Both Nolan and J.T. O'Sullivan spoke with the media earlier today and addressed some of the issues the offense will face on Sunday.  When I posted Nolan's post-game comments, one issue you guys mentioned was the lack of discussion about the offense.  So, this is certainly somewhat timely.  Normally I roll out Nolan first, but given the criticisms of JTO I thought it was better to go with him first.

J.T. O'SULLIVAN
On Asante Samuel: "You have to understand that you’re going against a good secondary across the board. It’s a veteran group. It’s a lot of guys that can make plays. Him in particular: everybody’s kind of aware of how he got there and that sort of thing. But it’s something that we’re not going to…we’re aware of where there best players are and conscious of it, but we’re not going to not do what we do, if that answers your question. Everybody in this league is pretty good. There are definitely elite players and he’s one of them. So we’re aware of it, but we’re still going to…we’re not going to close off one side of the field and say, ‘We’re not going to do this.’ We’re going to play our game, and we understand that he’s a very good player. We’re going to have to raise our level."

On whether the defenses have done anything different to lead to 5 INTs in 2 weeks: "I don’t think so. Do you want me to answer the question of why I think there are more picks in the last two weeks? Is that what you’re…?"

On whether defenses are guessing the primary receiver and taking him away: "No. I think I do a pretty good job of understanding what the reads are, checking the ball down and things like that. It’s just a matter of protecting the ball, being conscious of the fact that obviously turnovers are bad but I’m not going to become trigger-shy and start to question my judgment. If I see something, I’m going to throw it to the open guy."

On the difficulty of getting Vernon Davis incorporated into the offense: "I don’t know if I’m the right guy to answer that question." (Fooch: Interesting response)

On his on-field relationship with the Duke: "I think Vernon is an absolute pro. Nobody works harder out here. The last couple weeks we’ve been staying after and I’ve been getting a better feel for him just the last couple weeks. But I’ve had a good feel for him. I don’t know how you can not have a good feel for someone who is that athletic and that fast down the field. We’re just going to keep trying to get him involved as much as we can."

Mike Nolan after the jump...

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I'm posting this in part in response to the Roy Williams on the Block FanPost, but more because of the general offensive issues that seem to be plaguing the team.  On Sunday, the 49ers had three touchdown drives, capped by touchdown passes from J.T. O'Sullivan to Frank Gore and twice to Isaac Bruce.  However, most of the rest of the game saw balls overthrown, underthrown and dropped by receivers.

It's fitting that Gore and Bruce made the three touchdown catches because they have been our most consistent weapons to date.  Isaac Bruce may be slowing with age, but he can still ran great routes and get himself open when need be.  Frank Gore continues to be a dual running/receiving threat and I thought his touchdown grab on Sunday was a pretty great catch considering he's a running back and was covered rather well.

The question is the rest of the receiving corp.  As pointed out in the game thread, the announcers thought the offense would improve over the course of the season as the quarterback and wide receivers got more and more on the same page.  The problem with that is sometimes it appears as though the receivers actually are on the same page, but the cosistency is a problem. 

Arnaz Battle had his huge game two Sundays ago.  Bryant Johnson has not had a huge game but makes some solid contributions at times.  We won't get into Vernon Davis because that's just turning into a clusterf#%k of epic proportions.  But looking at Johnson and Battle, what really is the issue?  In that Roy Williams diary, sfgfan made a good point when he said "A WR only disappears if the QB doesn’t see them, they’re not in the right place at the right time, or if they don’t create enough separation. I think Johnson and Battle are problem falling victim to the latter two more than the first."

I agree with that because even though JTO is getting run around his interceptions have come when he's had time to stare down some of those guys.  If guys aren't in the right place at the right time, I'd imagine that would go towards the color guys argument that the passing game will improve over time.  Is that true, or would people argue our receivers are just not getting separation?

