Five 49ers Observations and Week 8 Power Poll

You'll forgive me if I don't give you some fancy preamble and we just jump right to it. Here are five 49ers thoughts that have been rattling in my brain for a couple weeks, in no order of importance.

1. Okay, I get it with Mike Iupati now. I admit I was a bit rough on the big lug during the off-season, during the preseason and even the first couple weeks of the regular season (he was poor during the Dallas game). However, the light seems to have turned on for him in a major way and he's been an absolute bulldozer of late. When they run left, they run right behind him. When they run right, it's with him pulling. Iupati is freakishly athletic for his size and can really move well in tight spaces. He's missing far fewer blocks than last year and not getting confused as much in the pass game on twists and stunts. He's not lunging at people anymore and playing with his feet under him. Coaches are fond of saying that players improve the most between year one and two and while NaVorro Bowman has been the best example of it, Iupati and Anthony Davis aren't far behind. Kudos to Trent Baalke.

2. Harbaugh is killing Frank Gore. 31 carries against dilapidated Cleveland? Gore's averaging 20 carries per game and has had at least 17 touches in every contest. That's too many and he won't be able to sustain it for a full season. You've got a good backup in Kendall Hunter, who brings his own ingredients to the table. Only giving him three touches to Gore's 31 is inexcusable.

3. While we're on that theme, Harbaugh is riding all of his starters too much. Seriously, outside of the sixth and seventh offensive linemen and the tight ends, what backups on this team ever see the field outside of special teams? Kyle Williams and Anthony Dixon never play and Ted Ginn is there purely for show as a third receiver. The young defensive linemen never play, nor do the linebackers. There are eight guys on defense -- Ray McDonald, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Ahmad Brooks, Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown and Dashon Goldson -- who basically play every snap. It's asking too much of them. Would it kill Harbaugh to give a guy like Larry Grant an odd series here or there to give Bowman or Willis a blow? Can't Aldon Smith relieve Brooks every once in a while instead of always coming in for Parys Haralson? The 49ers have good depth in some spots and they're not using it and as a consequence these guys will be worn down to a nub by December.

4. As well as they've played, I don't think the 49ers are using their best 11 on defense. And no, I'm not talking about Aldon Smith being a nickel rusher stuck behind Haralson. No, I mean Brown. How good has he been, honestly? When teams complete any pass of consequence to a wideout, more often than not it's been his man. He let a dink-and-dunk passer with a noodle arm get the better of him in the fourth quarter last Sunday. He doesn't have a single pick in seven games. Isn't it about time that Shawntae Spencer is let out of the dog house? He's been persona non grata on this team for the crime of being injured and it's a shame he's still buried behind Brown even though he's healthy. Spencer is bigger, more physical, and has more experience. He deserves a shot.

5. I don't understand why Moran Norris is still on the roster. Rookie Bruce Miller has shown he's the better receiver, the better special teams player, and, of late, the better blocker too. You've no doubt noticed how Gore and the running game has taken off with Miller starting. He's faster and more athletic than Norris and able to get to his targets both at the line of scrimmage and the second level, easier. Isaac Sopoaga has found a niche as a short-yardage fullback. What exactly is Norris needed for? The 49ers dressed their 46 best players last week (not counting Joshua Morgan or Nate Byham, who are on IR) and presumably will continue to do so. At whose expense would Norris be activated? No one I can think of. Most teams don't have the luxury of having two fullbacks on the 53-man roster. You'd think Norris' roster spot could be used on a more useful player, such as a veteran receiver or a backup outside linebacker. Is Norris around simply to sate his friend Gore?

Debate these topics amongst yourselves, or seek me out on Twitter. If the comments section on this here blog isn't working for you, you can always drop me a line at michael.erler1@gmail.com.

Week 8 Power Poll

1. Green Bay (7-0): What I found out during the Packers bye week is that apparently Greg Jennings was the MVP of my fantasy team. Green Bay may still be undefeated, but sadly the Roster Marginalia no longer are. Also, I should've played Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brent Celek last week over Drew Brees and Vernon Davis. Packers go on the road to San Diego to take on a grouchy Chargers team on short rest, though I don't think it's gonna be too hostile of an environment for them. Not only will the stands be filled with 40 percent bandwagon Packers fans, but there's more eye candy at Chargers games than anywhere.

2. Pittsburgh (6-2): So much for the Super Bowl loser jinx. Steelers are red hot, Ben Roethlisberger is playing out of his mind and the defense seems to be improving by the week, regardless of who's healthy. Amazingly, they're doing it without much of a running game, dependable offensive tackles or elite corners. Nothing makes sense about this team. Hard to see them not winning the AFC North if they can take care of the Ravens on Monday night, and they owe 'em one after Baltimore spanked 'em 35-7 on opening day, including a late two-point conversion for no reason.

3. New York Giants (5-2): I'm not gonna punish them for needing 3.5 quarters to get the better of the Dolphins. Miami is a tough team to get up for. The Giants have injury issues at running back and receiver, and their schedule is just about to get ridiculous, starting with this week's Super Bowl rematch at New England. However, if Eli Manning continues his strong play and that defensive line keeps pressuring opposing QBs, I don't think the Giants will have the free-fall that most people are expecting.

4. San Francisco (6-1): Huzzah! A season-high place for your Niners on the power poll, and fully deserved thanks to that ferocious front four. A bit of warning though, nothing they do on Sunday at Washington is likely to inspire me to move them any higher, as that is one dilapidated team they're on Sunday. If your local gridironers can get through the Jints to get to 8-1, we'll talk. Also, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to see Mr. Smith mix in another 200-yard passing day, just to remember what it looks like.

5. Detroit (6-2): Now that they've finished scraping the Tebow off their shoes, the Lions get a well-deserved bye before their return engagement with the Bears -- this time in Chicago -- next week. Matthew Stafford had his best game in weeks and now he'll have some time to get his ankle healthy.I must say I wasn't a fan of them making fun of Terrible Tim's praying and all the trash they blabbed to Mike Silver after the game. What's the point? Beating the guy isn't enough, you gotta humiliate him too? It's like I always say: Teams take on the personality of their coach. The Lions may be fun to watch, but they seem to be a bunch of jerks.

6. Baltimore (5-2): Yes, I'm aware that they nearly lost to Jacksonville and Arizona in back-to-back weeks. Here's my excuse: I like their defense (which wasn't really responsible for too many of those 27 points allowed against the Cards), I like Ray Rice, I like their wide outs, and they haven't lost to the any of the other playoff hopefuls I have below them. I'm aware Joe Flacco hasn't set the world on fire, believe me. The situation is being monitored. He gets another shot in his personal house of horrors at Heinz Field on Monday night.

