There is no doubt we make the playoffs

- the cardinals - i predict no playoffs because of multiple injuries and i think its been only one or two superbowl losers that made the playoffs the year after

- seattle - this is a team trying to avoid rebuilding - no way they make it.....too many unknowns, who is sea rb again?

- rams - they have 3 key positions that might help them QB, RB, Safety - but they have too many young players....they are currently in the rebuilding mode

- niners - I see a young talent team that has football experience with a coach they all believe in. I believe we win the west with a 9-7 record.

niners - will have the comeback player of the year A.Smith -

Quick question: is there ever a play-caller who isn't the head coach or the OC? I wouldn't want Sing calling plays, and I am wondering if the QB coach or Rathman would be able to call plays if Raye Guy proves rusty

Quarterback = comeback player of the year A.Smith

offensive coordinator - As long as Rathman is giving his input- I feel more confident

How will Mike Singletary fare as a game manager? - he understands adjustments have to be made - not scareed to change unlike nolan

Can Singletary keep his composure when things inevitably get difficult? - Makes no difference if he keeps cool or not, the bottomline is the players will not need to write the problems on paper (nolan) - they will get the message

Will the offensive line mesh together to play at a high level? - with the experience and M.Smith i believe they would.

Can the defense apply pressure on the quarterback?
- this is a no-brainer, QB's will feel the heat- with lawson looking ahead to a contract yr, haralson improvement from last yr, and a coach hired specifically for Pass rush...we will sack

Shaun Hill should be our starting quarterback. He deserves the spot: he's proven himself on the field, and he's a natural leader. He simply gets the job done. Alex is the prototype, but I'll take performance over potential. Hill doesn't have to be Dan Marino for the team to thrive. He simply needs to do what he's done thus far when given the chance: deliver. All that said, I think the competition is a good thing; it will help to legitimize whoever ends up being named the starter, and its consistent with Sing's approach.

I'm excited about the team. I think we're playoff caliber across the board, except for our pass rush. I love Staley and most of the O-Line, but I think RT is still a pretty big question mark. So long as we can run behind the RT (hopefully a healthy M.Smith) and Chilo, I think we'll be good. I don't foresee a ton of 3-5 step drops. Hopefully we'll take our shots with play action though.

Pass rush is essential. Our secondary, aside from Clements, has questionable cover skills. We'll miss W.Harris, and D.Goldson has yet to prove himself. M.Lewis' strength is run support. We know Roman is worthless (the reluctance of the rest of the league to offer him an opportunity this offseason confirms that). Without the ability to apply pressure when we need to, we will be forced to stray from our run-first philosophy on offense in order to catch up against good offensive teams. That scenario scares me.

But I do believe in Manny. I think he's got the potential to be one heckuva impact player, with the opportunity to play more. However, given his lankiness and injury history, I'm scared that he won't be able to stay healthy. I'm a true believer in Harralson.

I think we need to take a shot soon, and spend the money to try to win now. The team is close, and the windoow to win in the NFL doesn't stay open long (except for elite franchises, which we are not yet). I think a pass rusher like Charles Haley is the final ingredient to a really great team.

I think what should be noted, is what seemed to be lacking from the teams of the past two coaching eras. The intangibles have improved; i.e. leadership, accountability and trust. While this is not quantifiable and usually highly speculative, there's definitely something to be said about team chemistry, trust in coaches, the system, and the direction the staff is trying to lead their personnel.

Off-jump, coach Singletary seems like he knows exactly what he expects out of the 22 on the field, and the 31 behind them. This off-season, from what I've read thus far, seems to be a lot more productive and promising than those in years past. According to early predictions, the Niners are going to fly under a lot of peoples radars, which is a lot of times good. Hollow-hype never does anyone any good. If the mindset exhibited this summer translates to the regular season, the 49ers may have a chance to shock a lot of people.

