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Last Year
The 49ers were like the city of San Francisco prior to their 1849 gold rush: lacking personnel and poor. They only beat one opponent on their 16-game schedule and were the NFL's worst team. At least they won the first overall pick in the draft. With a new coaching staff and a new face for the franchise, the 49ers will try to change their direction and find gold once again.
What we Learned From Last Year
After the San Francisco 49ers kissed starting quarterback Jeff Garcia, starting wide receivers Terrell Owens and Tai Streets, and starting running back Garrison Hearst goodbye, it was pretty evident that the offense would not be nearly as productive.
Lo and behold, it wasn't.
Running back Kevan Barlow remained as the next best weapon, but labored tremendously in his first season as the full-time starter. He still finished as the team's leading rusher with 822 yards, but he only averaged 3.4 yards per carry.
He didn't regress — he just didn't have any help.
The offensive line was porous and weak. They permitted the second-most amount of sacks in the NFL (66), which should give you some indication.
With little pass-protection, the quarterbacks were next in line to suffer. Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, and Cody Pickett were only stopgap starters to begin with, but their production further diminished with little time to throw.
And when they did throw, they weren't exactly throwing to anyone dependable.
The receiving corps included Brandon Lloyd, who had previously only started one NFL game, Rashaun Woods, a rookie, Curtis Conway, an aging wideout, and Cedric Wilson.
Barlow was the only player worth caring about for defenses facing the 49ers last year and with no one to distract attention off of him, he wasn't able to be effective.
The Niners couldn't do anything right on offense. Passing the ball was an arduous task and running the ball was equally as challenging. Most of the talent was on the defensive side of the ball but averaging only 90.7 rushing yards per game and converting only 32.7% of their third downs put a massive burden on a defense that wasn't capable of carrying the weight.
Linebacker Julian Peterson was the anchor on defense until he was lost for the season after Week 5. Derek Smith and Jeff Ulbrich picked up the slack, combining for 202 tackles, but Peterson excels at pressuring the quarterback and once he was lost, sack totals took a hit. The defense finished with 29 and no player finished with more than six.
After starting cornerback Jason Webster departed in free agency to the Atlanta Falcons, second-year corner Mike Rumph slid into the fulltime role. He was awful in his rookie season and was not much better in year two of his career. Shawntae Spencer, another high draft pick, was decent in his rookie year, but also didn't offer much support for Ahmed Plummer.
At the backend, strong safety Tony Parrish provided a veteran presence, but had no competent partner at free safety.
With Andre Carter (although he suffered through a back injury) on the defensive line, the 49ers had a high-quality starter at each level of the defense. On talent alone, this defense was no worse than any other in its division, but without much support from the offense, the defense was not able to keep the ship afloat on its own.
The one good thing about being at the bottom is that there is only one place to go.
This Year
You don't always need a fortune-teller to foresee a disaster. For example: it is pretty evident that Nick Cannon's new movie, Underclassman, looks like a flop and that the San Francisco 49ers upcoming season is also going to be a fiasco.
While the 49ers may not be very successful in the win column in 2005, the point of the upcoming season is that this picture is still in production. It is not a finished product.
With the first selection in the draft, the 49ers picked up what they deemed to be the quarterback of the future. They figured that after Matt Leinart won another national championship and a Heisman Trophy that he would fall into their lap, but when he returned to USC, the Niners settled on the next best option, Utah's Alex Smith.
He projects to be a solid quarterback, but with the first overall pick, you would like to get an unquestioned superstar. With Tim Rattay still on the roster, a decent temporary solution, selecting Braylon Edwards and hoping for a shot at Leinart next year may have been a wiser solution.
Smith has a Peyton Manning-type brain, but the physical tools don't measure up. He is a very smart and avoids interceptions, but needs to improve his strength for the pro level.
The offensive line in front of him will be retooled and could be better than last year. The reason why that last "could" is not a "should" is because much banks on the return of center Jeremy Newberry. He is the anchor on the line, but is recovering from knee and back injuries that limited him to one game last year.
Jonas Jennings was signed to protect the quarterback's blind side at left tackle, which was a position heavily exploited last year. The arrival of Jennings means Kwame Harris can move back to the right side. Harris and guards Eric Heitman and Justin Smiley are up-and-comers. Second-round pick David Baas will challenge for playing time and provides some good depth.
If Mayberry plays, this line will perform significantly better than last year's.
That's great news for Barlow, who will once again be the emphasis of the offense. Rookie Frank Gore and sophomore Maurice Hicks will push him, but Barlow is the only back who offers the complete package. Gore is powerful, but lacks speed and Hicks is undersized.
Rattay has been named the interim started until Smith is ready and with more time to throw, the injury prone signal caller will be able to move the ball on offense.
Brandon Lloyd will serve as the team's top receiver and should be at his best in his third NFL season. He has slippery quickness and added 10 pounds of muscle to deal with the bigger cornerbacks. Aside from him, the receiving corps is pretty thin. Arnaz Battle will man the other starting role, but only has eight receptions to his credit and Rashaun Woods is lucky to still be on the roster.
Tight end Eric Johnson, the team's best offensive option and leading receiver last year, is recovering from a torn muscle in his right foot and may not be ready for the season-opener.
On defense, the 49ers will fully switch to the 3-4 scheme, which could work out well. The four starting linebackers are very underrated and with Jamie Winborn and Julian Peterson on the outside, the amount of sacks should increase. Both excel at getting to the quarterback. Andre Carter morphs into a linebacker and should be able to also provide some pressure.
Derek Smith and Jeff Ulbrich are blue-collar tacklers who don't transcend the standards of the position, but they get the job done.
What will throw a kink in the plans is the lack of the proper nose tackle. Anthony Adams is a little small to play the position, but the team is short on options. Fifth-round pick Ron Fields and Isaac Sopoaga might take some pressure off of Adams, but both are still raw.
Bryant Young and Marques Douglas will man the ends and both have experience in the 3-4. Douglas manned the end position in Baltimore when Mike Nolan was the defensive coordinator there.
In the secondary, the suspects remain the same, but a few minor shifts occurred. Shawntae Spencer will start in his second season next to Ahmed Plummer and Mike Rumph moves to free safety. Rumph has good instincts, but is a tad slow to play corner so this move should help him out.
Overall, this defense is above average and should play that way if the offense can support them. If they are forced to spend too much time on the field, and that is a likely possibility if the offense stumbles when Alex Smith becomes the starter, the Niners will be far from golden.
Over/Under: 4.5
The best team in the NFC West finished at 9-7 last year, so the 49ers are not exactly in the NFL's toughest division. Five wins would not be a possibility if Tim Rattay started every game, but with a rookie quarterback waiting in the wings, expect rookie mistakes when he gets the starts. They play: @PHI, DAL, IND, @WAS, TB, NYG, @CHI, @TEN, @JAX, and HOU.
Fantasy Sleeper
Taking a wide receiver on an offense with quarterback uncertainties is not necessarily ideal, but how much worse can the quarterback situation get than last year? Well, it can get worse, but someone still has to catch the ball. Brandon Lloyd had 565 yards and six touchdowns in his first season as a starter and has caught 10 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown in his first three preseason games. For someone who is being draft after the 100th pick in most drafts, he's worth a shot.
Stay tuned as Dave Golokhov brings you previews for all 32 NFL teams! Sponsored by CyberSportsbook.com, a great casino for horse racing and sportsbook action.
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