7. New England (5-2): Oofa. A five place fall for losing to the team right below them in the rankings on the road. Too harsh? Probably. However, what exactly do the Pats have going for them besides Tom Brady and his two tight ends? They have no running game, no speed at receiver and a skeleton crew on defense. If Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks play I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Giants win over there. This is a flawed team, my friends.

8. New York Jets (4-3): Similar to the Ravens in almost every conceivable way, except for that whole "having a running game" thing, though Shonn Greene did have a nice day against the Chargers before the bye week. Real interesting match-up they've got coming up at Buffalo Sunday morning. I'm sure the Bills will just be thrilled if Aaron Maybin puts Fitzpatrick on the turf a couple times.

9. Houston (5-3): It's hard to gauge how good their defense is without Mario Williams when all they've done of late is beat up on the popgun offenses of their AFC South rivals, but the Texans are avoiding the trap game pratfalls that have plagued them in years past. In many ways they're similar to the Niners. They very well could finish 12-4 with their soft schedule and be underdogs in their first playoff game. Arian Foster and his mates will get the Brownies to chew on this Sunday.

10. Cincinnati (5-2): Sure the Seahawks aren't very good. Still, winning convincingly at Seattle is no mean feat, especially for a rookie quarterback. The Bengals seem to get a big return on defense or special teams every week and I was impressed how they took care of business even without Cedric Benson, who was suspended. Sneakybig game coming up Sunday afternoon at Tennessee, who are a quiet 4-3 themselves.

11. Buffalo (5-2): They came into their game against the Redskins with a league-low four sacks in six games and then slammed poor John Beck nine ten times into whatever playing surface they've got over there in Toronto. All available evidence points to this being an indictment of Washington, but heaven help us if the Bills actually found themselves a pass rush. We'll know more Sunday against the Jets.

12. Philadelphia (3-4): A six-spot jump for beating a 3-3 team at home? I'll be honest, if you guaranteed me that Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy will stay healthy the whole year, I'd have the Eagles in the top five. And before you condemn me, Steve Mariucci said on NFL Network that he'd have them No. 2 behind the Packers. You don't think he's full of beans, do you? What's that, you do? I see. Well at the risk of jinxing them, the Iggles certainly look like they've gotten some of their issues resolved over the bye week. Another prime time home game against an unlikeable quarterback awaits, this time a Monday nighter against Jay Cutler and the Bears.

13. New Orleans (4-3): Down they drop, from 4 to 13. No mercy for an outfit who've declared to the world that they intend to be world-beaters at home and absolute rubbish on the road. What happened to this offensive line? It seems as if Brees is even a little off kilter the whole operation goes poof. The defense is not built to hang around either. You have to give them either a 14 point lead or things get ugly. Now they get to defend their turf against the Bucs.

14. Chicago (4-3): Do I feel rotten for dropping them four spots for the crime of having a bye week? No, not really. I honestly feel the 13 teams in front would all beat them on a neutral field. However, it would be just like the football gods to punish me with an upset in Philly at the hands of this loathsome bunch.

15. Tampa Bay (4-3): For their sake I hope LeGarrette Blount is healthy now and good to go because one could easily argue that his backup, Earnest Graham, was the team MVP through the first seven games. Too much is on Josh Freeman's shoulders and he needs some relief. Things could get worse before they improve at New Orleans. The Saints will be in a rotten mood and eager to avenge a loss to these same Bucs a couple weeks back.

16. Atlanta (4-3): And here's our last team on the positive side of the ledger. Did you miss the Falcons on their bye week? Me neither. They're gonna get Julio Jones back this week, though in his absence Atlanta discovered they're better off being a run-first team with Michael Turner anyhow. Regardless of what they call, the Colts figure to give them little trouble.

17. Kansas City (4-3): Somehow, someway, they've won four in a row, despite losing Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry. The Chiefs are way below the radar, but have some dangerous receiving threats in Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston, and now Jonathan Baldwin. Streak should hit five with Dolphins up next.

18. San Diego (4-3): Pretty hard to pin Monday night's loss on Norval. We keep waiting for Philip Rivers to snap out of his funk, but he continues to be a turnover machine week after week. Me? I blame Takeo Spikes, who dooms every team he's on to an early vacation. Maybe playing the Pack this week will be good for them. After blowing games everyone expected them to win, why not play somebody where no one expects anything of you?

19. Dallas (3-4): We think of Cowboys-Eagles as a big rivalry, but I swear it seems like once every two or three seasons Dallas goes over there and flat out mails in a game where they just don't give a damn. Once the Eagles scored on their first possession it felt like the Cowboys knew they had no shot. Tony Romo hardly ever threw to Dez Bryant and Miles Austin, choosing to repeatedly target Laurent Robinson instead. I guess they were just steeling themselves for their stretch of patsies, starting with this Sunday against Seattle.

20. Tennessee (4-3): The last two times they played somebody good, they got flattened. Their running back situation is deplorable. Their best receiver is someone named Damian Williams. And yet I can't rank them any lower. They have to beat the Bengals at home if we're to take them seriously.

21. Oakland (4-3): On one hand I don't see a bright future for them at all with Carson Palmer under center. That was a disastrous trade, in my opinion. On the other hand, you'd think they'd beat Tebow at home.

22. Minnesota (2-6): It blows my mind that their record is as bad as it is. They're in the wrong division for sure. Put them in the NFC West or AFC South and they'd do some damage. Also, give them a decent coach. There's signs of life with this team because, surprisingly, Christian Ponder isn't terrible. Another game with the Packers, this time in Green Bay, awaits them after the bye.

23. Carolina (2-6): Great running backs, good receivers, good tight ends, awesome QB... How do they keep losing games? One of these weeks I should probably watch them play and get to the bottom of this. But not this week, because they're off.

24. Cleveland (3-4): They're beat up to hell, but that secondary keeps them in games. Also, Colt McCoy wasn't as bad as I thought he'd be when I saw him up close. Somebody needs to get that boy some receivers. We'll see if they have any more success stopping Arian Foster than they did Frank Gore.

**THE DREGS**

25. Jacksonville (2-6): They still have a defense and Maurice Jones-Drew, whom am I traded for in fantasy, so bully for them. Enjoy that bye week, fella. Time to work after that.

26. Seattle (2-5): They out-gained the Bengals by a bunch but still lost at home, which is pretty sad. Their quarterback situation is even sadder. I'm not expecting much from them at Dallas.

