DeMarcus Dobbs was being listed as a tight end (! as if we don't have enough!) before his injury, but most of his energy was channeled into special teams, where he was the closest thing the unit had to a replacement for Blake Costanza. Losing him has affected kicks and returns as well.

Kevin, I agree with you about Fangio demanding the tools he needs to send a viable defense out there.

A hallmark of this coaching staff's immediate college roots has been its penchant for trying to turn a number of players into "multiple threats." Sopoaga, Tukuafu, Dobbs, Walker to name a few. I think you've definitively shown that it's not working to the team's benefit as much as intended or desired.

Interestingly, though, I have noticed many of the pre-snap shifts, unbalanced formations and unconventional targets that were so characteristic of the offense last season have been retired or shelved this year. I can't recall the last time an offensive lineman was declared eligible for a pass.

I don't think that's the result of anything as smart as making a transition to a Bill Walsh-type pro-set offense, but it has meant that we're seeing more conventional formations this year. Perhaps it's a sign of the coaches' increasing confidence in the offense's ability to execute conventional plays, perhaps it's a sign they have less confidence that the hickery-trickery type plays will work now that other teams associate them with the 49ers, I don't know.

I do though think that this weekend or next, if there is a next, would be a great time to spring one of those plays back into the mix.