Jed York - GM will be hired

Team president Jed York said after the game, he will hire a general manager. He also said he wasn't sure that Singletary would be the coach even for next week's game in the season finale against visiting Arizona.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Dec 26 at 02:12 PM

Postgame - Singletary's summation

Mike Singletary just took the podium and looked visibly shaken, maybe he knows it's over for him. Asked about what happened between him and Troy Smith, Singletary said, "Troy is a passionate guy. The way he reacted on the sideline, that's fine. If you can get results on the field, that's something else."

A few points to make:

-The 49ers tried to force the run too much, which may have hampered Troy Smith's ability to throw.

-The 49ers had 10 days to prepare for this game and they looked very unprepared as their play in the first quarter proved.

-Eric Davis on Comcast made a good point. Singletary tries to coach too much from the sideline. You coach during the week and on game day, you concern yourself with game-day management. Singletary summed up his tenure in his postgame news conference, when he said, "I really don't know about coaching etiquette." As it turned out, Singletary was completely under qualified to coach an NFL team.

-The 49ers will need a quarterback either through trade or the draft. They have to keep that in mind when selecting their coach. They need someone who can develop quarterbacks. Their last two coaches, Mike Nolan and Singletary, could not handle their quarterbacks.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Dec 26 at 01:45 PM

49ers lose, out of playoffs. Finally.

49ers drive: Ted Ginnn Jr. failed to get out of bounds on the last play. A fitting end to this season. Dumb play by Ginn.

Rams drive: Rams punt after one first down.

49ers drive: Chris Long came around Anthony Davis to sack Smith and cause the fumble. Davis has done a pretty good job on Long, but not on that play.

49ers drive: It will come down to one last drive for the playoffs. possibly.

Rams drive: Rams go conservative with three straight runs and then kicked the field goal.

Rams drive: Great return by Amendola. Reggie Smith was held but it wasn't called.

49ers drive: Troy Smith was 7 of 20 for 155 a TD and an interception.

Rams drive cont: Roll out and TD to LaRon Robinson. First TD pass in December for Bradford. Rams lead 22-14.

Rams drive cont: Alexander scores and Shawntae Spencer didn't touch him and then he scored. But it stepped out of bounds around the 4. The play is being reviewed. At worst the Rams will be first-and-goal at the 4.

Rams drive: Andy Lee has a 53-yard net.

49ers drive: James Hall is having a great game for St. Louis. He gets another sack to force a punt.

Rams drive cont: Good pressure forces a completion short of the first down.

Rams drive: Rams are on the move as the third quarter ends.

49ers drive: The drive was set up by consecutive long plays to Davis and then Crabtree to put Jeff Reed in position. Reed hooked it badly. He had made it seven straight before that.

Rams drive: Terrific play by Patrick Wilis on a crucial third down. he's having a great day.

49ers drive: Three and out after heated discussion.

Rod Brooks of KNBR said the discussion started with Singletary asking Troy Smith if he could win this game and the discussion elevated from there. The quarterbacks have to be tired and frustrated with how they've been used. Ted Ginn Jr. had to intercede. Smith is 0 for his last 6. I think these quarterbacks have lost all respect for Singletary.

Wow, huge heated exchange between Troy Smith and Mike Singletary on the sidelines and now Alex Smith is warming up on the sidelines. More drama.

Adams has a lower leg injury and it looks like they are putting an air cast on him, might be a broken leg.

49ers drive: Troy Smith threw high and the ball intercepted by OJ Atogwe, who engaged to Singletary's daughter.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Dec 26 at 01:06 PM

New stream for second half

Only three first downs, 18 and a half minutes in time of possession for the Rams, and the 49ers lead 14-12. The second quarter was completely different than the first. The 49ers stopped making mistakes and with two big plays, 77-yard punt return by Ted Ginn Jr. and a 60-yard TD pass to Michael Crabtree, and the 49ers are in the lead. Troy Smith started to play after he got blasted by Chris Long. Maybe that woke him up. He also was meeting with Crabtree and Vernon Davis extensively before that drive.

Rams drive: Willis blasted Amendola on incomplete pass to him on third down. Willis is having a monster game.

This is amazing. The pass that was right in stride for Crabtree, might have been intended for Vernon Davis, in fact, it went right through his hands. Interesting to see if that ball was intended for Crabtree.

49ers drive cont: What a great throw by Troy Smith on a 25-yard strike to Vernon Davis. He was not afraid even after getting blasted in the pocket.

