What is the minimum number games the San Francisco 49ers have to win for the 2019 season to be considered a success? Would 8-8 be considered a successful campaign? Would they have to win well over eight games for fans and the media to be reassured the team is headed in the right direction?
The 49ers haven't reached eight wins since the 2014 season under Jim Harbaugh. The team has averaged just over four wins per season since then. Head coach Kyle Shanahan's and general manager John Lynch's squad has won 10 games total over the past two seasons and earned just four victories last season.
NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger, who joined 95.7 The Game on Monday morning, believes the minimum number of victories required this season for the 49ers to not disappoint is 10 games. If that mark is not hit, he believes there could be some repercussions in San Francisco.
"This has to be the year that the 49ers compete every week," Baldinger said on the "Joe, Lo and Dibs" show. "And I'm not talking about, 'Well, let's get to eight wins.' No. This is a team that has been building for three straight years. Their quarterback is the biggest part of it.
"This is a team that has to go out and win 10 games this year. If they don't, regardless of what Garoppolo does, it's going to be a major disappointment and heads will roll, as they like to say. This is a do-or-die year for Garoppolo and for the 49ers, and so I expect 10 wins for this football team this year. And if that's enough to get to the postseason, well, then so be it. But if it isn't, that's where they've got to be.
"They've got to get double-digit wins, and the quarterback has to play at a high level to do it."
Baldinger goes on to point out that Shanahan and Lynch have been adding pieces to their roster through free agency, the draft, and trades for three straight years and it is time to finally produce.
"It's just time to put this thing together," Baldinger adds. "There's just no five-year plan in the NFL. Three years, it's time to get it done, and they have the talent to do it. It's not a question of talent or anything else right now. It's a question of just going out there and playing as a team, taking care of the football, and start taking the football away because those are what good teams do."
Baldinger also said he expects rookie wide receiver Deebo Samuel to "be a stud in this league," but doesn't know how long it will take for him to reach his potential.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Baldinger below.