Mike Singletary began his Monday press conference by announcing that two starters in right tackle Tony Pashos and inside linebacker Takeo Spikes will undergo MRI’s today on the shoulder injuries they sustained against the Texans.

Singletary went over the rest of the 49ers injury report from the Houston game and then made an announcement on the team’s starting quarterback position for the 49ers next game at Indianapolis and for the foreseeable future.

“As far as this upcoming week in terms of quarterback, Alex Smith will be the quarterback,” Singletary said.

“As far as, ‘Will Shaun Hill be back?’ and all this other stuff… we’re not going to be a flavor of the month kind of team,” he added. “I wanted to make the decision based on who gives us the best chance to win.”

More Notes from Monday

-Singletary said Pashos suffered a left shoulder contusion, outside linebacker Marques Harris suffered a hamstring strain, defensive tackle Justin Smith suffered a left calf strain, nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin suffered a right knee sprain and Spikes suffered a right shoulder sprain.

-The 49ers head coach touched on the play of his offensive line again on Monday, but he sounded confident that the group would improve its play and reestablish Frank Gore and the 49ers running attack.

“We want to run the ball, but usually they have 8.5 guys in the box, sometimes nine. Sometimes that makes it a little more difficult. When you have an offensive line that has been banged up and is trying to get things right, it makes for not a good combination. But as we build confidence and continue to get better, it will work itself out.”

-If Pashos is unable to return in time for Sunday’s game against the Colts, Singletary said the team would “figure it out,” in naming a replacement.

-Singletary sat in on the team’s defensive meeting this morning to cover some communication issues that have been hampering the unit’s play. Singletary wants to see better results from that side of the ball, but was sure to remind them know how highly he thinks of them.

“We’re a good defense with the opportunity to be a great defense,” he said of his message to the defense. “But because of the communication factor, particularly in the last couple of games, you get guys starting to do their own thing. That’s when you really have to communicate very well, to make sure guys don’t start doing their own thing. We just have to get on one page, relax, settle down and let’s go from there.”

-Singletary said nothing stood out to him from watching the film in regards to the play of Michael Crabtree.

“Nothing jumped out to me, it was very evident yesterday,” Singletary said. “I just wanted to see it on film, just like when you see a good movie; you want to see it again.”

-Singletary spoke with Crabtree earlier this morning to let him know how he appreciated all the work Crabtree did while he was away from the team.

“All of the work he did, all of the studying he did while he wasn’t here – it showed,” Singletary said.

The 49ers heartbreaking defeat didn’t have their head coach down on Monday. Mike Singletary seemed to be in usual spirits during his annual day after the game press conference.

“They just make a football play, that’s what happened,” Singletary said of Minnesota’s last second touchdown pass that helped the Vikings win 27-24.

Rather than dwell on the disappointing loss, Singletary wants his players to learn from the experience and use it to get better.

“I think you take it, you learn for it and you get ready for the next game,” he said. “Winners let it go – they move forward. Losers wallow in it.”

Singletary said his team got better in “some areas” but refused to specifically single them out.

Besides fielding a number of questions relating to the game’s surprising finish, Singletary was also asked about the status of running back Frank Gore.

Singletary said that Gore would have an MRI on his strained right ankle later today. Other than Gore, tackle Joe Staley had a knee contusion and will have an MRI later today as well. Also, safety Reggie Smith suffered a groin injury, linebacker Jeff Ulbrich had a right quad contusion, cornerback Dre’ Bly injured a toe, guard David Baas sprained his ankle, tackle Adam Snyder sprained his thumb and linebacker Takeo Spikes suffered a left leg contusion.

Asked more specifically about Gore, Singletary said the injury was not related to the ankle sprain he sustained against the Seattle Seahawks.

Singletary said he hasn’t determined how long Gore will be kept out of action.

“I’m going to do what’s best for him first, then I’m going to do what’s best for the team next,” Singletary stated.

More Notes From Monday:

-Staley looked good to Singletary earlier this morning and the MRI is more of a precautionary measure.

-Singletary said there was a point in the game where he felt the 49ers running game was getting into a rhythm, but Percy Harvin’s 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown stifled all of that. “We were starting to get what we were looking for in the running game.” After the kick, Singletary said the 49ers “had to get back to the drawing board.”

-Singletary on Vernon Davis’ seven catch, two-touchdown performance: “Yesterday was an improvement for him. I think he’s capable of a lot better than yesterday. Hopefully we will see more of that in the future.”

