Gore running for a record

By Daniel Brown, Mercury News

After his most extensive practice in weeks, 49ers running back Frank Gore looks ready to make a run at an unprecedented milestone. Gore updated his status to "probable" on the injury report after he ran hard and changed directions in team drills. He needs 22 yards in the season finale Sunday to become the first 49er to amass 1,000 rushing yards in three consecutive seasons.
"He's looking good," Coach Mike Singletary said. "He did a nice job today when he carried the ball. He ran well and he cut well. It was nice to see." Gore suffered a sprained ankle against the New York Jets on Dec. 7, and was sidelined the past two games. Singletary cautioned, however, that the personal milestone would not play a role in deciding whether Gore would face the Washington Redskins at Candlestick Park. The coach's concern is that Gore, compensating for the ankle, could suffer a more serious injury.

"I don't want him to reinjure anything trying to get 1,000 yards," Singletary said. "Hopefully he can do it, but if he can't, I want him to be smart and look at the longevity of the decision." The game could be Gore's last in Mike Martz's offense. The Sacramento Bee reported this week that Singletary met with 49ers officials and made progress toward a multiyear contract extension. The paper said that under the current plan, defensive coordinator Greg Manusky would be back, but Martz would not return.
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Hill and Pennington have something in common

By Matt Miaocco, The Press Democrat

MIAMI — Quarterback Shaun Hill has not done much wrong in his seven NFL starts. Over the past two seasons, Hill’s record as a starting quarterback with the 49ers is 5-2. The 49ers’ record during that period when Hill was not starting is 5-17. His 15 touchdown passes and five interceptions, to go along with a 97.3 passer rating, is further proof Hill is playing well. But there is one negative — perhaps the only negative — that continues to be associated with Hill. Let’s face it, the man does not possess the strongest arm in the NFL. When the 49ers play the Miami Dolphins this morning, it will match two quarterbacks who have heard the same critique over and over and over.

“It’s perception versus reality,” Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington said. “The reality of it is I don’t think a coach is going to put any quarterback on the field that can’t make the throws necessary to allow the offense to be successful, including the down-the-field throws. “In this league, you have to be able to throw the ball down the field. How hard it is, is meaningless. I think timing, accuracy, understanding when to take a shot, when not to take a shot, and being able to move your football team — that’s more important.” Pennington was run out of the New York Jets organization during training camp in favor of Brett Favre. Pennington went to a team that compiled a league-worst 1-15 record last season, and the Dolphins are now 8-5 and in a tie for first place in the AFC East.

Pennington is the fifth-leading passer in the league with a rating of 93.7. He has thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is doing a great job taking care of the football. Pennington has been sacked 22 times and has fumbled twice. He has not lost a fumble this season. Compare that with J.T. O’Sullivan, who began the season as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. In 7½ games, O’Sullivan threw 11 interceptions and lost six of 11 fumbles, not including another fumble that resulted in a safety. So did the Jets gain anything when they discarded Pennington for Favre? The big-armed Favre has an 88.2 rating with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
“I’ve said time and time again that more games are lost in this league than are actually won based upon the turnover ratio and things like that,” Pennington said. Not surprisingly, Hill has long-admired Pennington’s style.

J.T. O’Sullivan won the 49ers’ starting job in training camp, as Hill’s strength is not his ability to get the ball down the field — a favored element in offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s scheme.
But after O’Sullivan’s turnovers continued to pile up, interim coach Mike Singletary made the call to Hill, who brings stability and good decision-making to the field. “He’s always been one of my favorite guys to watch,” Hill said of Pennington. “He’s always been kind of underappreciated and underestimated, and the guy just goes in and wins. “I just like his demeanor out there. Obviously, the guys play for him. He’s not the flashiest guy, that’s for sure. But he gets the job done and he gets it done really well. No matter what, it just seems like his teams are winning.”

So far, the same can be said of Hill.

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Rookies Are Reason To Tune In On Sunday

John Crumpacker, San Francisco Chronicle

For the record, Adrian Peterson enjoys the scene from the original "Rocky" movie when Sylvester Stallone calls out to Talia Shire, "Yo, Adrian!"The 49ers would like to amend that famous line to "Yo, Adrian, you're not going anywhere today," but of course words never stopped a running back from gaining yards, least of all one as talented as Peterson. While the 49ers' season has long been a lost cause, they can at least offer up the compelling match-up of Patrick Willis and Peterson on Sunday when they play the Minnesota Vikings at Candlestick: Their brilliant rookie against the Vikings' brilliant rookie. Patrick the Ubiquitous versus Adrian the Unassailable.

