49ers' defense may have been overconfident in preseason opener

The San Francisco 49ers' defense was their strength last season, and could be even more dominant this season, so defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was somewhat disappointed with what he saw in the team's first exhibition game, a 17-6 victory over the Vikings on Friday. "Well, we didn't play as well as we're capable of playing in those first two series," he said. "We let Minnesota get two field goals and I think they drove it for 130 some yards in both series. We gave up a big play in the first drive, which set up the first field goal. Then we didn't play well as unit on the second drive. We had an offside penalty. We didn't play a route correctly. We were not sharp at all." The 49ers'first-team defense allowed the Vikings to gain 59 and 63 yards on the opening drives of the game. The defense had been performing well in practice, and Fangio had no explanation for Friday's performance. "I don't know," he said. &qu...