NFC West: 49ers-Rams
The upside: Even the worst defeats tend to feature a bright spot or two.
- The Rams emerged with the No. 1 overall choice in the 2010 NFL draft.
- Steven Jackson finished the season as the leading rusher in the NFC. He had 1,416 yards for the season, the second-highest total of his career.
- Rookie James Laurinaitis had a first-quarter sack. He finished the season with 2.0 sacks, two interceptions and five passes defensed.
- Safety Craig Dahl also had a sack, his second of the season. Dahl had one tackle for loss and one pass defensed.
- Donnie Jones set a career high with 34 punts downed inside the 20, a single-season franchise record (albeit on a franchise-record 90 punts).
- Danny Amendola averaged 14.6 yards on five punt returns, with a 56-yarder in the third quarter. It was the Rams' longest punt return since Dante Hall had an 85-yarder in 2007.
- The season is finally over.
"The fan injured after today's contest between the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers was transported to Barnes-Jewish Hospital and is currently under evaluation there."
Two fans fell when attempting to catch a shoe thrown by a player. That pretty much sums up the Rams' season. Nothing went quite to plan, even when the intentions were good.
Finishing with a non-losing record was important for San Francisco because it showed progress in the big picture. The 49ers had posted losing records every season since the 2002 team went 10-6 with Steve Mariucci, Jeff Garcia, Garrison Hearst and Terrell Owens.
They are not losers any longer. The culture has officially changed.
Still, this game against the now 1-15 Rams was a struggle offensively for much of the game. Alex Smith passed for 23 yards in the first half and the 49ers had some problems in protection. They broke open the game late -- almost an inevitability given the state of the Rams -- but there should have been enough rough edges to get the 49ers' attention.
That can be a good thing for the 49ers. They do need to improve across the board on offense. That was clear in the first half Sunday and previously this season.
The Rams, meanwhile, can finally move past this season. They were ascending through the season's first half until injuries destroyed their already tenuous depth. They generally played hard and fought through the season's second half, but there wasn't much left to give. They'll have the No. 1 overall choice in the 2010 draft. They'll need to decide how to find their next quarterback. Will they take one first overall? Might they find a reasonably priced veteran stopgap?
It's tough to envision Marc Bulger returning under a contract scheduled to pay him $8.5 million.
The team must figure out a plan at quarterback while focusing on adding playmakers at wide receiver and even tight end. They also need help on every level of the defense.
This game could be good for the 49ers. More on that in a bit.
49ers lead, 14-6, with 6:47 minutes to play.
Last I saw, the Rams had Phil Trautwein at right tackle and John Greco at right guard. No matter how prepared the Rams were for this season, they probably never envisioned it coming to this. Adam Goldberg was at left guard. Center Jason Brown and left tackle Alex Barron are the only starters lining up in their projected places.
The Rams' offense is naturally struggling.
The 49ers don't really have an excuse for their problems on that side of the ball. They're' trying to go into the offseason feeling good about Alex Smith as their starting quarterback. Smith has completed 5 of 10 passes for 23 yards so far.
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
The facts: The Rams' record fell to 2-13 following a 17-16 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16.
The upside: Even the worst defeats tend to feature a bright spot or two.
- Steven Jackson carried 32 times for 108 yards. He has 199 yards over his last two games, leaving him 119 shy of a 1,000-yard season.
- The Rams forced four turnovers, picking off 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill three times. Ron Bartell continues to look like a starting-caliber cornerback.
- The Rams held the ball for more than 38 minutes, with six drives lasting at least eight plays (including a 16-play drive).
- Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa was again active on defense, finishing with nine tackles, three quarterback hits and two sacks.
- Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe picked off a pass for the fifth time this season and the first time since Week 8. He also recovered a fumble.
- Rookie receivers Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton made important contributions. Burton's 30-yard touchdown reception was his first scoring play in the NFL. Avery's 18-yard reception along the right sideline helped set up the big play to Burton.
- Rookie John Greco played extensively at left guard. The Rams need to develop young linemen, so the experience was good for Greco.
Around the NFC West: Rams' restructuring
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch describes as imminent Jay Zygmunt's resignation as president of football operations. Expect Billy Devaney to emerge with more power.
Also from Thomas: More than 58 minutes of Rams' achievement blew up in 90 seconds.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Isaac Bruce's return only highlighted the Rams' demise. Miklasz: "Bruce was still a most valuable baller, catching six passes in the fourth quarter, one for a touchdown, to spark San Francisco's proud 17-16 comeback victory over the same old sorry Rams."
Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Rams' decision to call a draw play with 25 seconds left sealed their fate.
Jeff Gordon of stltoday.com says the Rams were in a state of shock following their most recent defeat.
Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hands out a report card with a D-plus grade for quarterback Marc Bulger.
Rod Kloeckner of the Belleville News-Democrat says the 49ers view Bruce as the "consummate pro" whose longevity inspires.
Steve Korte of the Belleville News-Democrat says Ron Bartell and Oshiomogho Atogwe continued their ball-hawking ways in defeat.
Also from Korte: The local TV blackout served the Rams well.
More from Korte: A Rams report card with a C-minus grade for the offensive line.
Conservative or not, Rams fail to finish
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
The Rams held a 13-3 lead over the 49ers early in the fourth quarter when they handed off twice after getting a first-and-goal from the 5.
Steven Jackson went nowhere. Jackson appeared to be hurting. He limped off the field after the second carry. My thought watching the game was that the Rams were playing not to lose. They appeared to be settling for the field goal. I wasn't convinced this was a fair criticism. Jackson is the Rams' best player, and an interception would have turned the momentum.
The Rams settled for the field goal and a 16-3 lead. They lost the game, 17-16, for their ninth consecutive defeat.
Coach Jim Haslett to reporters: "I don't think we were conservative, we were just trying to eat some time and do things the right way. We got stuck a few times; I thought they did a good job of trying to get Steven the ball and mixing it up. You can call it conservative or whatever. I think whenever you have a 13-point lead you try to eat the clock, move the ball, and score if you can. Everything came down to the last couple of minutes."
Haslett said the Rams "gave away" the game. He said cornerback Fakhir Brown eased up on the 49ers' winning touchdown pass after mistakenly thinking 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill was down. That's why coaches tell players to run hard until they hear the whistle. For Brown, that is a lesson best learned before age 31.
You called it: Wall of Fame stays intact
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
Nineteen participants in the latest "You called it" picked the winners correctly in Week 16 games involving NFC West teams.
Of the 19, none picked the score correctly. That means our three Wall of Famers remain unchallenged for another week. They are:
- Elion245. Forecast the Redskins' 20-17 victory over the Seahawks in Week 12.
- Leesters. Forecast the Bears' 27-3 victory over the Rams in Week 12.
- habitat730. Forecast the Cardinals' 34-10 victory over the Rams in Week 14.
Balooii came closest to picking a score correctly in Week 16, missing the 49ers-Rams outcome by two points (17-14 prediction, 17-16 actual). Very nice job. NinerNirvana, ownedbyakorat and slammit721 each came within four points of the final score.
Section336 came closest to picking the Jets-Seahawks outcome, missing by seven points (13-10 prediction, 13-3 actual). Theric2112 (17-7) and rflak16479 (18-7) also came within 10 points of the actual score.
Mr Zero came closest to hitting the Cardinals-Patriots score correctly (35-10 prediction, 47-7 actual). That came out to a 15-point differential. MrSnuggles2k2 (37-14), Ohiofan624 (42-21) and mr incognito (33-9) each came within 16 points.Of the 19 to pick each outcome correctly, Section336 had best day on average, missing by 17 points per game. Section336 foresaw victories by the 49ers (23-20), Patriots (27-21) and Seahawks (13-10).
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
The 49ers are officially a new team under Mike Singletary. If there were any doubts, the 49ers erased them by scoring two late touchdowns to overcome a 13-3 deficit at the Edward Jones Dome.
This 49ers' effort was a bit like quarterback Shaun Hill -- not pretty, but ultimately effective. The 49ers were horrible for much of this game, but they delivered when the stakes were high. Coaches appeared close to benching Hill at one point, but sticking with him was the smart move -- and not only because of the ultimate result. Hill has done enough to finish the regular season as the starter. Benching him would have undercut Hill's longer-term efforts to lead the team.
Singletary has won four of his past six games as interim coach. A victory over the Redskins in Week 17 would make any decision to fire Singletary an unpopular one among fans and players.
The opposite is true for the Rams. They like Jim Haslett, but keeping him after nine consecutive defeats -- and a likely 10th on the road against Atlanta in Week 17 -- seems politically impractical as the team tries to win back fans.
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
Isaac Bruce just made the 1,000th reception of his career. It was a short touchdown pass from Shaun Hill to pull the 49ers within striking distance of the Rams with 4:03 remaining at the Edward Jones Dome.
The Rams still lead, 16-10, but the 49ers have enough time to pull off the victory.
Rams not playing into Singletary's plans
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
Before we anoint Mike Singletary the 49ers' next head coach, should we consider the ramifications of, say, three consecutive defeats to end the season?
The 49ers have plenty of time to overcome a 13-3 halftime deficit at St. Louis. They'll have a good chance at defeating the Redskins at Candlestick Park in Week 17. But if they lose this game to the Rams, the pressure on Singletary mounts heading into the final game.
