Despite Alex Smith having a great debut last week the Niners will likely run the ball a lot this week in a attempt to keep the ball away from the Colts.  Frank Gore will take dead aim at a Colts’ D that is allowing 111.8 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The 49ers will then run a lot of play action passes to slow the Colts’ pass rush a little bit as Dwight Freeney (7 sacks) and Robert Mathis (4 sacks) bring the heat from the outside while the Niners are having issues at OT.  With that in mind the Niners will likely keep the passes shorter than they did last week to Vernon Davis, Josh Morgan, Michael Crabtree and Isaac Bruce. 

The Colts have the best pass blocking offensive line in all of football as Peyton Manning has only been sacked two times this season.  With that in mind the Niners might be better off using more zone coverages and using extra DBs on the field.  The Colts might be without Reggie Wayne who has a groin issue.  If he doesn’t play then Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark will do the heavy lifting against a Niners’ D that is allowing 236.0 yards passing per game this season.  The Niners are very solid against the run so don’t look for Joseph Addai to have a good game on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 27, 49ERS 23

Josh Morgan has been helping rookie WR Michael Crabtree cram the playbook despite the fact that he will likely bump him into being the #3 WR on the Niners.  Morgan has caught 17 passes for 264 yards (15.5 avg) with 1 TD grab this season.  He has also carried the ball 1 time for six yards this season.  Morgan is a good football player and he and Michael Crabtree could be both starting at some point this season and down the road so it was smart of him to be a team player.  Michael Crabtree caught 5 passes for 56 yards (11.2 avg) in his season debut last week.

The 49ers have lost veteran right tackle Tony Pashos for the season due to a fractured scapula.  He played in 5 games (1 start) for the Niners this season who had just inserted him into the starting lineup.  He replaced Adam Snyder who will again be the starting right tackle for the Niners and that is not a good thing.

The Niners have released 28-year old linebacker Marques Harris.  Harris played in 4 games for the 49ers this season and he made 6 tackles.  To replace Harris on the roster the 49ers have promoted 23-year old linebacker Diyral Briggs from the practice squad.  Briggs will likely provide depth at linebacker but most of his work will likely come on special teams.

The San Francisco 49ers have replaced Shaun Hill as the starting QB as they will go with Alex Smith for the time being.  Smith played in his first game of the season last week against the Texans and he completed 15 of 22 passes (68.2%) for 206 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (118.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 16 yards (8.0 ypc) last week.  This will be an interesting move as Shaun Hill was not playing that poorly this season.  Hill started the first six games of the season for the 49ers and he completed 87 of 155 passes (56.1%) for 943 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 70 yards (8.8 ypc) this season.  Smith has a stronger arm than Hill and this is the best talent he has ever had around him so he will have no excuses for failure this time around as the starting QB.

The San Francisco 49ers (3-3) looked like two different teams in Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans (4-3).  The 49ers looked awful in the first half and headed into the break down 21-0.  Head coach Mike Singletary benched Shaun Hill after the starting quarterback was only able to get 45 yards passing in the first half.  Former number one draft pick Alex Smith started the second half and really turned the game around for the 49ers.  What looked like it was going to be a blowout win for the Texans, turned into a very close game.  Smith went 15/22 and threw three touchdowns on 206 passing yards.  Smith’s favorite target was Vernon Davis, who caught all three of Smith’s TD passes.  Davis finished the game with those three TD’s and seven catches for 93 yards.  Smith did not have enough magic though and threw an interception with under 40 seconds left to play.  The 49ers were deep in their own territory though, and Smith was just trying to make a big play down field.  It was the only real mistake Smith made, but it ended up sealing the victory for the Texans.

The 49ers defense did a good job settling in the second half and only allowing a field goal, after giving up three touchdowns in the first half.  Michael Crabtree had a very impressive debut.  After holding out all season for a better contract, the rookie receiver caught five passes for 56 yards and played like he has been there all season.  Coach Singletary has not announced who will be his starting quarterback next week, but with the performance that Smith put on I think you have got to go with him.  The 49ers really need Frank Gore to get going though (only 32 yards on 13 carries in this contest), because without him it wont matter much who is the quarterback. The 49ers are on the road against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts next game.

The San Francisco 49ers (3-2) are on the road against the Houston Texans (3-3) Sunday and are very happy to have their star running back Frank Gore back from an ankle injury.  They lost 45-10 last game against Atlanta and quarterback Shaun Hill was their leading rusher with 53 yards scrambling.  It is nice to see Hill making things happen with his legs, but the 49ers offense needs him to be more of a threat in the passing game.  He has only passed for 898 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions on 56% pass completion.  He will have some extra help in the receiving game now that Michael Crabtree has finally signed and will be making his pro debut in this game.  Crabtree is very talented and has the ability to make an impact right away.  Hopefully Gore’s ankle still doesn’t limit him, because Houston’s poor run defense has been improving each week.  They held Cedric Benson, who was the league rushing leader, to 44 yards last week.

The 49er’s defense can not let Texans’ quarterback Matt Schaub beat them deep.  Schaub has turned this Texans offense into an electric, high scoring threat and running back Steve Slaton has done a decent job getting yards in their running game.  Slaton is very prone to fumbling though, with five fumbles already this season and eight in his two year career.  The 49ers should make an extra effort in stripping the ball from Slaton since he has proven he has a hard time holding on to it. This should be a close game but I think the Texans will win with Matt Schaub and the talented Texans offense, combined with their improving defense.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  San Francisco 49ers 24, Houston Texans 31

The 49ers have signed 28-year old linebacker Matt Wilhelm.  Wilhelm played in all 16 games for the Chargers last season and he made 51 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he had 1 interception.  He has now played in 71 games in his six year NFL career and he has made 220 tackles, has defensed 12 passes, has 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he has 6 interceptions.  Wilhelm will replace linebacker Jeff Ulbrich on the roster who has been placed on the Injured Reserve List ending his season with 1 whole tackle.

The San Francisco 49ers are not pleased with Shaun Hill’s production so far this season.  But they are still 3-2 on the season so there is no reason to make a change at QB quite yet.  Alex Smith has been taking some snaps with the first team in practice this week but I think that’s more of a product of the Niners having a bye this week.  They are probably just giving Hill a rest this week.  Hill has completed 81 of 144 passes (56.3%) for 898 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs (80.7 QB Rating).  Hill should have a boost for the game October 25th with the Texans as Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree will both be likely ready to rock.

The San Francisco 49ers (3-2) were not on top of their game Sunday and were destroyed by the Atlanta Falcons (3-1).  The 49ers secondary did a terrible job containing Falcons’ receiver Roddy White, who finished the game with a franchise record of 210 yards on eight catches (26.25 avg) and had two touchdowns.  One of his touchdowns was a 90-yard second quarter reception.  The blame should not fall entirely on the secondary though, since the 49ers front line failed to get any pressure on the Falcons’ quarterback.  They had no sacks and only hit Ryan twice.

Shaun Hill was terrible Sunday completing only 39% (15/38) of his passes, throwing an interception, and racking up only 198 passing yards.  Hill did do a good job making things happen with his legs, getting 54 yards on only four carries (13.3).  The 49ers were dominated in this one though and were down 14-0 in less than 10 minutes into the game.  One of the few good plays by the 49ers turned into nothing for them when Dre Bly turned a great interception into a bonehead fumble.  Bly was celebrating about 30 yards too early and got caught from behind and lost the ball.  The 49ers have a lot of work to do this week and are taking on the Houston Texans on the road Sunday.