickel on its head and makes it into a 3-4 like package by bringing FS M. Roman and SS M. Lewis into the OLB spots. It seems like he pulls awesome formations like this out of his sleeve every week.

1st and 10 BAL46: McNair throws incomplete short middle.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain comes on the snap, bounces off McGahee’s block, then raises his arms and deflects McNair’s pass about 6 feet in the air.

Unfortunately, McNair turns out to be the superior basketball player, tipping the ball away and knocking it to the ground. Air McNair indeed. This could have been a defensive touchdown if Tully had come away with it.

2nd and 10 BAL46: McNair throws incomplete short right.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain creeps up and blitzes, spinning past the LT, but the pass is out too quickly — a flare to McGahee who hears Patrick Willis’ footsteps and gets alligator-arms (and who wouldn’t?).

3rd and 10 BAL46: McNair throws short right to Smith for 4 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain runs hard into the LT and the play goes to the other side of the field.

After this play we see shots of Boller warming up on the sideline, which is weird because McNair wasn’t hurt. Actually, I take that back — McNair is *always* hurt. For better or for worse, he seems to play through all his injuries.

*4th Series

1st and 10 BAL1: McNair throws incomplete short left.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain rushes along with 4 other Niners. Tully comes to the line between Franklin and Douglas, hits the LG hard and pushes him into the end zone. Unfortunately, McNair gets the ball out of there in a hurry. Tully mentioned this kind of thing in his column on the 49ers website.

2nd and 10 BAL1: McClain runs up the middle for 2 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Tully sprints unblocked into the backfield, but McClain has already run smack into LE Douglas.

3rd and 8 BAL3: McNair throws incomplete deep left. (PI on Spencer)
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain bull-rushes the LT, then runs into the LG who keeps him out of the play as McNair buys time by running over toward the RT.

This was the phantom PI call on Spencer. He draws at least one phantom call per week. The penalty gives Baltimore 33 yards. Joy.

1st and 10 BAL36: McNair throws short middle to Mason for 4 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain is neutralized by the RT.

2nd and 11 BAL40: McNair throws incomplete middle.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain uses his famous spin-move to whirl right into a double-team (LG and LT). He still manages to get pretty close because McNair holds onto the ball for a while.

3rd and 11 BAL40: McNair throws short middle to Williams for 6 yards.
Formation: 3-2-6 Dime (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Tully runs right into a double-team and goes nowhere.

M.Lewis gets pretty close for a QB pressure, but McNair fires the ball away.

*5th Series

1st and 10 BAL28: McGahee runs outside left for 1 yard.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain goes to drop into coverage, but reads run and sprints all the way across the field just in time to get a good view of M. Lewis knocking McGahee out of bounds.

2nd and 9 BAL29: McNair throws short right to Sypniewski for 3 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain not in on this play)

3rd and 6 BAL32: McNair throws short right to Sypniewski for 7 yards.
Formation: 2-4-5 (Banta-Cain at standup LB over the LT).

Banta-Cain uses his patented washing-machine move to get past LT Terry who comes up injured. Unfortunately, McNair drifted away from the pressure and managed to get the throw off even though Tully was practically breathing on his neck.

I love Manusky. This formation was baffling even from the sideline camera view.

1st and 10 BAL39: McNair throws short right to Mason for 15 yards.
Formation: 3-4 Under (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain gets a hand up about a yard or two into the backfield, but the pass is another quick hit to a WR. McNair is just getting the ball out too quick.

1st and 10 SF46: McGahee runs outside right for 1 yard.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain doesn’t do much as he realizes the play is going to the other side. It occurs to me that Manny Lawson runs this kind of play down from behind all the time.

Douglas makes a nice play, careening down the line and wrapping McGahee up at the line of scrimmage.

2nd and 9 SF45: McNair throws short middle to McGahee for 11 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain comes flying upfield on the snap, but McGahee matadors him aside, catches the screen, and shoots past Franklin for a nice gain. Well ... nice for the Ravens.

1st and 10 SF34: McGahee runs left for 6 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain not in on this play)

2nd and 4 SF28: McGahee runs inside right for 5 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain runs into Sipniewski, who flops onto the ground uselessly as the play goes past. He slows Tully just enough (it looked like holding to my amateur eyes).

1st and 10 SF23: Smith runs outside left for 2 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain goes to drop into coverage, then reads run and holds his ground against WR Williams’ block as the entire Niners line flows over for the stop.

2nd and 8 SF21: McNair throws short right to Sypniewski for 12 yards.
Formation: Base 4-2-5 (Banta-Cain not in on this play)

1st and goal SF9: McGahee runs up the middle for -2 yards.
Formation: 2-4-5 quasi-Nickel? (Banta-Cain standing up outside LT)

Banta-Cain flies into the backfield on the snap and assists Roman on a stop in the backfield.

2nd and goal SF11: McNair throws short left to Figurs for no gain.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain gets off FB McClain’s block and gets an arm on McNair just as the ball is on its way out.

Harris flies in to make a nice solo stop on the rookie burner.

3rd and goal SF11: McNair throws short center to McGahee for 3 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain spins not once, but twice on this play. Doesn’t do him much good, though. Luckily the Niners secondary has the end zone locked up.

*6th Series

1st and 10 BAL29: McGahee runs inside right for 9 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain not in on this play)

2nd and 1 BAL38: McNair throws short right to McGahee for 12 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (He's on the sideline)

1st and 10 SF50: McNair throws incomplete short middle.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (... still on the sideline)

2nd and 10 SF50: McNair throws short right to Mason for 10 yards.
Formation: 3-1-7 Quarter? (Good God, that’s a lot of DBs)

1st and 10 SF40: Smith runs right for no gain.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Tully still cooling his heels)

2nd and 10 SF40: McNair throws center to Mason for 7 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (The prevent defense prevents you from winning)

Derrick Mason, meet Patrick Willis. This wasn’t a huge hit, but it still looked painful.

3rd and 3 SF33: McNair throws right to Williams for 11 yards.
Formation: 3-2-6 Dime (...)

It must be nice to have receivers who can catch.

1st and 10 SF22: McNair throws right to Clayton for 5 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (... I’ll let you know if he goes back in)

2nd and 5 SF17: McNair throws short middle to Smith for 3 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (...)

Musa, this is Patrick. Patrick, say hello to Musa. *THUD*

3rd and 2 SF14: McNair throws the ball incomplete out of the end zone.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (...)

Haralson has a sack except for the part where he gets grabbed by the facemask and dragged down after bursting through the line.

[Second Half]

*1st Series (following Reed’s interception)

Note—Tully sat out the first two plays of this drive.

3rd and 8 SF40: McNair throws short right to Mason for 7 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain is coming on the snap, but gets his legs taken out from under him by McGahee’s cut-block.

4th and 1 SF33: McNair sneaks up the middle for 2 yards.
Formation: 3-3-5 Something (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Not much Banta-Cain could do on this play from his position.

Note—Tully sat out the next 1st and 2nd down.

3rd and 11 SF31: McNair throws incomplete short left.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain picks his way through the blocking halfbacks and hits McNair as he throws. Good pressure.

*2nd Series

Note—Tully sat out the first two plays on this drive too.

3rd and 5 SF25: McNair throws incomplete short right.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Tully rushes up against the LT and gets nowhere.

*3rd Series

On the punt preceding this series, Brian Jennings sprinted down the field and made the tackle on the returner. That just goes to show how awesome the Niners Special Teams are — even the SNAPPER will come run you down.

Note: Again, Banta-Cain was on the sideline to open the series. Haralson, Navies, and I believe Moore were in there. Tully returned for third down.

3rd and 5 BAL47: McNair throws incomplete short right.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain bull-rushes Ravens TE Sypniewski within a yard or so of McNair before the pass was away. Score it a pressure.

*4th Series

Note—He's out until the first 3rd down.

3rd and 2 BAL27: McNair throws short right to Williams for 12 yards.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain sheds Sypniewski’s block and moves down the line, but McNair is scrambling to the opposite side of the field.

1st and 10 BAL39: McGahee runs outside right for 8 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain is on the other side of the field and doesn’t factor into this play. Also, the zebras call the play back for holding on the Ravens. The thump you hear is my jaw hitting the floor because a penalty gets called on the team not wearing gold and crimson.

