49ers lose 34-7

Chargers in victory formation.

All night on NFL network, they've said Mike Singletary should keep his job. Millen and Mariucci said it before the game Joe Theismann just said it again.

Chargers drive: Hey look at Keaton Kristick making plays on defense. The Chargers punt.

49ers drive: Touchdown Brian Westbrook. No shutout. Good connection between Smith and Morgan.

With this loss, the 49ers have assured themselves their eighth straight losing season. You wonder if history is just catching up to them. They had a string of fine coaches with Bill Walsh, George Seifert and even Steve Mariucci. Then they went with two Hall of Fame quarterbacks with Montana and Young, and then they got some excellent seasons out of Jeff Garcia.

49ers drive: Smith throws an interception on fourth down. He got blasted on the play.

No sign of Troy Smith. I think it's Alex's game still

Chargers drive: Touchdown Vincent Jackson, 21-yard pass. Now there's a challenge flag.

Chargers drive: Mis-communication gets the ball down to the 22 on a pass to tight end McMichael. Both Spikes and Willis went to cover the back, which left McMichael wide open.

Third quarter over: The only drama left in this game is whether Troy Smith relieves the other Smith.

49ers drive: Three and out once again with a sack on second down. Anthony Davis is struggling. He's given up two sacks after coming three straight good games in a row. The Chargers are double- triple covering Vernon Davis and nobody else is getting open.

OK, maybe the 49ers aren't giving up. Anybody who watched this tired defense fight on the goal line could see some heart. At least their heart on defense. I don't know about offense.

Chargers drive cont: Chargers have a 3rd-and-1 at the 49ers 3. The 49ers can't stop the run.

Chargers drive: Manny Lawson got hit by Spikes and had to come out. Goldson is back and just got run over by Tolbert.

49ers drive: Another three and out. The 49ers offense just looks futile.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | December 16 2010 at 08:26 PM

New stream for second half

halftime analysis: More of the same for the 49ers. Mediocre play at quarterback, and an inability to overcome adversity. Mike Singletary keeps saying his team has character. They don't tonight. They've been unable to overcome bad breaks, and they probably don't have the quarterback to bring them back. They might want to bring Troy Smith. At least he can make the big play.

49ers drive: Chargers call time out with 66 seconds left, a slap against the 49ers offense.

49ers drive: Travis LaBoy went to the locker room with a knee injury his return is questionable.

Chargers drive cont: Vincent Jackson wide open for a touchdown. Maybe the 49ers should sign Jackson; he'll be a free agent.

Chargers drive: Two minute warning. The 49ers have a lot to overcome. The failure to score on 4th-and-six inches, the Justin Smith ejection. All of this against a good team. They might get blow out here. Haven't heard any more on Goldson. He came off the field on his own power.

Chargers drive: Big play to Kelly Washington, then gets a 15-yard personal foul on Tarell Brown for a hit out of bounds. Horrible call. This crew, which I've near seen before, is calling an excessively tight game. The 49ers are losing their grip on the game.

49ers drive: Antonio Garay with the weird hair cut sacked Smith on third down. Smith was forced to step up because of pressure off the right side. For some reason, Anthony Davis stepped inside which allowed the pass rusher to get into the backfield quickly. Smith lucky he didn't get hurt because he got body slammed by Garay.

Chargers drive cont: Chargers get 10-point turnaround by stopping the 49ers on 4th and goal and then driving down the field for a field goal. That's a killer. What's worse is losing Justin Smith. KNBR reported that Smith said that he was pushed first by the ref, but you can't push back. Without him, the 49ers defense could wear out fast.

Chargers drive cont: Two wide open receivers on consecutive plays got the Chargers in scoring position. Parys Haralson got sucked up by the blitz and then didn't get the proper depth on the first play. Vincent Jackson turnaround Nate Clements on 14-yard receptions. That shouldn't happen. A 6-5 guy, should not be more nimble than the 6-foot Clements.

Chargers drive: Justin Smith blew out Chris Wilson when Wilson pulled, and then he pushed the referee. He just got tossed. The 49ers might have just lost the game.

49ers drive cont: Dixon stopped on fourth down. He lost 2 yards. Iupati tried to cut Brandon Siler and he missed him. Wow. Actually,, Siler just filled quickly from his linebacker spot. The play developed too slowly.

