How far are we going?

If we lose to the Rams, I think we will go 8-8 with Manningham coming back and Aldon returning from rehab. Manningham isn't a game breaker but he knows how to get open and give Kaepernick some good looks. I'd like to see what BJ Daniels looks like against starting defenses though, he has some nice touch on his passes and showed the ability to fit the ball into tight windows. Nice timing on his passes and it looks like he has a pretty good feel for QB play.

I don't even wanna speculate playoffs right now

I'm grounded in reality. I see us finishing no better than 9-7. Why? This team doesn't have enough players at the skilled postions ie WR and CB. We are relegated to pounding the rock with the running game. But this doesn't work without the threat of a passing game. You need to operate a balanced offense to win in the NFL and we do not have the receivers to get this accomplished. Other teams will simply load up the box to stop the run.

I wouldn't rush Crabtree back too early and I don't see Manningham has a huge improvement because he of mediocre speed even when healthy. We need a HUGE infusion of talent at WR.

Originally posted by pete98146:

I'm grounded in reality. I see us finishing no better than 9-7. Why? This team doesn't have enough players at the skilled postions ie WR and CB. We are relegated to pounding the rock with the running game. But this doesn't work without the threat of a passing game. You need to operate a balanced offense to win in the NFL and we do not have the receivers to get this accomplished. Other teams will simply load up the box to stop the run.

I wouldn't rush Crabtree back too early and I don't see Manningham has a huge improvement because he of mediocre speed even when healthy. We need a HUGE infusion of talent at WR.

We did fine with less weapons, a worse OL and Alex Smith at QB, using the running game to soften up opposing defenses in 2011. Why, all of a sudden, wouldn't this work with even better weapons, an improved OL, and improved knowledge in this system? How come the offense is suddenly struggling to score enough to win and keep the defense fresh? The only thing at has really changed is the QB.

Originally posted by Forkenick:
We did fine with less weapons, a worse OL and Alex Smith at QB, using the running game to soften up opposing defenses in 2011. Why, all of a sudden, wouldn't this work with even better weapons, an improved OL, and improved knowledge in this system? How come the offense is suddenly struggling to score enough to win and keep the defense fresh? The only thing at has really changed is the QB.

Well I respectfully disagree. We had Randy Moss who was a deep threat which teams needed to respect. He opened up a lot of underneath stuff for Vernon and Delanie Walker. Plus we had Crabtree who was really coming into his own as a #1 receiver in this league. Sprinkle in Mario Manningham.

Our receiving corp is nowhere near this level now. Not even close.