San Francisco 49ers
Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh (36-11 all-time in San Francisco)
Last Year's Results: 12-4, eliminated by Seattle Seahawks in NFC Championship
Projected Starters:
(My Player Rankings Guide:
E - Elite Starter: Franchise changing player at his position
HQ - High Quality Starter: One of the best in the game at his position
GS - Good Starter: If this guy's on your team, he's likely starting and you should be perfectly fine with it
AS - Average Starter: This guy is OK, but if possible, I'd be looking for an upgrade
BAS - Below Average Starer: This guy should not be starting, but he will because he's the best option
??? - Not enough information regarding this guy and the jury is still out on him
R - Rookie: Pretty self-explanatory
PS - Poor Starter: This guy shouldn't be starting for your football team. NO EXCUSES!)
OFFENSE:
QB: Colin Kaepernick (GS)
RB: Frank Gore (GS)
FB: Bruce Miller (HQ)
WR: Michael Crabtree (HQ)
WR: Anquan Boldin (GS)
TE: Vernon Davis (HQ)
C: Daniel Kilgore (???)
RG: Alex Boone (GS)
LG: Mike Iupati (HQ)
RT: Anthony Davis (GS)
LT: Joe Staley (HQ)
DEFENSE:
DE: Ray McDonald (GS)
DE: Justin Smith (GS)
DT: Glenn Dorsey (AS)
LOLB: Ahmad Brooks (GS)
ROLB: Aldon Smith (HQ)
ILB: NaVorro Bowman (HQ)
ILB: Patrick Willis (E)
CB: Tramaine Brock (GS)
CB: Chris Culliver (AS)
SS: Antoine Bethea (AS)
FS: Eric Reid (AS)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: Phil Dawson
P: Andy Lee
Schedule:
vs. @ Dallas
vs. Chicago
vs. @ Arizona
vs. Philadelphia
vs. Kansas City
vs. @ St. Louis
vs. @ Denver
BYE WEEK
vs. St. Louis
vs. @ New Orleans
vs. @ New York Giants
vs. Washington
vs. Seattle
vs. @ Oakland
vs. @ Seattle
vs. San Diego
vs. Arizona
Predicted Results: 14-2 (5-1 in division)
Team Analysis: The San Francisco 49ers are the best team in the NFL. At least that's my opinion. I picked them to win the Super Bowl last season and they were one Michael Crabtree catch away from making that happen (they would have smoked Denver just as bad as Seattle did). This year? I think Crabtree makes that catch and the 49ers are celebrating their first Super Bowl title since 1994. From head to toe, the Niners are just stacked. While they may not be as loaded as a team like Seattle is in the secondary, they still match-up incredibly well with their NFC West rivals. I love what San Francisco offers up on offense this season. A healthy Michael Crabtree and the addition of Stevie Johnson from the Bills will help Kaepernick's numbers improve. It's probably time to start kicking the tires on Frank Gore, but the 49ers have a good core of back-ups (namely Carlos Hyde) ready to step up should Gore's production start to slide. All I know is, 49ers fan had better hold their breath that Colin Kaepernick is able to stay healthy because back-up QB Blaine Gabbert is right there ready to stink up their new stadium at a leg injury's notice.
On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers should continue to extract dominance on the rest of the league. Of course there's questions on whether or not Aldon Smith will actually even play this season or if NaVorro Bowman can return from his injury in old form, but if they do, this corp of linebackers just may be the best in the NFL. The Niners are fine on the defensive line and as I mentioned earlier, there are some questions in the secondary, but there are plenty of young guys ready to step up and move up into the upper echelon of the NFL. There's a reason San Francisco has had a top 5 defensive the last 3 seasons. They are good and they will continue to be good.
Speaking of good, the 49ers have themselves a good, but controversial, head coach in Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh has helped turn San Francisco from a dumpster fire into one of the most talented squads in the NFL. Success rarely comes without controversy though and Harbaugh is surrounded by it. There was talk of the 49ers potentially trading Harbaugh to the Cleveland Browns, because Harbaugh reportedly rubs some of the upper brass (and some of the players as well) wrong. In my opinion, when you got a guy like Harbaugh, you keep him at any cost. An NFL's teams success is usually reflective of their head coach and Harbaugh has shown that he has what it takes to be a successful coach in the National Football League for years to come. It's no secret that I feel as though the Super Bowl champion will come out of the NFC West and we should probably just flip a coin between the Seahawks and 49ers and just give it to that team. For the record though, scrap this entire preview if Blaine Gabbert enters a game at any point during the season. Seriously. If he's in the game, things have gone seriously wrong in SF......
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