Rams are closing gap on 49ers in NFC West, based on training camp reports

Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty ImagesThe San Francisco 49ers won eight more games than the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 and reached the NFC Championship for the third time in the last four years, so there is no question who has the upper hand going into the next season. I expect the 49ers to win more games than the Rams in 2023 because even if both defenses have a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate, San Francisco also has five or six other players on that side of the ball who have at least seen play at a Pro Bowl level.

However, do I think that the Niners have been sliding in the wrong direction, that they have some resemblance to L.A.’s collapse last season,…