-Singletary also said the 49ers were not in a prevent defense on the game’s final drive. “We were playing a get to the quarterback defense,” he said.

When the 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday on the road, head coach Mike Singletary’s team will be led by the six team captains he announced on Friday.

Linebackers Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes along with defensive end Justin Smith, running back Michael Robinson, center Eric Heitmann, and tight end Vernon Davis will serve as the 49ers team captains for the ’09 season.

“Those six guys, to me, embody all of the things that we strive to be, in terms of the work ethic,” Singletary said. “Number one, these guys are always working, and they’re team guys striving to do all the little things that we need to do in order to be the best we can.”

Upon hearing the news, the chosen six were extremely honored to have been selected.

“It’s a big honor,” Spikes said. “ It’s big from the aspect that it’s my second year here and it comes this late in my career with another team. It’s something that I accept open handedly. It shows the respect factor not only that my peers have for me but for what the staff has for me.”

Out of all the players who have Twitter accounts, veteran linebacker Takeo Spikes’ commentary on the social networking site has been the most memorable.

Take one of his Tweets from Aug. 5, as an example.

“We just finished a 3-hour practice; if some1 filmed out camp it would be titled: Junction Boys 2.”

But now that players will check out of their hotel rooms on Tuesday, training camp is practically officially over for Spikes and the rest of the 49ers “Junction Boys.”

Looking back on this year’s camp experience, Spikes would “definitely,” call a documentary of the camp by the same name.  He also felt like it would have been watched by many.

“If HBO would have come here this year, the ratings would have been off the chain!” he said with a smirk.

As if he were breaking down the opening scenes of the fictional show, Spikes followed his statement by recalling all that he and his teammates had gone through this summer.

“It started from the first day with the nutcracker. [Before that] We were going into the meeting rooms the first couple of days while everybody [in the NFL] was practicing,” he said.

After the ninth or so day of camp, Spikes said most head coaches give their players a bone by canceling practice to take the team out to the movies.

“It’s kind of like the national [rest] day at training camp,” Spikes said.

But for the 49ers, there was no movie trip this year. Coach Singletary told the players to “Bring it up,” but he didn’t mean it like the players were finished for the day. Instead, the players went back out to practice.

And although it was a lot of work without much time away from the facility, Spikes said it was worth all the labor.

“When you look back on it now and you appreciate every minute of it.”

A 3-0 preseason record tends to do that.

Practice Notes

Guard Dave Baas and tackle Adam Snyder returned to practice on Monday but did not participate in team drills. Backup quarterback Alex Smith participated in one team period and threw a couple of passes.

Outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks successfully underwent a procedure on his knee to remove a bone fragment. Singletary said Brooks is “day-to-day.”

Frank Gore got some extra work in at practice, more so than usual. While watching special teams practice, Gore decided to jump in the drills and participate in the gunner drills. While special teams assistant coach Dave Fipp held the blocking bags, Gore tried his best to avoid the block and run down the field. He even had special teams ace Marcus Hudson offering him tips.

2008 Record: 7-9, 2008 TABRank: 24, Tentative 2009 AFC East Projection: 4th
A season of hope, 2008 began with a bang for Buffalo.  With a 5-1 start, the Bills looked primed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.  However, the illusion of grandeur was simply a mirage.  The Bills lost their next three games to divisional opponents, and Buffalo eventually finished the season 7-9 for the third consecutive season.  Buffalo defeated only one playoff team, the 8-8 San Diego Chargers, and went 3-9 outside the AFC West.  Even as the Bills looked like they could win the division early in the season, they were in reality one of the worst teams in the AFC.  More importantly, all of the momentum from Buffalo’s youth movement was crushed.  The Bills responded to last year’s setback with the surprising offseason signing of Terrell Owens.  Owens was signed to a one-year deal, so the impact will need to be immediate.  Will the Owens signing be enough, or are the Bills simply too far away from playoff contention?

