Niners drop the ball

<p>SAN FRANCISCO – Running back Frank Gore spoke in hush tones. He sported a swollen eye, looking every bit like a man who had just gone 12 rounds – and lost. </p><p>The 49ers’ season is not over. There is half the NFL season yet to be played. </p><p>But the fight got a lot more difficult for the 49ers after their turnover-plagued 34-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Candlestick Park. </p><p>Mike Singletary’s 49ers, winners of three of their first four games, have now dropped four in succession and five of six. At the midpoint in the season, the 49ers own a 3-5 record. </p><p>And, more important, the 49ers trail the Arizona Cardinals by two games in the NFC West. </p><p>“I don't care about the Cardinals,” Singletary said. “I care nothing about the Cardinals. I care nothing about anything else that’s happening in the NFL. I don’t care about that. The only thing I care about is this football team realizing that we can win games if we do not kill ourselves. It’s as simple as that.”</p><p>Singletary has plenty of work to accomplish in the upcoming three games before the 49ers return to action Thursday evening against the Chicago Bears. </p><p>Quarterback Alex Smith threw three interceptions — two off deflected passes — and lost a fumble. Those turnovers, including cornerback Cortland Finnegan’s 39-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the game, led to 24 points. </p><p>The Titans, who lost their first six games of the season before a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, committed no turnovers. </p><p>“I’m the guy back there making the decisions,” said Smith, who completed 20 of 45 passes for 286 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also lost a fumble. </p><p>“It’s tough to overcome that,” he said. “No matter the game or who you’re playing, it’s tough to overcome that.”</p><p>The 49ers are clearly a team in transition. </p><p>After insisting that they would not adopt a passing mentality or use the elements of the spread offense for large portions of the game, that is exactly what the 49ers did from the beginning of Sunday’s game. </p><p>“You’re asking me why I did it?” Singletary answered when asked about the team’s change in philosophy. </p><p>“You’ve been asking me all week why I wouldn’t do it. Now you’re asking me why did I do it. You know what? It’s as simple as this: We thought it would give us the best chance to win. For the most part, it worked pretty well.”</p><p>The 49ers primarily used an offensive personnel grouping that included Gore, two tight ends and two wide receivers. Smith said the belief was that the 49ers could counter the Titans’ defense with second tight end Delanie Walker. </p><p>Walker is a wide receiver in a tight end’s body. So if the Titans matched the 49ers’ personnel with an extra defensive back, the 49ers could have success running the ball against a smaller defense. But if the Titans kept their base personnel on the field, the 49ers might be able to generate mismatches with Walker or Vernon Davis being covered by a linebacker. </p><p>Including the four times Smith was sacked and his two scrambles, the 49ers had 51 pass plays. Meanwhile, they had just 18 designed runs. </p><p>Gore was poked in the eye in the first half and remained in the game. He led the 49ers with 83 yards and a touchdown on 15 rushing attempts. </p><p>“When the game’s even, you’re really giving multiple things for the defense to think about,” Smith said. “I think it’s nice, especially with some of the runs we had out of the gun. I think it looked good today.”</p><p>Said Gore, “We were moving the ball up and down the field. We just can’t hurt ourselves. Anybody can hurt themselves in the NFL with turnovers and it’s tough to win. That’s what happened. We had a great game plan and we showed that we can move the ball. We just hurt ourselves.”</p><p>In a 2-minute drill at the end of the first half, the 49ers got contributions from Jason Hill, who replaced veteran Isaac Bruce. Hill caught a 12-yard touchdown to give the 49ers a 17-10 lead at halftime. Helater added a 3-yard touchdown catch. </p><p>The Titans employed a different formula. Quarterback Vince Young took a backseat to the Tennessee running game. Chris Johnson, the league’s leading ground-gainer, rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 25 rushes. He became the first running back to exceed 100 yards against the 49ers this season. </p><p>“We still have a lot of football left,” 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis said. “It’s not over until we play our last game. We are still playing to go to the playoffs. We just have to turn it around before it is too late, instead of putting it in other people’s hands.”</p><p>For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco via email at matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com</p>