So obviously that meant the team won past Sunday, as was indeed the case in the 49ers’ 33-30 overtime conquest of the Seahawks at Seattle’s Qwest Field.

For example, when asked how his defense can stop opposing backs from gaining triple digits in rushing yards as Seattle’s Julius Jones (127 yards on 26 carries) had done and Arizona’s Edgerrin James the week before, Nolan responded, “Tackle.”

When someone suggested that the defensive line didn’t mount much of a pass rush against the Seahawks’ Matt Hasselbeck, Nolan said, “When you don’t get pressure, it usually looks that way.”

Perhaps the best example of all came when it was posited to Nolan that he will trade sacks for big plays, because his quarterback, J.T. O’Sullivan routinely hung onto the ball long enough to absorb eight of the former while also producing almost as many of the latter.

“That’s Scot’s [49ers general manager Scot McCloughan] area,” the coach said, clarifying to the befuddled scribe that trades are McCloughan’s department.

It’s almost enough to make one Google the man, just to double-check his previous employment was as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens and not, say, a staff writer on Fox’s unfortunately canceled sitcom, “Arrested Development.”

Ironically, Nolan’s microphone antics, as sublime as they were, are, and will continue to be, still paled in entertainment value to the game that inspired them as the 49ers fought back from an early 14-0 hole where everything that could go wrong, did. First linebacker Manny Lawson blocked Seahawk Jon Ryan’s punt, only to witness Ryan’s teammate Jordan Babineaux pick up the ball and scramble 26 yards with it, setting up a Jones touchdown run. On the ensuing 49ers possession usually sure-handed Frank Gore fumbled, and after a brief exchange of bobbles in the pile that looked to be choreographed to the Benny Hill music, Seattle defensive tackle Craig Terrill wound up with the pigskin and lumbered the final 10 yards for another score.

Just when it was looking like a long afternoon for the 49er faithful, Mike Martz’ offense (and O’Sullivan’s arm) got hot, bringing the team to 14-3, then 14-6, then 17-13, before Seattle kicker Olindo Mare took everyone to the intermission with a 38-yard field goal to make it 20-13, Seahawks. Not only had O’Sullivan thrown his first touchdown pass of the year, a 3 yarder to receiver Bryant Johnson, but Isaac Bruce, the big name acquisition who was shut out in Week 1, caught his first two passes of the year, including a 63-yard bomb.

The game ultimately turned on two defensive plays made in succession by San Francisco’s veteran cornerback, Walt Harris. With Seattle’s offense driving deep into San Francisco territory and looking to restore the two-score margin, Harris deflected a Hasselbeck pass into the hands of star linebacker Patrick Willis, who skillfully slalomed his way 86 yards downfield to tie the game at 20. The next series Harris intercepted Hasselbeck himself, setting up a Gore touchdown four plays later to give the 49ers the lead.

The teams traded more punches in the fourth quarter to bring the game to 30-30 after regulation, with the 49ers’ Joe Nedney missing wide right on a 41-yard field goal attempt with three seconds to go in regulation, but San Francisco luckily got the ball first in overtime and after another long connection between O’Sullivan and Bruce, Nedney redeemed himself with a 40 yarder to give the Niners their first victory of the year.

In describing his heroics, Nedney said, “There’s nothing louder than 67,000 people dead silent,” a reference to either Seattle’s famously noisy crowd or perhaps Michael Phelps’ leaden performance as host of last week’s “Saturday Night Live.”

Either way it was a win to be enjoyed, especially since the team doesn’t figure to get many more. One such opportunity, however, comes on Sunday afternoon against the eternally awful Detroit Lions. The Lions come in at 0-2, the most recent loss being last Sunday’s 48-25 stomping by the Green Bay Packers, where their defense did all they could to help Packers fans embrace new starter Aaron Rodgers and officially put their Favre jerseys in the “out of rotation” dresser, along with the Alice Cooper concert T-shirts and the size 32 acid-washed jeans. This game has a couple of subplots in that both Martz and O’Sullivan worked for Detroit last year but were unceremoniously let go due to their respective inabilities of making the 2007 Lions dissimilar to the 2006 version. Or 2005’s, or… well, you get the point.

About the only assets the Lions have are their starting wide receiver duo of Roy Williams and second-year sensation Calvin Johnson, whom Nolan favorably compared to Arizona’s heralded tandem of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Their triggerman is Jon Kitna, but while he is durable and resilient, he isn’t the best decision maker in the face of a pass rush, as evidenced by his three, fourth-quarter interceptions against the Packers, two of which were run back for touchdowns.

“Obviously, he’s probably the toughest guy I’ve been around, just as far as standing in there, making throws, coming back in there week in and week out. I took a lot from that. He’s got a lot of respect from me for that. He’s a good thrower too. This offense is about standing in there and making some tough throws, and he does it. So, the list was long as far as things I tried to take from Jon,” said O’Sullivan.

Hopefully he didn’t sponge the entirety of The Jon Kitna Experience and he can escape the afternoon relatively mistake free. A loss to Detroit would bring about a series of Nolan press sessions where he’d be, at various points, contentious, sarcastic, short-tempered, and evasive, but only unintentionally funny. And of course, whenever the Lions get the better of you, it’s time to update the ol’ resumé.

That would be a mixed blessing for Nolan, and really for all of us. NBC’s fall lineup looks positively awful.