Somehow, some way, the San Francisco 49ers are one game out of first place in the NFC West. Wait, let me re-write that just to make sure I get it right... The San Francisco 49ers are one game out of first place in the NFC West.

After a good old fashioned tushy whoopin' of the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers find themselves winners of 4 out of their last 6 after starting the season 0-5. The 49ers outrushed the Cardinals 261-13 (ouch and double ouch if you have Beanie Wells on your fantasy team, which I do) and they finally figured out a way to get Brian Westbrook on the field... of course it was because Frank Gore left the game in the first half with a fractured hip. 

Troy Smith looked like a real starting quarterback, the defense looked like a real NFL defense, Derek Anderson looked like a real bust, and Mike Singletary looked like a coach who gets to keep his job at least a little longer.

Pretty amazing how much rosier things look after a win following the shutout last week. Here are my three predictions based on this game:
1.  Alex Smith will remain holding the clipboard and we will never see the former #1 overall pick step onto the field wearing the red and gold.
2. No matter what their record, Mike Singletary will not coach the 49ers next season. 
3. Brian Westbrook will be re-born leading the 49ers rushing attack (if you are in need of a fantasy football replacement, grab Westbrook NOW).

Watch out St. Louis... here come the 49ers! 

Welcome to the inaugural The Red and Gold blog. I won't bore you too much with who I am, how long I've been a 49ers fan, yada yada yada. What I will tell you is that I had been the only blogger and correspondent for nearly a year with NinersNuggets.com, which was a blog with the Fanball Network, up until Fanball decided to eliminate all of their blogs a few weeks ago. Now I've had the fortunate opportunity to hook up with Bloguin and I'm excited to keep talking about the state of the San Francisco 49ers... good and bad.

So here's a little bit of what you'll find when you read this blog. Of course you'll read about my take on games, trades, hirings, and firings. But you will also get a unique perspective, and often a humorous one, on some of the other aspects of the 49ers that you won't read about anywhere else. I always appreciate feedback on articles and suggestions for new ones. You can email me anytime with both: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The West can still be won. Let's get to it!