Now that life has slowed down just a bit, we return to our regularly scheduled 49ers recap program.
It’s back . . . the 49ers’ 53-Man Review from their 20-3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at
OFFENSE
7-Nate
13-Shaun Hill: The No. 2 QB. He did not play. 15-Michael Crabtree: Started at split end. Caught 27-yard pass on a deep in on a third-and-10 to help lead to 49ers’ first TD. . . Let a high pass at sideline slip through his hands, but came back on the next play to catch a crossing pattern for 20 yards. . . . But two plays later, he failed to make an over-the-shoulder catch of perfect thrown pass in end zone. . . . He caught four of the eight passes that came his way for 54 yards. 21-Frank Gore: Started at halfback. He does not always appear real comfortable running from the spread. He’s a one-cut and get up the field runner. He missed a huge hole on first drive of game when he ran where the bodies were and gained just 2 yards out of shotgun formation. . . . he did a nice job blocking and caught seven passes, though those receptions went for just 14 yards. . . . He adjusted his route and remained in-bounds to catch 4-yard TD pass from Smith at end of first quarter. 24-Michael Robinson: Inactive with shoulder injury. 29-Glen Coffee: He played only one play from scrimmage, as he entered on a third-and-goal in the second quarter. He sold a play fake to allow Smith to hit 44-Moran Norris: He played only four snaps in the first half. On his first snap, he missed a block on a run play in which Gore was stopped for no gain. But he also made a block to help Gore gain 2 yards on third-and-1. 46-Delanie 59-Cody Wallace: Inactive. He has yet to suit up for a game in his first two NFL seasons. 61-Chris Patrick: The backup at both tackle positions. He did not play. 62-Chilo Rachal: Started at right guard. This was probably his best game of the season, as he matched up very well against Jaguars eight-year veteran John Henderson, who had two tackles and one quarterback pressure. 64-David Baas: Started at left guard. Went up against rookie Terrance Knighton, a third-round round draft pick who had a very quiet game.
66-Eric Heitmann: Started at center. He helped with 68-Adam Snyder: Started at right tackle. He had his best game. He did not surrender a sack. The only significant pressure he gave up was when Derrick Harvey beat him to get a hit on Smith on the second pass attempt of the game. 69-Tony Wragge: Entered as a tight end on two short-yardage plays in the second quarter. The second play was a 3-yard TD pass to Vernon Davis. 74-Joe Staley: Inactive after sustaining partially torn knee ligaments Nov. 1. Club expects him to return for Dec. 14 game against Cardinals. 81-Brandon Jones: Did not see any action on offense. He returned punts, and made an ill-advised decision to try to return ball from inside the 10 in the first quarter with a coverage man in his face. He does look comfortable fielding punts, though, and did not have any bobbles. He provided a 13-yard return, too. 83-Arnaz 84-Josh Morgan: Started at flanker. Good awareness to find the sideline and make an 11-yard catch on a third-and-11 on first drive. . . . Failed to catch high pass in end zone. . . . His downfield blocking was very good, too. Eight passes were directed his way, and he caught six of them for 69 yards. 85-Vernon 88-Isaac Bruce: Inactive. Was listed with ankle injury, but coach Mike Singletary also cited his lack of special-teams experience as a reason he did not suit up. 89-Jason Hill: He saw 14 snaps from scrimmage as the 49ers’ No. 3 wideout. . . . Saw one pass come his way. Although it was catchable, it was not what I’d consider a flat-out drop. . . . He also played special teams and missed a tackle on a kickoff return. DEFENSE 20-Keith Smith: He did not see any action on defense, but he did a good job on the coverage units with four tackles. 22-Nate Clements: Inactive after sustaining broken left shoulder blade Nov. 1. Club believes he might return for final two games. 23-Marcus 25-Tarell Brown: Entered as third cornerback and played a little more than half the team’s plays. He played error-free football on defense. Broke up a pass intended for Mike Sims-Walker in the end zone in the fourth quarter. . . . Also played a lot on special teams. When he was the first to touch a punt after running out of bounds, it was the 49ers’ only penalty of the game. 26-Mark Roman: Entered as dime back, and ended up playing about two-thirds of the team’s snaps. He had a very good game in the secondary. Made nice solo tackle of Torry Holt to stop him short of first down to end Jaguars’ first series. . . . He finished with four tackles. 28-Curtis 30-Reggie Smith: He did not play on defense, but made one special-teams tackle. 31-Dre’ Bly: Started and played just about every snap at left cornerback. He played a pretty consistent game, and did not give up many plays. 32-Michael Lewis: Started at strong safety. Made a high tackle of Maurice Jones-Drew to stop him for a 7-yard gain on a third-and-9 pass. . . . But he also gave up some plays in coverage. 36-Shawntae Spencer: Started at right cornerback. He played every snap and graded out pretty well. The completions he surrendered were all plays in which he was assignment-sound and aren’t going to hurt a defense. That’s because he secured the tackle immediately.