I still think our receiving corps is good enough as is.  Of course adding Roy Williams wouldn't exactly hurt the offense.  Williams spent two years in a Martz offense so I'd imagine he could pick it back up quickly enough.  However, I also don't think we want to be giving up multiple draft picks for a guy who's a free agent after this year.  Even with a contract extension I rarely think trading multiple draft picks is a good idea (see Stokes, J.J.).

EDITOR'S REQUEST: Is there anybody who would be interested in becoming the daily "Golden Nuggets" person for the site?  I think people enjoy the convenience of having links to check on a daily basis.  It's not a glamorous position, but I think it's an especially important one.  So, if you're interested, feel free to leave a note in the comments or email me at ninersnation@gmail.com and we'll discuss the details in a little more depth.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

We're a day removed from another bad loss and the links are certainly not rosy in nature.  Given the upcoming schedule, it's safe to say Mike Nolan is entering the proverbial hotseat.  I had considered a post asking what people thought would happen to Nolan if the 49ers lost their next three games (quite possible), but I really don't think that's an appropriate post for now.  If the 49ers lose their next three games, then, we can discuss it.

On to the links....

ESPN: Mike Sando wrote what we're all thinking: Exciting on offense is definitely not good enough for the 49ers right now.

ESPN: Sando also put together some silver linings from the game.  I'd much prefer wins over silver linings.

ESPN: Finally, Sando put together a detailed look at the 49ers committment to using Gore throughout the game (minus trailing in the 4th quarter).

Press Democrat: Maiocco rolled out a quickie report card following the game and suffice to say, the 49ers did not make the honor roll.

Press Democrat: The blitz did NOT work on Sunday in spite of the 5 sacks.

SJ Merc: A solid recap of the Steve Young jersey retirement ceremony.

SJ Merc: A third-down-stoppage stimulus package?  That's a good way to put it.

SJ Merc: Steve Young brought back some of the good ole days, for at least a little bit.

SF Chron: The 49ers receivers definitely didn't do JTO any favors yesterday with some rather ugly drops.

SF Chron: Gwen Knapp thinks there is too much of a losing culture with the 49ers.  If it is a "losing culture," I don't think it's the traditional culture of losing.  It's some twisted version.

SF Chron: The Chronicle's look at Steve Young's retirement ceremony.

SF Chron: Ray Ratto thinks the 49ers defense might still be on the field at Candlestick.

SF Chron: John Crumpacker grades out the 49ers.

Sacramento Bee: Bamm Bamm was PISSED after the game and did not do any interviews.

Sacramento Bee: The 49ers still have a long way to go.

InsideBayArea.com: Another lesson delivered by "the mastered."  I'm not sure Belichick is sufficiently a master yet...we'll see how this season plays out before bestowing such a title.

San Francisco Sentinel: Well this Pat Murphy guy certainly has a bug up his ass.  I'm certainly not happy with the team's current state, but I'm not feeling quite as negative as Murphy.  Of course, some folks here probably agree with him and think I'm off my rocker.  Nothing wrong with that.

Every so often I roll out Nolan quotes, post-game quotes and similar whatnot.  I thought I'd make the post-game quotes a more regular feature as I receive them.  Even with all the coach-speak and athlete cliches, we can probably get a little context.  Also, I'll throw in my thoughts if anything jumps out.  I'll make sure and set it off as my own opinion.

HEAD COACH MIKE NOLAN
On the game as a whole: “Okay, defensively we’ve got to get off the field better, obviously. (We) didn’t do a good job there. And offensively, we definitely have to stay on the field. We’ve got to convert on third down. Special teams was uneventful. There wasn’t much to report there. But that’s what led to the loss: gave them another big pass, uncharacteristic of our secondary. But two weeks in a row, I’m not going to say it is becoming characteristic, but we got the quarterback on a blitz and he just unloads it deep and beats us.”

The cliche of the day: “I know we brought pressure. It’s a good example of getting five sacks. (I know) how excited people get about sacks and how they think they’re directly related to winning. That should give you a great example that it really isn’t. To win is all about having more points than the other team. It gets down to staying on the field offensively on third down and getting off on defense, and a lot of other things but it’s never one area.”

