Have 49ers improved enough to become winners?

I luv my niners but i don't see any improvement, please somebody shed some light

Our pass rush is very suspect and so is our QB at this point. Those are 2 major what if's I think any level headed fan should understand, so thats why I'm voting to early because maybe Sing is playin vanilla on D and Hill performs well in games.

I agree with Matt....we still have a lot of question marks at the same positions that hurt us last year......we will see in a few weeks....but (I know this going to sound bad) I'm already looking forward to next year. We have 2 1st round picks that will hopefully be our Pass rusher (G. Selvie) and Tackle or Safety. Plus even if crabs signs next week he won't make a real impact until next year (any impact rookie needs a full training camp) and hopefully Nate davis will develop in to a capable starter or at least be able to compete for the Job...........2010....here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ Edited by Ninerbowl6 on Sep 4, 2009 at 15:45:08 ]

The 49ers have not improved much since last season. We needed to beef up the O-line and improve the passrush. We did neither.

I will be interested see how we "impose our will" on opponents without improving the roster.

[ Edited by nflguy49 on Sep 4, 2009 at 15:05:39 ]

No. Not at all. But they are moving in the right direction.

Last year's 7-9 record was a bit lucky. It could have been (and maybe should have been) much worse.

This year, the record will be similar, but it will be legit. They are around an 8-8 team.

They could do as badly as 6-10 or as well as 10-6 or anything in-between, depending on a few key factors and how things go in a few key games.

However, we will establish an identity. We will run the ball and stop the run.

But without a true playmaker at QB or at any position on offense except RB, we will struggle to convert on 3rd an medium to long. That will result in a lot of punts that should have been at least field goals if we got a few more yards and field goals that should have been TDs.

Similarly, we will stop the run, but struggle without a pass rush or any playmakers at either S position to stop other teams on 3rd down and give up a few too many big plays in each game.

We have not addressed any of our glaring needs from last year: pass rush, RT, QB or S.

So, while we will not be a "bad" team, we will not be a playoff caliber team either. That doesn't mean we can't make the playoffs. We are in a weak division and a couple key wins could make the difference.

But once we get there and are facing teams that are more seasoned and more complete, the difference will be obvious.

But hopefully, we will get to the point where all of what we do well will become solidified and any FA or draftees will be to address areas of need, not filling the roster with any good player because we need help all over.

My gut says "no" but I'll take the wait and see approach. Maiocco does a nice overview:

http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2009/09/have-49ers-improved-enough-to-become-winners.html

and I mostly agree with him. Improvement will have to come from within and a lot of things will have to go right. The truth is this team was a winner over the last 7 games of 2008 and so you can make the argument that we're already there and all we have to do is build on that success. But like a lot of people, I see major red flags at O-line and D-line and it's easy for me to envision disaster. In the end, I think this is an 8-8 team. If things go well and we get a few breaks, we could have a winning season; but if we have a couple key injuries or bad breaks we're looking at another disappointment.

"However, we will establish an identity. We will run the ball and stop the run."

We were already decent at that. We have one of the best runningbacks in the NFL. The 49ers run defense has never been as horrible as the pass defense. In fact the run defense often helped raise our avg so the defense didn't rank dead last.

9 wins and/or a playoff game are the only things that can save Singletary's job.

I believe both Singletary and Scotty will be out of jobs should the 49ers finish their season as poorly as some think they will.

Im not as confident as I was two weeks ago when I thought we were a 9-7 team, now im thining 6-10, 7-9 at best but im hopeful we will be better.

I think what Singletary is trying to build this team like last year's Dolphins and Titans. Run the ball, eat up clock, force turnovers and do not turnover the ball. I think our offense will look a lot like the Titans and Dolphins offense last year, but while I think our D is good as as good as the Dolphins D last year, I don't we will have a dominant defense like the Titans did last year.

nope

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
No. Not at all. But they are moving in the right direction.

Last year's 7-9 record was a bit lucky. It could have been (and maybe should have been) much worse.

This year, the record will be similar, but it will be legit. They are around an 8-8 team.

They could do as badly as 6-10 or as well as 10-6 or anything in-between, depending on a few key factors and how things go in a few key games.

However, we will establish an identity. We will run the ball and stop the run.

But without a true playmaker at QB or at any position on offense except RB, we will struggle to convert on 3rd an medium to long. That will result in a lot of punts that should have been at least field goals if we got a few more yards and field goals that should have been TDs.

Similarly, we will stop the run, but struggle without a pass rush or any playmakers at either S position to stop other teams on 3rd down and give up a few too many big plays in each game.

We have not addressed any of our glaring needs from last year: pass rush, RT, QB or S.

So, while we will not be a "bad" team, we will not be a playoff caliber team either. That doesn't mean we can't make the playoffs. We are in a weak division and a couple key wins could make the difference.

But once we get there and are facing teams that are more seasoned and more complete, the difference will be obvious.

But hopefully, we will get to the point where all of what we do well will become solidified and any FA or draftees will be to address areas of need, not filling the roster with any good player because we need help all over.

Great post.

I also don't have much, if any, faith in Jimmy Raye. Raye as an offensive coordinator in the NFL has an average record of six wins and ten losses while only scoring just under nineteen points a game. With Singletary's philisophy as an aggressive run team, and our poor QB situation, I'd be surprised to see more than 20 points scored in a game.

Couple that with our thin secondary, lack of apparent pass rush, and we could be in for a dismal season.

Here come the gloom and doomers...

Let's not forget that this core group of players improved signficantly under Singletary as the year went on. The hope is that this improvement is for real -- both team wide and for each player -- and will continue on into this year.

I'll tell ya in December

Originally posted by nflguy49:
"However, we will establish an identity. We will run the ball and stop the run."

We were already decent at that. We have one of the best runningbacks in the NFL. The 49ers run defense has never been as horrible as the pass defense. In fact the run defense often helped raise our avg so the defense didn't rank dead last.

9 wins and/or a playoff game are the only things that can save Singletary's job.

I believe both Singletary and Scotty will be out of jobs should the 49ers finish their season as poorly as some think they will.

They are both busy acting as if they haven't been here for the past 4 years. They don't know what has happened in the past . It seems that everything is, or was, the fault of Nolan. As a result, there are fans that have completely forgotten that they were old Nolan dudes and are giving them a free pass. The seven year plan to mediocrity for these guys is right on track.

The funniest thing I have heard is when sing said on the radio that the first thing he had to change was "the culture". Ummmm... excuse me, McFly? FYI, you helped to establish the culture that you suddenly want to change.

Enough already.

My gut says no, but my heart says too early to tell.

I think we'll be a good second half team, just as we were late last season. The question is still can we pass the ball well enough to keep games close until the second half? The sample size we've gotten offers no answers.

Defensively, we have some concerns, but I think even without a great pass rush we will be decent enough to keep from getting totally blown out.

We're a work-in-progress, but I think some important pieces are in place for the future, moreso than any time in the past few years. I think nflguy is right-on about this year being an identity year.