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Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- J.T. O'Sullivan dropped back to throw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce during the San Francisco 49ers' season opener Sunday.

So he thought.

Joe Staley, making his first regular-season start at left tackle for the 49ers, shoved Arizona Cardinals defensive end Bert Berry past O'Sullivan but not quite out of the play. The wily Berry, 33, reached back and stripped the ball from O'Sullivan just as the quarterback was about to move his arm forward.

	Greg Trott/Getty Images
	Frank Gore rushed for 96 yards on 14 carries Sunday, but the 49ers couldn't capitalize.

The split-second sequence changed everything for the 49ers during their eventual 23-13 defeat at Candlestick Park. Yet, while the 49ers long ago squandered the ability to claim moral victories -- O'Sullivan and coach Mike Nolan rejected the notion -- the rest of us are remiss if we ignore the obvious signs of progress.

The 49ers fielded one of the worst offenses in league history last season. They ranked last in yards per game, yards per play, passing yards per game, passing yards per play, sacks allowed per pass attempt, first downs per game, third-down conversion rate, time of possession and scoring.

They were much better than that Sunday. San Francisco ranks 19th on avereage in the categories listed above. The 49ers averaged an eye-opening 9.2 yards per pass attempt while repeatedly springing Frank Gore for chunks of yardage.

The 49ers were careless with the football, but the Cardinals deserve credit for some of that. Darnell Dockett's crushing hit on Zak Keasey would have separated anyone from the football. Berry's heads-up play reflected the pure pass-rush ability he's always had when healthy.

O'Sullivan had completed a 37-yard pass to tight end Vernon Davis one play before Berry interrupted O'Sullivan's would-be pass for Bruce on a post-corner route.

A touchdown for Bruce would have given the 49ers a second-quarter lead while rewarding their confidence in Mike Martz's big-play offense. Instead, the Cardinals took possession and played keep-away for most of the day, putting together second-half scoring drives spanning 15 and 18 plays.

"The ball was going to Isaac," O'Sullivan said. "You guys can watch the film and see if it's going to be open."

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Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Cardinals got key contributions from newcomers during their 23-13 victory over the 49ers in the season opener. Players in new roles also contributed. A quick look at their impact:

• Clark Haggans, LB. The former Steelers starter downed a punt at the 1-yard line to open the second quarter. The play helped the Cardinals get the ball back at the San Francisco 42, setting up a touchdown.
• Steve Breaston, WR. Breaston is not new to the Cardinals, but he is new to the third receiving role now that Bryant Johnson is with the 49ers. Breaston's 40-yard reception on third-and-7 marked one of the Cardinals' few big plays. Kurt Warner found Larry Fitzgerald for a 1-yard scoring pass on the next play.
• Travis LaBoy, DE. The former Titans pass rusher started ahead of Bert Berry and finished with four tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Berry, 33, seemed to benefit from the reduced role. He had a key sack and forced fumble.
• Bryan Robinson, NT. The 49ers ran the ball effectively up the middle. They moved Robinson out of the way more than once. The Cardinals would have been worse off without the 34-year-old veteran newcomer. Injuries sidelined starter Gabe Watson and third-stringer Alan Branch, leaving Robinson as the last man standing.
• Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB. The rookie first-round choice stood out for running a deep pattern as part of the offense. That's not a bad thing for a first game. The Cardinals' defense wasn't on the field much.
• Antrel Rolle, FS. The Cardinals moved Rolle from cornerback to safety. The 49ers would have liked a few more chances to test his instincts at a new position. Rolle made the tackle after a 16-yard pass to Johnson.
• Tim Hightower, RB. The rookie fifth-round choice from Richmond converted twice on fourth-and-1, including for a touchdown. He also made an impact as a receiver, gaining 12 yards on a first-and-20 play as the Cardinals moved toward a field goal.
• Early Doucet, WR. The rookie third-round choice was not active. Injuries limited him during camp, allowing Breaston and Jerheme Urban to move past him on the depth chart. Fellow receiver Sean Morey was active for his special-teams ability.
• Jerame Tuman, TE. The former Steelers backup was not active.
• Kenny Iwebema and Calais Campbell, DL. The rookie draft choices finished with one tackle apiece. I didn't watch either player closely. The Cardinals' defense spent only 8 minutes of the second half on the field.