1. The thing that's good for forecasters is if they're wrong they can merely put out another f'cast. Kinda like the weather man but with less accuracy.
2. Coach losing his composure during difficult times--I hope so. I believe he will do so even if it is only a planned event by him; sometimes it is good to show emotion.
3. the 9ers were closer to making the p/o last year than many give credit; not that I think they should have. They didn't deserve it, but neither did the cards. I think it is very possible that we make it this year but will be surprised if we progress.
4. I believe that Coach's goal for this year is to improve but that the expectation for a p/o run is 2010, not 2009.
5. I wonder what the predicters said for the 1981 Super Bowl team.

I totally agree with you Stampede about "chemistry". It's an intangible that can't be easily seen yet it can mean the difference between making the Playoffs or sitting home in January. To me the chemistry is much better already then when the season started last year. I think our offense we'll be fine & be able to put more points on the board simply because the 49ers have better players, more players that can make plays in a long time. My only concern is the "Pass Rush"

From my understanding they have been predominantly been running 3-5 step drops. We will pass appoximately 45-55% of the time according to traditional NFL statistics.
Im with you though: We are spotty at best @ RT, QB, and FS. We still need to prove we have a pass rush.
I like our defensive front but we still have to make plays w/o giving up big plays.
Matt, I'm a hopeful 9er fan but I do think we can make the playoffs if our questionmarks at the above mentioned positions play consistently.
We have a solid D and playmakers on offense. If we can keep Gore healthy, get Vernon involved, and Morgan and Crabtree run correct routes and catch the ball we will have a potent offense.
Our D needs to create turnovers and not give up the big play.
All standard common sense football but that is what it takes to make it past december.

Someone should do a poll of football preview magazines from past years and see which ones were the most prescient in 20/20 hindsight.

I don't know why anyone is not talking about the problems the Cards are facing. The lost both coordinators, Warner playing all 16 games was pure luck, and their running game is unproven (except for short yardage situations with Hightower), and their defense is overrated (the Cards jumped the snap count against ATL, Delhomme had the worst game ever during the Divisonal Game, and their D let McNabb and the Eagles back in the game in the 2nd half). I give them respect for taking advantage of their playoff opportunity, but they're not going to sneak up on anybody this year and Warner's healthy season was an aberration.

You have to figure that the Seahawks won't have as many injuries as they did last year, and them drafting Aaron Curry was purely design to stop Gore and Steven Jackson. I wouldn't be surprised if the NFC West is:
1. SEA
2. SF (Considering the question marks Maiocco brought up with the team, 2nd place is a realistic assesment)
3. ARI
4. STL

I doubt the Niners will have a chance at winning the Wild Card, but it should be a tight division throughout the season.

Yeah, chemistry and continuity is huge. Consistency is key, obvious by the Niners 7 offensive coordinators in as many seasons and the corresonding success, or lack thereof. The pass rush? to be honest I'm not worried about. This is going to be a top 5 (yeah, i said it) defense this season. Coverage sacks a pressure int's galore!

I think the Cards new D-coordinator is Billy Davis, he was also the Niners D-coordinator a few years ago. Yeah, the Cards may be in some trouble.

I have been following the 49ers since the mid 50's and I can tell you that for most of those seasons my summertime expectations have been unrealistically high. There are 32 teams in the NFL and at this time of the year there are fans in all 32 cities full of optimism, hope, and outright conviction that their team's offseason moves have corrected all of the perceived weaknesses of the prior season ... by next January the fans in 31 of those cities will be disappointed. Until they start playing fan input is at best biased conjecture.

On the other hand, though the sport magazines will not be correct in every case, the writers are professionals and have at least made an effort to remove those biases to make those predictions as reliable as possible ... their reputations and ultimately their livlihoods are at stake. I would suspect that their predictions are more probable than our own.

"Leap of Faith"?, we were close to making the playoffs last year. No one in our division has improved themselves more than we have. We stole the #1 wideout in the draft. Added a capable RB from a prostyle offensive college team. Our lines are stronger and our secondary is big play capable. QB is not a concern with Hill in command of the huddle. We have a Hall of Fame coach devoted to training a championship team. There are concerns but their relevancy will become apparent through the end of training camp. I can't for the life of me see how we do not win this division.