Fooch: Oh Coach Nolan...I've joked about coach/athlete cliches including scoring more points than the other team but I've never seen somebody use the phrase "having more points than the other team."  Really bringing his A-game.

On deactiving Roderick Green and activating Marcus Hudson: “With Rod I thought that I’d just let Tully (Banta-Cain) have the opportunity. I thought that it was important to get (Marcus Hudson) up for the special teams as well. So, Hudson did the special teams. He’s a good special teams player. I felt we’d need him for the game. And Tully had a good week. I thought we’d inspire him and see if he would do something. But I’ll look at the film, but he…again from a pass rush standpoint, I don’t know. I guess I shouldn’t say it before I know. We were okay in that area, like I said, five sacks, but we didn’t win the game.

FRANK GORE
On the offenses performance: “We just went out today flat. We went out flat as a team. We just have to go out there and stick together and play hard. We can’t give up. We just have to keep playing hard.”

Fooch: I realize a 16-game, 4-month long season can be grueling and I certainly don't know enough as a fan to get what players go through.  However, I still find it amazing when players talk about how their team came out flat.  In baseball I can see that happening because we're talking about 162 games where a single loss usually won't sink your season.  But when you're playing 16 games and each one is so important, it's a little tough to swallow.

J.T. O'Sullivan, Takeo Spikes, Nate Clements and Tully Banta-Cain after the jump...

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I just got back from Candlestick Park and frustration is probably the best word to describe how I feel.  I feel frustrated because this team shows signs of putting it together, and follows that with serious regression.  They'll put together a great offensive drive and then follow it with multiple 3 and outs.  They'll get pressure on Matt Cassel and bring him down, and then they'll follow that with Cassel having all damn day to pass the ball.  They'll make a key stop on second or third down, only to have a stupid penalty called.

I try to look at the positives after a game, and while there were positive signs today, they were follow by too many negatives.

The Defense
I'm willing to forgive the Moss bomb early because he's still an athletic freak and these things happen no matter what defense you're running.  My problem is with the lack of adjustment in this bend but don't break defense.  The theory behind a bend but don't break is to give up some first downs, give up some field goals and once in a while a touchdown, but in the end make stops more often that not.  In practice, the 49ers are struggling with the whole stopping offenses issue. 

As I was watching it seemed like the Patriots were getting first downs at will.  Cassel struggled early on but once he realized the defense was giving him a 10-15 yard cushion he picked them apart like a seasoned veteran.  It felt like the 49ers were practically running a prevent defense in the way the Patriots picked up first downs in the latter two thirds of the game.  Even though the Patriots did not have a high yards per carry, their running game still seemed wildly effective.

In just looking at the statistics, one might try and argue the pass rush was finally effective, sacking Cassel 5 times.  That person would be wrong.  The pass rush was all or nothing today as either Cassel was quickly sacked or he had plenty of time to throw the ball.  J.T. O'Sullivan was only sacked once, but it seemed like he was scrambling around in the pocket half the time.  I don't know this was planned or not, but the Patriots defense consistently forced JTO to his left side so that he had no chance to plant his feet after bootlegging out.  That was not the case with Matt Cassel and he made the quick throws he needed to.  The QB hurries and knockdowns are just as important as the sacks.

J.T. O'Sullivan
Oh JTO, what are we going to do with you? Considering he only threw for 130 yards, it was a very active day for fearless leader.  He had several ugly overthrows, he had some dropped passes and he seemed to scramble to his left every other play.  High risk/high reward is fine but things got out of hand today.  He's got 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on the season, to go with 20 sacks.  I think the best description of him is a poor man's Brett Favre.  A VERY poor man.  Favre would make an incredibly bad decision but followed it up with 2 or 3 huge plays.  JTO, on the other hand, will make one huge play and follow it up with 2 or 3 bad decisions.  Not quite the ratio we'd like to see.

