To anyone that thinks the 2011 Niners are gonna be worse than the 2010 Niners were

We will be better because Singletary and Jimmy Raye do not control the offense anymore

Last year was tough watching Singletary and Raye try to force the team into being a smashmouth offense, and when we would fall behind we would suddenly become a spread offense out of desperation...now the team has a chance to gain an identity and grow together ...no more watching Frank up the middle on 1st and 2nd down and forced into a passing situation on 3rd and then have to punt the ball away ....we were SO damn predictable on offense...Harbaugh should be able to remedy that and make us forget last seasons disgusting offense

Originally posted by andes14:

Originally posted by Kolohe:
Not really, the O-line seems to suck more than last year, the loss of Baas was a big loss lol. And our defense has taken a major hit with the loss of Aubrayo Franklin, Sopoaga is still a question mark in the middle. Two major key players loss on both sides of the ball not to mention a new offensive system, Frank, Vernon and Patrick can't win with just them.

Franklin wasn't nearly as good in 2010 as he was in 2009 and Ray McDonald could easily make a bigger impact. Why would Iupati or A. Davis do worse in their 2nd years than they did their rookie year + Rachal should be better, no? Can't be much worse. Doesn't that make up for the change from Baas to Goodwin (who's stlll a pro bowler)? Also, maybe Spikes to Bowman is a downgrade, but other than that everything is an upgrade. Clements to Rogers, Lawson to Smith, Sing to Harbaugh (which should mean Crabtree and VD are better), Raye to Roman...we'll see how Fangio compares to Manusky. Added Edwards. Added Whitner. Those positions weren't even weakened in the offseason and we still added very good players. And don't you think guys like Brooks and Reggie Smith will be better too? In short, there's 3 reasons we'd be worse- Baas to Goodwin, Spikes to Bowman, and having no offseason with a new coach. But there's like 10+ reasons we'd be better.

On paper yes, we look better, but from the one on one battles in Preseason, no, the O-line looks terribly worse. Do you see all the keywords in your sentences (should be).

Originally posted by TalkinBoutWILLIS:
just because it is another year does not mean that a player is automatically going to be better. replacing players who have starting experience for younger players who have no starting experience can not mean an upgrade right away either. do not get me wrong i think we will be a better team however it has nothing to do with what you stated.

The only guys I'm assuming will be better for the simple fact that it is another year are A. Davis and Iupati. Sure the o-line has struggled in 2 of the 3 preseasons games (one of which was totally understandable), but preseason really does mean nothing and though players don't ALWAYS play better in their 2nd year than their rookie year, they certainly USUALLY do. The logic that I use for saying other guys should be significantly better this year than they were last year are that they have either shown it in camp (Brooks, R. Smith before he got hurt, etc.) or because of a competent coaching staff that will know how to use them and cater to their strengths (VD, Crabtree, etc.)- NOT just because "it's another year."

I think were gonna win atleast 8 games, Sing could not game plan worth s**t and we still almost made the playoffs...

I expect us to be rolling strong near the end of the season.

Originally posted by Kolohe:
On paper yes, we look better, but from the one on one battles in Preseason, no, the O-line looks terribly worse. Do you see all the keywords in your sentences (should be).

Again though, there couldn't be less of a correlation between pre-season performance and regular season performance. If there were, Thomas Clayton would be the 2nd coming of Jim Brown (probably will never have another regular season carry) and the '08 Lions would have won the Super Bowl (they went 0-16). Several of the Super Bowl winning teams lately went 1-3 in the pre-season and have looked terrible. Hell, we went undefeated last pre-season and we saw what that meant. You can't put much stock on what you see in August, even if it is just straight up getting beat one on one.

Originally posted by 49ersMan420:
I think were gonna win atleast 8 games, Sing could not game plan worth s**t and we still almost made the playoffs...

I expect us to be rolling strong near the end of the season.

And some better players and of course the coaching. I see a good first start to surprise people, a bad streak and a happy ending. Injuries will as always play a part. Smith takes some bad hits and you really have to wonder if he will make it all the way through, even if he is playing well. CK is getting all these reps for a reason, not just to see who will be the starter.

There are some reasons we could be worse.

1) Shortened offseason
2) Brand New Staff
3) Lots of new players learning new systems on both sides of the ball
4) Harbaughs lack of NFL "Coaching" experience

I agree on paper we should be better. We have the most talent that we have had in a long time. But they still have to play up to NFL standards. I really don't understand why the Oline is playing so badly. Hopefully once the season starts we can start throwing in surprises on O and D that will keep the other teams off balance.

