The Gold Standard - A 49ers Dynasty Madden 15

[Jhendrix6426]

The 2014 NFL regular season came to a close this week, and the 49ers ended up finishing the season with a 6-9-1 record, good for 3rd in the NFC West division. Around the league, the biggest news was Chip Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles who won their matchup, improving to a perfect 16-0 mark on the regular season. This is just the 2nd time that feat has been accomplished, last by the 2007 New England Patriots. We shall see if they can overcome the precedent laid before them by that team in '07, which lost in the Super Bowl.

As far as awards go, League MVP went to none other than Peyton Manning for guiding his team to a 15-1 mark on the regular season. Of course, Chip Kelly took the Coach of the Year honors for his brilliant season. A lone bright spot in the 49ers disappointing season was Chris Borland, who took home the defensive rookie of the year award for his stellar play in the absence of Navorro Bowman and Patrick Willis.

Award	Player	Pos	Team

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The Philadelphia Eagles are no longer perfect. They were defeated in their divisional round game against the New Orleans Saints. This was obviously a disappointing showing for a 16-0 squad that got lit up by Drew Brees to the tune of 4 TD passes. They will have to deal with that all summer as they look for retribution next season.

[Jhendrix6426]

49ers Fire GM

The 49ers announced this week they had terminated GM Trent Baalke. The move was surprising, as in it was unexpected, but looking at his resume its easy to see why they made the move. He had been the GM since 2011, and had missed on a lot of top draft choices including AJ Jenkins, Lamichael James, Tank Carradine, and a host of later round draft choices. Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all were his off season acquisitions. He routinely brought in overaged under performers and kept a lot of money tied up in veterans on the team that could've been let go in the interest of getting younger and cheaper.

The most intriguing part of all this is that the 49ers have stated they are in the works of naming a replacement and have set a press conference for next Monday at 10AM. Fans can't help but be excited, but what does this mean for the future of Jim Harbaugh, who is no longer looking at Michigan as they announced last week they hired Mississippi State's Dan Mullen. The new GM will no doubt have his plate full with a loaded gun situation regarding Jim Harbaugh and his future.

[Jhendrix6426]

49ers Hire Steve Young

The 49ers revealed they had signed a new GM via a 10AM press conference. Let me first preface this by saying this was a complete shock of a hire. Jed York announced he had named former 49er great and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young GM and Vice President of Football Operations. Essentially he will be Jed York's 2nd in command with all the power of ownership, just not quite the profit.

There was also an announcement regarding the future of Jim Harbaugh made by Steve Young himself. He stated the reason the press conference was delayed nearly a week was that he was working out the final details of a deal that will keep Jim Harbaugh in Gold and Red for the next 5 years. Jim Harbaugh nor Jed York were made available for questions, but Steve Young did take a few from the media. The transcript is below:

Reporter: When did Jed York first reach out to you regarding joining the team in this role?

SY: "Well Ma'am, he didn't reach out to me, I contacted him. Now I had no idea things would play out this way, but after the game against the Seahawks on Thursday night, I spoke with him and told him the status quo had changed. The team in its current state wouldn't be able to compete within that division if certain changes weren't made."

Reporter: What changes did you mean? Did you petition for Baalke to be fired?

"No, I would never suggest that someone lose their job without being involved with the situation. I was just speaking as a concerned party regarding the future of this team. I was offering an opinion of how the landscape had changed in that division, and how we had built a roster that relies on too much on a couple of key players. And the truth is a few of those players are on the downswing."

Reporter: So you must believe in Jim to ink him to a new deal. Do you have any concerns moving forward?

"Well, there's always concerns. You always hope for the best, but move cautiously to achieve the optimal results. I think Jim has done a wonderful job here, and he brought this franchise back to life when he was hired on. The one thing I will make mention of is that this new contract has a mention of the staff. Me and Jim will sit down later this week and discuss the staff and all the moving parts to make sure we have a common goal. A goal that we can achieve together and if theres dead weight now is the time to cut it loose."

Reporter: So what was the deciding factor in keeping the coach in place, because from the outside we can only assume if Baalke remained there would be a new coach?

"Well, look around this league. Good coaches are hard to come by. Great coaches are an extreme rarity these days. What Coach has done here from day 1 is nothing short of extraordinary."

Reporter: Do you think you have full control of things, without worrying about getting on York's bad side?

"Well, what you have to realize about Jed is, I've known him since his uncle was in charge. I remember seeing him on the field when he was a teenager, so there's history there. We're really good friends, that's why I felt so comfortable calling him up and speaking very candidly about the teams future."


"So that's my time for now, I appreciate each and everyone of you for coming out and welcoming me with such warm smiles and handshakes, and I look forward to many great years of answering your questions. Have a great day."

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SUPER CHARGERS!

The San Diego Chargers have won the Super Bowl. Behind the game's MVP, Phillip Rivers, his 3 TD passes, and a stingy defense, the Chargers rolled to a 34-10 victory.

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BREAKING NEWS: BELICHICK RETIRES

Owner Robert Kraft confirmed that the coach has in fact decided to hang up his headset. After the Patriots were ousted in their wildcard matchup, he took some time and ultimately made this decision.

Bill Belichick leaves the game after taking the Patriots to 5 Super Bowl appearances, including 3 wins. His coaching tree includes some very successful coaches in the business, including Bill O'Brien and Nick Saban, among others. He finishes his career with 210 wins, including 19 in the postseason.

Kraft did say that he believes the Patriots are in a good spot to rebuild while also being competitive, although he sees them as being a ways away from being a legitimate contender with a new staff in place and aging stars. They will bring in a coach with a new system and focus on getting younger.

"I thank Bill for all he did for me and this fine organization, and I'm sure the NFL is just as thankful for his impact. With that being said, I think we are going to do a thorough process regarding replacing Bill. I know we have an aging roster, so we will probably focus on getting younger during this transition as well."

The talk of getting younger and rebuilding can't be something that interests Tom Brady, but he did make a statement on his weekly radio show in Boston that he wants to continue playing, competing, and ultimately he wants to hold that Lombardi trophy one more time.

These statements by Robert Kraft and Tom Brady seem to be mutually exclusive so we will see what the future holds on that front. No one can blame a team for not wanting to put their future into a 38 year old QB on the decline, despite how storied of a career he has had.

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GREG ROMAN OUT

49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, speaking to the media for the first time since signing his new contract, announced that amid speculation and demands from the fans, offensive coordinator Greg Roman and the 49ers came to a mutual agreement to terminate his role with the team.

Roman had been under fire for his lackluster, and quite frankly, boring and mundane play calling. He did not utilize the strengths of this team, and tried to turn Kaepernick into a pocket passer, which he failed at.

Jim Harbaugh stated it was "tough to give notice to a good friend. But this is a business and I understand the need for evolution."

Tom Rathman (right), with Joe Montana (center) and Roger Craig (left).

Also announced by the coach was his replacement. Tom Rathman, a long time 49ers staffer, will me moved into the playcalling role. Rathman played fullback for the Niners under Bill Walsh, and was the running backs coach on the current staff. It will be interesting to see how this offense shapes up with a new coordinator in place.

[BlackGoldSaints25]

Sounds good