imported_madman

Every day, a series of horn blasts signal the end of the 49ers' practice, but you won't see the team's defense heading for the locker room.

Instead, every defensive player gathers in a corner of the practice field for an extra review that typically lasts 30 minutes.

The players line up against each other, some playing the part of the opposing offensive linemen, quarterback, running backs and receivers. Then, with their coaches looking on and checking their work, the players conduct their own walk-through.

Botched practice repetitions are corrected. Breakdowns in communication are resolved. Defensive play calls, stunts and techniques are reviewed. Pass-protection schemes are displayed and analyzed.

``It's brought us some clarity,'' defensive tackle Bryant Young said Thursday. ``It's helped us understand our assignments a lot more and taken the gray area out of a lot of things.''

It was at the height of the 49ers' defensive despair that Young and defensive tackle Marques Douglas went to defensive coordinator Billy Davis and told him the players wanted extra work.

The 49ers had fallen to 2-5 after a 41-10 loss at Chicago. The defense was yielding points at an NFL-record pace of 33.6, the secondary was surrendering the most yards passing and the pass rush was faltering.

Before the team began its midweek practice to prepare for a Nov. 5 game against Minnesota, Young and Douglas approached Davis.

``They said, `Any mistake we make today, Coach, please write it down on the card because we're going to walk through them right after practice. We don't want to leave the field without correcting our mistakes,' '' Davis said. ``And the defensive line, the linebackers and the secondary, everybody stayed. They said, `We're going to do this together.' ''

Douglas said the players were looking for ways to improve collectively, knowing if they didn't that the changes could go beyond the midseason promotions of linebacker Brandon Moore and safety Keith Lewis.

``We were all under the attitude that if things didn't get better, there wouldn't only be a couple of new guys in here; it would be a whole new defense,'' Douglas said. ``We knew we could make some plays. We just had to pay attention to detail, and that's what we wanted to get out of these sessions. All of us wanted to do better, but we had to prove it on Sundays.''

It didn't take them long to start proving it.

They held the Vikings without a touchdown in a 9-3 victory, starting a three-game winning streak during which the opposition scored an average of 10 points. There have been some glitches in the past couple of weeks, including allowing a last-minute, winning drive by the St. Louis Rams. But overall, the 49ers' defensive play has been tighter and more disciplined since the player-inspired post-practice review sessions, which have become a daily ritual.

``Everyone knew we weren't playing the way we wanted,'' Moore said. ``We weren't putting on a performance that we were proud of out there, and collectively everybody wanted to change and that was one of the ways we decided to do so.

``It definitely helped us out a lot. I think the improvement we've seen is a direct result because everyone is trying to get on the same page, making sure that the way one person sees it is the way everyone else sees it.''

Lewis said the extra work sessions reflect the players' taking accountability.

``We just didn't want to throw our season away,'' Lewis said. ``This was about us wanting to take ownership of our defense. When we go over there and walk through those plays, we're going over the plays that we messed up on. It's about getting it right. It's about perfection.''

Now, even the offense is getting in on the act. The line, tight ends and running backs began staying after practice this week and going over their own plays.

Coach Mike Nolan said he and his coaches have encouraged players to work together on their own in the past and he could have told them to do so, but he's glad that he didn't have to.

``This shows we've got the right kind of people. They want to do well,'' Nolan said. ``We need to continue to add to that group, to strengthen that group and do our part in helping them reach their goals. But we've got a group that cares and they care enough to do the extra things in order to win.''


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Well lets hope that it pays off this Sunday. There's no team i hate worse then the packers.