The secondary has struggled quite a bit at times. Nate Clements still brings it game in and game out, but Walt Harris has been showing serious signs of age this season. Harris did have an INT this past weekend and almost had a second while covering Donnie Avery. However, Avery still managed 9 receptions for 93 yards and he would have had a touchdown if Bulger had put an extra foot or two on the ball.

The 49ers do not run a press sort of coverage. They’ll play man but off by as much as 7 or 8 yards. If they continue this and the Cowboys are smart, they’d run some quick passes to TO and let him his use his size to load up on yards after the catch. Under Nolan I’d say you’d be guaranteed to see this coverage, but Mike Singletary has certainly shown some signs of being able to actually adjust to a given team.

One problem for the 49ers in all of this has been the lack of a pass rush. Even if they were getting phenomenal coverage by their DBs, no pass rush can make that all for naught. If the 49ers don’t bring the rush they brought against St. Louis, Romo will have time to go through his reads and I’d imagine eventually find an open guy.

Aside from All-World LB Patrick “Bamm Bamm” Willis, I’d say the biggest contributions have come from Justin Smith and Takeo Spikes. Smith rarely fills up the stats sheet with tackles and sacks, but he constantly brings pressure and is usually in the mix when fumbles are happening. He’s played 6 of the 7 DL/LB positions at some point this season so he won’t be facing a single person 1-on-1.

Takeo Spikes was a late addition but has bounced back to form after an injury late last season with the Eagles. He’s #2 on the team in tackles, has 3 interceptions and like Smith often ends up in the middle of numerous big plays.

If the 49ers pass rush is going to have any teeth this Sunday, it would likely be due to the contribution of some combination of Parys Haralson, Ray McDonald and Roderick Green. Haralson and McDonald are two guys who have a lot of talent but haven’t quite turned it into consistent production. They’re all youngsters and if one of them has a big day it would mean big things for the pass rush.

The 49ers have been without WR Arnaz Battle and young safety Dashon Goldson the last couple of weeks, and Josh Morgan strained his groin against Arizona, causing him to miss last week’s game. Yesterday’s participation report is not the most useful for determining who will play Sunday. The 49ers often announce players that are clearly out early in the week. However, Wednesday is a day that a few veterans won’t practice if they’re even remotely dinged up.

Right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if Battle, Morgan and Goldson were out again. Starting free safety Mark Roman was questionable last Sunday and was limited in practice, but he’s played in 89 consecutive games so I’d imagine we’ll see him. I’ll post injury updates at Niners Nation later today and tomorrow and will link to them in here as well.

We have to limit him for sure to beat the 49ers.

If Gore gets shut down, the 49ers would be in serious trouble. They are developing the passing game, but Frank Gore makes this offense go, no matter who is the QB. He is obviously the leading rusher, but also one of the leading receivers. While he does get a lot of press, I would agree that he is somewhat underrated. His numbers are consistently solid as is, but throw in that he’s been playing on bad teams and it makes those numbers remarkable.

As for Shaun Hill, he certainly looked very comfortable against the Rams, but it’s probably too soon to tell where he’s at. He looked very solid in a half of action against the Seahawks. He had his moments against Arizona but was too inconsistent. Then the Rams came to town and he looked like the second coming of Joe Montana. His assets so far appear to be quick decision making and the ability to sense pressure. J.T. O’Sullivan had a problem of holding onto the ball too long, getting sacked and fumbling the ball or just throwing a hideous INT. Hill does take sacks but he secures the ball before going down. He takes fewer sacks than JTO because one can see that he senses pressure coming and knows to step up or to one side in the pocket. As far as INTs, if the play isn’t there Hill usually won’t force it, which I much prefer to the gunslinger mentality of JTO.

Of the 49ers remaining 6 games, 5 will involve teams battling for a playoff spot (Dal, Buf, NYJ, Mia, Was). Even though the 49ers could lose all those games, I’m glad they’re facing this kind of gauntlet. Hill won a lot of fans with his performance at the end of last season, but he was facing bad opponents or an opponent like TB that had secured a playoff spot and rested many of their starters. This final stretch of games will give us a much better idea of who Shaun Hill is.

While Gore mixes in some cutting back, I think his strength is seeing a hole and bursting through. He’s 5’9 217lbs, so he appears short and powerful. However, when he bursts through a hole you’d swear he was thinner.

1. Staley is in his second year and moved from right tackle to left tackle. He struggled early on and leads the team in sacks allowed, but is showing improvement. Heitmann broke his leg 2 seasons ago and wasn’t ful;y recovered last season. However, he has returned to solid form this season. In protecting against what seems like some potent pass rushers, the 49ers line will have its work cut out for it. The good news is that the promotion of Shaun Hill to starting QB has helped the line improve. O’Sullivan took too much time making decisions, which led to an increase in sacks. The line has looked significantly better in the last couple weeks. As long as Hill continues to play his style of game, he should be able to stay mostly upright.

2. I think the 49ers are pretty close being playoff contenders. Many people think Hill should’ve been starting from day 1 and if that happened the 49ers would be contending for the West. However, Martz and Singletary say Hill didn’t know the offense well enough early on. I think the 49ers could be contenders next season, but a lot of that is predicated on how this season ends. Hill seems like the answer at QB for the short term, but it’s only been a few games. If he finishes strong I think he could be that answer for now. Hill is signed through 2010, so my hope is the 49ers grab a QB in the draft coming year and let him sit behind Hill and learn slowly, instead of throwing him to the fire like they did with Alex Smith. If they can get a solid pass rusher I think that could make a huge difference for the defense going forward.

3. Manny lost almost his entire second season to injury, which stunted his growth. This year, once he got healthy, it seemed like he was being jerked around by Nolan. Against Seattle in Week 2, he actually only played special teams b/c Nolan stubbornly insisted on using a defensive scheme that didn’t fit him. He’s an athletic freak who has shown his play-making abilities. Under Singletary he’s getting back on the field more often and I think should be fine going forward. He’s another guy who needs this remaining half season to show he’s legit.

I don’t know a whole lot about Bradie James, but a quick look at him shows he seems to be a solid enough linebacker. Most 49ers fans, yours truly included, are convinced Patrick Willis has the makings of a Hall of Fame linebacker in only his second year.

His tackle numbers can certainly be inflated do to a bad defensive line. However, he brings crazy athleticism to the linebacker position. In our overtime win against the Cardinals last season he was 10 yards behind a Cardinals WR and ran him down to make a game-saving tackle. I don’t think 49ers fans would trade Patrick Willis for just about anything right now, barring some kind of Herschel Walker huge picks trade.

-Flo

I’d throw in Flo if we had some good depth, but I think we all know what that looks like.