Several San Francisco 49ers players — and the team's head coach — have gone on the record admitting that their focus is returning to the Super Bowl and finishing what they couldn't in February. That defeat has been an offseason motivator and created a "Revenge Tour" battle cry for the upcoming season.
That's not to say that the 49ers are overlooking the regular season or what it takes to get to that point. They just realize that anything short of a Super Bowl win will be viewed internally as a disappointment.
Some criticized the team's mentality, though. Kyle Shanahan last month responded to that criticism.
"Man, we were a couple of plays short of the Super Bowl (win)," the head coach explained. "What do people expect our expectations to be? ... Hell yeah, we feel like that. But if we just think like that, and think we're just going to show up, we won't get to the playoffs. This league is too hard. No one has an easy way."
While a Super Bowl victory is clearly the 49ers' goal and focus for the 2020 season, safety Jimmie Ward is taking a different approach than many of his teammates.
"I hear a lot of people, right now, my teammates, they say they want to get back to that spot," Ward told reporters Tuesday via a video conference call. "Obviously, that's what everyone in the NFL, every team, wants to do — get to the Super Bowl and win it.
"But my approach is more just to take one day at a time, one game at a time. I've been in that position, so I've seen what it takes, but I can't look past this first game. I can't look past tomorrow in practice."
After an injury-plagued career, Ward stayed relatively healthy last season and performed at a high level. It was enough to earn the safety a three-year extension. He hopes last season's success carries over into 2020.
"I've just got to do everything the right way," Ward continued, "just try to keep the same routine, what kind of helped me be successful this previous season, and hopefully, I can put it all together this season."