I think you'd be a blind fool to argue the offense isn't better than it was last year.  It's not pretty in the slightest, but it is better.  I didn't hear the broadcast, but in the game thread Cruithear mentioned that the CBS crew said that the passing game would look better as they get more time together.  Clearly it's better than last year, but there are definitely some timing issues that need to be worked out.  I thought it would be a roller coaster with JTO and it truly has been so far.

Mike Martz
It is completely true that one minute he seems like a genius and the next minute you're pulling your hair out in frustration.  Clearly he's made the offense better and made this a more competitive team.  However, several areas continue to drive me batty.  First, Frank Gore.  Frank the Tank touched the ball 16 teams and had one incomplete pass thrown his way.  Considering how close this game was for the first three quarters, that's simply unacceptable.  When you're averaging close to 5 yards per touch (16 touches/78 yards), you simply have to do more with him.  I understand you're not going to run Gore on a 3rd and 4.  However, a short screen pass to him probably has a higher percentage of success than a 15 yard toss to our newest entrant as hands of ston, Vernon Davis.

My second issue, look at the drive chart.  J.T. O'Sullivan led the 49ers on 13 drives today.  TWO of those drives were for more than 30 yards.   ONE drive lasted more than 10 plays, and that drive was the only over 5 plays.  The 49ers finished the game having possessed the ball for 20:08, while the Patriots had the ball for 39:52.  It was definitely week 1 all over again, as several of you mentioned in the game thread.  I think this goes somewhat back to Frank Gore, but better use of the running game and more short completions will get that clock ticking a little bit more.

Isaac Bruce
I wanted to end this tantrum on a positive note.  Isaac Bruuuuuuuuuce is probably running a close second to Frank Gore as 49ers offensive MVP so far.  Bruce finished with 3 catches for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns.  After his monster game against the Seahawks, he has settled in as a nice, solid receiving option.  This is clearly not Jerry Rice ending his career in Seattle or Johnny Unitas in his last year as a Charger.  Isaac Bruce may not be the receiver he used to be, but he is bringing some serious game to the 49ers.  I never thought I'd root for a former Ram, but Bruce is the kind of quiet professional that anybody can root for.

Looking Forward
As some of you pointed out in the game thread, this division is still up for grabs.  The 49ers sit one game back of the Cardinals.  Of coure the next two weeks could bring some serious misery as the 49ers host a likely angry Philadelphia Eagles squad and then travel to the Meadowlands to face a bad-ass New York Giants squad. 

The Seahawks are no gimme even in their current form, so the 49ers better be careful or they could go into the bye week at 2-6.  In reality one win might be all they get before the bye.  Two wins would be absolutely amazing, but they have to at least get one.  I won't say the season is on the line in the next three weeks, but this is as important a 3-game stretch as any.

Oh, and thanks again to everybody who took part in the thread today.  Even in my absence the commentary has been fantastic.  We finished with 28 commenters and 656 comments.  49erLou and Cruithear lead the way with 89 and 86 comments respectively.  The full list is after the jump.

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The first four weeks of the season have seen the 49ers secondary squaring off against everybody from Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams and Larry Fitzgerald to Courtney Taylor, Logan Payne and Terrance Copper.  In spite of last week's performance, the 49ers secondary remains a strength in my opinion.  With that in mind I thought we'd take a look at the biggest matchup of week, along with some other important matchups.

Matchup of the Week
Nate Clements vs. Randy Moss: As interesting as I think Walt Harris and Wes Welker is, the matchup everybody will be watching is 6-4 super-freak Randy Moss vs. 6-0 Nate "Lockdown" Clements.  Clements has been money well spent and prior to Brady going down, Randy Moss slipped into the rejuvenation machine.  However, both the principals face some problems this week. 

Nate Clements will be hoping and praying the pass rush steps up this week.  As good as he is, if even a guy like Matt Cassel gets enough time, eventually he'll probably find Moss.  Maybe it won't happen early on, but eventually Clements will get worn down.  On the other side of the ball, aside from the opening week, Matt Cassel has struggled to develop a rapport with Randy Moss.  Raiders and VIkings fans are probably wondering when he'll repeat his behavior in those cities.

