DREIS RANTS, 49ERS VS. RAMS 11/16

How long ago was it when Rams-49ERS games actually meant something ? Both these teams have fallen from their familiar perch up top the NFC West for some time now, with each team recently firing it's head coach . For the Rams, it seemed to work at first coming up with impressive victories at Washington and against a Romo-less Cowboys team. Then the Pats, and most recently, the Jets, brought them back to earth ( Boy did the Jets ever bring them back to earth ) Word had it that was one of the reasons why the Niners dumped Nolan one week prior to the bye week, when they originally planned to do it ( Remember, this is the Dorks, ahem, the Yorks running the team ) . Mike Singletary was brought in to supposedly light a fire amongst the team. So far, the results haven't proven such, 0-2 since Singletary took over. However, the Monday night game showed some hope that this team may actually be worth watching the rest of the year. Yeah, a lot has been made over the last-minute fiasco, but what really killed the Niners was 3 turnovers, especially the last two interceptions, the first giving the Cards and God's son Kurt Warner a short field ( Hey, you're not expecting me to be PC throughout my blogs, do you ? I'm a struggling blogger, not a reporter, OK ) to work with, and that last one a potential game-winning drive killer that may saved the Niners from the last minute fiasco in the first place.

In spite of Monday, so far, I like the way Singletary is handling things. Was I expecting a quick fix ? Of course not. But what he has demonstrated to this once proud, and I mean, once proud organization, is that he is the ruler, and that TEAM comes first ( Not that alligator-arm Vernon Davis is hearing this, but yet, I try very hard to keep cheering him on....) . And Mondays performance may have shown that the 49ers may , and I say this very loosely, may be heading in the right direction, something we seen since the '02 season.

Now, this Sundays matchup between these longtime rivals. Stephen Jackson is doubtful for the Lambs, and with the Lambs ranking close to last in run-defense, expect Frank Gore to get a lot of touches. Another key factor could be Isaac Bruce, whom should be familiar enough with the Rams defensive personel. I'm sure Mike Martz will be more than happy to expose a few more holes in the Lambs secondary.

Prediction

RAMS 13
49ERS 24

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