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San Francisco 49ers have shown steady improvement since Mike Singletary took over the head coaching job on an interim basis. Don't be surprised if the Hall of Fame linebacker has that label removed from his title in the near future.
The 49ers were 2-5 when Singletary took over for the fired Mike Nolan, and while San Francisco lost its first two games under its new coach to run its losing streak to six games, the Niners have won three of four since.
San Francisco's current two-game win streak has come against a pair of AFC East teams, Buffalo and the New York Jets, that had possessed winning records at the time.
Singletary showed he wasn't afraid to go against conventional wisdom, as he ran the ball 33 times against one of the better rushing defenses in the league in Sunday's 24-14 victory over the Jets.
"Anytime we go out, and I've got to be honest, in terms of running the ball, I'm not just so gung-ho on running the ball," said Singletary. "I want to run the ball. I think that is the game of football. But when it comes down to it, I believe that you have to do whatever it is that helps you win the game. To me that's smart football."
And wise words from a man who is currently going through an on-the-field audition. The only negative to come from San Francisco's ground attack on Sunday was Frank Gore leaving in the third quarter due to an ankle injury. Gore ran for 52 yards on 14 carries and caught a touchdown pass before exiting. He needs just 22 yards to become the first 49ers player ever to have three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
Singletary deserves credit for the way San Francisco's offensive line performed. Under heat for the number of sacks the unit has allowed -- 45 through 13 games -- the 49ers ran for a total of 100 yards, allowed only two sacks and even scored a touchdown versus the Jets.
"It was a big win. We wanted to come out and be physical, and I thought we were able to do that," said offensive tackle Joe Staley, who recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score. "We were able to run the ball with success. I think (center) Eric Heitmann did a great job against (Jets defensive tackle) Kris Jenkins...all day."
Also, the 49ers limited the Brett Favre-led Jets to just 137 passing yards despite being without Pro Bowl corner Nate Clements, who sat out the game due to a broken thumb. Clements had played in 124 straight games prior to missing the Jets contest.
Singletary isn't letting success go to his head. He knows nothing is set in stone about who will coach the 49ers next year. His only concern right now is winning and becoming a team.
"I won't say that it's my team," he stated. "I won't say that it's becoming my team, because I'm really trying to help it become the players' team. We've been trying to find out for a while what is our identity."
He later added, "It's going to be their team first. Then it's going to be our team with the coaches. It'll be my team last."
UP NEXT: The 5-8 49ers will try to now prevent themselves from posting a sixth straight losing season. They can do that by winning out over their final three games, and begin that quest this weekend in Miami. The 49ers and Dolphins have split 10 all-time meetings, including playoffs, with San Francisco winning five of the last six matchups. The Dolphins won the most recent meeting, a 24-17 win by the Bay in 2004.
CARDINALS: STILL PLENTY TO PLAY FOR
Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt didn't receive a lot of phone calls after his Cardinals clinched the NFC West with this past Sunday's 34-10 win over the St. Louis Rams. But that doesn't mean his phone wasn't getting used.
"It's more about texts now a days, I've learned that from my kids," Whisenhunt joked to open his Monday press conference.
Arizona had plenty to celebrate over the last few days. They locked up their first division title since winning the NFC East in 1975 while based out of St. Louis, and will play in the postseason for the first time since 1998.
Additionally, the team's 8-5 record leaves it one win shy of securing its first winning season since going 9-7 in 1998. The Cardinals finished last season 8-8.
Don't think the Cardinals are going to cruise into January football, though.
"Got to improve our seed. That's the first and foremost thing," said Whisenhunt. "I think the most important thing going into the playoffs is, if you look at the history of the playoffs, generally the higher seeds have the better chance of advancing."
And even if the Cardinals don't get a first-round bye, they will at least be playing at home, where they are 5-1 this season.
Even so, Whisenhunt knows how to win on the road. He was Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator when the Steelers won four straight games away from the Steel City to win Super Bowl XL to conclude the 2005 season.
Though they are the second team to clinch a playoff spot in the NFC, a first- round bye doesn't come with it so far. The Cardinals have only the third-best record among division leaders. The NFC East-champion New York Giants are 11-2, while first-place Carolina leads the NFC South with a 10-3 mark, just one game up on second-place Tampa Bay.
Minnesota leads the NFC North with an 8-5 record.
"I'm certainly not going to rule it out (getting the second seed)," Whisenhunt said on Monday. "The only thing that I don't like about it is that we need help. I think that we have to win the rest of our games and we do need help...but there is a chance."
That leaves Arizona with something to fight for over its final three games. It gets a playoff tune-up with Minnesota this weekend before visiting another playoff-caliber team in New England. The Cards then get a breather in a home finale with Seattle to wrap the season.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will host the Minnesota Vikings, who have won six of their last seven versus Arizona. However, the Cards' lone win in that span did come at home in 2003.
