<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Linebacker Jeff Ulbrich, the San Francisco 49ers' second-leading tackler last season, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday after agreeing to have surgery to reattach his biceps muscle to his arm.Ulbrich, second in the NFC this season with 41 tackles according to league stats, spoke with several medical specialists before reluctantly scheduling surgery for Thursday to repair a tendon on his left arm.If he had attempted to play through the injury, which occurred while trying to tackle Indianapolis' Edgerrin James last weekend, he would have lost half of the strength in his arm for the rest of his life.Though coaches, teammates and his wife urged the hard-nosed linebacker to have surgery, Ulbrich waited four days before deciding it was the only rational move. He will need at least four months to recover."I was trying to find a doctor that would say we can go in there 10 weeks from now and fix it, and it will be good as new," Ulbrich said. "I was searching for someone, but it's not out there. ... It's tough. You put in an entire offseason, and I love playing with these guys. To be on the sideline is going to be tough."Ken Norton Jr. is among the players who have played through the injury. When Ulbrich spoke to the former 49ers linebacker this week, Norton said he would have undergone the surgery if he had another chance.Ulbrich, a six-year veteran credited with 92 tackles last season, was a key component in the 49ers' switch to a 3-4 defense this season under new coach Mike Nolan. With injuries to Ulbrich and Julian Peterson, as well as a trade sending Jamie Winborn to Jacksonville, the 49ers mostly played a 4-3 against the Colts last week."You lose a guy that you count on every week -- a blue-collar guy," said Mike Singletary, the 49ers' assistant head coach and linebackers coach. "You never have to worry about, 'I wonder whether Jeff knows the play.' He knows it, probably better than you do."Ulbrich, who plans to coach after his playing career, will spend the rest of the season assisting Singletary and the 49ers' defensive coaching staff in any way he can. He'll also tutor Saleem Rasheed, his replacement in the starting lineup."It's a big opportunity, but obviously not the way I want it with a guy like 'Brich going out," Rasheed said. "To me, it's a no-brainer to have the surgery. I'm going to do my best to fill the void as far as being somebody the guys can count on."Rasheed, a fourth-year pro who's been a backup his entire career, is in the final year of his contract with the club. The devout Muslim also is one week into the holy fasting month of Ramadan, when he eschews food from sunrise to sunset.The 49ers are pleased with their linebackers' growth under Singletary, who has high praise for Ulbrich and middle linebacker Derek Smith. Rasheed is a work in progress, but Singletary believes the playing time will boost his skills -- even though the Niners' defense could have a different look with its new personnel."Saleem is more like a cat, a cat-quick guy," Singletary said. "Jeff is more like a dog. He's going to bite you. Saleem has to develop that. We haven't seen that yet. He's got to grow some fangs real quick."------=^BATTLE'S STRUGGLE Receiver Arnaz Battle sought a second opinion on his strained knee Wednesday from doctors at UC San Francisco's acclaimed medical center.Battle, who missed most of the 49ers' last two games because of the injury, is San Francisco's second-leading receiver with 15 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns -- and the former Notre Dame quarterback completed two passes for 27 yards, giving him a 118.8 quarterback rating.He is hoping his first season as a starter won't be curtailed much longer because of the strain. The 49ers have been imprecise about the nature of his injury, which might involve his hamstrings as well as his knee.Battle hasn't practiced since last month, and coach Mike Nolan listed him as doubtful for next Sunday's game at Washington following the 49ers' bye week."It's feeling OK, but I want to make sure I do things the right way so it doesn't keep me out any longer than it has to," Battle said.Battle will stay in the Bay Area during the bye weekend for daily rehabilitation. He hasn't been pleased by the 49ers' offensive struggles, but understands their roots."We're still a young team that's learning to play together, and it's all going to come together eventually," Battle said. "I want to be a part of that soon."------=^EXTRA POINTS The 49ers will hold one more practice Thursday before a three-day vacation for the bye week. Nolan considered keeping the club in town for a practice on Friday, but decided against it when the veterans asked for another day to travel to their weekend destinations. ... Battle and LT Jonas Jennings (shoulder) are among the veterans who will stay in town for rehab. ... The 49ers haven't decided whether to move WR Derrick Hamilton off the physically-unable-to-perform list in the next month. The second-year pro hasn't played after tearing a ligament in his left knee during a workout at the club's training complex in May.</div>With the 49ers already having problems, a key LB goes down for them. This is almost dejavu for them b/c last year Julian Peterson went down with an injury where he couldn't come back till the last couple of games. Now Jeff Ulbrich is sidelined and with a defense already struggling, more problems just pile up for the 49ers.
And that trade, Jamie Winborn for the 7th Round Pick, not only was that the worst trade in history, now it really hurts, we could use Winborn now....