It's the perfect encounter. There's Willis, a linebacker who is seemingly everywhere on the field, trying to stop Peterson, a running back who covers more ground than anyone in the NFL. Willis leads the NFL in tackles with 128, while Peterson leads the league in rushing with 1,197 yards."They will meet," coach Mike Nolan said. "It's one of the more interesting challenges of the game. It'll be fun." Peterson seems to think so as well. In a conference call Wednesday he said, "He's one of the best linebackers in the league. I'm definitely looking forward to going against him. ... I definitely like his fearless style of play."

Willis, however, did not allow himself to get caught up in the "Me versus Him" aspect of Sunday's game even though it's an easy theme to get behind with two rookies leading the league in their respective categories. Willis said he has the "same motivation I had for the last 13 weeks - go out and be the very best I can be on game day. Every week a running back is the best running back to me because he's the one we face. I don't put any more into it than I did last week." The 49ers' defense had better put more into it than it did last week when the Carolina Panthers ground out 166 yards. DeAngelo Williams (82 yards) and DeShaun Foster (58) may be solid professionals, but they're not in Peterson's league as a pure runner.

At 6-foot-1 and 217 pounds, with Barry Sanders-like moves in a taller man's body, Peterson fairly defines what a running back should look like. Despite missing two games and a quarter of another with a knee injury, he still leads the league in rushing by more than 100 yards over Pittsburgh's Willie Parker. And his 6.5-yard average per carry is far and away the best figure in the NFL. With Peterson and the capable Chester Taylor (615 yards), the Vikings have the No. 1 rushing offense in the league at nearly 177 yards per game. San Francisco's run defense is 26th, which suggests Peterson will pad his league-leading total Sunday.

"It starts up front," defensive end Marques Douglas said. "We know the task is out there. They're the No. 1 rushing team. We have to swarm to the ball. We have to stop two explosive runners. Our job up front is to hold up the big guys (on the offensive line) so Patrick can run. When you look at the stats sheet and see a linebacker has 17, 18 tackles, you know you're doing your job." About those tackles of Willis, 18 against Arizona and 18 against Carolina, Peterson said, "He's a freak. ... That's not normal."

Willis and Peterson met while training at the API training center in Tempe, Ariz., prior to April's draft. The work there paid off for both young men as Peterson of Oklahoma went No. 7 in the first round to the Vikings while the 49ers summoned Willis of Mississippi at No. 11. They meet Sunday, an irresistible force (Peterson) trying to get away from an always-moving object(Willis)."He's fast for his position as a linebacker, but if you line us up, I think I can get him being a running back," Peterson said.

It's worth watching, that's for sure.

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Two Streaks Alive For Struggling Passing Game

Matt Maiocco, The Press Democrat

The 49ers head into Sunday's game against the Giants working on two streaks. These aren't any nuggets you'll find the 49ers touting to prospective season-ticket holders. Nonetheless, the streaks are quite astounding. The first streak began at the Meadowlands in 2004, the last time the 49ers traveled to New Jersey to face a "New York" team. On Oct. 10, 2004, Niners quarterback Tim Rattay (right, with "the great Dennis Erickson") completed 38 of 57 passes for 417 yards in a 31-28 overtime victory against the Cardinals. The next week, the 49ers played the New York Jets. It was Game 1 of a streak in which the 49ers have gone without having a 300-yard passer. That streak has now reached 48 consecutive games . . . or three complete seasons.

But this next streak is one that's even more difficult to fathom.

Anything less than 200 yards passing in an NFL game is pretty crummy, right? (This, by the way, is the first time I've ever written the word "crummy" in this blog, thus ending a streak of 400 consecutive crummyless posts.) Anyway, the 49ers are working on an amazing streak. The 49ers have not recorded more than 200 yards of net passing in 18 consecutive games. This is not a typo. They have gone 18 consecutive games without breaking past the 199-yard barrier.
Alex Smith threw for 293 yards in a Week 3 loss last season to the Eagles (with sacks, the 49ers had 269 net yards passing). Since then, the 49ers have failed to eclipse the 200-yard mark.

