Justin Smith emerged from Candlestick Park a little after 5 p.m.
Sunday looking as if he had just repaired the stadium’s water
heater. The 49ers defensive end was wearing blue jeans, work boots
and a blue, short-sleeve collared shirt with
”
Justin
”
emblazoned in red letters on the chest. Smith said the shirt —
coach Jim Harbaugh passed them out to every player last week —
happened to be the only one hanging in his locker, but the wardrobe
choice couldn’t have been more appropriate after San Francisco’s
season-opening 33-17 win over Seattle
Matthew Barrows, McClatchy Newspapers
SAN FRANCISCO
Justin Smith emerged from Candlestick Park a little after 5 p.m. Sunday looking as if he had just repaired the stadium’s water heater.
The 49ers defensive end was wearing blue jeans, work boots and a blue, short-sleeve collared shirt with “Justin” emblazoned in red letters on the chest. Smith said the shirt — coach Jim Harbaugh passed them out to every player last week — happened to be the only one hanging in his locker, but the wardrobe choice couldn’t have been more appropriate after San Francisco’s season-opening 33-17 win over Seattle.
Harbaugh had wanted a blue-collar-like effort from his still congealing team, and that’s what he got on offense and especially on defense in his first game as the 49ers’ coach.
Leading that workers’ revolution was Smith. He and fellow defensive end Ray McDonald dominated the Seahawks’ young offensive line early in the game as San Francisco pulled out to a 16-0 halftime lead.
New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is known for his aggressive and creative schemes, and he was expected to swarm quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who was making his first start for Seattle, with an array of exotic blitzes.
Instead, Fangio went with a plain-and-simple approach. He hardly blitzed, relying on Smith and the other front-line defenders to apply pressure and dropping seven players into coverage.
Smith, who led the 49ers in sacks last season, finished with two sacks, three hits on the quarterback and two tackles behind the line of scrimmage. McDonald, starting at left defensive end this season, made one sack and six tackles.
“Vic put the onus on us to get to the quarterback, and we did,” McDonald said.
The defensive effort compensated for an offense that managed 209 total yards and converted only 1 of 12 third-down opportunities.
Under former coach Mike Singletary, the 49ers often handicapped themselves with running plays that netted minimal or no gains on first down and led to third-and-long situations.
Harbaugh’s offense was more varied and had far more personnel combinations than those of previous regimes. But negative plays still were commonplace Sunday. Five of running back Frank Gore’s carries were stopped behind the line of scrimmage. In addition, two pass plays went for negative yardage. Gore finished with 59 yards on 22 attempts.
One sequence typified the offensive effort.
Leading 16-10 in the fourth quarter, the 49ers drove to the Seattle 2 before settling for a 20-yard David Akers field goal. The Seahawks, however, drew a penalty for running into Akers, and Harbaugh took points off the board in exchange for a first down at the 1.
Instead of diving into the end zone, Gore went backward on his first two carries. In the end, Akers trotted back onto the field, this time converting an 18-yard attempt, his fourth field goal of the game.
Still, Harbaugh praised the offensive effort, noting the offensive line didn’t give up any sacks and the offense didn’t turn the ball over.
Quarterback Alex Smith wasn’t booed and may have endeared himself to the fans for being Gore’s lead blocker on an early running play and for plunging into the end zone from the 1 with 12 seconds left in the first half. It was the offense’s only touchdown.
Harbaugh said the offense was in a “blue-collar type of mode.”
“If he doesn’t get that in, we’re scrambling to clock (the ball) and try to get the field goal before the half — rolling the dice, putting it in his hands, and he came up big for us,” said Harbaugh, who bear-hugged Smith after the touchdown.
“Toughness. Great job getting it into the end zone by Alex.”
Asked if the offense’s simple nature could be attributed to the NFL lockout and a subsequently short offseason, Harbaugh said no. Instead, he said the defense and special teams were playing so well that the offense didn’t need to take chances.
Still, it seems Justin Smith, McDonald and the rest of the defenders may have to carry the 49ers, especially early in the season.
At least they’re dressed for the task.
“I didn’t bring a shirt, and this was the only thing hanging in my locker,” Smith said of his duds. “It worked out pretty well for me.”
