Monday Night Football Preview – 49ers at Rams

The public isn’t fooled by the glamor team – there’s a lot of betting support for the St Louis Rams in tonight’s Monday Night Football game against the San Francisco 49ers. Ricky Rothstein reports.

You’d think the 49ers only had to turn up. The 49ers, one of the most storied teams in football, back to their pomp under the take-no-nonsense leadership of head coach Jim Harbaugh, against the hapless St Louis Rams, so decimated with injury that the guy who was their fourth string quarterback in training camp is their starter tonight on primetime.

But hold on. Austin Davis, the definition of a journeyman quarterback, ruffled the Eagles’ feathers for 375 yards and three touchdowns last week. That’s not bad for a guy who, if Sam Bradford hadn’t got hurt, could easily be stacking groceries today – just like another Rams quarterback of the past.

The outcome of this games hangs on how Davis will fare on prime time against one of the meanest defenses in the League. The Niners like to get after quarterbacks and if they can rattle Davis there is no real plan B for the Rams. All they can do is hope to limit the damage.

But if Davis can hold his own, it’s then up to San Francisco’s own quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, to take charge and Kaepernick hasn’t been playing like an elite quarterback this year. Nobody would mistake him for Geno Smith, but they won’t mistake him for Tom Brady either.

The Niners don’t go through the air as they did in their glory days. The Niners play read-option, with Frank Gore to make the running and Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis deep to keep defenses honest. But if the Niner offense has trouble protecting the ball, Davis and the Rams’ offense are just the men to make the most of it.

The Niners start as a three point road favorite with a total set at 44. The total is on the high side for a visit of San Francisco to St Louis, but this is Monday Night Football after all, and people like to be the over on Monday Night Football.