The 49ers' problems in the passing game did not start with offensive coordinator Jim Hostler. But nobody really noticed the team's troubles in this area last season with Norv Turner as coordinator because the run game was so good. Seven times last season during this streak, the 49ers ran for more yards than they passed. Moreover, in the victory over the Raiders, the running game accounted for 165 yards, same as the passing attack. The difference this season is that the running game has topped 100 yards just once in five games. And even that was window dressing. The 49ers rushed for 109 against Seattle, but 28 of those yards came on a second-and-20 draw play with no time remaining in the first half.

I asked Nolan yesterday if Smith needed to adopt more of a "gunslinger" mentality. But Nolan said a gunslinger is more of a personality trait than a playing style. "I wouldn't call Peyton Manning a gunslinger; he's an awfully good quarterback, as is Tom Brady. Neither one of them are slingers because they don't have that personality," Nolan said. "Now, Brett Favre, without question, is a gunslinger. John Elway was a gunslinger. Joe Montana? No. "I think that's a personality issue more than anything else. It doesn't make a guy good or not. Sometimes the scheme can help you do that, but if you try to make someone just 'chuck and duck' or gunslinger as you call it, every down, you can get a guy out of his strength. I think it has to do with whether a guy's a pocket guy, outside the pocket, three step, all those types of things."

Nolan said Smith has been too careful, at times. But he said the offense, as a whole, has been too careful. When asked about it yesterday, Smith agreed that the offense has been too tentative. He pointed to the final drive against the Cardinals as a time when the offense just went out, didn't think too much and just played football. It's questionable whether Smith will play Sunday against the Giants. When he returns, Smith has to be given enough slack to just go out there and wing it around a little bit.

The 49ers' season and his development as a quarterback depend on it.

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- Trent Dilfer, not Alex Smith, was the No. 1 quarterback in team drills yesterday. For the last week and a half, Smith had circled the Wednesday practice on his calendar. If he was able to practice that day, he would play against the Giants. Dilfer led practice. So afterward, Mike Nolan made the announcement - Dilfer will start against New York, a team he once beat in the Super Bowl. -

QB Dilfer Is Well-Rested, Ready To Start Sunday - Game Preview - Ravens/Niners

By Matthew Barrows - Sac Bee Staff Writer

At age 35, Trent Dilfer is one of the four oldest players on the 49ers' roster. But the 13-year veteran says he will start his first game in two seasons feeling like a 20-something again. "This is the best place I've been as far as in-season training," Dilfer said this week. "It doesn't kill you, but at the same time you feel like you're maintaining your strength or getting stronger throughout the year."As far as his health, Dilfer's low point came in 2002 when he was with Seattle. He suffered a knee sprain in the first quarter of the team's first exhibition game that cost him the rest of training camp. He then tore his Achilles' tendon in Week 7, an injury that lingered into 2003.

Dilfer compared his current health to that of 2001, when he started four games in place of Matt Hasselbeck and threw seven touchdown passes against four interceptions and had a 92 passer rating. He credited his freshness to 49ers coach Mike Nolan's practice of allowing the team's oldest players, such as Dilfer, Larry Allen, Bryant Young and Walt Harris, to skip a few practices here and there and to practice only once a day in training camp. "People kind of pooh-pooh at that, but that's huge," Dilfer said. "Because if Walt or B.Y. or myself, if we have to go twice during camp, it's not the hits, it's the pounding on your legs. The tendinitis and the aches and pains can become overwhelming." That's so Ravens. It has been 2 1/2 years since Marques Douglas arrived from the Baltimore Ravens. But the 49ers defensive end only recently has noticed a bit of Ravens swagger in San Francisco's defense.

"I wasn't disappointed," Douglas said of past versions of the 49ers' defense. "I just didn't know what direction we were going. I didn't know, like a lot of other guys, whether we were going to be a 3-4 team or a 4-3 team. I didn't know how I could be aggressive in a scheme in which I had to be so vanilla at times. That was the mind-boggling question, I guess." The new 3-4 scheme has allowed Douglas to be aggressive to the point where he has six so-called stuffs -- when a defender tackles a rusher behind the line of scrimmage -- more than any other defender in the league.

"You have guys that care now," he said. "You have guys that are passionate about making plays. We don't want to be the guy that lets the defense down."

