The San Francisco 49ers have fired head coach Mike Singletary.  The 49ers were 5-10 this year on Singletary’s watch which has them tied for last place in the awful NFC West with the Cardinals.  Singletary seemed to be playing way to conservative offensively as the Niners only averaged 17.8 points per game under him this year while they allowed 22.6 points per game.  The 49ers were 18-22 (45%) under Singletary in his three years with the team.  The 49ers have replaced Singletary with 42-year old defensive line coach Jim Tomsula.  He has been with the 49ers since 2007 as the D-Line Coach.  Tomsula was the head coach of the NFL Europe’s Rhein Fire in 2006 and he was 6-4 that season.  The Niners play the Cardinals in San Francisco next week to finish up the season.

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t play too well on either side of the football yesterday in St. Louis.  Troy Smith started this game at QB and he completed 7 of 19 passes for 153 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 28 yards (5.6 ypc) in this game.  Troy Smith fumbled the ball three times in this game, but while he didn’t lose any of them one of them resulted in a safety.  Alex Smith finished up the game at QB as he completed 10 of 15 passes for 120 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also lost a fumble.  Brian Westbrook led the way on the ground for the Niners in this game with 40 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 3 yards (1.5 avg).  Anthony Dixon pitched in with 17 yards rushing on 6 carries (2.8 ypc) in this game.  WR Michael Crabtree led the way in the passing game for the Niners with 122 yards on 6 grabs (20.3 avg) with a TD grab!  TE Vernon Davis pitched in with 70 yards receiving on 3 grabs (23.3 avg).  The Niners finished up with 85 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 34 passes for 246 yards as they only had the ball for 26:52 in this game.

LB Patrick Willis led the way for the 49ers on D in this game with 12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  CB Nate Clements (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), DE Justin Smith (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and OLB Manny Lawson (6 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) also had decent games for the 49ers on D.  The Rams finished up with 60 yards rushing on 28 carries (2.1 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 37 passes for 275 yards.  The 49ers also had a big plays on special teams when Ted Ginn returned a punt 78 yards for a TD.  The 49ers were officially eliminated from the playoffs as they are now 5-10 on the season.

The NFC West sucks so bad this year that this is a big game for both teams.  The Rams hold a 1 game lead on the Niners in the NFC West setting up a battle of attrition this Sunday in St. Louis.  The 49ers are switching back to Troy Smith at QB for this game.  The 49ers are only 1-6 on the road tis year while the Rams are a solid 4-3 at home.  If the Rams win out they will win the NFC West.  The Niners won the first meeting 23-20 between these teams in San Francisco.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Rams are giving up 113.1 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so the Niners would be smart to come out running the ball with Brian Westbrook and Anthony Dixon.  Troy Smith is also a solid runner so he might take off a few times this Sunday.  Smith likes getting the ball to his TEs so look for Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker to get a lot of looks in this game as the Rams are giving up 224.3 yards passing per game so far this year.  If Smith has time to throw the ball (the Rams have 39 sacks this year) then he might take some shots down the field to Josh Morgan and Michael Crabtree.

When the Rams have the ball:  Patrick Willis, Takeo Spikes and the D-Line are going to have to take care of Stephen Jackson so look for some high impact collisions.  The Niners must get a good pass rush on Sam Bradford or he will likely pick the secondary apart.  The Niners are giving up 230.1 yards passing per game so far this year and opposing QBs have a QB Rating of 92.2 against them so far.  Bradford doesn’t really have a favorite receiver which makes him hard to defend because you can’t really double anyone.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 23, 49ERS 20

The 49ers have placed 29-year old OLB Travis LaBoy on the Injured Reserve List with a knee sprain.  LaBoy played in 14 games for the Niners this year and he had 28 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 5 sacks.  The Niners are going to miss LaBoy’s pass rushing ability the rest of the year.

The 49ers have placed 37-year old kicker Joe Nedney on Injured Reserve with a knee injury, ending his season.  Nedney played in 9 games for the Niners this year and he connected on 11 of 13 field goals and 17 of 17 extra points good for 50 points.  But with the way 31-year old Jeff Reed is kicking the ball, Nedney may have played his last game for the 49ers.  Reed has played in 3 games for the Niners and he is 7 of 7 on field goals and 6 of 6 on extra points good for 27 points.