Surprise note: The Rams have allowed two touchdown passes in their last 3.5 games. The 49ers have allowed three touchdown passes in their last 1.5 games. David Martin, Joey Haynos and Keenan Burton scored those touchdowns against San Francisco.
Surprise note II: Rams quarterback Marc Bulger has no interceptions in his last 62 attempts. The 49ers' Shaun Hill has two in 14 attempts in this game so far.
Gore, Boldin and Arrington inactive
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
Frank Gore tested his injured ankle in warm-ups for a second consecutive week, but the 49ers named him inactive again. They should be able to run the ball against the Rams either way, particularly if Shaun Hill continues running the offense efficiently.
The Cardinals will have a decidedly different look without receiver Anquan Boldin and running back J.J. Arrington. Boldin generally plays almost every snap. Arrington generally plays most of the snaps in the four-receiver offense. He played about half the snaps in the three-receiver offense last week. Given that the Cardinals use three or more receivers most of the time, Arrington factors heavily into Arizona's plans.
Arizona is clearly protecting Boldin and Arrington for the playoffs. Also, with cold and generally miserable conditions expected at New England, the Cardinals might consider fielding a more conventional offense. That would mean more two-receiver groupings and possibly more groupings with two tight ends or two running backs.
You called it: Fearless predictions for Week 16
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
Mike Ditka and Keyshawn Johnson are picking the Seahawks to beat the Jets. Mike Golic is taking the Rams over the 49ers. None of the official forecasters on this site likes the Cardinals' chances at New England.
More importantly: Where do you stand on games involving NFC West teams? Do you have the skills to earn a spot on the Wall of Fame, reserved for those who predict NFC West outcomes and scores exactly? Our three previous winners are getting lonely:
- Elion245. Forecast the Redskins' 20-17 victory over the Seahawks in Week 12.
- Leesters. Forecast the Bears' 27-3 victory over the Rams in Week 12.
- habitat730. Forecast the Cardinals' 34-10 victory over the Rams in Week 14.
Simply leave predictions in the comments section of this item. We'll accept them right up until scheduled kickoff times. Congratulations in advance to all future winners.
The fine print: Those submitting predictions for "You called it" must pick the winner correctly for their scores to be considered. Scoring is easy to calculate. The difference between a 20-17 prediction and a 31-14 outcome would be 14 points. We would calculate this by adding the difference between 20 and 31 to the difference between 17 and 14.
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
Arizona Cardinals (8-6) at New England Patriots (9-5), 1 p.m. ET
Kurt Warner has repeatedly lamented the difficulties associated with throwing the ball too frequently. He went further following the Week 15 defeat to Minnesota by suggesting the Cardinals lost because they failed to hold up at the line of scrimmage -- on both sides of the ball.
Warner might need the ground game even more against the Patriots. Wintry weather could make throwing the ball more difficult. The Cardinals would have another reason to tighten their formations if Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin sits out to rest a shoulder injury.
The Cardinals' frustration -- evident in comments from Warner, strong safety Adrian Wilson and others after the Minnesota game -- will grow if the Patriots blow them out at Gillette Stadium. Coach Ken Whisenhunt keeps talking about opportunities to demonstrate progress against playoff-tested teams. Beating one of those teams has proven elusive.
New York Jets (9-5) at Seattle Seahawks (3-11), 4:05 p.m. ET
Mike Holmgren's final home game as Seahawks coach should be memorable. Light snow and winds projected to exceed 23 miles per hour could turn Qwest Field into a winter wonderland.
The Seahawks have played hard for Holmgren down the stretch and that should continue against the Jets. An inspired performance from Seattle, backed by an emotional home crowd, should give the Seahawks a chance.
Brett Favre and the Jets have struggled in West Coast defeats against San Diego, Oakland and San Francisco.
San Francisco 49ers (5-9) at St. Louis Rams (2-12), 1 p.m. ET
The 49ers have won two of their last three games against the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome.
Shaun Hill's steady play at quarterback gives San Francisco an excellent chance at making it three times in four seasons. When the teams played in Week 11, the 49ers scored touchdowns on all five red zone possessions.
The emotional edge belongs to the 49ers as well. Rams fans figure to save their loudest cheers for 49ers receiver Isaac Bruce. The 49ers are also playing better on defense. Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin should have the advantage against the Rams' interior line.
In short, nothing about how these teams are playing would appear to favor the Rams.
Click here to access the NFL Pick Center, a service for ESPN Insiders where fans can view two different simulation models for every NFL game.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Mike Sando
Sando joined ESPN.com in 2007 after nine seasons covering the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune. He lives in the Seattle-Tacoma area with his wife and two sons.
