Golden Nuggets: Rare Sunday off gives time for reflection

Thursday game's are rough on the players. But look, now we get a 10-day break before our next game, on the road, against the Arizona Cardinals. Hopefully we'll spoil the dreams of two NFC West co-conspirators in back-to-back weekends. With extra time to prepare, and the way the Cardinals have been playing, we should be able to have our way with them. Let's see how they play against the Vikings today.

What about the Seahawks game? It answered some questions and raised some more. How confident are people with Alex Smith moving forward? The last two games have been more reminiscent of early Alex. This, following two games in which our offense looked otherworldly. It's hard to gauge which offense is going to show up. The one thing that is a certainty is, over the last 4 weeks, we have played two bad defenses and looked great, and played two good defenses and looked somewhere between awful and passable. What all that means for the longterm is still up for debate. There's a lot of noise from some segments of the fan base who want Colin Kaepernick in there at QB. I've got faith in the FO and Coach Harbaugh. If they thought for one second that CK was ready for the job, and going to be an upgrade, they'd have him in there. They're not the sentimental types (see: Brandon Jacobs vs NY Giants) and loyalty will be thrown out the window for a victory.

The other two topics that are trending right now are the physical play of the Seahawks' cornerbacks and Frank Gore's health. It would appear that Gore should be ready for the Cardinals game next Monday night, despite suffering bruised ribs in the second quarter of the Seattle game. If he's not able to go, I still like our chances with Brandon Jacobs and Kendall Hunter in a ball-control game. With the O-line of the Cards, and John Skelton at QB, it's a game we should win. The Seahawks CBs, however, they play a brutal style of football, that appears to be legal. Coach has some questions about their 'hands on' approach, that, without any flags being thrown, fell within the limits on Thursday. We'll see how the League calls it further down the line. It would appear we're not the first team to think it was a bit over the top.

On to the links...

Do 49ers really trust Alex Smith? (NFL.com)

Frank Gore on the mend after painful night. (Inman)

Hold on, Harbaugh unhappy with physical play of Seattle corners. (Branch)

Corners getting away with you know what? (Sando)

Five days, two games, and one big question finally answered. (49erswebzone.com)

Eric Davis breaks down the 49ers' 'TNF' victory over Seahawks. (NFL.com)

San Francisco 49ers: Grading the week 7 win over the Seattle Seahawks. (Inman)

Niners getting back to what they do best. (Scout.com)

Should Greg Roman ask for help? (Cohn)

Did Roman call the Y-Stick and the Y-Stick Lookie against the Seahawks? (Cohn)

Frank Gore more than just an ornamental piece in 49ers' offense. (BASG)

Being a Sheep

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