Are we actually good now? Really??

Personally, I am really excited about the 49ers this year too. I think 12-4 is doable. Am I overreacting to the preseason games? Probably.

Originally posted by 49ERwhiner:

Originally posted by bigmur49:
What I mean, is when I look over this roster and think about it on paper it seems like we have the makings for a very good team, bordering on a great little run in the future.

We have tons of weapons all across the board on offence. We have an oustanding running back, with at least an improved left side of the line for him to run through. We have a 2nd string back who on his best day might have been better than Gore, we have a 3rd stringer who might just be a bowling ball as d-men wear down late in games. Crabtree looks like he should catch everything that comes his way, Morgan is a decent 2, and Ginn/Ziegler is a good alternative to stretch the field. We have a TE who can't be covered by linebackers and can block DE's.

The D seems relentless in stopping the run and while it may have some liabilities in the air I think overall they will be top 10.

I think Singletary is a fairly smart coach and will certainly keep the team focused in the right direction.

I see it (as mostly everyone else does) as coming down to Smith, and Raye. If Smith can be fairly accurate (which he was most of last year) and play with some guts, and Raye doesn't call 3 runs up the gut every possession I am starting to think they could be very good.

Please point out all the reasons why we will be 6-10 this year so I don't get too excited and then have the inevitable disapointment that has come with being a Niner fan the last ten years...

We won't have a top 10 defense if the DB's play like they did against Oakland. Teams moved through the air better against us last season and it looks like it will continue this season so far. Now I will remind myself the it is still pre-season and hope for the best.

Our secondary will be better than last year, lets stop overreacting about Oakland. Reggie Smith instead of Roman = instant upgrade. Smith will also take Lewis's spot on obvious passing downs and maybe even against pass-heavy teams. We didn't have Spencer for the Oakland game who is now our #1 CB. So just by him being in a real game every CB spot gets upgraded.

It wont be the best but our secondary will be better than last year. Let's stop the bleeding and whining until the regular season. Next thing you know SD will complete some passes and NT will be in an uproar even though our team is game planning for Seattle and could care less about SD.

Originally posted by 5280High:

Originally posted by 49ERwhiner:

Originally posted by bigmur49:
What I mean, is when I look over this roster and think about it on paper it seems like we have the makings for a very good team, bordering on a great little run in the future.

We have tons of weapons all across the board on offence. We have an oustanding running back, with at least an improved left side of the line for him to run through. We have a 2nd string back who on his best day might have been better than Gore, we have a 3rd stringer who might just be a bowling ball as d-men wear down late in games. Crabtree looks like he should catch everything that comes his way, Morgan is a decent 2, and Ginn/Ziegler is a good alternative to stretch the field. We have a TE who can't be covered by linebackers and can block DE's.

The D seems relentless in stopping the run and while it may have some liabilities in the air I think overall they will be top 10.

I think Singletary is a fairly smart coach and will certainly keep the team focused in the right direction.

I see it (as mostly everyone else does) as coming down to Smith, and Raye. If Smith can be fairly accurate (which he was most of last year) and play with some guts, and Raye doesn't call 3 runs up the gut every possession I am starting to think they could be very good.

Please point out all the reasons why we will be 6-10 this year so I don't get too excited and then have the inevitable disapointment that has come with being a Niner fan the last ten years...

We won't have a top 10 defense if the DB's play like they did against Oakland. Teams moved through the air better against us last season and it looks like it will continue this season so far. Now I will remind myself the it is still pre-season and hope for the best.

Our secondary will be better than last year, lets stop overreacting about Oakland. Reggie Smith instead of Roman = instant upgrade. Smith will also take Lewis's spot on obvious passing downs and maybe even against pass-heavy teams. We didn't have Spencer for the Oakland game who is now our #1 CB. So just by him being in a real game every CB spot gets upgraded.

It wont be the best but our secondary will be better than last year. Let's stop the bleeding and whining until the regular season. Next thing you know SD will complete some passes and NT will be in an uproar even though our team is game planning for Seattle and could care less about SD.

I would be very happy if you were correct but I still feel our backfield is suspect and will need lots of assistence from a pass rush. I guess we will find out how they really look in the Seattle game.

P.S. Smith going in for Lewis on obvious passing downs will help.

There is no reason we shouldn't be competing in the playoffs this season. NO REASON!!!! If we are not contenders this year, the staff needs to be wiped out.

It's hard to tell how good we're going to be until we see the whole unit playing together. VD and Crabs have been out all preseason, not to mention Gore. So, until all these players are on the field at the same time it'll be hard to guage just how good we are. Gotta get healthy.

Originally posted by mayo63:
It's hard to tell how good we're going to be until we see the whole unit playing together. VD and Crabs have been out all preseason, not to mention Gore. So, until all these players are on the field at the same time it'll be hard to guage just how good we are. Gotta get healthy.

When we take off the rose colored glass that we fans tend to wear the hard truth is it is too early to tell. I wish I could say that the pre-season made me feel the team was much better than 8-8 by a long shot. I'm always hopeful , yet waiting to see how we play in that first game.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:
1. We have a coach thats a motivator and not an Xs and Os guy.
2. We have ginn morgan and zeigler as our secondary options at receiver.
3. We have a qb who works well out of the spread and a rb that works well out of the i formation.
4. Our secondary sucks.
5. We have two rookie olinemen.
6. We have a offensive coordinator who falls asleep during games.