Geez! That's the best power ranking I've seen for the 49ers this coming year. I've checked 5 different Power Rankings for the coming year and they have the 49ers ranking from 21 to the mid to low 20's.
Of course I'm not a real fan of Power Rankings, at least until after mid season or even after.
But it is a little disheartning. All see the Card's winning the division. And New England as the favorite to win it all or Pittsburgh. They ALL say "because Brady is back." But I think these Power Ranking experts don't realize the seriousness of Brady's injury to the knee. It plays with your head big time. Latest proof: Carson Palmer! Sometimes it takes 3 years to come back and believe that your knee can take the hits. And that's if you don't get injured again.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the rankings Matt quotes are for the NFC only. So 13 equates to pretty lousy.

I still think the 49ers will exceed the sum of their parts, so to speak. But I admit it is easy to drink the cool aid (so refreshing!)

You are overplaying the Warner injury issue here.

Since Russ Grimm came over with Whisenhunt in 2007, the O-Line has done a better job protecting the QB.

Warner started the last 11 games in 2007 and played all 20 games in 2008. That's 31 straight starts.

Injuries can happen anytime but I wouldn't count on Warner going down in 2009.

Excellent points. We really won't know anything until the teams actually begin to go head-up. I try not to see myself as "bias," but I will admit its difficult not to be when most "professionals" are on the outside looking in, pretty much recycle what the last guy says, and really have no clue about what most organizations are really capable of. This would make it difficult to make a fair assessment of a team. When a team is consistantly good, or bad, any prognosticator can look like a relative genious.

I remember a couple years ago when the Niners were the 'sexy pick' to win the division. After that fizzled out, not so much. Now people are so reluctant to pick the Niners for anything. I think they were only favored to win one game last year.

The problem with preseason rankings is that, almost always, the team that finishes first in the division is predicted to finish first the following year.

Usually, but not always, that's how they do it.

And of course, AFTER the season, HALF of those predictions are wrong.

Stampede mentioned intangibles and chemistry and others have joined in. I would like to amplify on those comments. For the first time since the Mariucci administration, the front office, the coaching staff and the players are all saying the same thing about what the the team is - a physical, hard charging bunch who are going to attack you on defense and look to be balanced on offense until they get ahead and then they intend to pound you. The ability, as a fan, to even write that description with confidence and conviction, I think, means something. You can build expectations among the team and the fans. Now, this doesn't guarantee success and, as Matt, correctly notes the 49ers have questions at three of the most critical areas - OC (play calling), QB and pass rush. But, the questions all have fairly certain minimum answers.

Raye is not a rookie, like Hostler, he is a very experienced veteran and to paraphrase Bobby Knight, has probably forgotten more about this game that all of us combined as fans are ever going to know. I think play calling is, in the main, overrated. I am really least concerned about this question.

Hill has shown himself to be a good, serviceable and winning quarterback. Does anybody really believe he is, at worst, worse than Jake Delhomme? The wild card is Smith. Will he dramatically outplay Hill and win the job? If so, the quarterback play goes up not down.

Pass rush. The new simplicity, together with increased emphasis including, without limitation a pass rushing coach, together with the improving confidence and health of Lawson make this a reasonable risk. And, don't forget just like good pitching gets even better in baseball with a lead so does defense and pass rush. So, an improved scoring offense coincides with a better defense and pass rush.

Yes, there are questions and the existence of those questions and where they arise belie a prediction of playoffs but I am more optimistic and, I believe, reasonably so than in a long, long time. And, there is one more questions too - health.

I think all around the 49ers have a higher ceiling and realistic floor than any other team in the division. The Seahawks are older and have more injury questions in key spots. The Cards have lost both coordinators, their veteran back, their defense only really played well in the playoffs, has significant questions and their quarterback is a year older and more fragile. And, the Cards have no history of consistency or success.

The Rams have too much ground to make up.

