Niners offensive coordinator Greg Roman promised NFL Media columnist Michael Silver that San Francisco's attack will "peak at the right time" this season.
Will Sunday in London do?
In an easy 42-10 win over the Jaguars, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers overwhelmed a Jacksonville defense that hit Wembley Stadium looking wholly unprepared for the onslaught.
With receiver Michael Crabtree out of the mix, San Francisco has made it clear they plan to run the ball, and run it some more. The 49ers dialed up a liberal dose of plays out of the pistol, leaning heavily on Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter to lead a ground game that rumbled for 221 yards.
Like last week, Kaepernick played a role, rushing for 54 yards and a pair oftouchdowns. If there was hesitancy to use Kap as a runner at season's start, Roman and the 49ers showed none of that Sunday. This machine is humming again.
Here's what else we learned:
- Fullback Bruce Miller is a big part of what the 49ers do on offense. He's third on the team in catches and showed good chemistry on Sunday with Kaepernick, who found Miller along the sideline for a 43-yard catch on San Francisco's opening scoring drive. The 49ers never trailed again.
- When Chad Henne has time to throw, Jacksonville's air game shows a pulse with Cecil Shorts, Justin Blackmon and Mike Brown catching passes. It came far too late, but Henne's long, third-quarter touchdown strike to Brown might be the play of the year for the Jags.
- Maurice Jones-Drew's 75 rushing yards were his most in a game all season, but he hasn't been the same guy this year. It's fair to wonder if Jacksonville goes in another direction in 2014.
- Three cheers for Corey Lemonier, the 49ers outside linebacker who's filling in for Aldon Smith and held his own again Sunday. That said, this was the rare game in which neither team registered a sack.
- It's easy to pile on Jacksonville, but I see hope in some of the roster's young players. We talked about Blackmon and Shorts. On defense, safety John Cyprien struggled mightily Sunday, but it's too early to write him off. As with all things Jaguars, patience is needed.
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