He’s shown some skills at times, but I think part of the problem is the offensive line has really struggled this season. If you look past Frank Gore’s two huge TD rushes against Seattle (accounting for 159 yards), the rushing game has been awful.

Coffee still has a lot of work in front of him, but the signs are there that he can make things happen. Not sure if that’ll make him a feature back down the road, but he’s definitely talented.

Vernon Davis does indeed seem to be gaining some measure of consistency. He’s an athletic freak that just needs to harness it all together.

Defense: The defense is probably not quite as good as we saw against the Rams, but better than that last drive against the Vikings. It’s an extremely aggressive defense so some of these turnovers and fumble/INT returns are not exactly shocking. Even with last week’s last minute collapse, the team remains one of the best in stopping the run. Michael Turner will have his hands full on Sunday. The question remains how the 49ers handle the passing game.

Yea, he’s gonna be out. The team indicated he would be out for 2 games and the week 6 bye. I guess technically he hasn’t been ruled out yet, but he’ll be inactive this Sunday.

He’s not a receiver, but TE Vernon Davis is a great receiving threat and he and Shaun Hill seem to be developing a great chemistry.

As far as actual wide receivers, Josh Morgan is slowly coming along. He’s in his second year and can make fantastic plays. Of course this past week saw him drop a wide open bomb on the 5 yard line so he just needs to develop some consistency.

Isaac Bruce is getting up their in age but is still a threat on shorter 3rd down plays. He knows where the yard markers are and can get key third down conversions. He’s had some drops lately, but is still a safe bet at wide receiver.

Beyond that nobody else has stepped up. Free agent signee Brandon Jones was active for the first time all season but saw little playing time. Arnaz Battle makes some catches but isn’t a big threat.

Patrick Willis does appear to be that sort of once-in-a-generation talent. Mike Singletary has already said he thinks Willis could end up being better than him because he brings athleticism Singletary did not have.

Willis can obviously tackle, but he’s got an ability to track down ball carriers in the backfield. It seems like every game you’ll see him track down the ball carrier trying to turn the corner and bring them down before the line of scrimmage. His biggest weakness (and he’s gotten much better with it) is probably getting himself out of position on a given play. And yet thanks to his athleticism he can get across the field to make a play.

Basically, expect at least a couple plays where you say to yourself, where did he come from??? And if have a running back or receiver get out in space and he appears to be breaking away, don’t count your chickens, because Willis has tracked down wide receivers with impressive skill. Check out 2:05 of this video. In OT against Arizona two years ago, Sean Morey caught a pass and appeared ready to take it to the house. Willis tracked him down from about 10 yards back and tackled him short of the end zone. The Cardinals missed the subsequent field goal.

I don’t want him. The guy is a prima donna and a front runner. They’re winning without him and it would basically be a wasted year if they did sign him. I read he was in SF today though.

The 49ers and Crabtree are reportedly meeting today. Many folks think he’ll cave in pretty soon. I’m in a position where, if it happens awesome, if not, I’ll take my 3-1 team as is. But obviously he’s a talent I’d love to have.

Yea, the offensive line has definitely struggled. That’s one reason the offense has remained relatively conservative. If Shaun Hill can’t get sufficient time in the pocket to make a pass, why run the risk of more sacks.

I could certainly see changes on the line. I’m really hoping right guard Chilo Rachal can get things turned around. He’s a second year player so he’s still learning so much about the game, and he showed a lot of potential the second half of last season. Dave Baas is a free agent after this season so I’m less attached, but the 49ers don’t exactly have super-star options backing those guys up. So I’m not exactly sure what the team is thinking they can do to mix it up. Hopefully this will light some kind of fire underneath them.

It’s been up and down. He’s made some huge plays to keep the 49ers in games. He gets the game manager label, but he’s led the team to go-ahead touchdowns in the 4th quarter twice this year. Not quite the 2 minute drill Montana-esque comebacks, but he’s shown he can make plays. And he’s starting to build a great chemistry with Vernon Davis. If they can get some consistency, and the offensive line can improve, Hill can be a solid QB in this league. He’ll never be a superstar, but with a great defense and running game supporting him, he can be a winner.

They changed their uniforms heading into this year. They’re not quite the old school cherry reds, but 49ers fans like them.

SF Chronicle picture

Shop49ers.com picture

Hill is the QB of the short term future. I’d say Alex Smith is done as a 49ers QB, barring injury. The 49ers drafted Nate Davis and are sitting him this year so we’ll see what he can do. I’m at a point where in an ideal world I think the 49ers start Hill all this year, then next year they slowly work in Nate Davis before Davis takes over in 2011. The 49ers have two first round picks in the 2010 draft so maybe they go another direction in QB. But I doubt they take a QB early in this year’s draft.

I’ll post a reply prediction on Friday. It’s become my custom to wait until then to make predictions. As long as the 49ers are winning I have to stick with it!

I do think this could be a great game to watch. Both teams are up and coming (the Falcons have certainly proven more than the 49ers of course), which could make for a fun game. I’ve noticed the struggles of your defense so I’m curious how the 49ers conservative offense plays against it.

34-17 Falcons? Hey if you guys win, it’s gonna be close, think 21-20. Not sure how much the rest of the leauge knows about Willis, but think Ray Lewis in his prime – Turner will not have a fun day. You will meet him come Sunday! Niners bag this one 17-10. ;)

Good eye, there.
By contrast, Falcons are 30th in defensive yards/game and 23rd in defensive yards/play. You don’t see a big differential between points and yards like that too often. The 49ers are 6th in def. yds/gm and 3rd in def. yds/play. That’s a little scary.

he gets traded before the week 6 deadline?