It was a bad weekend for bagged spinach and sacked Ram. That’s how we know the 49ers are genuinely getting better.

To be sure, there were some pretty offensive plays Sunday, including some beautiful passes from quarterback Alex Smith and his line-drive arm to receiver Antonio Bryant and his always-open-for-business hands (and mouth).

But those plays are for the highlight shows. You want the straight skinny? In pro football, here are the two ways you can tell if your team is actually improving and becoming a playoff possibility:

[Defense is what’s making 49ers better] – Mercury News