49ers 'D' grows in maturity

SAN FRANCISCO -- In Jason Webster's first NFL start, he barely survived the pro football equivalent of learning to swim by jumping head-first into the deep end of a pool.

Webster, a rookie cornerback last season, was pushed into the San Francisco 49ers' starting lineup for a game against the high-flying St. Louis Rams. He admits his head was spinning for most of the afternoon as the Rams' passing and punishing ground game piled up 529 yards in a 41-24 victory.

When he called home after the game, he had only one word for his family: "Wow."

"They've got an amazing offense with a lot of talented players," Webster said. "We know how good they are."

The Rams return to Candlestick Point today in a matchup of two elite offenses and two rebuilding defenses.

The 49ers still are wary of the Rams' offensive prowess, but they hope they're a bit more capable of handling it. Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Az-Zahir Hakim and Torry Holt still are intimidating, but the 49ers say they won't back down.

"We've just got to get them off their rhythm -- hit them," said safety Lance Schulters, the 49ers' defensive leader. "I don't like the Rams; they probably don't like me. They're versatile, they have a lot of weapons, and they've got Marshall, who's one of the best running backs in the league."

Webster was just one of several young defensive players mercilessly thrown into action by the rebuilding 49ers last season. Fellow cornerback Ahmed Plummer, also a rookie in 2000, started 14 games, while several other rookies and young players saw significant playing time on one of the league's worst defenses.

It was a training strategy borne out of necessity for the salary cap-strapped team. It didn't yield many victories, but it gave San Francisco's youngsters valuable experience in the NFL's school of hard knocks.

The Rams have gained more respect for San Francisco's secondary this fall. In particular, St. Louis coach Mike Martz has praise for Webster and Plummer, who have improved steadily over the past year.

"I think they've arrived," Martz said. "I just watched (Plummer) on tape, and they're playing with so much confidence. I think that when they fought through that early part of their careers and had some (bad) things happen to them, they've matured a great deal."

Today's game pits San Francisco against the Rams for the 103rd time, more than any opponent. The 49ers had beaten the Rams 17 straight times until 1999, when St. Louis won the first of four straight over San Francisco.

"If we want to climb back to the top of this division, we've got to beat the Rams," 49ers coach Steve Mariucci said.

Both teams went into overtime for victories in Week 1 before last weekend's scheduled games were postponed in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Neither team is exactly sure what to expect when the emotions of the game hit them.

"Sometimes you don't understand how good you have it," Faulk said. "Maybe we have a little more focus now, putting things in a little better perspective. Most of the time, that allows you to go out and play better."

The 49ers hope to give the Rams' revamped defense something to worry about, as well. San Francisco will challenge St. Louis' secondary with Jeff Garcia, Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes, who combined for several big plays in the 49ers' season-opening win over Atlanta.

The Rams returned only five starters on defense this fall. Martz stressed speed by adding rookie Adam Archuleta and veterans Aeneas Williams and Kim Herring to the secondary.

"If they didn't have passion for playing this game and they couldn't run fast, then we weren't going to bring them in," Martz said. "We've got to have people here who can run."

Both defenses can expect to do plenty of running. Garcia and Warner each threw for more than 300 yards in Week 1, and both have had an extra week to rest minor injuries: Warner's strained right thumb and Garcia's sore elbow.

"As much as we would like to control the football and keep their offense off the field, we realize that they're going to score points, and we need to score points," Garcia said. "The (16) points we scored against Atlanta isn't going to cut it."