The Return to West Coast Glory: A San Francisco 49ers Dynasty

[Funkycorm]

Welcome to my San Francisco 49ers franchise. This idea has been several weeks in the making. I am the new head coach of the 49ers taking over at the start of the 2016 preseason. We have a lot to accomplish with this team to bring them back to glory. I was deciding between 4 teams and chose to accept the head coach job of the 49ers. My other choices were the Browns, Jets, and Saints. All good choices but I have played the Browns too much the last few years and wanted a change of pace.

My goal with this team, much like my goal with my Brooklyn Nets dynasty, is to build up with key players through the draft, free agency, and smart trades. If you followed the Nets dynasty, you know I love to hoard draft picks and build for the future. That is the plan here.

I would like to maintain as much realism in this series as possible.

Settings:

System: PS4, Madden 17
Difficulty: All-Pro
Quarter length: 15 minutes, 14 second clock run down
Sliders: Default
Rosters: Current with pre-existing injuries off.

How I will update?

I will do one recap of the preseason, then I will cover each game of the season per post. I will be playing all games and simulating none. I will then cover the post season over multiple updates, including dedicated posts for the NFL Draft.

Coach Profile:

Pierre Scott:

Coach Scott spent the last 4 seasons as Head Coach of the Arizona Wildcats with this job with the 49ers being his first gig in the NFL. Here is his full coaching history:

2012-2015: Head Coach, Arizona Wildcats.
2010-2011: Offensive Coordinator, Oklahoma Sooners.
2009: QB Coach, Purdue.
2006-2008: High School Head Coach.

Playbooks:

I call all my own plays with suggestions off. I play realistically and do not attempt to cheese the CPU on every 4th down or 2-point conversion. I typically user control a linebacker or safety on defense.

Offense: I am going to start with the Packers playbook then experiment with others during the preseason. I will also be trying the Browns, Falcons, and Rams’ playbooks. I will update with the final decision once the regular season starts during week 1 coverage. I have used the Browns’ playbook some in my other franchise but I am going to try it out.

Defense: 3-4 (Cleveland Browns). The 49ers run a 3-4 defense so we are going to maintain that as that is what I like to run myself.

With that, welcome to my San Francisco 49ers Franchise!

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

2016 Preseason

Immediate Roster Moves:

We signed DT Phil Taylor (76 overall) to be our nose tackle in our 3-4 scheme this year. He is an improvement over our current nose tackle and will help us short term. He has solid block shedding which is what we want in a 3-4 nose tackle.

We traded QB Colin Kaepernick (74) to Cincinnati for QB A.J. McCarron (72). We want competition at QB this year and Kaepernick was not going to get playing time. We chose a short-term solution at QB instead of picking up a mid-round pick. I will discuss our QB plans in a few posts from here.

The following position battles will be occurring:

QB: Blaine Gabbert and A.J. McCarron will be competing for the starting quarterback job.
HB: Mike Davis, Shaun Draughn, and DuJuan Harris will be competing for 2nd string halfback.
KR/PR: HB Raheem Mostert and WR Bruce Ellington will be competing for primary returner.

All battles will be decided between preseason week 3 and 4.

Preseason Week 1:

vs. Houston Texans: W 20-14

Takeaways from game: Our defense played well forcing 2 fumbles and recovering both but gave up some big plays. Our offense felt stagnant at times and did not have a commanding presence at quarterback. Our quarterbacks combined for 3 interceptions. We averaged about 3.5 yards per gain on the ground.

Players cut: No cuts were made week 1.


Preseason Week 2:

@Broncos: W 29-22

Takeaways from game: Our defense stepped up for us when we needed them to. Our quarterbacks combined for 5 interceptions and we only averaged about 3.0 yards per gain on the ground.

Players Cut: TE Kyle Nelson (42), TE Blake Bell (62), C Alex Balducci (64), LE Chris Jones (62), MLB Curtis Grant (62), MLB Shayne Skov (63), CB Prince Iwarah (60)


Preseason Week 3:

vs. Packers: L 17-36

Takeaways from game: We got run all over on the ground giving up multiple big running plays. Bruce Ellington established himself as our return man with a solid return game. No quarterback has separated himself from the other yet. The opening day QB starter will come down to the last preseason game. Our offensive line did a poor job blocking in the running game which kept our backs to only average about 3.5 yards per gain. Our wide receivers also dropped a lot of passes as well.

