The San Francisco 49ers head up to Seattle this weekend looking to take down the Seattle Seahawks and move one step closer to securing the number two seed in the NFC. The Seahawks are playing some very solid football the last six weeks, having won five of six and climbed into the thick of the NFC wildcard race. Their strong run back into playoff contention has coincided with strong play from running back Marshawn Lynch.

Over the past seven games, Lynch has rushed for 748 yards and eight touchdowns. He has at times looked like a pinball bouncing off defenders for some crazy touchdown runs. It dates back to his big run against the Saints in the playoffs last year, but he has really brought his A game the last seven weeks.

Donte Whitner played with Lynch in Buffalo and took some time to chat about him with the media today. As is often said about Lynch, Whitner described him as an incredibly physical back who will fight for every last yard. Whitner did point out that this made him susceptible to fumble issues at times.

The 49ers have generally been a technically sound defense when it comes to containing running backs. The 49ers do not give up a lot of big runs and my guess would be that it is due to the solid tackling skills of the front seven. Is there something beyond that the 49ers need to know to contain Marshawn Lynch? Or is it simply a matter of assignment discipline and sound tackling?