The Bills made a huge splash when signing Owens.  The 35-year-old, a media-spawned distraction, will be a welcomed addition, as he’s a playmaker for a team that direly needs another offensive spark.  The hiring of offensive coordinator Turk Schonert didn’t provide the spark last year, so now it’s up to T.O.  Owens will take away pressure from Lee Evans, who never stepped up to the demands of being the key offensive player.  Owens will probably command extra attention in short and intermediate routes, which should allow deep threat Lee Evans to thrive.  Josh Reed is a great possession receiver, while Roscoe Parrish will add more playmaking flair to the passing game.  The receiving unit should be great, but there needs to be a tight end that emerges.  The backfield has as much depth as the receiving corps.  Marshawn Lynch has all the physical tools, so can become an elite back if he improves his vision and patience.  Fred Jackson has nice vision, and can quickly cut to the chase when necessary.  Dominic Rhodes, who was a solid contributor with Indianapolis, rounds out the unit.  QB Trent Edwards surely has the capability to be a great NFL quarterback, but poor stretches have put the pressure on him to perform.  During a crucial four-game losing streak from Weeks 8-11, Edwards had eight INTs.  He will need some help from a transitioning offensive line that has a new starter in each spot.  With the trade of Jason Peters, 6’8” Langston Walker becomes the left tackle.  He’s very tall and big (about 360 pounds), which has its blessings and curses, especially when protecting the QB’s blind side.  Walker may provide too many curses for a team trying to make the playoffs.  Eric Wood and Andy Levitre are rookie guards, which strangely enough could help the line.  Being rookies together will help them to relate, which would allow the line to gel faster.

A fundamentally sound, yet vanilla 4-3 defense began to fall apart in 2008.  Perry Fewell will probably implement a “Tampa-2″ type scheme, but he needs to bring the aggressiveness.  A lot of that had to do with the lacking pass rush, which registered only 14 sacks in the last 12 games.  Aaron Schobel needs to get healthy and prove he still has some left in the tank.  Aaron Maybin needs to get signed soon if he plans to help out the team this year.  Paul Posluszny is Buffalo’s defensive centerpiece.  Kawika Mitchell and Keith Ellison complete a rather impressive (yet undersized) linebacking corps.  The secondary should be Buffalo’s best defensive unit.  Leodis McKelvin has a very high ceiling, and he’s beginning to reach towards it.  Terrence McGee is known better for his special teams career, but he has warranted his spot as the #1 corner, at the least.  Ashton Youboty and Reggie Corner provide nice youthful depth, while Donte Whitner already has become the leader and voice of the defense, and he’s entering the prime of his career at strong safety.  He now must bring his game up to the level of the best safeties in the business.

The Bills’ special teams have been playing at a consistently elite level for years.  Rian Lindell had a few uncharacteristic misses last year, but he should recover to become one of the league’s most reliable kickers once again.  Brian Moorman has all of the immeasurables, which makes him an elite punter.  McKelvin and McGee both can rip it up as kick returners, and Parrish was the primary returning threat from the U before Devin Hester entered the league.  The coverage unit is just as good as the kicking and returning units.  Bobby April may be the best special teams coordinator in the business.

The franchise finds itself in a precarious position.  The team hasn’t made the playoffs in almost a decade.  The city continues to struggle economically, and management may no longer be able to support the club in Buffalo.  2009 Hall of Fame inductee Ralph Wilson, Jr. vows to keep the Bills in Buffalo; however he can’t be the owner forever.  The state of franchise needs to be in good standing for relocation to look like an unnecessary investment.  Unfortunately, the Bills have been stuck in mediocrity, and it’ll likely stay that way in 2009.

Burning Question: With the Bills’ recent youth movement, how close are they to becoming a true contender?
Buffalo has spent the past handful of seasons jettisoning veterans for young players.  Gone was Takeo Spikes for Angelo Crowell, then Ellison.  Posluszny eventually became the new MLB after London Fletcher was let go.  Gone was Nate Clements for McGee and McKelvin.  The Bills have just three projected starters at or over age 30.  Considering when the youth movement began, Buffalo should be ready to seriously contend now.  Unfortunately, Buffalo still has another year or two before they can become a major player.  Edwards still needs time to become a great QB, and the pass rush has flamed out and needs a fresh boost via the draft.  Maybin hasn’t been signed yet, and Chris Ellis had a poor rookie season last year.  The picture doesn’t look too good for Buffalo right now.

