Are the 49ers really THAT bad?

[Sharpieman]

I've read it in sports mags, I've seen it on television and I've heard it on the radio and from sports fans: the 49ers will be the worst team in the NFL this year. Now I'm a rational person, I know they won't be good. They have one of the toughest schedules in the league and they've lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators. But, is this team really worse than Arizona and/or the Chargers? I wouldn't go that far. Although the Niners have lost a lot of their starters; CB Jason Webster, FS Zach Bronzon, Jeff Garcia, Terrell Owens, OG Ron Stone and Garrison Hearst, they still have some capable guys to replace at least some of them. I know everyone laughs at the name Tim Rattay, but this guy had a solid season when given the opportunity to play last year. Garcia, an erratic player who did nothing to stablize the offense win do the same in Cleveland. He'll put up good numbers, but at times he'll look like a rabbit in the pocket and throw passes that drop 5 yards in front of recievers. Don't get me wrong, Rattay isn't the savour of the offense and may not be better than Garcia, but by no means does he look like a complete dud.

Others look at the running back position and see Hearst as one of the biggest losses of the offense. But at the running back spot the 49ers are actually in pretty good shape. Kevin Barlow, despite his fumblitis should get at least 1200 yards. Their depth isn't that bad either, no one knows the name Jamal Robertson or Mauric Hicks but these guys are capable of giving Barlow rest while not creating a huge drop in the quality of personnel.

Terrell Owens was a HUGE loss on the field. But he was a disruption off the field that the young 49er team did not need. The WR's on this squad are no body's and I doubt there will be anybody able to get 1000 yards this season. But the future looks bright, Brandon Lloyd may be a star, he's shown streaks during last season and this preseason. Rashuan Woods is a big question mark and the WR core will probably be the one hit hardest by the offseason movement. Although, I am happy to see Eric Johnson back after a season ending injury last year.

The offensive line is young, very young. The Niners lost 2 of their best with the departure of Derick Deese and Ron Stone, both Pro Bowl caliber players. This year, last years first round pick OT Kwame Harris will get the chance to replace Deese, not an easy task. Kyle Kosier and second round pick John Smiley will take over Stone's spot. Smiley is probably the best or second best OG taken in this years draft. Newberry, Gragg and Heitimann will return this year.

Lastly, the defense only lost 2 starters from the year before, but they lost Jim Mora Jr. The LB squad is one of the most talented in the NFL and is expected to carry the D. The Niners drafted Shawntae Spencer and Mike Rumph looks as though he's improved a bit. Don't count out Jimmy Williams either, he should be a pretty good nickel back.

When looking at this team on paper, its hard to imagine that they will only win 3-5 games. Personally, I think they will win 6-8 games. If they win 3 or 4 I hope Erickson gets the boot.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Heck, I thought you were gonna say the Falcons were favored over them or something.

[Sharpieman]

Heck, I thought you were gonna say the Falcons were favored over them or something.
The Falcons are going to kick the Niners ass pretty badly. I'm sure of that much.

[Sun Tzu]

People love to spell the 49ers doom every year. I see it year in and year out. The Niners will finish 8-8 or better this year, and by seasons end people will be on their nuts like always. Then next off season it will be "49ers in great salary cap peril! Worst team in the league next year!" And on and on.

[JeeberD]

OG Ron Stone

Ron Stone drinks sangria. He's such a perfect fit for the San Francisco area...I wonder why he would want to leave?

[Vince]

As much as I sing the 49ers' praises and love to tell people the Niners are going to be better than people expect...I find it hard to believe a team that loses both coordinators, an All-Pro QB AND WR and something like 8 other starters is going to improve upon their record of last year.

[Franklinnoble]

I'll say this much... the Chargers will be worse than the 49ers.

Arizona might suck greatly, but I give them the edge in coaching.

The 'Niners suffer from really bad ownership right now. Only the Bidwells are worse, IMO.

[Sharpieman]

As much as I sing the 49ers' praises and love to tell people the Niners are going to be better than people expect...I find it hard to believe a team that loses both coordinators, an All-Pro QB AND WR and something like 8 other starters is going to improve upon their record of last year.
I don't see it either, but I can't justify making the prediction that they would be worse than the Chargers. I mean come on, its the CHARGERS.

