2nd, 3rd and 4th guessing?

I was over at the Chronicle's website and they made note of how people could question Nolan's 4th and inches call at their blog. There are two sides to every story. Personally, I would have gone for it, although that's as much from playing too much Madden, as opposed to real strategy. So let's look at the consequences of going for it on 4th and inches:

• If they convert this game is over, plain and simple. Maybe the Rams get the ball back, but assuming the 49ers only get a field goal the Rams probably have no timeouts left with under 3 minutes to go.
• If they don't convert, the Rams have to get into field goal position from their own 7 yard line. Of course the way the 49ers conservatively played defense on the final drive, they probably would move into field goal position, and Wilkins is money indoors.

Personally, I don't believe this decision made or broke the game for the 49ers. Turnovers and a weak defense on the final drive did it.

The Good

• Frank Gore, and in turn the offensive line, continue their domination. Even when Gore was off the field, Hicks was able to make some big gains behind a surging offensive line. When Frank Gore gets his Pro Bowl invite, he better buy the offensive line, particularly Larry Allen, something real nice.
• Joe Nedney didn't miss any field goals, so after last week that's an improvement, although he only had one attempt.
• Prior to the last drive, the defense looked great again. With all the offensive mistakes, St. Louis could have easily won by a lot more.

The Bad

• Turnovers hurt the team, plain and simple. Smith had 2 interceptions and Battle fumbled a punt return. This team is not quite good enough to overcome so many mistakes.
  
• The final drive drove me absolutely crazy. When a defense (or any part of the team, for that matter) has been successful playing a specific way (aggressive in this case), wouldn't it make sense to continue to play that way. Marc Bulger is an accurate passer with great weapons. After the Rams converted for their first 1st down of the drive, wouldn't you bring back the aggressiveness? It's just frustrating because the defense had stepped up for 56 minutes and taken care of business, and in the last 4 minutes they let it slip away. It's just frustrating. This is definitely something that will need to be addressed. Fortunately it sounds like the players are realizing this right away.

The Future

• The 49ers head to New Orleans next week in a key conference battle with playoff implications. The 49ers are still only a game back in the wildcard race, and could remain a game out if the Packers upset Seattle. Hopefully the team will forget this week's loss and bring their A-game next Sunday. The defense will face its stiffest test in some time as Drew Brees is making a case to start the Pro Bowl. The good news is that the 49ers still get to fight for a playoff berth. It certainly should be interesting.