A must win game against the Tennessee Titans this Sunday just got a lot more difficult for the 49ers as they will be without starting left tackle Joe Staley and right side corner back Nate Clements, both of whom will be out about 6 weeks. Both losses are big for their units as Staley is widely considered the 49ers best offensive linemen on a shaky line and Nate Clements is one of the best players on a defense that is still trying to play consistently week in and week out. For the upcoming match up against the Titans the loss of Clements wont be bas bad as Staley since the Titans don’t have any elite receivers but have a very talented defensive line, even if they haven’t been playing up to it this season.

Barry Sims will start on the left side of the offensive line in place of Staley while Joe recovers from a strained knee that happened when a pile rolled onto the back of his leg on the first play of the game against the Colts last week. This is the first knee injury Staley has had playing football so there shouldn’t be any complications in recovery. Sims came in last week when Staley went down and played a decent game lined up against the Colts sack artists Dwight Freeney holding him to just one sack with that also being his only tackle for a loss. The plus side is Sims wont be lining up any players that are playing as well as Freeney but the down side is whoever he lines up against will have prepared for him and not Staley, an advantage he had against Freeney last week. Considering the 49ers offensive line troubles and the fact that the Titans’ defense is built to stop the run (although they did allow Maurice Jones-Drew to run for 177 yards on them last week) I expect to see a little more of the spread offense that Smith has been doing so well in. This week, however, I expect to see more of a commitment to the spread than we saw out of the Niners last week. Last week we saw the Niners use the spread here and there for the most part but not consistently, the only time they used it consistently was in the 2-minute drill at the end of the 2^nd half when Smith drove them down the field for a touchdown in 1:11.

As mentioned above the defense wont need Clements coverage skills as much since the Titans don’t have any elite receivers, but this defense will miss Clements support stopping the run. Clements is one of the best corners in the league when it comes to making tackles in the running game and with how well Chris Johnson has been so far this season tackling on the outside could be huge for the Niners. Because of Clements absence it becomes even more important for the Niners linebackers and defensive ends to keep Johnson contained in the middle of the field and funnel him towards Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes. I am also a little concerned about how much discipline Clements replacement Tarell Brown, a third year player out of Texas who hasn’t started many games in his brief career, shows as plays break down. Brown’s discipline will be tested when Vince Young tries to scramble around the backfield and buy time for a receiver to get open. This is something Justin Gage has done well in his time with the Titans and if Brown starts on the right side that is whom he will be matched up against.

As injuries start to stack up on a team in the middle of the season it puts more pressure on the coordinators to scheme up ways for their units to continue what success they have had up to that point in the season. That being said this stretch of games without Staley will tell us a lot about offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye’s and head coach Mike Singletary’s ability and willingness to change the game plan based on team needs. Singletary got rid of Mike Martz after last year because he didn’t want to be a passing team, but that’s what works with his personnel right now, if he chooses to be a pass first spread formation team can Raye put together a winning game plan? Or is he a one trick pony who can only put together a solid running attack? The same questions could be asked of defensive coordinator Greg Manusky but I believe he has already shown that he can adjust his game plan and put his players in their best position to win with a solid game plan that fits his personnel and the personnel they are facing. As with many teams the success of this season relies on how well the 49ers can play with injuries, but if the 49ers make the playoffs missing two of their better players for so much of the season they will have defiantly earned it.