27. Washington (3-4): Just beat up to hell, and they gave Mike Shanahan the first shutout of his coaching career. That guy lied to us today about something related to Carlos Rogers, so screw him. I hope the Niners beat the hell out of them, and I'm not even a fan.

28. St. Louis (1-6): That's kinda sorta how I pictured their defensive line playing the whole year. Where's it been? Kind of ironic how A.J. Feeley might have saved Sam Bradford from Andrew Luck hysteria.

29. Arizona (1-6): I think maybe Kevin Kolb isn't looking too good you guys. Getting sacked six times in 27 drop backs doesn't help either. Now he gets to face that Rams D-line.

30. Miami (0-7): Best 0-7 team ever? Best 0-7 team ever. I'm sure the owner will treat the team to some fine KC barbecue on Saturday afternoon. And then again at night. And then have some catered in the locker room before the game. Eat up, fellas.

31. Indianapolis (0-8): It's like I was telling Grant Cohn the other day, "Man, once teams get some film on Curtis Painter, it's gonna be hard for him to keep up his slightly-below-average play." Cohn just laughed like he understood what the hell I was talking about and went back to talking about rap with Sam Lam.

32. Denver (2-5): Tebowmania! Hey, I admit Tebow didn't look good against the Lions, but YOU try playing quarterback with a Skip Bayless fastened tightly around your winky.

Winners and Losers from Sunday; Injury Updates; 49ers Statistical Rankings

So, what are we to take from the 49ers loss to the Cowboys? Are they the team that broke Tony Romo's ribs or the one that just sacked him once while getting eviscerated to the tune of 427 passing yards? Are they the offense that had Dallas totally flummoxed on third down, converting 8-of-10 first half opportunities despite being without their top two receivers; or the one that got sacked six times and shutout in third down conversions in the second half and overtime?

Most of all, are they the outfit that got out-gained 472 yards to 206 by a Dallas team that was missing Dez Bryant, Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick and who had Romo, and his top three skill players all get banged up during the game; or the ones who were one play away from winning the game on two separate occasions? Indeed all the 49ers needed was a stop on 4th-and-5 or for for Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey, who hooked a 21-yard attempt in the first quarter, to do so again with a 48-yarder at the gun. Instead, the S.O.B hit one so down the middle that it would've been good in the Arena League.

Bill Parcells was fond of saying "You are what your record says you are," but with all due respect to that miserable bastard, there are games where a loss is a win and and games where a win is a loss. Then there are those wins that count double and losses that crush whole seasons. So with that, here are the winners and losers to take away from the 27-24 overtime loss:

Winners:

StubHub: First and foremost. They must have made a killing with their service charges and hidden fees and whatnot, accommodating all those Cowboys fans. Good lord, I was half expecting to see 10-gallon hats and bolo ties in the press box.

Jim Harbaugh: For one half darn near every play he dialed up was working. They were picking up all of Dallas blitzes, and Smith was finding guys open on out routes and hitches and converting third downs. The game plan showed, definitively, that they were indeed "saving" some things for the Cowboys that they didn't use the week before against Seattle. As we go, I would expect the offense to open up more and more and for Harbaugh to find answers to how people are playing his guys.

Alex Smith: Was he as good as his stats suggest? Well, no. But he made a number of fine throws, including perfect touchdown strikes to Kyle Williams and Delanie Walker and even his improvised rollout bomb to Frank Gore looked to be on the money before Bradie James took an interference penalty to break it up. Also, he gets credit for having to make do without his starting receivers and for not fumbling on all those shots he took in the second half.

Kyle Williams: Yeah, the kid has just one pass thrown his way, but he made a great catch in the corner of the end zone and will likely see more playing time with Braylon Edwards out and Michael Crabtree limping around. I've said it before, he probably runs the best slant route on the team, and with his quickness and run-after-catch ability, Williams is the one guy who can burn blitzes by taking a short hot route a long way. We'll have to see if it comes into play.

Bruce Miller: The first two games couldn't have gone much better for him. The guy in front of him on the depth chart, Moran Norris, has been a tire fire thus far, and now he's injured. Miller will crack the lineup this Sunday.

Ray McDonald: Not a great game, but another sack and one other hit on Romo. Two games in, he's looked every bit the $4 million defensive end. Kudos.

NaVorro Bowman: Not only has he held up well against the run, but he was better in coverage than just about any 49er on Sunday. He broke up two passes and I can't remember any that he gave up. Would've liked to seen him blitz more though.

Carlos Rogers: He was beaten two or three times, but he got his hand (or his head) on quite a few as well. Everyone will remember the overtime play to Jesse Holley, but for three-and-a-half quarters Rogers played outstanding football.

Losers:

49ers fans: You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Yes, your stadium is an eyesore. Yes, the parking situation is an abomination. Yes, there was potential for crowd violence a la the preseason mess with Oakland. Still, your team isn't that bad and it's downright embarrassing that it turned into a Cowboys home game. The crowd was -- and this is conservative -- at least 55 percent in favor of Dallas. Perhaps it was a gigantic middle finger to ownership, who had gotten the message out in advance of the game that they wanted the stands to be "a sea of red." Maybe it was a way of telling the Yorks "We'll buy your gear and show up to your games when you get a legitimate stadium and some good players."

Or maybe everyone in California is broke and a buck is a buck.

Jim Harbaugh: Save for one nice play-call late in the third quarter where Smith found Walker matched up one-on-one by outside linebacker Anthony Spencer and took advantage, Harbaugh and Greg Roman couldn't draw up anything to bail the offense. Three times Smith rolled out or executed play-fakes where there was an unblocked rusher waiting to meet him, and any plan that calls for DeMarcus Ware to not be accounted for seems pretty stupid to me.

Too often the plays they were trying were too cute, the kind of calls designed to take advantage of over-aggressive, inexperienced front sevens. Dallas was aggressive, but they've got a lot of veterans there who know how to read tells and diagnose plays. I think a couple times the 49ers assumed that when the Cowboys had six or seven snarling guys at the line that at least two or three would drop back in coverage and the line would be able to zone up whoever rushed. Instead, Dallas just sent everyone and that left people who weren't blocked. If the Cowboys guessed correctly on who the hot route was, Smith didn't have time to look for a second option and he was toast.

Of course Harbaugh's biggest blunder was taking the field goal with 11:12 to go to push the score to 24-14 instead of accepting a 1st-and-ten at Dallas' 22-yard-line, but we covered that extensively on Monday.

