San Francisco 49ers: The 5 Biggest Storylines Coming out of Week 1

Opening day of the NFL season has officially been chalked up as a successful start to the 2011 campaign for the San Francisco 49ers after they beat the Seattle Seahawks 33-17.

Even though the matchup was just a lowly battle between two NFC West teams, there were still some intriguing story lines that emerged on the 49ers front.

Here's a list of the five biggest 49ers story lines from week one of the NFL season.

5. Ted Ginn's Recently Restructured Contract

Ted Ginn Jr. put the team on his back and carried the 49ers to an opening day victory by returning back-to-back punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Ginn was a name that the casual fan might not have known before this past Sunday, but he was suddenly the talk of the town after he electrified the home crowd at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

While you might have heard about the two kicks Ginn returned, you might not have heard about his contract that he restructured a week earlier that will make the 49ers kick returner a free agent at the years' end.

A kick returner with the speed and recognition that Ginn contains has the ability to change the game in a matter of seconds so it might be wise to restructure Ginn's contract once again to keep him with the 49ers for a little while longer.

4. 49ers Played Clean Game All Around

Try and tell me the last time you remember the 49ers playing a game as clean as they did on Sunday.

No, I'm not talking about the penalties— the 49ers were flagged nine times for 102 yards—but rather the fact that the 49ers offense didn't turn the ball over once.

On top of that, the offensive line didn't allow Alex Smith to be sacked and the official statisticians recorded that he got hit only once the entire game.

It might not have been the prettiest victory for the 49ers in recent memory, but it might have been the cleanest.

3. Frank Gore Doesn't Look Ready

You can blame it on the fact that Frank Gore's mind was preoccupied this offseason with the ongoing contract negotiations, or you can blame it on the lingering effects from the hip injury Gore sustained last year.

Either way you look at it, Gore was not the same player that the 49ers have become accustomed to this past Sunday.

Not only did Gore look slower, he was hesitant when trying to find the holes to run through and was being brought to the ground by arm tackles that he should've been running through with ease.

I think it will take time for Gore to reach "mid-season form" due to all the playing time that he missed during the preseason. In other words, even though his mind was probably prepared for opening day, his body might still have been in preseason mode.

Kendall Hunter has opened up quite a few eyes these past five weeks. If Frank Gore continues to struggle in the early parts of the season, it might be wise to give the rock to Hunter and see what this kid is all about.

2. Madieu Williams' Controversial Hit

The unnecessary roughness penalty that Madieu Williams received after he hit Seahawks tight end Anthony McCoy still has me grinding my gears.

I witnessed it first-hand at the game and I couldn't wait to get back home and take another look at it.

Whether or not the hit was actually legal is something that can't be debated since the rulebook decides which plays demand a flag to be thrown.

However, what can be debated and what should be recognized is that McCoy would've caught the ball if Williams did not deliver that hit.

How is it fair at all to let the receivers run through the middle of the field and not be hit with anything more than a simple wrap-up tackle? That is pretty much what the NFL is hoping for since they are not changing their rules for wide receivers blowing up defensive players on blocking plays.

I am all for the safety of the players in the NFL. However, this call was completely unnecessary and the "defenseless receiver" rules have been taken too far.

I am hopeful that these rule changes do not force the defensive players to change their style of play because that will ruin American football as we know it.

1. Jim Harbaugh Wins in Debut with 49ers

I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to really like what I see from Jim Harbaugh and the direction he has this team going.

He gave Alex Smith the perfect game plan on offense that allowed him to manage the game and utilize his short-to-medium passing accuracy.

Then after Smith ran the ball in for the team's only offensive touchdown, he embraced Smith with a giant hug on the sidelines for everyone to see. That hug, which might seem unimportant to many, will do wonders for Smith who has received nothing but hatred and distaste from the fans in San Francisco.

Smith played with guts on Sunday and deserves to be recognized for that. Harbaugh was the first to realize that and had no problem showing his affection and support for a man who has been deemed a "loser" by the majority of the fan base.

If you don't see the effects of what Harbaugh has been instilling in this team, just watch this video of the post game speech in the locker room. Harbaugh's passion and love for the game has been rubbing off on the 49ers and that officially became apparent to me after watching this video.

Players throughout the locker room are smiling not because they just won a game, but because they're having fun just playing football. Harbaugh has made the players love to play again, something that Mike Singletary didn't have the capability of evoking from his players.

The players love Harbaugh and love to play for him which is exactly what will distance himself from the rest of the coaches in the NFL.