FanPost

Hello Bitter Rivals!




Charles Martel, staff writer of Turf Show Times here.

I thought I would stop by and offer a few insights into the looming MNF clash, from the Rams perspective and say hello to a most worthy adversary.

This game is being billed as a 'must-win' for both teams. The 49ers need to catch the Cardinals and the Seahawks and there is no better way to do that than with a divisional win. The Rams on the other hand, just need a win...now. The fans are not happy. For the first time since Jeff Fisher took over as head coach, there is a lot of fan angst directed at him. Skidding to a 1 and 3 record, if the Rams have any hope of accomplishing anything this year, the wins must start now. The lights of Monday night, just got that much more intense.

From the Rams perspective, this season so far has been the diametric opposite of what we the fans expected. We expected a stout defense and a ball control, run centric offense. What we have seen so far is a pass happy offense and a strangely lethargic defense. A defense that is giving up huge chunks of yardage on the ground, though we do rank #1 vs the pass. The most disturbing stat for us is the single...just one, uno sack of the year. Even that was only because of a fumbled snap in the Minnesota game. Everyone is mystified, even the players...

"We’d be lying if we said it wasn’t a concern," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "It’s something we talk about. We talk about affecting the quarterback."

The dearth of sacks though, is not what is causing the losses. Sloppy, undisciplined play is. When I watch these Rams games, I see a lot of talent, but little teamwork. That situation, never wins many games. A certain amount of it is expected though, since for the third straight year, the Rams are the youngest team in the league. Jeff Fisher seems to realize this and appears to be cracking down after the loss to the Eagles. This past week he released perennial problem child Ray Ray Armstrong and signed veteran OLB Will Herring. James Laurinaitis again...

"I think what it says to the younger players, I think a lot of them were shocked by it," Laurinaitis said. "I think it was a move by the head coach where he wasn’t satisfied with whatever he was bringing to the table. The penalties definitely hurt him, but I think it brings a lot of these young guys -- there’s always cuts in camp, but usually cuts in camp people say that was a battle or that was a close one. But to have a guy who had been in a special teams role, in a big role on special teams, to see our coach be like 'I’m done with this' kind of put them on edge, like 'if I don’t straighten up my house, I can go, too.' I think that’s the message he sent."

Another player hinted on twitter that practices were quite brutal this week. I don't think Rams Park was a very pleasant place to be over these last few days. The Rams are at a bit of a crossroads. Their play this year has been wildly sporadic, looking like Super Bowl contenders one moment and cellar dwellers the next. Which one will show up tomorrow night?

What we see from the 49ers

The first thing we see is a very long and storied rivalry. Truthfully, we are also jealous of the current, white hot rivalry between San Fransisco and Seattle. That is our rightful place. We have to earn our way back into that, though don't we?

The second thing that we see is a very talented, but aging group. It is legit to ask if the Rams are truly in the ascendency and also if the 49ers are descending. The 49ers have plenty of fight left in them, but they appear to to ripe for the picking.

Lastly (and sorry to bring this up), the 49ers front office, seems to be in disarray. As per the norm, teams do their damnedest to keep a lid on any internal problems they may have, but the water seems to be reaching boiling point. Am I wrong?

Questions and Predictions

It is super-cliched to say that this game will be 'won in the trenches', but this game will prove the veracity of that cliche. All of the lines from both teams have question marks surrounding them. Can the 49ers Dline generate pressure? Will the Rams Oline be as porous as it has been? Can the Fearsome Foursome 2.0 stop Gore? Will Kaepernick be running for his life?

The big uglies, will decide this game. Protecting quarterbacks, establishing/stopping the run. Which squads will step up?

I think the Rams will get their act together and in the end, this will be a bitter, hard hitting and close game, worthy of this long rivalry and Monday night primetime.

I will take the Rams 28-27

Here is hoping for an injury free game.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.