49ers drive cont: Touchdown 49ers, Alex Smith scores on an 8-yard run. It's tied. But it will be reviewed. It looks like Smith scored on the replay.

49ers drive cont: Smith misfires into the end zone. But the Chargers get called for personal foul. Chargers tried to boost up a player to try to block a kick.

First quarter over: The 49ers are driving. Good pitch play to Dixon for 17 yards and great block by David Baas who pulled from his center position. The 49ers will face a 3 and 6 when the second quarter starts. This might be four down territory.

49ers drive: Finally Ted Ginn tried to run over somebody. It was the punter, but it counts.

Chargers drive: The 49ers are blitzing somebody on nearly every play. Sack Sopoaga on second down. He has played well this year. Clements made a great tackle on third down and long.

49ers drive: Why do some many receivers drop balls from Alex Smith? Do they not have confidence in him? Delanie Walker dropped a pass that would have gone for 20 yards plus on first down. The ball was right there. Smith then misfired on second down and threw short of the first down on third down. He doesn't look sharp despite the drop.

Ginn drives me crazy. I hate the way he reverses field constantly on returns. Just go straight ahead.

First penalty of the game. An illegal block in the back by rookie Phillip Adams on a punt return. The 49ers will start around the 20.

Chargers drive: Patrick Willis does not look comfortable. He's blitzing on nearly every play whether it's run or pass.Although he wrapped up Hester on a 9-yard loss on second down.

49ers drive cont: Crabtree had his finger popped back into place and went back on the field. 49ers had to punt. Alex Smith for some reason threw high on a bubble screen to Delanie Walker, who would have gotten the first down. Sometimes Smith does things that are just inexplicable. 49ers punt.

Chargers win toss and will start on offense.

Touchdown Chargers. Vincent Jackson on only his third catch of the year, out-muscled Nate Clements for the 58-yard touchdown. Clements was left alone on the 6-5 Jackson. Philip Rivers then had a little trash talk for Clements after the score. It's on. Can the 49ers respond.

49ers drive: Crabtree is hurt and is on the sidelines. Anthony Davis pushed one of the Chargers safeties and he flopped. But no call. The 49ers are chippy. They just called timeout, probably because of the Crabtree injury.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | December 16 2010 at 06:59 PM

49ers win

The 49ers did everything right in this game, including resting players at the end of the game. So the 49ers have taken the first step in their quest for the division by beating the Seahawks. The Rams also compiled by losing to the Saints. The 49ers playoff prospects just got a lot better.

Deon Butler looked like his broke his lower leg after catching a TD in the end zone. It's now 40-21.

Lawson just had a cramp.

Seattle drive: Manny Lawson just hit the deck. I think he might have a cramp.

49ers drive: A designed naked boot by Alex Smith to keep things going a little bit. Michael Crabtree missed a high pass. Still no chemistry between Smith and Crabtree. The streak is broken; the 49ers get a first down and now can eat up some clock. The 49ers are going a lot with outside zone runs with Dixon. Maybe he likes those plays inside gap runs.

Seahawks drive: Interesting the 49ers are playing Taylor Mays at free safety for Dashon Goldson. Maybe he would be better there. I've never seen so many passes go through the hands of receivers. It's happened three or four times for Seattle. Mare just missed a 43-yard field goal.

This is the first game the 49ers actually showed themselves to be playoff worthy. Also, Alex Smith got lucky in this one. Yes, he made the right reads, but he benefited from yards after the catch and five Matt Hasselbeck turnovers.

49ers drive: Another uninspired three and out for the 49ers. Seahawks drive: Things are going badly for Seattle. Matt Hasselbeck had Michael Robinson wide open and missed him with a floated pass across the field. Robinson turned around twice before the pass dropped.

49ers drive: Three and out.

Seattle: Kickoff return for a score. Seventh kickoff return for a TO for Leon Washington. Kudos to Michael Robinson and Jeff Ulbrich who are big in the Seattle special teams.

49ers drive: 49ers get another field goal from Jeff Reed, after the 46-yard big play to Josh Morgan. Morgan had about 38 yards worth of YAC on the play. That's been the story of the game, that and the Seahawks' turnovers. 49ers 40-7. Seattle drive: Three and out. Great read by Takeo Spikes on third down. He held the running back so he couldn't get out in the pattern, which is no longer a penalty apparently.

