Browns' victory frustrates 49ers, standout Owens

Quarterback Kelly Holcomb shredded San Francisco's defense for the win.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Following Sunday's 13-12 loss to the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens lashed out, primarily against the offensive line, quarterback Jeff Garcia and the play-calling by offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.
Monday, coach Dennis Erickson said he doesn't have a problem with a player expressing frustration as long as it's in the heat of losing a game.
"If you do it with an emotional factor after a game, I can understand that," Erickson said. "If you can continue to do it, no.
"When you lose, I don't care at what level, it rips your ... heart out, but you've got to move on," Erickson said.
Coach's decision
The 49ers' first-year coach said he didn't talk to Owens about his outburst "because I didn't feel it was necessary."
But Erickson had a warning.
"The thing about pointing fingers is that there's always something coming back at you," he said. "A loss is a loss, then you move on. This is a a very emotional game."
San Francisco is 1-2 and trails Seattle by two games in the NFC West after two close defeats, including a 27-24 overtime loss at St. Louis.
Sunday at 3Com Park, Kelly Holcomb rallied the Browns for two fourth-quarter touchdowns after the 49ers had five scoring opportunities, but produced just four field goals.
Erickson estimated that the 49ers blitzed five or six times during the Browns' 17-play, 91-yard march, capped by Holcomb's pass to wide receiver Andre Davis with 29 seconds to play. Davis found an opening among five 49er defenders, then jumped high to pull down the winning score.
Erickson said the 49ers played the same two-deep zone they had used much of the game to frustrate Holcomb.
"People who think we all of the sudden went into a prevent deal, that wasn't the case," Erickson said. "The problem is we made some mistakes in the zone coverage and they hit some underneath stuff."
On a roll
Using mostly short passes, Holcomb completed 10 straight throws to get to the San Francisco 11.
The 49ers, who have been thriving on takeaways, couldn't reach Holcomb even though both of his ankles were aching.
"They were keeping seven guys in to protect so we were having trouble getting to him," Erickson said. "I didn't have a problem with what was called, I had a problem with us not playing [well enough] to get off the field."
Linebacker Jeff Ulbrich said he wasn't aware of just how injured Holcomb was "until after I went home and watched the television [reports] my wife had taped."
Erickson blamed the 49ers' offensive struggles on their inability to run against a Browns defense that surrendered 295 yards, an NFL single-game record, the previous week to the Ravens' Jamal Lewis.
"If we had executed like we needed to, nothing that happened in the fourth quarter would have mattered," Erickson said. "We've got to become better at running the football.
"Our offensive line didn't play that bad. There were times that we missed blocks. We just didn't establish the running game like we needed to," Erickson said.
williams@vindy.com