1st and 20 BAL29: McNair throws short middle to McGahee for 5 yards.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain sits this one out)

Willis Superior matches up with Willis Inferior. When Patrick lays the wood, McGahee goes backwards.

2nd and 15 BAL34: McNair throws short right to McGahee for 12 yards.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain back with the ILBs)

Banta-Cain drops into coverage, sees the dump-off go to McGahee and gives chase only to miss an ankle tackle. McGahee is just faster. It didn’t look like Tully leapt so much as he fell to his knees and reached forward.

3rd and 3 BAL46: Penalty — delay of game, and the Ravens march back 5.
Formation: 3-1-7 (Banta-Cain at LDE ... once again Manusky puts a horde of skinny guys on the field. They're multiplying like Gremlins.)

After this non-play we see Michael Lewis limping off the field (big Mike, not little Mike).

3rd and 8 BAL41: McNair throws short middle to Mason for 9 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain bull-rushes up into McNair’s face, but the old veteran gets an accurate throw off anyway for the first down.

McNair is hit as he throws by none other than the venerable Bryant Young. An instant later, Mason catches the ball, slams it into the turf, and stumbles off the field. Naturally, he gets flagged for delay of game.

1st and 15 BAL45: Smith runs up the middle for no gain.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain reads the play and takes on the fullback McClain’s block, sheds it, and gets in on the tackle behind the line.

Douglas again leads the charge. If you get out a dictionary and look up the word "beast," there'll be a picture of Marques Douglas. He's also there when you look up "contract year."

2nd and 15 BAL45: McNair throws incomplete deep left.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain drops into coverage.

3rd and 15 BAL45: McNair throws middle to Williams for 13 yards.
Formation: 2-3-6 Dime (Banta-Cain standing up outside LT)

Banta-Cain runs into a double-team and gets stonewalled.

*After a running into the kicker penalty, the Ravens have the ball again. Banta-Cain sits on first down.

2nd and 8 SF40: McGahee runs left for no gain.
Formation: 3-4 Under (Banta-Cain back with the ILBs)

Banta-Cain stays back and reads the play, drifts toward it but doesn’t go far. He looks like he’s hurting out there.

3rd and 8 SF40: False start, the Ravens go 5 yards back.
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Banta-Cain at LDE)

3rd and 13 SF45: McNair throws short middle to Mason for 5 yards.
Formation: 4-1-6 Dime (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain goes up against the LT, but doesn’t get far. Now he just looks exhausted.

*5th Series

1st and 10 BAL42: McGahee runs left for 5 yards.
Formation: 3-4 Over (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain fights off Sypniewski’s block, then goes through Raven’s FB McClain, latches on to McGahee and gets dragged a yard or two.

2nd and 5 BAL47: McNair throws incomplete short left.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

Banta-Cain drives through the LT and gets an arm in the air just as McNair throws. It’s not enough.

Luckily the ball is dropped for what seems like the first time all day (by the Ravens receivers, that is).

3rd and 5 BAL47: McNair throws to Mason for too many yards. Ballgame.
Formation: 3-2-6 Dime (Banta-Cain at LDE)

Banta-Cain is neutralized by the LG.

1st and 10 SF34: McGahee runs left for no gain.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain reads run and shuffles down the line, but McGahee is running to the other side of the field.

2nd and 10 SF34: McGahee runs outside left for 9 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside RT)

Banta-Cain is blocked by the RT on this play, but it’s to the other side of the field anyway.

3rd and 1 SF25: McNair sneaks up the middle for 2 yards.
Formation: Base 3-4 (Banta-Cain outside LT)

It’s a quarterback sneak. Not much to do. The game was mercifully over.

Closing Thoughts

The man they call “the washing machine” actually holds up to close scrutiny surprisingly well. He did seem to tire out toward the end of the game, but Patrick Willis was still flying around the field and picked up the slack. Contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t overuse the spin move — or at least he didn’t against the Ravens. Also, he made some plays against the run.

Overall, I thought it was a solid performance from a player the Niners honestly aren’t expecting the world from, Singletary notwithstanding. If they were expecting Adalius Thomas numbers, they would have paid him like Adalius Thomas. That said, I’d love to see more production and more hustle out of him. We’re probably spoiled from watching Manny Lawson last year in that regard. We’re used to seeing plays get blown up from behind or from the other side of the field.

So Tully Banta-Cain may not be Manny Lawson, but he does bring a pretty good all-around game — certainly better than the naysayers who complain about run defense. Hopefully the sacks will come. Read more on this article...

Reasons for hope in Ninerland?

To hear our two favorite 49ers beat writers tell it, San Francisco's offense could look much different against the Giants on Oct. 21 than it did yesterday against the Ravens.

Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat was the first to report yesterday that Alex Smith was throwing passes before the game, a good sign that the quarterback might return sooner than later from his separated shoulder. Now Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports that Smith is more encouraged than ever about returning for the 49ers' next game, which comes after this week's bye.

And we're finally starting to see some real uncertainty from the media over the future of offensive coordinator Jim Hostler, or at least of his play-calling duties. The always brash Tim Kawakami, a San Jose Mercury News columnist, was the first to suggest it. But now Maiocco is, too.

The reason 49ers fans can take some hope from this is that Kawakami and Maiocco are not coming up with this Hostler hate out of thin air. It's not just their opinion. It's based on something Mike Nolan said himself. When asked if Hostler might have his play-calling duties stripped for the next game, Nolan didn't respond with an unequivocal "No." Not even close.

"No, I don't believe so," he said. "But we'll look at everything." Considering this comes from a man who once said the 49ers were not looking to trade Kevan Barlow, Nolan might as well have fired him on the spot.

If such a change is going to be made, I would think it would be soon, so the new play-caller would have plenty of time to get his act together and so the players could get comfortable with him. The bye week also seems like the perfect time to make changes elsewhere, like on the offensive line (*cough* David Baas *cough*).

Hopefully the 49ers will also get Vernon Davis back for the Giants game. Davis, Smith, a couple of lineup changes and a new voice calling the plays could at least give us optimism that this won't be the worst offense in NFL history. As Davis himself, said, "It sucks." Read more on this article...

"I'm Jim Hostler, and I suck."

The 49ers Observer has experienced a recent surge in popularity, and thanks to said popularity, we have secured an exclusive blog entry from 49ers offensive coordinator Jim Hostler. His thoughts are below for your reading pleasure:

Hello, 49ers Observer readers. My name is Jim Hostler, and I suck.

First off, I'd like to point you kind readers to my online coaching biography, which you can read here. Please be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you'll see that I have never called an offensive play for a professional football team in my entire career until this season. In fact, I have only been an offensive coordinator one time in my career as a coach for Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1999. NCAA Division II, baby! Go Crimson Hawks!

You see, I got my job because I functioned as the 49ers' quarterbacks coach in 2005 and 2006. I was the main reason Alex Smith and the 49ers offense won seven games last year. Norv Turner and Frank Gore had nothing to do with it. That was all me, baby. When I coach a quarterback, I bring the heat like no other coach in the NFL. Just ask Tim Rattay.

But now, I'm the 49ers' offensive coordinator for the 2007 season, and I love my job. The entire offensive game plan is in my hands, and there is no one in the NFL who can run an offense like me. I think my best strategy is that I coach the offense from the sideline, where I can't really see half of the offense anyway. Did Larry Allen just miss a block? Did Arnaz Battle run the wrong route? Did Delanie Walker line up wrong again? Well it doesn't really matter, cause I can't see that part of the field anyway. I just call the plays on the sideline and then watch the replays on the jumbotron. It's truly a foolproof system, and it's much better than sitting in that stuffy booth above the field where I can actually see how opposing defenses are lining up against us and then make the proper adjustments.

But you know what I really like? I like running the ball three times in a row on first, second AND third down. First-and-10 on our own 18-yard line? Run Gore up the middle. Second-and-six? Gore up the middle. Third-and-five? Screw it. Let's change it up and run Hicks to the right. Going three-and-out makes Coach Nolan happy. Sure, you could say we're playing conservatively, but Nolan has never really trusted the offense anyway. Really, our ultimate goal is to get Andy Lee in the Pro Bowl by any means necessary, and you can only do that when you lead the league in punts.