49ers drive: The 49ers go three runs and then send out Andy Lee. The 49ers should seriously consider mass substitutions with a 30-point lead and a game Thursday night in San Diego.

Seattle drive: Interception Clements in end zone. Great finger-tip catch. Hasselbeck was trying to go with a fade route, but Clements got a good chuck at the line of scrimmage and then made the pick. Well done.

The extra point got blocked. They were are looking at Iupati's left shoulder. It might be a stinger. When Iupati came off the field, Anthony Dixon patten on the left arm, which caused Iupati more pain. Everyone was laughing about that apparently.

Seattle drive: Pick six Dashon Goldson. The 49ers didn't have a safety interception all year. Then within the space of three minutes, the 49ers get two. A 40-yard interception return for a score.

Compa David White just told me that 148 yards of the Alex Smith's 195 yards came with yards after the catch.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | December 12 2010 at 03:59 PM

New stream for second half

49ers drive: Alex Smith didn't throw to the end zone and the 49ers settle for a field goal. Smith finished the half 13 of 20 for 195 yards and three touchdowns. But here's the question, does Troy Smith throw three TD's against the woeful Seattle?

Seattle: Interception by Reggie Smith, the first pick by safety. 49ers are on the 10.

49ers drive: Brian Westbrook tremendous 62-yard catch-and-run. A good play between two smart players. Smith recognized blitz, Westbrook got his head around quickly. Where are the boos now? 49ers lead 27-7.

Seattle drive: The 49ers stop them on 4th down and then they went with a fade route to Ruvell Martin. Shawntae Spencer provided the tight coverage that led to the incompletion.

49ers drive: 15-yard TD to Josh Morgan for the score on points after the fumble. The 49ers are doing what you have to do with Alex Smith and that's get yards after the catch. Smith likes to short and the receivers are making him look good by running after the catch. Two terrific moves by Morgan to score. 49ers lead 20-7.

Seattle drive: Travis LaBoy, sack, fumble and recovery. The hat trick. The 49ers have the ball at Seattle 17.

49ers drive: Another field goal for Jeff Reed. The 49ers are up 13-7 after the 44-yard field goal. Ted Ginn Jr. was open on a slant on third down. The ball was behind him, but Ginn has to make that catch. There have been a few drops already. Troy Smith throws a more catchable pass. 49ers 13-17.

Seahawks drive: Lots of confusion on third down on a direct snap to Michael Robinson. Then Robinson let a ball go through his hands for an interception.

49ers drive: The 49ers drive for field goal. Anthony Dixon made a great cut and found an open middle for a big gain. Alex Smith even went down to make a block. He also got blasted on third down. Smith is moving the ball and the 49ers are not doing it with the spread. They are going out of pro set or two-tights formations. 49ers 10-7.

Seahawks drive: Ruvell Martin scored easily on slant-and-go route. Free safety Reggie Smith bit on the pump fake and then slipped behind Smith in the end zone wide open. The fake was so good, it looked like a broken coverage. Smith has to watch more film. Tied 7-7.

49ers drive: Alex got sacked on third down. He held the ball too long. The Seahawks have already blitzed three times. Westbrook has picked up everyone. Chilo Rachal missed his block on Aaron Curry, which led to the sack.

Seattle drive: Guard Mike Gibson had his tail handed to him by Justin Smith. He whiffed twice on Smith. That's a match up to watch. Seattle was forced to punt.

49ers drive: Alex Smith got booed after throwing two straight incompletions to start the game, then led the team down for an opening-drive score. He found Vernon Davis for a 42-yard catch and run against a broken coverage. Terrific blitz pick up by Brian Westbrook on two of the passes to Davis. The other went for 22 yards. 49ers 7, Seattle 0

The 49ers caught a break with Seattle, neither of their big receivers, Mike Williams (ankle) and Ben Obomanu (hand), will play. Both were listed as questionable. Williams has taken over games at times.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | December 12 2010 at 02:30 PM

It's a pick. Game over.

Interception by Nick Collins and it's over. The Packers will take a knee or two. Wait we have review.

49ers drive:Vernon Davis just went to the sideline, it looks like his ankle is acting up again.