FS Marcus Cromartie (64) will be out 6 weeks with a broken collarbone.

Players cut: QB Thad Lewis (65), WR Chris Harper (59), CB Jacoby Shepherd (62), SS Marcus Ball (66)


Preseason Week 4:

@ Chargers: L 6-24

Takeaways from game: Poor run game, too many interceptions caused us to lose multiple chances to score, 2 blocked field goals hurt us, defense played well considering multiple short field opportunities for the Chargers.


Position battles:

QB Blaine Gabbert will start week 1 over A.J. McCarron. Both threw for about 600 yards in split time during the preseason. McCarron threw more errant passes, resulting in 10 interceptions in his 8 quarters played and had a lower completion percentage. Over half of the INTs were from poor throws.

HB Shaun Draughn will serve as the 2nd string halfback.

WR Bruce Ellington will be our primary returner to start the season.

Players cut: WR Deandra Smelter (63), WR Eric Rogers (63), TE Jim Dray (68), MLB Nick Bellore (70), CB Chris Davis

Players assigned to practice squad: HB Raheem Mostert (63), WR Aaron Burbridge (68), LE Ronald Blair III (70), CB Will Redmond (66), HB Mike Davis (73)

Free Agents signed to practice squad: QB Christian Hackenberg (65), TE Mitchell Henry (68), K Roberto Aguayo (71), CB Brandon Williams (70), WR Jordan Taylor (64)

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

2016 Roster:

2016 San Francisco 49ers
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
2	Blaine Gabbert (74)	QB	26	6'4"	235	Missouri
8	AJ McCarron (72)	QB	25	6'3"	210	Alabama
15	Christian Ponder (67)	QB	28	6'2"	229	Florida State
28	Carlos Hyde (82)	HB	25	6'0"	235	Ohio State
32	Dujuan Harris (73)	HB	27	5'7"	206	Troy
24	Shaun Draughn (73)	HB	28	5'11"	205	North Carolina
48	Ray Agnew (64)	FB	25
82	Torrey Smith (80)	WR	27	6'0"	205	Maryland
17	Jeremy Kerley (78)	WR	27	5'9"	188	TCU
11	Quinton Patton (75)	WR	26	6'0"	204	Louisiana Tech
81	Rod Streater (71)	WR	28	6'2"	195	Temple
10	Bruce Ellington (69)	WR	26	5'9"	197	South Carolina
89	Vance McDonald (80)	TE	26	6'4"	267	Rice
88	Garrett Celek (72)	TE	28	6'5"	252	Michigan State
85	Je'Ron Hamm (68)	TE	24	6'3"	236	Louisiana Monroe
74	Joe Staley (83)	LT	32	6'5"	315	Central Michigan
69	Andrew Gardner (73)	LT	30	6'6"	308	Georgia Tech
68	Zane Beadles (73)	LG	29	6'4"	305	Utah
60	Fahn Cooper (66) (R)	LG	23	6'5"	306	Mississippi
67	Daniel Kilgore (73)	C	28	6'3"	308	Appalachian State
66	Marcus Martin (68)	C	22	6'3"	321	USC
61	Andrew Tiller (77)	RG	27	6'4"	324	Syracuse
65	Joshua Garnett (70) (R)	RG	22	6'5"	321	Stanford
77	Trent Brown (75)	RT	23	6'8"	315	Florida
71	John Theus (66) (R)	RT	22	6'6"	303	Georgia
#	DEFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
91	Arik Armstead (76)	LE	22	6'7"	292	Oregon
92	Quinton Dial (74)	LE	26	6'5"	318	Alabama
99	Deforest Buckner (79) (R)	RE	22	6'7"	300	Oregon
63	Tony Jerod-Eddie (72)	RE	26	6'5"	301	Texas A&M
97	Phil Taylor (76)	DT	28	6'3"	335	Baylor
64	Mike Purcell (69)	DT	25	6'3"	303	Wyoming
90	Glenn Dorsey (66)	DT	31	6'1"	297	LSU
95	Tank Carradine (76)	LOLB	27	6'4"	295	Florida State
55	Ahmad Brooks (76)	LOLB	32	6'3"	259	Virginia
53	Navarro Bowman (90)	MLB	28	6'0"	242	Penn State
51	Gerald Hodges Jr. (82)	MLB	25	6'2"	236	Penn State
45	Carl Bradford (70)	MLB	24	6'1"	248	Arizona State
57	Michael Wilhoite (70)	MLB	29	6'0"	240	Washburn
54	Ray-Ray Armstrong (70)	MLB	25	6'3"	220	Miami
59	Aaron Lynch (79)	ROLB	23	6'5"	270	South Florida
58	Eli Harold (74)	ROLB	22	6'3"	265	Virginia
26	Tramaine Brock (81)	CB	28	5'10"	197	Belhaven University
25	Jimmie Ward (89)	CB	25	5'11"	193	Northern Illinois
33	Rashard Robinson (74) (R)	CB	21	6'1"	177	LSU
36	Dontae Johnson (68)	CB	24	6'2"	200	NC State
27	Keith Reaser (68)	CB	25	6'0"	190	Florida Atlantic
35	Eric Reid (78)	FS	24	6'1"	213	LSU
20	Marcus Cromartie (69)	FS	25	6'0"	195	Wisconsin
29	Jaquiski Tartt (75)	SS	24	6'1"	221	Samford
41	Antoine Bethea (75)	SS	32	5'11"	206	Howard
40	Vinnie Sunseri (66)	SS	22	6'0"	210	Alabama
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
4	Phil Dawson (78)	K	41	5'11"	200	Texas
5	Bradley Pinion (70)	P	22	6'5"	229	Clemson