Alex Smith: How much blame does he deserve for not adjusting the line to pick up some of those blitzes in the second half or for not audibling out of bad plays? It's hard to say because we don't know the extent of his responsibilities. Maybe he did change the protections and guys simply missed their assignments. What we can blame Smith for are two throws that came back-to-back in the third quarter. On the interception he thought Davis was running a button hook. Davis, however, correctly adjusted his route to an out when he saw how much room he had to the sideline. Even if he ran the hook that Smith wanted, Dallas' Alan Ball undercut it and still would've picked it off. Smith's real sin, however, was the play before, when he rolled left and badly overshot a wide open Walker, who would've gained enough yards for a first down.

Also, I think he should've lobbied Harbaugh more, not just to keep the ball
after that penalty on Akers' field goal, but even before that, when Harbaugh elected to kick on 4th-and-1 from the 37. A good quarterback fights these decisions, but it's simply not in Smith's nature to be confrontational or argumentative.

Kendall Hunter: Welcome to life in the NFL, kid. You happened to get drafted by a team where the running back has more influence in the organization than the quarterback does. Don't worry, you'll get a chance to play when Gore gets his inevitable injury in a couple weeks.

Vernon Davis: He was asked to block a bunch against Dallas on pass plays (didn't work) and doubled when he did go on routes. These things will happen without Crabtree and Edwards. Davis is already grumpy with Harbaugh, but the 49ers do have a few games coming up against teams who can't cover tight ends well.

Jonathan Goodwin: Beaten soundly by Jay Ratliff two or three times, leading to sacks on Smith, including one in overtime that torpedoed the 49ers last chance of winning the game. He also had a terrible shotgun snap that Smith did well to turn into a positive play.

Mike Iupati: Whiffed on blocks in the run game and pass game. Continues to be confused by stunts and twists. Worst of all, I don't sense any fire from him at all.

Joe Staley: Beaten for one sack by Ware but a lot of the pressure Dallas had came from the gap between him and Iupati.

Chilo Rachal: Still getting subbed out for Adam Snyder a couple series per game. That should tell you something.

Anthony Davis: The 49ers best lineman on Sunday. Which is like being their handsomest beat reporter.

Moran Norris: Somewhere in the NFL there must be a worse starting fullback, but I can't think of one of the top off my head.

Ahmad Brooks: What a ticky-tack neutral zone call that was, giving Dallas new life and turning what should've been at the worst a 14-0 halftime lead into 14-7. Still, Ahmad, dude, you're looking right at the ball. It's 3rd-and-forever. Get a full foot behind it, just to be safe.

Tarell Brown: Beaten regularly by the likes of Holley and Kevin Ogletree. Shawntae Spencer will claim the starting job any day now.

Tramaine Brock: Nice interception and all, but putting him in the slot against Miles Austin was painful to watch. He's gonna be the odd man out of the lineup.

Donte Whitner: Witten chewed him up all afternoon. Just a hopeless match-up. Bit on a play-fake in overtime (as did Rogers), which was silly because Dallas hasn't been able to run the ball since last October.

Madieu Williams: P-U.

Reggie Smith: How stiff are those hips? I thought the 49ers traded Taylor Mays away.

Does that seem unfair, to have far more losers than winners? Well, I repeat, the yardage was 472 to 206. Should we throw the 49ers a parade? The offensive line is a sieve and the defense looks very vulnerable when people stretch them out and forget about running. I was disappointed in Vic Fangio for not calling more blitzes and trying to confuse Romo a bit. Instead the Niners got dinked-and-dunked to death in fine Greg Manusky fashion. We'll see if he gets any trickier against a rookie QB this Sunday in Cincinnati's Andy Dalton. It won't do to have him be less confused out there than Smith.
************************************************************************
Injury notes:

Harbaugh, in a rare lapse of his usual thousand-yard stare and dismissive non-answer routine, actually revealed that Braylon Edwards "will be out a bit" and that the receiver "underwent a procedure" on his knee. Look for Edwards to be out until the seventh game, home vs. his former club, the Browns. The Niners have their bye before that and the sixth game is on the turf at Detroit, so I think it'll be a stretch to see him play in that one, though a losing streak may change the prognosis. That's what makes this Cincinnati game so important. They simply have to win it, because the schedule gets pretty hairy the three weeks after that.

Harbaugh also said that Michael Crabtree will "most likely" play on Sunday. We saw Crabtree running routes at what looked to be full speed in individual drills, but at his locker he didn't look like someone champing at the bit to go get 'em. "It's only been three days," he said. "How much different could (his foot injury) be in three days?"

Crabtree was just "limited" in practice on Wednesday, per the official report, so we'll see.

My feeling: Crabtree really wanted to play against his hometown Cowboys and was disappointed about not getting the chance. He's probably not nearly as stoked about facing the Bengals. He'll play, but...

Alex Smith apparently sustained a concussion during Sunday's game. Nice enough for them to mention it on Wednesday, on an injury report that was sent in at 4:38 p.m... Smith seemed lucid enough during his press conference and was a full participant in practice, so it must have been a minor one.

Shawntae Spencer told CSN Bay Area's Mindi Bach that he's been practicing in full for two weeks and he's completely healed from his hamstring injury. However, he said that coaches want to see how he fits into the scheme on the practice field before throwing him out there in games. He added that he understands the scheme, but has to convince them of that. The way Brown and Brock have played, I think Spencer will get his chance, and soon.

Dashon Goldson also looked spry during individual drills, and I think he's the starter this week unless he has some kind of set back. The team desperately needs him back because both Madieu Williams and Reggie Smith were liabilities on Sunday. The team missed Goldson a lot more than they missed Spencer or Crabtree or even Edwards.

Moran Norris' injury was revealed to be a fibula problem, and despite him telling Maiocco that he's "fine" the team already declared him out for Sunday. Good lord.

Are you ready for Bruce Miller?
*******************************************************************************
49ers Statistical Rankings, presented without comment.