Other matchups
Patriots pass rush vs. 49ers offensive line: The Patriots pass rush managed next to nothing two weeks ago versus the Dolphins and witnessed Chad Pennington absolutely pick them apart.  It was helped in great part by a great running game, but either way Pennington was 17/20 for 226 yards.  Given the number of sacks JTO has suffered thus far, a full game on his feet would really be quite nice.

49ers pass rush vs. Patriots offensive line: One thing I've noticed is that Ray McDonald has been especially quiet up to this point.  He's made plays but he hasn't been the impact guy I thought he would be at the beginning of the season.  Any thoughts on what has kept him from blowing up for the 49ers?  Aside from McDonald, I'd expect we'll see a bit of Tully Banta-Cain for the first time.  He had some good performances in the preseason garbage time so who knows what we can expect.  I do know that Parys Haralson and Roderick Green need to bring the speed off the outside and get Cassel frazzled as early as possible.  If they can get Cassel hearing footsteps early it will make their job all the easier.

49ers receivers vs. Patriots secondary: One interesting advantage might be the injury of third corner Lewis Hobbs Sanders who has missed all of practice this week.  If they're short on cornerbacks, a healthy 49ers wide receiver corp could potentially do some damage.  Arnaz Battle is coming off probably the best game of his career and a chance to face a rookie like Terrence Wheatley.

49ers running game vs. interior of Patriots defense: As Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams showed last week, this defense can be run upon.  I'm sure Belichick has the defense prepped for Frank Gore, but Gore brings enough talent to overcome such gameplans if he gets enough touches.  The Patriots interior includes the likes of Vince Wilfork at nose tackle, Tedy Bruschi and Jerod Mayo at inside linebacker and hard-hitting Rodney Harrison at strong safety.  I include Harrison because of the support he can bring in the run game.  Aside from some ugly blocking against the Seahawks, the offensive line has opened up just enough space for Frank Gore to squeeze out some sizeable runs.  A solid running game is absolutely, positively essential to protecting JTO.

We're four weeks into the 2008 NFL Season and 49ers QB J.T. O'Sullivan has been sacked 19 times.  That puts him on pace for 76 sacks, which would tie David Carr's single season record.  That also happened in Carr's rookie season and while he had a couple decent seasons, he never really recovered from the beating he took.

The Patriots have struggled a bit, but even I was surprised by how poorly their defense performed against the Dolphins.  Even with the offense losing Tom Brady, that defense has a whole host of playmakers.  Coming off such a poor performance, I think it's safe to say the hooded one will have his defense chomping at the bit and looking for blood.

Accordingly, the 49ers offense is going to have figure out a way to protect J.T. O'Sullivan and keep him on his feet more often.  I realize the Martz offense is high risk high reward and the QB is going to be sacked fairly often, but the rate so far has been ridiculous.  Jon Kitna was sacked 63 and 51 times in the two season of Martz but that was the Lions who struggled to develop a running game and didn't exactly have thre greatest offensive line in the world.

The problems so far seem to be threefold: 1) The offensive line struggles to provide JTO with time to pass, 2) When the line gives him time, JTO will hold onto the ball too long, and 3) Some of the play-calling leaves a little something to be desired.

I think the first two are areas that are both self-explanatory and I don't think much can be added to the conversation.  As far as the line is concerned there are certainly some replacement options available.  We've got some potential fill-ins and could shake things up but I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make.  As for JTO, well clearly he needs to learn to either throw away the ball or gallop along for a few free yards.  Pretty straightforward.

The play-calling is what I want to address.  We've been over and over and over the Vernon Davis problems.  What I don't understand is why Martz doesn't run more screen passes and short, quick passes to him?  Those passes drastically increase the chances that he won't drop the ball and he has proven time and again that if he gets the ball in his hands he will more often than not make some thing out of it.  If I had every game on tape I could probably point to numerous times when he gets the quick screen or quick hitches and turns up field for a first down or more.  I realize many would prefer Vernon Davis be running deep and making plays that way, but I really don't understand why they don't run specific plays just to get the ball in his hands.  Am I the only one?  Is there a reasonable explanation?