(R) denotes rookie


2016 Depth Chart:

San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart - 2016
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Torrey Smith	Quinton Patton	Bruce Ellington
TE	Vance McDonald	Garrett Celek	Je'Ron Hamm
LT	Joe Staley	Andrew Gardner
LG	Zane Beadles	Fahn Cooper
C	Daniel Kilgore	Marcus Martin
RG	Andrew Tiller	Joshua Garnett
RT	Trent Brown	John Theus
WR	Jeremy Kerley	Rod Streater
QB	Blaine Gabbert	AJ McCarron	Christian Ponder
FB	Ray Agnew
HB	Carlos Hyde	Shaun Draughn	Dejuan Harris
Base 3-4 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Arik Armstead	Quinton Dial
NT	Phil Taylor	Mike Purcell	Glenn Dorsey
RDE	Deforest Buckner	Tony Jerod-Taylor
LOLB	Tank Carradine	Ahmad Brooks
LILB	Navarro Bowman	Carl Bradford
RILB	Gerald Hodges Jr.	Michael Wilhoite	Ray-Ray Armstrong
ROLB	Aaron Lynch	Eli Harold
CB	Tramaine Brock	Rashard Robinson
SS	Jaquiski Tartt	Antoine Bethea	Vinnie Sunseri
FS	Eric Reid	Marcus Cromartie
CB	Jimmie Ward	Dontae Johnson	Keith Rease
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Phil Dawson
P	Bradley Pinion
PR	Bruce Ellington	Quinton Patton
KR	Bruce Ellington	Quinton Patton

Draft picks we hold:

2017: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 7th, 7th
2018: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th

[Funkycorm]

2016 Roster Assessment:

Position Grades:

QB: Grade: C
HB: Grade: B-
FB: Grade: D
WR: Grade: B-, C+
TE: Grade: B-
LT: Grade: B
LG: Grade: C
C: Grade: C
RG: Grade: C+
RT: Grade: C
LE: Grade: C+
DT: Grade: C
RE: Grade: C+
LOLB: Grade: C+
MLB: Grade: A-, B-
ROLB: Grade: C+
CB: Grade: B-, C+
FS: Grade: C+
SS: Grade: C

Overall Roster Assessment:

Offense:
This is where most of our needs lie. Our priorities will need to be quarterback, wide receiver, and offensive line. We need a true franchise quarterback to lead our team to the promised land. He needs to have a strong pocket presence and be able to command out offense and be a leader on the field. Our next priority will need to be a true number 1 wide receiver. We have receivers with some potential on our team, but none are a true go to target. Next our offensive line is in need of an overhaul. We are led by Joe Staley at left tackle, but he is starting to get up in age and have to start considering a replacement for him and it is too soon to tell if right tackle Trent Brown can develop into that future left tackle. Our goal for the first draft this next spring will be to find a new center as that is the weakest link on our line.

