49ers: Struggling offense meets imminently movable force

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The 49ers got a much-needed win last weekend, but they didn’t get a cure for their curious second-half offensive ills.

In a 27-24 overtime win Sunday at New Orleans, they scored 21 points in the first two quarters and evidently gorged themselves on gumbo at halftime. In the final 39 minutes, they managed six first downs and 125 yards, had five punts and two field goals on seven drives, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick completed 6 of 18 passes.

The bad news? It is part of a disturbing trend. In the second half this season, the 49ers are averaging 6.2 points (15.1 in the first half), and Kaepernick has yet to lead a touchdown drive after the third quarter.

The good news? On Sunday, they visit the Giants, who might allow them to feel good for four quarters.

The Giants will enter Sunday’s meeting with a historically inept defense. New York is on pace to allow 439 points, which would be the most in franchise history since the NFL adopted a 16-game season in 1978. The Giants also have allowed at least 423 yards in four consecutive games for the first time in franchise history, and rank 32nd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (144.7), rushing yards per attempt (5.0) and total yards surrendered per game (404.9).

On Wednesday, Giants coach Tom Coughlin didn’t sound entirely convinced his team could set a different defensive tone by playing tough up front.

“It is the same thing,” Coughlin said. “Stop the run. Obviously, we haven’t done a very good job of that. But hopefully we will put a good plan together and the players will do a good job with it, and perhaps we can do a better job.”

Or perhaps not, if the Giants (3-6) reprise their most recent performance. In a 38-17 loss Sunday at Seattle, the Seahawks rushed for a franchise-record 350 yards, had five rushing touchdowns and averaged 7.8 yards a carry.

Anquan Boldin catches a touchdown pass in front of Keenan Lewis as the 49ers scored 21 first-half points last Sunday. But the offense has struggled in the second half this season. Anquan Boldin catches a touchdown pass in front of Keenan Lewis as the 49ers scored 21 first-half points last Sunday. But the offense has struggled in the second half this season. Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 49ers: Struggling offense meets imminently movable force 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

If the Giants fail to find a solution, the 49ers can continue to re-establish their once-stagnant rushing attack. Before they had 144 rushing yards and averaged 4.5 yards a carry against the Saints, they had averaged 77 yards and 3.3 yards an attempt in their previous three games.

The 49ers had 32 rushing attempts and 32 passes against New Orleans.

“It’s what we want to do, be balanced,” wide receiver Anquan Boldin said. “First of all, we want to establish the run. I feel like when we establish the run, everything builds off that.”

The Giants have clearly failed to establish much defensively, partly because of injuries. Linebacker Jon Beason and cornerbacks Walter Thurmond, Prince Amukamara and Trumaine McBride have sustained season-ending injuries.

Fox analyst John Lynch, who will be part of the TV broadcast team Sunday, said the Giants lack talent and cohesion. New York runs a 4-3, one-gap defense. In a one-gap system, the linemen typically line up in a gap between two offensive linemen and are responsible for defending that area.

“It’s a one-gap system and if things aren’t right, when they aren’t meshing because everyone is responsible for a gap, then it’s out the door and it’s the free safety who has to make a tackle,” said Lynch, 43, a former safety who made nine Pro Bowls in his 15-year career. “So you’re seeing a lot of that. They’re not quite clear on what they’re supposed to do. And then they’re not quite good enough. When they are where they’re supposed to be, they’re missing tackles. You can see frustration and then people start saying, 'I’m not trusting him,’ and it’s just a vicious cycle.”

Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio have similar coaching roots.

After coaching at two high schools, Fangio landed at North Carolina in 1983 as a graduate assistant and worked under defensive coordinator Denny Marcin. For his part, Fewell’s coaching career began in 1985 as a North Carolina graduate assistant under Marcin.

The assistants with the similar past, however, don’t have much in common at the moment. Fangio will arrive Sunday with a defense ranked second in the NFL. Fewell will enter desperate to emerge from the basement.

“We have seven games to crawl out of that (No. 32) spot,” Fewell said to the New York media. “We’ll crawl out.”'