ESPN's Clayton thinks SF will be 3rd in NFC West

It's totally possible we could have another losing season, but it's also possible Clayton can bench 225lbs 25 times, but I doubt it, and I doubt his prediction.

The West is ripe for the taking, and I like our odds, I really do.

Seattle's off-season looks good on paper, but how they will perform under Greg Knapp and Jim Mora is another story. I think we can all recall how well they did in San Fran, not bad but not great either. They have an aging quarterback stifled by injuries, they have no consistency in the running game, and last I checked Hoosh isn't a number one type receiver. In fact I don't think they have a number one receiver on their roster. So Seattle is just going to rise up and take us down with that? Don't think so.

Arizona has some problems too, a quarterback pushing 40 with a bum hip he neglected to tell anybody about. A couple of unhappy players in Boldin and Dansby ready to cause distractions going into training camp. Not to mention the cruel history given to Super Bowl losers the following season.

We didn't make a splash in the off season but we have improved our depth at just about every position, and upgraded our wide receiver corp to possibly the best it's been in years. The defense is starting to blossom under Manusky, and the special teams unit has always been solid. Of course, there are concerns at quarterback and how well the offense will adapt to another OC. Jimmy Raye isn't a Mike Martz but he's not a Jim Hostler either, or dare I say, Greg Knapp.

I don't think we'll go 12 and 4 but another losing season just doesn't make sense to me, not this time. I think we have a real chance of going 10 and 6 and winning the West.

Not sure how accurate Clayton's been with his predictions but I'd take his comments with a grain of salt. He doesn't study our team in depth and doesn't have the info that local beat writers have. Maybe if he takes a serious look at our roster and coaching staff and watched some practices I'd listen but he's just taking the easy answer. Nice job going out on a limb there buddy.

Predictions are predictions....Its what we do in the season that matters. Let everyone down play us. Then when the season comes along, we can prove them wrong.

If you look at the stats for the past 4 years, you will see that neither the Seahawks or the Cards were very good. The Seahawks, although they won the division, were a middle of pack team on O and D. I think in 2004/5 they were 5th best in O, but that is it. The rest is a history of mediocrity. The Cards are even worse. So I find it funny when Clayton, or whomever, doesn't actually look at the stats, and just remembers Seattle winning the NFC west for a few years, and claims they will return to greatness. Sure. They will return to being medium, as will the Cards, the question is will the 49ers be medium, subpar, or actually good? I say good.

Funny that neither Cript Keeper nor the 'Zone mentions our much improved defense (we didn't add a lot of guys, but our scheme drastically improved under Sing and we finished 13th after a half-season of NoWin's big nickle). Add a strong D and a less turnover-prone O and we should be OK--maybe not as exciting, but solid.

I love the fatalism in mid-May.

Originally posted by AXEGRINDER:
I'd love to get paid a grip to spew out unsubstantiated BS predictions. What a job.

Originally posted by db9er:
Predictions are predictions....Its what we do in the season that matters. Let everyone down play us. Then when the season comes along, we can prove them wrong.

Which analyst predicted the Cards to go to the Superbowl: 0. Only cardinal fans believed they would go to the superbowl.

Hold on a minute...don't assume Raye's an OC downgrade. I like Martz...but, let's face it, there was no way he was staying in SF. He was a last-ditch effort by Nolan to resurrect the offense. He did...somewhat. But, we saw the results, too...JTO getting sacked and turning the ball over. Raye's offense should resemble Turner's...they both believe in pounding the ball and doing play-action passes. He'll use his TE's...Martz didn't. We have three guys who can catch the ball at that position. We won't see any more 7-step drops...then wait for receivers to uncover, all the while our QB's getting the crap knocked out of him. What we will see is 3 & 5 step drops...Hill getting the ball out quickly, to receivers in positions they can do something with it (YAC). For all of Martz' talents, he's still unemployed...Raye is with his 6th team. He must have something to offer...or he wouldn't be working in the NFL any more.

As for Clayton's prediction...he could be right...but, the way I see it, the NFC West is wide-open. We have as good a chance to win as either Seattle or 'Zona do. We have to play smart football and not give games away like we did last year. Nobody will pick us 'til we win...so that's Singletary's challenge...get our guys to play like winners.

Originally posted by danimal:

Originally posted by Memphis9er:
What a buncha bulls**t,the shehawks are as bad as than they were last year,we have improved(fired Nolan and Martz the moron).