49ers Offensive Rankings:

Rushing: 79.5 YPG (26th); Yards Per Carry: 2.8 (29th);
Rushing Touchdowns: 2 (T-6th);

Passing: 128.0 YPG (29th); Completion Percentage (T-4th);
Yards Per Attempt: 6.9 (T-21st);

Passing Touchdowns: 2 (T-23rd); Interceptions: 1 (T-5th);
Sacks: 6 (T-22nd);

QB Rating: 95.2 (11th); 3rd Down Percentage: 32.1 (23rd);

Yards Per Game: 207.5 (31st); Scoring: 28.5 (9th)

49ers Defensive Rankings:

Rushing: 54.5 YPG (1st); Yards Per Carry: 2.5 (1st);
Rushing Touchdowns: 0 (T-1st)

Passing: 291.0 YPG (25th); Completion Percentage: 58.8 (12th);
Yards Per Attempt: 7.9 (20th);

Passing Touchdowns: 5 (30th); Interceptions: 3 (T-4th);
Sacks: 6 (T-6th);

Fumbles Forced: 4 (T-2nd); Fumbles Recovered: 2 (T-7th);

3rd Down Percentage: 37.9 (15th); Yards Per Game: 345.5 (T-17th); Scoring: 22.0 (T-12th)

49ers Special Teams Rankings:

Kickoff Return: 43.8 Avg (1st); Kickoff Return Allowed: 23.3 Avg (15th);

Punt Return: 15.2 Avg (5th); Punt Return Allowed: 9.3 Avg (T-17th);

Field Goal Percentage: 100.0 (T-1st); Net Punt Average: 51.4 Yards (2nd)

Giveaway/Takeaway:

Giveaways: 1 (T-2nd); Takeaways: 5 (T-4th); Plus/Minus: +4 (T-3rd)

49ers-Cowboys Preview, Week 2 Picks

If you need any affirmation of where our plucky San Francisco 49ers stand in the NFL's pecking order, consider the fact that last Sunday night, on the league-owned hour long highlight extravaganza, the visual evidence of their 33-17 triumph over the Seattle Seahawks consisted of a 15 second clip that picked up the action in the fourth quarter with the home side up 19-10. We got the 55-yard touchdown pass from Tarvaris Jackson to Doug Baldwin, where the former Stanford receiver wrong-footed nickel safety Reggie Smith, and then the ensuing 102-yard kick return by Ted Ginn which pushed the margin to nine once more.

Alex Smith's bootleg touchdown in the first half where he dove over two defenders? Not worthy. A montage of first half sacks the defensive line delivered to Jackson? Not relevant. Ginn's punt return touchdown to punctuate the game? Not necessary.

The next day, when asked how he celebrated his first NFL win as the head whistle, Jim Harbaugh, a fellow who gives off the strong impression that he wouldn't know how to celebrate anything if his life depended on it, remarked that he went home and watched TV.

"Just went home and watched the Cowboys game," he said. "Kind of flipped through the channels, the NFL network, and highlight express, and the ESPN blitz. Never caught one highlight of the 49ers on any of those, so I just watched the Cowboys game."

Did that strike you as peculiar, coach?

"No, we know it. It just kind of documents what you know. What the perception is of our team around the league and around the country. Some people can say that’s not fair, it isn’t right, but do something about it. And that’s our mindset. That’s our approach."

I suppose "Win one for the TV producer's attention" doesn't quite have the same ring to it as "Win one for the gipper," but athletes have been inspired by less.

For the record, the only game that got as such short shrift on the highlight shows as 49ers-Seahawks was Jaguars-Titans. What do these two have in common, kids? Divisional rivals in divisions the country doesn't care about, with stopgap quarterbacks squaring off. Should Alex Smith vs. Tarvaris Jackson have inspired that much interest than Luke McCown vs. Matt Hasselbeck? Until further notice, the answer is no.

However, team interest doesn't always align perfectly with records and expectations. The Lakers still got plenty of national games when they were reduced to Kobe Bryant and 11 guys named "Smush" and so did Michael Vick's Falcons teams even though he never figured out what a wide receiver was until he met Andy Reid at Philadelphia. People like who they like and the folks at ESPN decided long ago it's easier to conjure up "news" about those they deem interesting rather than waste precious resources reporting the news as it happens about any Tom, Dick or Harry. Besides, they have all those big money partnerships to protect, so why upset people by sifting through their dirty laundry?

So forget the TV stuff and let's get to the heart of what determines who's top dog in the NFL: The almighty point spread.

The 1-0 49ers, at the friendly confines of Candlestick Park, are field goal dogs to an 0-1 team that is almost identical on paper to the one that finished 6-10 last season. "Poppycock," you say. "That stat is biased. Tony Romo was hurt last season and the Cowboys are entirely different without him."

Well, who am I to argue that? In fact, not only was Dallas markedly different sans Romo, but they were better. They went 1-5 with their marque idol under center and 5-5 with Jon "Jon Kitna" Kitna, a backup so milquetoast that my nickname for him is his name. Romo certainly has the pretty numbers and the heart-thumping magnetism, with charisma that's practically off the scale, but for whatever reason he hasn't won much of late. Combine the opening weekend capitulation at the Jets and 2009's season-ending playoff massacre at the hands of Brett Favre and the Vikings and Romo is a sweet 1-7 in his last eight starts of note.

That's the guy, the one who throws ill-timed picks and fumbles when it's the least convenient time to do so, who's favored by a field goal over your Niners.

The hell of it is, no one is the least bit surprised. The point is not to put down the 49ers specifically, but rather that anybody in the NFC BEast would be favored against anybody from the West, at least if you listen to corner Carlos Rogers, who spent the first six seasons of his career at Washington.

"I was telling the guys, when I played the NFC East, that's the toughest (division)," said Rogers. "You look at the NFC West and you always looked at those guys as soft. You looked at those games as games you should win. I know that's (the Cowboys') mindset coming in here."

Indeed, you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody on the 49ers schedule who don't view them as a "W" with minimal effort, and like Harbaugh said, it's up to them to change that perception.

To do that, they'll have to join the 21st century and start flinging the rock. Their linemen know it, their receivers know it and even their quarterback, who makes a point of defending the "balanced" offensive philosophy at all times like a dutiful soldier, knows it.

"In the past game we were only throwing for a 124 yards," Smith said. "Obviously I’d like to build upon that. So we were efficient as far as completion percentage, but I’d really like to get a little more production."

Yes, you read that correctly. Alex Smith said he'd like to get little more production. He says it in a way like it's a favor he has to ask of his coaches, like a treat he's earned for cleaning his room and eating all his veggies. It doesn't exactly sound like a fellow who's gonna challenge Harbaugh the next time he hears a play-call for a draw to Frank Gore on 3rd-and-8.

That's been the Catch-22 with Smith throughout his career. He hasn't been given the same opportunities from a play-calling standpoint that other quarterbacks are regularly afforded, such as regularly getting to pass on 1st-and-10 or 3rd-and-2, and consequently the 49ers have never scored anywhere close to consistently enough with him under center to merit his coaches treating him the way they Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady gets treated. It's like a chicken and egg argument except the chicken is diseased and the egg is rotten.

