Hope, for the 49ers? 'Yes sir!' Kevin Lynch, The San Francisco Gate, published 1 November 2005 The dry numbers show the 49ers defeated the Buccaneers 15-10 at Candlestick Sunday. But that hardly captures the emotion of the win. Fueled by speeches and actions from head coach Mike Nolan to defensive end Bryant Young, the 49ers punched the now 5-2 Bucs listless. In a game filled with crisp blocks, hard tackles and plenty of flying fists, the 49ers dominated heavily favored Tampa Bay, but might have lost quarterback Ken Dorsey in the process. Dorsey sprained his ankle when his leg folded after he got hit by 290-pound defensive end Ellis Wyms. Dorsey completed a 7-yard pass to running back Kevan Barlow with 11:37 left in the fourth quarter before going down. The Orinda native left the locker room on crutches and is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the visiting Giants. With starter Alex Smith still walking with a noticeable limp because of a knee injury, the 49ers might start third quarterback Cody Pickett, who finished the team's second victory in seven games. But if the 49ers play with the same emotion they exhibited in defeating the Bucs, they could be a handful for any team. The 49ers were inspired during the week when Young went berserk in practice Thursday. While running down the field during a play in a scrimmage, Young was pushed in the back by rookie guard David Baas. Young ripped off his helmet and went after Baas. "B.Y. was stumbling over, he could've been injured,'' defensive tackle Anthony Adams said. "He (went nuts). That changed the whole practice. That practice became like a game.'' Young then tried to go after Baas again after Baas started yelling at Young. The Pro Bowl defensive lineman was restrained both times, but not by Adams. "Whatever (Baas) said, he shouldn't have,'' said Adams, chuckling. "I wanted to see (Young) go.'' Young said he apologized to Baas and the rest of his teammates for the blowup. "I don't have any animosity (toward Baas),'' Young said. "We kept it on the field.'' Toward the end of Sunday's game, Young seemed to relive the anger. The Bucs simply couldn't block him. In the final 1:49, Young sacked quarterback Chris Simms twice, causing a turnover on each play. "The thing that is most impressive to me about Bryant Young is that he plays at an extremely high level during the most adverse situations,'' Nolan said. The coach was surprised the previous Sunday in the locker room when he asked rhetorically if the players were still with him despite a 52-17 drubbing by Washington. Players weren't supposed to respond but they did. "They all blurted out, 'Yes sir!' " Nolan said. "I don't know what that means other than these guys are in it.'' Particularly the offensive line, which played its best game in recent memory. Tampa Bay came into the day with the league's top-ranked rush defense, allowing only 2.9 yards per carry. The Niners' line mauled the Bucs' Pro Bowl-studded front seven, allowing Barlow to record his first 100-yard rushing effort of the year (26 carries, 101 yards), and kept Tampa Bay from sacking the quarterbacks. The line's most impressive performance came late in the game, with Dorsey out and the inexperienced Pickett at the helm. Protecting a 12-10 lead with 6:58 remaining, center Jeremy Newberry gathered his linemen around him. "I just told them, 'Look, it's going to come down to us and we're going to have control this clock, so everybody do their job,' "Newberry said. Going with their "jumbo'' formation (two tight ends, two running backs, one wide receiver), the 49ers with Pickett at quarterback ran 10 times in the 42-yard, 11-play drive that ended with Joe Nedney's fifth field goal of the day. The drive burned 5:02 off the clock and helped preserve the 49ers' win, which wouldn't have been possible without a gritty defensive effort. Tampa Bay's 275 yards was its lowest output of the season, and rookie Cadillac Williams was held to 20 yards on 13 carries. Linebacker Derek Smith led the effort on and off the field. His six tackles were a team-high and his appeal before the game was a motivator. "He was emotional,'' linebacker Julian Peterson said. "You saw it in his face. He said, if you get hit, just don't lay down.'' Smith said he was simply building on a speech made by linebackers coach Mike Singletary during the week. "He said we were at a fork in the road and we could go out and fight or just lay down,'' Smith said. Peterson had a suggestion for Smith after the game: "I think he should make that speech every week."