50-Diyral Briggs: He played four snaps and was not involved in the action. He also had a quiet game on special teams. 51-Takeo Spikes: Started at “ted” linebacker. Showed no signs of his hamstring strain, as he was a factor in run defense. . . Had great position downfield on tight end Marcedes Lewis, nearly getting an interception. . . He also provided one big hit. He played about two-thirds of the defensive snaps. (I originally forgot to mention he also recorded a sack. Dang! I’m mentioning it now. Sorry, Takeo.) 52-Patrick Willis: Started at “mike” linebacker. He was used in more blitzes up the middle. He hit Garrard as he was throwing, forcing a fluttering pass that should’ve been intercepted by Manny Lawson. He also had a half-sack. . . Showed his speed to chase down Garrard short of a first down in the fourth quarter. 55-Ahmad Brooks: Did not start, but took over for Lawson as right defensive end in nickel situations. . . . He played 30 defensive snaps and had one QB pressure. Singletary commented that Brooks did not do a good job of getting off the ball at the snap. That seems like a reasonable critique. 56-Scott McKillop: He did not play on defense, and had one tackle on the coverage units. 57-Matt Wilhelm: He did not play on defense, and also had one tackle on special teams. 90-Isaac Sopoaga: Started at left end but played just one-third of the snaps, as the 49ers used their nickel defense almost exclusively in the second half. He had one hit on the quarterback and showed up on four tackles. 91-Ray McDonald: He did not start, but he saw more playing time than any defensive lineman other than Justin Smith. He forced a fumble as part of the four pressures he put on Garrard. Overall, a good game. 92-Aubrayo 93-Demetric Evans: Entered at right defensive end as part of the defensive line rotation. He played about 20 snaps and got to Garrard for a sack (although Willis got there a little later and got credit for a shared sack).
95-Ricky Jean-Francois: Inactive. 96-Kentwan Balmer: Saw action a dozen snaps at right and left defensive ends. Got around left tackle Eugene Monroe to force intentional-grounding penalty in first quarter. 98-Parys Haralson: Started at “will” linebacker. Got the initial pressure to blow up Jaguars try for fourth-and-2 from SF 14 on first play of fourth quarter. . . He played about 50 of the 49ers’ 61 defensive plays, and had a very strong, consistent game. He recorded a season-high 1.5 sacks. 99-Manny Lawson: Started at “sam” linebacker. Got tremendous push on Josh Scobee’s 40-yard FG attempt and would’ve blocked it if the kick had not been hooked wide left. . . . Dropped easy interception in the second quarter. . . . Brooks replaced him as the “starter” in the 49ers’ nickel package, but he still managed a sack, as he pushed his way past SPECIALISTS 4-Andy Lee: He averaged 50.2 yards on his five attempts. The 49ers’ coverage units suffered from the losses of Arnaz Battle and Michael Robinson, and it showed as Brian Witherspoon averaged 21.0 yards on his three returns. Lee’s net average was still an acceptable 37.6 yards. 6-Joe Nedney: Absolutely nailed a 46-yard attempt right down the middle for the game-opening points. He also made a 27-yarder. None of his five kickoffs were touchbacks, but the Jaguars’ average starting point was only the 23-yard line. 86-Brian * * * 
11-Alex Smith: Started at QB. There’s no question he played a nice game. It certainly wasn’t spectacular but it was very consistent and good. The one concern is that Smith did have time to throw, but he averaged only 5.7 yards per attempt. Some of that had to do with some dropped passes, as I counted three well-thrown passes that were not caught – and another four that weren’t well-thrown that could’ve been caught. . . . His best play was when he play-faked and as he was getting crushed by linebacker Daryl Smith, he delivered an on-the-money fourth-down pass to Vernon Davis for a 30-yard gain. . . . His pass in the end zone to Michael Crabtree was a thing of beauty, too, but Crabtree failed to make the over-the-shoulder grab. . . . Smith showed great poise to keep the play alive on the sideline and find Frank Gore for a 4-yard TD at end of first half. . . . I think Smith will be the 49ers’ undisputed starter heading into 2010 unless he really disappoints in these final five games.
65-Barry Sims: Started at left tackle. Performed near-flawlessly working against mostly rookie defensive end Julius Williams and Quentin Groves. His play has really exceeded expectations in the five games he has appeared since Joe Staley’s injury.
38-Dashon Goldson: Started at free safety. He was credited with 10 tackles, but also had that many negative plays. He needs to learn more patience in securing the tackle. As coach Mike Singletary said, sometimes he’s too focused on being a “headhunter.” . . . .Made stop of Marcedes Lewis for 12-yard gain on a third-and-19. . . Got turned around against Ernest Wilford for 30-yard completion at start of second half. . . Came flying up against Mike Thomas, who turned it into a 19-yard gain. 
94-Justin Smith: Started at right end, and played more than two-thirds of the team’s snaps. He did a nice job of securing his tackles against Jones-Drew. . . Got penetration and swatted ball away from Garrard on Jags’ fourth-down attempt at start of fourth quarter. . . . Got a sack against Eugene Monroe on a three-man rush on Jags’ final offensive play of the game.
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