No guarantees but the Niners have a real chance and some momentum. And, even a season motto that really is accurate and says it all about this year's potential for success - "Don't tell me, show me!" I can't wait to watch.

"...After the season, Half those predictions are wrong." Do you really think that fan blogs are more accurate than that? For the most part fans think with their hearts ... a very unreliable measuring stick. I'll bet that 75% of the fans on these 49er blogs have predicted grand & glorious things for this coming season, just as they did in 2007, the last time this team was coming off a 7-9 season. Hope & optimism are wonderful, but don't bet the farm on fan predictions.

Matt-last paragraph sums up the situation nicely.As a fan I am very excited to watch Coach Singletary's first full year as HC -and although I concur with the objections about early predictions and common optimism voiced above -it seems clear that the talent base has improved significantly as you mention.I can hardly wait,like so many here,for the season to arrive and the true character of this team to unveil itself in the course of the season!

It's been awhile since I have posted but...I exude a lot of the same optimism as most niner fans here. As I tell everyone around me "This is going to be the year that we are back" I can't help but really believe my own banter this time. I just finished watching Rice's special on ESPN and that got me to thinking....Singletary really understands the "TEAM" concept and has been making that point since taking over (at least from the outside). From a guy who is in The Hall of Fame and has won a Superbowl, I really think that the players are together on this and finally ready to play as a "TEAM" and can really relate to the guy. We have the talent to contend, but as we learned last year with AZ it takes a team playing together as a whole to push you over the edge. Look its going to be an up and down season but I have never felt this excited since 2002!

What's with the 49ers starting their regular season with a game vs. Arizona for the FOURTH time in four years??

Being a road game, this has to favor the Cardinals, who will likely be the better team at the start of the 2009 season.

As for the QB position, Shaun Hill should be the starting QB on day 1, never mind how well Alex Smith is playing, for one very simple reason: it is easier to bench Hill and start Smith than the other way around.

I disagree with the approach the team is taking. Both Hill and Smith are professionals, and there is no need to create this silly protracted uncertainty in the name of competition. Frankly that is a reflection of the maturity (or lack thereof) of the coaching staff, which is the bigger red flag.

Dude...All I'm trying to say is, when I head down to the Stick for the game, or turn the TV on to watch the 49er game, I'd love NOT to know who the winner of the game will be before it's played. That would be a big plus to me.
I haven't been able to do that for quite some time!

I think that predictions at this point (and far beyond) are pretty stupid no matter who (fans, sportswriters, ex-players) are making them.

Last year the Bears opened up in Indianapolis.

The Bears had gotten rid of their starting RB's (Thomas Jones & Cedric Benson). They were now starting rookie Matt Forte at RB.

Kyle Orton won the QB battle over Rex Grossman and the Bears had a weak cast of WR's.

Many analysts said that the Bears would have maybe the worst offense in the NFL in 2008.

Few people expected them to beat the Colts on the road to open the season last year.

The Bears were 9 point underdogs for the game. They won by 16. Their offense outgained Indy's by 26 yards.

Predictions are pretty meaningless, once the ball is kicked off.

All of this talk sounds so familiar. Every year over the past 3 years, we've been saying the 9ers have more talent than theyve had in a long time. The intangibles are there for the team to succeed, etc. I always go back to one point. Until the 9ers have a qb who consistently produces and plays well the team will not do well. If Hill or Smith step up and plays well, the 9ers will make the playoffs. If they do not, the 9ers will not make the playoffs. Period, End of story.

The crushed optimism of the 2007 season has made all of you gun shy. All these wimpy 9-7 type predictions. Get some hair, guys. It's 11-5, maybe even 12-4.

I know you've heard this before but football is the ultimate team game. You're starting to think like Nolan that one guy should turn the whole thing arround.The rest of the Niner offense will have to step up this year for the QBs to play well. As good as Montana and Young were, they would have been nowhere near as good as they were without the offensive talent that surrounded them.
You just need decent QB play to reach the playoffs if the rest of the players do their job, ie: last years Ravens.
The key this year is Singletary's strong leadership and his focus on getting better each day. He is the best HC the Niners have had since Seifert left. IMO the playoffs are a definite possibility this year.