Packers drive cont: Packers inside the 49ers 12 again. The Packers are running out the clock just like they did last year. Mason Crosby makes a short field goal its 34-16.

Packers drive cont: It would easy to blame the defense for this loss. They did have a number of breakdowns. But it's hard to play defense with a Troy Smith-led offense because the 49ers either go three and out, or they score quickly on a big play.

Packers drive: The 49ers have this pattern of poo-pooing challenges, like playing in the cold. Then they get tripped up by those challenges. The 49ers defense missed plenty of tackles this afternoon, probably because their hands are frozen. I don't know, however, what they could have done to acclimate.

49ers drive cont: Another three and out. One third down, Smith had a an open Crabtree on a slant, but he didn't throw it. Then he got sacked. He takes a long time to go through his progression; he even does that in practice. The question is, can he learn to get quicker with more experience.

49ers drive: Ted Ginn Jr, a few weeks ago, looked like he was in a slump with his returns. By the last two months he's been excellent. it helps that in the 4th quarter, the 49ers have the wind at their back.

Packers drive: Crosby makes a 43-yarder to make it 31-16. The game is slipping away.

49ers drive: Vernon Davis dropped a pass that would have been good for at least 50. Davis hasn't done that much this year. The 49ers are still in this, but not if they go three-and-out. Ginn almost caught a long pass but he couldn't get his second foot down.

49ers drive: I've never seen so many players on the same team run into each other. Ted Ginn Jr. had a return stymied when he ran into Phillip Adams. Earlier, Troy Smith and Antony Dixon ran into Mike Iupati. Wierd.

Packers drive: Touchdown for 2 yards to Greg Jennings. Another big play to Jennings that got the ball to the 49ers' 5. The 49ers safeties are struggling, receivers are consistently getting behind them.

49ers drive: 23-yard field goal by Jeff Reed. The 49ers stall once again inside the 10, and that's where a new quarterback struggles. Troy Smith had an open Crabtree on third down but he missed him while rolling to his right. Sometimes, Smith throws side arm, and when he does, it's usually inaccurate.

Packers drive: Touchdown Donald Driver. The old man broke three tackles and got into the end zone. Driver was left wide open over the middle. A 61-yard score, with Reggie Smith, Dashon Goldson and Nate Clements all missing tackles. So much went wrong on that play, it's hard to know where to start.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | December 05 2010 at 01:00 PM

New stream for second half, 49ers trail 14-13

First half assessment: Really interesting half for the 49ers. When the Packers scored again on a 1-yard run to go up 14-6, you thought Green Bay would run away with it, mainly because of the inconsistency of Troy Smith. But then Smith struck with his 66-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis. Smith can look so bad at times, running way into sacks, throwing the ball right into the teeth of the defense. Then he can strike like a bolt of lightening. If ever learned the offense and developed a short passing game, he'd be really dangerous. New steam for the second half.

49ers drive: The 49ers will let the half run out. Vernon Davis is all over the place. Now he's jawing with Clay Matthews.

Packers drive: The 49ers get lucky again. James Jones caught a pass down to the 49ers' 10, but the play was called dead because the 49ers were off-sides. Then they get a three-and-out.

Vernon Davis came off the field and exploded at quarterbacks coach Jason Michael, who's transfers the plays from OC Mike Johnson in the booth. I think Davis was saying that he wants the ball more. Davis has been pass protecting much more in the last few games. He let his frustration out after the TD. He then got a consoling talk from Mike Singletary and tight ends coach Pete Hoener.

49ers drive: TD, Vernon Davis score. A 66-yard score and the 49ers are right back in it. 14-13.

Packers drive: Touchdown John Kuhn. Packers lead 14-6.

Packers drive: Screen to Jackson gets the ball to the 49ers' 1. This game is changing in a hurry.

49ers drive: Bad drive for the 49ers. Anthony Dixon couldn't get his footing on his two carries, and then Troy Smith nearly threw an interception on third down. The momentum is certainly changing. Tarell Brown is back. Dixon is now going to change his kicks.

Packers drive: Big pass (57 yards) to Greg Jennings. They lead 7-6

Nate Clements after hitting the fullback, is down. It looks like a leg injury.

