Smith is more athletic and has more of the general “QB skills” people tend to look for. At the same time, up until earlier this season Hill was successful in limited opportunities with the 49ers. He had three solid games in 2007 and he played well the second half of last season. However, he was named starting QB to begin this season but never really was able to step up and make the necessary plays on a consistent basis. He looked very solid at times, but he looked poor much of the time and just couldn’t provide a consistent threat.

That’s not to say either is the answer for this team. The best way to describe it is Hill would be low risk, low reward. Alex Smith is high risk, high reward. Smith can make more of the necessary throws and move the offense more consistently. The turnovers are brutal, but I’m hoping more time with the rest of the skill players will bring a bit more consistency.

Well, the rush defense had been great up until the second half of Sunday’s game against the Titans. Chris Johnson was contained in the first half but had a huge second half, which was a big game-changer (that and Smith’s turnovers).

Generally though, the 49ers have a swarming rush defense that I would like to think can contain Matt Forte. Forte has struggled this season so I’d hope the 49ers rush defense can rebound. One thing to keep an eye on is the secondary’s performance in tackling Forte. The team lost Nate Clements a couple weeks ago and I consider him one of the best tackling CBs in the league. I think that hurt them last week against Tennessee.

If you try to run up the gut you’re not going to get anything going.

I don’t know exactly how fast Forte is, but your best shot is to try to run outside.

If he is falling, wanna trade for Lovie?

I think most folks are still giving Singletary the benefit of the doubt. It’s easier for folks to blame Alex Smith, the offensive line, offensive coordinatory Jimmy Raye, and talent issues for much of the team’s struggles. Singletary has basically had the equivalent of one full season of games as head coach, so he’s definitely learning on the job. We’ve been running an approval rating and he’s still above 80%, and many of the folks who are voting no aren’t exactly off the Singletary bandwagon, but they’re more wavering.

Of course, if the team continues losing, I wouldn’t be surprised if more people start to doubt the magic of Singletary, whether it’s deserved or not.

I actually like his confidence now, because he’s actually backing it up.
He’s been one of the best TEs in the NFL this season.

With Vernon we take the good with the bad. He’s slowly gotten his mental act together while turning into a big time receiving threat, finally. I like the confidence but I don’t think he needs to be telling the whole world.

The only thing I miss about the 80s is the 49ers.

The 49ers could really use a dynamic return man. I really like him as a return man and think he is turning into a solid enough receiver as well. What are your guys thoughts on Hester at this point?

Before last year’s draft I considered him DHB but with ball skills (he’s only like .01 seconds slower right?)

Good thing Al Davis was too inept to see that.

The 49ers are rolling out Shawntae Spencer, Tarell Brown and Dre Bly, with Bly as the nickel back. At this point Dre Bly might be the guy to pick on. He’s getting old and struggles from time to time, even though he remains as aggressive as ever. Spencer has had some inconsistencies but is playing fairly well. Tarell Brown was inserted into the starting lineup a couple weeks ago against the Colts and hasn’t looked back, in large part because of the season-ending injury to Nate Clements. I’d expect the Bears to start by picking on Brown until he shows he can handle things on his side every down.

Gore is a tough prediction because he has had some games where he can’t do anything and finishes with 30 or 40 rushing yards, followed up by games where one or two long rushes make up a big chunk of his yards. I’m hoping for big numbers under the prime time lights, so why not go with 140 just to be a little saucy.

but guys like Kellen Davis are always open

It’s not hard to get away from opposing defenders when you’re on the sidelines.

I honestly don’t know at this point. I think he’ll have a solid performance. Given how few carries he had, he was rather solid last week without having a single huge run to pad his stats. But given that he’s been up and down to date, it’s almost impossible to predict at this point.

As for Olsen, he could very well have a solid game. Good tight ends have been doing fairly well against the 49ers, so I definitely am concerned about Olsen. Maybe more than another weapon on the Bears offense.

I think he’s showing how talented he really is. He didn’t have a playbook in hand during his holdout so even with the bye week, it was impressive that he got down a set # of plays so quickly. Now it’s a matter of him building on his chemistry with Alex Smith.