It's just that Coach Nolan and I have this thing against passing downfield. Yes, I know Alex Smith's only passing touchdown this season was a 21-yarder to Taylor Jacobs in Pittsburgh, but where's the challenge in that? I say dump the ball in the flat on every passing play ... or maybe I'll call a screen if I'm feeling dangerous. I just feel weird throwing the ball more than 6 yards at a time to anyone except the fullback. I mean, Trent Dilfer probably shouldn't have thrown that deep ball to Bryan Gilmore in the third quarter. Nevermind that Nolan thought it was a good idea to cut Gilmore in the first place before the season started, but why be so risky and throw the ball so high in the air like that? It might hit a bird or get caught in the wind or something.

What's that? You think I try to run the ball too much? Look, all I know is that I can be pretty damn creative when I want to be. It's third-and-two on our own 27-yard line, and we're only down by two points. Who would ever think to do a direct snap to Frank Gore? I know, it's a pretty good idea, but hold on there, kiddo. What if we then have Gore hand that direct snap off to Bryan Gilmore on an end-around? Yeah, I know, we only need a field goal to win, but screw actually running it up the middle when it makes sense. Gadget plays ALWAYS work great in short yardage situations.

Look, I know what you're thinking: "Jim, how did you get to be so damn smart?" Well, it takes practice, amigo, and a good head coach to guide you. On the final drive of Sunday's game, both Coach Nolan AND myself thought it was a good idea to run the ball on third-and-nine to set up a 52-yard field goal. I mean, forget that Gore was barely getting 3 yards per carry against the Baltimore defense. Forget the fact that there was more than 3 minutes left in the game. Forget the fact that Joe Nedney's longest field goal in his career is 56 yards and a 52-yarder isn't really a given by any means. Nolan and I don't like to take chances throwing the ball. We're happy with six first downs in a professional football game, and not passing in that situation makes PERFECT SENSE.

Yeah, that's right. I know I'm blowing your mind right now with my amazing football prowess. Sure, the 49ers could easily be 0-5 right now, but this is how we get it done on Sundays here in San Francisco. With the Nolan/Hostler offense, we don't really try to win football games. We just hope the other team loses.

See you in two weeks! Read more on this article...

Kneejerk Knotes: Bye week, here we come!

I suppose I should focus on the positives we saw in the 49ers' 9-7 loss to Baltimore this afternoon. I just don't feel like it.

This is exactly the kind of game the 49ers need to find a way to win. At home in a low-scoring game, they usually have (see wins over the Bucs and Vikings the past two years). What makes this one hurt even more is that they actually put themselves in position to win it, against all odds.

Trailing 9-0, Trent Dilfer channeled John Elway (or maybe Alex Smith) for exactly two plays to give the 49ers their first touchdown in two weeks, then drove them into position for a 52-yard field goal attempt in the final minutes. Joe Nedney hooked it to the right, though, and an overworked 49ers defense just couldn't muster one more stop.

Nedney has been pretty darn reliable as a 49er, so it's hard to blame him for missing this one. But it hurts nonetheless. San Francisco could have been tied for first in the NFC West right now. Instead, the 49ers are all by themselves in third.

OK, SO THERE is some good news. Alex Smith was seen throwing 6- to 8-yard passes on the field before the game. This is a great sign that he might be able to return when the 49ers face the Giants after the bye week. I truly believe that if a healthy Smith had been starting today instead of Dilfer, the 49ers would have won the game.

ANDY LEE IS by far the best punter I've ever seen in a 49ers uniform in my 20-plus years of watching the team. We need to vote this guy into the Pro Bowl. Hell, let's vote him president.

THE DEFENSE ONCE AGAIN was outstanding, though their final yardage totals are skewed by the amount of time the 49ers' offense forced them to be on the field (38 minutes, to be exact). If I have one complaint about the defense, it's that they just don't attack enough or create enough turnovers. That's the next step for this group.

If they want to be considered one of the truly great defenses in the NFL, they have to start creating turnovers on a regular basis and scoring points of their own on occasion. That said, they were great again today and again got no help from the other side of the ball.

THE OTHER BIT of good news is that the 49ers' remaining schedule isn't all that tough. The Giants game will be a difficult one, and it will be really disappointing if they fall to 2-4, but I still think it's more than reasonable to expect them to at least get back to .500 (which just might get them in the playoffs in the NFC) as long as Smith doesn't miss more than another week or so.

NOT A WHOLE LOT else to say this evening. The offense performed about as I expected them to. They played slightly better and much, much cleaner than they did against Seattle (only three sacks allowed, one offensive penalty and one turnover), and did so against a much stronger defense. So there was some improvement offensively — which is an offensive statement itself, given that they scored just seven points.

I'm not panicking this week, though. I think with Smith back, the offense will go back to doing just enough for the 49ers to win more than they lose, especially if the defense can continue to improve and become more aggressive. Read more on this article...

Breaking the Huddle: Any means necessary

I titled last week's Breaking the Huddle "Making a statement," and that's certainly what the Seattle Seahawks did.

This week the 49ers face off against one of the most fearsome defenses in the league: the Baltimore Ravens. But the Ravens are close to sharing San Francisco's ineptitude on offense. They've only scored two touchdowns in two road games this season. This could get ugly.

QUARTERBACKS

Trent Dilfer can't possibly play any worse. For a second, after Alex Smith was sidelined, I felt a sense of optimism when Dilfer ran into the huddle. It wasn't a diss to Smith, but the thought of being in capable hands with Dilfer. I still believe the 49ers are in good hands and what we saw last week was the rust being painfully knocked off.

I've followed Steve McNair from his days at Alcorn State, through his MVP seasons with Tennessee and now with Baltimore. He may have lost a step and not quite deserve the "Air" with McNair anymore, but he's more than serviceable. He still makes plays when he has to and minimizes his mistakes, and there are very few quarterbacks in the league now who I'd take over him in the final minutes of a game.

Advantage: Ravens

RUNNING BACKS

Poor Frank Gore. He'd never say it, but his line is letting him down. However, I still anticipate him fighting through this rough stretch. Cleveland's Jamal Lewis had decent success last week against Baltimore: 62 yards and a score. If Gore can match that performance and help out in the passing game, the 49ers have a good shot at pulling this upset.

The Ravens' Willis McGahee has had decent success (376 yards in the first four games) but has eclipsed the 100-yard mark only once. San Francisco showed last week against Seattle's Shaun Alexander how stout its rush defense is. And McGahee is famous for pulling a disappearing act occasionally. He could vanish today.

Advantage: 49ers.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

The 49ers dropped Taylor Jacobs, which hopefully means more field time for Ashley Lelie. Lelie's vertical threat could make a huge difference in San Francisco's vanilla attack. After being virtually shut down against his former team (three catches for 38 yards), I expect Darrell Jackson to rebound with a solid outing.

The Ravens have a distinct advantage at the tight end position with Todd Heap, but he's listed as questionable with a thigh injury. He's a game-time decision. Without Heap, Baltimore's passing attack becomes significantly less imposing. While Derrick Mason (33 receptions for 287 yards) is having a comeback season, third-year wideout Mark Clayton has been a bust.

Advantage: Draw.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The 49ers' O-line has been porous so far. This week they'll be without Jonas Jennings (personal reasons), who'll be replaced by Adam Snyder. Jennings hasn't necessarily been the problem, though. The lack of consistent play on the interior by Larry Allen and Justin Smiley has. If they don't get it together, it will be another long day for Gore and Dilfer. The Ravens' line has been much better this season, even without world-mover Jonathan Odgen.

Advantage: Ravens.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Baltimore has a slight edge here. Haloti Ngata has been a force in his first two seasons out of Oregon. Throw in Kelly Gregg on the inside and Terrell Suggs off the corner and you have the makings of a Pro Bowl defensive line. San Francisco's line has been a pleasant surprise this season. Fourteen-year veteran Bryant Young (4 sacks) and Marques Douglas (2.5 sacks) have provided a much needed boost in the pass rush while freeing up the linebackers to make plays, their primary role in the 3-4 defense.

Advantage: Ravens.

LINEBACKERS

Outside of future Hall of Famer and all-around scary dude Ray Lewis, the Ravens are soft here. However, this is the 49ers' strength. Even without Manny Lawson, the linebackers played another great game last week, but they were undercut by their offense. Look for Patrick Willis to play especially well. He wears No. 52 in honor of Lewis.

Advantage: 49ers.