9-7 sounds about right. Im scared s**tless about that first game. Tough home field advantage, first game with a new coach, niners have the saints on monday night the following week. Trap game.

You make a lot of good points. The secondary and rookie O Linemen plus very underwhelming secondary WR's make this season no guarantee. I think there is a real chance we don't win the division or make the playoffs. Although I still hope for the best. But this secondary has me deeply concerned.

Glass half empty?
1. We have a coach who's made the team better each year.
2. We'll have Crabtree for an additional 4 games, no Isaac Bruce. Ginn is at least the same as Arnaz Battle, Zeigler (probably) beat out Hill, and Williams will catch at least one pass this year to match B. Jones.
3. We have the same QB and RB we had in the last half last year. There's reason to believe Smith will be better than last year. He's been better every year. Gore is Gore.
4. The secondary sucked last year. Spencer didn't play against Oakland.
5. The OL doesn't have Adam Snyder starting. The rookies are both improvements at those positions last year.
6. We have the same OC as last year.

I agree....I think that we've addressed weaknesses in our secondary, albeit many are still wet behind the ears. May be a season or two before it really comes together, but should be a notch above last years unit.

Most concerning to me (outside of how a questionable Alex Smith performs and if we can get Jimmy Raye to stop thinking that it's 1968 and that he's calling running plays for Paul Hornung or Floyd Little) is the O-line.

Starting two (2) rookies on the offensive front is almost unheard of in the NFL. Iupati and Davis have yet to see a full-blown, game-planned, regular season defensive scheme. It's a whole lot faster and more complex than what they have experienced in pre-season. I love our 1st round draft picks....But putting them both under fire as Game 1 starters makes me more than a bit nervous. Smith may see time on his back. And Alex isn't exactly the most reliable passer when he's flushed from the pocket.

6-10, 10-6....or anywhere in between. Still a whole lot of "X" factors on this team.

Originally posted by Paul_Hofer:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:
1. We have a coach thats a motivator and not an Xs and Os guy.
2. We have ginn morgan and zeigler as our secondary options at receiver.
3. We have a qb who works well out of the spread and a rb that works well out of the i formation.
4. Our secondary sucks.
5. We have two rookie olinemen.
6. We have a offensive coordinator who falls asleep during games.

9-7 sounds about right. Im scared s**tless about that first game. Tough home field advantage, first game with a new coach, niners have the saints on monday night the following week. Trap game.

You make a lot of good points. The secondary and rookie O Linemen plus very underwhelming secondary WR's make this season no guarantee. I think there is a real chance we don't win the division or make the playoffs. Although I still hope for the best. But this secondary has me deeply concerned.

Glass half empty?
1. We have a coach who's made the team better each year.
2. We'll have Crabtree for an additional 4 games, no Isaac Bruce. Ginn is at least the same as Arnaz Battle, Zeigler (probably) beat out Hill, and Williams will catch at least one pass this year to match B. Jones.
3. We have the same QB and RB we had in the last half last year. There's reason to believe Smith will be better than last year. He's been better every year. Gore is Gore.
4. The secondary sucked last year. Spencer didn't play against Oakland.
5. The OL doesn't have Adam Snyder starting. The rookies are both improvements at those positions last year.
6. We have the same OC as last year.

1. We have a coach that doesn't realize the rules have changed since 1985, and that passing is tantamount in the league.
2. Battle didn't have speed, but caught everything that came his way and could block, Ginn has not shown this.
3. the jury is still out on Smith. I support and root for the guy, but there are questions to be sure.
4. Corners haven't changed from last year with the exception of the addition of Adams, too soon to tell if the rook can step in right away.
5. Agreed, but they are still rookies and will be prone to rookie mistakes, and probably run out of steam over the course of the season. And Davis could be good, he could be the second coming of Kwame Harris.
6. See #1 above. That's if he stays awake during the whole game.

we are good. no time for excuses. anything less than 10 wins and the NFC West title is a failure.

They are who they thought they were!

Originally posted by BubbaParisMVP:
It's the NFL, anything can happen (aside from Buffalo winning the Super Bowl).

Or the vikequeens.

Originally posted by HessianDud:
we are good. no time for excuses. anything less than 10 wins and the NFC West title is a failure.

Agreed. But I am worried about our secondary now.

Originally posted by Nes49:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
we are good. no time for excuses. anything less than 10 wins and the NFC West title is a failure.

Agreed. But I am worried about our secondary now.

I am too, a little bit, but I'm glad we had those blown coverages and mistakes in the preseason. I hope we have enough time and wherewithal to address whatever the problems were (also, in general, I think playing our "true" defense, with game-planned coverages and blitzes, will make some of those problems go away.)

Originally posted by Nes49:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
we are good. no time for excuses. anything less than 10 wins and the NFC West title is a failure.

Agreed. But I am worried about our secondary now.

I'm not too worried about the secondary, the defense has been pretty vanilla so far, but I expect the DB's to step it up bigtime by opening day