49ers drive: Fumble by Troy Smith is recovered by Anthony Davis. On the play, Davis and Barry Smith were both beat. Smith got blasted by Chris Long.

Rams drive: Josh Brown hits a 43-yarder. Rams get in position with a long kickoff return by Amendola.

49ers drive: Ginn goes the distance, 77-yards on the return. Ginn wasn't touched, great blocking and Ginn then faked the punter on his last move to the end zone.

49ers drive: Singletary decided to punt on 4th-and-1 from the Rams 46. Not exactly aggressive. Josh Morgan had two opportunities to catch passes of about 20 yards and he had alligator arms on both of them. It's another example of a 49ers player being inconsistent. He's coming off his first 100-yard receiving game.

Rams drive: Justin Smith is dominating, and he helped force a three-and-out

Horrendous first quarter by the 49ers. Six penalties, a turnover, and bad, run-first strategy on offense. The offense, not surprisingly, look out of sync on offense. That's what happens when you constantly switch quarterbacks.

Rams drive: Willis saves the day with strip sack

Rams drive: Amedola fumbled the kick return and went through Taylor Mays legs and it went to Ram. Baas is being taken out on cart.

49ers drive: Baas is hurt; if it's another concussion, that would be the third of the season.

Ted Ginn Jr. is so frustrating as a returner. Sometimes he's great. Other times like today, he doesn't even make an attempt to catch the punt. He didn't do on the last one, and the ball rolled to the 49ers' 6, tack on a Bowman block in the back, and the 49ers will start at the 3.

Rams drive cont: Justin Smith is really fired up, maybe because he got kicked out of the game in the first quarter in the last game.

Rams drive: Ahmad Brooks made his best play of the season, sniffing out an end around, taking on the linemen and making the tackle for now gain. The Rams are driving however.

49ers drive: Horrible drive by the 49ers. After getting a first down, they went with heavy run formations, including that included six offensive linemen. Why, when they had so much success passing in the last game against them? Not smart. Their heavy run emphasis went nowhere and then David Baas grounded the shotgun snap to Smith on third down.

Rams drive cont: Steven Jackson touchdown on 1-yard run. The drive was set up by a pass interference penalty by Nate Clements. He was fooled by a wide receiver pass from Danny Amendola. Clements never turned around and then put a shoulder into the intended receiver. The ball was underthrown and intercepted by Reggie Smith. The 49ers consistently get beat by flea flicker-type plays.

Rams drive: Reggie Smith shaken up on kickoff return, but makes the first tackle.

49ers win the coin toss for one of the only times this season. They'll take the ball in the second half. Missouri native Justin Smith made called the toss.

Anthony Dixon will play with a heavily-wrapped sprained ankle. Rod Brooks on KNBR reported that offensive coordinator Mike Johnson and quarterback Troy Smith feel they have an excellent plan for the Ramns, which includes getting him out of the pocket.

Should the Rams widen their defensive ends, look for the 49ers to hit them with the running game. The Rams are likely to back off blitzing and put more players in coverage to prevent the long pass.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Dec 26 at 11:30 AM

Alex Smith - how he found out he was benched

ESPN's Charlie Casserly, the former NFL general manager, reported that Alex Smith found out that he was benched from Troy Smith. Troy came into a meeting and declared he was the starter. Casserly said that's no way to inform a quarterback he's been benched. Adam Schefter of ESPN believes Mike Singletary will have to win several more games to return. That, of course, means making the playoffs.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Dec 26 at 09:31 AM

Singletary makes it official

Niners coach Mike Singletary made official today news that was leaked one day earlier than he wanted -- Troy Smith has replaced Alex Smith as the starting quarterback.

Again.

Two weeks after Singletary told the team and media Troy Smith didn't give them the best chance to win because he didn't know enough of the playbook, and they needed every play at their disposal with the season at stake in an elimination game against Seattle.

And the season is still at stake with a new elimination game again in St. Louis. And Troy Smith still does not know enough of the playbook.

So, as Alex Smith would say, what's changed?

And, if it doesn't work, then what?

That second question is the real one to ask. Here's why. Read More 'Singletary makes it official' »

Posted By: David White (Email, Twitter) | Dec 23 at 05:25 PM

Troy Smith gets the start

The 49ers will start Troy Smith at quarterback Sunday against the Rams, two team sources told The Chronicle.

