The San Francisco 49ers will be without star running back Frank Gore for a couple of weeks due to a high ankle sprain.  He has played in all three games for the Niners this season and he has carried the ball 39 times for 241 yards (6.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 8 passes for 57 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Rookie Glen Coffee will replace Gore in the starting lineup and he has not looked too good yet.  He has carried the ball 35 times for 64 yards (1.8 ypc) and he has caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  The Niners are also considering adding Kory Sheets from the practice squad.  He was outstanding for the Niners in the pre-season and I’m sure they remember that.  Still, this is a huge blow to the Niners’ offense and running game as Gore is the best player on the offense.

UPDATE:  Gore will be out the next three weeks.

The San Francisco 49ers (2-1) lost their first game of the year in a heart-breaker to the Minnesota Vikings (3-0).  Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre looked like his old self as he brought the Vikings from behind to win it late.  He capped off a 4th quarter drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass to reserve receiver Greg Lewis with only two seconds left to win the game.  It was a somewhat lucky grab, and a review of the play showed Lewis barely kept his feet in the back of the end-zone.

The 49ers defense did a pretty good job containing the dangerous Adrian Peterson to 85 yards, although Peterson was able to get a big 35-yard run in the first quarter.  They did a decent job on Favre as well, as he only completed 24/46 passes (52%) and had an interception.  He did end up with two touchdowns and over 300 yards passing, but the 49ers did do a good job pressuring Favre and Favre didn’t have a good game until that final game winning drive.  The special teams gave up a huge play today though, as they allowed Vikings’ Percy Harvin return a 101 yard touchdown.  Without that play, the 49ers probably win this game.

The 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill had a solid game as he went for 195 yards on 15/25 (60%) with two touchdowns and one interception.  Hill and the 49ers offense sorely missed their star running back Frank Gore who left the game after only one carry with an ankle sprain.  He had 207 yards last week against Seattle and without Gore today the 49ers were only able to amount 58 yards on the ground.  The 49ers need a healthy Gore back to keep their offense going and they take on the St. Louis Rams at home next week.

The San Francisco 49ers (2-0) are taking on the Minnesota Vikings (2-0) at the Metrodome this Sunday.  The two unbeaten teams both have a very strong running attack behind two very talented running backs in the 49ers’ Frank Gore and the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson.  The 49ers defense will have their hands full with Peterson, even though he is battling a back injury.  The Vikings have not had much of a challenge in their first two match-ups, as they beat the pathetic Detroit Lions and the average (at best) Cleveland Browns.  They had to come from behind in both of those wins too, as they got off to slow starts in both games.

Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre hasn’t done much so far this season, but hasn’t really needed to do much as Adrian Peterson has been virtually unstoppable.  Shaun Hill has done a good job for the 49ers managing the game and not making mistakes, but just like Favre he has a talented running back to keep giving the ball to.  That talented running back he is handing off has an ankle issue to deal with though.  Gore sprained his right ankle late in last weeks game, but he should be ready to go.  This may limit his explosiveness and he probably wont be as effective as he was last week when he rushed for over 200 yards.

The 49ers have been playing some very good football, but I think the Vikings are the more talented team.  The Vikings have proved they can come from behind and win games, even though it was against some weak competition.  With Frank Gore’s ankle not at 100% and the Vikings with the most explosive player in the league in Adrian Peterson, I just don’t think the 49ers have enough to win and the Vikings will win a pretty close game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  49ers 24, Vikings 30

The 49ers pushed the Seahawks around yesterday.  Shaun Hill was managing the game well as he completed 19 of 26 passes for 144 yards without a TD or a interception.  This was Frank Gore’s day as he scored on TD runs of 79 and 80 yards.  He finished up this game with an amazing 207 yards rushing on 16 carries (12.9 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 39 yards (7.8 avg).  The Niners finished up with 379 total yards in this game (256 rushing, 123 passing) as they held onto the football for 34:31.

Although he didn’t lead the team in tackles with 5, Patrick Willis knocked out Matt Hasselbeck right before the half with a good hit.  S Michael Lewis (9 tackles) and CB Nate Clements (6 tackles, 4 passes defensed) helped slow the Seahawks’ passing game.  The Seahawks finished with 283 total yards on offense in this game (66 rushing, 217 passing).  The Niners are now 2-0 with wins over the division rival Seahawks and Cardinals.