[Vince]

I'll say this much... the Chargers will be worse than the 49ers.

Arizona might suck greatly, but I give them the edge in coaching.

The 'Niners suffer from really bad ownership right now. Only the Bidwells are worse, IMO.
Agreed on all counts.

[clintl]

Who cares? The Giants aren't done playing yet. It's not football season until the Giants are eliminated.

[Sharpieman]

The 'Niners suffer from really bad ownership right now. Only the Bidwells are worse, IMO.
I agree, John York just banged the right b*tch.

[Franklinnoble]

Who cares? The Giants aren't done playing yet. It's not football season until the Giants are eliminated. <table class="textSm" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="581"> <tbody><tr class="primaryBg"><td class="white" width="90">WEST</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="30">W</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="30">L</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="43">PCT</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="25">GB</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="25">E#</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="46">HOME</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="46">ROAD</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="46">EAST</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="46">CENT</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="46">WEST</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="36">AL</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="36">L10</td> <td class="white" align="center" width="36">STRK</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Los Angeles (http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/)</td> <td align="center">77</td> <td align="center">55</td> <td align="center">.583</td> <td align="center">-</td> <td align="center">-</td> <td align="center">39-25</td> <td align="center">38-30</td> <td align="center">14-18</td> <td align="center">20-10</td> <td align="center">33-19</td> <td align="center">10-8</td> <td align="center">5-5</td> <td align="center">L1</td> </tr> <tr> <td> San Francisco (http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/)</td> <td align="center">73</td> <td align="center">62</td> <td align="center">.541</td> <td align="center">5.5</td> <td align="center">24</td> <td align="center">39-30</td> <td align="center">34-32</td> <td align="center">19-13</td> <td align="center">15-15</td> <td align="center">28-27</td> <td align="center">11-7</td> <td align="center">5-5</td> <td align="center">L1</td> </tr> <tr> <td> San Diego (http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/)</td> <td align="center">71</td> <td align="center">61</td> <td align="center">.538</td> <td align="center">6.0</td> <td align="center">25</td> <td align="center">33-33</td> <td align="center">38-28</td> <td align="center">18-14</td> <td align="center">17-15</td> <td align="center">28-22</td> <td align="center">8-10</td> <td align="center">6-4</td> <td align="center">L2</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Colorado (http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/)</td> <td align="center">56</td> <td align="center">76</td> <td align="center">.424</td> <td align="center">21.0</td> <td align="center">10</td> <td align="center">31-35</td> <td align="center">25-41</td> <td align="center">11-21</td> <td align="center">10-20</td> <td align="center">27-25</td> <td align="center">8-10</td> <td align="center">2-8</td> <td align="center">W1</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Arizona (http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/)</td> <td align="center">42</td> <td align="center">91</td> <td align="center">.316</td> <td align="center">35.5</td> <td align="center">E</td> <td align="center">21-46</td> <td align="center">21-45</td> <td align="center">9-23</td> <td align="center">12-18</td> <td align="center">15-38</td> <td align="center">6-12</td> <td align="center">5-5</td> <td align="center">W1</td></tr></tbody> </table>
Won't be much longer...

Seriously, I just can't get into the Giants, and I've lived in N. Cal for over two years now. Maybe it's Barry Bonds, or maybe it's that I'm still a D-Backs fan... I dunno. I have a much easier time rooting for the A's.

[Franklinnoble]

I agree, John York just banged the right b*tch.
http://www.business-journal.com/0105/debartolo.jpg

I'd hit it.

[sabotai]

The Chargers do suck, but they also have LaDainian Tomlinson who will be a big enough big play maker to make several games winable. I don't think the Niners have a big play maker like Tomlinson who could win a few games for them.

But then again, The Niners do have Arizone in the same division so that should make their schedule a bit easier. The Chargers have Denver, KC and Oakland to deal with. I think it's basically a toss up between them.

[cthomer5000]

Yes, the 49ers are that bad. If your only defense is arguing that the Chargers are worse, you know you're in trouble.

[Vince]

Heh -- I never said we weren't in trouble :)

Our defense is still pretty solid. We're young, and getting better on that side of the ball each year. Now that Petersen's in camp, I'm much more optimistic about the defense. And while our offense isn't very good, Barlow is going to be great, and Rattay has looked decent in limited time. Our defense will be good enough that our offense will manage to pull out a game or five.

