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While the Niners have always thought highly of versatile LB Brandon Moore, as evidenced by the five-year, $8 million contract extension he received last offseason, we hear they’d be lying if they said they actually had any idea Moore would be as effective as he’s been since replacing Jeff Ulbrich in the starting lineup. Moore and Keith Lewis, who has replaced Michael Adams as the starting free safety, have been the keys in the Niners’ stunning defensive transformation in the month of November. Lewis has resembled a young Rodney Harrison with a nasty physical presence that appears to have rubbed off on his teammates. What took the Niners so long to insert Lewis in the starting lineup? A notoriously mediocre player in practice, Lewis, we’re told, was clearly outplayed by Adams in training camp and was considered better-served primarily filling the role of special-teams ace, which he continues to do extremely well on a more limited basis.