Niners reverse early-season roles with Cards

Leinart, who has passed for at least 200 yards in eight of his 10 starts for the Cardinals, repeatedly has claimed the 49ers' lousiness wasn't the reason he stayed in school.

"You are aware of what's going on, but I never really said, 'I'm coming out because of this team, or I'm not coming out because of this other team,"' Leinart said. "I didn't really care who was there. ... Everyone said that I could have been playing for the Niners, but maybe not. You never knew what could have happened."

Leinart has been impressive throwing to his strong corps of receivers, but Smith is showing signs of similar growth. Though he has thrown for 200 yards just once in his eight starts since the bye week, Smith led the Niners past Seattle with a gritty fourth-quarter performance.

Arizona has won three of its last five games, highlighted by a win in St. Louis that snapped a seven-game road losing streak. Though they've lost at least 10 games for the fifth straight season, the Cards still have a chance to finish the season strong.

But Arizona's defense has allowed a conference-worst 355.8 yards per game this season, and Gore seems determined to finish the season strong behind fellow Pro Bowl selection Larry Allen.

"They are convinced that they can run the football, and no one has been able to stop them," said Arizona coach Dennis Green, who plans to see his leukemia-stricken former boss, Bill Walsh, during the trip. "They have been very scrappy, and along with being scrappy, they have won close ballgames and have run the ball."