San Francisco 49ers 23 - Seattle Seahawks 10: Frank Gore is truly a one-man offense

Well then, it certainly is easy to forget the week 1 rushing performance after a game like this.  The 49ers currently sit at 2-0 thanks to a mostly stellar defensive performance, but just as importantly, an epic Frank Gore performance.  The announcers mentioned the impressive percentages of 2-0 teams making the playoffs (something like 65%).  Of course, in 2007 the 49ers beat Arizona and St. Louis to start the season before completely collapsing under the weight of expectations.  Personally, this 2-0 start feels significantly better than that 2-0 start.  The passing offense has been pretty atrocious so far, but this team just brings something else to the table.

The Good
Frank Gore: What needs to be said that the above picture doesn't show?  Frank Gore caught the Seahawks completely off guard, ripping the interior for 79- and 80-yard touchdown runs.  While the 49ers passing attack was truly abysmal for about 95% of the game, Gore stepped up and carried this offense today.  16 carries for 207 yards and 2 long touchdowns?  Yea, I'll take that.  He's provided two extremes in the first two weeks of the season, so we'll see how he stacks up against a stout Minnesota Vikings defense next week.

Nate Clements/Shawntae Spencer: People were calling for #22's head in the preseason as he was looking absolutely atrocious against some scrub wide receivers.  I think we can say he was probably just messing around, working on some new stuff in the preseason.  After a solid performance in week 1, Clements came up with another huge performance.  And while it is always fun seeing him provide great coverage, I really like watching him make big open field tackles.  As for Shawntae Spencer?  He's showing Greg Manusky to be an absolute genius for starting him over Dre Bly.  The best part is the depth Bly has provided at the nickel back role.

Isaac Bruce: He was quiet for the first half of the game, but then stepped up with a pair of huge third down conversions in that long drive in the second half.  Isaac Bruce no longer shows a ton of flash, but he has been Mr. Consistency for the 49ers and is proving to be Shaun Hill's security blanket on offense.

Play-calling: I include the play-calling in the good because I really felt like the offense mixed things up a little more.  Part of this comes from the success of the rushing game, but it just seemed like a slightly more varied offense.  Of course, as The Bad shows, there's one part of the offense that can get tossed in the trash.

Joe Nedney: Just so absolutely money.  Makes me forget the days of Jose Cortez and Jeff Chandler.

Moran Norris: Norris is a solid blocker, but he made some huge plays rushing and receiving today.  Norris quietly goes about his business, but that swing pass for the first down and the 14 yard rush later were big on that drive.

After the jump we look at the bad, the ugly and next week's battle with the Fightin Favres...

The Bad
The Offensive Line: The Gore runs were great and the line did show improvement in week 2 (thus the upgrade from The Ugly to The Bad).  But they definitely have their work cut out for them.  Tony Pashos did get into the game in the first half and was a mixed bag.  He made some big blocks, but he also let his man by him for a sack and had a holding penalty on that last field goal drive.

The Taser: Yea, the 49ers version of the Wildcat is just not good.  They did have Vernon Davis wide open on that Spurlock pass and maybe Michael Robinson makes that play.  Nonetheless it really wasn't even remotely pretty.  Not sure how useful it is rolling that out anymore.  Does anybody really have to remain honest on it?

The Ugly
Shaun Hill: It's great that Hill won, but we need to call a spade a spade here.  Hill struggled in the passing game.  He did manage some big completions on that long drive, but otherwise he didn't a whole lot of much.  If the 49ers are going to do some damage in the NFL this year, he's going to need to step up at some point and make some plays.

Seahawks Injuries: I think the 49ers were definitely the better team today, but those injuries to the Seahawks just mount and mount.  It's amazing how banged up they've become.

Next Week
@ Minnesota - Things get a whole lot of interesting next week as our 49ers head into Minnesota, setting up a showdown of a pair of 2-0 teams.  The biggest storyline, in terms of what the media likes to latch on to, is yet another matchup against Brett Favre.  The Brett Favre retirement tour apparently always goes through the 49ers.  While the divisional wins are probably more important, this is definitely one of Maiocco's GPS games.  The last time these two teams squared off, the 49ers shut down Adrian Peterson.  Of course Chester Taylor lit them up, so it kind of defeats the purpose.

The real question in my mind is how the rushing attack (and the offensive line as a whole) stands up to the solid Vikings defense.  The Williams Wall will be in the house, so we'll see if Gore can get anything going next week.

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