SECONDARY

Once again, Baltimore has the slight edge, although San Francisco's unit has outplayed them so far this season. Pro Bowlers Chris McAlister, Ed Reed and Samari Rolle can matchup with anyone, and I don't believe there's a better playmaker on the defensive side with the ball than Reed. However, they've given up 242 passing yards per game this season, good for 19th in the league. For San Francisco, Nate Clements and
Co. continue to impress. This matchup will decide the outcome of the game. Whichever team is able to take advantage of the other stacking the line against the run will win.

Advantage: Ravens.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Both teams are strong here, but for the life of me, I can't remember the 49ers having better coverage teams then what they have this year. That's the difference.

Advantage: 49ers.

COACHING

The question marks are on the offensive side of the ball for both teams. If Brian Billick is such an offensive genius, then why is Baltimore consistently mediocre-to-bad in that department? And if you're trying to work short-to-intermediate routs, why don't you send someone deep to back up the defense, Jim Hostler? If either team can figure out their offensive deficiencies, they'll be a playoff team.

Advantage: Draw.

PREDICTION

49ers 20, Ravens 17 — I have faith in home-field advantage. Both defenses will make plays, but I believe San Francisco's up-and-coming "D" will make more than Baltimore's we're-good-but-aging "D". Read more on this article...

Win the West: Week 5 predictions

So last week didn't quite go as planned. We all picked San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Dallas to win, and we all went 1-2 thanks only to the Rams' futility. I do love Rams futility, don't you? It's my favorite kind.

If anything, this week will help shake up the standings a bit. We're split 3-3 on the 49ers-Ravens game, with only Ben predicting either team (the Ravens) to score more than 21 points. I'm the only one picking the Rams to finally get their first win against Arizona (which would help the Niners, really). And everyone picked the Steelers over the Seahawks (which has absolutely nothing to do with our rooting interests or Seattle's one-game lead over San Francisco).

Without further ado, here are this week's picks:

James (8-4, 1-2 last week)

San Francisco 13, Baltimore 9

St. Louis 24, Arizona 14

Pittsburgh 30, Seattle 23

Chris (8-4, 1-2 last week)

Baltimore 13, San Francisco 10

Arizona 27, St. Louis 7

Pittsburgh 20, Seattle 17

JR (8-4, 1-2 last week)

San Francisco 21, Baltimore 20

Arizona 38, St. Louis 13

Pittsburgh 31, Seattle 13

Eddie (7-5, 1-2 last week)

San Francisco 20, Baltimore 17

Arizona 34, St. Louis 17

Pittsburgh 24, Seattle 17

Ben (7-5, 1-2 last week)

Baltimore 27, San Francisco 14

Arizona 24, St. Louis 21

Pittsburgh 31, Seattle 21

Nick (7-5, 1-2 last week)

Baltimore 16, San Francisco 13

Arizona 20, St. Louis 10

Pittsburgh 27, Seattle 17 Read more on this article...

Fantasy Fury: Week 5 preview

I really hate injuries.

You draft guys like Marc Bulger, Andre Johnson, Brian Westbrook and Cadillac Williams expecting them to, at the very least, be solid contributors to your team, and then ... BOOM! He's on his back (my favorite Madden-ism).

This is where a fantasy owner's best friend comes in handy: the waiver wire. Quarterbacks like Cleveland's Derek Anderson (Tony Romo-lite) and Atlanta's John Joseph Harrington are solid replacements for Bulger. Baltimore's Derrick Mason is catching everything that is thrown his way and KC's Dwayne Bowe single-handedly defeated the San Diego "Sinking" Chargers. Both of them were probably available in most leagues.

Also, keep an eye on Oakland's Dominic Rhodes if LaMont Jordan's back continues to bother him, and take veteran tailback Michael Pittman over Ernest Graham in Tampa Bay now that Cadillac will be parked for the rest of the season.

Here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 5's matchups:

Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — This has all the makings of a very ugly game. I'm talking fat-and-strung-out Britney ugly. Quite frankly, you have to start Frank Gore, but if you loaded up on running backs at the draft, now is when that would come into play. Both defenses are good, with the Ravens on their way down and the 49ers climbing the ranks. Whichever one makes more plays will decide the game.
START: 49ers defense, Ravens defense, Ravens TE Todd Heap.
SIT: 49ers QB Trent Dilfer (not that you needed me to tell you).

Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Randy Moss is on pace to eclipse the single-season touchdown record. Not most touchdown receptions ... most touchdowns, period. Amazing. The Patriots remind me of the 1989 49ers. They're dominant on both sides of the ball and aren't afraid to flaunt it. Hey bartender, another 30-plus points and 20-plus margin of victory, please.
START: All Patriots; Browns TE Kellen Winslow.
SIT: Browns RB Jamal Lewis.

Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Must-starts include Steelers tailback Willie Parker and Seahawk quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. I actually expect a high-scoring game. Take your pick of Seattle wideouts. They should take advantage of a banged-up Pittsburgh secondary.
START: Steelers WR Santonio Holmes.
SIT: Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This is it! Drew Brees' last chance to start for me. The Panthers secondary has been weak, and they haven't been able to generate much of a pass rush, either. Brees and Reggie Bush, finally the MAN, should have breakout games. If they don't, however, don't expect much in the way of nice comments from the Fury from here on out. For Carolina, David Carr will start again, and must I remind everyone he had a completion percentage that hovered around 70 percent last season for Houston. He'll look much better this week and Steve Smith will rebound from his worst game of the season.
START: Saints WR Marques Colston; Saints TE Eric Johnson.
SIT: Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams.

Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This will feature a great matchup between the Lions' passing game and the Redskins' play-making secondary. Lions wideout Roy Williams has matured into a must-start. With Santana Moss hobbled, Washington will rely on its ground attack to counteract Detroit's fireworks.
START: Redskins RB Clinton Portis; Lions QB Jon Kitna.
SIT: Anyone not involved in the Lions passing game; Redskins QB Jason Campbell.

New York Jets at New York Giants, Sunday, 10 a.m. — I still don't believe either team has developed its identity, which makes this a tough call. The only definite has been Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress. Expect more of the same. Also, expect Thomas Jones to have his breakout game as a Jet.
START: Giants TE Jeremy Shockey; Jets WR Laveranues Coles.
SIT: Giants RB Brandon Jacobs.

Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Ronnie Brown (over 400 total yards the last two weeks) is quickly becoming a force, but the team that surrounds him isn't much. The Texans' defense and offensive line have matured, and Matt Schaub has been the beneficiary. When Houston wideout Andre Johnson returns, watch out.
START: Texans TE Owen Daniels; Texans RB Ron Dayne; Texans defense.
SIT: Dolphins QB Trent Green.

Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Titans can't stop the pass, which is all the Falcons can do. This should be a shoot-out.
START: Falcons QB John Joseph Harrington; Titans RB LenDale White.
SIT: Falcons defense.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, 10 a.m. — I expect the Chiefs to return to Earth this week. The Jags will hold KC's passing game in check, which in turn will bottle up Larry Johnson once again. Expect Jacksonville's running backs to take over.
START: Jaguars RB Fred Taylor; Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew.
SIT: Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe; Jaguars QB David Garrard.

Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Larry Fitzgerald owns the Rams, so start him. I do expect St. Louis to put up a fight, though, even with all of their injuries. Pride can be a funny thing. Gus Frerotte has a solid history in first starts with a new team, so if you're desperate ... there you go.
START: Rams WR Torry Holt; Cardinals RB Edgerrin James.
SIT: Rams RB Brian Leonard; Cardinals QBs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. — The Colts are hurting, so this could be competitive. If Joseph Addai isn't able to go, Kenton Keith could be a solid spot start. Also, expect Michael Pittman to get the lion's share of the carries for the Bucs. Pittman should produce a nice stat line.
START: All healthy Colts.
SIT: Buccaneers RB Ernest Graham; Buccaneers defense.

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Expect greatness from LaDainian Tomlinson. If he isn't able to carry the Chargers to a victory against one of the worst run defenses in the league, he may officially lose his mind. Likewise, San Diego can't stop the pass, so expect big things from Jay Cutler.
START: Broncos WR Brandon Marshall.
SIT: Chargers QB Philip Rivers; Chargers WR Vincent Jackson.

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 5:15 p.m. — Expect the Pack and Brett Favre to keep rolling at Lambeau. Outside of Favre's resurgence, Green Bay's defense is the real key to the team's success.
START: Packers WR Donald Driver; Packers defense.
SIT: Bears RB Cedric Benson.

