The 49ers have one of the best offensive lines in the league and play a physical brand of football that beats their opponents into oblivion. With Colin Kaepernick taking over the helm at quarterback, most are expecting him to emerge as one of the top QBs in the league. However, the 49ers offense will likely still be run-heavy and Kaepernick only broke 250 passing yards once in the regular season last year. He surpassed that twice during the playoffs, but with Michael Crabtree’s injury the only veteran presence at WR is Anquan Boldin and Mario Manningham (who is coming off an injury). Second year WR AJ Jenkins and rookie Quinton Patton will be called upon to contribute early in the season.
The 49ers are absolutely loaded at all three levels of the defense. They got an absolute steal in free agency when they signed CB Nnamdi Asomugha to a $1.775 million contract. Asomugha makes one of the best secondaries in the league even better, with the only perceived hole being rookie safety Eric Reid. San Francisco has the best 3-4 linebacking unit in the league with Ahmad Brooks, Patrick Willis, Navorro Bowman and Aldon Smith. They were a top 5 defense last season and will be a top 5 unit again this season.
The one weakness on this team is at backup quarterback and if Kaepernick gets hurt it could be a long season by the Bay. Other than that, this team is loaded with depth and should be right back in the mix for the NFC crown.
The division got tougher and there are question marks at WR, but this is still one of the best rushing attacks in the league. If you love old-school run-the-ball-and-play-defense football, you have to love the way San Francisco plays. Their defense is good enough to keep them in games until the end. 10-6
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