All told, I thought the Cardinals benefited quite a bit from the players they added during the offseason. One key will be keeping LaBoy healthy. The Titans let him go partly over concussion concerns.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Lowell Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat says fans shouldn't make excuses for the 49ers, and neither should reporters. He thought coach Mike Nolan was clinging to the five-turnover explanation the way a drowning man clings to a dock.

Paul Gutierrez of the Sacramento Bee assesses J.T. O'Sullivan's first start as 49ers quarterback. O'Sullivan was just so-so, and that wasn't good enough.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says the 49ers had grand plans against the Cardinals, but they forgot one thing: the ball.

Also from Barrows: The 49ers weren't happy about a key roughing-the-passer call. I also thought this was a tough call.

More from Barrows: The 49ers are in the market for a quarterback now that backup Alex Smith is hurting. Problem is, the Patriots need one, too. Chris Simms?

Dan Brown of the San Jose Mercury News offers a 49ers report card, featuring a C-minus for O'Sullivan.

Also from Brown: Same old 49ers? "New era, same errors," he writes.

And this: The 49ers' elevator doesn't go all the way to the top. Or was it the bottom? Seriously. Some of the Cardinals' coaches had to run through the stands to the locker room at halftime.

Ann Killion of the San Jose Mercury News says the 49ers started more poorly than even a year ago, and now they have fewer options at quarterback.

Matt Maiocco of Instant 49ers takes a hard look at the stat sheet and wonders what to make of the 49ers.

Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News calls out 49ers receiver Isaac Bruce for disappearing during and after the game. Wide receivers caught only four passes for the 49ers. Not good.

Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle says Takeo Spikes was playing a new position on special teams when he misjudged a pooch punt, a key play in the 49ers' defeat.

Also from FitzGerald: QB Smith could be finished as a 49er.

Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle says the usual first-game disclaimers "stick like pet hair" in the throats of 49ers fans. Meanwhile, Nate Clements questioned the 49ers' intensity, a bad sign in the opener.

Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle quotes Nolan as saying O'Sullivan "didn't disappoint" him with his three-turnover performance. Overall, though, the 49ers' new quarterback didn't do enough.

Monty Poole of the Contra Costa Times says the 49ers lost count of their turnovers, easy to do when there are so many.

Cam Inman of the Contra Costa Times "just says no" to the 49ers after their opener.

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Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic recounts what he learned about the Cardinals from their season-opening victory. The defensive newcomers paid dividends.

Also from Somers: Says the Cardinals passed on nine of their first 10 plays of the second half to jump-start their offense.

Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic applies the "must-win" label to the Cardinals' victory. Winning on the road against a division opponent almost counts as a double-victory, one player said.

Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune checks in with Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin, who calls football "therapy" for his ongoing contract dispute. Boldin came up big in the second half.

Also from Bordow: A column saying fans would have lost faith in the Cardinals had they suffered a third consecutive defeat to the 49ers.

Mike Tulumello of the East Valley Tribune wonders if 49ers coach Mike Nolan still wants to open with the Cardinals.

Also from Tulumello: The Cardinals have more pieces on defense to execute their plan, according to safety Adrian Wilson.

And this: Arizona seemed to do fine with Lyle Sendlein at center.

Darren Urban of azcardinals.com says the team finally found a way to finish. The Cardinals held the ball for all but 8 minutes of the second half.

Also from Urban: An evaluation of the Cardinals' defense, which pretty much had the second half off. Travis LaBoy, who grew up near Candlestick Park, contributed to the performance.

And this: The Cardinals hold sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

	AP Photo
	Arizona's Kurt Warner resisted the desire to be the gunslinger in the Cardinals' 23-13 win over San Francisco Sunday.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Kurt Warner wore two days' growth on his jaw, a bandage across his nose and angry red markings between his eyebrows.

To the Arizona Cardinals, the former two-time MVP quarterback has rarely looked better.

Warner's performance during a 23-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers won't rank among the flashiest of his career. Far from it. And that was the point.

The Cardinals know Warner can sling the football around the field as aggressively as any quarterback in the league. They watched him toss 21 touchdown passes during the final eight games last season, more than Tom Brady or anyone else. But they also endured Warner's 17 interceptions last season, plus a dozen fumbles. They knew they might not challenge for a playoff spot this season without more disciplined quarterback play.