1. Seattle

2. Arizona

3. 49ers

4. St. Louis

The Niners will continue to struggle until they find a better than average QB.

Lodi, Hill is better than average. Just look at his stats last year. No, the Niners don't have a problem at QB. They are just, through this competition with Smith, trying to determine if they have a luxury at QB (Smith) or an adequate QB (Hill). QB isn't the question mark. Pass rush is.

Dude can you please stop staring at your crotch long enough to catch what's happening on the field? To say that the Niners' pash rush isn't a concern shows a general lack of football knowledge.

Agreed. Football is the ultimate team game. If one part fails the entire unit fails. Thats pretty much the point at QB - which is absolutely the most important player on the field. How much better did the 9ers get on offense when Hill replaced O'Sullivan? The other guys around him played well enough to win. The QB SUCKED! If you think the qb isn't the problem, let me ask you 1 question. If Peyton Manning were the 9ers qb and all the other players remained the same is there any question about the 9ers making the playoffs? Now replace ANY other player on offense with Hill as the qb and I'll bet your not as confident that the 9ers make the playoffs as you are with Peyton Manning behind center.

On Sing... The guy motivates me every time I listen to him talk. BUT he doesn't go on the field. The players play the game and you need great players at QB to be a great team regardless of the coach. I hope Sing succeeds but he will only succeed if Hill or Smith become better than average.

Matt,

Thank you for giving us all the daily 49ers news. It's great to get any news, let alone your objective and thoughtful incites into what is going on.

I agree with Roscoe. Like Roscoe, I have been a 49er fan since the mid-50s and most of those years the teams were dismal.

To give you all an idea of how inaccurate the "experts" are in their predictions, I have compiled their predictions from the 2008 season from the annual magazine published by the Sporting News. Here it is:

American Conference

East
Patriots 14-2
Jets 8-8
Bills 5-11
Dolphins 3-13

North
Steelers 11-5
Bengals 10-6
Browns 9-7
Ravens 6-10

South
Colts 13-3
Jaguars 12-4
Titans 6-10
Texans 5-11

West
Chargers 14-2
Broncos 9-7
Chiefs 5-11
Raiders 3-13

National Conference

East
Cowboys 13-3
Giants 13-3
Eagles 7-9
Redskins 4-12

North
Packers 11-5
Bears 10-6
Vikings 9-7
Lions 3-13

South
Saints 11-5
Buccaneers 7-9
Panthers 7-9
Falcons 1-15

West
Seahawks 11-5
Rams 7-9
Cardinals 5-11
49ers 3-13

And the Chargers were supposed to beat the Cowboys in this past Super Bowl.

There's still hope for the 49ers, guys.

Here's why the 49ers likely won't make the playoffs: because playoff teams (especially those that advance) have great QBs. There are few exceptions (Dilfer in Baltimore, due to one of the best defenses in NFL history) -- but typically, there's no grey area. If I said to each team, "You only get to protect five players from being snatched from you," how would each respond? NE - Brady is the first guy on the list. Ditto for Manning in Indy. Is Big Ben on the list in Pitt? You bet. McNabb? Yes. Rivers in SD? Yep. Warner in AZ? Absolutely. What do all these teams have in common? They're playoff teams. Now, who do you protect from the 49ers? 1) Willis; 2) Gore; 3) Staley. Sadly, I think everyone would agree the names Shaun Hill and Alex Smith would not be in the top 5. Maybe not even the top 10. Would you let Rachal go before either of them, for example? Morgan? Haralson? Justin Smith? Even an unproven Crabtree? Doubtful. And with that, I rest my case. (All that said, if Hill or Smith play beyond what we've seen from them to date, the Niners have a shot at the playoffs. But how far can they be expected to advance? It would take an amazing jump up by either of our QBs to get very deep into January.)