49ers drive: Jeff Reed makes a good on a 44-yard field goal and he looked very solid doing it. Troy Smith engineered the drive by throwing all of his passes on the drive to Michael Crabtree, including one 39-yard completion. Smith also missed on a long pass Crabtree on the first play of the game. 49ers lead 3-0

Linebacker Parys Haralson will not play with his sprained ankle, which means plenty of playing time for Travis LaBoy. The wind is swirling, which should make kicking difficult. Weather is in the 20's with a wind chill to 13 degrees.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | December 05 2010 at 11:35 AM

49ers win, 27-6

The 49ers will now have some injuries to deal with as the team goes in victory formation. Frank Gore has his hip injury. Dominique Zeigler was injured, so was David Baas. Chilo Rachal didn't finish the game. Both Baas and Rachal were on the sidelines for the rest of the game, so the injuries might not prevent them from playing Green Bay on a short week.

49ers drive: 49ers have held the Cardinals to 13 yards rushing.

Cardinals drive: Three passes, three incompletions by Anderson, and Ken Whisenhunt will punt. The Cardinals only have eight first downs, to the 49ers 24.

49ers drive cont: 49ers burn some time before they punt. 4:18 left.

49ers drive: Adam Snyder is in at right guard for Rachal. Linebacker Lennon is down for the Cardinals. This has turned out to be a long game.

Cardinals drive: 49ers stop the Cardinals on 4th down. The 49ers will take over on downs. Expect a lot of runs.

Dominique Zeigler is down after the kickoff. Ziegler is able to walk off the field.

The play is reversed. A good call. But it took entirely too long. The NFL should just review everything in the booth. It's ridiculous.

The play is being challenged. David Baas is out with a head injury.

49ers drive cont: Tony Wragge is in the game at center. Fumble, Troy Smith tried to get rid of it and ended up throwing it backward, which is a lateral. The Cardinals recover. They still have life.

49ers drive: Westbrook is over 130 yards. About 100 of those yards belong to the offensive line. 49ers get the ball at the 50, instead of the 10. But they still have a chance to put it away.

Cardinals drive: Spikes picks, he laterals to Nate Clements for a big gain. Plus a personal foul on right tackle Jeremy Bridges. Arizona will challenge the ruling that Spikes was down by contact. That's why you keep Takeo Spikes on the field even on passing downs. Clements on the lateral really covered up the ball, probably remember Atlanta.

49ers drive: Andrus makes a field goal. The first of his career. More importantly, it extends the lead to 24-6

Cardinals drive: Three and out, and C.J. Spillman partially blocks punt. 49ers get good field position.

49ers drive cont: Fittingly the ball was blocked by Rogers-Cromartie.

49ers drive: Sloppy drive with lots of penalties on both sides. The 49ers had to call timeout. Another score here and you would think it's over. Josh Morgan got popped by Kerry Rhodes and Morgan is out of the game. He sprained his shoulder last week

Cardinals drive: Holding call on rookie Daryl Washington, negating a return to the 49ers' 10. The hold was away from the ball. 49ers are also getting some breaks. 49ers get a three and out and Cardinals are booed. Parys Haralson was in on that drive.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | November 29 2010 at 08:39 PM

49ers end half leading 21-6

New stream for the second half

Best half of football of the year for the 49ers. And it should be noted, the offense was very conservative. They went mostly out their "red" formation, which is a I formation. You can be conservative if you execute.

49ers drive: Westbrook gets a few yards. The 49ers run for 128 yards for the half.

Cardinals drive: Crucial three and out by the 49ers off turnover.

49ers drive cont: Crabtree dropped a pass over the middle and it was picked. Crabtree took a peak ahead of him just before the ball arrived that contributed to the drop.

49ers drive: Holding call on Spillman costs them 40 yards. Two-minute warning.

Cardinals drive cont: Feely gets a 40-yard field goal to draw within 20-6.

Cardinals drive: Parys Haralson got rolled up on his ankle and he hobbled to the sideline

49ers drive: 6-yard touchdown by Brian Westbrook. Fantastic block by Anthony Davis on the right side. He cleared out the whole side. 49ers lead 21-3.

49ers drive: Ted Ginn Jr. ran it right up the middle and nearly scored. They'll have great field position.

