Opponent Q&A: San Francisco 49ers Examiner Samuel Lam

October 24, 8:15 AMHouston Texans ExaminerAlan Burge

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Frank Gore's return to action should boost the 49ers offense   (AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez,File)

The Texans and 49ers face off tomorrow in a big game for both teams.

In an attempt to get some insider perspective on the matchup, I asked my West Coast colleague, 49ers Examiner Samuel Lam, a few questions:

HT Examiner:  What effect, if any, will Michael Crabtree have in this game?

Lam:  Since Crabtree will be starting, the 49ers expect him to make an impact. The 49ers are putting in about 12-15 packaged plays for Crabtree. What they will probably do is send him on short wide receiver screen passes or 10-yard out routes. I don’t know how much of the playbook Crabtree has picked up, but the 49ers understand that their 28th ranked pass offense will need all the help they can get. Crabtree will be a factor in some capacity.

HT Examiner:  The 49ers appeared to have gotten back on track after a tough loss to the Vikings by clubbing the Rams 35-0.  But then the Falcons came in to San Francisco and crushed the 49ers by 35. Why the wild swings in performance over the past two games?

Lam:  Not to make the Rams sound so bad, but the Rams were that bad. They had Kyle Boller under center and he just didn’t make the best decisions. Fumbles and a lot of other mistakes gave the 49ers opportunities to score. Even if you look at the 49ers offensive statistics, they weren’t that great. But the game did show that the 49ers are capable of executing outside of their offense. 

What happened against the Falcons was a huge letdown. The defense (especially Nate Clements) did not show up to play. The offense was pressured so much that they were just not able to get into any good rhythm. The 49ers were just not playing to their best potential and had a lot of uncharacteristic plays. The team is still young and inexperienced and that was what we saw that day.

HT Examiner:  The 49ers will win if:

Lam:  …if they can execute a running game. The 49ers have not had a good running game all year. Other than Frank Gore’s two long touchdown runs against the Seahawks, the 49ers have not established any kind of threat on the ground. Gore’s return should help solve the problem. However, if the 49ers can’t run and hold the ball, the 49ers will be forced to pass again and the pressure might not be the best for a struggling offense. 

The defense also has to add pressure Matt Schaub. The pass rush has improved and has to step up against the Texans prolific offense.

HT Examiner:  The Texans will win if:

Lam:  …if they score early and often. One thing that 49ers struggled with in their last game against the Falcons was their mental recovery from a big deficit. The Texans are capable of running up the score early with their offensive weapons. The Texans should attack the 49ers secondary (which is struggling and banged up) and keep the defense on the field. 

Also, the 49ers offensive line went through a shakeup this week, meaning that the Texans should feast on the offensive line. Giving the quarterback a hard time in the pocket will most definitely lead to a win for Houston.

Thanks Sam, I appreciate the insight.   Let's hope for a good game with no injuries.