The Owens Effect
So much has Owens really affected his team when he joins them?  Here’s a look at how the addition of Owens affected record, offensive DVOA, yards per reception and QB rating in his first season with each team:

Now obviously Owens didn’t have a major impact as a rookie (few receivers do), but the same improvement record-wise happened for the 49ers and Eagles (two more wins, one fewer loss and one round further in the playoffs).  Meanwhile, the impact of Owens in Philly was probably slightly overexaggerated.  The impact reflected in yards per catch and QB rating, but the offensive DVOA didn’t see a noticeable spike.  Owens arguably had his greatest impact in Dallas, whose offense got much better, even with the midseason switch to Tony Romo.  These stats don’t provide a conclusion as to how much Owens will help Buffalo, but you can see that Owens’ impact should grow with more experience and a weaker offense to improve.

2008 Record: 7-9, 2008 TABRank: 26, Tentative 2009 NFC West Projection: 1st
The 49ers couldn’t get out of the bottom half of the NFC during the Mike Nolan era.  However, hope did come to San Francisco at the end of 2008 when legend Mike Singletary became head coach.  After losing his first two games, Singletary won five of his last seven to finish the season 5-4 as interim head coach.  With the strong finish, Singletary’s interim status was removed from his title of “head coach.”  In the process, the Niners seemed to move to the middle of the pack in the NFL, as they only won one game against over-.500 teams and lost only one game against sub-.500 teams.  Shaun Hill took over as the quarterback when Singletary became head coach and played solid ball (13 TD, eight INT, 87.5 QB rating).  Though the 49ers have spent the past six seasons out of the playoffs with sub-.500 records, they have positioned themselves for the future through the draft.  Will Samurai Mike give this young team the spark and energy to make them a contender for the NFC West division title?

In the offseason, the 49ers hired their seventh offensive coordinator in seven years in Jimmy Raye.  The constant instability and playbook changes have been the hugest obstacles for San Francisco.  Meanwhile, the 49ers could experience yet another change at QB.  In the last two seasons, Hill has seven of the Niners’ 12 wins despite starting only 10 games.  Hill has the qualities of a good pro QB (nice accuracy, vision, pocket presence and decision-making), but he could be supplanted by Alex Smith, the first QB drafted number one overall NOT to start opening day in his fourth season.  Smith never played a game in 2008 due to shoulder issues.  Smith has good health and stronger upper body, but he must prove he can limit fumbles and handle the speed of the NFL.  Frank Gore spearheads the run game, and he could benefit with Moran Norris back.  The receiving game was going to get a boost with Michael Crabtree drafted, but he hasn’t been signed yet.  One of his advisors recently stated he could sit out the season if he doesn’t get the deal he wants.  No matter what happens, it’s probably safe to consider the rookie receiver a non-factor in 2009.  Route-running extraordinaire Isaac Bruce remains the team’s best receiver despite entering his 16^th season.  Arnaz Battle, Brandon Jones or Josh Morgan could be the other starter.  Tight end Vernon Davis could become the team’s top option if he finally devotes himself completely to the playbook.  Joe Staley will move to left tackle after passing the test at right tackle with flying colors.  The rest of the unit has been a weakness (the 49ers allowed 55 sacks last year), but they should improve now that they don’t have to pass protect for deep dropbacks and exotic routes.

The “D” begins with the line opening things open for all-pro middle linebacker Patrick Willis.  He and “Ted” ‘backer Takeo Spikes were a dominating duo inside once Singletary took over the reins.  Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson have promising upside as edge rushers.  NT Aubrayo Franklin and DE Justin Smith played fabulously on the line last year.  Kentwan Balmer still has a long way to go before he gets the final starting spot at left end.  Nate Clements has been subpar recently, while the other corner spot is up in the air.  Dashon Goldson and Michael Lewis will need to cover things up at safety, but that’s far from a guarantee.  The secondary may be the unit to hinder the defense from being fit for a division contender.

The special teams shouldn’t have such a problem.  The kicking game was strong on both sides.  Joe Nedney hit all 19 field goal attempts inside 40 yards while the Niners scored a blocked field goal touchdown return in back-to-back games.  Andy Lee set a team record in gross punt average.  Allen Rossum ranked in the top three in both punt and kick return average.  This unit would love to have another elite season after finishing third in special teams DVOA last year.

San Francisco took a step up in their game after Singletary became head coach.  After a disaster at home against Seattle in Singletary’s first game, he made his presence known at halftime in the locker room and after the game at a press conference.  After that loss, the 49ers went 5-3 with one loss coming on the last play at Arizona.  However, San Fran finished 25^th in overall DVOA (28^th weighted) and tied for last in turnover margin.  Whoever wins the quarterback job must limit turnovers and make quicker decisions.  Take away the excessive turnovers and sacks, and the Niners look like a team on the verge of becoming playoff contenders.