Dallas Cowboys at Buffalo Bills, Monday, 5:30 p.m. — Some say this could be a trap game for the Cowboys. The Bills aren't that good. Expect much of the same from both teams.
START: All Cowboys; Bills WR Lee Evans.
SIT: Bills RB Marshawn Lynch.
LAST WEEK'S CALLS
I'm gifted, which means I'm borderline genius, which means I could go crazy at any moment: I said Raiders QB Daunte Culpepper would exact revenge against the Dolphins, and that's exactly what he did, to the tune of five touchdowns. I also advised you to start Dwayne Bowe (eight catches, 164 yards and a score) at San Diego and I told you to sit Cadillac Williams (six carries for 41 yards). I'm so good, I scare myself ... no, really.
I'm currently auditioning for VH1's "I Love New York 2": I was so sure Darrell Jackson was going to bust out against the Seahawks, I advised you to start him in the Jets-Bills game too. Of course, he only had three catches for 38 yards. Also, I advised you to take a shot with Marc Bulger (11-for-24, 114 yards and an interception) while telling you to sit Larry Johnson (25 carries for 123 yards). Shame on me. Read more on this article...

In The Tunnel: First look at the banged-up Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a solid team and were widely regarded as a preseason dark horse to make the Super Bowl. They've gotten off to a fairly rough start, going 2-2, but they're still a dangerous team that must be respected primarily for their strong defense and capable rushing attack. However, one complaint of the fans is that Baltimore tends to phone in a performance or two and let games they should win slip away. Here's a look at the Ravens on both sides of the ball.

RAVENS OFFENSE

The Ravens' offensive line has been a strength of the team for quite a few years now. Starting with the dominating play of all-pro left tackle Jonathan Ogden, who's not likely to play this week with a toe injury, the Ravens were able to pave the way for runners such as Jamal Lewis to tear up opposing defenses on the ground. Right tackle Adam Terry has slid over to replace Ogden, and so far he hasn't held up extremely well.

Lewis has since headed for Cleveland, and Baltimore found his replacement when they acquired Willis McGahee in the offseason. McGahee produced his first 100-yard game of the season last week in a loss to the Browns. Although he's only eclipsed the century mark once, he is averaging a solid 4.7 yards per carry and is an explosive runner who can break away in the open field.

Quarterback Steve McNair is past his prime and has lost some snaps to backup Kyle Boller in recent weeks, but he's still a crafty and hard-nosed competitor that can win a game. The Ravens haven't been taking too many shots downfield, and although they've accumulated a fair amount of yards this season, that hasn't translated to a lot of points on the scoreboard.

A large reason for the lack of productivity from the passing game has been the play of wide receivers Mark Clayton and old McNair teammate (with the Titans) Derrick Mason. Mason has proved reliable thus far but is only averaging under 9 yards per catch and has only one touchdown. Still, in comparison to Clayton, his production has been stellar. Clayton is supposed to be the big-play threat that Mason isn't, but he's only made nine grabs and scored no touchdowns.

Pro Bowl tight end Todd Heap will likely be out for this game, and the Ravens will have to turn to third-stringer Quinn Sypniewski, whose primary function has generally been blocking but has shown a knack for catching the ball. Sypniewski has one touchdown catch already this year, equalling the total of the two starting wideouts.

RAVENS DEFENSE

The Ravens will likely be without the services of last year's sack leader Trevor Pryce. But the other two starters in this 3-4 front, Haloti Ngata and nose tackle Kelly Gregg, are going to be a full day's work for the 49ers' struggling offensive line. This is the model of what Mike Nolan wants his defense to look like, and it all begins with the two-gap ability of these men.

Middle linebacker Ray Lewis is the leader of the defense, and although he's not as physically dominant as he used to be, he still leads the team in tackles. Pass rushing threat Terrell Suggs has been out of practice this week with pink eye, but he could still play on Sunday. Speed and discipline marks this unit, and along with the defensive line, they have formed the third-ranked rushing defense in the league.

The secondary has a ton of talent in corners Samari Rolle and Chris McAlister as well as safety Ed Reed. But this hasn't translated to good pass defense. The Ravens are ranked 22nd in the league and seem to have real problems dealing with no-huddle attacks. Rolle has been out the last couple of weeks with an undisclosed illness and hasn't practiced this week.

This would be a week to really worry about if this was a complete Baltimore team, but the Ravens are dealing with some injury issues of their own, and they've been bitten by trying to coast past a few teams on their veteran talent alone. If they haven't been woken up by last week's loss to the Browns, the Niners could snare a valuable home victory. We just have to hope the offense finds a way to move the ball with Trent Dilfer at the helm. Read more on this article...

Film Room: The great Justin Smiley

Justin Smiley is a marked man. Over the past four weeks, the 49ers' right guard has mysteriously regressed, and fans have been clamoring for his replacement: G/C David Baas. Actually, people have been clamoring for his replacement a lot longer than four weeks – it’s just that now is the first time Smiley really seems to be proving those people right beyond a shadow of a doubt.

We heard all sorts of complaints about Justin before, ranging from “he’s not a good fit for the offense” to “he gets blown up by safeties” and, especially, “he’s not big or strong enough.” I don’t know if Baas has ever been blown up by a safety, but I do know that the man is huge and could probably bench my car.

Can Baas pick up blitzes? Who knows. Can he explode off the ball and create gigantic holes for Frank Gore to run through? Uh, yes. Can he pull as well as Smiley? No. But at this point, I think the Niners might be better served by getting the biggest, strongest guys on the field to keep opposing defenses from hospitalizing the statue-like Trent Dilfer.

In any case, here’s this week’s rundown:

*1st Drive

1st and 10 SF25: Gore runs up the middle for 2 yards.

Smiley matches up against Seahawks DT Ellis Wyms (6-3 290) and gets about a yard worth of push (not very good).

To be honest, I’m not sure how this play didn’t go for more yards. The Niners were in the I-formation, with TE Delanie Walker motioning from the wideout spot to behind Smiley. The Seahawks had DE Patrick Kerney (6-5 272) and Wyms both angled at the gap between RG and RT. Smiley blocked Wyms, and Staley took Kerney out of the play. Norris came through and knocked MLB Tatupu out of the hole. Walker blocked OLB Peterson about 3 yards downfield. The CBs didn’t come up to help, and there was no pressure from the left side of the line. The middle was pretty clogged, but there was a red shirt accounting for every white shirt. Instead of bouncing the run outside, Gore plowed right into Norris’s back and went nowhere.

2nd and 8 SF27: Alex Smith throws incomplete deep left (for Jackson).

Smiley does a good job keeping DT Rocky Bernard (6-3 308) out of the play.

3rd and 8 SF27: Alex Smith is sacked by DT Bernard for -8 yards.

Smiley gives Tatupu a shove, then moves right to block DE/OLB Tapp.

By now this play has been analyzed to death. Everyone knows Bernard waltzed between C Heitmann and LG Allen, leaped up onto Smith, and drove the young quarterback’s throwing shoulder into the turf. Heitmann’s problem was, he hesitated, seemingly undecided between blocking Tatupu or Bernard, the latter of which lined up at nose tackle. Allen backpedaled, watching for Peterson coming on the blitz (he dropped into coverage), then moved to his right when he realized Bernard was coming through. Both Heitmann and Allen were equally at fault.

After the punt, we see a shot of Warhop lecturing Heitmann and Allen. Warhop looks more focused than furious. From his body language, he seems to be saying, “We all know you screwed up. Do you know what to do next time?” Then we see a shot of Alex Smith trying to throw a pass to Dilfer on the sideline. After he throws the pass, he hangs his head in obvious pain.

*2nd Series

1st and 10 SF49: Dilfer throws short right to Jackson for 6 yards.

Smiley has no one to block on this play. He hustles out to try to block downfield after Jackson makes the catch. Staley and Heitmann follow him. Actually a pretty quick group, those three.

2nd and 5 SEA45: Gore runs right for 4 yards, then FUMBLES. Seahawks recover.

Smiley runs out and gives Peterson a pretty good shot, removing him from the play. At this point he was actually doing all right.

On the other side of the play, Jennings pancaked rookie DT Brandon Mebane (6-1 314).

