49ers are moving in right direction

Mike Singletary preached, Scot McCloughan explained, Michael Crabtree signed, the team leaders shrugged, and nothing seemed wrong in the 49ers' universe this week.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is how playoff seasons feel and how good teams accept the end of a senseless negotiating standoff.

San Francisco faces a tough Atlanta team today, but what they have going now is bigger than Crabtree, and he must have realized that a few days ago.

Crabtree caved, arrived, got into uniform, and, as Singletary said, "We're going in this direction - and everybody that's not going in this direction, they're going to get left behind."

That's a team with momentum, a team with a plan. And the owner, Jed York, is on quite a roll.

Hire Singletary, entrust McCloughan, watch the team start 3-1, hold your ground on Crabtree's large demands. All of a sudden, the 49ers look as put-together as they have been since they reached the 1997 NFC title game.

The head coach is as solid as it gets. The GM is gaining stature. The roster is young and talented and utterly devoted to the big picture. The young owner hasn't made a misstep yet.

The Crabtree episode is just another instance of franchise-wide coherence, patience, confidence and fortitude. Those are four words not usually ascribed to the 49ers in recent years.

Something is happening here. Something big, probably.