From what we know after week 6:
-special teams went from a strength to possibly a weakness. Big regression here
-Our pass rush is glaringly weaker than last year, at least so far. Aldon Smith was more effective with Parys.
-We aren't generating turnovers or game changing defensive plays at the same rate as last season. This right here is key. People seem to forget we rode our defense last year. It was playing at an elite level, and I don't know if you can say that in light of our performance against the only winning teams we played.
And we haven't beaten a winning team. We'd done that by this point last year, more than once.
So much time still left, and so often teams can get better or even regress over the course of a season.
Did anyone expect the NFCW to be this competitive? I think most expected (including myself) a relatively easy Division title. That's a shift in expectations right there.
in the end, I think we are still a playoff caliber team and will probably win the division, but I'm cautiously optimistic until we beat a good team. That needs to happen before Superbowl dreams begin, period.
If we don't beat Seattle by at least 8 at home this week, my qualms remain
[ Edited by BayAreaNinersFan on Oct 16, 2012 at 12:49 AM ]