The second issue in play-calling is Frank Gore.  This past Sunday, Frank Gore ran the ball or had a pass thrown in his direction (both complete and incomplete) a total of 10 times in the first half.  In one situation, Gore ran on first and second down for 9 yards setting up a 3rd and 1.  The next play was an incomplete pass to Isaac Bruce.  I realize you don't want to force the running game if it isn't there, but if you don't think Gore can get you 1 yard from Frank Gore, there is clearly a problem.

I was never a fan of Mike Tice's "Randy Ratio" up in Minnesota.  However, in the case of Frank Gore, I think you have to come up with a minimum number of times you want him to touch the ball and then do whatever it takes to reach and exceed that number.  He's a bull of a running back who can shimmy through the smallest of holes.  A struggling offensive line will not completely hold him back.

I realize much of what I'm stating would qualify as "the obvious."  But if it's so obvious, wouldn't the coaches realize this too?  The Patriots defense presents numerous dangers, particularly coming off an embarrassing performance.  The 49ers will have to adjust to keep JTO on his feet and making plays.  All I ask is for more quick stuff to Davis and some kind of Gore ration (we can call it the "Frank Factor").

For the third straight season the 49ers went into the Louisiana Superdome and walked away behind a rather embarrasing loss.  We spent all week pondering Reggie Bush and how the 49ers defense would contain him.  Of course, it appears that in concentrating on one player, the defense forgot about the rest of the offense.  Thanks to a pass rush that give him all day long to pass, Drew Brees absolutely picked apart the secondary with deep bombs, while Deuce McAllister made some key plays in the ground game.

The Good
As awful as this game was, there were definitely some bright spots.  Unfortunately they didn't do enough to overshadow the crap-tastic display of other parts.

Frank Gore - I remain baffled at the lack of touches for Gore considering how successful he was.  Gore touched the ball 18 times for 113 yards but he clearly did not touch the ball enough.  Whatever ratio they planned for Gore either wasn't enough or simply wasn't reached.

Arnaz Battle - Battle had his first career 100+ yard receiving day as he became the go-to guy for J.T. O'Sullivan.  Of course, when Battle has been the team's leading receiver in the past, the team has been pretty bad.  Just something to think about

Patrick Willis - Bamm Bamm was all over the field making plays and helping to contain Reggie Bush.  When he was involved in the pass rush, his athleticism showed as he almost snagged a sack.  I understand his role on the defense but sometimes it's interesting to see what he can do when he pins his ears back and goes for the QB

The Ugly
I'm skipping over the bad because really there was only ugly.  Deuce had a decent day but in reality, the 49ers did an ok job in stopping the run, holding the Saints to 3.3 yards per carry.  Of course when you're getting shredded through the air it really doesn't matter.

The pass defense - I was going to break this down between the secondary and the pass rush, but they were equally awful.  The defense garnered no sacks and it never really seemed like Drew Brees was concerned about being sacked.  Given this much time, it's no wonder the secondary got shredded on several deep balls.  At the same time, the receivers seemed to have absolutely no trouble getting behind the secondary. 

J.T. O'Sullivan - After looking sharp early on, things absolutely went in the crapper for JTO thanks to turnovers.  The fumble was a clear case of holding onto the ball too long.  The two interceptions in the red zone?  Wel those will absolutely kill a team, which they did too the 49ers.  Given the way the Saints were moving the ball I don't know if the 49ers necessarily would have won without the turnovers, but either way it doesn't really matter.  I certainly am not giving up on O'Sullivan as I think his turnovers are based on correctable mistakes.  He has a problem with staring down his receivers and holding onto the ball too long.  Both of those can be fixed in practice.  Of course he had a similar problem in week 1 and the first half of the Seahawks game, so maybe it takes a little more to fix that.