RAMS: STILL CAN'T GET IT DONE ON SUNDAYS
Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett said on Monday that the problems with the St. Louis Rams don't originate Wednesday through Saturday. For some reason, those practices aren't translating to wins on Sunday.
The Rams dropped a 34-10 game in Arizona this past weekend to lose their seventh straight since winning the first two games under Haslett. At 2-11. St. Louis is in danger of finishing worse than the 3-13 mark it posted a year ago.
The club again played uninspired football versus the Cardinals. The offense had just 308 yards of offense -- 85 yards on the ground -- and turned the ball over three times. Running back Steven Jackson accounted for two of those with a pair of fumbles.
"We practice well Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday," said Haslett on Monday. "Our problem is Sunday. We need to take it to Sunday. We don't turn the ball over in practice."
Haslett also said that Josh Brown's 44-yard missed field goal late in the second quarter was "the most disappointing play in the game." Had Brown converted, the Rams could have cut their deficit to 17-10 with under three minutes to go in the half.
"We had the chance to get the score down to a one-score game and we missed it," he said. "Then we gave up a big play and held them to a field goal, so instead of going into halftime 17-10, we went in (down) 20-7 at halftime. So that was the most disappointing play in the game."
As they should have been for the past few weeks, the Rams will play their last three games looking ahead to next year. That includes continuing to allow some young guys to grow, like 2008 draft picks Chris Long, Donnie Avery and John Greco.
Avery, for instance, could benefit from remaining on the field. He broke out back in Week 8 with a six-catch, one-touchdown performance against the Patriots that included 163 receiving yards. However, in six games since, he has caught more than three passes and posted over 30 yards receiving just once.
Haslett admitted on Monday when asked that Avery is having some problems with the playbook, saying he missed a hot route once in this past Sunday's game among a couple of other things
Haslett also said the Rams want to win some of their games down the stretch. He also seems to know how they will do it.
"We're going to go out there and play hard and try to do the right things. We can't commit turnovers. We can't put the ball on the ground. We can't miss field goals. That's kind of an on-going thing I've been saying to (the media) for the last four or five weeks. Hopefully, it will set in here."
UP NEXT: The Rams play the first of two straight home games, as they host Seattle one week before San Francisco comes to town. The Seahawks are also 2-11 on the year, but one of those wins came against the Rams back in Week 3. St. Louis has lost seven straight to Seattle.
SEAHAWKS: CAN'T PLAY THE SPOILER
The Seattle Seahawks haven't had many big wins this season. In fact, they haven't had much of any type of wins; only two to be exact.
The Seahawks had a golden opportunity to get noticed by NFL fans this weekend, as they came close to upsetting the New England Patriots. But like many of its games this year, Seattle couldn't finish the job.
The Seahawks led the Patriots by a score of 21-13 heading into the fourth quarter. They still held the lead despite allowing an early fourth-quarter field goal. They still led at the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
They went on to lose, 24-21.
"This is a game that we went out and completely won the game in all three phases of the game, if we had won the game," said former Patriot and current Seahawk wideout Deion Branch. "The sad part is that we played so good all the way up until the end. One mistake cost us the game, but that is football. That is what happens in football."
Seattle allowed New England running back Sammy Morris to score with 2:44 left on the clock. The Seahawks then attempted to drive down the field, but quarterback Seneca Wallace was hit and fumbled on the first play following the two-minute warning, with the Patriots recovering.
Center Steve Vallos said after the game that he should have changed the protection on the play. Meanwhile, Wallace was playing in place of Matt Hasselbeck, who returned to the inactive list due to a lingering back issue. Offensive tackle Walter Jones (knee) also missed the game.
Regardless, the Seahawks, at 2-11, are now in danger of finishing with their worst record since going 2-14 in 1992 -- not the best way to send out head coach Mike Holmgren in his final year with the club.
The team will only get one chance again this year at playing the role of spoiler. They travel to 2-11 St. Louis this weekend before returning home to face the New York Jets, who are in the hunt for an AFC East title.
Seattle wraps its season versus Arizona, which has already clinched the NFC West. The Seahawks had won the last four division titles.
Branch did have one of his best games since joining Seattle by way of trade from New England prior to the 2006 season. He made four catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard reception.
"The biggest thing is that I would rather take one catch and win the game, then to have four catches and all of the other stuff that went on in the game," said Branch, who won MVP honors in Super Bowl XXXIX with New England.
Branch, limited to just five games this year due to injury, scored his first two touchdowns of the season and posted his first multi-score game since October 15, 2006.
UP NEXT: The Seahawks travel to St. Louis to face the Rams, one of two teams they have beaten this year thanks to a 37-13 win back in Week 3. That victory was Seattle's seventh straight versus the Rams.
