Fearless 49er Football Forecast

Now that the calendar has flipped to September, it becomes socially acceptable to mention football. The summer months may belong to baseball according to the schedule keepers, but the National Football League still has a way of keeping itself in the news cycle-- and that is even without the Brett Favre saga.
Rather than focus on number four though, let us turn our attention the the NFC West. A quick glance proves that this division is the best case of parity in the NFL. Granted, it is akin to the parity between Bud Light, Miller Lite and Coors Light-- not exactly the creme de la creme--but still, it appears up for grabs in 2009.
The Arizona Cardinals caught fire at the right time in 2008, but are staring down the barrel of the dreaded Super Bowl hangover, a curse so mighty not even Tom Brady couldn't sidestep its wrath. The Seahawks' collective fate was sealed with Matt Hasselbeck's bad back, as was the Rams with their total lack of a defense. What of the 49ers, you ask? Well I'm glad you brought them up, because really this is just an excuse to preview the 49ers in depth.
The 49ers are unproven in a lot of areas, starting with the coaching staff. Assuming Mike Singletary can keep his pants on, though, he does have some talent o work with. The backfield should be the strength of the team--and not just because of Frank Gore. Fullback Moran Norris returns, to help pave the way for Gore much like he did when the former Miami product gained nearly 1700 yards on the ground. Also, rookie Glenn Coffee has looked good in the preseason, and should keep Gore fresh.
But with Michael Crabtree still holding out, the question remains: what of the 49er passing attack? Shaun Hill won the starter's job by stinking slightly less than Alex Smith this fall. But with yet another offensive coordinator in SF this year (6th OC in as many seasons), everyone had to start over, yet again.
On defense, the Niners will stick with the 3-4 defense Mike Nolan brought in, and they have a star in ILB Patrick Willis. What they need is more consistent play from the defensive line, especially in the middle. Isaac Sopoaga, Kentwan Balmer, and Aubrayo Franklin have all taken a crack at it, but they still need a big body to clog that middle, much the way the Ravens had Tony Siragusa when Nolan was in Baltimore. SF needs a guy that looks like he would get stuck trying to walk through a doorway.
The D line is not the only area in need of a touch up. SF was the only team in the league to get zero interceptions out of their safeties last fall. This is akin to having a wing man who insists on eating chicken wings and garlic bread all night; not much help.
As for special teams, the Niners are above average. Andy Lee is a good punter, and Joe Nedney is back yet again. Allen Rossum even the Niners in the top ten in the league for punt returns, which is important since field position would seem to be important for a team that can't sustain drives.
The bottom line with San Francisco is that they need two things: a healthy offensive line, and steady play from Shaun Hill. They need to grind out games and keep their defense from wearing down in the second half. They have the personnel, but so do most teams in the NFL, if everything breaks right. Working in their favor is the fact that if there is one division where a little luck goes a long way, the NFC West is it. So should San Francisco get back on track, it could find itself flipping the calendar to 2010 to schedule a playoff game. That would be something to talk about.