here is what i love: when people outside the niners innercircle take a birdseye view of our team and automatically make assinine predictions.
here is the ONLY thing people see:
"49ers lost jeff garcia and terrell owens, not to mention about 8 other starters!"
here is the REALITY of the situation:
1. Jeff Garcia cost us many games last year. he has NO pocket presence, and even when he stood in the pocket he would (9/10 times) go to a checkdown receiver. the only advantage he had was that he could scramble. of course, he would scramble, and lead one of our receivers right into a devestating hit, but surely we got the 8 yards! awesome playing! garcia is an injury waiting to happen. let me tell you something, he will finish with a sub-80 QB rating.
2. Terrell owens left. boo fucking hoo. he tanked last season, he was a cancer. there is no doubt in my mind he is THE BEST receiver in football on short slant routes. a 5-10 yard pass laid into his hands PERFECTLY is usually money. the problem with owens is he had an enormous amont of drops last year, and infact over the past few years. it's not only that he drops passes, its the WAY he does it. lets go back to the bears game from 2001... he drops the ball, but oh no thats not enough. he has to TIP IT IN THE FUCKING AIR so the defense can pick it off. he has done this many times. he almost single handedly cost us the first seattle game last year. he gets alligator arms even against pansy defenses. i won't miss him
3. you think garisson hearst is better than kevan barlow? give me a break. barlow is a superstar waiting to happen, and he's going to get his shot this year. i guarantee 1300+ yards rushing from him if he stays healthy.
4. how is our defense any worse!? we were a top 15 defense last year, and infact a top 10 against the rush. all we've done is add DEPTH TO AN ALREADY STELLAR DEFENSE! how is that going to be bad? mike rumph is a year smarter, we've cut dead weight off the roster (zack bronson), we drafted a HUGE DT out of hawaii and jamie winborn is an elite LB when healthy (which he is now).
5. how is our offensive line going to be worse? derrick deese and ron stone WERE FUCKING INJURED ALL THE TIME LAST YEAR! what's the point in having "good players" on the roster who don't play? give me a break. kwame harris is a dominant run blocker, that was witnessed last year. he will improve his pass blocking this year. we have an awesome offensive line with lots of depth. don't forget we probably have the best center in the NFL. center is the most important spot on the offensive line i believe.
6. we're getting eric johnson back, who is one of the better pass catching tightends in the NFC. we have a nice group of receivers that are young, but quick and hungry. brandon lloyd will step up for us this year. most of you dont know who he is, but you will know in due time. eagles and rams fans know who he is since he embarrassed them with gorgeous TD catches as a rookie last year. cedric wilson (yes, go ahead and laugh at him) is a legit #2 receiver. you're telling me he can't put up tai streets type numbers? haha, tai streets couldn't get separation on a DB if the DB gave him a 10 yard head start. wilson has speed, and he makes the tough catches in traffic.
we also drafted 2 very good college receivers. they may not make major contributions this year, but i think they can be effective in the slot, and in hamiltons case on reverses and kick returns. he's out of clemson and is very big and very fast.
7. our coaching staff got a hell of a lot better. admit it or not, T.O. was right about greg knapp. he was a "no audible" coach. so, if he called a play, that was the play you would run. 4th and 1 and the defense is stacking 9 guys in the box? meh, just run the play and see what happens! what a joke. also, we picked up a great defensive coordinator who is going to play to the advantages of our defense. we have 4 linebackers who SHOULD be starters in the nfl. why always play the 4-3!? this year, we'll be using the 3-4 from time to time and blitzing the shit out of teams. we were top 5 in sacks last year with a very small defensive line. that should let you know we were getting pressure on the QB from our quick linebackers and secondary. our d-coordinator is coming from pittsburgh, so you know we're going to have even more blitz schemes this year.
8. lastly, the qb position. most of you haven't seen dorsey or rat play (or maybe you did catch last years MNF game where he torched the steelers), but hear me now and believe me later they are both the real deal. Rat stands tall in the pocket and distributes the ball evenly among the receivers. too often jgar tried to force the ball into owens. the only problem is neither one of them is very mobile, but that's something i'll have to live with. i'd rather have an immobile QB than a guy like happy feet garcia who doesn't allow the play to develop and go through his progressions.
so, there you have it. if you want to laugh and post ridiculous predictions for shit that you aren't involved in, be my guest. but the NFC west is going to get a swift kick in the ass from the niners AND the cards (denny green is a great coach, cards will be respectable). enjoy the good times while they last niner haters, it is the 10 year anniversary of our last superbowl and its time to reclaim our title! suck it down losers!