- Look for a defensive struggle. This will be a very low scoring affair with the least mistakes made being the difference. Both defenses are equally talented, but the nod on offense has to go to Baltimore, particularily if Steve McNair plays. If Dilfer manages a good game and Gore can gain some ground, mistake free, smart football will give the Niners a shot at the win.-

Baltimore Ravens @ San Francisco 49ers

1:00 pm (PDT) on CBS

Check back here for post game analysis

Willis and Lewis Share A Number And A Passion

John Crumpacker, San Francisco Chronicle

They wear the same uniform number, 52, play the same position, middle linebacker, and play it well, but do not confuse the 49ers' Patrick Willis with the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis. The former is a rookie with four encouraging games to his credit, nothing more. The latter is in his 12th season and headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Fans of linebacker play will enjoy watching Sunday's game at Candlestick between these infrequent opponents.

Mike Nolan coached Lewis in Baltimore as the Ravens' defensive coordinator from 2002-04 and he made Willis the 49ers' No. 1 draft pick in April, so he's well qualified to discuss the disparate defensive stalwarts.

"I don't think there are any similarities other than their number," Nolan said Friday as the 49ers wrapped up preparations for the game. "Ray is very passionate. Patrick is passionate but Patrick's personality is different. Patrick's not as extroverted." Lewis fairly defines extroverted for the way he demands, and gets, attention. As for Willis... "Quiet but deadly," the rookie said. "Boom! That's just me." Through four games, Willis leads the 49ers in solo tackles (29), assisted tackles (nine) and total tackles (38, tied for third in the NFL). Basically, if it moves, Willis tackles it. He also has one forced fumble and two passes defended. For the Ravens, Lewis has 29 total tackles, 21 solo and eight assisted, to go with one interception and a pass defensed. "I like his enthusiasm, his heart," Willis said of Lewis. "I think our personalities are different, but the love we have for the game, we both have dreams to be the best and want to do everything to help our teams win."

Willis scored points on the respect-o-meter when, talking about the comparisons between him and Lewis, "I've done nothing yet. I haven't won no MVP, I haven't won a Super Bowl. The style we have, the knack for the ball, that's where the comparisons come in. We both have chances to be around the ball." Willis said he has not had a chance to meet Lewis yet but the opportunity could come after the game as players from both sides exchange greetings before heading into their locker rooms.

"When the game's over, I want his offensive line to say, 'That guy really plays. He reminds us of you,' " Lewis said.

2-0 49ers Visit The 2-0 Steelers - Gut Check Time

We get our first real look at what the 49ers are actually made of , at least offensively, as San Francisco faces its first AFC opponent tomorrow when they travel for the second week in a row, this time to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. After more than a decade under Bill Cowher, the Steelers seem to have adjusted quickly to Mike Tomlin’s leadership with two decisive victories over the Browns and Bills. In the back-to-back wins Pittsburgh has outscored their opponents 60-10. The Steelers secondary led by Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu has been downright stingy, giving up 148 yards passing per game, good for third best in the NFL. Cornerbacks Deshea Townsend and Ike Taylor have both notched an interception each on the season, as well as showing up in run support. Free safety Ryan Clark is the team’s starter but the Steelers have been rotating Anthony Smith in at that position much like the 49ers did last season with Mark Roman and Tony Parrish. In defending the run, the Steelers have allowed only 74 average yards per game with 11-year veteran James Farrior leading the team in tackles, as he’s done for the last three out of four seasons.

Offensively, the Steelers have steamrolled their opponents, ranking 2nd in rushing with an average of 195 yards per game. Willie Parker made his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and has been the team’s workhorse the last two weeks with a 109 and a 126-yard performance. Parker runs behind a well-oiled offensive line. The team picked up a new center in Sean Mahan from the Bucs and then benched Max Starks in favor of second-year right tackle Willie Colon. The two new starters join an experienced bunch in left tackle Marvel Smith, Pro Bowl left guard Alan Faneca, and right guard Kendall Simmons. The group is well-versed in facing a 3-4 defense, meaning the 49ers front seven will have their work cut out for them in preventing the run and in getting to the quarterback. The 49ers defense totaled six sacks on Marc Bulger last week, but the Steelers have allowed only two sacks for a total loss of 8 yards so far this season.

Roethlisberger threw for only 161 yards against Cleveland but enjoyed a QB Rating of 114.3 with four touchdowns and zero picks. He put up 242 yards through the air against Buffalo, with one touchdown and one interception while spreading the ball to nine different targets. His primary targets at receiver are still Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes, with Holmes more of the deep threat, but the Steelers have also come out in several two tight end sets. Heath Miller leads the tight end group with 6 catches for 69 yards and a touchdown, but rookie Matt Spaeth has also come up big with 3 catches for 15 yards including two touchdown catches in the red zone.

