22-year old OLB Aldon Smith has been outstanding as a rookie for the Niners this year.  He was the 49ers’ first round pick last April out of Missouri.  He has played in all 12 games for the Niners so far this year and he has 23 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed.  The defense has been a big part of the 49ers’ success this year and Aldon Smith has been a big part of it.  His upside has got to be scary for the rest of the teams in the NFC West.

The 49ers completely dominated the hapless St. Louis Rams yesterday.  Alex Smith was very solid for the Niners in this game as he completed 17 of 23 passes for 274 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 10 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Rookie Colin Kaepernick made a brief appearance in which he threw 2 incomplete passes.  Frank Gore led the way on the ground for the Niners in this game with 21 carries for 73 yards (3.5 ypc).  WRs Michael Crabtree (4 rec, 96 yards, TD) and Kyle Williams (2 receptions for 66 yards, TD and 1 carry for 25 yards) led the way for the Niners in the passing game yesterday.  WR Ted Ginn (4 rec, 56 yards and 1 carry for 16 yards) and TE Vernon Davis (5 rec, 32 yards) also had solid games for the Niners yesterday.  The 49ers finished up with 144 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 25 passes (68%) for 245 yards as they had possession of the ball for 36:04.

The defense was awesome for the Niners yesterday.  LBs NaVorro Bowman (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) and Larry Grant (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the 49ers on D in this game.  OLB Aldon Smith (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 3 QB hits and 1 fumble recovery) and safety Dashon Goldson (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also made huge plays in this game for the Niners.  The Rams finished up with 31 yards rushing on 23 carries (1.3 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 22 passes (54.5%) for 126 yards.  The 49ers are now 10-2 on the season.

The Niners saw their 8-game winning streak snapped 16-6 by the Ravens in Baltimore on Thanksgiving, so they should be in a nasty mood tomorrow against the Rams.  The Rams lost a painful game at home last weekend, 23-20 to the Cardinals.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Niners have the ball:  Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter have to be foaming at the mouth after watching game film of the Rams’ D.  The Rams are giving up 159.0 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry, so look for Gore and Hunter to get a lot of rushing yards tomorrow.  Look for QB Alex Smith to get back into his ball control passing mode.  TEs Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker and WR Michael Crabtree will be the 49ers preferred weapons in the passing game tomorrow.

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are going to want to run the ball with Steven Jackson.  That will be fine for the Niners as they are only allowing 75.5 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Niners will likely come after whoever is starting at QB for the Rams (Sam Bradford or A.J. Feeley) and try to force them into making some mistakes with the football.   The Niners will likely double cover Brandon Lloyd and dare the Rams to beat them by throwing to someone else.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 24, RAMS 3

24-year old WR Michael Crabtree has never developed into the #1 WR the Niners thought he would be when they drafted him three years ago.  He has played in 10 games for the 49ers so far this year and he has caught 44 passes for 509 yards (11.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Crabtree has now played in 37 games in his first three years with the Niners and he has caught 147 passes for 1,875 yards (12.8 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  The Niners need Crabtree to step up and make some catches over the middle of the field the rest of this year.