Crucial game for the 49ers

Patrick Willis: one of the new Niner stars.49ers v Titans: This Sunday the San Francisco 49ers take on the Tennessee Titans. The game is being billed as the battle of the 2nd chance quarterbacks. With the Titans' Vince Young fresh of his first start of the season and the team's first win seems to be in a position to remake a name for himself after last year's mid-season breakdown. The 49ers have their own resurging QB in Alex Smith who took the fall for the Niners fall from glory, despite being on a miserable squad.

Close but...: The Niners lost last weekend to a tough Indianapolis squad and have seemed to come up short more times than not with a 3-4 record. What seemed to be a stellar defense in the first few games has shown cracks since. The Niners also took several losses while star runningback Frank Gore was out for several weeks. The switch to Smith at quarterback has provided some spark, despite the 18-14 loss to the Colts.

All the parts: For the first time in a while there seems to be solid players at various positions from linebacker Patrick Willis to tight end Vernon Davis and rookie wideout Michael Crabtree. Maybe with this cast of characters Alex Smith will ultimately prove to be the QB he was thought to be on draft day. Either way, the Niners season could hinge on this crucial matchup with the Titans. The Niners need to be 4-4 after this week, 3-5 is not a good place for them or their coach, Mike Singletary.