All in all, this was not a pretty game.  As people said, it's especially disappointing because it was a winnable game before all the turnovers.  The biggest issue, and one that I'll open up for discussion later in the week, is the pass rush.  As bad as the secondary was, I think more of the blame rests on the shoulders of the pass rush.

This Saints game was the first in a long stretch of tough ball games coming up.  The Patriots come to town next weekend looking to rebound from an ugly loss to the Dolphins last weekend.  Matt Cassel may or may not be a good QB, but if the 49ers continue to struggle in developing a pass rush, they could very well make him look like Tom Brady.  If the 49ers want to have any hope of a .500+ season, they likely need to split the next 4 games (vs. NE, vs. Philly, @ Giants, vs. Seattle).  There are numerous mistakes to be corrected, so hopefully they can get a good week of practice in.

I missed out on the discussion today but had a chance to go through it just now.  Thanks to everyone who took part as we finished with 554 comments from 32 people.  And yes I think howtheyscored is in the running for most vitriol per comment.  Of course, after a game like today the vitriol was quite high.

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I just received some of the psot-game notes and quotes from the 49ers and thought some were worth throwing out there.

• With his 130 yards today, Gore passed QB Steve Young (3,581) and RB Kevan Barlow (3,614) to move into seventh place on the 49ers all-time rushing list with 3,692 yards for his career. HB Hugh McElhenny is sixth with 4,288 yards.
• QB J.T. O’Sullivan entered the Detroit game with an NFL-high of seven pass completions over 25 yards. He completed a 25-yard pass to WR Bryant Johnson in the second quarter.
• The 49ers offense had 351 yards of offense last week at Seattle and 370 yards today against Detroit. Last season the 49ers went over 300 yards in total offense just twice.
• The 49ers scored 33 points last week at Seattle and 31 points today against Detroit. It is the first time the 49ers have had back-to-back 30-point games since the 2003 season when they won 30-10 vs. St. Louis (11-2-03) followed by a 30-14 win vs. Pittsburgh (11-17-03).

Mike Nolan
Whether he was surprised that Detroit played more of a read-and-react defense rather than doing a lot of blitzing:

“I saw them blitz some. I didn’t study their play-by-play, what they called, so I don’t think it’s wise for me to comment, to be honest with you, on that opponent, because I’d be wrong. I’d just be speculating on what I saw.”

Fooch: If they were in fact not doing a lot of blitzing, I'd be a bit stunned.  If they had scouted out the 49ers the past two weeks they would see an offensive line that struggled and a QB who took a beating even when he got some time.

On who decided to go for it on 4th down (him or Martz):

“No, that’s my decision. Just like when we don’t make it, that’s my decision too. It was one yard to go but it was inches the first play. When Frank (Gore) got hit, I wasn’t sure if it was a yard, a yard-and-a-half or two yards. Somebody actually hollered out, ‘Two yards.’ That’s why I ran down the side to kind of see, and that’s why I called timeout when I got down there. I saw that it was a yard. We went for it.”

Whether that attempt was meant as a statement play:

“No, I did reflect on it – our offense was moving the ball. They were playing well. They had a lot of confidence. I thought that they would’ve had every reason to feel like they could stick it in. If we had not gotten the points (Detroit was) still two scores and a two point (conversion) at that point away from it, and the ball would have been on the one-yard line. So I felt to go 99 yards, basically to have three scores and still beat us it would be a good choice.”

On whether he wanted to talk to O'Sullivan about sliding at the end of runs:

“I thought about it two or three times today in the game, but I thought I don’t need to do that in a ball game. Just let him play because he was playing well. You don’t want to get a guy out of their game. But believe me, I thought about it a few times…about saying, ‘Look, just do something.’ But anyway, he makes plays. You don’t want to take a guy out of the zone because that’s where they get. They just get to playing the game and things happen. They happened well. He did it last week as well.”

Isaac Bruce
On the team's overall performance:

“[It’s] very evident that the word of God works. He’s confirming his word and sings following. His favor is going toward this team.”

Fooch: I can see why people call him the Reverend.  There was a vote against using The Reverend so I'm down with that.  Bruuuuuuuuce works just fine with me.  Either way, I'm a fan of his game.

