[ Edited by captveg on Nov 6, 2011 at 2:03 PM ]

by Niner Fashion MagazineThe 49ers are flying back home this Sunday after yet another frustrating win on the road. Now 0-4 in pretty victories on the road and 1-7 overall, the team was clearly down. "It's all just so discouraging," says RB Frank Gore, who had a truly ugly 5th straight 100 yard rushing game. "I mean, running the ball is just so dull. You see other teams like the Saints pass 50 times a game, and win or lose it looks beautiful. Like last week against the Rams. Man, that was a beautiful win in a standings loss for them. But we just keep getting victories that don't look nice enough."QB Alex Smith admitted to having the same sentiment. "Absolutely it's annoying. I mean, I know I can get twice as many touchdown passes and three times the interceptions if we just winged it out there. Sure, we may make the playoffs, but that's such a let down when you can win less games with prettier pass plays. I mean, the Marino yards record is why I play the game."Coming into the game in Washington the 49ers had only one truly beautiful victory - their 48-3 win over the Buccaneers in Week 5 earlier this year. For a national media that is clearly looking for highlights over actual wins, this has been a lackluster first year for new coach Jim Harbaugh."Sure, we're winning games, but these guys should really be ignoring the formula for wins we plan for them each week and improvise a little in the looks department on offense," says Harbaugh. "To be honest, you start out the season an ugly looking 7-1 and I feel the pinch already from ownership. They're paying me to get the team looking like the Globetrotters and instead I give them victories that you wouldn't take to the prom, or perhaps even shake their hand."For their part, the 49ers defense is chipping in to the ugliness by not allowing the opposing teams to get into a shootout. All-Pro MLB Patrick Willis concedes this is often a source of sleepless nights. "I think to myself late into each night, 'Why couldn't we just let them score more so that our offense needs to air it out?' Nobody wants to have defensive highlights."Ultimately, this team will need to pass more in order to get the attention of the average NFL fans. Victories aren't enough. What today's NFL fan wants is 350+ passing yards, win or lose. It's the pretty stats and wins in the perception column that really matter. The actual standings are just bad to look at if you don't win pretty.