So your season is on the line. Your job is on the line. Pretty much everything you've worked for is on the line.
And you switch quarterbacks back to the guy who a couple of weeks ago you benched? You proceed to get into argument with him and bench him with the game still winnable? You can add this scenario to the catalog of reasons as to why Mike Singletary needed to get fired.
The 49ers are a team with enough talent to be better than this. Their defense is among the best in the league, but the instability and under performance of their offense killed off any hopes they had of making a postseason appearance that looked there for the taking in the off season. Meanwhile, St. Louis has comes leaps and bounds with a defense that can pressure you and an efficient offense that has only started to scratch the surface of what it is capable of.
49ers: Three performances of note
Let's start with the quarterback performances. Troy Smith (+0.1) never moved the offense and was lucky not to have more balls intercepted, while Alex Smith (+0.5) never inspired the confidence to suggest he was going to put the points up on the board they needed. Neither man excelled when pressured as the Rams went at them with overload blitzes. It's clear the Niners need a new face at QB, so the question remains: Who will it be?
You know when we talk about the good things in regards to the 49ers we will mention their defense. This week we're going to give Justin Smith (+4.0) some more credit on the week of his Pro Bowl selection. He wasn't actually at his best when it came to getting at the quarterback, but was his usual self in run defense. Six defensive stops highlighted his impact, and Smith remains the best 3-4 end in the league. By a distance.
If there's a player who has taken his lumps this year, it's right tackle Anthony Davis (-4.4). He gave up a sack, two hits and three further quarterback pressures as he looked out of his depth (and not for the first time this year). At such a young age Davis was always going to be one for the future, but 49ers fans will be hoping he comes alive in 2011 after such a big investment in him.
Rams: Three performances of note
It was a big day for James Hall (+5.1). The veteran pass-rusher had a field day as he totaled six quarterback disruptions and a further two defensive stops in the run game. It's been hard to know what to make of Hall at times this year, as he's had some of the better performances we've seen from a defensive end, but mixed it up with some far-below-average displays. The moral? Give him a favorable matchup and he's likely to do a good job, but the better tackles will contain him.
This week in who the Rams will play at linebacker, we had Chris Chamberlain (-2.4) rotating with Bryan Kehl (+1.8) at the weak side spot, with a clear winner in the “who should get more playing time going forward” stakes. Chamberlain may have sniffed a tackle, but he didn't make any and missed two, while the more active Kehl picked up two defensive stops and a quarterback pressure. As a favorite of the coach from his days in New York, it will be interesting to see if the Rams hand over the start to Kehl.
As fun as he can be to watch, is there a running back who is more overrated than Steven Jackson (-2.2)? Jackson averaged 2.0 yards against a stingy 49ers defense, as he did a good job racking up some yards during the carry but couldn't shake 49ers' defenders for anything longer than a 12-yard gain. And that's symbolic of a season in which Jackson just hasn't done enough with some pretty decent blocking in front of him. In no game has he forced more than three missed tackles and his 2.6 yards after contact average isn't good enough considering the type of back he is.
Rookie report
Running back Anthony Dixon (+0.7) picked up 100 percent of his 17 yards after contact. … Mike Iupati (+0.2) isn't quite as dominating as he was earlier in the season but is still holding his own. … Phillip Adam (-0.4) played in four-receiver sets before injury brought Taylor Mays in to replace him, with Reggie Smith moving to the LCB.
Tackle Rodger Saffold (-1.3) had some issues with his run blocking. … Receiver Danario Alexander (+1.6) continues to flash enough to make him look like a real prospect for the future. … Defensive ends Eugene Sims (-0.2) and George Selvie (-1.6) rotated in and played in select nickel packages but did little to make a case for more playing time. … Darian Stewart (+1.2) came in as an in-the-box safety on third downs and had a knack for generating pressure when he blitzed. … Quiet day for QB Sam Bradford (+1.6), who isn't doing much more than managing the offense at the moment. But does he need to?
Random note
The Rams ran four-receiver sets on 17 plays, and sets with at least three receivers on 57.14 percent of plays. … The 49ers missed five tackles but three of them were from the normally reliable Patrick Willis.
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.