Defense:

Our defense is young and should mature nicely over the next couple of years. Deforest Buckner will be a star at defensive end and our linebacking corps is strong as well. We will look to target our nose tackle of the future in the draft this next spring along with another quality cornerback.

Overall:

Overall, our roster has a lot of needs on it with only 7 players rated 80 or above. Our overall team rating is at 74 at the moment which shows we have a lot of improvement and growing pains to go through. The first few years of this franchise will be rough, but we must stay the course and build from the lines out on both sides of the ball.

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

2016 Schedule

San Francisco 49ers 2016 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 12	vs Rams
Sep 18	at Panthers
Sep 25	at Seahawks
Oct 2	vs Cowboys
Oct 6	vs Cardinals
Oct 16	at Bills
Oct 23	vs Buccaneers
Nov 6	vs Saints
Nov 13	at Cardinals
Nov 20	vs Patriots
Nov 27	at Dolphins
Dec 4	at Bears
Dec 11	vs Jets
Dec 18	at Falcons
Dec 24	at Rams
Jan 1	vs Seahawks

Record Prediction: 5-11, 4th in NFC West

Season Goal: Set for 8 wins. This will be a tough number to reach in year 1 with this team in a tough division.

[Funkycorm]

Posting freely can begin.

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

Week 1:

I decided to go with the Cleveland Browns offensive and defensive playbooks to start the season out.

Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers
Sep 12, 2016 1 2 3 4 F LAR (0-0) 3 21 17 0 41 SFO (0-0) 0 3 0 0 3 Top Performers PASS: Blaine Gabbert - 30-46, 289 yds, 4 INT RUSH: Carlos Hyde - 25 att, 103 yds,1 fumble REC: Vance McDonald - 8 catches, 90 yds	Team Stats Comparison LAR SFO First Downs 9 23 3rd Down Efficiency 1 5 4th Down Efficiency 0 0 Total Yards 339 488 Passing Yards 181 273 Rushing Yards 147 105 Penalties-Penalty Yards 1-15 2-30 Turnovers 1 7 Time of Possession 26:30 33:30
Los Angeles Rams San Francisco 49ers

*I will list under the top performers just those from the 49ers not the best overall for the game.*
*3rd and 4th down conversions are the total, not the percentage.*

Game Takeaways: This was a tough game. We had 7 turnovers with 4 of them being interceptions. Gabbert made some bad throws and 3 of his interceptions were from overthrowing his intended target. The turnovers cost us points on multiple occasions and gave the Rams great field position. The Rams defensive line dominated our offensive line most of the game. Hyde had some success on the ground as well. Overall, our offense could not move the ball and our defense was given short fields to defend most of the game.

MLB Gerald Hodges sustained a broken collarbone and will be out 7 weeks.

Stay tuned for week 2 coverage!

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

Week 2:

San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers
Sep 18, 2016 1 2 3 4 F SFO (0-1) 0 13 3 7 23 CAR (0-1) 0 13 14 3 30 Top Performers PASS: Blaine Gabbert - 33-54, 268 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT RUSH: Carlos Hyde - 22 att, 83 yds,1 fumble REC: Vance McDonald - 15 catches, 107 yds	Team Stats Comparison SFO CAR First Downs 17 11 3rd Down Efficiency 11 4 4th Down Efficiency 1 0 Total Yards 381 375 Passing Yards 262 147 Rushing Yards 82 104 Penalties-Penalty Yards 1-15 1-15 Turnovers 5 2 Time of Possession 33:28 26:32
San Francisco 49ers Carolina Panthers

*I will list under the top performers just those from the 49ers not the best overall for the game.*
*3rd and 4th down conversions are the total, not the percentage.*

Game Takeaways: We played better than in week 1 and had a chance to win until late. We had the ball with 2 minutes left in the game and on a wheel route, Carlos Hyde fumbled and gave the ball back to the Panthers. Our offense was able to move the ball some this week and we actually scored offensive touchdowns. Turnovers still hurt us as we had 5, including 4 interceptions from Gabbert. Again, 3 of his interceptions were from overthrowing his target.

MLB NaVorro Bowman sustained forearm fracture and will be out 5 weeks.

WR Quinton Patton suffered a dislocated elbow and will be out 6 weeks.

Thanks for reading!