[Leonidas]

Chargers will be really bad, but do not underestimate the amazingly bad offseason in Miami as a huge meltdown could be lurking. Hard to win when you simply can't score.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I think the 9ers wll surprise people this year. Look for them to win at least 8-12 games.
I seriously think that they will be a solid team. No real distractions and a young and eager team could possibly make a push to the playoffs this year.

[larrymcg421]

Chargers will be really bad, but do not underestimate the amazingly bad offseason in Miami as a huge meltdown could be lurking. Hard to win when you simply can't score.
Yeah, I think we're in store for only the 3rd Dolphins losing season since 1970. I'm not exactly sure how bad, but it's gonna be bad. All we got is our defense now, and I'd expect some injuries with the amount of time theyre gonna have to be on the field.

Am I the only one that wishes we had picked Damon Huard over Jay Fiedler to be Marino's successor? Either way, I wish Wannstedt hadn't got so wrapped up in Fiedler's win/loss record and fetched us a premier QB by now.

[tucker342]

The 49ers actually had a good coach, they might actually surprise a few this year... to bad they don't, so ya, this season is going to be pretty ugly.:(

[MizzouRah]

Ahhhh... the demise of the Niners. Actually I'm sad for them.



Yeah, right.. I hope they go 0-16. :)


Todd

[SteelerFan448]

Cleveland is the worst team in the league this year.

[Sharpieman]

Ahhhh... the demise of the Niners. Actually I'm sad for them.



Yeah, right.. I hope they go 0-16. :)


Todd
The problem with that comment is that there is no demise of the Niners. Media said back in 2000 that the Niners were a dead franchise, all of a sudden, the Niners come back and in 2002 win one of the best playoff games in history. See the Niners might suck this year and the next or whatever, but they still will come back. There is no such thing as the demise of the Niners, besides, we still have 5 Superbowl rings :p

[sabotai]

Coincidently, the Niners last Super Bowl win came over the Chargers. Besides, it's a league of Free Agency and parity. When a franchise is said to be dead, it's pretty much understood that they just mean for the current season (and usually the next). Obviously in this day and age you can't say a team will be gone for a long time because it's relatively easy to rebuild in a short amount of time. Any team is capable of "coming back" in any given year.

And then there's Arizona....

[Sharpieman]

Well, even Arizona isn't a dead franchise, because it was never alive.

[sabotai]

They won a championship in 1947...it's something...They also had a decent team in the 70's, just never won it all.

[Darkiller]

Yes, the 49ers are that bad. If your only defense is arguing that the Chargers are worse, you know you're in trouble.
B I N G O

I think it is not going to be pretty.
Anxious to see that first game, at Candlestick, though.
Everyone talks about Michael Vick but all I know is that their Defense was the worst in the NFL last year. They do have a new coach, with a defensive mentality (Jim Mora Jr) but it won't be overhauled all of a sudden and their top pick, CB DeAngelo Hall is out for a few weeks and won't play next sunday againtst the 49ers.

I think if we lose this opener at home : we're in big troubles right off the bat and it will be a long season.
No matter how talented M. Vick is, I don't see the Falcons as a contender this year so we have to win this one. we must.

[Honolulu_Blue]

http://www.business-journal.com/0105/debartolo.jpg

I'd hit it.

Why is Maple Leafs standing with those people? I'm confused now... :confused:

[Vince]

Soooo many things wrong here.

1st - I am a diehard 49er fan. Have been my whole life. I don't think there's any way in hell we win more than 9 games. Ever. If every other team dropped dead, we'd find a way to lose 7 games.

2nd - Cleveland is definitely NOT the worst team in the league this year.

3rd - The 49ers - Giants playoff game of a few years back was one of the ugliest, most horrible games I've ever seen. Just because it was exciting doesn't mean it was a great game. Sure, I loved the game -- only because I'm a 49er fan. It was terrible...the last call was screwed up...Julian Petersen should have been fined thousands of dollars for randomly tackline a lineman who wasn't even in the endzone before the pass got there...SO many things wrong with that one play, let alone the entire game.