Frank Gore
Had the quote of the day when asked about how it feels to rack up big numbers: “It’s not about stats. It’s about winning.”  Hell. Yes.

About as close as he'll come to slamming either Jim Hostler or Alex Smith:

How do you like playing in the Mike Martz offense?  “The passing game is a whole lot better. The more we throw the ball, the more the receiver catches the ball, the better it’s going to be for me in the run game. Whatever it takes to win, I’m with it.”

J.T. O'Sullivan
On improving going forward:

"I think we are moving in the right direction, but I still feel we left a lot of yards on the field. I think I missed throws and from that standpoint, I want to get into the film and keep us going in the right direction.”

Everybody is saying the right things in terms of improving going forward.  As previously mentioned, the Saints game is a big one.  I'm willing to accept that we can't be sure how good (or not good) the 49ers will be this season.  They've won on the road at a beaten down Seattle and at home against a god-awful Lions team.  Next week will certainly be a better marker of the team's progress (or lack there of).

In the past, as part of a game preview I've exchanged 5 questions with the SB Nation blog of the opposition.  It allows us to get some good info from a person who pays close attention to their team.  And of course everybody likes talking about their favorite team, so it's win-win.

This week, we're facing the Detroit Lions, who are represented by Sean Yuille over at Pride of Detroit.  We exchanged questions last night, with the plan being to post answers Friday morning.  While awaiting his responses (and formulating my own), I came up with an idea to mix things up a little bit.  Sean sent me 5 questions that I plan on answering at some point today.  While I certainly love talking about the 49ers, wouldn't Lions fans want to hear from more than one 49ers fan?

So here's the deal.  I'm posting Sean's questions and I'm hoping some (if not all) of you would take a few minutes to give your own thoughts.  You can answer one of the questions, you can answer all five of the questions.  You can write one line one each, you can write a long thesis.  It's up to you how much you want to talk about.  The plan is then when Sean posts my answers, he'll also link to this thread for his readers to check out if they want.  If he decides on something similar, I'll let you guys know.

So, here are the questions.  Again, answer as many or as few as you'd like.  Much of this is stuff we've talked about ad nauseum, but NFL fans outside the Bay Area haven't had quite the same opportunity as us.

1. Perhaps the biggest storyline surrounding this upcoming game between Detroit and San Francisco is Mike Martz.  He had a messy divorce with the Lions after the 2007 season and since then both he and Lions players have traded jabs in the press.  Even though we're only two games into the season, I'm curious about what your opinion of Martz is.  Do you see him as someone that has immediately upgraded the 49ers' offense or someone that controls things a bit too much and is stunting the growth of the team?

2. Staying on the topic of Martz, what are your general thoughts on his play-calling so far?  Just looking at the stats alone it appears he's running a much more balanced offense than he ever did in Detroit, but do you think that is because his running back is Frank Gore rather than Kevin Jones?

3. The 49ers' starting quarterback, J.T. O'Sullivan, wisely followed Martz to San Francisco after spending a year with Detroit as Jon Kitna's backup.  In the time he was on the field he did look like a decent QB, but has he really become a legit NFL starter?  To me it seems like Martz's system has benefited him more than his actual talent.  Am I correct in that assessment?

4. Back in the 2007 draft there was talk that the Lions might trade down and draft Patrick Willis.  Considering Detroit's future starting middle linebacker is Jordon Dizon, I sort of wish that would have happened, especially since Willis is so talented.  What specifically makes Willis such a dominant linebacker, and should Kevin Smith be afraid for Sunday's game?

5. Looking at the NFC West, the standings certainly aren't what I expected coming into the season.  Arizona is 2-0, Seattle is 0-2, and San Francisco is in between at 1-1 (and the Rams just suck).  Looking at the rest of the season, do you think this trend will continue with the Cardinals at the top or is it only a matter of time until the Seahawks retake first-place?  And finally, could the 49ers make a run at the NFC West title?