We're two days away from a monstrous game for the 49ers and we've got our final injury report of the week.  A whole lot of probable players, but not much beyond that.  Barrows thinks we'll see Matt Wilhelm starting at the Ted linebacker spot over Takeo Spikes, who remains "day-to-day."  Wilhelm was solid last Thursday as a mid-game replacement for Spikes, so let's hope it carries over to Sunday.

49ers
Out
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Questionable
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Probable
WR Isaac Bruce (ankle)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)
S Michael Lewis (quadricep)
RB Michael Robinson (stinger)
WR Michael Crabtree (knee)
DT Demetric Evans (shoulder)
S Mark Roman (knee)
DE Justin Smith (back)
OT Adam Snyder (shoulder)

Packers
Doubtful
OT Allen Barbre (ankle)

Questionable
G Evan Dietrich-Smith (ankle)
RB Ahman Green (groin)

Probable
LB Desmond Bishop (ankle)
LB Brandon Chillar (hand)
TE Jermichael Finley (knee)
DE Cullen Jenkins (ankle)
DE Johnny Jolly (back)
LB Brad Jones (concussion)
LB Aaron Kampman (concussion)
RB John Kuhn (hand)
LB Clay Matthews (jaw)
LB Brady Poppinga (quadricep)
T Mark Tauscher (knee)
C Scott Wells (concussion)
CB Charles Woodson (hip)

More photos » by Nell Redmond - AP

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Praise be to the Miami Dolphins for taking care of business last night against the Carolina Panthers.  The Panthers came into the game as 3 point favorites and almost pulled off an impressive comeback.  The Dolphins jumped on top 14-3, before the Panthers crept to within a field goal.  However, Ricky Williams was simply too much for the Panthers.  Williams finished the game with 119 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.

Chad Henne was solid enough to get past a rather ugly performance from our man Jake Delhomme.  Delhomme finished the game 19/42 for 227 yards, a touchdown and an interception.  The Panthers rushing attack was solid yet again, but it was just not enough to overcome a solid performance from the Dolphins.  Delhomme and the Panthers had a shot to tie it up at the end of the game, but Delhomme couldn't complete a 26 yard hail mary at the end of the game.

Week 12 - @ NY Jets
This is a very intriguing matchup for the Panthers.  After a hot start, the Jets are struggling with two straight losses, but the Panthers haven't exactly wowed folks.  The Jets head into Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots on Sunday so we might get a better idea of where they're at.  I've felt the Jets were overrated all season long, but I'm certainly hoping they step up in ten days when they host the Panthers.  The good news for 49ers fans, aside from the draft pick perk is the fact that the Panthers were tied with the 49ers in the wildcard race, so every Panthers loss remains an additional plus in that battle.

Alright, I'll be honest, this is not even close to an original idea.  I was over at Acme Packing Company (our Packers blog) and came across an intriguing FanPost from last week.  The author went through the various matchups for the week and who Packers fans should be cheering for.  Given that we're getting into the playoff chase, I think it makes sense to put something like this together each week.  At least as long as the 49ers remain in the playoff chase!

NFC West Standings
1. Arizona Cardinals (6-3)
2. San Francisco 49ers (4-5)
3. Seattle Seahawks (3-6)

NFC Wildcard Standings
1. Philadelphia Eagles (5-4)
2. Atlanta Falcons (5-4)
3. Green Bay Packers (5-4)
4. NY Giants (5-4)
5. San Francisco 49ers (4-5)
6. Chicago Bears (4-5)
7. Carolina Panthers (4-6)

I realize the 3-6 teams are only a game back of the 4-5 teams, but for wildcard purposes, teams behind the 49ers will remain off the list for now.  The Panthers remain on the list because they played early this week, and of course we have the Panther Watch (quick recap coming a little later this morning).  After the jump, we go through this weekend's matchups.  As for the division, the Seahawks were swept by Arizona and really struggling.  If they beat Minnesota this weekend I'll add them in to this guide next week.

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The 49ers and Packers will be squaring off in a couple days in a battle of two teams battling for a playoff spot.  The 49ers have a better shot than the Packers at winning their division, but it doesn't make this game any less important.  Acme Packing Company is the SB Nation Packers blog, and Brandon runs things over there.  Big thanks to Brandon for taking a few minutes to answer some of our questions.

Fooch: The Packers lead the league in sacks allowed.  Can you explain this problem and how (or even if) the Packers are working to solve it?