This is the second time this year coach Mike Singletary has benched Alex Smith, who went 1-1 after getting his job back from Troy after five games hurt and then benched.

Troy Smith won three of five games but was benched after a loss in Green Bay. Alex Smith has now been benched after a loss in San Diego.

It's not likely the 49ers would have won either game no matter who the quarterback was, yet in both cases, it's the quarterback who lost his job.

Now, Singletary hopes Troy Smith's hand can get hot again just in time to save the season.

And if his hand isn't hot, then he'll get benched before it's too late. Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson said both quarterbacks are getting reps this week ... but then, Johnson said they haven't decided on a starter yet ... one day after Singletary said he informed both quarterbacks who will start but didn't want to announce it ... and just moments before news broke that Troy Smith is indeed the starter.

That makes Johnson one incredibly out-of-the-loop offensive coordinator, or someone who needs to get his story straight with Singletary before he fields questions about his starting quarterback.

Posted By: David White (Email, Twitter) | Dec 22 at 12:03 PM

Who will the 49ers start at quarterback?

Will be Troy or Alex Smith for this critical penultimate game against the Rams on Sunday? How about both!

Coach Mike Singletary didn't declare a starter at quarterback for this contest in St. Louis. Singletary did say that Troy Smith would need to get plenty of reps this week, which could be a huge hint. Singletary didn't rule out playing both, but said they he wouldn't rotate them in and out of the game. Singletary also said he has told both quarterbacks of his plans. Here's are some other news developments:

-Singletary said Thaddeus Gibson could get some reps, but maybe just from special teams. He also said he would go with a three-man rotation of Manny Lawson, Parys Haralson and Ahmad Brooks at outside linebacker.

-He there are no lingering injuries from the Thursday night game, meaning both Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes should be fine.

-In typical fashion, Singletary said he didn't want to play a "cat-and-mouse game" with the Rams at quarterback. Yet he won't declare a starter until later in the week. What?

-Singletary called still being eligible for the playoffs, "a blessing."

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Dec 21 at 10:41 AM

Sad sackers

The placing of pass rusher Travis LaBoy on season-ending injured reserve with a knee problem focuses attention on the team's lack of pass rush this season. Last year, for the first time in several seasons, the 49ers had more sacks (44) than they yielded (40). That won't happen this year.

With two games to go, the 49ers defense has 29 sacks, while the offense has given up 38, tied for fourth most in the league. Their inability to apply pressure might be more disappointing than their protection problems. After all, this was supposed to be a team that won on defense.

LaBoy ends his season with 5 sacks, a half sack behind leader Justin Smith. It also means the 49ers will go another season without a player notching double-digit sack totals.

Not surprisingly, the last time they had a player with more than 10 sacks (Andre Carter 12.5 in 2002) the team went to the playoffs. Outside pressure is what animates an effective 3-4 defense. They thought they had a sack master in Manny Lawson when they took him with the 18th choice in the 2006 draft. Lawson notched a career-high 6.5 sacks last year. Now he has two.

Lawson stayed away from off-season workouts last spring to protest the team's refusal to meet demands for a new contract. But for any outside linebacker to score a big contract, he has to have sacks. Lawson does everything else well at outside linebacker - he's good in coverage, sets the edge, is good against the run. But without sacks, Lawson may just be taking up space for someone with more pressure potential.

Read More 'Sad sackers' »

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Dec 20 at 09:36 PM

Playoff talk: This time, it's for real

Down goes Seattle. Down goes St. Louis.

Just like that, they 49ers found themselves thrust back into the thick of the NFC West race by no doing of their own.

They were destroyed by San Diego on Thursday, and faced elimination if the co-leaders both won Sunday. Instead, they are still one game back with two to go -- starring the Official Game of All Games at St. Louis on Sunday.

This isn't to say the 49ers are sure to beat the Rams on the road, seeing it took all they had plus overtime to beat the Rams at home. But, they have a chance.

Suddenly, their playoff talk is no longer a mere mathematically-correct theory. If they beat the Rams, they will be in the driver's seat to win this thing in spite of everything that's gone wrong all year.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this makes Sunday's game at St. Louis their most pivotal game in years.

Here are the scenarios the 49ers face if they are to be the first team with a losing record to reach the playoffs outside the strike-shortened 1982 season (put that slogan on a shirt). And we won't mess with the complicated scenarios that involve tie games. Read More 'Playoff talk: This time, it's for real' »

Posted By: David White (Email, Twitter) | Dec 19 at 04:49 PM