I think the O-line issues will be the x factor in deciding whether we have a worse season or not. Doesn't matter if our defense is improved if the offense can't score or even sustain longer drives.

From what I can tell from the pre-season games, our O-line is struggling with communication, awareness, and physical factors. The communication and awareness go hand in hand, and can be attributed to the short offseason and new offensive scheme. By awareness, I mean identifying blocking responsibilities. In my opinion, they are understandable growing pains that can be fixed.

The physical factor, however, is a concern to me. While I was initially happy to hear some of the O-line players SAY they lost weight and kept their strength, I am starting to wonder if some of these guys are losing leverage. Staley, in particular, has been bull rushed a few times during the preseason. Also, I noticed that most of the O-line praised Aldon Smith's strength and leverage, but I've yet to see him toss anyone around in games.

I just want to see this season become a foundation and something that can be built upon for the future. Not grasping at the hopes of striking it lucky in a s**tty division, and recasting the coaching staff the next year, after their game plan exhausted itself two decades ago.

Nothing is going to surprise me, and I don't have high expectations for Harbaugh's offense being implemented right away. If we compete and their is a growing sense of direction with schemes being picked up, than I honestly don't care if we're in the 4-6 win range, just as long as I see hope for the future.

My question marks are Goodwin and Vic Fangio: Vangio's record reminds me an awful lot of Raye's, and the argument has been made that Goodwin was surrounded by some excellent guards and efficient offense.

I like the fact that we are being under estimated. Let them think we stink, if we do so what, this year is a wash anyway. Peter King, Chris Collinsworth, and many other supposed experts expected that we'd turn the corner now they say we will get the first pick in next year’s draft. A good sign I think.

Originally posted by fly15:

Originally posted by LeftBankeNiner:
Too bad we have the same QB.

its not his fault...

Is it me, or were the fans already starting to shower him with boo birds against the Texans?

Originally posted by Kolohe:
Well I never thought we'd start off 0-5 last season, so anything can happen. Don't get me wrong, I don't WANT it to happen just saying anythings possible.

Whoa! so 5-0 now?

Originally posted by andes14:

Especially those that think we will be SIGNIFICANTLY worse:

We lost Lawson, Clements, Baas, Nedney, Franklin, Spikes, Singletary, Raye, and Manusky and replaced them with Aldon Smith, Rogers, Goodwin, Akers, promoted McDonald & Bowman, Harbaugh, Roman, and Fangio (nearly all of those are upgrades)...not to mention adding Edwards and Whitner strengthened positions that weren't even weakened in the offseason. Plus throw in the fact that guys like A. Davis, V. Davis, Iupati, Rachal, Brooks, Reggie Smith, and Crabtree should all be significantly better in 2011 than they were in 2010 and that we just may now have a legit back-up to Gore for the first time in his career (Hunter) AND that we have an easier schedule, why would we be worse, especially way worse? The only way I think we'll be SLIGHTLY worse or similar is if the negative effect of not having an offseason with a new coach is even bigger than any of us think. That's literally the ONLY thing you can point at to think we'd be worse. But I think all of those positive things listed above will more than cancel that out.

Bigger than any of us think? No, just bigger than YOU think. Most of us realize that the lockout would affect us negatively, and not just a little. We were thought to be the team it would affect most, and we are.

I still don't think we'll be "way worse," or even worse at all, but I can definitely see it happening due to the lockout giving Harbaugh little time to get the team on the right page.

Originally posted by 49erRider:
Bigger than any of us think? No, just bigger than YOU think. Most of us realize that the lockout would affect us negatively, and not just a little. We were thought to be the team it would affect most, and we are.

I still don't think we'll be "way worse," or even worse at all, but I can definitely see it happening due to the lockout giving Harbaugh little time to get the team on the right page.

Huh? We all think it's gonna have a big negative effect, thats why I said if it's EVEN bigger than we all think, the word "even" thus implying we already think it's big...

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by Kolohe:
Well I never thought we'd start off 0-5 last season, so anything can happen. Don't get me wrong, I don't WANT it to happen just saying anythings possible.

Whoa! so 5-0 now?

Man if we started even 3-2 or 3-3...I'd be elated.