*3rd Series

1st and 10 SF10: Gore runs right for no gain.

Matched up against Bernard, Smiley gets knocked back about a yard on the snap. He ends up somewhere behind Staley and to the right.

2nd and 10 SF10: "... false start, offense, number 65 (Smiley)."

2nd and 15 SF5: Gore runs right for 3 yards, and FUMBLES. 49ers recover (SF7).

Smiley pushes Bernard toward Staley, stumbles a little, then goes out to get a linebacker – in this case, Peterson.

This fumble must have changed hands about 8 or 9 times. The ball bounced forward to the 10 yard line and disappeared into a scrum. A Niner somehow surfaced with the ball at the 8 yard line. Not sure how that works.

3rd and 12 SF8: Hicks runs up the middle for 4 yards.

Smiley actually picked up a stunt brilliantly on this play. Bernard angled toward Staley from the DT spot, so Justin just shoved him in that direction and picked up Tapp coming around on the twist. Neither were in on the tackle.

*4th Series

1st and 10 SF11: Dilfer throws incomplete left for Battle (drop).

Smiley helps Heitmann block DT Craig Terrill (6-2 295) out of the play.

Kerney beat Staley on this play and laid a brutal hit on Dilfer, who fell on Larry Allen’s ankle. Fortunately the pass was already away. Notably, Norris was wide open underneath. Not that it mattered, since Battle was also fairly open and should have made the catch.

2nd and 10 SF11: Gore runs right for 3 yards.

Smiley, up against Terrill again, gets no push. Obviously, straight ahead run blocking is not the guy’s forte.

3rd and 6 SF14: Dilfer is sacked for -8 yards by OLB Peterson.

While Staley is busy with Darryl Tapp, Terrill stunts around them. Instead of backpedaling and picking him up on the other side, Smiley gives chase from behind. Terrill arrives at Dilfer a step behind Peterson, who came unblocked.

*5th Series

1st and 10 SF42: Dilfer throws middle to Jackson for 15 yards.

This one was called back. Smiley was overpowered by Bernard on this play and resorted to holding. In retrospect, holding is far better than letting your quarterback get smashed to pieces. Of course, Dilfer still took a hit because Tapp beat Jennings around the corner.

1st and 20 SF32: Dilfer throws short left to Battle for 7 yards.

Smiley doesn’t have anyone to block. He helps Heitmann out by giving Bernard a shove.

2nd and 13 SF39: Gore runs outside right for 5 yards.

Smiley doesn’t get past Bernard (blocked by Staley) fast enough to reach Tatupu, who flies in and makes the tackle.

3rd and 8 SF44: Dilfer is sacked for -8 yards by Kerney.

Kerney beats Smiley like a drum with a swim move.

Leroy Hill was also in on the tackle, having made it past Gore.

*6th Series (following the blocked punt)

1st and 10 SEA48: Dilfer throws incomplete left.

Smiley picks up Terrill on a delayed rush, but doesn’t block ‘til the whistle. As a result, Terrill sees Dilfer outside the pocket and gives chase, forcing Dilfer to get rid of the ball.

2nd and 10 SEA48: Dilfer throws incomplete middle.

Smiley helps Heitmann out by giving Terrill a shove, but that’s about it.

3rd and 10 SEA48: Dilfer is sacked for -6 yards by Peterson.

Smiley, again, helps Heitmann with Terrill (Heitmann was being overpowered on this play), leaving Leroy Hill unblocked. Luckily, Hill tripped and fell on his face. Unfortunately, Peterson came unblocked for the sack. All told, the Seahawks rushed 7.

After this play, Peterson pointed to his name about 10 times in a row while walking off the field. Apparently he thought the fans in San Francisco can’t remember anything prior to 2006. Sorry, Julian, you’re still not worth Ray Lewis money.

*7th Series

1st and 10 SF21: Dilfer throws short middle to Gore for 22 yards.

Rocky Bernard runs right through Smiley and grabs Dilfer’s jersey. Breakdown on Smiley's part.

Luckily, Dilfer shrugs off the hit and dumps the ball to Gore, who casually picks the ball out of the air with one hand, fakes Leroy Hill out of his shoes, then bounces off SS Deion Grant and MLB Lofa Tatupu in succession. Frank breaks free and sprints 15 yards further downfield, leaving Tatupu saying “Huh? What?” with his body language. FS Brian Russell is getting run over as Peterson runs in and finally makes the tackle.

After the play, Bernard limps off the field, shoeless, with the help of the Seattle trainers, barely able to put any weight on his ankle. There is justice in the world! Unfortunately, he went back in the game later with his ankle taped and kept abusing Smiley.

1st and 10 SF43: Dilfer is sacked for -5 yards by Darryl Tapp.

Smiley again doesn’t have anyone to block. He helps Heitmann a little, then slides over to help Staley a little, even though Staley had Kerney neutralized and didn’t need help.

This was interesting. Dilfer, with all the time in the world, decides he hasn’t had enough pain already and walks right into Tapp’s arms, even though Jennings has him under control. This wasn’t a coverage sack; it was a gift sack.
2nd and 15 SF38: Dilfer throws right sideline to Battle for 13 yards (great catch).
Smiley gets beat by Terrill, and again resorts to holding to keep Dilfer from being eaten alive. Naturally, the refs call him on it, and the Niners march another 10 yards backwards. This was Smiley’s third penalty of the day. He had more negative yards on the day due to penalties (25) than Arnaz Battle had positive yards due to catches (19).

2nd and 25 SF28: Gore runs up the middle for 13 yards.

Smiley gives Terrill a shove toward Heitmann, then tries to get after Peterson but stumbles over Terrill’s back foot.

This run looked designed to go inside, but Gore bounced it outside Staley’s shoulder and got upfield in a hurry. Staley had taken Kerney out of the play. Gore is definitely looking faster this year.

3rd and 12 SF41: Dilfer throws incomplete middle.

Smiley doesn’t really have anything to do on this play either. Heitmann has Terrill handled and Smiley helps out with a shove.

Dilfer was angry that there was no pass interference called on this play, even though it was cleanly defended by CB Marcus Trufant. Russell came over to talk trash and Dilfer obliged (Trent just isn’t wired to back down).

*8th Series

1st and 10 SF21: Dilfer throws middle to Jacobs for 14 yards.

Smiley keeps Bernard out of the play. Of course, Bernard is only playing with one foot.

1st and 10 SF35: Dilfer throws short right to Walker for 7 yards.

Smiley teams up with Heitmann to neutralize Bernard. Actually, neutralize is a relative term. Bernard still gets about a 3 yard push. It’s just the pass was a quick out, so big Rocky didn’t have time to get any further.

2nd and 3 SF 42: Dilfer is sacked by Peterson for -12 yards.

Smiley doesn’t do much on this play. He gives Bernard a lovetap, but Bernard is going nowhere against Staley. He goes over and bumps Kerney too, but Heitmann has Kerney bottled up.

Peterson runs right past Allen for the sack and strips the ball too, but Dilfer falls on it. After the play JP points at his name about 15 times. Still not worth Ray Lewis money, Julian.

3rd and 15 SF30: Dilfer throws left to Jackson for 20 yards.

Smiley gives Bernard a shove, but doesn’t have much to do this play either. He seems to spend a lot of time out there doing nothing.

1st and 10 SF50: Dilfer throws short right to Walker for 4 yards.

Tatupu bluffs like he’s going to blitz in Smiley’s direction, but runs off into coverage. So Smiley almost had something to do, but not quite.

Larry Allen was called for tripping on this play. Moose comments, “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’, right Larry?” The Niners go backwards.

1st and 20 SF40: Dilfer throws incomplete right.

Smiley does a good job picking up a stunt on this play. Kerney, from the DT spot angles for Staley, so Smiley helps him along and then picks up Tapp coming around afterward.

2nd and 20 SF40: Dilfer is sacked for -8 yards by Kerney.

Technically, Kerney was Smiley’s man, but Kerney ran the long way around to get to Dilfer (outside Tapp and Staley) and should have been picked up by Robinson.

This play didn’t count because the Seahawks jumped offsides. +5 yards. On the next play, Staley jumped. -5 yards. And we’re back to 2nd and 20.

2nd and 20 SF40: Robinson runs left for 28 yards.

Smiley runs up and blocks Tatupu, but apparently not long enough because Tatupu spins around, runs Robinson down, and makes the tackle.