Cardinals drive: Reggie Smith is having a good night. He's tackling much better. On third down, rookie Phillip Adams nearly picked off the pass.

49ers drive: 49ers try a little bit of trick on second down a screen pass to Anthony Dixon. The Cardinals had it read. 49ers go three-and-out.

Cardinals drive cont: Arizona forced to punt after a pass to that ends eight inches short.

Cardinals drive: Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky has blitzed the safety often over the last few weeks, but they always miss the tackle on run plays. Not this time. Reggie Smith hit the running back and dropped him for a loss. First quarter over. Good quarter for the 49ers.

49ers drive cont: Great cut and drive for a touchdown for Anthony Dixon. A lot of plays for fullback Moran Norris and he's blocking well

49ers drive: Gore had his right hip wrapped and is back. Gore is back out, but the 49ers are getting down the field with good play calls and two nice throws by Troy Smith. They had to call time out to avoid a penalty.

Cardinals drive: Beanie Wells got a long completion against Beanie Wells, and that put them in field position. Jay Feeley makes the 30-yarder.

49ers drive: After the fumble a strike to Michael Crabtree off play-action to Michael Crabtree. Great pass and catch. The 49ers fake a power run with Mike Iupati pulling and that provided Smith with plenty of time to go down field. Crabtree beat Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Frank Gore, however, went to the locker room.

49ers drive: Productive drive ending with a miss of a 48-yard field goal. Why try it? Shane Andrus was inaccurate in warm-ups. Can't believe they can't find a better kicker. Troy Smith started poorly on the drive missing three throws. But the 49ers look to be destroying the Cardinals up front.

Both cornerback Greg Toler (foot) and defensive end Calasis Campbell will be out for the Cardinals. 49ers kicker Shane Andrus was inconsistent from over 35 yards out. Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young picked the Rams to win the division. Safety Dashon Goldson will start. They just showed Vernon Davis trying to inspire team with what looked like tears coming down his face. 49ers will receive.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | November 29 2010 at 06:59 PM

Spencr Picks, 49ers win

49ers get it done and congratulations to Mike Singletary. He made the right move in starting Troy Smith, who was terrific in the second half. Overall he completed 12 of 19 for 196 yards and a touchdown. He saw something in Smith that maybe his own coaches didn't see, and certainly I didn't see.

Denver runs back the punt for a TD, but gets called for a illegal block in the back.

49ers drive: Frank Gore is out and Anthony Dixon is in. Why? if not Gore why not Westbrook? Time out is called after two straight runs. Another run and no first down.

49ers drive: What will the 49ers do? Will they allow Smith to throw?

The kicker just missed it. He just snapped it right.

Broncos drive: Controversial call on the Brandon Lloyd. It was reviewed and he did get both feet down. Denver is now down at the 1.

49ers drive: Three straight scores by the 49ers offensive, after the 49ers failed to score an offensive touchdown in six quarters. Two running TD's for the 49ers. They haven't had one since the second game of the season. Doing all this without Vernon Davis.

Denver drive: Manny Lawson causes a fumble, and Spikes recovers. 49ers set up at Denver 20. Lawson is having a monster game.

49ers drive: Touchdown Michael Crabtree. Great throw by Troy Smith to Crabtree who beat man coverage on the sluggo route - the slant and go. The 49ers have a lead and do the 49ers have a quarterback? He's 7 of 9 for 155 a touchdown pass and a TD run

Denver drive: Great tackle by Patrick Willis on a third-down pass forces a punt. It seems that Willis wraps up every time. That's why he's so good.

49ers drive: Two straight long passes to Delanie Walker put the ball on the 1, and Smith ran it in from there. Great throw over the middle to Walker on the first play, and then a jump ball for 38 yards on the second play. Walker pushed off but it wasn't called. Now can Smith do it again? Can he make enough plays to win the game?

Broncos drive cont: The 49ers aren't wrapping up on defense. A screen pass for Thomas went for big yardage. Denver settles for a 32-yard field goal. The 49ers got lucky on third down because of no call on Shawntae Spencer who held Brandon Lloyd in the end zone.

Lloyd already has four catches for 120 yards. Broncos lead 10-3.

Broncos drive: Touchdown to Jabar Gaffney, called back because of a chop block on Moreno. He got Travis LaBoy. Dashon Goldson got burned on the flea flicker. The 49ers got lucky there on a questionable call. Orton is back.

