ESPN's Clayton thinks SF will be 3rd in NFC West

Q: How is Alex Smith coming along and does he have a shot to be the 49ers' starter this year? Do you think the 49ers have a shot to make the playoffs this year?

Mike in Mexico City

A: Smith is throwing but he hasn't made a move yet to win the job. Shaun Hill heads into training camp with the edge. Still, Smith does have a shot because he's still young and has plenty of talent. [b]The Seahawks clearly had a better offseason than the 49ers, and the Cardinals are a better team right now as long as Kurt Warner stays healthy. The return of Matt Hasselbeck should allow the Seahawks' offense to improve by five to six points a game. It would take a great season from Michael Crabtree to cause such a jump in the 49ers' offense. I'd say going in that the 49ers are third in the NFC West and not ready to be a winning team -- yet.[/b]
John Clayton, a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's McCann Award for distinguished reporting, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.



WOW Im alittle suprised that he can so easily write us off in the NFC West. WELL SHOW HIM
[url=null]null[/url] Claytons Mailbag

All I can say is Clayton MUST visit the zone frequently. He will learn a few things from the zoners and make better prediction like NFC is 9ers to lose.

BOOOOOO

eh i agree. seahawks to me are the best in the west they were just injured last season then i got cards second and us third. especaily considering we got a new offense coordinator again which i still think is NOT an upgrade over martz.

Sounds about right to me folks.... Were still a 7 or 8 win team... Probably third in the division

well seahawks are a good team good o line now got houch if hasselback stays healthy we are in serious trouble especially now that they have a very good LB corps assuming curry is not a bust

Originally posted by PRIMETIME21:
eh i agree. seahawks to me are the best in the west they were just injured last season then i got cards second and us third. especaily considering we got a new offense coordinator again which i still think is NOT an upgrade over martz.

Raye is a definite downgrade at OC, you are correct. And yes, the Seahawks and the Cards are better. And though I think the Niners are better off then the Rams I am sure we will just split that series

Not too far-fetched really. In all honesty, I see there being a tie between the 2nd and 3rd teams in the NFC West.

Our offensive success will greatly be attributed to three main things which are still question marks (not in order):

1. The utilization of Vernon Davis in the passing game.
2. The health of the Offensive Line.
3. The growth, progress, and performance of our young receivers in Hill, Morgan, and Crabtree.

If we get all that, we'll be much more explosive than many expect. But I think we're a 9-win team right now.

Guys, don't give in to the haters. We are not only winning the NFC west, in fact, NFC is ours to lose. When you feel weak, just listen to Singletary again and your faith will be recharged.

The Seahawks are overrated trash. Mora isn't as good of a coach as Holmgren was, their OL is busted up, their WRs are all old #2-3 guys coming off injuries(Housh isnt injured but he wont have CJ taking up attention for him anymore and hes 32), Julius Jones and Maurice Morris are trash, they lost JP for freaking Cory Redding, sorry but I think the Seawacks are hot trash.

Well then he doesn't know what the flying f**k he's talking about.....

As they say in the lead to the videos on 49ers.com..."don't tell me, show me".

Nothing matters 'til they start playing for real. Prior to that, it's all talk.

What a buncha bulls**t,the shehawks are as bad as than they were last year,we have improved(fired Nolan and Martz the moron).

Originally posted by Memphis9er:
What a buncha bulls**t,the shehawks are as bad as than they were last year,we have improved(fired Nolan and Martz the moron).

we did nothin really to improve this offseason,and a martz system is better for crabtree because he ran the spread offense with the red raiders so our run first offense won't really benefit our first round pick. marvel smith for jonas jennings is about gettin the same player really. brandon jones ? give me a break. seahawks had both starting WRs out last year and Hasslebeck and still kicked our ass on our home turf. they gettin TJ housh, Deon branch , Hasslebeck and now Curry , they would have easily won the NFC west last year if they stayed healthy and i dont see us having a better record than zona. im not being a downer i really hope we win the superbowl every year but being realistic here. i see it ending like this

1. Seahawks 10-6
2. Arizona 9-7
3. 49ers 8-8
4. Rams 4-12

Originally posted by Memphis9er:
What a buncha bulls**t,the shehawks are as bad as than they were last year,we have improved(fired Nolan and Martz the moron).

So basically you are saying because we got rid of Nolan and Martz....we MUST be a better team?

So how did that work out when we rid ourselves of Hostler? Erickson? Mooch?

Just because Nolan is gone doesn't mean we got any better. You can hope Sing is a superior HC to Nolan, but it is baseless. And again, how is it any different than Erickson to Nolan.....horrible head coach replaced by an unknown. It is not an answer, really it is just another question. 90% of this board was rolling with Nolan....just like 90% of this board will be cursing Sing if he has 3 s**tty years. Then what...will you be making posts how we MUST be better now because we are finally rid of Sing?