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)

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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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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 last week's short week, we return to a fairly normal practice report (instead of Monday being the Wednesday injury report).  The biggest non-practice info for the Packers is that defensive end Cullen Jenkins sat out practice today.  He played last week and I think it's safe to say he's getting some veteran's rest.  Other than that, the Packers had some limited guys, but most of those folks usually end up playing.

The 49ers get Demetric Evans and Glen Coffee back this week, but neither has been quite the impact player some folks might hope for.  Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary.  After the jump, I've posted both coordinators' post-practice transcripts.

49ers
Out (Definitely Will Not Play)
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Did not Participate in Practice
DT Aubrayo Franklin (not injury related)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Limited Participation in Practice
DE Justin Smith (back)

Full Participation in Practice
WR Isaac Bruce (ankle, elbow)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)
WR Michael Crabtree (knee)
DT Demetric Evans (shoulder)
S Mark Roman (knee)
OT Adam Snyder (shoulder)

Packers
Did not Participate in Practice
LB Desmond Bishop (ankle)
DE Cullen Jenkins (ankle)
LB Brady Poppinga (quadricep)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Brad Jones (concussion)
LB Clay Matthews (jaw)
CB Charles Woodson (hip)

Full Participation in Practice
LB Brandon Chillar (hand)
TE Jermichael Finley (knee)
LB Aaron Kampman (concussion)
RB John Kuhn (hand)
OT Mark Tauscher (knee)

After the jump we've got Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye's post-practice transcripts...

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And we're back to take a look at the composite week 10 NFL power rankings.  My favorite ranking has to belong to Vic Carucci of NFL.com.  Vic has the 49ers ranked 22nd for the second straight week.  That actually doesn't bother me.  What I find amusing is the fact that for two straight weeks he's had the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the 49ers.  Last week he had the Seahawks 20th, this week he has them 21st.

When a team has a better record than another team AND has beaten that team, they should be higher in subjective power rankings, don't you think?  Each week we put together SBN Football power rankings.  For this week I ranked the 49ers 20th and the Seahawks 25th.  And of course I had the Bears behind the 49ers.  One ranking I've had some difficulty with is the Jacksonville Jaguars.  They're winning games, but it's hard to understand why.  So, for now they're ahead of the 49ers, at least until their matchup two weekends from now.

ESPN - #19 (20) - The Week 11 game against the Packers recalls fateful 2005 draft featuring Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers.

• Arizona - #7 (10)
  
• Seattle - #25 (25)
• St. Louis - #30 (30)

The Big Lead - #20 (22) - Five turnovers by the visiting team and the 49ers still almost gave it away at the end. Not a good harbinger for the rest of the season.

• Arizona - #9 (11)
• Seattle - #24 (24)
  
• St. Louis - #29 (32)

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This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL RedZone channel.  If you want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations hurry up and get yourself Comcast's NFL RedZone Channel.

Considering how little scoring there was last Thursday, it shouldn't surprise anybody that the red zone opportunities were far and few between for both the 49ers and the Bears.  On offense, the 49ers were 1/3 with the one coming on Frank Gore's 14 yard touchdown run after the Tarell Brown interception.  On defense, the 49ers kept the Bears out of the end zone on two red zone trips, and in fact, held them to only 3 points on the two trips.  The second of those trips culminated in the game clinching Jay Cutler interception in the end zone.

I think it's safe to say that we won't be seeing a five interception performance from Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.  Rodgers has one 3-interception performance on the season (@ TB), two single interception games, and six games without an interception.  That's not to say he won't struggle against the 49ers defense, but in reality, he probably won't turn the ball over too much.

The 49ers defense seems to be deep into bend but don't break territory.  Solid quarterbacks seem to get plenty of yards against the 49ers (Cutler, Manning, Schaub, Favre, Warner, Ryan), but aside from Ryan, the 49ers defense has kept team's out of the end zone when needed.  I think Aaron Rodgers qualifies as a solid quarterback.  I fully expect him to rack up a fair number of yards (250+), but the question is whether he'll be able to convert once the Packers get into the red zone.

Prior to the Bears win, Football Outsiders ranked the 49ers 7th in red zone passing defense.  I'd imagine this number improved with the performance against the Bears (not updated yet), but either way, the issue remains the same: Will the Packers offensive playmakers be able to get open and hurt the 49ers?  The Packers biggest weapons include WR Donald Driver, WR Greg Jennings and TE Donald Lee.  They have others but I'm just pointing the big names out for now.

One thing also to keep in mind in the red zone is that Aaron Rodgers has actually shown some fairly solid abilities as a scrambling quarterback.  He currently has 229 rushing yards (6.2 ypc) with three rushing touchdowns.  The 49ers have the athletes to keep an eye on him, but if the Packers get down close on goal to go, the 49ers better keep a close eye on #12.  Maybe he's not quite on the scrambling level of he who shall not be named (who obviously can scramble better than anybody else, much like he has the best pump fake, the best hard count, and the best whatever else you want), but clearly Rodgers is no slouch in the pocket.

So will the 49ers continue their rather solid ability of containing quarterbacks in the red zone?  Or will touchdowns be coming as deep bombs and it just won't matter?  Ok, I won't be quite so negative as that.  The Packers offense is a bit inconsistent at times, but if the 49ers defense sticks to bend but don't break, will that be enough?

The 49ers returned to practice today, and as usual we had post-practice press conferences.  There's nothing too shocking to report, although a few notable comments worth at least discussing.

On the injury front, Glen Coffee will be back.  I'm not sure how big a difference that will make, but it's at least worth mentioning.  Also, Takeo Spikes remains day-to-day, and if he can't go on Sunday Matt Wilhelm would start at the Ted linebacker position.  Spikes had to leave Thursday's game and Wilhelm was quite solid as his replacement, finishing with 5 tackles, including 1 for a loss.

In terms of playing time, it sounds like Isaac Bruce will be playing, but he's definitely fallen down the depth chart.  It sounds like Bruce is now the #4 receivers, although that's not 100% clear.  He's definitely not the 1 or 2 though.  Singletary spoke with Bruce about this and Bruce seemed reasonable about it:

On how Bruce reacted:
"When I talked to Isaac about the change, he was very positive about it. He said, ‘I feel that Josh Morgan is ready. He's ready for this.' He's been working hard, and Isaac has been working with him to get better. I didn't expect anything different from Isaac. He's a class individual, and he's all about the team."

Given his play, I guess there wasn't much else Bruce could do in the situation, but at least he's handling it with a certain level of class.  He has to realize his playing days are quickly coming to an end.  He's a free agent after this season, and while I don't think the 49ers will be re-signing him, I'm curious if he gets any other interest around the league.

The transcript is after the jump...

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