Photo taken by Michael Olsen

Frank Gore vs. Lions’ front seven

The rejuvenation of Alex Smith’s career has been largely due to the coaching philosophy of Jim Harbaugh, who has relegated Smith to that of a game manager. In the style of Baltimore’s Trent Dilfer, Smith is simply there to hand the ball off, make simple throws when needed, and protect the football.

The engine that drives this 49er offense is runningback Frank Gore, who has churned out at least 125 rushing yards in each of the previous two weeks. The entire San Francisco philosophy is based on strong defense, protecting the football, and controlling the clock with the running game. The key to keeping the Lions’ explosive offense off of the field will be the consistency of Gore in the running game, as well as the 49er offensive line’s ability to control the Lions’ front seven.

Corey Williams has been a beast thus far in 2011 against the run. Ndamukong Suh is learning to balance his responsibilities in the run game, with his aggressiveness as a pass rusher. The linebacking corps played well on Monday night, but injuries may limit this group, leading to opportunities for the 49ers offensive line. Stephen Tulloch is nursing a sore ankle, and Justin Durant has missed two games with lingering effects from a concussion. Bobby Carpenter and DeAndre Levy need to continue their improved play from the past two weeks for the Lions’ defense to have a chance to get off of the field.

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Granted, this exercise presumes that no games will be lost due to the lockout (a less risky proposition now than when I began this series). That might be a big step of faith, especially in regards to the preseason games, but I have a hard time operating under any other assumption. I know what happens when one assumes, let’s hope the labor situation doesn’t prove the old saying true. These Q&As aren’t meant to be any sort of game preview, it is obviously way too early for that. The subject teams may end up looking much different when the Lions play them compared to how they look now, but I anticipate this being a good introduction to each teams’ hopes, fears, needs, expectations, etc.

The Lions will have a short week to prepare for a week six game against the San Francisco 49ers after their appearance on Monday Night Football a week earlier. I was able to send some questions to Eric Melendez, the lead writer at Niner Noise, and he was kind enough to provide responses. Here we go…

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Clipped from: espn.go.com (share this clip)

If this week’s return of “Have at It” is any indication, most of you are hoping the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions pass on Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers if he slides out of the top 10 of the draft. The Vikings are scheduled to pick No. 12 and the Lions have the No. 13 pick.

From espn.go.com (share this quote)

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