Monday Night's Rams - Niners Shoulda Been For Division
By Rams Nation's Don Ackerman

With their 10-5 record, the Niners had left the division wide open. The Rams, however, fell far short of holding up their end of the bargain. Not too long ago, the Rams controlled their own destiny. Had they won their games, tonight's game would have been for a division title. Instead, the Rams faltered losing hard-to-watch games versus Washington and Philadelphia and a very forgettable performance against Seattle.

But the Hollywood drama was there - the Rams started 0 and 5 and lost their starting quarterback. They were facing the undefeated Oakland Raiders with their third-string quarterback. The script was well written and the Rams rolled off five straight wins and evened their record at 5 and 5. Meanwhile, the Niners - who started off hot - cooled off. With each loss, the final game of the season loomed. It was almost like San Francisco was issuing a challenge. Losing to San Diego was the 49ers way of saying "Bring it." Or maybe they wanted the final game to be their chance to shine. Or maybe it's simple - they aren't great. In any case, the Niners lost and left the divisional door open.

But in 2002, the Rams' story was not a Disney movie and there was no happy ending. The early season drama was better suited for a soap opera. Oddly enough, the story went bad when the hero, #13, returned. After 5 weeks and 5 wins on the sideline, Kurt Warner returned to the helm when Marc Bulger was injured. Like in a soap opera, the good guy returned but he wasn't the same ol' hero we saw in '99. In fact, he wasn't even healthy enough to play as well as the Rams' third stringer. Amazingly, all the drama of getting back in the playoff hunt went for naught. But there was more....

On the bay in San Francisco, the Niners were struggling to find a kicker and struggling to win. Fortunately for the Niners, there is no competition in the reorganized NFC West. The Rams are now 6-9, the NFC newcomer Seahawks are also 6-9, and the cardiac Cardinals are 5-10.

But back to the game this week. This year, most expected the test for the Niners to be the hungry Saint Louis Rams. Instead, the true test for San Francisco will be a wild card team. For the Niners, this final game might interfere with a potential Saturday game and a short week. For the Rams, it can only be about what coulda been....

Ram on,
Don