That's what the Cardinals liked about Warner's approach in solving a physical 49ers defense at Candlestick Park. No matter how badly Warner wanted to open up the offense, no matter how much he wanted to satisfy the gunslinger within, he resisted. Warner went without an interception or fumble for only the second time in 12 starts since Ken Whisenhunt arrived as head coach last season.

"We never really were completely flowing offensively," Warner said. "To be able to chew up the clock and get first downs and get points, it's critical in games like this where it's a dogfight, going back and forth and you may not have your best stuff."

Edgerrin James carried 26 times for 100 yards in typical James fashion -- without a run longer than 10 yards. Rookie running back Tim Hightower converted twice on fourth-and-1, including once for a touchdown that stretched the Cardinals' lead to 20-10 late in the third quarter.

And when the Cardinals needed Warner to make plays on third down, particularly in the second half, Warner delivered. The combination produced second-half scoring drives spanning 15 and 18 plays.

"I don't want to lose sight of the fact that we can [throw the ball aggressively]," Whisenhunt said. "The games are going to dictate what we do, but it's nice for us to be able to take the ball in the fourth quarter and take it down the field and take time off the clock and score points."

Warner had plenty of help from the Cardinals' defense and special teams, which combined to produce five turnovers. But a careless quarterback might have lost a road game such as this one. Warner took three sacks and a finger to his nose without losing his grip on the ball or the bigger picture.

"I felt like I was more reserved in the first half than I like to be," Warner said. "That is going to be a delicate balance for me. I don't want to turn the ball over, I don't want to take chances. But I also feel like sometimes I'm at my best when I'm ad-libbing and making plays."

The Cardinals made more of an effort to spread the field and pass the ball in the second half. The idea was to get Warner and his receivers in rhythm for the third-down throws that sustain drives in key situations.

Warner was at his best calmly finding Anquan Boldin for a 6-yard gain on third-and-5 with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The conversion allowed the Cardinals to run the clock down to two minutes before Neil Rackers' 30-yard field goal stretched the lead to 23-13, severely reducing the 49ers' chances for recovery.

The Cardinals' defense appreciated the effort.

"Kurt is a very smart football player. He's very aware of some of the mistakes he has made in the past," defensive end Bert Berry said. "That is what good football players do: They adjust, they correct those mistakes and they don't put their teams in bad situations. He didn't do that and we were able to take advantage."

As Whisenhunt indicated, circumstances will force the Cardinals to take more chances in the passing game at times this season. They key for Warner is avoiding unnecessary mistakes. He learned to play aggressively under the freewheeling Mike Martz in St. Louis. With Martz on the 49ers' side as their new offensive coordinator, Warner took what the defense gave him, an admittedly foreign concept.

"That is one of the things I'm trying to learn," said Warner, 37. "Even at my age, there are things to learn and things I have to get better at. The bottom line, coach was like, 'If you are conservative and it means not taking a chance and not having a turnover, we're not going to argue with that.'

"We have to find that balance where I'm smart, but I can still be me and still make plays and do the things I need to do for this offense. That is going to be a balance for us all year."

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

SAN FRANCISCO -- Niners quarterback Alex Smith wore a sweatsuit, not a uniform, during pregame warm-ups at Candlestick Park today.

Smith stood on the sideline and chatted with the occasional passerby, at one point stepping behind the bench to speak with former 49ers quarterback Steve Bono.

The Smith-Bono pairing seemed fitting given Bono's role as player alumni coordinator. The 49ers are already on the record saying Smith's salary would prevent him from returning to the team in 2009 as a backup. The shoulder injury Smith suffered Friday might accelerate the process.

Smith told reporters a decision on his shoulder has not been made. Placing Smith on injured reserve would end his season and, most likely, his 49ers career.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

SAN FRANCISCO -- Quarterback Alex Smith and linebacker Tully Banta-Cain are among the 49ers' inactive players today, the team announced.

Smith is not serving as the third quarterback. He is out for this game. A shoulder injury is to blame, according to the team.

Also inactive for the 49ers today: Marcus Hudson, Tarell Brown, Reggie Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Cody Wallace and Chilo Rachal. The 49ers are carrying more defensive backs (12) than most teams, one reason Hudson, Brown and Smith are inactive.