Burning Question: Can the Niners’ seventh try in as many years finally fix the issues on offense?
Raye’s offense will differ greatly from the pass-heavy ways of mad scientist Mike Martz.  Raye will use the play-action as an instrument for the pass.  This should go a long way in limiting the sack totals after the 49ers led the NFL in sacks allowed (and held opponents to a sack-less game just once all season).  Meanwhile, the outcome of the quarterback battle could determine how prevalent of an issue turnovers will be for San Fran.  Martz favorite J.T. O’Sullivan had 11 interceptions and 10 fumbles (4 lost) in just eight starts last year, while Hill had eight and seven (just one lost) in his eight and a half games.  Smith had 31 interceptions and 23 fumbles (9 lost) in 32 career games.  O’Sullivan is gone, which should limit some turnovers.  However, Smith will have to prove he’s not the biggest QB bust drafted first overall in NFL Draft history.  Hill’s definitely the safer bet to fix this offense, he and Raye may not be the ultimate solution.

Turnover Turnaround?
The 49ers finished 2008 with a -17 TO margin, which tied for the worst mark in the league with Denver.  Turnover issues have been a long standing issue, as San Francisco has a combined -62 TO margin since 2004.  No other team had a negative margin in each of the past five seasons except for the Niners.  Nothing else needs to be said for fans to realize that the turnover problems need to stop NOW.  If San Fran can stop the dubious five-season negative TO margin streak, it would go a very long way to improving the Niners chances at winning the weak NFC West.  Check out the list below of teams who improved their TO margin by at least +17 and how their records changed.

*-includes playoff wins
Look at how compelling those results are for the 49ers. Every team with the margin swap finished at the least 8-8. The bottom two teams were both playoff teams during the previous season (two of three teams with that distinction — the 2005 Broncos were the other team) and were the only two teams not to have at least a two win improvement. The Giants won two more games in the regular season in 2008, but end with two fewer losses overall thanks to their miraculous run to the Super Bowl XLII victory. It’s just another reason to appreciate that Super Bowl run, and perhaps the exception to the rule.

No penalty went unnoticed at the 49ers training camp practice on Thursday as an NFL officiating crew was on hand to oversee the proceedings.

The officials are in town as part of their annual tour.  But rules change each year, so it’s important for the players as well as the coaching staff to understand what is or is not a penalty.

There are four key changes to the 2009 rulebook.  The first and most publicized is the elimination of low hits on quarterbacks.  This has been referred to as “The Tom Brady Rule,” preventing defenders from rolling up on the quarterback similar to the hit that caused the Patriots signal caller to miss almost all of the 2008 season.

“Everybody saw the hit on Tom Brady last year, which was a legal hit,” league referee Carl Cheffers said.  “This year, if a player or defender is on the ground, he cannot lunge into the knees of a quarterback.  Again, we’re just tightening that rule to try and eliminate injuries.”

The second major rule change also resulted from a season-ending play last year when Steelers receiver Hines Ward stunned Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers with a devastating up-field crack-back block. Rivers never saw Ward coming and missed the rest of the year with a fractured jaw.

“Those kinds of plays, they’re trying to eliminate,” Cheffers said.  “They want them to hit them, they want them to hit them hard, but they don’t want them to hit helmet-to-helmet, because that player is not looking at the blocker and that’s a potentially injurious block.”

While the helmet-to-helmet rule may be new for offensive players, it’s well known by those on the defensive side of the ball.  Even that rule has been tweaked however, expanding the rule to include arm- and elbow-to-helmet contact.

As Cheffers explained, the goal is to limit hits on “defenseless receivers to be below the shoulders.”

“It’s good on both sides,” safety Reggie Smith said.  “You don’t want a lot of injuries.  Then again you have to be aware of where you’re hitting. You’ve got to use that shoulder, I guess, from now on and keep your head on a swivel for receivers also.”

The special teams rules have also been modified, prohibiting teams from using “wedge blocks,” where three or more players line up shoulder-to-shoulder, during a return.

“We require guys to be outside the numbers, outside the hash marks now,” Cheffers said.  “The whole idea is that the kicking team is not allowed to bunch up.  When they bunch up and there’s an onside kick, there’s been injuries with the blocks and the collisions that happen after that.”

While that may be a big change for many NFL teams, it could actually benefit teams like the 49ers.