New 49ers receiver Braylon Edwards insisted the other day that the team could win a shootout type of game, saying "I know we have what it takes to be in one of them. We have the offensive line, we have the receivers, the running back and the play-calling ability from the coaches."

Notice what critical ingredient he left out of the equation.

The team got away with having an extend preseason last week against Seattle, showing essentially nothing against the Seahawks and doing the bare minimum schematically on offense. If using a sixth offensive lineman is the creative zenith of your game plan, you either A) think absolutely nothing of your opponent B) think even less than that about your quarterback C) are scared to death your offensive line will get innocent spectators hurt, never mind the QB or D) all of the above.

Somewhere, deep inside his 14 layers of black sweaters, Harbaugh knew he wasn't being truthful by defending those runs up the gut by Gore as aggressive, attacking plays. I think he has a pretty good idea he'll have to pass the ball on Sunday and hope for the best, the same as he did with Tavita Pritchard at Stanford.

It'll be up to Smith to prove everyone wrong, and even if he does all the credit will go to his coach, or the blame to Romo, or it will be dismissed as a fluke. Reputations are hard to shake in this league and perception is everything, as a former 49ers quarterback of note is fond of saying.

What we do know is if Smith is ever gonna have a chance to get the home crowd on his side, Sunday's the day. The Cowboys will be without Terence Newman, whose groin is good enough to play on, but the team brass has decided the 49ers can be beaten without his services. They'll miss nickel corner Orlando Scandrick as well, while other starter Mike Jenkins will be limited by a wonky shoulder. Anthony Spencer, their second best pass rusher, also has a bad shoulder. In theory, as long as the 49ers double-team DeMarcus Ware on every play, they should tear these guys up. In theory, Smith was supposed to be a franchise savior as a number one pick. Things don't always work out as planned.

On the other side of the ball, the 49ers defense will get a second straight game against a young, inexperienced offensive line, and safety Donte Whitner will find that Jason Witten is a rich man's version of Zach Miller, with the difference between the two tight ends having more to do with their respective quarterbacks than anything else. I would figure Witten will see some bracket coverage, with Patrick Willis or NaVorro Bowman chipping in underneath. Rogers will draw a lot of one-on-one with Miles Austin, especially in the slot, and if Dez Bryant plays -- he's missed practice all week with a thigh contusion -- he's going to be impaired.

The Cowboys are in town, bruised and battered. They're expecting to win because they're them and the Niners are the Niners. Either way the highlight clip this time out will be a lot longer than 15 seconds and Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders will be doing plenty of chirping. We'll have to see if Harbaugh will be in the mood to watch it.
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Michael Crabtree looked more active in Thursday's individual drills on Thursday than he did on Wednesday, and was running short routes at 80 percent speed I'd say. He was still listed as "limited" in the official practice report, which is usually code for "did not participate in team drills."

Crabtree will be dying to play against his hometown Cowboys so he'll probably force the issue to at least be in the lineup at the beginning, but if he has any kind of setback in the game, I expect this time for the team to have second-year man Kyle Williams dressed and available. And really, with all the smoke everyone's blowing up Ted Ginn's rear end about how much he's improved as a receiver, you'd think they could play him a few snaps from scrimmage.

Dashon Goldson was mostly a spectator from what I saw and he too was listed as limited in the injury report. My guess is he'll be out for the second straight game and the team will once again depend on the combination of Madieu Williams and Reggie Smith. Hopefully Smith shook off some rust last week and will be more ready to contribute, but I have some bad vibes about him against Dallas' receiving corps. He's shown in the past to be susceptible to play-action and he's not the soundest tackler back there either.

Whether Goldson's absence is costly or not depends on if he'll be the 2009 Goldson when he returns or last year's version. If 2010 Dashon is the real one, then that guy can spend all year on the inactive list as far as I'm concerned. 2009 Goldson on the other hand, I'm quite fond of. The Cowboys have a guy like that too in Mike Jenkins. Great in '09, a disaster last year. Try figuring this game out.

Shawntae Spencer, meanwhile, has been a full participant in practice, but he's still behind both Tarell Brown and Tramaine Brock and doesn't figure to see the field from scrimmage. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio explained that Spencer, who missed practically all of training camp, is still not in football shape yet and can only be used in emergency situations. He may challenge for his old spot in the coming weeks.
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Carlos Rogers offered an interesting scouting report on Tony Romo based on his six head-to-head encounters with him:

"He's a quarterback that if you give him time, let him sit back and don't put pressure on him, he can be a Hall-of-Fame quarterback. If you put pressure on him
and you give him different looks, you've got a chance. And that's one of the main things we always knew. You've got to show him different looks. We always knew his outlet, when he'd get in trouble, he's going to (tight end Jason) Witten. So from my experience that's what you've got to do against him. Show him different looks and mix up your coverages. Send pressure at him because he can sit back there and pick you apart."

What about his scrambling, does that worry you?

"You can't look at Romo and think 'OK, I'm going to give him three or four seconds and the ball should be out.' He can do that little pump fake, make guys jump, scramble and throw. He's not a big runner, but if he's got to, he will. He can extend plays."

Is his greatest asset, his improvisational skill, also his biggest weakness?

"Our thing we always said about him was that he would give us two chances. That was one thing that we always said every year. Romo will give you two chances. The games that we won, when he gave us those chances, we took advantage of them. Some games we didn't take advantage, and we didn't get to him in the backfield, he just picked us apart."

Have I mentioned that I love Carlos Rogers? He's definitely our early favorite for the Niver award.
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Other thoughts/picks for Week 2:

Cleveland at Indianapolis (+3): It all depends on who gets that 10 point lead. The Colts have a smallish front line that the Browns should be able to run on, but those two great edge rushers in Dwight Freeney and Rasheen Mathis to protect any leads they'd get. A shaky pick for the home team. Colts 20, Browns 13.

Kansas City at Detroit (-9): I'm more of a believer in Detroit than I was last week, but nine points is an awful lot. Jamaal Charles should be able to run in that dome enough to keep them in the game. Lions 27, Chiefs 23.