For the Niners to win this game, two things are clear. The defense must continue to play the same outstanding bend but don't break style that it has been thus far, and the offense can't just be spectators in this one. Frank Gore needs to have a solid game on the ground, which requires better blocking up front. If they do get better blocking, it will allow Alex Smith to finally participate in this offense and throw the dam ball!! I expect this game to be a year's snap shot of what you can hope to base your season's expectations of the 49ers. Playing on the road, 2-0, against the Super Bowl Champion from 2 years ago, we will see what every part of the team is capable of. Will we see another nail-biter, hang on til the end, hope we outlast our bonehead mistakes game? Not a chance. If they want to win this one, they will have to step up and have the offense finally join the defense in execution level. In our poll this week, approx 60% of those voting are looking for the Niners to squeak out another one. Wishful thinking, or realistic expectation? Gut check time boys. We'll see.

Check back here for postgame analysis, news and notes!

Game - 10 am (PDT) on Fox

Week 2 - 49ers @ The St. Louis Rams - "Trackmeet" or "Smashmouth"?

The Rams will be facing a rejuvenated Niners defense that shut down Arizona on Monday. San Francisco allowed an NFL-worst 412 points last season, but limited the Cardinals to just 261 yards.

"They did some great things against an explosive offense with some very good players," said coach Mike Nolan, who allowed rookie defensive coordinator Greg Manusky to call all the defensive formations. "You just have to be pleased."

Neither team lit up the scoreboard in Week 1, but San Fran did enough on their final drive of the game to beat Arizona 20-17 on Monday night. Picked by many to be the surprise team of the season, San Francisco struggled to move the ball before Alex Smith led the team on a 12-play, 86-yard drive that culminated with Arnaz Battle's one-yard touchdown on a reverse with 22 seconds remaining.

Frank Gore had 55 yards rushing and a touchdown in his first action since breaking his right hand in the preseason, but admitted he was rusty. Gore said Friday he is dedicating the season to his mother, Liz, whose long battle with kidney disease ended Wednesday. He practiced Friday and said he would play against the Rams on Sunday. After all, that's what his mom would have wanted.

The 49ers will be looking for a better game from Gore, who was second to Jackson in the NFC in 2006 with 2,180 yards from scrimmage. Gore has four touchdowns in his last three games against St. Louis and rushed for 261 yards in two meetings last season. The Niners, who went 3-5 on the road last season, plays at Pittsburgh next week, then faces four straight 2006 playoff teams, so a good showing and a win would be a great boost heading into "Steeltown".

If the defense can contain the Rams vaunted offense and help with field position, Smith and company can have an easier time moving the ball. However, they have to get off to a good start and play mistake free football. If they have to play catch-up, it could be a long day.

Showtime - MNF - Cards vs. Niners @ Bill Walsh Field

If the Niners intend to make some movement in the NFC West, the time is now, tonight at home, against a division rival they haven't beaten for the last two seasons. Coach Mike Nolan has improved the club to the point where excuses are diminishing. On the flip side, there is now some pressure to succeed.

The offensive line returns four of five starters, with Joe Staley, a rookie first-round draft pick added to the line. Frank Gore is coming off a 1,695-yard rushing season and is dreaming of 2,000. Newcomer Darrell Jackson is a proven wide receiver and Ashley Lelie is hoping to prove he's back to form. On defense, Nolan brought in four free agents to be starters and used his No. 1 draft pick on a linebacker, Patrick Willis, who will start thanks to a great showing in training camp.

Alex Smith is the biggest unknown. Can he still be considered a developing quarterback with 23 starts to his credit? Is he ready to seize this team as his own and lead it to the playoffs, as is the stated goal of everyone involved with the 49ers? He is only 23, after all. After little more than a half of action in the third preseason game and a quarter in the fourth, the 49ers' starters want to put four quarters together and see what happens, on offense in particular. Gore did not play in the preseason because of his broken hand but he's fine now and, at least at the start of the season, he's the man to watch. New offensive coordinator Jim Hostler will be calling his first NFL regular-season game, without benefit of great vision. He'll be on the sideline, his preferred location, eyeball-to-eyeball with Smith, instead of above it all in the coaches' box.

On defense, new coordinator Greg Manusky also will be calling his first game. He'll be in the box, where he can see his 3-4 front deal with a Cardinals offense that features Matt Leinart throwing to one of the best trios in the league in Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson.