(2nd Half)

*1st Series

1st and 10 SF46: Dilfer throws long right, INTERCEPTION.

Smiley helps Staley out by putting his right hand into Bernard’s chest, and keeps a wary eye for Peterson who bluffed on the blitz.

This wasn’t as dumb a pass as it looked. Jackson had a shot, but Dilfer overthrew him. Gore came up to make a nice form-tackle on Trufant. On second thought, yeah, it was pretty dumb. Bad Trent!

*2nd Series

1st and 10 SF20: Gore runs up the middle for 2 yards.

Smiley’s job is to wall off Patrick Kerney on this play. The execution is lacking. Kerney pushes past and makes the first hit on Gore.

2nd and 8 SF22: Gore runs up the middle for 1 yard.

Smiley pulls left, but doesn’t get far because he immediately runs into Tapp and Norris. Hill is unblocked and makes the tackle.

3rd and 7 SF23: Dilfer throws incomplete short left.

Smiley helps Staley block Bernard, then goes to block downfield.

This might have been a long gain, except Heitmann fell over trying to block Tatupu, so it’s another 3 and out (the 6th of the game to that point).

*3rd Series

1st and 10 SF37: Dilfer throws short right to Battle for 6 yards.
Smiley is matched up against Terrill, and stonewalls him.

2nd and 4 SF41: Gore runs right for 4 yards.

Smiley is up against Terrill again, and the result is a stalemate. The only problem is, it’s a running play.

Gore disappeared into a pile at the line of scrimmage and emerged four yards later. Not sure how that works. Of course, it’s called back for holding (on Jennings).

2nd and 9 SF36: Gore runs left for 16 yards.

Smiley stalemates Terrill a second time, except this time Heitmann helps. Luckily, the run is to the other side of the field. You know – in the direction of the people who can run block.

1st and 10 SEA48: Gore runs right for 3 yards.

Smiley gives Mebane a shove in Heitmann’s direction and goes to look for a linebacker. Unfortunately, all the linebackers are in the backfield already.

2nd and 7 SEA45: Dilfer throws incomplete short right.

Smiley bites on a fake blitz and lets Hill run through unblocked. Luckily, Hicks keeps Dilfer alive with a well timed block.

3rd and 7 SEA45: (false start on Walker)

3rd and 12 SEA50: (false start on Jennings)

After this play, Siragusa comments, “Mike Nolan ... there’s smoke coming out of his ears.”

3rd and 17 SF45: Dilfer throws incomplete deep left.

The Seahawks don’t rush enough for Smiley to have anyone to block, so he stands there and tries look busy.

*4th Series

1st and 10 SF49: Dilfer throws short middle to Gore for 9 yards.

Smiley gets bull rushed by Terrill on this play, but luckily he’s not close enough to Dilfer to get pressure.

2nd and 1 SEA42: Gore runs outside left for 17 yards.

Smiley actually blows Terrill off the ball, then runs downfield looking for someone to block. Good play.

1st and 10 SEA25: Dilfer throws incomplete deep right.

Smiley pulls on a play-action fake, but doesn’t block anyone.

This was a nice throw and should have been a touchdown. Walker beat Peterson, but the ball bounced off his hands. Watching this play it was obvious that Peterson is pretty fast, but Walker is faster. Now if he could just catch, we might have something.

2nd and 10 SEA25: Dilfer throws incomplete short left.

Smiley helps Heitmann against Bernard, but Bernard bull rushes the two of them right into Dilfer’s face, spins and comes free. Dilfer throws the ball at Gore’s feet.

3rd and 10 SEA25: Dilfer throws incomplete short left.

Seattle brings 7. Smiley blocks Peterson and actually doesn’t get blown off the ball, even though all the Seahawks got running starts (the play clock must have been expiring). Dilfer ends the play on his back, hit by both Tatupu and Trufant.

*5th Series

1st and 10 SF43: Gore runs right for no gain.

Smiley gives Bernard a shove into Staley, then goes to block Tatupu and whiffs. Not that it matters, because Kerney, Grant, and DT Chuck Darby (6-0 297) are all in the backfield belly-flopping on Gore, who somehow makes it back to the line of scrimmage.

2nd and 10 SF43: Dilfer throws right INTERCEPTION.

Smiley helps Heitmann by shoving Bernard, then turns to see if Staley’s doing all right (and he is).

Trufant easily jumped Jackson’s route and brought the interception back about 20 yards. As Dilfer was closing in to hit him on the sideline, Trufant put up an open hand and ducked out of bounds. Guess he was fearing the fury of the Dilfer.

*6th Series

1st and 10 SF20: Dilfer throws short left to Jackson for 12 yards.

Smiley helps Staley out with Kerney, who had made a quick spin move (actually much quicker than Banta-Cain’s spin).

1st and 10 SF32: Gore runs right for -4 yards.

Smiley helps Heitmann with Terrill in the middle. The breakdown happens the left side of the line, and Gore gets chased down from the backside.

2nd and 14 SF28: Gore runs up the middle for 10 yards.

Smiley shoves Terrill into Staley and runs out to block Kerney, who had dropped into coverage.

Gore broke 3 tackles on this play and was ultimately tackled by a gang of 3 Seahawks. So it took 6 players to get him down. I think it’s pretty clear that Frank is not part of the problem.

3rd and 4 SF38: Dilfer throws short middle to Battle for 6 yards.

Smiley picks up Tatupu nicely on the blitz.

1st and 10 SF44: Dilfer throws incomplete middle.

Smiley takes Bernard out of this play.

Jennings’ guy, Tapp, hits Dilfer as he throws. The ball was intended for Jackson, who ran a stop-and-go route but wasn’t really open.

2nd and 10 SF44: Gore runs outside left for -2 yards.

Smiley is lined up against Bernard. Bernard makes the tackle. Enough said.

3rd and 12 SF42: Dilfer throws incomplete short right.

This was supposed to be a screen, but Bernard got past Smiley so fast and into Dilfer’s face that the play had no chance. In Smiley’s defense, I think he was supposed to release and go block downfield.

*7th Series

1st and 10 SF20: Dilfer throws short left to Gore for 11 yards.

Smiley helps Heitmann block Terrill on this play.

1st and 10 SF31: Dilfer throws incomplete short left.

Smiley helps Staley with DE Baraka Atkins (6-4 268), then takes over the block by himself as Atkins angles toward Heitmann.

2nd and 10 SF31: Dilfer throws incomplete short right.

Smiley pushes Terrill into Staley and picks up Atkins.

Dilfer has all day, but threw what should have been an interception (intended for Jackson, but led him too far). Babineaux just dropped the ball.

3rd and 10 SF31: Dilfer throws incomplete left.

Smiley forces Kerney to reroute around Heitmann and his man, but that’s about it.

This pass hit Jacobs in the hands, and still no catchy. Probably part of why he's gone.

*8th Series

1st and 10 SF24: Dilfer throws short middle to Hicks for 7 yards.

Smiley does a good job taking Kerney out of this play.

2nd and 3 SF31: Dilfer throws incomplete short left.

I have no idea who Smiley blocked on this play because FOX was too busy showing pictures of sad Niners fans to show the play. Whoever it was, Smiley kept him out of the play.

3rd and 3 SF31: Dilfer throws incomplete left.

Smiley blocks Terrill out of this play, and mercifully leaves the field for day.

Closing Comments

So, obviously Smiley didn’t have a great day. Did he play poorly enough to be benched? I think so, but it remains to be seen if the Niners' coaching staff agrees. Baas would probably give the running game an immediate boost because he can actually get a push on opposing linemen. Smiley seems incapable of doing so.

In any case, writing this article is much more fun when the Niners actually show up on game day. Read more on this article...

Line of Scrimmage: Where art thou, QB?

In this week's Line of Scrimmage, Ben and JR debate whether or not the 49ers need to get a new quarterback to fill in for Alex Smith while he's out, after suffering through Trent Dilfer's performance on Sunday.

YES: First question: Did you see how Trent Dilfer played on Sunday? Second question: Was that fun for you to watch? The answers should be yes and no, respectively, and I've seen all I need to see from Mr. I Can Manage a Game.

Trent Dilfer has never been a good quarterback in the NFL. He won a Super Bowl with a Baltimore team that asked him to hand Jamal Lewis the rock 25 to 30 times a game and not to screw up. Say what you want about the 49ers' defense — it ain't those Ravens.

