49ers react to their own needs, not to the Rams' strengths. (Insider: NFL).

After a team has lost six straight games to a division rival, that opponent can become an obsession. But to their credit, the 49ers have focused more on each of their steps than on the mountain they are trying to overcome: the NFC champion Rams.

The 49ers did not change their offseason objective of dosing the gap between themselves and the Rams. Instead, they stayed with their long-term plan of trying to keep their team intact and continuing to build a dominant defense.

Bill Walsh, who has one of the NFL's sharpest minds, warned the 49ers' front office--in a meeting before the draft last spring--of the dangers of worrying too much about the Rams. Walsh ...