NFL Preview: San Francisco 49ers

by WCK, 100% Injury Rate

The last two years have not been kind to lifetime 49ers fans. We had to deal with a beyond awful 2005 season where Alex "Small Hands" Smith looked like he wasn't even worthy of being selected in the CFL Draft. We're still mad here that Matt Leinart decided to return to school that year.

Then in 2006 we saw signs of hope. Frank Gore emerged as a monster NFL running back, Alex Smith got better, and we were playing in the horrible NFC West. Anything seemed possible. But with a slim chance of making the playoffs, we lost a must-win game against the Buzzsaw with Leinart at the helm. Matt stabbed us in the back yet again.

But now it's 2007, and the 49ers are suddenly the sexy pick, which of course means they're going to suck. Well, maybe not, since we did have one hell of an offseason. Either way though, this is a make or break year for the 49ers. Let's take a look.

Offense: I'm still not sold on Alex Smith and I may never be. He's not as good a decision maker as Leinart, and to me, the most important ingredient for a QB is decision making. Who cares if someone can throw the ball 80 yards. Honestly, when are you going to need that? But that said, Smith has improved dramatically in 2 years and his decision making has gotten much better. What's crucial for Smith is that this year he'll actually have some fairly good receivers and a true deep threat. Darrell Jackson was a solid pickup, Arnaz Battle is a good possession receiver and Ashley Lelie, if he has his head screwed on right, is a true deep threat. Jason Hill, a rookie, could also play a crucial role as well and some experts believe he could become the #3 very quickly. The only problem is we lost Norv Turner, who is a terrible coach, but a great offensive coordinator.

That core of receivers is even more critical, because defenses will be keying on Frank Gore, who was beast in 2006. I expect big things from Gore again, but to prevent defenses from throwing 8 or 9 guys in the box, Smith and the receiving core must do some damage. There haven't been a ton of changes to the O-line, which was more than decent in 2006. Frank Gore didn't rack up all those yards just by himself. On the flip side, if Gore gets injured, we're absolutely screwed judging by the preseason. We have no backup. So don't get injured Frank.

Lastly, for some reason I have the feeling Vernon Davis at TE will be a key part of how well this team does. He's an incredible athlete who could add a deadly extra dimension to the 49ers receiving core. He has the ability to absolutely dominate the middle of the field. No linebacker in the league should be able to defend him. The only problem is Davis looked lost a lot during his first year and has been a bit of an asshat at camp this year.

Defense: Now this is where I'm truly excited. They did do some great work in the offseason. Nate Clements is a true shutdown corner, which is something this team needed since we were 26th in passing yards given up per game in 2006. The addition of Patrick Willis is also already being lauded as one of the best signings in years. I certainly hope so, because we had trouble stopping the run last year, giving up an average of 121 yards per game. Another year under Manny Lawson's belt should help as well. The D-line was fairly solid last year in pressuring the quarterback, and hopefully rookie Ray McDonald can add to that.

As long as the defense can be in the middle of the pack, this team has the capability to have a fairly good season.

Special Teams: If the dominant 49ers clubs of the 80s and 90s ever had an Achilles Heel, it was usually their kicker. That hasn't been the case with this squad. Joe Nedney, a San Jose State grad, WAS our offense in 2005 and was again at times in 2006. I have never had complete faith in a 49ers kicker, but I do in Nedney. Our punter, Andy Lee, also returns. He boomed punts last year to an average of 44+ yards, but his net was mediocre. Hopefully our 3rd stringers who I know nothing about can provide better coverage this year. As for kickoff and punt returners, uh, I hope they'll be good.

Overall: Mike Nolan has himself a decent squad this year. But as I said, this is a make or break year for the 49ers. They made some great offseason moves and its time to see if they'll come through. The front office certainly did their job. Now it's up to the team and Nolan.

Personally, I'm still not sure what to make of Nolan as a coach. 2005 was a true rebuilding year, and 2006 was him guiding a young team. The loss to the Buzzsaw really hurt right after beating eventual NFC West champs Seattle, but that was somewhat understandable considering this was a very young team. However, a truly good coach doesn't let a letdown game happen in a playoff push.

There's also a target on Smith this year. If Smith stinks it up, he'll be the next David Carr, and Nolan may soon find himself looking for another job. But there's plenty of hope on the horizon. The 49ers play in the NFC West, which isn't the toughest of divisions, and they don't have the hardest schedule. By my count they have 12 potentially winnable games on their schedule. And a good coach can usually add to that total of potentially winnable games by one. I'm not saying they'll win 12 or 13 games at all, I actually think they'll win 9, but they have the capability of winning 10 or 11 games this year if everything falls into place.

We'll see though. The 49ers already have the dreaded "sexy team" logo on them which has often been as bad as the Madden Curse (See the Buzzsaw last year). Hopefully that won't happen this time around.

And just for fun, here's BradyFan83's newest video, a tribute song to Joe Nedney.



VIEW OTHER NFL PREVIEWS