I agree with you on the QB being the most important offensive position because he handles and gets the ball to the other playmakers 99% of the time. I just don't agree that he needs to be great to be effective especially if he has real talent around him. I'm not a JTO fan but the guy did make some plays when he didn't have to run for his life, which was most of the time. You need a lot of help at QB to succeed.
As for Manning being able to take the Niners to the playoffs, I agree but not because he's so much more talented but because of his knowledge of the game learned running an established, talented offense for several years, a luxury no Niner QB in the last 5 or 6 years has had.
Remember, the Walsh-Seifert Niners won games when they had to plug in the Grbacs,Bonos, Moroskis and Kemps because all they had to do was execute the game plan and not make dumb mistakes.

LOL! First of all, I'm not sure if I should feel honored, or creeped out that you're thinking about my man region.

Anyway, no I'm not worried about the pass rush. Two seasons ago, yeah certainly. But the 49ers have talent at the outside LB position, and have upgraded Haralson and Lawson's back-ups. The DL has good depth. With good SCHEME and decent rotation they will be fine. They have emphasized the importance of the pass rush this off season and I don't think their efforts will fail.

Additionally, the DB coverage will be miles better, forcing QB's to hold the ball longer and force coverage sacks.

A great supporting cast can lead an average QB to the playoffs. A great QB can lead an average supporting cast to the Super Bowl. There are a few exceptions to that statement but they are few and far between. Where I'm coming from is that the 9ers currently have 2 qb's who might be able to be average. With very few exceptions, only QB's playing great lead teams to Super Bowl wins. With the team we have right now, the 9ers might be able to make the playoffs. They undoubtedly can not make a SB. Joe Montana, John Elway, and Tom Brady led average teams to the Super Bowl. After those seasons, the teams improved the supporting cast which sustained their greatness. Lets say the 9ers make the playoffs this year with Hill as the QB. From where will the sustained success emerge. I know the team has to take 1 step at a time. I'm looking for reasons to believe the team will be a year in and year out playoff contender. I don't see that happening with the current cast of QB candidates no matter how great the supporting cast plays.

you guys are boring......have no doubt....A.Smith is taking us to the playoffs this season

you guys are boring......have no doubt....A.Smith is taking us to the playoffs this season

Every team has question marks at this time of year, especially in the NFC west. That is why they play the games. Alot of prognosticators are totally full of it and you never know how roster and coaching changes along with injuries will effect the outcome. I'd say we have as good of a shot as anyone in the division if things go our way which is about the most optimistic I've been in a long time. I can't wait...I'm ready for some football!

matt should give lessons to other bloggers on how to get to the heart of the matter. can the 9er's beat az and seattle? They showed they could last year, and they're better this year.
Off line: even if MSmith can't go, Bass's contract year, an improved Snyder and Rachal playing together in a consistent system with a probowl level center B to B+
RB: all pro being escorted by probowl caliber fb. Backup can slash,Mrob is versatile but not dominant. Sheets is a ? Bye bye clayton and Keasey A-
QB: neither has reached potential but Smith is playing well, and making Hill into a better practice player C- to C+
WR:Bruce can still dominate single coverage, and will get lots of rest with Morgan and jones stretching zones. Crabtree will develop and eventually dominate. I like Hill long term. I don't see Battle or Ziegler making it C- to B
TE:This could drive def coord's nuts. Davis is a great in line blocker and can stretch zones making doubles on the wideouts risky. Walker in motion can freeze a LB. Even Bear looks as tough as his name B- to A-
DL If Balmer's better so is the DL Francois could show up. Soap's got to stay low and Franklin is underrated. Smith is probowl level if others show up. B-to B
LB: All pro Willis and solid Spikes have awesome backups. Lawson and Haralson have talent if the defense gels they could be stars. Moore has stuff B to B+
DB: Clement is probowl level. Harris will be missed, but it was probably Brown's time anyway, if it isn't Bly's who can be dominant if he keeps his head on. Goldson was our best safety LAST year. Lewis does what is asked but won't change many games. Spencer is a terrific CB and nickel. One or more of the rookies needs to step up. Roman is adequate, can be used in the dime.C to C+
ST: ProBowl level at all specialties
We might get a run at the playoffs, but not very far in them

Unlike the last few years, most of us feel that we have a strong enough team to stay in contention until we get to December. In early December we play the Seahawks and Cardinals for the Division. If we get better as the season goes along, we have a great chance to win it and get into the playoffs.

