What to watch for 2014-2015 San Francisco 49ers
Offense
QB Colin Kaepernick had an underwhelming season his first year as the incumbent starter for the 49ers. Many of his flaws were on display especially during the first 2/3rds of the season. Lack of touch, one read and run, and juvenile progressions were many ways he was described during this time. During the last third of the season he got his favorite target back (Crabtree) and put together a nice little run until losing to Seattle in the NFC Championship game.
This is a big year for Kaep with Crabtree, Boldin, Vernon Davis, and newly acquired Stevie Jonhson all at his disposal this should be a very diverse and tough to defend offense. It all rests on Colins shoulders, can he get it done and take that next step?
RB With Frank Gores career on the downward slope I expect him to get a lot more rest this year. He fizzled out last year in the playoffs and did our offense no favors. Kendall Hunter tearing his ACL is a big blow as he has been our primary backup to Frank these past three years. He is great at picking up the blitz and hitting outside lanes the perfect complement to the inside running of Gore.
Luckily we have a stable of running backs; LaMichael James, Marcus Lattimore, and freshly drafted Carlos Hyde. Lattimore and Hyde were projected as starting backs coming out of college and we will need them to live up to their potential to not only replace Frank in the coming years but to continue to elevate the game of Colin Kaepernick. Greg Roman utilizes one of the most unique running games in the league, it has yet to be seen if any of our backs fit as well as Frank Gore has, though.
WR It seems every year going into the training camp word on the street is our receiving core is finally materializing the past two seasons the receiving core has been underwhelming and underutilized. Not to mention, undermanned. Two recent draft picks of Bruce Ellington (R) and Quinton Patton look promising, but it means nothing until games are being played.
Going out and trading for Stevie Johnson gives the 49ers a top 5 receiving core. Brandon Lloyd also adds some veteran savvy, but there is no guarantee he will even make the roster. Crabtree, Boldin, Johnson, Patton, and Ellington should be very dangerous to all opposing secondaries.
TE Vernon Davis ended his hold out and reported to camp. Many feel this was just a ploy to avoid OTAs and try and get more money in the process. VD is the 3rd highest paid TE in the league and signed a deal that made him the highest paid TE in NFL history at the time. We know what we are getting with him, but our big questions marks are on the backs of second year player Vance McDonald. He had a very bad rookie year plagued with dropped passes. He has made huge strides in training camp (who hasnt?) and Harbaugh is talking him up big.
We have two athletic tight ends that are fighting for a roster spot Derek Carrier and Garrett Celek Carrier seems to have the upper hand as he fits the mold of our hybrid WR/TE, a void weve had since Delanie Walker left in free agency. As long as VD continues to be VD, it will draw attention away from McDonald and our receivers. It is up to them to step up. For such a heavy reliance on tight ends on our system, pass catching was minimal last year. Blocking was their strong point.
OL One of the best O-lines in the league lost its signal caller, Jonathan Goodwin. While Goodwin got overpowered occasionally he was also phenomenal at making pre-snap adjustments. In such a complex offense, this was severely undervalued by many fans and pundits alike. We used a third round pick on Marcus Martin, a center from USC who has recently been activated after recovering from an injury. He and Daniel Kilgore will be battling it out for the starting C position.
Mike Iupati and Alex Boone are our starting guards, but there is a guarantee that only one, and maybe none, will be with us next year. Boone is currently holding out for a new contract and he is massively underpaid for the production he has given us. Joe Looney has been filling in for him at RG and done a legitimately solid in place of Boone whether that is Harbaugh taking a shot at Boone or just talking up his players has yet to be known.
Starting tackles Joe Staley and Anothony Davis round out the Oline. Since 2009 Staley has been a premiere left tackle in the league, his combination of athleticism and power is a nightmare for opposing players. Anthony Davis is recovering from shoulder surgery and should return soon. His pass blocking has gotten much better in recent years but his run blocking is superb. Backup tackle, Jonathan Martin has been getting abused (not just verbally) in TC so far. He is coming back from mononucleosis so that is to be expected. I dont think he will make the final roster.
Expectations Roman has said we will unveil a different offense this year hopefully meaning more 3 WR sets and less of that jumbo package. Roman is very creative but that can also be a hindrance as he can try and get too cute and ruin any momentum the offense had picked up. I expect the Niners to be much better on offense this year, we have too many weapons to not be.