APC: The offensive tackles have been the problem. Veteran LT Chad Clifton has only played about half the snaps, and he's not as good as he was a couple years ago. Unfortunately his replacements, either LG Daryn Colledge has slid over or rookie OL T.J. Lang, have been beaten badly. Lang has shown some promise, and played well last week as the starting right tackle, which he may do again this week, but he's still playing like a rookie. RT Allen Barbre started the first 7 games, but he's currently buried deep on the bench. The Packers recently resigned veteran RT Mark Tauscher, who tore his ACL last December, but he reinjured that same knee. He could be back as soon as next week. Once Clifton is finally over the bad ankle that's been bothering him this season, and Tauscher returns, the pass protection should improve.

Fooch: The Packers are fourth in the league in defensive interceptions, thanks in large part to Charles Woodson and Al Harris.  Some folks have come over to NN and said Woodson would likely cover Vernon Davis.  Is that accurate, and if so, do you know the best ways for teams to beat the Packers secondary?

APC: Woodson doesn't play like a conventional corner. While Harris will always lineup opposite the outside receiver, Woodson is often in the slot. Against the Cowboys, Woodson lined up mostly against Jason Witten, and the Packers played a lot of nickel. But that alignment was unusual for them and probably designed specifically for Witten. I expect they'll cover Davis with a linebacker or safety. However their best LB in pass coverage is Brandon Chillar, who hasn't played at all the last two weeks due to a broken hand. He can play with a cast, and he was active last week, but they didn't use him.

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Ahhh, it's getting closer and closer to the weekend! Not only am I confident in the 49ers this weekend but on Saturday I'll be watching UFC 106, so this weekend is looking pretty stacked at this point. Still, Sunday is my most anticipated event of course, I only wish it was at Candlestick so I could be there to watch it. My voice is just fully recovering since I completely destroyed it during the Bears game and I wish I could get another chance to ruin it on Sunday. I suppose if the Niners end up getting beat badly I'll have a reason to scream at the TV at least, no? Anyway, I have a decent amount of links for you today, I think a few previews are coming out and I shouldn't be in a hurry for once, though I am pretty tired. Note that I completely refuse to re-read these links each day so if I make grammatical errors well... it's 2:15 AM currently, so there. Here's some linkage.

Upon further review it seems like the 2005 QB class wasn't so bad at all. This article makes some good points but um... I'm not really convinced. It stunk. (SacBee.com)

This is my number one concern for Sunday--stopping Green Bay's YAC! The 49ers defense outside of Patrick Willis and Manny Lawson have looked slower than ever. (MecruryNews.com)

Speaking of YAC, WR Michael Crabtree is looking to get some more of it as he looks to improve his game. (Yahoo.com)

Crabtree is concerned with wins more than anything, not necessarily touchdowns. If you didn't know, he doesn't have one yet this season. He'll get it on Sunday. (49ers.com)

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Thursday Night Football returns tonight with another riveting matchup: MIami Dolphins @ Carolina Panthers.  One has to wonder if we'll get a better performance this week than we saw with the 49ers and Bears last week.  Either way, it's a big game since the Carolina Panthers are involved.  The Panthers are 3 point favorites, and a loss would be huge for draft pick purposes.

It's going to be an interesting one for the Dolphins, who placed Ronnie Brown on IR yesterday.  Ricky Williams will get the start, but what is particularly interesting is the fact that Kory Sheets will be the #3 running back and might actually see a little bit of action, given the Dolphins heavy rushing attack.  I'm sure that will be of particular intrigued to many folks here.

If you don't feel like discussing the game, you have a variety of options at your disposal.  After the jump I've posted the Thursday injury report, followed by the post-practice transcript from Coach Singletary.  Additionally, if you missed it, Florida Danny is back with a vengeance with the 49ers' team rankings from FO.  All sorts of goodness is available here at Niners Nation today.

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 After a bit of a hiatus for the purposes of working on my actual dissertation (as opposed to my weekly Niners Nation ones), I'm back in the saddle for the rest of the season. To some of you, this will bring great joy; to others, great consternation. Either way, expect to be seeing a lot of posts from me for the next 7 weeks (and more?).

Before I get started with the team rankings, I just want to give you guys a heads up on my new and improved posting schedule, which results from (a) the fact that all of Football Outsiders' (FO) stats now have a high enough sample size to be considered trustworthy, and (b) trying to cut down on the length of my aforementioned dissertations. Here's the new schedule that will begin after this week's Packers game:

As I said, this schedule begins next week. Hopefully, it'll accomplish my two stated goals of (a) providing you with more - and more-relevant - statistical information about the 49ers, and (b) cut down on the length of each individual post.