The 49ers were the last team to open training camp. They and the Cardinals are the last teams to start the 2007 season. For the 49ers, it's time to show the results of their changes.

7 pm (PDT) on ESPN

Check back here, after the game for all the stats and postgame analysis. Go Niners!

Dress Rehersal Is Over. Are You Ready For Some Football?

Alex Smith and coach Mike Nolan believe they finally have enough talent to regain respectability - even making a playoff run. From Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore to the back of a surprisingly deep defense, the 49ers believe they'll raise their game and rejoin the serious competition in the NFC West. The Niners went 7-9 last season, with highs including Gore's franchise-record 1,695 yards rushing and two wins over defending conference champion Seattle. The miserable lows were just as telling, from their NFL-worst 412 points allowed to their December home losses to Green Bay and Arizona.

Yet simply achieving mediocrity was always a step in the plan for Nolan, who knew he was nearly starting from scratch in early 2005 after years of mismanagement under former general manager Terry Donahue. Nolan's decisions with personnel chief Scot McCloughan have been mostly solid. They made their most dramatic moves last March, signing Clements and Lewis to big-money free agent contracts to solidify a secondary that was barely competent when they arrived.

Clements, who got an eight-year, $80 million deal to leave Buffalo, wasn't scared off by the 49ers' losing ways when he decided to change coasts.Yet with so much change, there's still an unsettled mood around the 49ers. Nolan had to replace all three top assistants in the offseason after firing defensive coordinator Billy Davis and losing offensive coordinator Norv Turner to the Chargers.

Smith and his offensive teammates say little has changed schematically with the promotion of quarterbacks coach Jim Hostler. But Nolan and new defensive coordinator Greg Manusky have installed a true 3-4 defense, even though it's built around a defensive line that hasn't yet played together.

New nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin still hasn't suited up for San Francisco after a training camp injury, and 14th-year defensive end Bryant Young got his first preseason action Thursday at San Diego after missing most of camp with a sore back.Former Seahawks star Jackson, tight end Davis and a invigorated bunch of receivers should make life easier for Smith, who struggled with one of the NFL's worst groups of pass-catchers in his first two years.

And Gore should be ready for the opener against Arizona after missing the preseason with a broken hand. The Pro Bowl running back's eagerness to get back into practice was gratifying to Nolan, who took a chance on the oft-injured runner in the third round of his first draft. Nolan knows the third season of any NFL project is usually evaluation time, so both the team and Smith are up for their first serious grades in his tenure. Ever since he agreed to coach the team his father led for eight seasons, Nolan has kept his players focused on winning the division title and building from that benchmark.

Gore Along With Team To San Diego - As A Fan

Running back Frank Gore made the trip to San Diego but he will not suit up for the game. He made the trip with his LaDainian Tomlinson jersey, which he planned to get autographed. Gore, not a bad running back in his own right, has great respect for Tomlinson. He watches film of Tomlinson, and has also tried to watch and learn from Tomlinson giving media interviews.
Neither Gore nor Tomlinson saw action during the exhibition season. Gore missed the four-game tuneup schedule with a broken right hand, while Tomlinson was simply rested. Tomlinson has not played an exhibition game since 2005. Even then, he carried just once -- and it went for a 55-yard touchdown.

The following 49ers players did not make the trip because of injuries: cornerback Donald Strickland (lung contusion), safeties Vickiel Vaughn (shoulder) and Dashon Goldson (elbow), tight end Billy Bajema (ankle), receiver Darrell Jackson (hamstring) and defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin (knee). Guard Larry Allen did not make the trip. Coach Mike Nolan decided Allen could stay home and rest.

Receiver Taylor Jacobs will start for Jackson; Adam Snyder starts at left guard for Allen; Maurice Hicks starts in place of Gore; and Isaac Sopoaga makes his fourth start of the exhibition season at nose tackle in place of Franklin.

Check back for post game analysis on tonight's game.

First Real Test For Smith & Co. Tonight vs Bears

This is the game, tonight in Chicago, in which the 49ers will see how they measure up to the NFC champion Bears ... in the first half and the start of the third quarter, that is. The Bears are expected to play their starters about the same amount, so for a half at least, the 49ers will get a gauge not only on progress made in training camp but on their ability to match up to a team that whipped them 41-10 in October and went on to play in the Super Bowl.It's a particularly good test for San Francisco's offense. With quarterback Rex Grossman continuing to show vexing inconsistency in Chicago, the Bears have to rely on their defense, and they do.

