Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Free agent safety Madieu Williams, who played for the 49ers in 2011, signed a contract with the Redskins.  Williams was mainly a backup for the 49ers at safety starting in only three games last season.  The 49ers are not losing out on much production wise as Williams had a total of nine tackles and zero interceptions in 15 games.  As a full-time starter with the Vikings from 2009-2010, Williams had a total of 149 tackles.

The numbers Williams put up in 2009 and 2010 was a big reason why the 49ers signed him to a one-year contract last off-season.  He was expected to be the starter last season but with Dashon Goldson showing he is capable of being a full-time starter and Donte Whitner going well beyond expectations in 2011, Williams was regulated to backup duty.

The real problem for the 49ers with Williams’ departure is a lack of a reliable backup safety that can come in and start should Goldson or Whitner go down with an injury.  Last season Reggie Smith and Williams served as adequate backups but now both players have signed elsewhere.  Smith signed a contract with the Panthers this off-season.

The only other backup safeties currently on the roster are C.J. Spillman and Colin Jones.  Spillman is mainly on the roster for his special team’s skills rather than his safety play and Jones barely saw action last season.  The 49ers can now add safety to their to-draft list.

With a 19-11 victory over the Redskins on Sunday the 49ers won for the seventh time in eight games this season and extend a five game lead in the NFC West.  The offense did just enough in support of another dominate performance by the defense for the 49ers to hold on for the win.  While the win did come against an injured and struggling Redskins team, the 49ers made a loud statement with their fourth road win this season on the East Coast.  The 49ers also cemented their status as a team that plays merciless and gritty on offense, defense and special teams.  With the win the 49ers have a 7-1 record nine weeks into the regular season.  With the rest of the NFC West only having five wins combined it is safe to say the 49ers are on their way to winning the division.  Even with games coming up against the Giants, Ravens and Steelers, a first-round bye in the playoffs may not be out of the question for the 49ers.  But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves and take one week at a time.  Time to hand out Game Gold Nuggets (GGN):

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San Francisco 49ers (6-1) vs. Washington Redskins (3-4)

FedEx Field

Kickoff: 10:00 AM (PST)

Golden Opportunity

With a win over the Redskins the 49ers will win their six straight for the first time in 14 years.  The last time the 49ers started the season 7-1 was in 1997, when the 49ers last made the NFC Championship game.  The 49ers last won six games in a row in 1997 when Steve Young was at quarterback and the team won a single-season best 11 straight games.

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