It's sad to look around the San Francisco Bay Area and see that the posters promoting the 49ers are all about Mike Singletary. The face of the 49ers is their head coach, not a player. If the 49ers get anywhere this year, it will be all Singletary, however, and that was demonstrated on Sunday with tough, smash-mouth 49er football bringing down the Arizona Cardinals 20-16.
You read that right. Smash-mouth 49er football, whereas in the past many have equated the 49ers with wine-sipping. On Sunday, it was defense that did the trick, although QB Shaun Hill managed just enough offense to bring the 49ers back from a 16-13 4th quarter deficit.
The 49ers could not run, at all. RB Frank Gore, who has previous run for over 1,000 yards in a season, and is considered the heart of the 49ers offense, managed 30 yards in 22 carries.
However, the key to the game was a 15-play, 80 yard drive in the fourth quarter that ended with a short pass from Shaun Hill to Frank Gore, as Hill picked up a blitz. Hill finished 18/31, 209 yards, 1 TD, no INTs.
Kurt Warner, on the other hand, was 26/44, 288 yards, 1 TD, but with 2 INTs. Arizona's rushing game was just as impotent as the 49ers, with Bernie Wells producing only 29 yards. At least it was only on 7 carries, however.
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