I think were getting close with the pieces to the puzzle. However, our weak link is the D-line. If you look at any of the consistently great teams they always have great D-lines. Sop has not proven to be a dominating NT or Franklin. Who is our LE? Our only legit lineman who is healthy is Smith. I like McDonald but he is hurt.

"However, our weak link is the D-line. If you look at any of the consistently great teams they always have great D-lines."

Let me grab my hammer too and drive that nail on its ugly head.

Our franchise DE decided to stay in Carolina fellas. Bless Justin Smith's heart and motor, but he doesn't keep opposing OC's up on Saturday nights.

Two year window to forge our D-line and O-line. Maybe A Smith will stick around long enough to get his moxie back from his Utah State days.

Houston said..."I'm looking for reasons to believe the team will be a year in and year out playoff contender. I don't see that happening with the current cast of QB candidates no matter how great the supporting cast plays."
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That is why we should all be hoping that Nate "The Great" Davis becomes our new Franchise QB of the future ! If he does not show the same great play for the Niners that he exhibited at Ball State,then your above statement is indeed true. If he does translate his great skills into the NFL ,then Hill will do just fine holding the spot for him and getting us into the playoffs this year. The SB's will probabl;y need to wait until Davis developes or if he does not,until a new addition developes.
And OneNiner...The talent level would really need to be outstanding at almost every position on the roster for Alex to be able to be the QB and for us to still get to a SB (see Trent Dilfer with Baltimore). Unless a miracle happens and Alex's play improves dramatically in almost every area . Miracles do happen BUT the reason Davis was drafted is because he has the potential to be able to easily push aside even a greatly improved Alex Smith type player and become something special. But of course potential means nothing if the player flops and lets himself and everyone els down,as has been the case with Alex BUT hopefully will not also be the case with Davis. We shall see.
But that is at least a year away.
Until then Hill is a great leader and gets the job done in so many ways and moves the ball . He is a gamer and makes everyone around him better! Davis is the probable future if things go as hoped ,while Hill is the present. That leaves Alex as the fill in if Hill gets injured. Although Huard would probably be a more steady and proven replacement for Hill in the case of injury, we all know that Alex still will get his last shot before the more proven Huard.(if Hill is injured).
Whoever plays at QB,the talent around them IS improving !

...And don't forget that we have 2 #1 picks next year to improve the pass rush or the D-line etc etc .
Add a year of experience to this roster and then add a couple of free agents at the proper spots and then add two more playmakers with those 1st round picks and this team could easily turn into that year in and year out contender .

...And for those of you who still think I hate Alex Smith (instead of just seeing him as he is in reality) ... I want to state for the record that I would be very happy for me and for the team and for Alex (who seems to be a class guy) if he were to become a great QB and lead the Niners to the SB ,etc .
As with every member of the Niners ,I hope the very best for Alex and for them all ,because I am a Niners fan,not just a fan of this player or that player but of the team !

Justin Smith may not be Bruce Smith but what I've seen heart and motor wise he reminds me a lot of the last good pass rusher the Niners have had : one Charles Haley. He got a bunch of sacks because his D-line mates were able to force the QB out of the pocket with pressure up the middle. J. Smith hasn't had that luxury yet. He gets double & triple teamed most of the time.
Everybody's all worried about the outside pass rush but until they start getting some pressure up the middle their sack total won't increase much, even if they had a all-pro passrusher on the outside.
I do, however, think we're going to see much better play from the D-line this year now that Nolan's totally gone.

hey oneniner , do you think we will make the playoffs ? lol .... but skeebers is right (i never thought i'd say that )lol ... all the niner fans seem scared to predict better than 9-7 any more !!!! even the big shots in the media who all picked us as the surprise team to go from 7-9 to playoff team in 07 are all too whimpy to pick us to do well like the one matt quotes here !!!! shows how much they really know !!! we have a better team than in 07 , two years later !!!! and a real head coach instead of a useless one how come after that we went from hot playoff pick to crap ??? lol the dumb bells !!!! we will go 10-6 and win the division this year !!!!!!!!!

