Niners Look to Make Rams First Victim of Singletary Era

Football Betting Lines

11/14/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inexperience and poor play calling cost the San Francisco 49ers an upset victory last Monday night. The team will try to recover on a short week as it hosts the St. Louis Rams at Candlestick Park this Sunday in a battle of 2-7 teams.

Both the 49ers and Rams are working under interim coaches. San Francisco's Mike Singletary took over for Mike Nolan on October 20, while Jim Haslett replaced Scott Linehan almost a month earlier, back on September 29.

While Haslett has experience as a head coach, having served in that capacity in New Orleans from 2000-05, Singletary is in the midst of his first-ever stint as an NFL head coach.

His team has dropped the first two games of his 49er tenure, although it fell a yard short of giving him that first win on Monday night versus the Arizona Cardinals. After blowing a 24-23 edge with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter, Niners quarterback Shaun Hill, making his first start of the season, got San Francisco down to the goal line late in the game. However, with no timeouts, Hill and the offense had trouble getting set up to spike the ball, finally doing so with 20 ticks left.

Running back Frank Gore then lost a yard trying to go off left tackle, and after the play was reviewed to see if Gore was down by contact, Michael Robinson took a handoff with four seconds left up the middle, but was stopped shy of the end zone as time expired.

Singletary and offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who calls the plays, have both taken heat since for how San Francisco handled its red zone visit. Nonetheless, the 49ers lost their sixth straight game, 29-24.

Martz will face his former club for just the second time, as he served as the Rams' offensive coordinator in 1999 and then as their head coach from 2000-05. As Detroit's offensive coordinator in 2006, his Lions lost a 41-34 shootout in St. Louis.

This will also serve as wideout Isaac Bruce's first game against his former club. Bruce spent the first 14 seasons of his career with St. Louis (1994-2007) before being released after 197 games with the team in the offseason and signing with the 49ers. He caught 942 passes with the Rams, posting 14,109 receiving yards and 84 touchdowns -- all franchise records.

The Rams have struggled as of late under Haslett and will try to avoid their second four-game losing streak of the season. St. Louis opened the 2008 season with four straight setbacks, leading to Linehan's dismissal, and then won its first two under Haslett.

However, the Rams have dropped three in a row since, getting outscored 104-32 in that span. That includes last weekend's 47-3 road loss to the New York Jets, who led 40-0 at halftime.

St. Louis managed just 200 yards of offense in the loss, and it is averaging just 264 total yards per game during its losing streak, while allowing an average of 410.

Rams quarterback Marc Bulger was pulled from Sunday's blowout loss after the first half. He completed just six of his 13 pass attempts for 65 yards with an interception and a fumble lost. He was replaced by Trent Green, but Haslett said on Monday that Bulger will start this game.

This is the first of two meetings between the 49ers and Rams this year, as St. Louis will host San Francisco in Week 16.

SERIES HISTORY

The Rams hold a 60-54-2 edge in their regular season series with the 49ers, and earned an unconventional split of last year's home-and-home. St. Louis was a 17-16 home loser when the teams met in Week 2, but picked up a 13-9 decision in the return matchup in Week 11. The 49ers' last home win over the 49ers came in 2006.

In addition to the regular season series, the teams have met once in the postseason, with San Francisco earning a 30-3 home triumph over the then-Los Angeles Rams in the 1989 NFC Championship.

Haslett was 4-2 against the 49ers while serving as head coach of the Saints (2000-2005). Singletary will be meeting both Haslett and the Rams for the first time as a head coach.

WHEN THE RAMS HAVE THE BALL

It is no surprise that St. Louis' current skid has come with running back Steven Jackson hobbled. Jackson (525 rushing yards, 4 TD) ran for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the Rams' two wins this year, but suffered a thigh injury versus Dallas on October 19. He missed the next game due to the injury before returning to face the Cardinals on November 2. However, he was held to just 17 yards on seven carries before sitting out last weekend's loss. Jackson has only been able to practice on a limited basis this week, and Haslett won't play him unless he can go at full speed. Without Jackson and Travis Minor (concussion), Antonio Pittman had a team-high 13 carries for 28 yards versus the Jets. Bulger, meanwhile, was benched for the second time this season on Sunday, as Linehan sat him earlier in the year. Bulger (1373 passing yards, 6 TD, 6 INT) has struggled all season and St. Louis is ranked 29th in the NFL in passing at 163.4 yards per game. Wide receiver Torry Holt (33 receptions) had just one catch for five yards last week, extending his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 147 games, the fourth-longest active streak in the NFL. He has yet to break 100-yards receiving this year, though, and has just two touchdown catches on the season. After three breakout games under Haslett, rookie wide receiver Donnie Avery (25 receptions) has been held to just five receptions and 55 yards in two games after totaling 14 catches, 291 yards and two touchdowns in his previous three tests.

