Jttsaz
#40 Never Forget
http://www.49erswebzone.com/cgi-bin/news/news.cgi?action=display&num=1003
Injury news is depressing for 0-4 (0-8 if you count preseason) 49ers
SANTA CLARA - After back-to-back drubbings by NFC West opponents and an 0-4 record to start the season, you might think it couldn't get any worse for the 49ers.
It has.
Coach Dennis Erickson began his Monday news conference by reading off a list of 18 injured players - one-third of the entire roster - that was highlighted by two of the 49ers' best defensive players.
Middle linebacker Derek Smith, who entered Sunday night's game against the St. Louis Rams as the NFL's top tackler, was kicked in the shin early and taken into the locker room for X-rays.
While the tests showed no broken bones, Smith does have torn ligaments in his ankle and could be out from two to three weeks. He is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers will be without defensive end Andre Carter for even longer.
Carter missed the last three games after suffering back spasms following a Week 1 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Monday, he had surgery to remove a cyst that was pressing against nerves in his lower back.
Although the 49ers at one time hoped to get Carter back for the Arizona game, it now appears he will be out anywhere from three to five weeks. It also leaves the 49ers desperately thin at defensive end.
Otis Leverette, who had been filling in for Carter on the right side, has been playing on a sore left ankle and is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game. Left end John Engelberger, meanwhile, has an abdominal strain and is questionable.
That leaves Brandon Whiting as the 49ers' only healthy defensive end, and even he isn't yet 100 percent after having offseason surgery to repair his left shoulder.
What that means, Erickson said, is the 49ers once again will be surfing the waiver wire this week for another defensive lineman.
"We've got to take a good look at what we're going to do," he said. "We've got to make a decision on that (today) as far as signing another defensive end."
The 49ers' defensive unit already could be dubbed the "New Name Defense," considering all the fresh faces in the locker room. After settling on their 53-man roster Sept. 5, the team has played 15 different defensive linemen, including four - Leverette, Tony Brown, James Atkins and Daleroy Stewart - who weren't with the 49ers during the preseason.
If the 49ers can't find any more outside help, Erickson said Brown and defensive tackle Bryant Young could play at defensive end or the team could move to the three-lineman, four-linebacker defense it experimented with this summer.
With Smith out of the lineup, Jeff Ulbrich will slide from his outside position to middle linebacker, while Jamie Winborn takes over for Ulbrich. Erickson also said seldom-used Saleem Rasheed could see more time at outside linebacker.
Spencer for hire - The 49ers' best rookie, through four games at least, has been cornerback Shawntae Spencer.
With Mike Rumph out for the season because of a broken bone in his forearm, Spencer will start against the Cardinals and has an opportunity to wrap up the starting job for the rest of the season.
"He's not a rookie in my opinion," fellow cornerback Ahmed Plummer said. "He's seen some of the top receivers in the league already. He's ready to go."
On the same page - Normally mild-mannered quarterback Tim Rattay was visibly upset during the third quarter Sunday night when his deep pass to rookie Rashaun Woods landed 20 yards beyond the wide receiver.
"There was a little confusion," Rattay said Monday. "I thought he'd go deep, and he broke it off."
The duo had a better connection the following quarter when Rattay was forced out of the pocket, and his receivers were forced to improvise. Woods, who was supposed to run a deep in, instead made a beeline for the corner of the end zone, where Rattay hit him for the rookie's first career touchdown catch.
Said Woods: "Every time Tim gets out of the pocket in practice, we're taught to find the open spots. That's what I did."
Et cetera - Eric Johnson leads all NFL tight ends with 28 catches and 298 yards.
• The 49ers released tackle Brent Swaggert from the practice squad and signed guard/tackle Thomas Herrion.
• Tackle Jerome Davis will rejoin the team this week after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
Injury news is depressing for 0-4 (0-8 if you count preseason) 49ers
SANTA CLARA - After back-to-back drubbings by NFC West opponents and an 0-4 record to start the season, you might think it couldn't get any worse for the 49ers.
It has.
Coach Dennis Erickson began his Monday news conference by reading off a list of 18 injured players - one-third of the entire roster - that was highlighted by two of the 49ers' best defensive players.
Middle linebacker Derek Smith, who entered Sunday night's game against the St. Louis Rams as the NFL's top tackler, was kicked in the shin early and taken into the locker room for X-rays.
While the tests showed no broken bones, Smith does have torn ligaments in his ankle and could be out from two to three weeks. He is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers will be without defensive end Andre Carter for even longer.
Carter missed the last three games after suffering back spasms following a Week 1 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Monday, he had surgery to remove a cyst that was pressing against nerves in his lower back.
Although the 49ers at one time hoped to get Carter back for the Arizona game, it now appears he will be out anywhere from three to five weeks. It also leaves the 49ers desperately thin at defensive end.
Otis Leverette, who had been filling in for Carter on the right side, has been playing on a sore left ankle and is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game. Left end John Engelberger, meanwhile, has an abdominal strain and is questionable.
That leaves Brandon Whiting as the 49ers' only healthy defensive end, and even he isn't yet 100 percent after having offseason surgery to repair his left shoulder.
What that means, Erickson said, is the 49ers once again will be surfing the waiver wire this week for another defensive lineman.
"We've got to take a good look at what we're going to do," he said. "We've got to make a decision on that (today) as far as signing another defensive end."
The 49ers' defensive unit already could be dubbed the "New Name Defense," considering all the fresh faces in the locker room. After settling on their 53-man roster Sept. 5, the team has played 15 different defensive linemen, including four - Leverette, Tony Brown, James Atkins and Daleroy Stewart - who weren't with the 49ers during the preseason.
If the 49ers can't find any more outside help, Erickson said Brown and defensive tackle Bryant Young could play at defensive end or the team could move to the three-lineman, four-linebacker defense it experimented with this summer.
With Smith out of the lineup, Jeff Ulbrich will slide from his outside position to middle linebacker, while Jamie Winborn takes over for Ulbrich. Erickson also said seldom-used Saleem Rasheed could see more time at outside linebacker.
Spencer for hire - The 49ers' best rookie, through four games at least, has been cornerback Shawntae Spencer.
With Mike Rumph out for the season because of a broken bone in his forearm, Spencer will start against the Cardinals and has an opportunity to wrap up the starting job for the rest of the season.
"He's not a rookie in my opinion," fellow cornerback Ahmed Plummer said. "He's seen some of the top receivers in the league already. He's ready to go."
On the same page - Normally mild-mannered quarterback Tim Rattay was visibly upset during the third quarter Sunday night when his deep pass to rookie Rashaun Woods landed 20 yards beyond the wide receiver.
"There was a little confusion," Rattay said Monday. "I thought he'd go deep, and he broke it off."
The duo had a better connection the following quarter when Rattay was forced out of the pocket, and his receivers were forced to improvise. Woods, who was supposed to run a deep in, instead made a beeline for the corner of the end zone, where Rattay hit him for the rookie's first career touchdown catch.
Said Woods: "Every time Tim gets out of the pocket in practice, we're taught to find the open spots. That's what I did."
Et cetera - Eric Johnson leads all NFL tight ends with 28 catches and 298 yards.
• The 49ers released tackle Brent Swaggert from the practice squad and signed guard/tackle Thomas Herrion.
• Tackle Jerome Davis will rejoin the team this week after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
.. I think they got him on the cheap too.
