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In three of the last four seasons the San Francisco 49ers have made it to the NFC Championship under head coach Kyle Shanahan. In two of those three championship seasons, they were defeated in that championship game. In the other, they made it to the Super Bowl, only to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs. For some reason, among the 49er faithful, this is seen as a failure. As someone who roots for one of the other 31 franchises in the NFL, I will never understand that.
Such is the pressure a past dynasty places upon a franchise. I can’t foresee anytime in the next decade that the New England Patriots will make it back to the Super Bowl, let alone win one, but their fanbase and ownership will demand nothing less. When, the guy that made it all possible, Tom Brady, is literally a once-in-a-lifetime type of player.
The 49ers have it worse, because they followed Joe Montana, a once-in-a-lifetime player, with Steve Young, a second once-in-a-lifetime player. No one should be shocked that it hasn’t happened again. The fact that they did it once, as did the Green Bay Packers with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, is spectacular enough. The Indianapolis Colts couldn’t do it and they had Andrew Luck following Peyton Manning. It’s that hard, that a generational talent like Luck can be completely ruined by his team’s expectations and inability to build around him. Does anyone really think Mac Jones can take the Pats to a Super Bowl like Brady? And, if you do, how many NFTs and weird cryptocurrencies do you own and have lost hundreds, if not thousands, of actual American dollars on?
The point is, the fact that Kyle Shanahan has kept the Niners competitive, if not a Super Bowl contender in this era, is absolutely astounding and should be treated as such. The issue that they haven’t won one? Less of a problem. They have never, not once, been the better team.
Jimmy Garoppolo, now with the Las Vegas Raiders, led the team with a 7-3 record and a 67.2 completion percentage, 2. 437 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Brock Purdy, who is apparently the great hope of the Bay Area, was 5-0 in the regular season with a 67.1 completion percentage, 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns and four picks. Christian McCaffery, acquired in a midseason trade, rushed for 746 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 52 receptions for 464 yards and four TD.s He also threw for one 34-yard touchdown.
Brandon Aiyuk led the receivers with 78 catches for 1,015 yards and eight scores. Deebo Samuel rushed for 232 yards and two TDs and caught 56 passes for 632 yards and two touchdowns.
Nick Bosa, in spite of missing a game with injury, had 18.5 sacks. No other 49er recorded more than five. Fred Warner finished with 130 tackles, three for a loss, one interception, 10 passes defended, one fumble recovery and two sacks. Tashaun Gipson had five interceptions.61 tackles, one for a loss, eight passes defended and half a sack.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
2022-23 Record: 13-4
Playoffs: Lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship
2023 NFC Championship Odds: +425
NOW WHAT?
The Niners have to settle in on a quarterback, but luckily for them, Shanahan’s offense doesn’t need elite QB play to work. Brock Purdy, who is apparently healthy enough to practice, comes in as the presumptive No. 1, with Sam Darnold as the two and Trey Lance, the subject of the dumbest draft trade in NFL history, at No. 3. Purdy will have to battle to keep his job as Shanahan will have no issue at all going to the bullpen and the pressure to play Lance, after Purdy’s emergence, is gone.
QB is the only real roster issue San Francisco faces as this is probably one of the two best squads, talent-wise, in the league (behind only the Philadelphia Eagles). Their schedule is a tough one, as a first place team can expect, with two very losable road games to open the year at the Pittsburgh Steelers and at the Los Angeles Rams. And while the 49ers have owned the Rams in the regular season, and can claim SoFi Stadium as a second home, 0-2 is on the table. After that, they host the New York Giants at home, followed by the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys, all in Santa Clara. I can see a 3-2 start there that they can stretch to a 5-3 record before their bye. The home stretch is a tough one as they’ll face off against six 2022 playoff teams over their final nine games and wrap their season hosting the Rams in a game that could be for the NFC West title.
It’s difficult to see the Niners finishing worse than 10-7, but 11-6 is probably more realistic.
THE DRAFT
Because of the aforementioned dumbest draft trade in NFL history (and a good trade for Christian McCaffery from the Carolina Panthers), the 49ers didn’t make a selection until the third round, selecting Penn State safety J’Ayir Brown, Michigan kicker Jake Moody and Alabama tight end Cameron Latu to earn a C- rating in my draft grades.
FREE AGENCY
With two potential starting quarterbacks on rookie deals, the Niners had money to burn and spent it in free agency, nabbing defensive tackle Javon Hargrave from the Eagles, cornerback Isaiah Oliver from the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Sam Darnold from the Panthers, defensive end Cleland Ferrell from the Las Vegas Raiders, quarterback Brandon Allen from the Cincinnati Bengals, center Jon Felciano from the Giants, guard Matt Pryor from the Indianapolis Colts, defensive end Austin Bryant from the Detroit Loins, defensive end Darryl Johnson from the Seattle Seahawks and cornerback Myles Hartsfield from the Panthers.
NFC WEST
This is going to be a good team regardless of who takes over down the stretch at QB. I don’t see Seattle being a factor this season, but I do see the Rams bouncing back. The Arizona Cardinals are in full tank mode and aren’t worth considering. No team has repeated as NFC West champion since the 2017 and 2018 Rams, but the Niners have to be seen as the favorites heading into this campaign.
Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.
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