4th - I think it's going to be a long season regardless, but I think DK has it right here - getting off on the right foot and beating Atlanta (which is a terrible long shot, I'm afraid) is key to having a 'good' season. Personally, I think anything over 6 wins is a good season for this squad...which is sad, but true.

I'll try to respond tomorrow morning (well, it's 5 AM now...so tomorrow afternoon, when I'm awake again) when I'm more coherent to better answer these statements then.

[MIJB#19]

When I think of the NFL today, one think immediatly coming to mind is the Carolina Panthers' record over the past 3 seasons.

2001: 1-15 ; punchbag of the league
2002: 7-9 ; a good Defense but no weapon on Offense
2003:11-5 ; the NFC Champions

The NFL is almost as unpredictable as dice are, almost.

[rkmsuf]

Any time you have Erickson at the helm pencil the team in for 7 or 8 wins. I mean any team; 96 Cowboys: 8-8, 91 Giants: 7-9, he's old reliable.

[Apathetic Lurker]

TheCards will be better this year than last year.

[JAG]

This thread brought to mind another one from about four months back that also spoke about the 49ers: http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=25334&page=1&pp=50&highlight=49ers

Sharpieman, I hear where you're coming from. I've been there before. It's when the Cowboys went through three years of 5-11, each year I was saying "Well, they're not great here, but these guys could do this and that, hey, they could be a lot better than expected this year." Looking at your first post, you mentioned 7 guys who will be full-time starters that never have been in the past. These guys, with the exception of Barlow, did not earn these starts through merit but through salary cap cuts. It's a lot different putting up good numbers when nobody knows who you are (Rattay and Lloyd I'm thinking of) than doing it as a starter week in and week out when opponents have film to watch on you and are specifcally game-planning for you. I'm not saying some of the people you mention in your post couldn't succeed as starters, but can you honestly say you think every question mark will be answered positively?

I'm sure there will be a surprise coming from nowhere from a few players on that roster, but I think there's way too much uncertainty in many areas, especially on offense, that I see them going somewhere between 3-13 and 5-11 at best (if they played in a division without Arizona, it would be worse). If they stay healthy, they'll be closer to 5-11.

As MIJB#19 pointed out, they may well turn things around in a hurry if it turns out that they have the right QB on their roster, but this year, where they're playing with 2/3rds of the cap, they are going to struggle.

[MizzouRah]

The problem with that comment is that there is no demise of the Niners. Media said back in 2000 that the Niners were a dead franchise, all of a sudden, the Niners come back and in 2002 win one of the best playoff games in history. See the Niners might suck this year and the next or whatever, but they still will come back. There is no such thing as the demise of the Niners, besides, we still have 5 Superbowl rings :p
What do you want a Rams fan to say? ;)

It's just nice to see them dormant for a few years... although who knows what the Rams will do this season.


Todd

[rkmsuf]

What do you want a Rams fan to say? ;)

It's just nice to see them dormant for a few years... although who knows what the Rams will do this season.


Todd

This was my favorite part of the recap of last nights game:

Rams coach Mike Martz said he thought his team trailed by only three points in the waning seconds, so he called for a sideline pattern with 9 seconds left to set up a field goal, instead of going for the end zone on the next-to-last play of the game.

"I can't believe I was yelling for a field goal," he said. "That was the dumbest thing I've ever done as a football coach."

Martz thought he saw Oakland bobble the ball on the point after and thought the Raiders missed it.

"Smoker yelled at me, 'Hey, coach, we're down by four!"' Martz said. "Can you imagine Jeff Smoker telling me what the score was?"

[MizzouRah]

This was my favorite part of the recap of last nights game:
Martz is such a friggin idiot.


Todd

[pennywisesb]

Ron Stone drinks sangria. He's such a perfect fit for the San Francisco area...I wonder why he would want to leave?
To go to a much better team across the bay? ;)

[Sharpieman]

Actually, because the Niners don't have a lot of money, or York is a complete penny pincher. I heard a story about how he makes the staff and players pay for their own postage stamps and makes the staff double up in hotel rooms on the road to save money. That is a far cry from the days of Eddie D.

[Vince]

To go to a much better team across the bay? ;)
What was your record last year? Oh yeah, that's right. Shutup.

[totoro]

hmmm.... at least 49ers make Chargers look good. :cool:

Just Win Baby.