The Niners have signed 29-year old OT Tony Pashos to a 1-year deal.  Pashos is a big guy at 6’6″, 326 pounds with a nasty attitude.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jaguars last season.  He has now played in 69 games (54 starts) in his six year NFL career.  The 49ers are not happy with Adam Snyder at RT and it is only a matter of time until he’s pushed to the bench by Pashos.

The Seahawks pounded the 49ers 34-13 the last time these two teams played in San Francisco.  In fact, the Seahawks have won 5 of the last 6 meetings between these two teams in San Francisco.  The Seahawks would like to have the balance they had against the Rams last week (34 runs, 36 passes).  The Seahawks would like to run the ball with Julius Jones and Edgerrin James against the Niners but that will be easier said than done.  MLB Patrick Willis is a absolute beast in the middle of the defense for the Niners who only allowed 40 yards rushing on 17 carries (2.4 ypc) last week against the Cardinals.  The Seahawks will likely keep the passing game short to TE John Carlson and WRs Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The 49ers want to get back to running the ball despite only getting 21 yards rushing on 25 carries (0.8 ypc) against the Cardinals last week.  The Seahawks only gave up 77 yards rushing (4.3 ypc) last week to the Rams but that won’t stop Frank Gore from getting a lot of carries.  QB Shaun Hill will likely have some success throwing the ball as long as the O-Line gives him time.  WRs Isaac Bruce and Josh Morgan could have decent games against the Seahawks this week.  The Niners are also trying to keep TE Vernon Davis involved in the passing game and that will likely continue this week.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 17, SEAHAWKS 16

You would never know that Isaac Bruce is 36 years old if you watched him play.  He caught 4 passes for 74 yards (18.5 avg) in his season debut against the Cardinals.  Bruce has now played in 214 games in his NFL career and he has caught 1,007 passes for 15,018 yards (14.9 avg) with 91 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 25 times for 139 yards (5.6 ypc) in his career.  Isaac Bruce is without a doubt the best WR on the 49ers right now and Shaun Hill will turn to him when he needs a big play in the passing game.

The Cardinals sold out to stop the run and it cost them this game eventually.  Shaun Hill completed 18 of 31 passes for 209 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  Frank Gore carried the ball 22 times for 30 yards (1.4 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg) scoring the game winning TD in the 4th quarter.  WR Isaac Bruce (4 rec, 74 yards) and TE Vernon Davis (5 rec, 40 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Niners.  The 49ers could only muster 203 total yards on offense (21 rushing, 182 passing).

The defense was outstanding in this game for the 49ers.  LB Patrick Willis led the way as usual as he finished with 13 tackles and a interception.  CB Nate Clements also had a solid game with 5 tackles and a interception.  The Cardinals finished up with 299 total yards in this game (40 rushing, 259 passing).

The 49ers will likely do the smart thing tomorrow and run the ball a lot trying to keep the ball away from the Cardinals.  Frank Gore will likely be very tired Sunday Night but the Cardinals better also bruise him up some if they want to win this game.  Shaun Hill is a good play action passer so look for Isaac Bruce, Josh Morgan and Arnaz Battle to possibly get deep if the Niners establish the running game early.  Maybe this will be the game that Vernon Davis breaks out as the Cards’ OLBs are a little long in tooth (Clark Haggans and Chike Okeafor).

The Cardinals would like to run the ball a little more this season with Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells.  They might not have much luck against Patrick Willis though as he’s a tackling machine.   With that in mind the Cards might just attack the Niners D with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.  Kurt Warner should pile up some huge stats in this game.

PREDICITION:  ARIZONA CARDINALS 34, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 30

The 49ers looked like they forgot they had a game last Friday Night.  Shaun Hill made a quick appearance after completing 3 of 4 passes for 20 yards.  Rookie Nate Davis finished up the game by completing 13 of 23 passes for 115 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Kory Sheets led the Niners in rushing in this game with 33 yards on six carries (5.5 ypc).  The 49ers completed passes to 12 different players in this game but no one caught more than 3 passes or had over 33 yards receiving.   The 49ers finished up with only 188 total yards on offense (60 rushing, 128 passing) as they only had possession of the football for a putrid 19:46 of this game.

Linebacker Scott McLillop led the way for the Niners on defense in this game with 13 tackles.  The Chargers finished up with 346 total yards in this game (161 rushing, 185 passing).  The 49ers finish the pre-season with a 3-1 record.