I'm pretty sure everyone agrees that hell will have to freeze over before the 49ers would go on the road to the eastern time zone and win a game they absolutely HAVE TO WIN. It IS customary for the Iggles to blow a game every year at around this time, but boy is it unlikely to be this one.
So with that said, we as fans are resigning ourselves to another year of mediocrity, albeit this time one where we may actually have a non-losing record for the first time in 7 years.
And ya know what? That ain't so bad. I'm not sure exactly what we expected to get out of this season. Maybe if a couple more breaks went our way (minnesota, indy, houston, etc) we'd be better, but the fact of the matter is that .500 for a team whose offense did a complete 180 halfway through the season is more than acceptable.
More than that, the 49ers are the only team in the NFC west that is set up for any sort of long-term success. When this season started and I saw football outsiders say the Rams were the "sleeper team" in the NFC West, I could NOT understand their reasoning. At all. The Rams have nobody outside of Steven Jackson that you are in the least bit worried about.
And that got me thinking, how many guys ARE there like that in this division?
So to cheer us niner fans up a little bit, I thought I'd try to break down the "impact players" (for lack of a better term) in the nfc west. Guys who you as an opponent are scared of, and guys you have to gameplan for:
NFC CRAPWEST BREAKDOWN
1. Arizona Cardinals
Impact player count: 3 (Warner, Boldin, Fitzgerald)
Obviously a team with a LOT of offensive talent. Wisenhunt is a good coach, and they have amazing skill position players- Fitzgerald, Boldin, Breaston at WR, and Wells looks like he's going to be a pain in the ass for a long time.
BUT
The centerpiece of their offense is a guy who will not be in the league in 2 years, maybe not even next year. Kurt Warner is eventually going to start playing like he's 40, and when that happens they have no backup plan. With Leinart at QB, the Cardinals are barely a .500 team, even with all the available weaponry on offense.
Their defense just makes me go "meh". Not great, not terrible. Rodgers-Cromartie is very good, but can be destroyed if you fool him.
Seattle
Impact Player count: 1? (Hasselbeck?)
Seriously, who on this team scares you, or WILL scare you in the near future? I can't think of anyone outside of Curry. He could be a beast, but he sure hasn't been that great this season.
On offense they have nobody. Hasselbeck is old and can't stay healthy, Branch is done, Houshmanzadeh is pretty OK, but isn't the kind of guy you have to scheme your defense around, and Julias Jones? Really? Forsett looks like he'll be a good player, but I'm not sure he's going to be a guy you're terrified of. Other than Forsett, they have no young up-and-coming talent that will soon be a threat.
Their defense is just more "meh", with the aforementioned Curry being the lone bright spot. The rest is just a bunch of dudes who aren't awful, but, again, aren't guys that you spend the week preparing for.
St. Louis
Impact Player count: 1 (Steven Jackson)
Oh no. Ohhh noooooooo. This is the 2004 49ers with a better running back and better safety. No need to spend much time on this team- turnover happens quick in the NFL, but it's tough to imagine them being any good in less than 2 years.
San Francisco
Impact Player count: 6 (Crabtree, Gore, Davis, Willis, Clements, J Smith)
Ahhh yes. The entire core of this offense is under the age of 27. Smith looks good. Crabtree looks like he could be a top 10 WR, Gore is a top 5 RB, and Davis is a top 2 TE. Willis is the best linebacker in the game, Clements is borderline, but when he left the defense got quite a bit worse, and Smith is a guy that offenses hate because he just does. not. stop.
If Alex Smith keeps improving (he'll go into next year as the defined starter, and for the first time he'll be entering his second year in the same offense), then the sky is the limit for the offense. They have skill at every position save offensive line, and that skill is young and established. Obviously offensive line is important, but Rachal and Staley both look like they're going to be solid, and Heitmann is one of the best in the game.
More of the same on defense. The skill position players that the defense is relying on are young and talented, and aren't going anywhere any time soon. Goldson could be special, Clements has at least another 2 years left, same for Justin Smith. Also, apparently Shawnte turned into a really good player over night.
So what's my point? Yes, this year was frustrating. We're one miracle play and one trick play away from being in the driver's seat.
BUT
The team has a lot of young talent that is steadily improving, and the rest of the division doesn't. SOMEbody has to win the NFC west every year, and right now it looks like the Niners are built to be able to do that for awhile to come.
