FanHouse San Francisco 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Two weeks into the 2009 NFL season, 49ers' running back Frank Gore already has experienced his nightmare and dream scenarios. And both keep him up at night.

There was the horror of rushing for only 30 yards in the season-opening victory against the Arizona Cardinals. And then there was the validation of dominating the Seahawks' defense and producing 207 yards, a career-high 246 scrimmage yards and two of the longest scoring runs of his career, 79 and 80 yards, in a Week 2 victory at Candlestick Park.

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Every week we're logging each and every sack to determine who was to blame, how long it took for the sack to happen and how the sack happened. Here are the notes pulled from watching Week Two's sacks.

It's worth throwing in a disclaimer. It's not always easy to determine who was responsible for a sack, especially if there is a line twist or blitz pickup involved. But these are logged as best as can be done without knowing the line protection calls.

• The 49ers' offensive line did manage to block well enough to free up Frank Gore for 207 yards rushing, but they haven't solved their pass blocking problems at right tackle. San Francisco signed ex-Jaguars tackle Tony Pashos to give Adam Snyder some competition. Snyder started against the Seahawks but they split time at right tackle, and both gave up sacks.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Quarterback Brett Favre was never fully incorporated into the New York Jets offense last season until mid to late-October, says one-time Jets offensive assistant Jimmy Raye, who is now the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator -- and will face his former QB Sunday at the Metrodome.

Raye also revealed Thursday that Favre's torn biceps tendon forced the Jets to severely limit his throws during practices late in the 2008 season.

"As best I can remember, that was very difficult for us," said Raye, who was running backs coach with the Jets from 2006-08. He said Favre's late arrival during the exhibition season -- he was traded from the Packers to the Jets on Aug. 7, 2008 for a conditional fourth-round pick -- proved disruptive for an offense that had grown accustomed to Chad Pennington.

The San Francisco 49ers have reportedly complained to the league office that the New York Jets tampered with their first-round draft pick, Michael Crabtree, an accusation that -- if true -- would constitute a serious violation of NFL rules.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the nominees for induction into its Class of 2010 on Saturday.

Wide receiver Jerry Rice and running back Emmitt Smith headline a group of 131 players, coaches and contributors that make up the list of modern-era nominees for election. Former Lions cornerback and current Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and former Broncos running back Floyd Little are the two senior nominees that were picked in August by the Hall of Fame's Senior Selection Committee.

The semifinalists will be announced on Nov. 27, and the modern-era finalists will be chosen on Jan. 7. The entire 2010 class will be revealed the day before the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 in Miami.

Sorting the Sunday Pile looks back at the NFL weekend that was. It's also an unofficial Brady Quinn blog.

A year ago, Matt Cassel got his chance to be an NFL starting quarterback when then-Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard blew up Tom Brady's knee. Cassel led the Patriots to 11 wins, and played well enough for the Chiefs to trade for him in the offseason.

Smash cut to Cassel tweaking his knee during Kansas City's third preseason game (God's sense of humor is underrated), which forced him to miss the first Sunday of the 2009 season. Any chances the Chiefs -- an outfit that won six times in their last 32 games -- had against the Ravens were out the window with Cassel on the bench.

It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.

There are some unusual circumstances surrounding the quarterback position as we enter Week 1 of the NFL season. There is still one team that has yet to formally announce its starter for Sunday, while others can expect to face questions about their signal-callers unless things go really, really well.

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Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

After generating a significant amount of hype over the past few years, the 49ers will enter 2009 with no expectations on the board. Division rival Arizona went to the Super Bowl, while many expect a rebound from long-time division champion Seattle. To me, this makes the 49ers a dangerous team.

The season is finally here, and for some coaches, this could be their last year in the league. Or maybe their last few months.

The two coaches with the biggest challenges facing them are Bills coach Dick Jauron and Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.

Jauron fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert last week in an effort to simplify the offense and to give his players a chance to relax. A source said Schonert was aloof and rubbed several players the wrong way. Alex Van Pelt, the new offensive coordinator, and running backs coach Eric Studesville are both well liked and respected in the locker room.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Rookie quarterback Nate Davis, a San Francisco 49ers fifth-round draft pick in 2009, had an uncomfortable conversation several times in recent days with 12th-year quarterback Damon Huard. It wasn't about mentor-pupil anymore. How's this for awkward: Only one of them would make it through the week on the 49ers' roster.

So the conversation was about survival.

Mandatory roster cutdowns were imminent on NFL teams and the 49ers were carrying four quarterbacks. Shaun Hill had earned the starting job; former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith was idling in neutral at No. 2. That meant a final spot came down to Davis or Huard.

"We always stayed positive with each other and said, 'We hope that we're both here,'" Davis says of his many heartfelt talks with his most direct competitor for an NFL job.