49ers Try to Tackle Barry Sanders Problem

In four years with Detroit, defensive tackle Shane Bonham never could lay a hand on Barry Sanders. It was all part of the rules--no one touched Sanders in practice.

“It’ll be kind of exciting to tackle him without getting in trouble,” said Bonham, who joined San Francisco during the offseason as a free agent.

Not that it’ll be easy.

The 49ers (10-3) head into Monday night’s game against the Lions (5-8) with a defense struggling to overcome the loss of its best player, tackle Bryant Young, who is out for the year with a broken right leg.

San Francisco won its first game without Young 31-28 last week at Carolina but the Panthers, who had the worst rushing attack in the league, ran for 203 yards. The last time an opponent ran for more against San Francisco was in 1986, when Atlanta gained 217.

“It happened. Now, we need to find out why it happened and work to get it better,” strong safety Tim McDonald said. “We have to find ways to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

Bonham, Gabe Wilkins and Brentson Buckner, who have all had injury problems of their own this season, are filling in for Young. But they and their defensive teammates know, after struggling to contain Tshimanga Biakabutuka and Anthony Johnson, what they’re up against in Sanders.

“I think last week was tough without B.Y. It was a tough thing to deal with and everybody’s minds were kind of scrambled,” Bonham said. “But I think it’s going to be all right.”