Niner Report: Charged

We would like to think, as the saying goes, that on any given Sunday...

But these 49ers are proving more and more that the victory over the St. Louis, in which the defensive unit held the Rams to their lowest point total of the season, was a complete aberration. In the present condition of confusion and miscommunication, Derek Smith & Co. failed to put up much resistance to the Chargers, who at times looked like they were running against a practice squad. In his first full season as a starter, QB Philip Rivers played like a season vet, putting up a career high in yards (334) without throwing a pick or getting sacked. Rivers even felt confident enough to scoff at the 49ers' letting tight end Antonio Gates loose in one-on-one coverage on the third play of the game. Nolan's response: linebacker T.J. Slaughter shouldn't have been alone in man coverage of Gates but found himself isolated because of an "error in the implementation of the defensive play call."

There were a couple of positive signs from Sunday's game as well. Bryan Gilmore, despite his costly fumble, showed some spark off the bench with a couple of big end arounds (one of which was made possible by a Alex Smith's textbook block) and a nice TD reception. DT Ronald Fields showed some life with five tackles and forcing Rivers to intentionally ground what ended up as a safety.

The bye week couldn't have come at a better time, as Mike Nolan and his coaching staff need the extra week to not only reorganize the defensive unit but perhaps re-think their entire defensive philosophy. Rookie defensive end Parys Haralson figures to play a more prominent role after the off week, while Walt Harris' return to the secondary after tweaking his hamstring should also help. On the offensive side guard Larry Allen should also return Oct. 29 in Chicago, although Norv Turner's unit scored more points against San Diego than any other team so far this season. Of course that might also be because the Charger defense let up a bit after its offense scored TDs on five of its first six possessions.

An ongoing cause of worry: why can't this team convert on short yardage plays?