FOXBORO - ZZ Top could have had Mike Nolan in mind when they sang "Sharp Dressed Man."

The coach of the San Francisco 49ers prefers not to join with his contemporaries in dressing in polo shirts, sweatsuits or gray hoodies along the sideline, instead going the Tom Landry route in suit and tie.

But style points alone do not make a good football team. It takes players and patience, and the process of transformation is often slow and arduous.

This year's Niners may not be there yet. But at 2-2, they're showing signs that their coach's vision for them is starting to catch up to his own sartorial splendor.

The 49ers are still a work in progress, no doubt. But they're among the best teams in the league in recovering from third-and-long situations, they have a stud running back and a stud linebacker, and they're certainly not a team that the Patriots can take lightly in their visit to Candlestick Park on Sunday (4:15 p.m.; Ch. 4, 12). They even have Mike Martz, the former head coach of the St. Louis Rams, as their offensive coordinator - although, it must be remembered, the Patriots ended the reign of Martz's "Greatest Show on Turf" in Super Bowl XXXVI. Still, for a team looking to find a new identity, it's certainly a help.

"He's brought credibility as well as stability to the offense," Nolan said via conference call of Martz's contributions to the rebirth of the 49ers. "Mike is an outstanding football coach. He has a great mind and he has a good command presence in front of the offense, which is very important when you're trying to get guys to play well.

"Credibility is real important," he added, "and Mike has that naturally with his accomplishments at St. Louis, both as a head coach and offensive coordinator. Outside of that, the addition of some players and the maturity of the ones we already had, along with Mike Martz, has been a real plus, not only for our offense but for our football team."

The Niners need to know that they're being led by people who've had success in the NFL, Nolan said.

"Players want to be good," he said. "They want to get the ball. They want to shine. They want everyone to talk about them and that's natural, in a positive way. And Mike - I know that the players, if they feel that the coach can give them something to get noticed, typically they're going to listen to exactly what that guy has to say."

With running back Frank Gore and wide receiver (and ex-Ram) Isaac Bruce providing the bulk of the offense, the 49ers have become one of the league leaders in plays gaining 20 yards or more.

"I think it's more just been the case of being opportunistic, more than anything else," Nolan said. "Our offensive players, in particular our quarterback (former Patriots' practice-squad member J.T. O'Sullivan) and a couple of wide receivers, obviously have not played together in the past, so when you put the whole picture together on offense we're working for continuity and we've had it this far in the season.

"Knock on wood, hopefully that continues," he added. "And as we play more games, hopefully we just get better and better. But the explosive plays, the plays over 20 yards that you speak of, I think are just a result of guys doing their job."

On the other side of the ball, second-year linebacker Patrick Willis has become the leader of a hungry group of players that, while dotted with several familiar veterans (including former Bengal, Bill and Eagle Takeo Spikes), needed a point to rally around.

"The expectation of Patrick when we drafted him was that he'd be a good player," Nolan said. "How good, you really never know when you draft somebody. We did coach him in the Senior Bowl so we were confident he was the kind of guy we wanted to bring onto the roster. But he has exceeded some expectations in his ability to play. "He's an outstanding player," Nolan said of the former Mississippi standout, leading the Niners in solo tackles. "It's hard to say much else, but he's only in his second year. He's extremely professional and that's very important to him. The players recognize him as a very good player; they respect him. Patrick has not lost humility because of his ability to be a good player. He's the same person he's always been. He gets hard coaches just like all of them. He's very receptive, a very coachable player. I don't know a coach in the league that wouldn't want him on their roster, to be honest with you, or a teammate for that matter."

Nolan may be encouraged by some of the progress shown by the 49ers this season, but he also realizes that it's far too early to make any assumptions about what the next 13 weeks may hold.

"Obviously, it's only been four games into the season and New England has only played three weeks, so it's too early to tell exactly what it is," he said. "Everybody is trying to come together chemistry-wise and accountability-wise on every squad. So whatever you're doing at this point it's too early to say exactly who anyone is."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.