The 49ers didn’t look like they wanted to play last night in San Diego.  They got a TD during garbage time or they would have gotten shut out.  Alex Smith was pretty bad in this game as he completed 19 of 29 passes for 165 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Anthony Dixon led the way on the ground last night for the Niners with 33 yards rushing on 5 carries (6.6 ypc).  Brian Westbrook pitched in with 8 carries for 22 yards (2.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 8 yards (4.0 avg).  WR Josh Morgan led the way in the passing game for the Niners last night with 7 catches for 106 yards (15.1 avg).  The Niners only could muster 61 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 29 passes for 131 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 22:49.

LB Takeo Spikes (12 tackles), LB Patrick Willis (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and safety Dashon Goldson (8 tackles) led the way for the Niners on D last night.  The Chargers finished up with 108 yards rushing on 41 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 25 passes for 266 yards.  The Niners are now 5-9 on the year and they still have a shot at making the playoffs which just tells you how badly the NFC West sucks.

The 49ers dominated the Seahawks last weekend (40-21) to keep themselves alive in the NFC West but this is a “must win game” for both teams.  That is because the Chargers pounded the Chiefs 31-0 last week, which has them one game behind the Chiefs in the NFC West.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game tonight:

When the 49ers have the ball:  I think the Niners will come out running the football a bit with Brian Westbrook and Anthony Dixon early in the game.  If it doesn’t work though I think they will shift gears and go to the air.  TEs Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker have been the go-to receivers for the Niners as of late and I think Alex Smith will be looking their way a lot in this game.  The Chargers have a good pass rush so I see Smith also looking for Westbrook a lot of the backfield in this game.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Niners are going to have to go all out to put pressure on Philip Rivers because if he has time to throw the ball he’s going to likely carve up the secondary.  It looks like Antonio Gates will miss this game, but Rivers has more than enough guys to target to keep the offense purring.  The front seven will be in charge of dealing with Mike Tolbert, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles and they will have their hands full when the Chargers decide to run the ball.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 27, 49ERS 17

23-year old WR Michael Crabtree is softer than a roll of Charmin.  He often shows off a set of alligator arms when going over the middle of the field.  In his last four games, Crabtree has caught 7 passes for 109 yards (15.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has played in 13 games so far this year for the Niners and he has caught 42 passes for 555 yards (13.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Crabtree has now played in 24 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 90 passes for 1,180 yards (13.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Unless Crabtree starts finding some heart, he’s going to always disappoint for the Niners.

23-year old rookie RB Anthony Dixon is starting to step up for the Niners.  With Frank Gore out for the season and Brian Westbrook a little long in tooth, the Niners need Dixon to finish the season strong.  He was a sixth round pick (#173 overall) out of Mississippi State last April.  He had a great pre-season but when the regular season started he found himself #3 on the depth chart.  Dixon has played in 13 games for the 49ers so far this year and he has carried the ball 47 times for 165 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD carries.  Dixon has also caught 3 passes for 7 yards (2.3 ypc) so far this year.

The San Francisco 49ers took the Seahawks behind the woodshed yesterday.  Alex Smith was solid in his return to the starting lineup as he completed 17 of 27 passes for 255 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc) in this game.  Anthony Dixon led the way for the Niners on the ground in this game with 60 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.3 ypc).  Brian Westbrook pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.6 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 87 yards (14.5 avg) with a TD grab.  WR Josh Morgan (3 rec, 82 yards, TD) and TE Vernon Davis (5 rec, 70 yards, TD) led the way for the Niners through the air in this game.  The Niners finished up with 95 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 27 passes for 241 yards in this game.

The defense looked pretty solid in this game for the Niners.  LB Takeo Spikes (9 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception), LB Patrick Willis (7 tackles) and safety Dashon Goldson (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and a interception that he returned 39 yards for a TD) led the way for the 49ers on D yesterday.  OLB Travis LaBoy (fumble recovery), safety Reggie Smith (interception) and CB Nate Clements (interception) also made some big plays for the Niners on D.  The Seahawks finished up with 84 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 42 passes for 277 yards.  The Niners are now 5-8 on the season and they are only 1 game behind the Seahawks & Rams in the NFC West.