Sports Betting..... San Francisco 49ers - NFL Teams Page...

Mike Nolan says he sees San Francisco as a power-running team. They did win their last two games of the season behind a defense and the team's running attack.

Rookie Frank Gore gained 108 yards on 25 carries in the 49ers' 20-17 overtime victory over Houston on Sunday. SF rushed for 399 yards in their last two games of the season.

Smith finished with his best two games in his first season, probably because the team began to have a little success with its ground attack.

San Francisco's line needed to be more physical - and it was. A big improvement. A lot was down to practices. When the 49ers used center Jeremy Newberry, the offensive line never practiced together because Newberry had to leave off his bad knee during the week. When Eric Heitmann switched from right guard to center - all that changed.

Snyder and David Baas entered the lineup too and the offensive line began to show improvement over the final four games or so.

The San Francisco 49ers' top pick will be on the bench again this week when the team faces the Tennessee Titans. Mike Nolan has decided to give third-year quarterback Ken Dorsey a second consecutive start over Alex Smith, the player the 49ers hope will eventually fill the team's quarter-back position in the long-term.

Dorsey put himself in the reckoning be rewarded with the start after a 27-25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Dorsey threw a shade under 250 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

"I felt Ken did a good job in the game the other day, I also know that both quarterbacks are still a little bit nicked...last week in practice I thought Alex was a little bit rusty." Nolan said.

Nolan stated that making Dorsey the starter was 'nothing permanent'.

Smith has not played since Oct. 23 when he picked up an injury to his right knee against the Washington Redskins. Before that, Smith had struggled in any case, completing just 23 of 50 passing attempts for 200 yards with no touchdowns and giving up interceptions - five in total.

For those betting on this football game - the 49ers are currently getting +8.5 points on the points spread.

The San Francisco 49ers' offense is in dire straits and it probably won't get much better against the Chicago Bears this Sunday who have the NFL's third-ranked defense.

The 49ers have been held without an offensive touchdown in five of their eight games.
They average just 110 net yards passing a game but have managed a total of just 234 yards passing in their last four games. They went thirty offensive possessions earlier this season without scoring a touchdown and are currently on a streak of twenty-six possessions without reaching the end zone.

Starting four different quarterbacks this season can't have helped and the only one who has thrown a touchdown pass has not played since Oct. 2 - after which he was benched and subsequently traded.

To make matters worse, their highest-paid offensive lineman was put on injured list this week and their current best lineman will probably need to take at least a week off to let his various injuries heal.

"Really, it's the lack of consistency," 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. "You have to do something right before you get it in the end zone."

Agreed.