The 49ers defense appears to be much more aggressive and physical this year. Given that Favre hasn’t been a world-beater in his first two games, I would think the team will initially leave their corners on their respective islands and gear up to stop the run.

I guess a counter-question so I can answer this better is: Do the Vikings use Chester Taylor and AP together a lot, or is it usually one or the other on the field?

He had his knee scoped late in the preseason and is probably going to be questionable or doubtful for this game. However, before that he did enough to make the 53-man roster and I’d imagine he’ll get some chances. He looked good in the preseason, so we’ll see if it carries over once he gets on the field in the regular season.

Line play: The defensive line has shown improvement from last year. Justin Smith remains a consistent force, but Ray McDonald has shown improvement in the pass rush and Aubrayo Franklin is a solid run stopper for the team. The pass rush is meant to come from the linebackers and the line has opened up some holes for them.

The offensive line has had its ups and downs. Gore had his huge game last week, which was due in no small part to the offensive line breaking open some nice inside holes. At the same time, Shaun Hill is among the league leaders in sacks. The blame can be split between the line and the QB, but they need to improve in protecting against the pass rush.

Offense: As mentioned above, the pass rush could be a problem. The team is currently rotating two players at right guard trying to find the right combination. Barring some breakthrough, I’d imagine the Vikings getting at least 2 or 3 sacks.

Defense: The pass rush has shown strong improvement. I don’t expect Brett Favre to be on his back all day, but the 49ers have been able to get to QBs so far. This is certainly a big test of that given the Vikings rushing attack. One guy to look for on passing downs is Ray McDonald. He is not a starter, but gets in when the 49ers go 4 down linemen.

One strength of the 49ers is their secondary’s run stopping ability. Nate Clements is an excellent open field tackler and Michael Lewis’s primary strength is in the run game. Of course, if AP or Taylor are breaking into the secondary that would not be a good thing for the 49ers.

1. This team is definitely playing more physical and aggressive football on defense. The offense continues to struggle at times, but there is a much different mentality with this team. Almost all of training camp was spent in pads so the team is definitely ahead of many teams in terms of the physical aspects.

2. Strength: The physical nature of the team. I think it gives them an advantage early in the season and helped them in beating Arizona and Seattle. The 49ers do not have as much talent as some teams and so if they can wear them down through physical play.

Weakness: At this point it’s probably QB protection. That covers a lot of the offensive problems. If Hill had more time in the pocket, or made quicker decisions, he might be more successful in making plays. He’s not an awful QB, but he obviously could show much improvement.

3. That’s a good question. I’ve NEVER bought sourdough bread out here! Although, down in Fisherman’s Wharf there’s a bread-making place. I can’t remember the name though.

Will the real Frank Gore please stand up?

Week 1: 22 carries, 30 yards, 1 TD against a rush D rated 2nd in DVOA (-52.5%)
Week 2: 16 carries, 207 yards, 2 TD against a rush D rated 23rd in DVOA (7.6%)

For context, Minnesota’s rush D is rated 11 (-16.4%)

He sprained his ankle in the third quarter and sat out a good chunk of the second half. It sounds like he’ll be fine for Sunday. NN will have an injury update later today when it comes out so we’ll see.

As mentioned he had a return called back. Also, there was the block in the back, but Clements also got called for a personal foul so that might have brought it back as well maybe (not sure though). He’s due for a big return (that doesn’t get called back)!

Well, the 49ers were missing Breaston and Boldin was banged up and proved ineffective. I think it was primarily a good defense that caught the Cardinals off guard. Their offensive line did not seem to be prepared for the aggressive nature of the 49ers pass rush. Also, the secondary had a huge game. Fitzgerald had ok numbers but did not really cause a ton of problems for the 49ers.

I’m honestly still chewing on it. We have a prediction contest and I’ll be posting my score to that Friday. I’ll come back here with my prediction then…ok? I will say that I’ve never picked against the 49ers in that contest though!

I think the NinerNation fanbase is mixed when it comes to Crabtree. Some people say, give him what he wants, others say screw him let him re-enter the draft. I say nothing, I’m tired of all the media on this issue. I’ve taken a Singletary approach to it, when he becomes part of the niners, fine, but if he doesn’t, oh well.
I have faith in Shaun Hill, the run was shut down in Arizona and Hill led the niners to an impressive drive that ended up being the game winning drive. He does indeed have the weapons in Bruce, V.Davis, Morgan, Gore, and Battle.
I’m so thankful for the signing of Singletary, he brings a whole lot of straight forward, no nonsense, hit you in the mouth, as a team attitude. Hopefully the trend continues…..especially this Sunday.