Chicago had the No. 5-ranked defense in the NFL in 2006, bolstered by the best corps of linebackers in the league in Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer. Add to that opportunistic defensive backs Nathan Vasher and Mike Brown and the return from injury of defensive tackle Tommie Harris and the Bears are formidable on that side of the ball. The 49ers prepared for the Bears this week as if it were a regular-season game. Meeting times and practice schedules were the same as for a game that counts in the standings. This is as real as it gets in the unreality of the preseason. Coach Mike Nolan said his starters, both on offense and defense, will play the entire first half and the first drives of the second half, then give way to the backups and the backups to the backups.

First-round draft pick Joe Staley will alternate with Harris at right tackle in what has to be his best chance to show the coaches he deserves to start at the position. He's looked proficient in training camp in the one aspect of the job that Harris struggles with, pass protection. At right guard, David Baas will play with the first unit on the third and sixth series. Starter Justin Smiley seems much more secure in his job than Harris is with his. Robinson and Maurice Hicks will alternate through the first half and into the third quarter in place of Gore. Defensive tackle Bryant Young will also miss his third preseason game as he takes care of a bulging disk in his back.

After this game, the 49ers will have three days to prepare for the most meaningless of all preseason games, the last one. The team will play in San Diego largely with reserves, as will the Chargers. It should prove to be a great battle of future delivery, maintainance and fast-food professionals. Once that waste of time is over, the 49ers will have 10 days before the real football begins. The first half tonight in Chicago will reveal how the 49ers compare to one of the best teams in the league.

In the Bay Area, available on Channel 5 tonight @ 5 pm (PDT)

Elsewhere,
Re-airing on NFL Network ... Sunday, August 26th @ 8 pm (PDT)

Defense Must Look Better Against The Bears

From what we have seen of the defense- the supposedly much improved defense, it's hard to judge if they will be better than the squad that gave up a league worst 412 points last year.

There hasn't been much time to check out the starters - mostly thanks to opposing teams' offenses being pulled after jobs well done - but the little amount they have played has been disappointing. Walt Harris (right, with ball), Patrick Willis, Nate Clements and the rest of the "improved on paper" defenders need to show what they are really capable of.

After Jay Cutler & Co. marched down the field for an easy score when Denver visited San Francisco, fans probably weren't too worried. It was the first series of the opening preseason game and the guys just needed to wake up and smell the pigskin. On Saturday, however, the lowly Oakland Raiders were at Bill Walsh Field and the 49ers' defense still couldn't hold it together. The unit came out solid, holding the Raiders to a total of 3 net yards on their first three drives, but that was with struggling young quarterback Andrew Walter at the helm.

Excuses that the 49ers' starting defensive line was out are valid, but that is already a position of weakness, with or without the first-stringers. The media and fans like to talk about the depth at linebacker, but in the second quarter they bit hard on the play action and couldn't chase down Culpepper despite his bum knee. The secondary just played too soft, which made for easy completions. The defense made Walter and Culpepper look like tremendous. Why all the fuss over JaMarcus Russell? Lane Kiffin can just go with his world-beating tandem and head to the playoffs. At least that's how the 49ers made it appear.

The big test will be this Saturday against the defending NFC champion Bears at Soldier Field. This will be the true barometer for the Niners on both sides of the ball, including on offense which will have Alex Smith leading the troops against Brian Urlacher and the superb Bears "D". But the defense will have to look better against the Bears offense, which may not be the best in the league, but hey, it was good enough to get them to the Super Bowl last year.

If Rex Grossman looks like Jim McMahon in Chicago next week, it's time for 49er fans to worry. The preseason doesn't matter, but the starters have to show they can stop guys for more than a quarter.

Walter, Culpepper and Grossman are hardly a Murderers' Row of QBs. Think of the names that the 49ers will face in the NFC west alone: Marc Bulger, Matt Hasselbeck and Matt Leinart. Those guys are scary. It is only preseason and things might turn around in a hurry, but if Mike Nolan's defense does not start showing it can simply hold its own, all the heralded offseason moves will not translate into wins.

"Battle of The Bay Area" Tonight @ Candlestick

Darnell Bing spent last season with the Oakland Raiders before joining the 49ers just in time for training camp, so the second-year safety has intimate knowledge of both shores in San Francisco Bay's less-than-fierce NFL rivalry. And though the 49ers seem significantly ahead of the Raiders in their efforts to regain respectability, Bing actually sees few differences in the training camp approaches of the two teams meeting in Saturday's annual preseason Battle of the Bay.