In the grocery I checked out what a real football magazine had to say about the 49ers. Lindy's. He was favorable saying that the playoffs was within our grasp. Hill can get the job done and Davis needs a good QB's coach and that when the play breaks down he was the best in the draft at making a play down field with his arm. He had us just behind Arizona in our division with his power rankings. A- grade on our draft and a +1 intangible.

The NFC West is improving and it's a long way from six straight losing seasons to the Playoffs. I think Matt's assessment is spot on. They should be better but that's why they play the game!

I applaud those homers who are optimistic enough to think this team is a lock to make the playoffs or has a good chance to do so. I think we are doing some good things but feel we are a few years out still. Especially for this year, I have a feeling we will struggle to go 8-8 and I don't think that is going to win the division or lock up a wild card spot, not in the NFC. Our 2 weakest areas last year (not counting atrocious QB play early on) were our OL and front 7 on DEF (Pass Rush and making big plays at the point of attack, to may tackles 5 yards down the field) have not really been addressed IMO. Add in another new OC and a very difficult schedule - @MIN, GBP, IND, HOU, PHI - yuk) plus ATL, JAX, TEN and CHI at home not to mention our own division which I don't think is as weak as some of you do, AZ has done nothing but improve a few areas (now if Warner goes down could be another story) and SEA added some nice additions on both sides of the ball. If we can split our division that would put us at 3-3, I don't see us honestly winning more than 3-5 of the games outside of our division at best IMO getting us to 8-8.

Of course it's early and some of those good teams last year could have their wheels fall completely off, but I think we will have an uphill battle this year. We have some talented young guys and if we can continue to develop them and address some key areas over the next few yeas plus find some continuity out of our coaching staff I think we could be the future powerhouse team of the NFC West in a few years.

You can't get much worse than the Dolphins under Cam or be under more adversity than Atlanta and look what they were able to do. Although I applaud your honest pessimistic assessment I feel as though you are dead wrong.

alex smith comeback player of the year....baaaaaaahahahahahahahaha thats purely comical. we just need him to not lose games by himself this year

GilroyAl - with all due respect, comparing Justin Smith to Charles Haley is comparing a B+ level player with a future HOF. Justin Smith to Andre Carter? Now we're getting somewhere.

Your point is well taken that no push in the middle is not helping Justin Smith's cause. Haley did have the luxury of his bookend DE - Kevin Fagan, and Pierce Holt wreaking havoc in the middle. But that was under the good old fashioned 4-3, whereas our 3-4 is certainly putting more demands on Mr. Smith.

Smith did have his opportunities in Cinci under the conventional 4-3. But he never put up the numbers expected from a #4 overall pick. He earned his reputation as a solid, lunch bucket type of DE who didn't get sacks purely on his natural instincts and athleticism. That was Charles Haley – besides being a world class pain in the aspirin, he was also a world class athlete who scared the beejesus out of passers every Sunday.

Circling back to my long-winded point – Justin could use a Kevin Fagan.

Comment: In the grocery I checked out what a real football magazine had to say about the 49ers. Lindy's.

My response: Lindy's, huh? Hmmm, I wonder who wrote that article about the 49ers . . .
--Matt M.

Just to clarify, I was saying Smith's heart and motor compared to Haley's because Haley just never quit until the whistle blew. I see the same thing in Smith. He may not have the skills Haley had but give him some help and there'll be no doubt the Niners have the best DE they've had since Haley. Don't forget Haley had some pretty good defensive players helping him on both teams.

Sorry, I should have said passrusher since Haley was the elephant LB back then.

That's pretty cool. Those guys have been around forever.

I'm 53 and I seem to remember them from when I was a teenager.