"One player is a second-year wide receiver out of Texas Tech who ranks among the leaders in catches and yards in the NFC West. The other is Michael Crabtree.

"Danny's like my brother on the field," Crabtree said of Rams receiver Danny Amendola. "My first couple combo routes were with Danny Amendola."

When the 49ers play at St. Louis on Sunday, the former college teammates are sure to jaw off.

Crabtree's boast is that his team beat the Rams last month. Amendola's retort will be his 75 catches (ninth in the NFL) for 627 yards, compared with Crabtree's 45 catches for 572 yards.

Amendola was undrafted out of college. Crabtree was picked No. 10 overall. But then, Amendola isn't the one dealing with yet another midstream quarterback change."