SAN FRANCISCO – You can have all the offensive weapons and elegantly drawn plays in the world, but you have to have the ball for them to be effective.
That was the hard lesson the 49ers took from Sunday's 23-13 loss to Arizona, a game in which their offense had the ball for a total of 22 minutes and 55 seconds and just seven minutes in the second half.
After the game, coach Mike Nolan noted the 49ers won two close contests against the Cardinals last year because they were better in three categories: turnovers, penalties and field position. San Francisco lost the field-position battle Sunday and was particularly ruined by five turnovers, three of them by first-time starting quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan.
The sloppy play started on the 49ers' second possession when, backed against their own goal line, running back Frank Gore became entangled with pulling guard Tony Wragge, and the ball popped free. The 49ers recovered, but on the next play, they gave the ball away again when Arizona defensive tackle Darnell Dockett slammed into fullback Zak Keasey after a short pass reception.
On the next series, the 49ers seemed to settle down.
Offensive coordinator Mike Martz was criticized at his last job in Detroit for abandoning the running game, but he relied heavily on Gore and his fellow tailbacks early Sunday. Of the five plays on the drive, four were handoffs to Gore. On the last, Gore followed nice blocks from tight end Vernon Davis and right tackle Jonas Jennings and burst free of traffic for a 41-yard touchdown run.
On television, Martz could be seen mouthing the words, "Wow. That was perfect."
Said Gore: "The offensive line did a great job, and so did the receivers. They did a great job blocking down the field. I just read my linemen (on the play). The hole was there, and I hit it."
The 49ers, however, managed only two field goals the rest of the game.
O'Sullivan seemed to have the offense driving at the end of the half. But his third-down pass to wide receiver Arnaz Battle was intercepted by safety Adrian Wilson. After the game, O'Sullivan noted the Cardinals secondary seemed to be focused on No. 1 wideout Isaac Bruce all afternoon. Bruce was held without a catch Sunday, only the third time in the last five seasons that Bruce played in a regular-season game in which he was healthy and didn't have a reception.
On the interception, O'Sullivan said the play was designed to go to Bruce. The veteran receiver was well-covered, however, and O'Sullivan searched for another option, settling on Battle.
"When I threw it, I thought I had it," O'Sullivan said. "I have to watch the film to see what happened."
The Cardinals opened the second half with a 15-play drive that lasted 6:35 and ended with Neil Rackers' 31-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Rackers booted the ball high and short. The fluttering kick was too much for linebacker Takeo Spikes to handle cleanly, and the Cardinals recovered on the San Francisco 33.
From there, they put together an eight-play drive that was aided by a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty on third down. The Cardinals took advantage, and on fourth and goal from the 2, running back Tim Hightower plunged in for a touchdown.
After the two long, back-to-back drives, the 49ers' offense didn't see the ball until 3:57 remained in the third quarter.
"The defense was out there for a long time," Davis said. "There's no one to blame on that. It's just the way it happens."
Last year at Arizona, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner threw for nearly 500 yards. Sunday, he was held to 197 yards, and the Cardinals' explosive offense had only one play of 25 yards or more.
Still, running back Edgerrin James and his teammates had enough four- and five-yard gains to move the ball continually and keep the 49ers' offense off the field. The Cardinals never punted in the second half.
Asked whether it was inevitable the defense would break down having been on the field so long, linebacker Manny Lawson bristled.
"You can never ask too much of the defense," he said. "Regardless of whether they get the ball on their 1-yard line or our 1-yard line, we've got to stop them."
Read Matthew Barrows' 49ers blog at www.sacbee.com/ninersblog.