“We never really did three man wedges,” explained Smith, a key contributor on the 49ers special teams units.  “But for us as a kickoff team, going against other people’s kickoff returns, it makes it easier for people like me and Hud [Marcus Hudson].   We’re on the inside where all those big guys are, so it makes it easier to get down when you don’t have big men, teamed up as wedges.”

While it may be hard to get accustomed to some of the new rules, having the officials out during camp is extremely beneficial.

“It helps us as DBs because we do a lot of press coverage with the wide receivers,” Smith said.  “When we were doing one-on-ones that helped, if we were pressing them too long.  It gives us the little ins and outs that we don’t know that we can do during the game.”

Morning Practice Updates:

It was an interesting morning in terms of weather.  It was pouring rain right before stretch only to have the sun come out minutes later.

Takeo Spikes didn’t take long to heat up either, picking off Alex Smith’s first throw during team drills.

Dominique Zeigler also made one of the most impressive plays of camp.  During drills, Zeigler broke his route to the sideline and despite tight coverage, Zeigler adjusted to the throw over his right shoulder and pulled it down with one hand.

The team will be back on the field this afternoon.  Follow SF_49ers on Twitter and we’ll keep you updated on any more highlight reel catches like Zeigler’s.

Did you know that the San Francisco 49ers are in second place in the NFC West with a record of 3-8. The Buffalo Bills are 6-5 and are in last place in the AFC East. That is Bullshit, man.

That is all for the pre-game preview. Onto the game preview.

Quarterback: Buffalo: Trent Edwards, San Francisco: Shaun Hill

The first thing I decided to do when seeing that Shaun Hill was the starting quarterback for the 49ers was to search “wordpress” for blogs which mention Shaun Hill; a piece that I wrote about J.P. Losman 6 months ago was in the top 10 hits. That is to say, Shaun Hill is not getting much love in the blogosphere. This is not a surprise, considering that I still thought J.T. O’Sullivan was still the starting quarterback for the 49ers; something which was compounded by the 49ers official depth chart listing O’Sullivan as the starter. I think that they just want Western New York sports bloggers to look idiotic. Well guess what? I did my research this week and you aren’t going to fool me.

Here are some fun facts about Shaun Hill so we can all get to know him a little bit better

• Believe it or not, Shaun Hill was signed as an un-drafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings in 2002.
• While attending college at Maryland, Hill was a kinesiology major.
• He was not considered an NFL prospect at the time so he went to NFL Europe and played for the Amsterdam Admirals where he went onto lead the league in passing yards! Quite the accomplishment, eh?
• In 2006, after signing with the 49ers, he went onto take exactly zero snaps during the regular season. Spending time behind such NFL legends as Trent Dilfer, and Alex Smith on the depth chart.
• Since taking over the starting job from J.T. O’Sullivan in week 10, Hill has put up the following line, 7 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 906 yards, with a QB Rating of 94.6. Not too bad.

Trent Edwards on the other hand, well, while he may have been a more highly touted prospect coming out of college has been pretty much average when you take his full season numbers into consideration. Here are Edwards’ numbers with his league ranking in parenthesis

Ultimately, the question is which Edwards comes to play on Sunday? Is it the quarterback who guided the Bills to a 5-1 start, or the signal caller who helped Buffalo lose 4 straight. So goes Edwards, so goes the Bills.

Advantage: Buffalo Bills

Running Backs: Buffalo Bills: Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, San Francisco: Frank Gore, DeShaun Foster

This is a tough match up for me to call. Gore has more yards and is rushing for nearly an additional yard per attempt where as I am from Buffalo and I love Marshawn Lynch. Each back has their strong points when matched up against each other but I just can’t shake the idea that Lynch is a better all around back than Gore. So rather than letting my rabid homer-ism make this choice, I will take a look at the back up running backs.

SF- DeShaun Foster, 23 carries for 41 yards

Buf- Fred Jackson, 81 rushes for 353 yards.

Whenever I have a tough decision when it comes to running backs I will always go to the back-ups stats. Thank heavens we have Fred Jackson.

Advantage: Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills: Lee Evans, Josh Reed. San Francisco: Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson

Isaac Bruce is 36 years old. In wider receiver years that is about 88 years of age. Bryant Johnson was not good enough to play on the Cardinals when Arizona stunk.

Moving on.

