Last summer the 49ers were considered an ascending team by many, but very few expected their development to amount to a Super Bowl berth. Fast forward a year, and the expectations for the 49ers should be nothing less than the team winning its 6th Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. The 49ers must go all out to win the Super Bowl this year, and here is why: Entering the 2020 season, the team is loaded with a complete roster. On both sides of the ball, there are high-quality NFL players at the vast majority of starting spots. Most importantly, there is above-average talent at the most important positions. The NFL is a passing league, making the following positions vital to a team's success: quarterback, offensive tackle, edge...

With a limited amount of cap space heading into free agency, the San Francisco 49ers were forced to be sellers rather than buyers on the open market. This required general manager John Lynch to make some tough decisions, most notably trading DeForest Buckner and letting Emmanuel Sanders walk. The organization was able to find successors through the NFL Draft, but that also means the team will be counting on a handful of young players to be successful in year one. With a few newcomers set to play significant roles, it begs the question of which ones are the most important? Of course, every player on the roster is important and this isn't to say that the others are insignificant, but some rookies will bear more weight on their shoulders than others. Here is a look...

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was 2 yards, or fewer, away from being named Super Bowl LIV MVP. That's how far he overthrew wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for an easy touchdown in the 4th quarter. If Sanders was just a little bit faster, or if Garoppolo's throw had a little less behind it, the narratives surrounding the 49ers and their starting quarterback this offseason would be drastically different. As it is, Garoppolo has faced a barrage of analysis, articles, and tweets questioning whether he is a good starting quarterback, let alone a great one. All of this chatter has come after a season in which he guided his team to a 13-3 record, completed 69.1% of his passes (4th in the NFL), threw 27 touchdowns (5th) and 13 interceptions, and 8.4...

George Kittle is one of the best players the 49ers have had over the last twenty years. Just 3 seasons into his NFL career and it isn't a stretch to state that Kittle is the very best tight end who has ever played for the franchise. Why then, is there even a thought being given to trading George Kittle? On Friday evening word began to circulate via NFL Network's Michael Silver that Kittle's agent Jack Bechta is aiming for his client to get paid, not like the best tight end in football, but as something much larger than that. According to Silver the 49ers and Kittle "are not close" to a deal. This is no surprise as any follower of Kittle knows that his value extends well beyond...

There will be no magical "clinch by an inch" moment for the 49ers in 2020. 49ers fans will not have to hold their breaths, feel their hearts stop and then be overwhelmed by joy due to some legendary play made by a man draped in scarlet and white. When San Francsico LB Dre Greenlaw created one of the truly great moments in 49ers history last December by flattening Seahawks TE Jacob Hollister at the goal line on 4th down during the final game of the 2019 NFL season the stakes could not have been higher. In 2020 the 49ers will not wait until Week 17 to prove who is the best in the West. By the time the 49ers host Seattle the biggest question a 49ers fan will have will be: start or sit? I don't view the 49ers as an unstoppable force heading into the 2020 season. The truth is, the...

Over the past couple of weeks, NFL insiders and fans have been engaged in a heated debate about whether former 49er, Frank Gore, belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While most agree that Gore will eventually be honored in Canton, there are those who believe his enshrinement will be due to his longevity and inflated statistics. These critics will argue that Frank Gore has never been able to establish himself as a dominant running back at any point in his career, and even though he has always been a consistently good running back, he has never been...

For the last 13 years, Joe Staley has protected the quarterback's blind side for the San Francisco 49ers. He did this at an extremely high level as he was widely considered one of the best left tackles in the NFL for the better part of the last decade. However, as the old cliché goes, all good things must come to an end and the big man decided to hang 'em up about a month ago. Staley will be putting on a gold jacket in about five years, making it difficult for San Francisco to find a comparable successor. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan was able to use his previous relationships to help the 49ers land another future Hall of Famer,...

The San Francisco 49ers declined to pick up the fifth-year option for DE Solomon Thomas, who is being labeled as a "bust" by analysts and fans alike. Expectations are high for a third overall draft pick, and Thomas has been unable to live up to the hype. So, what exactly went wrong with the development of Solomon Thomas? The 2016 49ers were abysmal on the defensive side of the ball, ranking 32nd overall, allowing 406.4 total yards per game and ranking in the bottom half of the league with only 33 team sacks. The 49ers desperately needed a game-changing defensive end, who could generate pressure against opposing quarterbacks and set the edge against the run. In the 2017 NFL Draft, the 49ers filled that need by selecting Thomas, who was considered one of the nation's top...

The evolution of professional football from decade to decade is a conversation that never ceases to leave me in awe. Equipment gets stronger and lighter, while athletes eat and train better. The result is a faster game, though football's rudimentary foundations remain unchanged. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's mastery of professional football has given him many labels, including soothsayer and genius. Predicting the outcome of a play is impressive, but for me, Shanahan's modifications to the original West Coast Offense is his most remarkable accomplishment. In the 1982 49ers playbook, the late Bill...

Take a moment to think about the last 49ers player to be arrested. Google it if you must. This exercise may take a few moments of your time, but that wasn't always the case. Quite frankly, a 49er being arrested was a monthly occurrence under past regimes. 49ers fans would dread the days like this one, mid-May, when the NFL was deep in hibernation and yet a 49ers player would be the talk of the sports world. Whether it be Rueben Foster's domestic violence allegation, Aldon Smith's numerous DWIs or unfathomable bomb threat, Bruce Miller's physical assault of a senior citizen or Ahmad Brooks being booked on sexual battery charges, the 49ers had no shortages of disgusting headlines focused around the deplorable behavior of some of their biggest stars. Once beloved...

