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HISTORYHISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTSyards on 113-of-219 passing. Dilfer eventuallywould suffer a concussion vs. Minnesota (12-9), andQB Shaun Hill replaced the veteran in Week 13 ofthe season. Hill was sharp during his three games ofaction, completing 54-of-79 passes for 501 yardswith five touchdowns and one interception. However,Hill would also succumb to injury, being sidelinedwith a back injury for the season finale. QB ChrisWeinke saw action in the final game of the season.Despite inconsistency on offense, the 49ers specialteams unit was among the league’s most elite in2007. K Joe Nedney connected on 17-of-19 fieldgoal attempts, while Lee booted 49 punts of 50 ormore yards (16 more than any other punter). At theconclusion of the season, one of the all-time great49ers, DT Bryant Young, retired from the NFL after14 seasons with San Francisco. Young led the 49erswith 6.5 sacks and finished with 89.5 sacks for hiscareer, which is third on the 49ers all-time sack listbehind Cedrick Hardman and Tommy Hart. He earnedhis eighth Len Eshmont Award, given to the playerwho best exemplifies the inspirational and courageousplay of Len Eshmont.2008The San Francisco 49ers entered the 2008 seasonfollowing a simple mantra, ‘One game at a time.’Throughout the year, 49ers players and coachesexperienced several transitions and tribulations, butdid not allow their minds to linger in the past, norventure too far into the future. The focused approachproved effective as the team won five of its finalseven games to close out the season. After a promising2-1 start to the year, San Francisco droppedfour straight contests before making a change athead coach. In his fourth season at the helm of the49ers, Mike Nolan was replaced by assistant headcoach/linebackers coach Mike Singletary. Upon acceptingthe position, Singletary said the foundationwas in place to take the team to the ‘next level.’ Theresponse by his players and staff proved positive asthe 49ers finished with a 5-4 record under Singletary’sdirection. Immediately following the conclusionof the season finale against Washington, teamPresident Jed York announced to onlooking playersand coaches in the locker room that Singletarywould remain the 49ers head coach moving forward.The quarterback position was one of the first areasthat Singletary addressed when taking over midwaythrough the 2008 season. QB J.T. O’Sullivan startedthe first eight games of the year and showed anability to make big plays, but costly turnovers provedto be problematic for the signal caller. O’Sullivan wasreplaced at the end of the first half of Singletary’s firstgame as head coach against Seattle. Singletary laterannounced QB Shaun Hill would take over the startingrole for the remainder of the season. The moveappeared to be the right one as Hill went on to posta 5-3 record and a 87.5 overall passer rating. WhileHill made his season debut midway through the year,RB Frank Gore was once again the centerpiece of the49ers offense. Despite missing two games with anankle injury, Gore became the first 49ers player torush for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons,finishing the year with 1,036 rushing yards and1,409 total yards from scrimmage. WR Isaac Bruce,who earned the team’s coveted Len Eshmont Awardin his first season in a 49ers uniform after spending14 years with the Rams, recorded team-highsin receptions (61), receiving yards (835) and touchdowncatches (7). TE Vernon Davis, who was namedas an alternate for the Pro Bowl, finished the seasonranked fourth on the team in receptions (31) and receivingyards (358). On defense, Singletary consultedwith defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and transitionedthe unit into a more simplified, yet productive3-4 alignment midway through the season. Overthe final nine games of the year, the 49ers improvedfrom 23rd in total defense to finish 13th (326.0) inthe NFL. LB Patrick Willis earned his second consecutivePro Bowl nod after totaling a team-high 185tackles, while LB Takeo Spikes ranked second on theteam with 122 tackles to go along with three interceptionsin his first year with San Francisco. LB ParysHaralson had a breakout season with eight sacks,the most by a 49ers linebacker since Kevin Greeneposted 10.5 in 1997. The 49ers defensive line got aboost with the offseason signing of DE Justin Smith,who ranked second on the team with seven sacksand fourth on the squad with 104 tackles. As oneof the most experienced units in the NFL, the 49erssecondary finished the season strong, allowing anaverage of 177.4 passing yards per game over thefinal five contests, which ranked third among NFLteams during that time span. For the second year ina row, the 49ers special teams unit ranked amongthe best in the NFL. Led by special teams coordinatorAl Everest, P Andy Lee, KR/PR Allen Rossum andRB Michael Robinson were all named alternates forthe Pro Bowl. Lee finished the season ranked