Every single 49ers fan out there, heck, every single NFL fan out there knows one thing about the coming NFL season, and that’s only because it has been beaten into our heads by all those “expert” media types who just happened to jot down some unoriginal, incoherent nonsense about the NFL:

The St. Louis Rams are the team to beat this year.

You know what? Fine. I am okay with the fact that a large number of NFL followers share that sentiment. I can realize that the Rams, with the their great talent and team speed, will again be a very hard team to beat. I am not bitter about this, nor am I angry at the fact that some many other teams (including the 49ers) are being overlooked, so that copious amounts of undue praise and admiration can be ceremoniously placed upon the Rams’ golden helmets. I mean, isn’t this the team that LOST the SuperBowl last season?

Honestly, I’m not bitter. And why would I be?

But what I am bitter about is the fact that all everyone ever talks about when referring to the 49ers and their upcoming NFL campaign is how they need to get past the Rams, or how they have narrowed the gap between them and the Rams, or how this is the piece they need to slow down the Rams…

…enough already!

Seriously, are the Rams the only team that the 49ers play this year? Is it a 16 game series with the Rams? If we beat the Rams, and the Rams alone, will this season be considered a success?

In a word? No.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why the media who covers the 49ers, give so much attention to the Rams how they match up with the Rams now (hell, even I’m guilty of a premature comparison here and there). I mean, do we not have 13 OTHER teams to worry about matching up with this season? So why bother worrying about the Rams’ game now, in the midst of preseason and training camp evaluations, when we don’t even face them until WEEK 5!

Sure, it is always key to keep an eye on your closest competition, but c’mon people, this is becoming absurd. By focusing so much time and attention on the Rams, you run the risk, the very dangerous risk, of overlooking the other teams on your schedule, albeit unintentionally. The Niners can NOT start looking past teams in this league, I mean, with all it’s parity and surprise teams from year to year, the Niners could lose to teams that they are supposed to beat.

To quote a very wise man who's name rhymes with Chris Zimmer: "One 12-win season does not a legend make."

So, here is what I suggest…

FORGET THE RAMS! LIVE IN THE NOW!

Forget them, don’t worry about them, let them do their thing. We can start focusing intently on them AFTER week 3, when the 49ers go into a bye week and then get ready for the Rams game.

I mean, what’s the point? What, truly, is the point of comparisons to the Rams, and the Rams alone, THIS early in the season? Other than haphazard, off-season boredom-driven speculation, there really is no point. Will it get the Niners off to a 3-0 start? Nope. Will it make the Rams tremble in their shiny Gold and Blue? Nope. Will it have any significance on how the team performs leading up to that October 6th game? Again, the answer is no.

So don’t waste your precious time this early in the season worrying about how the Niners stack up against the Rams, leave that speculation and focus on the sidelines until the Niners prepare to take the field against those damn Rams.

I mean, who do the Niners play next, the Rams? Nope. They are lining up against the Chiefs on Saturday August 10th, and yet, I have heard little talk about what both teams are going to try to accomplish in this, their 2nd preseason game.

But forget all that… what I want to know is…

How will this win affect our match ups with the Rams’ receivers on turf?

(See how stupid that sounds?)

Until Next Time…

Be sure to email Zim all your comments and questions on the 49ers, as he will be starting a column aptly named... "Zim's Mailbag" as soon as enough interest is generated. Go ahead, try and ask Zim a question that he can't answer in his own comedic, harebrained manner!