Sunday, December 29, 2002
San Francisco clinched the NFC West title three weeks ago and St. Louis will miss the playoffs.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A funny thing happened on the way to the clash of the NFC West titans that'll wind up the regular season.
The defending NFC champion St. Louis Rams, their season long ago lost, will be playing out the string when they meet the division champion San Francisco 49ers in a Monday night game that ABC-TV surely figured would have plenty of meaning.
After all, the Rams were 14-2 last year and played in their second Super Bowl in three years, while the 49ers appeared to be the NFL's next big thing after going 12-4.
The big question, and that's definitely in relative terms, is how long will 49ers coach Steve Mariucci stay with his stars?
The 49ers (10-5) can't get a playoff bye (but can finish third in the conference if Tampa Bay loses tonight) and will play next weekend against either the Falcons, Giants or Saints. They don't need to risk injuries in a game they don't need to win.
"It's a bit of a balancing act," Mariucci said. "We would like to win the game, but I've got to keep in mind certain things like a short week, artificial turf, and we do have a banged-up team.
"I've got to try to use good discretion."
Mariucci points out that he can't rest too many players, no matter how meaningless the outcome.
"You can't equate this to a preseason game because you don't have enough guys," Mariucci said. "You only have 45 guys that can suit up, so if a few guys don't play, then you are really short."
As for the Rams (6-9), they're still a little in disbelief. St. Louis began the year 0-5, won five in a row, then collapsed under an avalanche of injuries to key personnel as the team's three-year run of dominance came to an abrupt end.
"I think at some point maybe we took winning for granted," coach Mike Martz said. "I think this has been a pretty good slap in the face, a pretty good wakeup call."
Players are trying to fire themselves up by concentrating on the intense rivalry. The 49ers won 17 in a row from 1990-99, then the Rams won six straight before San Francisco won 37-13 earlier this season.
"Even though for some of those guys, their bags are packed and cars are ready to go after the game, we don't feel that way," 49ers defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said. "We're coming down there with the intent to try to win the ballgame."
Unbeaten in division
The 49ers also have a chance to finish a perfect 6-0 against the NFC West for the first time since 1997.
For Martz, it's a final chance to assess the damage. The team has problems at linebacker, the secondary and the offensive line, the latter due to injuries.
Martz also would like to see better effort from a team that has dropped four of its last five, including blowouts of 39 and 20 points against the Chiefs and Seahawks.
"You look real hard at these players at the end of the season when you're not in the playoffs, and I think a lot of things come to the surface," he said. "You really let this team know you want to know who wants to be here next year."
Mariucci said quarterback Jeff Garcia will start the finale, although it's likely Tim Rattay will see more action.
Wide receiver Terrell Owens missed last week's victory over the Cardinals with a groin injury and was listed as questionable.