Goldson everywhere for Niners

<p>SANTA CLARA — Cornerback Shawntae Spencer twice turned to sprint far down the field Monday night, focused solely on defending deep passes to Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald.</p><p>Twice, Spencer was surprised to see a nearby teammate in close proximity to provide assistance.</p><p>Safety Dashon Goldson forced two fumbles with big hits and intercepted a pass in the 49ers' victory. But his teammates were more impressed by the plays he made when he had no responsibility for being in the area.</p><p>The 49ers were in “quarters coverage,” so four defensive backs each were responsible for a quarter of the width of the field. Goldson's duty was to cover the tight end underneath. But he diagnosed Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner winding up for a deep pass, turned and ran to catch up with Fitzgerald and Spencer.</p><p>“On those plays, he wasn't supposed to be there, but he was,” Spencer said. “I don't know where he came from. He showed his range. He covered his guy, but when the ball was in the air, he made a play on it.</p><p>“He's everywhere. He's a ballhawk.”</p><p>Goldson is in his first season as a starter after being promoted to the starting job to replace veteran Mark Roman in the offseason. Goldson is younger (25), bigger (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and faster than Roman.</p><p>But the reason the 49ers felt the need to make the change was because of Goldson's big-play potential. Entering this season, Roman had gone more than two full seasons without an interception. Goldson had not made much of an impact on defense, as he missed 13 games with injuries.</p><p>While the season has not always been perfect, Goldson is playing much better in recent weeks. He clearly enjoyed the best game of his career Monday in the 49ers' 24-9 victory over the Cardinals.</p><p>Goldson is second on the 49ers with 100 tackles this season. He has three interceptions, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a sack. And the 49ers feel good about his ability to effect change during the course of a game.</p><p>“He's got some range,” 49ers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky said. “That's why we drafted him where we did. He did a good job making plays on the deep ball and coming up and filling (gaps) in the run game. He's had some good games the past couple weeks.”</p><p>Goldson prevented a touchdown with his exceptional play to pull the ball loose from Fitzgerald's viselike grasp in the first half. And he later helped defend on a deep pass on which Fitzgerald sustained a knee sprain.</p><p>“The thing about Larry Fitzgerald is downfield, it is very rare that anybody is going to separate him from the ball,” 49ers coach Mike Singletary said. “Once he gets the ball in his hands, normally — I would say 99 percent of the time — he's going to come down with it.</p><p>“The one play that Dashon made when Fitzgerald had the ball and Dashon ended up getting it out, that's huge because I have not seen that very often.”</p><p>Goldson's size and strength were a good match against the Cardinals. But the assignment changes Sunday when the 49ers face the big-play ability of speedster DeSean Jackson, who has scored on eight plays of more than 50 yards this season.</p><p>“The corps or receivers we played last week, probably best corps as a whole,” Goldson said, “but these guys are good, too. We just have to be disciplined, and play tight coverage. We can't let them get behind us.”</p><p>For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at matt.maiocco@press</p><p>democrat.com.</p>