The San Francisco 49ers had one play to beat the Arizona Cardinals in their Monday night thriller. The ball was on the 2 ½-yard line with 3 seconds left to play.

So why would 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz call an inside running play for Michael Robinson in this all-or-nothing situation? Has Mad Mike gone completely insane?

The Cardinals stuffed Robinson, exposing Martz to relentless second-guessing. After the game, 49ers coach Mike Singletary carefully distanced himself from the play call.

What went wrong?

Martz told CBSSports.com that bad officiating, not poor play-calling, was the culprit.

Let’s boil it down:

Martz thought the line of scrimmage was actually the Arizona 1. He said he didn’t realize officials moved the ball back another 1½ yards after a replay review, ruling that Frank Gore had been down by contact.

“I didn’t know it was the [2½-yard line] until this morning,” Martz said. “I didn’t know. I left the stadium thinking we didn’t make it from the 1½- or 1-yard line. I couldn’t believe we couldn’t punch it in from the 1-yard line. I was upset with that. I couldn’t see from where I was.”

Really?

Even if he actually knew what the new line of scrimmage was, Martz said there was no time to change the play call. The 49ers were out of timeouts.

“We go to the 1 — or the half-yard line — then spike the ball when, all of a sudden, officials tell us they’re going to look at the replay,” Martz said. “While they’re looking at it, the ball stays at the 1. So we send in a play. Then, when they make their decision, they move the ball back to the 2½ and tell us they’re going to start the clock on the official’s wind.

“We couldn’t change the play. We had to go with what we called. If it would’ve been at the 1, we would’ve made it. But they moved it and didn’t give us any time. So what are we going to do? If they would’ve moved it to the 10 we still would’ve had to run the play that was called. We got screwed because of the spot, first and foremost.”

CBSSports.com contacted Mike Pereira, the league’s vice president of officiating, for a response. Among the counterpoints made by Pereira: The final play was run on third down. The 49ers had time to spike the ball one more time and change plays.

Some things never change. Rams fans watching the game suffered déjà vu watching San Francisco’s terrible clock management and lack of coaching command.

Before he retires from coaching, Martz must learn to spend less time staring at his play chart and more time watching the actual football game.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while the Rams attempt to relocate even a shred of their professional pride:

• Isn’t it about time for a Blues goaltender to steal a win for this struggling team?
• Will unbeaten Ball State muscle into a real bowl game?
• Should the Cardinals woo Trevor Hoffman away from the West Coast?
• When the University of Texas establishes its own sports network, how can Big 12 North teams compete against that?

RIVALRY OF THE WEEK

Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens was glad to see his old friend DeAngelo Hall land with the Redskins to shore up the Washington secondary.

“At the rate he’s playing, I’m looking forward to a big day,” Owens said at a New York City book signing, according to The Associated Press. “I’m no stranger to playing against him. I’ve had success against him just as much as everybody else has, so if he’s out there, I’m looking forward to playing him.”

UNFORTUNATE CHEAP SHOT OF WEEK

Was there really that much crowd noise at a Houston-Tulane game? Houston defensive end Phillip Hunt paved Green Wave quarterback Joe Kemp after officials blew the play dead.

Hunt later apologized for the hit, which left Kemp with a broken collarbone.

“I want to start by saying how sorry I am for what happened the other night against Tulane,” Hunt said in a statement released by the Houston sports information office. “I certainly did not try to hurt Joe Kemp. I never heard the whistle and I felt I was still being blocked so I continued on.

“It was third down and nine, my adrenaline was pumping and the crowd was really loud. It just happened so quickly, and I am truly sorry and apologetic for him getting hurt.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Charlie Weis played mostly with Ty Willingham’s players for two years. He went 19-6 with Fiesta and Sugar Bowl appearances. He has played with mostly his own players in the last two seasons. He is 8-13 and may not go to a bowl either year. Either he can’t recruit or he’s coaching them down. Or both.”

Elliott Harris, Chicago Sun Times: “Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis said Tuesday he will call the offensive plays against Navy on Saturday. This, of course, was not his first choice. But the Coast Guard Academy is not on the Irish schedule.”

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “With Jimmie Johnson bearing down on NASCAR history — as in a third consecutive driving title — ABC-TV cut away from the final 34 laps of Sunday’s rain-delayed race in Phoenix to air ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos.’ As one Johnson team member told The Associated Press: ‘I knew we were in trouble when I looked at the monitor and saw a monkey scratching its butt.’”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Jose Canseco has been sentenced to 12 months probation for attempting to smuggle a fertility drug into the U.S. from Mexico. A fertility drug!? That’s all we need. More Jose Cansecos!”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “Glad Daunte Culpepper finally landed back in pro football. Well, sort of. He signed with the semi-pro Detroit Lions this week and then said of the winless and woebegone franchise: ‘I am encouraged by the commitment of ownership, the vision of management and the great potential of the talent that is on the team.’ See what playing for the Raiders did to poor Daunte? He not only lost his mojo, he apparently lost his sense of reality.”

Will Leitch, Deadspin: “Another reason the Eagles and Cowboys aren’t making the playoffs? The Falcons’ frighteningly easy schedule the rest of the way. If they can beat the Panthers at home in a couple of weeks, they could win out. And yes, fans of every other team in the NFL, you have a right to be annoyed that the Falcons just draft a dude, cold, who looks more poised and comfortable than any of your wannabes over the last 25 years. Just get your current QB to mutilate some animals, and this could happen to you.”

MEGAPHONE

“He had 41 and he made it look easy. We tried switching a little bit. My only real complaint would be that we’re still not aggressive enough on someone like that. The better players right now are putting up big numbers on us. LeBron is going to get his numbers—16 for 24—that’s a pretty easy night for him. A couple of times we did a good job on him, but he was finding other people because we had a couple of other guys asleep.”

Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles, after Cavaliers star LeBron James scored 41 on his team.