The San Francisco 49ers were once the class of the National Football League, a flagship franchise and a recognizable brand name. Yet the last decade of 49er football has eroded any shine or prestige from this once proud franchise and humbled its fan base. Over the past ten years, Niner faithful have been put through the gamut of trying emotions from frustration to hopelessness.
The Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan, and Mike Singletary years were characterized by mind numbing incompetence, disorganization, and downright abysmal football. The offense has often looked so out of its element, so ineffective, the impression arose that these players had never shared a field before.
Prior to the reign of this terrible trio of coaches, the Niners were moderately successful with head coach Steve Mariucci and quarterback Jeff Garcia, but were never a true Super Bowl threat. The last time the Niners really contended for a championship was under the direction of Steve Young thirteen years ago. The last time they won a Super Bowl was 1994. To those that say San Francisco fans are impatient or spoiled, consider that the team hasn't truly challenged since Seinfeld was just wrapping up its final season and hasn't won a Super Bowl since Clinton's first term. Plus, since the start of the 2003 season, the 49ers are 46-82, which includes 14-, 12-, 11-, and 10-loss seasons. In that same span, their best finish was 8-8; they've recorded no winning records.
49er fans have had to learn how to lose cold turkey. The abrupt fall from greatness was principally caused by three things: Poor management, poor coaching, and poor quarterback play. Up until the past few years, the 49ers were one of the least talented teams in the league, but recently have accumulated a good amount of young talent and field their best roster since 2002. Yet, this year, Singletary's ineptness and Alex Smith's continued lackluster performance held back an otherwise talented team. Singletary was a motivator, but he was terrible at designing a game-plan and was an even worse game manager. He was indecisive, confused, he waffled, and he pushed the wrong buttons with his players entirely too often.
Enter new coach Jim Harbaugh, the reason for Niner optimism.
As mentioned, the cupboard is not bare. Vernon Davis is perhaps the most talented tight end in the league, Michael Crabtree has flashes of brilliance, Frank Gore is still a great all-around back, and the offensive line is young and talented. Missing has been a system capable of accentuating the talents of these players and a passer who could execute that system. Harbaugh is seen as an offensive innovator, played quarterback in the NFL, and coached Stanford to a tremendous 12-1 season not long after the Cardinal was 1-11. In other words, he is the man best equipped to fix the Niners' woeful offense, possessing the best football mind of any San Francisco head coach in a long time.
An interesting wrinkle in this whole Harbaugh situation is that his former quarterback at Stanford, Andrew Luck, would be top pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. Yet Luck has decided to return to school for another year, which rules out the possibility of the Niners nabbing him in this year's draft. If Luck were to enter though, the Niners would have to move up to get him, and I have no clue if that's plausible. So with the head coach drought over, the question is, how do the Niners address the quarterback situation?
Picking seventh in the draft, the Niners are certainly in a position to net one of the top quarterback prospects. Yet Luck was far and away the top rated quarterback; big questions remain about the NFL credentials of Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Mallett, and Jake Locker. Could the Niners grab Newton with their top pick and hope that Harbaugh can mold a transcendent athlete into a great NFL quarterback? Are Gabbert and Mallett more than just big arms? Is Lockers' poor senior season indicative of his talent or his team's lack thereof?
Or do the Niners snatch the best player available with that pick and pursue a veteran quarterback to be a place holder for 2-3 years. Could Donovan McNabb excel with Davis, Crabtree, and Gore around him? Could Kyle Orton be good enough to win the abysmal NFC West?
Or, commence eye roll now Niner fans, do Niners brass hope Harbaugh can sprinkle his magic on former first overall pick Smith, still trying to shake a potential "bust" label?
Whatever way they Niners go, it's nice to feel that the head coaching quandary has been solved, and just maybe the quarterback dilemma will be next.
And oh yeah, about getting a new stadium…
--from Adam
(Image from zimbio.com)
The Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan, and Mike Singletary years were characterized by mind numbing incompetence, disorganization, and downright abysmal football. The offense has often looked so out of its element, so ineffective, the impression arose that these players had never shared a field before.
Prior to the reign of this terrible trio of coaches, the Niners were moderately successful with head coach Steve Mariucci and quarterback Jeff Garcia, but were never a true Super Bowl threat. The last time the Niners really contended for a championship was under the direction of Steve Young thirteen years ago. The last time they won a Super Bowl was 1994. To those that say San Francisco fans are impatient or spoiled, consider that the team hasn't truly challenged since Seinfeld was just wrapping up its final season and hasn't won a Super Bowl since Clinton's first term. Plus, since the start of the 2003 season, the 49ers are 46-82, which includes 14-, 12-, 11-, and 10-loss seasons. In that same span, their best finish was 8-8; they've recorded no winning records.
49er fans have had to learn how to lose cold turkey. The abrupt fall from greatness was principally caused by three things: Poor management, poor coaching, and poor quarterback play. Up until the past few years, the 49ers were one of the least talented teams in the league, but recently have accumulated a good amount of young talent and field their best roster since 2002. Yet, this year, Singletary's ineptness and Alex Smith's continued lackluster performance held back an otherwise talented team. Singletary was a motivator, but he was terrible at designing a game-plan and was an even worse game manager. He was indecisive, confused, he waffled, and he pushed the wrong buttons with his players entirely too often.
Enter new coach Jim Harbaugh, the reason for Niner optimism.
As mentioned, the cupboard is not bare. Vernon Davis is perhaps the most talented tight end in the league, Michael Crabtree has flashes of brilliance, Frank Gore is still a great all-around back, and the offensive line is young and talented. Missing has been a system capable of accentuating the talents of these players and a passer who could execute that system. Harbaugh is seen as an offensive innovator, played quarterback in the NFL, and coached Stanford to a tremendous 12-1 season not long after the Cardinal was 1-11. In other words, he is the man best equipped to fix the Niners' woeful offense, possessing the best football mind of any San Francisco head coach in a long time.
An interesting wrinkle in this whole Harbaugh situation is that his former quarterback at Stanford, Andrew Luck, would be top pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. Yet Luck has decided to return to school for another year, which rules out the possibility of the Niners nabbing him in this year's draft. If Luck were to enter though, the Niners would have to move up to get him, and I have no clue if that's plausible. So with the head coach drought over, the question is, how do the Niners address the quarterback situation?
Picking seventh in the draft, the Niners are certainly in a position to net one of the top quarterback prospects. Yet Luck was far and away the top rated quarterback; big questions remain about the NFL credentials of Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Mallett, and Jake Locker. Could the Niners grab Newton with their top pick and hope that Harbaugh can mold a transcendent athlete into a great NFL quarterback? Are Gabbert and Mallett more than just big arms? Is Lockers' poor senior season indicative of his talent or his team's lack thereof?
Or do the Niners snatch the best player available with that pick and pursue a veteran quarterback to be a place holder for 2-3 years. Could Donovan McNabb excel with Davis, Crabtree, and Gore around him? Could Kyle Orton be good enough to win the abysmal NFC West?
Or, commence eye roll now Niner fans, do Niners brass hope Harbaugh can sprinkle his magic on former first overall pick Smith, still trying to shake a potential "bust" label?
Whatever way they Niners go, it's nice to feel that the head coaching quandary has been solved, and just maybe the quarterback dilemma will be next.
And oh yeah, about getting a new stadium…
 |
| Step One |
--from Adam
(Image from zimbio.com)
Man it looks like he busted his pinky finger up good.
ReplyDeleteNice post. You brought up some good points.
ReplyDelete