49ers drive: We've gone back to Jimmy Raye. Two tight end formations until third down when they go with three receivers and then run. Boring and ineffective , another 3 and out.

Broncos drive: It could be Tebow time. Orton is hurt after a crushing hit.

49er drive: Ragged drive, but 49ers can't make good on a 30-yard pass to Josh Morgan. 49ers still having problems getting the play in. Nedney missed a 52-yard field goal.

Broncos drive: 71-yard pass play to Brandon Lloyd who like he beat Taylor Mays in the four deep zone. First time Mays has been beaten deep. Mays got caught flat-footed.

49ers drive cont: Mike Johnson is going too conservative. They ran on third and 7 despite Denver having a lot players on the line of scrimmage.

49ers drive: 49ers are driving but having trouble getting the play in. They've called two timeouts on this first drive of the third quarter. Chilo Rachal is sealing off his guy every time while pulling. This is his best game. 49ers are driving and now have to call time out because of slow play transmission.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | October 31 2010 at 01:06 PM

49ers lead 3-0 and get ball first in second half

First half summary: The 49ers did not take advantage of a fine defensive effort. They couldn't get anything going offensively against a poor defensive unit. Smith has also enjoyed good play from the offensive line. New stream for second half.

Denver cont: Justin Smith got his third sack of the season and he was smart in doing it. He was about to hurl Orton on his head but refrained at the last moment. Greg Manusky is doing a good job of mixing pressures and going with rush zones.

Denver cont: NaVorro Bowman has been a liability in coverage; so the 49ers are trying to solve that problem by blitzing him.

Denver drive: Horrible call on Manny Lawson. He got called for a personal foul for a blow to the head, but Orton was ducking at the time. But that's the rule. It should have been a 12-yard sack instead it was a 15-yard PF penalty. Two minute warning.

49ers drive: It looks like running back Frank Gore looks like he's setting protections at times from the shotgun formation. He better do it every time because if he doesn't the Broncos know it's a draw, which they stopped on this drive. It's a good thing Denver can't score, because Troy Smith has struggled since the field goal drive. He's 4 of 9 now.

Broncos drive: Denver starting to move the ball a little, but their bad field position is ending in punts. Kyle Orton fled on third down and dove too early for the first down. The reason maybe because he was in the middle of the NFL emblem at mid field and probably didn't know where the marker was. Denver was lucky they didn't get called for a hold. Ray McDonald was collared on that play.

49ers drive: 49ers punt; it looked like on third down that tight end Delanie Walker had no idea where to go, which might have messed up the play. Nevertheless, Chilo Rachal is playing pretty well in this game. With Denver weak on the defensive right, Rachal is pulling quite often and doing a good job.

Broncos drive cont: 49ers force another punt. The 49ers are going with more pressures in this game. Aubrayo Franklin got a tackle for a loss, he's dominating the Broncos rookie center.

Broncos drive: Denver has had horrible field position. They started their last drive at their 3. This time they are deep inside their own red zone.

49ers drive: Terrific drive by the 49ers. Troy Smith was very sharp, completing slant patterns to Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker. The 49ers had an interesting mix in personnel groups with three tight ends, and a couple of plays to Brian Westbrook. Only disappointment was not getting a first down on third and short against an injured Broncos front. 49ers 3-0.

Broncos drive: Wow, six-man pressure and a sack, but Orton went down by himself in a Jim Everett-like moment. Shawntae Spencer struggled last week. On this drive he missed a tackle on Moreno and then lost leverage on Brandon Lloyd for a completion. Running back Moreno gets 18 yards after bouncing outside, something the 49ers have been unable to stop on the drive's first play.

49ers drive: Three and out for the 49ers. The 49ers came with a three tight-end formation on the first play. On second down, Troy Smith went deep to a double-covered Michael Crabtree. He overthrew him but showed good arm strength.

Broncos drive: Manny Lawson just hobbled off. 49ers force three and out.

Tarell Brown (back) will not play. But Anthony Dixon, Nate Clements and most especially, tight end Vernon Davis will play. Jerry Rice and John Elway were honorary captains. Rice got a huge roar from the crowd. Broncos get the ball first.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | October 31 2010 at 11:20 AM