The theme of this week has been injuries, injuries, injuries.  Sometime later tomorrow or early Saturday we'll have final word on the actual probability of the players below playing.  For now, we at least know how much they practiced the last couple of days.

49ers
C Eric Heitmann - Did not participate in Wednesday or Thursday practice sessions with the shoulder injury suffered Sunday against the Cardinals.

CB Donald Strickland - Did not participate in Wednesday or Thursday practice sessions with a knee injury.

If I was a gambling man (which I tend to be), I'd guess both guys will be listed as questionable and be "game-time decisions."  Hopefully Heitmann is just resting the shoulder and will be fine on Sunday.  The same holds true for Strickland as he is quickly proving to be a very solid option as a 4th cornerback.

If Heitmann could not play, I'd imagine Tony Wragge would play center, David Baas would play right guard and Adam Snyder would play left guard.  That would leave Chilo Rachal as the sole backup at guard.  While you can't keep too many players due to roster restrictions, this goes to show the importance of Tony Wragge's versatility.  They're stuck with a rookie backing up at guard, but considering he's their third option when everybody's healthy you can't really complain too much.

If Donald Strickland couldn't go on Sunday and was deactivated, it'd be a battle between Tarell Brown, Marcus Hudson and Reggie Smith for that extra DB spot.  Smith is probably the first one out of those three as a rookie and it seems like Hudson is a guy they really like, so I'd say Hudson would be active.  We'll see.

Seahawks
WR Bobby Engram - Out - Shoulder (definitely will not play, as opposed to DNP in practice which means he could still play this Sunday).

RB Maurice Morris - Out - Knee (see above)

T Sean Locklear - DNP Practice - Knee

WR Deion Branch - Limited Participation in Practice - Knee - Scoresandodds.com has him down as doubtful and as far as I know he's not playing this Sunday.

LB Lofa Tatupu - Limited Participation in Practice - Knee

CB Marcus Trufant - Fine on Wednesday, but limited participation on Thursday with a hand injury after colliding in practice with Tatupu.  Rotoworld says he appeared fine in the lockerrom, but did have on a protective guard.

DE Baraka Atkins - Full participation in practice in spite of a back injury.

As we've discussed many Seahawks injuries ad nauseum, there's not a whole lot left to say with this injury report.  Tatupu and Trufant will probably go on the injury report as probable, but obviously will be playing.  If they're in the lineup, this defense presents a real tough challenge to the 49ers.  I'd expect a lot of pressure all day long.  This will be a big test of J.T. O'Sullivan's pocket presence and ability to make things happen when chaos is unleashed around him. 

Over at Field Gulls, John Morgan discussed the importance of smart blitzing this weekend.  If the 49ers are going to have success on offense it will take a balanced attack and some very solid pass protection from the offensive line.  The talent is there, it's just a matter of execution.

Last week we did a breakdown of matchups with Revenge of the Birds.  Unfortunately, Field Gulls is a bit busy this week so we won't be able to compare our thoughts.  I still like the idea of comparing matchups, so I'm going to go ahead with it on my own.  Due to injuries things have changed, but there are still plenty of significant matchups to consider.

Match-Up #1: Seahawks pass rush vs. 49ers pass protection
Advantage: Seahawks (slightly) - I used the phrase pass protection because this includes running backs stepping up to block.  The Seahawks linebacking trio of Julian Peterson, Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill are quite impressive.  While they are solid dropping into coverage, Peterson and Tatupu are bad-ass pass rushers as well.  Patrick Kerney is tough enough on the line, but the Seahawks will also welcome back Rocky Bernard, the man who began the injury saga of Alex Smith.  If the 49ers aren't careful, one of those guys could very well take JTO's head off and think nothing of it.

After a strong preseason, the 49ers offensive line struggled a bit against the Cardinals.  JTO was sacked 4 times and the pocket collapsed several other times.  If they perform the same way this week in pass protection, it could be an ugly day.  It will be important to establish the running game, but if the offensive line isn't stopping the speed rush, it won't matter all that much.

Match-Up #2: Seahawks secondary vs. 49ers receivers
Advantage: Even - The Seahawks bring a solid secondary in Marcus Trufant and Kelly Jennings.  Nickel back Jordan Babineaux returns after a one-game suspension, which definitely gives them more depth.  The 49ers wide receivers were not exactly spectacular last week, but the talent is definitely there to make plays.  While Isaac Bruce was blanketed last week, Bryant Johnson was able to get open a few times to make some solid gains.  Throw in Arnaz Battle not getting a reception until the second half and you'd think the wide receivers were completely useless.

However, I remain convinced that the 49ers have enough weapons to make plays against this secondary.  Vernon Davis is getting a chance to line up wide, which adds a potent weapon.  There were a couple of 3rd and shorts last week where I wished they ran a wide receiver screen with him.  On this quick plays, he's a virtual guarantee of 3 or 4 yards simply because of his size.

I leave this as an even matchup because the potential is there for both units to be rather solid.  Either side could have a big day and it wouldn't surprise me.

Match-Up #3: Seahawks Running Game vs. 49ers rush defense
Advantage: 49ers - I think I've made it very clear my thoughts on the Seahawks running game.  It's not very good.  Now, Maurice Morris will be out and Justin Forsett was released, leaving a running back duo of Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett.  Combining two guys have been relative underachievers for their careers does not create one good running back that will overachieve (I used to be an accountant, I know how this math will work out).

We'll discuss the Seahawks passing game more tomorrow, but with a relative weak passing attack, it puts more of an onus on the running game, which I don't think they can reach.  The 49ers linebacking corp provides solid backdoor protection to the defensive line.  The 49ers linebackers have a lot of speed which should be sufficient to cut off the outside running lanes.  The primary weakness of the 49ers defense is Aubrayo Franklin.  If he gets shoved around it opens up holes in the middle of the field.  Fortunately tackling machine Patrick Willis and a combination of Takeo Spikes and Jeff Ulbrich can back him up there.  The 49ers held the Cardinals to 2.8 yards per carry, primarily because they were busy being shredded through the air.  The Seahawks might average more than 2.8 yards per carry but I'd be surprised if they successfully mounted much of an attack.  The league average is 4.0 (which they reached last week) and I don't see anything better than that.

We'll have some more matchups tomorrow....