At 3-4 and one game out of first place heading into week 9 the 49ers face a must win game against Tennessee.  As a prelude to this all important match up i have decided to take a look at what has gone right,  what has gone wrong and what needs to be changed in order for the 49ers to win the NFC West this season.

What has gone right

1. Surprising play of the defense:  Obviously Patrick Willis leads the way as our only pro bowl lock.  But instead of stating the obvious i am going to point out some other sectors of the defense that has led the way.                                  FS- Dashon Goldson:  Many of your chastised me for saying that he will contend for a pro bowl in his 1st season as a starter,  but this is exactly what he has done. Singletary has passed over the head set from Willis to Goldson, this only furthering my opinion regarding the playmaking safety.  46 tackles, sack, inf and ff through 7 games.   He is playing at an all-pro level despite a few lapses on coverage.  CB- Shawntae Spencer: No one on this site really question Singletary's decision to go with the injury prone corner over Dre Bly,  and that just shows how informative members of this site are.  He is the closest thing that we have to a shutdown cornerback.  He continues to make plays on the ball and looks comfortable on an island in single coverage.  What a great surprise he has been.  DE- Ray McDonald: I look forward to this up and coming end get more playing time as the season goes on,  maybe even at the expense of Soap.  He deserves it,  in a  part time role McDonald has recorded 3 sacks,  he may fit in the role of a pass rushing specialist in our 3-4,  time will tell.  DT- Aubrayo Franklin: I believe he is playing as good as any NT in the entire league,  leading one of the best rush defenses in the NFL Franklin continues to improve game in and game out.  If it wasn't for a lack of name recognition he would get a pro bowl look.  The 16 tackles and 2 sacks really don't tell the story.

2. Michael Crabtree,  yes Michael Crabtree:  After missing the 1st five games all Crabtree has done is come in and have the two best receiving games of any 49ers WR's this season,  this in his first 2 NFL games.  He is looking like the real deal and an absolute superstar.  Yes he has made a couple mistakes,  fumbling the ball on a crucial drive and dropping a bubble screen,  but both are things he will improve on as the season continues.  It is possible that despite missing the 1st 5 games Crabtree could end up with 60 receptions and 700 yards.  That is way above the expectations any of us had for him

3. Environment Around The Team: I know this one if random considering the 49ers have lost 3 in a row and 4 of the last 5.  But when was the last time the 49ers went into every game expecting to win?  All NFL teams hope to win,  but only the good one expect to win.  Considering our 4 losses have come against teams with a combined 23-7 record i am hardly dismayed by the 3-4 record.  They just need to learn how to close games,  we lead most of the time against two of the leagues best teams on the road to end up losing by a combined 7 points.  In the past these were games that they 49ers were blown away by halftime.  The 49ers righted the ship following a horrendous 6 quarters in which we were outscored 66-10 only to come back strong in the 2nd half against Houston and play right with Indianapolis.  The atmosphere at 4949 Centennial BLVD has complete changed from this time last season despite only being 1 game better.

4. Alex Smith: Many of us viewed him as a bust just a month ago,  some of us even mentioned the fact that we could release him without a salary cap hit following the season.  What has changed since then? Though still skeptical Alex Smith has showed a pocket presence,  confidence and knowledge of the off-season i haven't seen from a 49ers QB since Jeff Garcia.  Added to this is the obvious talent he has in the ability to make pretty much every throw on the field,  arm strength and scrambling ability.  The next few games will be telling but i am confident that Smith will breakout and become the "franchise" QB we had all hope he would.

                        Am i being overly optimistic?  Maybe.  But i have been watching the 49ers since i was in diapers so i have a pretty good grasp of this franchise.  They are turning the corner,  and despite 3 consecutive losses they are still only 1 game out of first place and as a team have shown a confidence i haven't seen since the start of this decade.