Defense
Dline Again, this should be a strength for the 49ers. We had two redshirt players last year (Tank Carradine, Quinton Dial) and all reports have been positive. Especially for Tank who added more muscle and did not lose any of his speed, I expect him to be the heir apparent to Justin Smith. Speaking of Justin Smith, he played injured all of last year. I thought he was just getting too old, but he had surgery over the break and has yet to practice but he will be fresh for the season. Rounding up the Dline we have Ray MacDonald, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Glenn Dorsey (who had a fantastic season last year), Ian Williams, and Demarcus Dobbs.
We also have newcomer Marcus Lynch who dropped in the draft because of character issues and effort concerns. We also have Lawrence Okoye waiting in the wings, who is a former discus thrower with little football experience. I have a feeling some team is going to get a very talented Defensive line player from us because we cant keep all of these players on the roster. Dobbs and Williams seem to be the most susceptible to being cut.
Linebackers The staple of the 49ers defense since Jim Harbaugh has taken over will be without one of its leaders All-Pro Navarro Bowman. Bowman sustained a torn ACL in the NFC Championship game and will likely miss half of the season recovering. There is no panic though, because we have fellow All-Pro Patrick Willis still patrolling the middle of the field. He will be switching back to his old position to make up for Bowmans absence. Harbaugh likely said we will use a cavalry to replace him with Michael Wilhoite and Chris Borland leading the way.
I have no doubt there will be a drop off, but not a substantial one. Wilhoite filled in for Willis and did a fantastic job last year.
Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith make up our OLB tandem. Aldon Smith gets a lot of the spotlight for both is on and off field transgressions but Ahmad Brooks is really the key piece to the equation. Brooks is strong against the run and has a deadly first step. I fully expect both of these players to be dominant yet again. We also have Corey Lemonier and Dan Skuta backing them up. Lemonier looks to build on a boom/bust rookie season and Skuta is a journeyman just looking to hold onto a roster spot. It will be very hard as loaded as this roster is.
Secondary This is the shakiest part of the defense, the defense has been top 5 in the league for the past three seasons and the improvement of the secondary is the main reason for this. Ed Donatell has been the main reason for this, he teaches fundamentals and technique to go along with players natural instincts (great insight, there). With the departure of our top two corners and our third coming off an ACL tear, there are a ton of questions marks.
Moving into the season we have Tremaine Brock and Chris Culliver as our starting corners, Culliver had an up and down year and is best known for being clowned in the Super Bowl. Brock has been a revelation; he is a great ball hawk but a so-so tackler. We also have Chris Cook coming from Minnesota he has all of the tools be a great corner but he has been terribly underwhelming throughout his career. Impressions are positive from 49er brass, saying ball skills were his worst trait and he has worked on it every day after practice. The nickel position, which is very important in todays NFL, will either be handed to Perrish Cox, Daryl Morris, or rookie Jimmie Ward. Ward was drafted as a safety but played both positions in college.
Eric Reid was everywhere his rookie year, concussions are a concern with him because of his tackling technique but he seemed to work that out late last year. He is the QB of the defense and works incredibly well within the system. The loss of Personal Foul magnet, Donte Whitner, is huge. He was the emotional leader and tone setter on defense, Antoine Bethea has been signed to take over this role. It is up to the Dline and Linebackers to create enough pressure to alleviate some of the pressure off this group.
Special Teams
K/P Andy Lee and Phil Dawson are both at the top of the league in their respective categories Punting and Place Kicking. No question marks here.
KR/PR With LaMichael James sidelined Perrish Cox and Bruce Ellington have been given the opportunity in the return game. If they can produce at a consistent level it makes LMJ expendable. It will be a fun battle through TC/Preseason.
In Summary The 49ers move into the season with Super Bowl aspirations, after being on the cusp for the past three years this is their best opportunity to do so. The roster is loaded with talent we havent seen in years, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The defense will have some growing pains early with new cornerbacks and Bowman missing, but we have more than enough talent to make up for the loss of those players. Its no secret that we are chasing Seattle for NFC dominance and many of the moves made this offseason seem to reflect that the 49ers also know this.