Should Jackson return for this game, he will face a defense that has allowed just 85 rushing yards total over its last two tests to up its ranking versus the run this year to 16th at 104.7 yards per game allowed. San Francisco yielded just 46 yards on the ground to Arizona, but like most teams this year, had no answer for Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. Warner shredded through San Francisco's secondary for 328 passing yards and three touchdowns. Although reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Patrick Willis (82 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) had a game-high 11 tackles and defensive end Justin Smith (47 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT) had seven stops, San Francisco failed to pressure Warner and have posted just one sack in its last four games. The 49ers didn't intercept the MVP candidate either, and have just eight on the season despite possessing two former Pro Bowl corners in Walt Harris (37 tackles, 1 INT) and Nate Clements (32 tackles, 1 INT). San Francisco will try to improve those numbers against the Rams' struggling offense, while Willis, the NFL's second-leading tackler, will run down anyone on the Rams who touches the ball. San Francisco's secondary, which is allowing 229.9 passing yards per game (23rd overall) is relatively healthy, although safety Dashon Goldson has missed two straight due to a knee injury.

WHEN THE 49ERS HAVE THE BALL

San Francisco had a lead before its offense even stepped on the field Monday, as Allen Rossum took the game's opening kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown. It was the second-longest kickoff return in club history, behind only Abe Washington's 105-yard return on November 8, 1959 versus the Los Angeles Rams. San Francisco's offense wasn't really the problem on Monday, though Hill threw a costly interception late and had two for the game. He finished with 217 yards and two touchdown passes, connecting with rookie wideout Josh Morgan (15 receptions, 2 TD) on a 31-yard throw as well as with Vernon Davis (17 receptions) on an 18-yard scoring strike, the tight end's first of the season. Hill was starting in place of J.T. O'Sullivan (1678 passing yards, 8 TD, 11 INT), who had been under center for the first eight games of the year. Gore (728 rushing yards, 33 receptions, 5 total TD) remains the 49ers' workhorse, as he is third in the NFL with 1,045 yards from scrimmage. He ran for 99 yards against the Cardinals. With Morgan (groin) and Arnaz Battle (foot) out for this game because of injury, Jason Hill could get more looks this weekend. He had a season-high seven receptions for 84 yards versus the Cardinals. Despite being without tackles Barry Sims (ankle) and Jonas Jennings (shoulder), San Francisco didn't allow a sack for the first time this season against Arizona, not bad for a unit that has allowed an NFL high-tying 34 sacks this year. Sims was inactive for last Monday's game and is questionable for this test, while Jennings was active but did not play after missing the previous six games.

The Rams have had trouble getting turnovers, as they have picked off just six passes this year, four of those by safety Oshiomogho Atogwe. Corners Fakhir Brown (23 tackles, 1 INT) and Jason Craft (32 tackles) both dropped possible interceptions versus New York. A lack of pressure on the quarterback could be to blame. The Rams didn't sack Jets quarterback Brett Favre once and have posted just 18 on the season. St. Louis was also torched by New York's ground game, allowing Thomas Jones to run for 149 of the Jets' 206 rushing yards. The rams are ranked 30th in the NFL versus the run, allowing 161 yards per game. Second-year linebacker Quinton Culberson (30 tackles) led the way last week with 11 tackles, while safety Corey Chavous (49 tackles) added 10. Defensive ends Leonard Little (12 tackles, 4 1/2 sacks) and Chris Long (31 tackles, 4 sacks) have been St. Louis' main source of pressure, and Little has eight sacks in his past nine outings versus the 49ers. Long, the second overall pick of the 2008 draft, leads all rookies in sacks. Defensive tackle La'Roi Glover (21 tackles) played in his 184th consecutive game last weekend, the sixth longest active streak in the NFL. Corner Tye Hill has missed the last five games due to a knee injury and is doubtful for this weekend. The Rams have allowed a league-high 282 points this year.

FANTASY FOCUS

With both teams having subpar defenses, some diamonds in the rough could be found this weekend. There will be fewer gems for St. Louis, as Jackson didn't do so well two weeks ago while less than 100 percent. He likely won't be at that number again this weekend, and will have trouble escaping Willis and company if he's even active. Though Bulger has had past success versus San Francisco, he appears to be on a short leash. Holt and Avery's value is hurt by that, but the Niners have given up plenty of points this year, giving both receivers sleeper value.

Gore is a must-start and should put up some good numbers versus the Rams' embattled defense. Davis caught his first TD pass of the season just one game after being yanked out early by Singletary. Perhaps he feels challenged, but wait one more game before taking a chance on the former first-round pick. Shaun Hill had turnover problems in his first start of the year, but should build on last week's career-high passing effort versus the Rams. San Francisco wideouts are tough to start, because the club has been spreading the ball out to as many as five different receivers at a time along with Gore.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Both the Rams and 49ers were expected to bounce back after poor years last season, and obviously neither has done that. Both coaches have reason not to let their players quit, as both have interim tags next to their names. While Singletary is still carving out his mark with San Francisco, Haslett has put it on his players to get better. With regards to this week, the Rams are coming off a deflating blowout loss, while the 49ers try to rebound from a close defeat to a first-place team. It may be hard to tell, but San Francisco is the better team and should bring home Singletary's first victory.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: 49ers 27, Rams 14