NFC WEST At 1-10, 49ers may as well have a few laughs

Running back Kevan Barlow was critical of the play calling following Sunday's loss.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- The day after the San Francisco 49ers' sixth straight loss left them alone at the bottom of the NFL standings, linebacker Jeff Ulbrich covered defensive tackle Anthony Adams' clothes with shaving cream.
Their offense is horrific, their defense frustrated and their coaching staff under fire for questionable decisions -- but at least the Niners' practical jokes are still working. Adams, who apparently started the trouble earlier, laughed when he found the mess in his locker.
San Francisco's season has been a joke as well, though the losing has gone on so long that it's no longer a laughing matter. The Niners fell to 1-10 with a 24-17 loss to the 2-9 Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and they're on pace for the worst season in franchise history -- the 2-14 marks in 1978 and 1979 -- and the first overall pick in next April's draft.
Even the players who aren't in uniform are aware of the historic proportions of San Francisco's struggles. Linebacker Julian Peterson, an All-Pro last year who's out for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon, hobbled into the locker room Monday to lend support.
"This is rough, man," said Peterson, whose cast will come off Thursday. "San Fran has only won two games at the lowest. If this doesn't get resolved, this is going to be the worst team in the franchise history. You don't want to be a part of something like that."
Something new each week
There's been no prevailing theme to the 49ers' struggles this season. Every week produces a new disappointment, every loss a new deficiency.
Even a glance at the league statistics doesn't identify a single flaw, particularly with the struggling offense. The 49ers are 24th or worse in the NFL in total yards per game and per play, yards rushing, passing average, sacks allowed, third-down efficiency, net punting average and points per game.
After managing just 228 yards against the lowly Dolphins, coach Dennis Erickson said he might consider personnel changes on offense. A day later, Erickson realized his reserves probably aren't any better than his starters.
"It's more what we could do [differently] offensively than it is personnel," he said. "We'll look at a few things, but there are only so many players that you have on your team."
Instead, Erickson plans to simplify the 49ers' running game in an effort to spark Kevan Barlow, who got just one carry after halftime against Miami. Barlow has been a bust in his first season as the top ball carrier, managing just 581 yards and six touchdowns -- just 3.2 yards per carry.
Absurd comments
Erickson and Barlow had a long conversation Monday afternoon, though Erickson claimed he wasn't aware of Barlow's postgame criticisms of the offense. After running for just 20 yards, Barlow said the 49ers' offense doesn't allow him enough freedom to improvise.
"That's absurd. I don't know what he meant by that," Erickson said when told of the comments. "He's playing hard. It's not about him not playing hard. There are times he goes down when we don't think he should go down, and there are times he doesn't break tackles when we think he should."
The 49ers also might finally get left tackle Kwame Harris into the starting lineup to reduce the stress on Kyle Kosier, who has played left tackle and right guard despite a sprained knee. Harris, last year's disappointing first-round draft pick, has played well recently.
But those probably will be San Francisco's only personnel moves. The defense is feeling good about itself after allowing just 17 points -- 10 on short fields caused by fourth-quarter turnovers -- and 200 yards by Miami's offense.