2008 NFL Season Preview: #27 San Francisco 49ers

Team: San Francisco 49ers
Division: NFC West
Last Year's Record: 5-11
Head Coach: Mike Nolan

Schedule:
WK 1 Arizona Cardinals
WK 2 @ Seattle Seahawks
WK 3 Detroit Lions
WK 4 @ New Orleans Saints
WK 5 New England Patriots
WK 6 Philadelphia Eagles
WK 7 @ New York Giants
WK 8 Seattle Seahawks
WK 9 BYE
WK 10 @ Arizona Cardinals
WK 11 St. Louis Rams
WK 12 @ Dallas Cowboys
WK 13 @ Buffalo Bills
WK 14 New York Jets
WK 15 @ Miami Dolphins
WK 16 @ St. Louis Rams
WK 17 Washington Redskins

Key Losses: Trent Dilfer QB
Bryant Young DT
Marques Douglas DE
Maurice Hicks RB

Key Additions: Isaac Bruce WR
DeShaun Foster RB
Justin Smith DE
Bryant Johnson WR
Isaac Sopoaga DT


Breakdown of the offense: The 49ers have a new offensive coordinator, Mike Martz. I've always thought Mike Martz was mad, to the point that I've always wanted to buy him a green top hat with a 10/6 card tucked in it. Also, I know I'm not the only one to think the man is off his rocker. I feel like the football world probably refers to him as a mad scientist, like he was Dr. Frankenstein and Kurt Warner was his monster. How did anyone turn a grocery clerk into an All-pro? Lightning. Why is Kurt Warner now held together with Scotch tape? Lightning wasn't supposed to be on the football field and the gods are now punishing him. Dr. Frankenstein crosses lines that humans should not cross, like not running the ball or leaving enough blockers in the box, and he doesn't seem to learn from these mistakes. Watching Martz coach in Detroit was like watching The Bride of Frankenstein (that would be you Jon Kitna). It wasn't as good as the original production in St. Louis. A second sequel is usually worse than its predecessors. The third installment of the trilogy is about to be filmed in San Francisco.



Of course, wherever there's madness, there are sparks, and if Martz can make Alex Smith or any of the San Francisco quarterbacks resemble his previous creations, then the 49ers could definitely be entertaining on offense. On paper, the weapons are there: Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson, and Arnaz Battle, but there are questions about each of them: can he stay healthy? is he a football player and not just an athletic freak? are his hands too small? is he too old? can he be a fulltime starter? can he produce all the time? can the coach pass himself off as sane?



All the question marks remind me of this guy in green...
I swear Mike Martz built that box.

Breakdown of the defense: The defense isn't terrible, but it's not good either. Last year, they gave up 22.75 points per game. If this team is going to see a significant increase in wins, then this number needs to come down, especially considering that there are so many question marks on offense. The 49ers offense only scored twenty points four times last year. On the other hand, the 49ers defense gave up thirty points in four games last season. The biggest addition to the defense is probably Manny Lawson being healthy. He only suited up twice for San Francisco last season, and they won both of those games.

Position Grades: QB---D+: Can Alex Smith stay healthy, especially in Martz's system, and can he get back to making the kind of progress he was making in 2006? The 49ers' season pretty much hinges on these two issues.

RB---B+: Frank Gore could learn a lot from Al Gore. Last year, Frank Gore was ranked as a top three running back by a lot of fantasy experts, and he didn't meet the expectations. He cleared 100 yards only twice in fifteen games. Al Gore lost the 2000 election when he shouldn't have. He was the incumbent Vice President, and he was running against a man who had never succeeded at anything in his life prior to that election. Al Gore responded to the 2000 disappointment with a hilarious stint on SNL and a Nobel Prize, so take note, Frank, one bad year does not kill a career.


Wr/TE---C+: This unit could be very good. This unit could also continue to be quite mediocre. Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson are expected to be the starters. Arnaz Battle and Ashlie Lelie are the backups. Battle should be a solid number three receiver. At tight end, the question that needs answering is "is VD catching." Perhaps, it's Vernon Davis' initials that prevent his quarterbacks from throwing to him more often.

O-Line---D+: The offensive line for San Francisco gave up fifty-five sacks last year, which is above the NFL average. Mike Martz's quarterbacks tend to take a lot of hits. One of the only teams to also give up as many sacks last year as the 49ers was Mike Martz's Detroit Lions with fifty-four.

D-line---C: The loss of Marques Douglas hurts because he led the league last year in tackles for a loss with twelve. Bryant Young also retired. The key replacement on the line is Justin Smith, who had 78 tackles last season in Cincinatti, but only two of those were for a loss.


LBs---C+: A healthy Manny Lawson combined with second year player Patrick Willis could make this unit quite formidable.

DBs---C: The projected starters are Nate Clements and Walt Harris at corner and Michael Lewis and Mark Roman as the safeties. Clements and Harris each had four interceptions last season, and Michael Lewis led the group with 105 tackles.

Season Outlook: This season will make or break Mike Nolan as San Francisco's head coach. In 2005, they went 4-12. In 2006, they improved to 7-9 and flirted with the playoffs. Last season, they took a few steps back, and when one examines their roster, one can picture them winning as few as four games or as many as seven or eight. I'll predict six wins, and thank Mr. Nolan for introducing us to the Reebok suit.

Langston's Thoughts: Mike Martz helps take the offense towards credibility, but Alex Smith is as soft as Charmin. Expect more of the same and Nolan to be looking for a job in February.