Oakland at Buffalo (-4): The Bills with Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams should be able to stop the Raiders running game cold and Silver & Black get no favors from Mr. Schedulemaker, having to fly all the way to Buffalo for an early 10 a.m. game after having had a late Monday night start the week before. Bills 27, Raiders 13. **FOUR POINT SPECIAL**

Baltimore at Tennessee (+7): Seven point underdogs at home seems like a lot of points to lay, but I can't think of a single argument against Baltimore except they'll be too full of themselves after trouncing Pittsburgh. Ravens 23, Titans 10. **TWO POINT SPECIAL**

Tampa Bay at Minnesota (-3): The biggest game of the morning slate. The loser is in a world of hurt against a deep NFC field with so many Wild Card candidates. I gotta go the team with the best player, which is Adrian Peterson, so I'm taking the Vikes at home with no confidence whatsoever. Vikings 24, Buccaneers 20.

Chicago at New Orleans (-7): Many members of the Bears team will travel with Brian Urlacher to his mother's funeral, which is highly unusual. It speaks to how deeply he's entrenched as the talisman of that organization, more so than anyone since Walter Payton. It also signals the strong bond he has with his teammates, who could hardly function in practice without his presence. Gotta go with the upset pick here against the team I picked to win the Super Bowl, based purely on emotion. I think the Bears will absolutely play their guts out for their middle linebacker, as sappy as that sounds. Bears 24, Saints 23.

Jacksonville at NY Jets (-9): Nine points? Really? What on Earth did the Jets show on Sunday nine to prove they can beat anyone by nine? Rex Ryan's guys will typically sleepwalk through the first half and the Jaguars will find a way to keep this annoyingly close. Jets 19, Jaguars 16.

Seattle at Pittsburgh (-15): Not to go all Simmons on you, but this is an absolutely ridiculous line. I was off by 8 points when I guessed what it would be in the morning. I know the Steelers defense will be angry, but they're not gonna get younger overnight. Besides, that referee is gonna give Seattle a couple of makeup calls methinks. Steelers 23, Seahawks 16.

Arizona at Washington (-4): It's not the venue that makes this a rough game for the Cardinals but rather that they get the 'Skins in the first half of the year, when they're always feisty, than in December, when they're in vacation mode. Redskins 27, Cardinals 17.

Green Bay at Carolina (+11): Cam Newton passed for 422 yards last week and is making his home debut. You think that would be enough for me to happily take the points. Like a fool, I'm gonna lay them, and I probably would if the line was 14. Packers 40, Panthers 13. **FIVE POINT SPECIAL**

Dallas at San Francisco (+3): No, I don't think Alex Smith will stink it up, but I'm not ready to declare the 49ers a top-10 defense yet either. Either way, I'm curious to see what Harbaugh and his coaches are all about, at last. Cowboys 27, 49ers 20.

Cincinnati at Denver (-4): Andy Dalton is the only compelling reason to watch this game. Everyone likes the Bengals in this one because they can kinda sorta run and pass while the Broncos can't run a lick. I don't know. It seems too easy. Denver 31, Cincinnati 20.

Houston at Miami (+3): Still don't think Arian Foster will be ready to play and these are the kind of games the Texans always blow. If Miami can't pull this out, I'm done with 'em for the year. Miami 23, Houston 20.

San Diego at New England (-7): What the heck, a second upset pick. The Pats are overdue to lose a home game in the regular season and call me crazy, I'll take the team with the better defense. Who on New England can cover Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson or Malcolm Floyd? San Diego 30, New England 27.

Philadelphia at Atlanta (+3): First off, I'll take Vick and the Eagles in virtually any game on turf, that's a given. But when you factor in the glaring difference between the two secondaries and the fact that it will be akin to a home game for Philly because of their quarterback, how can I not take them? Also, I have to say for the record, and this is coming from an Eagles guy, that I find the whole racial dynamic of this game, where a large segment of the crowd will be rooting against their own team, very disappointing and a bit creepy. It's 2011 and we should be beyond this stuff.

That Martin Luther King Jr. message about judging a man not by the color of his skin but the content of his character cuts both ways. Vick was a good player for the Falcons, but a highly overrated one. What did he ever win for them? Shouldn't their fans revile him, if not for his crimes, than at least for being dumb enough to piss away his career there instead of worshiping him? Vick even admitted he wasn't a professional as a Falcon and didn't work nearly hard enough, yet he's still loved down there. I just don't get it. Eagles 37, Falcons 24. **THREE POINT SPECIAL**

St. Louis at NY Giants (-6): You get the feeling this game will either be a real dog or wildly entertaining, with nothing in between. The Rams are beat up on offense, while the Giants defense is decimated. If the Rams drop it, they can be staring a 1-6 start in the face. A third upset pick here, because Steve Spagnuolo knows the Giants personnel better than the other way around. Rams 20, Giants 17.

Week 1 Record: 11-5
Vs. Spread: 8-7-1
+/- Points (All games count as one unless otherwise specified): -5

Crabtree talks, Goldson sits, Baalke stays busy and more speculating about the inactives.

After a six week wait, we finally got to talk to the one and only Michael Crabtree today. Six-and-a-half minutes later I was wondering to myself what all the fuss was about.

Okay, Crabtree wasn't that bad, he gave us a couple of useful tidbits such as he had surgery to fix his broken left foot "sometime in July" and that he'll be wearing custom-made molded Michael Jordan brand cleats, but on the whole it's pretty obvious that talking to the media is not something he enjoys or feels comfortable doing. I don't think he's a bad guy or a grouch or anything like that. He's just a really shy dude.

A reporter asked him if practicing again for the first time was like riding a bike and Crabtree responded, "It was like playing football."

Oh.

Shortly after Crabtree complained about the heat of the camera light on him, but it was one of those LED lights that gives off no heat.

At one point Crabtree seemed almost offended when asked which receiving positions he feels comfortable playing in the offense, saying "All of them. I'm a wide receiver and that consists of playing all three positions."

However, another time he admitted that he may not be as much of an expert on the playbook as some of his coaches have been suggesting. "I've got the basics down, but it's different when you go out there," Crabtree said.

He's an odd duck, that Crabtree, but the good news for 49ers fans is that he looked full speed and hitch free running routes during individual drills in practice. How much playing time he gets on Sunday is up in the air, but the good news is that while he'd certainly be an asset in the coming weeks, the team doesn't need him to beat Seattle.

You may recall last season Crabtree missed most of camp and all of preseason with a neck injury. The 49ers still rushed him out there for the first regular season game at Seattle because A) Mike Singletary kowtowed to Crabtree from day one and B) they really didn't have anybody else to start. Crabtree was rusty as hell in the game, had a couple of balls clank off his hands (one for a costly interception) and the 49ers got routed. In the second half ex-radio color man Gary Plummer was hollering for Crabtree to be benched, he was playing so poorly, and so clearly confused about his assignments.