The 49ers need someone who can move the ball down the field. So I guess the next question is, who can they get at this late stage to come in and right the ship? Am I the only one who thinks Vinny Testaverde is a good idea? Well, I won't go that far. As far as I'm concerned, there are two quarterbacks the Niners can go get right now that might be able to do a better job than the lead-footed Dilfer.

The first is everybody's favorite bearded man, Jake Plummer. If Plummer's in any kind of game shape at all, he would be a significant upgrade over Dilfer. I know the Broncos love Jay Cutler and all, but I could never figure out why they jettisoned Plummer. The guy might not have been able to win in the playoffs, but hey, the Niners don't need him to win in the playoffs. They just need him to keep the seat warm.

The second is going to be wildly unpopular among the 49er Faithful because it involves dealing with the team across the Bay. My second solution for the quarterback spot is Andrew Walter. No, he hasn't looked good up to now. Then again, I think Ken Stabler would have looked bad behind that line. Walter was a fantastic quarterback in college and I think, given an improved line in San Francisco, he could do some things and at least provide a significant upgrade over Dilfer.

You're probably saying to yourself that I'm crazy. Who would want someone like Plummer or Walter leading their team? Well, I don't. But faced with Trent Dilfer as the alternative, I'm left wondering if Jim Druckenmiller has any interest in coming back. Plummer or Walter makes sense. Dilfer can be the "guru veteran" all he wants, as long as he's not doing it under center.

— Ben

NO: In today’s NFL, do you really think any coaching staff would head into the season without a reasonable expectation that their No. 2 quarterback will see some playing time? Of course not. The 49ers have been practicing together since the summer, and it’s not like Dilfer hasn’t been working with the team. They know he can do what’s asked of him.

Let’s give the man a week of practicing with the starters and then go through a game before we stamp him obsolete. All he has to do is come in and manage the game well enough to give the team a chance to win. With a running game that is due to come out of its hibernation and a defense that has proven to be a strength, all Dilfer has to do is make a few throws to keep the defense honest and not turn the ball over.

I would even go so far as to say there could be a quarterback controversy if Smith sits out several weeks and Dilfer does a decent job. If the offense starts to click and actually starts producing — and there are some talented players on that side of the ball — then it may not be in the best interest of the team to rush Smith back. It’s not as if he’s not going to be the starter long term, but if things weren’t working with Alex and they do work with Dilfer, why mess with that chemistry?

The natural comparison here is with the Ravens' Super Bowl team, with Dilfer managing the run-heavy offense and the defense eventually taking over. Granted, Dilfer was much younger then, but I don’t think his game has changed much. The 49ers are built to be primarily a running team, and even though they’ve pretty much sucked at it so far, they’ve got to get it going at some point to have any chance whatsoever. That being the case, they shouldn’t be asking any of their quarterbacks to be winning games by themselves. Just make a few necessary plays and be efficient.

Lastly, it’s pretty ignorant to assume that anybody the 49ers could bring in from the outside could make any substantial contribution before at least 2-3 weeks of practice. Offenses are just too complex for that, and unless you’re talking about an athlete who can change a game with his legs, someone of a Michael Vick caliber (prison not withstanding), I don’t care if you bring in the second coming of Joe Montana — he’s going to probably struggle.

— JR

Read more on this article...

Mini-overhaul for receiving corps

The 49ers made an apparently minor move today, releasing No. 3 receiver Taylor Jacobs and re-signing last year's No. 3, Bryan Gilmore. Gilmore was one of the 49ers' final cuts of the preseason and has been a favorite of receivers coach Jerry Sullivan.

This minor move, though, could have major implications for what has been one of the weakest links in the NFL's weakest offense. I can't imagine the 49ers would bring in a receiver off the street — even if he was with the team last year — and make him No. 3 on the depth chart. That means the most likely person to take that spot is Ashley Lelie.

Now, Lelie has been a major disappointment so far, but this move clearly puts him to the fore right behind Darrell Jackson and Arnaz Battle. And even if he doesn't always run great routes, his speed is at least something opposing defenses must respect. Getting him on the field and down the field certainly can't be a bad thing.

I think this also means we'll start seeing rookie Jason Hill get phased into the offense once his hamstring is healed up. He's listed as questionable for this week's game, which means he should be ready to go after the bye week. Combine that with Lelie's increased presence and the possible return of Vernon Davis, and the 49ers will finally have some speedy weapons to go with Jackson and Battle.

It's at least a step in the right direction and proof that Mike Nolan is capable of making a move when someone isn't productive on Sundays.

JACOBS CERTAINLY WASN'T the worst player on the field against the Seahawks, though. That title would go to the entire offensive line. Nothing has been done about that yet, as far as we know, but we're all hopeful there will be some changes.

I think we can all agree it's time to see what David Baas can do, especially with how bad Justin Smiley, Eric Heitmann and Larry Allen have been playing. I wouldn't mind seeing all three of those guys replaced, but that's not likely. Hopefully we'll at least see some kind of rotation like we did in the preseason. This would give Baas, Tony Wragge and Adam Snyder some playing time, and it would give the three stooges in the middle of the line some rest. Read more on this article...

Hit List: An honest assessment of offense

This week in Hit List, we take a look at the Niners' 23-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and ... well, just read on.

SALUTATIONS, Observer readers. Nick here with your weekly HIT LIST. If you're looking for some hard-hitting analysis of that thing that happened Sunday in San Francisco, look elsewhere. I'm not in the mood or physical condition to break down the game and be all witty about it. My semi-intellectual, snarky self has been replaced by a bitter man who drank way too much Amstel Light on Sunday while watching Trent Dilfer get destroyed by Julian Peterson. My stomach hurts, I'm honestly kind of depressed, and I'm getting a headache listening to Chris Berman on SportsCenter talking about the reasons the Chargers suck.

Hey Chris, I know why the Chargers suck. It's not because of Norv. It's because they have new coordinators on both sides of the ball. It's kind of the same reason the 49ers have only scored one passing touchdown all year. Yeah, I know the offensive line is a problem too, but you know what? The 49ers' coaching staff currently has NO ONE in their offices that has ever called an offensive play in an NFL game in their entire career. There's not a single dude in a red windbreaker who knows how to run the 49ers' offense. NO ONE.

Ok. Screw it. I'm done with the intro. With this HIT LIST, you're going inside my head, John Malkovich style, and you can't leave until I say so. Here is my honest assessment of each player on the 49ers' offense after the most disappointing and depressing Niner game since probably this one back in 2005.

• QB Alex Smith is not the problem. Hostler and Nolan are.

• QB Trent Dilfer is very, very rusty. And old.

• QB Shaun Hill is the absolute last resort. He's NOT the answer if Smith is done for the year.

• RB Frank Gore is the same, great running back he was in 2006. Fumbles and all.

• RB Michael Robinson is a great utility man. He's sadly not much else.

• RB Maurice Hicks is solid backup running back. He's definitely lost a step though.

• FB Moran Norris is not being used correctly. Hostler needs to use him to block in pass protection (and for the running game).

• WR Darrell Jackson isn't being used much at all. His demeanor and drops do not inspire confidence though.

• WR Arnaz Battle is a poor team's No. 2 wide receiver. He's sufficient and comes through in the clutch, but has little else to offer.

• WR Taylor Jacobs is a charity case for Nolan. I still want him to succeed though.

• WR Ashley Lelie is potentially the second-best wide receiver on the team. It's his effort that kills him.

• WR Jason Hill is the future (as in 2008). This year he should probably just sit and watch.

• TE Vernon Davis is being wasted. He would make the Pro Bowl with ANY other NFL team this season (besides the St. Louis Rams). Believe it.

• TE Delanie Walker is playing the wrong position. In another dimension, he's the 49ers' second option at wide receiver.

• LT Jonas Jennings is showing his age, but at least he's not injured.

• LG Larry Allen is a true liability. Benching him will become inevitable.

• C Eric Heitmann is regressing. It could be the surgery.

• RG Justin Smiley is not the same player as he was in 2006. But who knows why?

• RT Joe Staley is probably not ready to start yet. Nolan is forcing it.

• RT Kwame Harris is not looking so bad any more. He's still pretty bad though.

And Derek Smith sucks. My article next week will be a bit more in-depth. Thanks for your patience, guys. I'm out. Read more on this article...