Last week, the 49ers suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. Following the loss, head coach Mike Singletary made the decision to fire offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye and promote quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson up into Raye's place. Johnson will handle the play-calling and game-planning going into Sunday's matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
The 49ers are an 0-3 team struggling to show they're better than that. A few weeks ago, the 49ers could be seen as high as the top 10 on national power ranking lists. It's not out of the realm of possibility to say they're better than their record indicates, especially when you consider the Week 2 showdown with the New Orleans Saints, which the 49ers came so very close to winning. Still, being dominated by the Seahawks and the Chiefs doesn't inspire much confidence, and the fact that their upcoming opponent just beat the Saints in overtime, the 49ers are fighting an uphill battle.
After a strong showing in Week 2, every position appeared to be weaker against the Chiefs, and it will take every position to reverse that role for the 49ers to win in Week 4. The offensive line will have to get it together and perform on the road, and with that, Alex Smith should be able to have more time with which to make plays on a defense, and Frank Gore will make use of his ability to run.
That's just the offense, too. On defense, the 49ers slowed down considerably after only a short amount of time. There were some reports of veteran LB Takeo Spikes and veteran S Michael Lewis possibly being benched for the upcoming game, but Singletary has done nothing to confirm those claims, and Spikes expects to be starting.
Still, Singletary did promise some more changes, so as the week continues, check back here for coverage on said changes when they become a bit more evident.