Now, with Braylon Edwards on board, along with Joshua Morgan and even Ted Ginn, there isn't as much pressure for Crabtree to produce right away. He can be mixed into the game and play in a few packages he's comfortable with instead of being relied on for 65 snaps off the bat. It's good for him, good for the team and good for Alex Smith, who doesn't have to force passes his way.
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On the other side of the injury ledger is Dashon Goldson. He pretty much declared himself out for Sunday's game, saying his left knee still has "irritation."

Goldson didn't practice on Sunday and worked out with trainers on the side field.

Reggie Smith, who's recovering from his own knee injury was on the scout team, impersonating Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, so that's a good bet that he's not gonna start since guys on the scout team rarely do.

That leaves it to Madieu Williams to start, which means the 49ers will have an entirely different starting secondary than they did last season. Williams and Donte Whitner are both free agent pickups, as is left corner Carlos Rogers; and the right corner is expected to be Tarell Brown, who was a reserve last year behind starters Shawntae Spencer and Nate Clements. Clements is a Cincinnati Bengal these days and Spencer, who just started practicing yesterday himself (he reported no setbacks from his balky hamstring) probably needs to earn the confidence and faith of his coaching staff before he regains his starting job -- or he needs to wait for Brown simply play poorly enough to give it to him.

Count Ray McDonald, who was a reserve last year, linebackers Ahmad Brooks and NaVorro Bowman (ditto) and rookie edge-rusher Aldon Smith, and the 49ers defense could have as many eight different guys playing the majority of the snaps on Sunday than the ones who started in 2010. That's massive turnover.

Here's the thing though: The defense needed to be turned over. They needed to get younger and faster. The national reputation about the 49ers defense was they were good these past couple seasons, or at least above-average, but while that might have been the case in 2009, in large part to all the turnovers they got at home, they were pretty bad last year, especially as a pass defense. Look at the numbers if you don't believe me, the 49ers ranked in the bottom quadrant of the league in just about every pass defense category except interceptions.

I think the 49ers have upgraded their talent on defense considerably, especially at linebacker, but it will take a while for all these guys to play cohesively. Having defensive coordinator Vic Fangio at coordinator will help a lot, and he'll be able to patch over their flaws better than Greg Manusky did. Fangio also favors blitzing more than his predecessor did, so we're liable to see more big plays both for and against the defense than the Chinese water torture we'd grown so accustomed to with the past regime.

One thing that I found interesting is that, according to Williams, no coaches have come up to him to pick his brain about Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson or offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Williams practiced against those guys every day for three years at Minnesota, and yet no one is coming to him for tips? I find that odd.

"We've got a good coaching staff here, they don't need my help," said Williams.

He's another guy who hasn't exactly been engaging with us or snapping off witty one-liners. My theory is he's a bit chagrined about having joined the team with the idea that he'd only have to beat out Reggie Smith for a starting spot only to discover soon after he came on that Goldson was re-signed and immediately promoted to starter again.

Now he'll get a chance to show his stuff. Maybe if he has a big game, picks off a wayward Jackson pass or two, the coaching staff might feel Goldson's knee is still too irritated...
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The 49ers didn't make any roster moves the past couple days, but it hasn't been for lack of trying.

They made waiver claims on two guys the New England Patriots cut: CB Darius Butler and TE Lee Smith. Carolina wound up getting Butler and Smith went to Buffalo, since both those teams had worse record than the 49ers last year.

It's well known the 49ers are in the market for a third tight end who's a blocking specialist, and I suppose Smith fits the bill there (no pun intended), but the Butler claim is the more interesting one to me. Who would they have dropped if they got him? Tramaine Brock? Spencer? I've gotten the sense that staff isn't that high on Spencer and that the only reason he's still here is because literally nobody else has done well enough to justify cutting him. Brown has been so-so as a starter in preseason, but I fully expect the Seahawks to target him on Sunday (as well as Whitner and the linebackers with passes to tight end Zach Miller and their running backs), while Brock has been worse than so-so.

I'm a bit surprised the 49ers didn't try trading for Eagles slot corner Joselio Hanson, who was a 49er once upon a time. Philadelphia is so deep there that Hanson was on the market, but general manager Trent Baalke is loathe to deal away draft picks.

Obviously we'll all pay attention to how Alex Smith and the linemen play, but I'm very curious how corners will perform this week and the next against Dallas. I have a feeling that spot on the defense may see some shuffling. Heck, 3rd round pick Chris Culliver might see some action by the end of the year.

Also, the 49ers worked out former Rams receiver Donnie Avery. He's a talented kid, but he tore his ACL in preseason last year and apparently didn't recover sufficiently enough for coach Steve Spagnuolo's liking, as the team cut him at the end of preseason.

It's true the 49ers could use another deep threat at receiver, and I guess it doesn't hurt to kick Avery's tires, but what does it say about him when St. Louis -- a club that's hardly got all-world guys in their receiving corps by the way -- cuts the guy?

If their coaches felt that Avery was worse than Brandon Gibson and Danny Amendola, then you probably won't help the 49ers.
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An updated guess on who will be the 46 guys active for Sunday's game:

QB (2) Smith and Colin Kaepernick, with Scott Tolzien still trying to learn the playbook.
RB (3) Offensive coordinator Greg Ramon said Frank Gore, Kendell Hunter and Anthony Dixon will all play.
FB (2) Moran Norris starts, Bruce Miller sees time at tight end and on special teams.
WR (5) I think everybody is up for this one. Kyle Williams dresses in case Crabtree has some kind of setback during the game.
TE (2) Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker are the only two they've got.
OL (7) Rookies Daniel Kilgore and Mike Person will have a great view all season long.
DL (5) I have Demarcus Dobbs joining Ricky Jean Francois as the reserves, Will Tukuafu and Ian Williams scratched. Just a guess here.
LB (7) I don't think new guy Tavares Gooden will be up to speed in time for Sunday.
CB (5) You need to keep Brock/Culliver in there to protect Spencer.
S (5) Goldson's out and everyone else would dress anyway.
ST (3) David Akers, Andy Lee and Brian Jennings as per usual.

Inactives: Tolzien, Kilgore, Person, I. Williams, Tukuafu, Gooden, Goldson.

If I'm wrong about anyone, it's Gooden, but good luck figuring out who he comes in for. They'd be taking a chance at corner or receiver with only four guys.

Alright time drive to the Cohn abode. Hope the game will be a high scoring affair. Call it 31-24, Pack.