San Francisco coach Mike Nolan has stressed communication and a large degree of openness -- by NFL standards, anyway -- during his three seasons. The 49ers show it in everything from their public camp practices to Nolan's decision to keep his assistant coaches constantly available to reporters, unlike many clubs. The Raiders don't open their practices in Napa, and Bing (below, with USC)-- who spent his rookie season on injured reserve -- is still waiting to hear why Oakland released him shortly before its first training camp under new coach Lane Kiffin. Bing spent three years at USC while Kiffin was an offensive assistant. Bing got a little more attention from Kiffin during the offseason when he convinced the Raiders to move him back to safety after attempting to use him at linebacker last season. He thought the transition was going fine until he got his pink slip, and now he's hoping to catch on in San Francisco as Michael Lewis' backup.

The annual meeting allows the NFL neighbors to test each other on the field, even if they don't socialize much during the season. Nolan still hasn't met Kiffin, the Raiders' precocious new coach. Kiffin returned to camp this week after missing two days with a viral infection. He has plenty of work to do, particularly in choosing a starting quarterback to run an offense that reached historic depths last season. Andrew Walter, who struggled along with his teammates last season, gets his turn for a preseason start at Candlestick, to be followed by Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown. With No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell still unsigned, any of the three quarterbacks in camp could emerge as the starter, and all three were fairly solid in last week's exhibition opener against Arizona.

Other offensive positions also need plenty of work. Running back Dominic Rhodes will start, but LaMont Jordan will play as much as possible after missing last week's game with a sore back.
"He needs a lot of work, especially in these next two games," Kiffin said of Jordan. "He needs to see this zone (blocking) system. This is not something he's used to. He's got to see what he can't see in practice, to see ... how the holes open up." Nolan's offensive starters will get 24 plays, and he plans to let them work into the second quarter after getting just two series in Monday's 17-13 loss to Denver. The 49ers will remain delicate with their defensive veterans, holding three projected starters out of the lineup with minor injuries: Defensive end Bryant Young, Pro Bowl cornerback Walt Harris and nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin.

The 49ers hope to fill every seat at Candlestick with an influx of Raiders fans, yet that's not always certain in the laid-back Bay Area. In San Francisco's 34-20 regular-season victory over woeful Oakland last October, there still were obvious patches of empty seats.

In the Bay Area, available on CBS channel 5.
Elsewhere,

Re-airing on NFL Network ...

Raiders at 49ers Tue., 12:30 p.m. ET

Eight Months Later, Same Foe, New Season

Eight months and change after each team last played, ironically against each other, the Broncos and the 49ers finally get to play their own opener tonight. When they finally get to Candlestick Park, the Broncos will have the chance for a measure of empty, superficial revenge against the team that kept them out of the playoffs last season. San Francisco finished its fourth straight losing season with an improbable 26-23 overtime victory in Denver on New Year's Eve.

The 49ers' first-team offense will be in the game for 15 plays or the entire first quarter, whichever comes first. Alex Smith and new receivers Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie - who left Denver one year ago after a bitter holdout - will debut without NFC rushing champion Frank Gore, who will miss the Niners' first three exhibition games with a broken hand.With San Francisco's starting lineup already mostly set, the most intriguing audition could be for the job as Gore's top backup. Michael Robinson, the former Penn State quarterback, is battling veteran Maurice Hicks for what might be only one roster spot behind the workhorse Pro Bowl starter.

Denver has its own injury problems at receiver and along the offensive line, but Shanahan isn't worried about the top end of his roster, particularly this early in camp.

Coaches and veterans caught up in the minor position skirmishes that dominate the preseason sometimes forget one of the most important parts of August: The chance for rookies and first-year players to wear NFL uniforms for the first time.That moment hasn't been lost on 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, the 11th overall pick. The Mississippi product invited his guardians out to San Francisco for his debut under the lights at Candlestick, where he'll see time with the first-team defense and plenty of additional snaps with the backups.

The 49ers will hold a moment of silence before the game for Bill Walsh, their Hall of Fame coach who died July 30 of leukemia. Shanahan is among the most successful coaching heirs to Walsh's legacy, winning two Super Bowls and establishing a consistent winner over his 13 seasons in Denver.

5 pm pacific on ESPN.