third inthe NFL with a career-high and team-record 47.8gross average.2009The 49ers took a step forward in 2009, recordingtheir best finish since 2002 with an 8-8 record inhead coach Mike Singletary’s first full season, whichincluded a 5-1 record against the NFC West. The49ers opened the season with a bang against thedefending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals. LB PatrickWillis, who was named to his 3rd consecutivePro Bowl as a starter at year’s end, recorded the firstof his career-high 3 INTs on the year to propel histeam to a 20-16 road victory. RB Frank Gore alsoplayed a large role in the win, scoring the go-aheadTD in the 4th qtr. as part of a 2-score performance.On the season, he went on to set personal bests with10 rushing TDs and 13 total TDs, while becoming theonly 49er ever to post four 1,000-yd. rushing seasons,despite missing two games to an ankle injury.Gore repeated his 2-TD performance the followingweek in a 23-10 victory at home against Seattle,running for scores of 79 and 80 yds. to join RB BarrySanders as the only players in NFL history to register2 TD runs of 75+ yds. in a single game. With themomentum of a spotless division record, San Frantraveled to Minnesota for what would be an actionpackedmatchup. In a game where an ankle injuryfelled Gore on his first attempt, TE Vernon Davis roseto the occasion and recorded 2 TDs, one of whichgave the 49ers a 4-point lead in the 4th qtr., whichthey held until Minnesota’s last drive. Vikings QBBrett Favre milked every last second as he fired a32-yd. TD pass with 2 seconds remaining, stabbingthe hearts of 49ers fans. The 49ers bounced backthe next week against St. Louis, defeating the Rams35-0 to mark the first shutout by the team since2002. Following a crushing 45-10 loss to Atlanta atSAN FRANCISCO 49ERS \\385// MEDIA GUIDECandlestick Park, San Fran added another weapon toits arsenal as rookie WR Michael Crabtree joined theteam over the bye weekend after missing the first 5games of the season because of a contract impasse.Crabtree hit the ground running and went on to leadall NFL rookies with a 56.8 yds./game avg. over thefinal 11 contests. In his debut at Houston, the rookiedazzled the crowd with some acrobatic catches, butthe show would eventually turn to two 49er veterans.After falling behind 21 points at halftime, Singletarymade a change at quarterback, inserting Alex Smithinto the lineup for Shaun Hill. Smith, who hadn’t seenany action in nearly two years, responded by throwinga career-high 3 TDs in the final 2 qtrs., all ofwhich were caught by Davis. Following the Texansgame, Smith would go on to start the remainder ofthe season and register career-highs in passing TDs(18), completion pct. (60.5) and quarterback rating(81.5), while Davis proceeded to put up historicnumbers on his way to being named a starter in hisfirst Pro Bowl. The talented tight end finished the yearwith 965 yds. and tied the NFL single-season recordfor TD receptions (13) by a tight end. The next weekat Indianapolis, the team lost starting LT Joe Staleyon the first offensive play to a knee injury. Behindthe crafty play-calling of defensive coordinator GregManusky, the 49ers became the only team to holdNFL MVP QB Peyton Manning without a TD on theseason. Despite the unit’s valiant effort, the 49ers fell18-14. A 34-27 loss to the Titans at home inspiredthe squad for a prime-time, Thursday Night Footballshowdown against Chicago. In what was a microcosmof the defense’s season, the unit recorded 5INTs, including SS Michael Lewis’ victory-sealingpick in the end zone. After digging themselves a23-3 hole at Green Bay, San Fran valiantly battledback in the final 2 qtrs., only to come up short by lessthan a TD in the 30-24 defeat. The defense exactedrevenge at home against Jacksonville the followingweek, allowing just 3 points as Davis and Gore eachscored in the 20-9 victory. Despite a career-high310 yds. passing from Smith, the 49ers lost in Seattle,20-17, before returning home for a prime time,MNF rematch against Arizona. A statement game forthe defense, the 49ers forced 7 turnovers (5 FRs,2 INTs), including a franchise record 7 FFs, as the24-9 win sealed the season sweep of the Cardinals.The Niners penchant for forcing turnovers allowedthem to post the NFL’s 5th-best turnover ratio in2009 (33 takeaways; 24 giveaways). In the blizzardbeatencity of Philadelphia the following Sunday, theNiners struggled with turnovers in a 27-13 loss tothe Eagles. Facing Detroit a week later, TDs fromDavis and Gore led the way as the 49ers outgunnedthe Lions 20-6. San Fran would move toward its finalgame in St. Louis with a chance to secure its firstnon-losing season since 2002. Overcoming a slow1st half, Alex Smith and Co. put up 28 points in thefinal half, including a 73-yd. TD catch by Davis toregister his record-tying total. Gore capped off theday with 2 TDs and his 5th 100-yd. performance ofthe year, giving him 20 such career games and tyinghim with Joe Perry for the franchise record.