Upward trend, yeah. I think their SB was more of a fluke and Kurt Warner going bananas than the team simply being that talented. That's why you like/watch Kurt Warner though, cause he could go bananas.
The 49ers were a physical team, Seattle and Arizona are now both physical teams because it was the only way to be relevant in the division. If you weren't, you just got manhandled by a team that probably wasn't better than you, they just hit harder.
If they didn't become physical teams, they wouldn't be as successful outside the NFC West as they have been.
Pretty much this. I'd rather the division be good so that everyone else can talk about how they can avoid playing it.