interesting blog i found from few years back

[49ers] 49ers Making History
The 49ers have never been the same since Steve Young was hurt on that day against the Cardinals. They have been to the playoffs since he was gone but it was nothing more than a wild card loss and a divisional playoff loss. Nonetheless they still managed to make history during that time when they defeated the Giants in a miracle win after trailing 38-14 late in the third quarter. Making history has been the story of this franchise.

After that season the 49ers managed a 7-9 record in what would be the finale for a lot of 49ers players. The year after that the 49ers were terrible. They went 2-14 and locked up that number 1 overall draft choice. Going into the 2005 draft there was a lot of speculation that the 49ers would draft either Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers. Smith went to Utah University and led his team to an undefeated record and was in the race for the Heisman trophy. Aaron Rodgers went to a much more prestigious school, he played for the California Bears. On draft day the 49ers drafted the Ute Alex Smith. Only 20 years old at the time of the draft. This would lead to more history making.

Alex Smith was only 21 and he was handed the starting QB role for a franchise that has been spoiled with some of the greatest QB's to ever walk this Earth. He had the worse year for a rookie QB ever, passing for 11 interceptions and 1 touchdown. Many fans were ready to deem him a bust. Coming into the 2006 season fans and the media alike were unsure of how he would do. He accomplished more than he was expected to. He became the first QB in 49ers history to take every snap in a season, showing his durability. He improved by a longshot and threw for 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. And this was all at the age of 22. You can expect him to improve those numbers by a lot this year and continue his journey to be the next great 49ers quarterback.

In the same draft that Smith was taken in there was another man who was waiting to be called. Frank Gore, whose career at Miami University was cursed by injuries. A lot of teams did not trust his knees holding up in the NFL. As the day went by he was taken towards the end by the 49ers. Coach Nolan liked what he saw from this kid and had trust in him. In Gore's rookie year he showed signs of greatness, making a lot of fans eager to get rid of Kevan Barlow and let the younger and more talented Frank Gore take over. Gore didn't only take over the 49ers running back spot, he took over the league. He was the leading rusher in the NFC and was named the starting running back for the NFC's pro bowl squad. There is no doubt that he is the best running back to come out of the 2005 draft. He set the 49ers record with 214 yards rushing in a single game. He also broke the 49ers single season rushing record as he went on to rush for 1,695 yards. He led the team in receptions as well with 61. Once again, breaking records.

Then comes the 2006 NFL draft. The 49ers drafted a phenom tight end out of Maryland University, Vernon Davis. He broke the record for the fastest tight end in the combine, running a 4.38. He put up more bench reps than D'Brickashaw Ferguson at the combine, Davis put up 33, Ferguson put up 26. He is one of the 49ers fastest players and he is the league's fastest tight end. Vernon Davis got injured his rookie year during a pile up against the Eagles. He missed part of the season because of it. He finsished the yeat with 20 catches for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns. This 49er also made history.

Manny Lawson was taken in that same draft as Davis, and like him had unusual speed for a player at his position. Running a 4.43 40 at the combine. The most recent 49er phenom is Patrick Willis, he ran a 4.37 at his pro day. And this guy can hit like Ray Lewis, but plays with the speed of Champ Bailey. The 49ers also took Joe Staley to shore up their offensive line. He will most likely come as a replacement for Kwame Harris, who was drafted by the last coaching staff.

Speaking of the coaching staff, Mike Nolan has showed his elite scouting skills along with being able to get the most out of his players. He is a player's coach who can relate with his players while still demanding their respect and getting them to work hard. Mike Nolan is making history too, he will wear a suit for all 8 home games this coming season. But that is not all of the history he has made, he has also created a 49er team that expects to win and desires to win. If you ask the older fans they will tell you something along these lines: "I haven't felt this much energy about our team since 1981".

And that is what we like to call making history.

-Spencer Ford

looking at this blog i see alotta similarity to todays team sept mike nolan is gone and its sing in place now every player mentioned are still in the team then you add to that with crabtree ,a davis ,ilupati, taylor mays, ted ginn jr threw trade of a 5th rd pick oh and also 2 years running same offencive system which will most certainly make smith more confident in his game calling

i donno if this year will be hyped up yet again but i feeling very confident going into the season with everything we have in place yes were not perfection yet but were close i feel it