For Mike Singletary’s 49ers, things couldn’t be looking more up after his team’s 35-0 shellacking of the Rams that moved its record atop the NFC West to 3-1. For Steve Spagnuolo’s Rams, the outlook couldn’t be more down following his team’s second shutout loss in four games. If not for Vikings QB Brett Favre’s last-ditch TD toss to Greg Lewis in Week Three, the Niners would be a perfect 4-0. As it is, they have emerged as a seemingly dominant force within their division, already racking up early victories over each of their divisional opponents by a lopsided 78-26 margin. After registering their first shutout since the final game of the 2001 season, they have allowed fewer points through the first four games than the 2000 Ravens. The Rams, meanwhile, continue to be bogged down by one mistake after another while falling to 0-4 and running their franchise-record losing streak to 14 games and counting. The Rams’ offense has been particularly putrid, currently on a pace to score only 96 points this season.

The PFW spin

Before getting too carried away about the Niners, it’s worth noting that the NFC West once again looks extremely weak. In addition, while San Francisco’s defense looks like one of the top units in the league one month into the season, its offense remains a real work in progress.

Yes, QB Shaun Hill has a shining 7-0 record as a starter at home and continues to do a solid job under center, but the Niners' offense has sputtered in great part due to an offensive line that allowed Hill to get sacked four times on Sunday. The Niners managed only 228 yards of offense against the Rams, with the defense matching the offense by scoring two TDs on Sunday, and another score coming from San Francisco’ special teams. Josh Morgan’s 24-yard TD catch Sunday was the first score by a Niners wide receiver this season.

But the defense is definitely operating on all cylinders, particularly stud third-year ILB Patrick Willis, who might have had the best game of his already outstanding career against the Rams with a 23-yard interception return for a TD, 2½ sacks, eight tackles, three tackles for loss, three QB hits and one pass defensed. Veteran ILB Takeo Spikes also took the bull by the horns against the Rams, registering eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, and DT Ray McDonald, who scored on a fumble recovery, has been a force on both defense and special teams in every game in which he has played so far this season.

The Rams’ defense actually also had its moments on Sunday, generating steady pressure on Hill. But the offense remains an embarrassment, with Kyle Boller not doing any better under center than Marc Bulger did before Bulger was sidelined with a bruised rotator cuff. The Rams have been outscored 108-24 so far this season, and Spagnuolo appears to be running out of patience with some of his players, like former first-round draft pick Alex Barron, who was replaced at left tackle by second-year pro John Greco just before halftime and banished to the sideline after getting called for illegal formation on a play that wiped out a 19-yard pass to Danny Amendola. With new offensive coordinator’s Pat Shurmur’s unimaginative play-calling becoming a disturbing trend, the team managed a season-low 177 total yards against the Niners.

Off the field, CBS-TV’s football information guru Charley Casserly raised some eyebrows before Sunday’s game with the news that three potential new ownership groups have emerged in St. Louis. Both St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts and conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh were mentioned as potential buyers to the tune of a sale price between $700-750 million, but one has to wonder how interested they will remain in the Rams should the team continue to struggle as mightily as it has up to now.

As for the fans in Rams nation, there is one common cry at the moment: Bring on the Cardinals.

And we're not talking about the ones from Arizona.