The 10-2 San Francisco 49ers have already clinched the division and have a set of games coming up that are mostly against divisional opponents. The one big matchup that the Niners have is against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. I really don’t think San Francisco should have any cause to fret as they are already in a very good position as are the Steelers. But it should still be a great game!

Getting back to the game against the Cardinals tomorrow at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the Niners will have to overcome a hamstring injury sustained by inside linebacker Patrick Willis last week. Willis is regarded by a number of experts as the best insider linebacker in the NFL. However, a mark of a great team is how they respond when they lose a great player. Linebacker Larry Grant who should step in for Patrick Willis has had some big plays this season notably the thundering hit on Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams that was brought about by some great reads and formations of the 49ers defense.

I think the 49ers continue to be productive without skipping a beat and run through Arizona although there may be chances of an upset as we all know what Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald can and will do. But as I mentioned before the Niners have offensive threats of their own in Michael Crabtree, Braylon Edwards and Vernon Davis. Not to mention that they have the quarterback position locked down unlike Arizona with Jim Harbaugh’s gamble on Alex Smith at the start of the season paying off some big dividends.