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.