Advantage: Buffalo Bills

Offensive Line: Once again, I am not going to list everyone on the offensive lines, sorry.

I am going to repeat this analysis word for word until something changes.

Last week I said that I would be giving the advantage to the opposing offensive line every week until Jason Peters stops pissing me off. Well, Jason Peters is still pissing me off.

Advantage: San Francisco

It is too bad Jonas will not be playing in this game

Defensive Line: Buffalo Bills: Ryan Denney, Marcus Stroud, Kyle Williams, Chris Kelsay. San Francisco: Ray McDonald, Aubrayo Franklin, Justin Smith

Dammit, enough mother effing 3-4 defense. Granted, the 49ers only have three wins this season, but the Browns totally stunk, too, and we lost to them. I do not know what it is about 3-4 defenses that stifle the Buffalo offense so, but this should be a good of a chance as any to instill some confidence into our offense by soundly defeating this style of defense. Then again, if Buffalo loses this game, it doesn’t matter what they do the rest of the season because there will be about a .034521% chance of the Bills making the playoffs.

Advantage: Buffalo Bills

Linebackers: Buffalo Bills: Keith Ellison, Paul Posluszny, Kawika Mitchell. San Francisco: Parys Haralson, Takeo Spikes, Patrick Willis, Manny Lawson

One time, and possibly still, fan favorite, Takeo Spikes had quite the interesting tidbit during a conference call with the media earlier this week, from Chris Brown

49ers LB Takeo Spikes has admittedly thought a lot about his return to Buffalo this week. He also had an interesting comment about all the 51 jerseys seen at the games.

“I’ve thought about it several times,” said Spikes of what his return to Buffalo will be like. “I don’t think I left in a bad way. From time to time when I see the games on TV I see a lot of 51 jerseys in the crowd, and I would like to think that a lot of those 51 jerseys… I just can’t really see them… no disrespect to Paul, but I just can’t see them buying another 51 jersey. I think I put enough good work in where they kept mine.”

Yeah, umm, I don’t think so, sorry Takeo. You were a favorite player of mine when you joined the Bills. Your arrival, coupled with Lawyer Milloy, and Drew Bledsoe, started a new period of optimism in my career as a Bills fan. The thing is though, no matter how bad our economy is, we can always just put duct tape over your name and replace it with Posluszny. Just like we did with Bledsoe for Roscoe. We might be poor, sure, but we are creative.

As for actual analysis; Patrick Willis is hurt and Takeo Spikes is old. Go Bills!

Advantage: Buffalo Bills

Secondary: Buffalo Bills: Terrence McGee, Jabari Greer, Bryan Scott, Ko Simpson. San Francisco: Nate Clements, Michael Lewis, Walt Harris, Mark Roman

First and foremost, I have something to get off of my chest; I miss Nate Clements a lot. But not for the reasons that some may. I don’t miss him going for the interception on every pass thrown in his direction. I don’t miss the cap space that he would have taken up with his $80 million contract. Hell, I don’t even miss the rare tackle he would make from time to time. Let me tell you what I miss; the Nate Clements show.

That show was awesome.

I miss how Nate would, presumably, get super high before every show and then he and Robert Royal would make wonderful jokes. I miss Clements just cracking up for no particular reason every thirty seconds or so. I miss that big blank stare on his face when someone would ask him a question when it was quite obvious that he could not care less about the question and was just counting the minutes until he and Anthony Hargrove, again presumably, get real baked together.

I really do miss that show a lot.

As for how Clements is playing this season, well, his two interceptions and one forced fumble have really had little to no impact for the 3-8 49ers. Oh, and for those of you interested in Clements thoughts on this upcoming game, you can read them here.

Advantage: Buffalo Bills

No, that is not me and Nate Clements, but thank you for asking

Special Teams: Rian Lindell, Brian Moorman, Leodis McKelvin, Terrence McGee. San Francisco: Joe Nedney, Andy Lee, Nate Clements?

Scouts Inc. says that the Bills special teams are better and I am inclined to agree. With Allen Rossum injured, it looks like Nasty Nate might get some time returning kicks this weekend. There was a reason that Terrence McGee usurped Clements as our primary return man.

Advantage: Buffalo Bills

Bills win, again, 40-14.

For those of you that wanted to hear the Takeo Spikes conference call from start to finish it was some quality stuff. He talked about his good memories of his time in Buffalo and how he thought he would finish his career here. It’s definitely a must listen.