1. Plenty of folks have said they don’t want him now, I think if he signed soon folks would be back on the bandwagon. Most people are just frustrated with the process and not knowing wht’s going on. Most folks are backing management on this issue. The problem with all this is that there isn’t anything “official” coming from the Crabtree/Parker camp.

2. I think Shaun Hill can make plays, particularly in the 4th quarter. But I also know that he does not have all the physical tools needed to make an impact the entire game. I definitely don’t want too many games to end up on Hill’s shoulders. A very interesting set of stats are his numbers broken down by quarter. For some reason he’s consistently awful in the 3rd quarter. No real explanation for it.

I thought that the niners can go into the bye week being 5-0 or 4-1, with the 2 tough games being Minnesota and Atlanta. I don’t think its too far fetched, especially if they pull this one off. Singletary has done an awesome job with this team, they are starting to develop an image on defense. I would like to see more screen plays and play action on offense.
Last game was solely focused on AP/AD. There were also turnovers in that game that didn’t help out the niners. I’m personally not too concerned about Harvin as other people seem to be. Nieve? Maybe. I think that Shiancoe and Vernon Davis play a huge role in this game. I also see this game being a breakout for Glen Coffee.

There’s always the Strib boards if you’re feeling like posting that way.

the conversation has been pretty good over on the Nation as well. I know some of our guys are still in the trash talking mood though after last week’s Niners Nation vs Field Gulls trash talking thread.

In general I’m not a very scheme-oriented person. Let me post a link to this over at my site as I know some of my readers know a lot more about this kind of stuff than me. I know about the different schemes, but I don’t know enough to be able to intelligently say the 49ers do particularly well against particularly types of defenses or offenses.

Frasier.

1. Bamm Bamm (the nickname bestowed on Willis by Chad Johnson) scares you for many reasons. Here are some little known facts about him. The 49ers have some playmakers on defense, although not quite along the lines Willis. Nate Clements has been a solid corner for them, particularly stepping up against good receivers like Larry Fitzgerald. Justin Smith won’t show up much in the stat sheet but he’s making plays all across the field. Keep an eye on Lawson and Haralson in the pass rush.

2. Davis was named one of the team captains this year. Davis is one of Singletary’s biggest supporters and has been behind him ever since that incident. He definitely has bought into the team concept.

3. Isaac Bruce has been the most consistent receiver for the 49ers. He’s getting old, but he still makes plays, especially late game 3rd down plays. Arnaz Battle still makes some plays, but honestly, up to this point the 49ers receivers outside of those two haven’t made a whole ton of plays. Bruce has been the main guy.

that answers the questions about Hill. I believe that both defenses are going to focus on stopping the run. This game may turn into a throwing match. If that is the case, do the Niner fans think that Hill can outduel Favre?

He’s stepped up and made plays when the team needs him to, but for the most part he’s not expected to be a huge playmaker. As NobleSavage said above, this could be a big test since both teams will be keyed into stopping the run.

I applaud your homerism and everything, but come on. Be a sport. Fooch came over here to have a civil discussion about his team and the upcoming game—not to trash talk. Is this how you treat your houseguests? You can represent the DN better, I’m sure.

Sarcasm doesn’t play well on the Internet. I figured the excessive exclamation marks would make it easier to get. I was joking around about the NFC supremacy comment. Clearly not everybody figured that out.

But, Mike Singletary overrated? Really? I hated the Bears and even I wouldn’t say that.

I don’t think anybody can be called a favorite in the NFC West. I love the win at Arizona but they will be in this thing to the end. If Seattle can get healthy they’re right in it too.

Speaking of Isaac Bruce, on Sunday if the 49ers are hanging around in the game, I guarantee you Bruce will have some big 3rd down conversions late in the game. He’s become Hill’s go-to guy since the middle of last year.

In the running game, I’d imagine both defenses will be keying on the big name running backs, so in the end it could come down to which QB can make one or two plays.

Most of the new unis look like they belong in NFL Europa.

Is there anyone who likes the new uniforms for the Vikes?? I have heard of new one. Was the switch just economics? If so, does that bode well for another change sometime down the road (hopefully before I die)?

Has there ever been an instance of a team going back to their old uniforms? I guess the Eagles came close, and the Falcons have toyed with it. The Chargers can’t decide, I guess.

Is there ANY way to get the Vikes to go back?