As for this week, I'm just going to do this team rankings post (without any of the situational splits) and the game matchup post (with some of the situational splits). The game matchup post will be up on Friday so you have two full days to argue about how the 49ers are going to win because of the matchups or how the 49ers are going to win despite the matchups.

OK, housekeeping is done. Vamos!

After the jump, I'll present the 49ers' stats and rankings through 9 games...

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More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

Dick Jauron was the first head coach to be fired this season, but who will be the next? (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

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Being an NFL head coach is a tenuous job to say the least. In a league where most owners are only concerned with what you've done for them lately, head coaches are routinely fired after every season and sometimes even during it. Most likely you have already heard that Dick Jauron has been let go from his position as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. After going 7-9 in his first three seasons, and an embarrassing loss to Tennessee last week, Jauron is the first head coach to be fired this season.

Buffalo had hoped to improve their offensive production after signing wide receiver Terrell Owens to a one year contract. But after spending the entire offseason installing a no huddle offense, Jauron fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert on the eve of the regular season, and promoted quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt to the position. The results have been unsatisfactory to everyone, as the Bills rank 29th in total offense. Jauron's failures on the offensive side of the ball most likely doomed him to this fate.

He finishes his stay in Buffalo 60-82 as a head coach, and after signing an extension before the season he still has $6 Million remaining on his contract. The fact that he still has so much money left on his deal will probably prevent Buffalo from going after one of the big name coaches to replace him. The Bills have shown a tendency in the past to give former coordinators an opportunity as a head coach, and that is the most likely move for them in this scenario.

In the interim they have promoted defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to head coach for the remainder of the regular season. Fewell has been the team's defensive coordinator since 2006, and now becomes Buffalo's first African American head coach. The 47 year old has never been a head coach on any level, and he will make his debut this week when the Bills travel to Jacksonville.

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And at long last we arrive at the final installment of our Remembering the Genius series here on NinersNation. If you're just finding out about this segment now, Remembering the Genius is a temporary segment that we usually run on Wednesdays, but are getting up on Thursday this week largely due to my own carelessness. Arne Christensen, who posts here as arnec, interviewed David Harris about Bill Walsh, and we're running the interview here, while it lasts, which as it turns out is until today. You can read the earlier parts here.

And as before, I think it's important that you have this information and these links available every week:

Arne Christensen is the author of several e-books describing the Bill Walsh 49er teams, from 1979 through 1988, with a focus on the three Super Bowl winners. These e-books are available for purchase online. Arne also runs a blog about the 49ers' history, which can be viewed here. A few months ago he spoke with David Harris, author of The Genius (also available on Amazon), a biography of Walsh focused on his 10 years coaching the 49ers.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Arne for graciously allowing us to publish these on the website, and I'd like to thank David Harris for also supporting, and not to mention enlightening us with this interview.

Please enjoy Part 5, after the jump.

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More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

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After enough requests, now seemed as good a time as any to roll out a Greg Manusky Approval Rating poll.  We don't have a graphic for it yet, but I'll work on that.

For those who didn't know, Football Outsiders posts weekly DVOA ratings for offenses and defenses, and the 49ers are second in the NFL in total defensive DVOA.  They stand third against the rush and eighth against the pass.  Although there are certain areas where the defense can still improve (namely consistency), the swarming, aggressive nature of the defense seems to have them playing fairly well for the most part.

For this first approval rating, I'm curious what has caused the improvements in the defense?  Obviously they've had some tough games, but overall, the defense is better than last season.  The 49ers defense was ranked 14th last season when Nolan was fired, and finished the season ranked 18th.  They were 20th against the pass and 17th against the run.  Fairly middle of the road.  In looking at the current depth chart, we've had a couple big changes, but really most of the defense remains the same in terms of personnel.  The two biggest changes since day 1 are: 1) Dashon Goldson moving into the starting lineup in place of Mark Roman, and 2) Shawntae Spencer returning to the starting lineup ahead of Dre Bly (and Walt Harris since he was injured).  The second change was more recently when Tarell Brown moved into the starting lineup over Nate Clements.

I think those changes have certainly impacted the defense, but enough to sit at the #2 position in all the league?  I guess I'm wondering how much credit does Greg Manusky get?  Aside from the big name coordinators, you don't hear a lot about your defensive coordinator.  The offensive coordinators seem to get significantly more press, and it often seems easier to assess the OC as you're watching the game.

I remember there being some talk about how Manusky was never really completely free under Nolan, and that under Singletary he's been given a lot more latitude to run the defense as he wants.  In general it seems like Singletary gets a lot of the credit for positives with the 49ers, while others take the blame.  Given the improvements, who (or what) gets the credit for the 49ers general defensive prowess in 2009?