When the San Francisco 49ers traded DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts, finding his replacement became an immediate priority. The organization addressed this need by spending the 14th overall selection in the draft on Javon Kinlaw. Fair or not, the Unversity of South Carolina product will constantly be compared to his predecessor. While comparing production at the professional level won't be possible until the NFL season starts, we can still take a look at what Kinlaw and Buckner were able to accomplish in college. Of course, there is no scientific equation that states X amount of sacks as an amateur translates to X amount as a pro, but this exercise will at least provide some insight into how these two compare to each other heading into the league. To...

John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are widely considered to be one of the best general manager/head coach combos in the NFL. Taking a team from 6-10 to 13-3 and a Super Bowl appearance in three years will do that, but with success come a few misfires. 2020 marks the first year of the Lynch and Shanahan regime's decisions to pick up the 5th-year options of its first draft with the 49ers. 2017 number three overall pick Solomon Thomas already had his option declined, saving the team an estimated $12 million in...

Maybe it's because he is very handsome. Maybe it's because his coach chooses to run the ball more than pass it. Maybe it's because he dates porn stars. Maybe it's because his team lost a 4th quarter lead in the Super Bowl. Whatever the reason may be, people don't like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Sometimes players are just unlikable, I get it. While sports is based on physical abilities, the motivation to cheer for or root against a player often relies heavily on the personality of the player. Former Cleveland Browns QB Johnny Manziel is a prime example of someone who is almost impossible to like. Manziel was a spoiled rich kid who had a terrible attitude and was a junky off the field. Mix in some domestic violence issues and you have a person who only a...

Oh, what a difference a few weeks make. In my initial version of this article, created just before this year's NFL Draft, I penned in the names of ten veteran 49er players who I believed might not be with the team on the opening week of the upcoming regular season. With wide receiver Marquise Goodwin traded recently to the Philadelphia Eagles, accompanied by a trade of running back Matt Breida to the Miami Dolphins, that group of ten was pared down, then shaved again when 49ers all-pro tackle Joe Staley announced his retirement over the Draft weekend. Still another name was snatched from my list two weeks prior to the loss of those three, not by departure but via re-signing, when the team secured cornerback Jason Verrett to a one-year contract in mid-April. The...

With the recent schedule release for the 2020 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers revenge tour officially begins. While the schedule will certainly present its fair share of challenging matchups and adversity throughout the season, the odds of the 49ers once again claiming NFC supremacy remain high with a formidable roster intact. It's safe to say, after a bitter Super Bowl defeat, that the team has loftier goals beyond just the NFC. While the 49ers may be slightly less talented considering their offseason departures, reinforcements are in place to make another deep playoff run. More than half the players on the roster are in the final year of their contracts (potentially 34 to be exact). However the season ends for the 49ers, the future is now. Here are the...

With the NFL releasing the schedule on Thursday night, it's time to start making predictions and debating how the season will unfold for the San Francisco 49ers. Of course, a lot can change between now and September - or whenever the season will start - but let's have some fun and take a look at the 49ers' matchups this season. Week 1: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers Prediction: 49ers 24 Cardinals 13 Year two with Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray should be exciting. This Cardinals team made strides towards the end of the 2019 season and the addition of DeAndre Hopkins should help propel the team even further. However, the 49ers are still the better team and should have no problem taking care of business in Week One. Look for Arizona to...

The San Francisco 49ers' 2020 schedule has been released--pending any sort of changes, of course. Games may be subject to change during this particular time with COVID-19; it's possible some games could have little to no attendance or perhaps they will be delayed altogether. Nonetheless, I wanted to give my initial thoughts on the 49ers' schedule. They currently have the fourth toughest schedule (.527) with five prime time games along with some interesting tidbits: The 49ers will face six playoff teams in seven matchups during the upcoming season—the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, New Orleans...

The Niners enter the 2020 season with very few holes on the roster following an NFL Draft where they added Javon Kinlaw and Brandon Aiyuk to replace DeForest Buckner and Emmanuel Sanders, while trading for Trent Williams after 13-year veteran Joe Staley announced his retirement Despite the youthful acquisitions, the 49ers did not add anything new to the roster. Instead, they replaced what was already there. San Francisco will be reliant on returning injured players to be the "acquisitions" for the upcoming season. Former third-round pick Jalen Hurd has been medically cleared, according to 49ers' GM John Lynch. Jimmy Garoppolo's favorite target in 2017, Trent Taylor, is currently rehabbing and is expected to be ready for the start of the season. Even 2020...

The NFL offseason is a wild duality of celebration and sadness. Last week, 32 teams drafted 255 new players into professional football, while many veterans decided it was time to walk away from the game. Unfortunately for the San Francisco 49ers, the team and the millions of fans had to say good-bye to 13-year veteran tackle Joe Staley. The 'will-he-won't-he-retire' rhetoric surrounding Staley seemed to be mild up until a few days before the draft. I'm guessing 49er management knew Staley's intentions before the draft and put together a plan even Hannibal Smith would applaud. General manager John Lynch was able to drop back in the first round and obtain a blue-chip defensive linemen Javon Kinlaw. He waited until the third day of the draft...

Part of what makes the NFL Draft such a special event is all of the hope and excitement surrounding it. Players get to accomplish their childhood dream of playing professional football, while coaches and fans are exhilarated with what the team's new additions bring to the table. However, there is a dark side to the event. Through the draft and the undrafted free agent market, the San Francisco 49ers added 16 rookies to the roster. With every new face that enters the building, an old one walks out. The exit might not happen until September, or whenever the regular season starts, but...