So basically you are saying because we got rid of Nolan and Martz....we MUST be a better team?

So how did that work out when we rid ourselves of Hostler? Erickson? Mooch?

Just because Nolan is gone doesn't mean we got any better. You can hope Sing is a superior HC to Nolan, but it is baseless. And again, how is it any different than Erickson to Nolan.....horrible head coach replaced by an unknown. It is not an answer, really it is just another question. 90% of this board was rolling with Nolan....just like 90% of this board will be cursing Sing if he has 3 s**tty years. Then what...will you be making posts how we MUST be better now because we are finally rid of Sing?

So true because we all know that the head coach has little impact on how the team plays. Did you really just make that point... foolish.

We all know that the head coaching change had nothing to do with the resurrection of teams like Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans, Carolina, Baltimore, and many others over the last few years.

Granted Sing is an unknown commodity and the 9ers could very well have another loosing season. Going from a known loosing commodity to an unknown promising commodity is defiantly an upgrade.

Once again it comes back to Qb and the Niners have the worst Qb in the division. Clayton's opinion isn't crazy or anything just his opinion. If you look at Seattle and don't' think they had a monster off season and will be much better b/c of the retrun of a healthy Hassleback then you are tripping. Funny how folks say Marvel smith is a major improvement though he's coming off injury. But Hassleback and the Seattle WR's will struggle b/c they are coming off injury. Can't have it both ways. Niners could finish 3rd or they could win the division imo it's wide open.

1, 2, and 3 place in the NFC West are going to be real close. Either us, the Tards, or SeaChickens could fall into any of these slots.

Last year (2008) we beat the Chickens when Hastlebeck played but we lost to them when he was out. We would have split with the Tards (win one lose one) if Martz didn't phuck up the end of that game.

Our D should be better with us only having 1 DC now (Nolan's interference is gone) And running to set up the pass should open lanes for Crabs, VD, and Capt. Morgan to make some big plays.

So 3rd is a possibility; but, so is 1st...

I see Clayton's opinion as being a valid one, especially since the 9ers haven't shown that they can win the division and there are a lot of uncertainties with a turnover in coaches and playbooks. I certainly respect the opinion of someone who has been covering the NFL for over 30 years professionally.

Hopefully the 9ers will gel under Singletary's guidance and step-up, but you never know till they strap on the pads.

Originally posted by lamontb:
Once again it comes back to Qb and the Niners have the worst Qb in the division. Clayton's opinion isn't crazy or anything just his opinion. If you look at Seattle and don't' think they had a monster off season and will be much better b/c of the retrun of a healthy Hassleback then you are tripping. Funny how folks say Marvel smith is a major improvement though he's coming off injury. But Hassleback and the Seattle WR's will struggle b/c they are coming off injury. Can't have it both ways. Niners could finish 3rd or they could win the division imo it's wide open.

They defiantly made some good upgrades, but the coach is Mora Jr and Greg Knapp and once again that makes all the difference in the world. When it comes down to QB play, it is true that we probably have the worse rated QB's in the division but lets remember what wins championships....DEFENSE. Great example would be the Saints and Bronco's last season. I'm just saying with some average QB play we could be a playoff contender if the rest of the team steps up and our coaches execute the type of game plans they did late last year.

Let them talk... All the more reason to throw it in their face when we win the West! We are going to HIT THEM IN THE MOUTH NEXT!!!!!!

Originally posted by PRIMETIME21:

Originally posted by Memphis9er:
What a buncha bulls**t,the shehawks are as bad as than they were last year,we have improved(fired Nolan and Martz the moron).

we did nothin really to improve this offseason,and a martz system is better for crabtree because he ran the spread offense with the red raiders so our run first offense won't really benefit our first round pick. marvel smith for jonas jennings is about gettin the same player really. brandon jones ? give me a break. seahawks had both starting WRs out last year and Hasslebeck and still kicked our ass on our home turf. they gettin TJ housh, Deon branch , Hasslebeck and now Curry , they would have easily won the NFC west last year if they stayed healthy and i dont see us having a better record than zona. im not being a downer i really hope we win the superbowl every year but being realistic here. i see it ending like this

1. Seahawks 10-6
2. Arizona 9-7
3. 49ers 8-8
4. Rams 4-12

I agree with Primetime, except that he gives the Rams too much credit with four wins.

I wouldn't count SEA out to win the division. They ran into a lot of bad luck last year. However, I think the coaching down grade will hurt them and Hasselbeck.