Did I miss something?

Last time I checked, the San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC West Division over three weeks ago. They will host and play favorites to the New York Giants at Candlestick Park this Sunday in the first round of the playoffs. So why is it that the 49ers are receiving so little credit?

When the Oakland Raiders of old pulled out gritty victories their owner Al Davis proclaimed, “Just win baby!” But when 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci wins ugly, fans and local media call for his head.

The Reason? Simple. 49ers fans have become spoiled by the likes of Walsh, Montana, Rice and Young. For a long time reaching the playoffs was a given, and the Super Bowl became the standard. But the introduction of the salary cap prefaced what would soon become a NFL crammed with parity.

It looked inevitable that the 49ers would remain a sinking stone in the NFL’s salary cap ocean just two seasons ago. However, just as quickly as they had dropped, Mariucci was able to lift his team back to the top. But rather than being grateful for Mariucci and last season’s turnaround, we instead ask for more from these overachievers. Asking for more might be demanding too much in an NFL driven by mediocrity.

These young 49ers, who appear to be way ahead of schedule, finished the regular season with a record of 10-6, going 5-1 against their NFC West division-mates (their only loss coming to the Rams in an exhibition-like week 17). They won their games by doing what they do best — controlling the clock, limiting turnovers, and executing on third down. A conservative offense is meant to manage the clock, not to blow teams out. Only a fool would say winning by twenty is the only measure of a good football team.

An even bigger fool would say the 49ers don’t have a shot at winning it all. The brackets are wide open this season. In fact, this is the worst playoff group in quite awhile. The combined victories of all teams in the 2002 playoffs are the fewest in the NFL since 1995. For the first time since 1993 there isn’t a playoff team with more than 12 wins, and it is the first time since 1990 that a team won its division with less than 10 wins. Finally, the best illustration of NFL parity came from a league-record 19 teams still eligible for the playoffs in the final week of the season.

Once again the stage is set for a playoff run in the city by the bay. This fall the San Francisco baseball Giants surpassed all expectations and came within a few outs of a World Series Championship. Now, as odd as it may sound, we must root against the Giants. If the 49ers start clicking and move past the Giants in the first round this Sunday, anything is possible.

If the 49ers wish to meet expectations of fans and media and move past the first round, then they must become more creative on offense and shake their defensive troubles. They will rely on a strong connection between Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens along with the combination of Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow on the ground.

Still, it will take the emergence of guys like wide receiver Tai Streets and tight end Eric Johnson to really get this offense rolling and open things up for the stars. If they want to put points on the board, they must spread the ball around and take shots down field like they did in their victory at Oakland earlier this season.

The return of safety Zack Bronson will help sure up a secondary that has been troubled in the later portion of the season. But in order to stop the Giants passing game, the 49ers will need to put pressure on quarterback Kerry Collins. They will need also more production out of the middle part of their defensive line, where Bryant Young and Dana Stubblefield have combined for only five sacks.

Another key will be limiting the production of Giants’ rookie tight end Jeremy Shockey. Most likely the 49ers will commit Julian Peterson to defend Shockey one-on-one for most of the game. Peterson has done a great job covering threatening tight ends all season (most notably was his fantastic play against All-Pro Tony Gonzalez earlier this season).

If Peterson can limit Shockey, it will allow the 49ers to double team the Giants only other passing threat, Amani Toomer. The 49ers must be able to do this if they have any hopes of defeating a streaking Giants team.

In this season’s NFL opener, the 49ers defeated the Giants in New York 16-13. This Sunday’s game will be a testament to how far both teams have come in the 2002 season.

The 49ers are a team on the rise. They have made tremendous strides following what should have been an extended down period. Now that they are back, everyone is expecting greatness once again.

49er fans must realize that in today’s NFL, parity is the norm and supremacy is gone. There are no more dominant teams in the NFL. This year’s favorite, the Oakland Raiders, still lost five games this season. Four of those five games came to teams that failed to make the playoffs (the fifth loss came to the 49ers).

And don’t expect to see the Raiders back next year either. Their already aged team is scheduled to be approximately 50 million dollars over the salary cap heading into next year, further proving it really is hard to stay on top for long (I.E. Rams, Cowboys, Ravens).

All we can expect is the unexpected. Within the parity-driven NFL playoffs, the 49ers are in just as good of a situation as any other team to win it all. So sit back and enjoy the ride. The San Francisco baseball Giants defied all odds; will we see that same magic from the 49ers.

Prediction: San Francisco 24, New York Giants 13

Check back next week for an Oakland Raiders playoff preview.