NFL Draft Info - San Fransisco 49ers

2009 San Fransisco 49ers Report Card

by: John Johnson

The 49ers started off great this season. They went to Arizona and beat them, then traveled to Seattle where Frank Gore set a career record with 207 yards rushing. The team then went to Minnesota to take on Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. The team played them close, only losing on a last second Hail Mary pass by a future Hall of Famer.

That was a crushing loss, which sent the team into a downard spiral. They got blown out by Atlanta, switched QBs in the middle of the Houston game, and then nearly beat the Colts at home. In fact the only passing TD by the Indianapolis Colts came on a halfback pass. The rest of the season fell into much the same vein. The highs were high and the lows were very low indeed--this was a team that definitely played to the level of it's competition.

The good news is that the Niners ended up 8-8 for the first time since 2002 when the team had Terrell Owens and Jeff Garcia and Steve Mariuchi was the head coach. I want to break down each part of the team to see how they did.

Offense

Quarterback--B

Alex Smith came in the second half of the Houston game when we were down 24-0. He nearly led the team to a second half comeback, throwing three touchdown passes en route to a 24-21 loss. His play the rest of the year has been inconsistent. There have been moments of greatness as well as cringeworthy moments. He has shown great improvement from 2006, which was the last year he started.

Running Back--A

Frank Gore is a boom or bust kind of guy, but he's still worthy of being a Pro-Bowl selection. He broke his ankle on the first play of scrimmage in Week 3 and was out for 3 games but still hit 1000 yards on the season. This is his fourth season in a row to hit 1000 yards which is a 49er record

Tight End--A

Vernon Davis exploded onto the scene this year, tieing Antonio Gates record for most touchdowns in a single year, as well as being only 35 yards shy of 1000 receiving yards on the year. He still struggles with dropped balls and penalties but he's come a long way since the diva days of last season.

Wide Receivers--C

Isaac Bruce got benched halfway through the season for poor performance. Josh Morgan is barely a #2 WR. Brandon Jones had one reception all year long. The only bright spot was Michael Crabtree and he held out for five games. Most of us fans think he'll be a star even if many of us were disgusted with his holdout (I was one of the fans who was disgusted)

Offensive Line--D

The lone bright spot on the offensvie line was Barry Sims at LT. He stepped in when Staley went down and played at a very high level all season long. The rest of the line struggled with run blocking and pass protection, especially the right tackle, Adam Snyder, who gave up 9 sacks this year. This is clearly our biggest area of need and in a draft stocked with offensive line talent we should be able to make great strides towards fixing it.

 

Defense

Defensive Line--A

Our defensive line was consistently one of the best. RT Justin Smith was named as an alternate to the Pro-Bowl. NT Aubrayo Franklin should've been named to the Pro-Bowl. The Niners ended the season ranked 6th against the rush, only allowing two runners to go over 100 yards against us.

Linebackers--A

Perennial Pro-Bowler Patrick Willis is the start of the linebacking group. Ahmad Brooks came on strong at the end of the year as a pass rushing specialist and will have a chance to compete for the starting spot at OLB in the off-season. Parys Haralson and Manny Lawson both performed well.

Cornerbacks--B

Nate Clements is the star here. He signed a huge contract, and then was promptly hurt this year as he was doing punt returns. Shantae Spencer and Dre Bly are both solid CBs (even if Dre Bly's showboating cost us a chance to win in Houston). Tarell Brown is also a solid DB for us.

Safety--C

Dashon Goldson came on strong at the end of the year but was quiet for the first half. Here's hoping that he can improve on his play next season. The rest of our safeties are below average, leaving the secondary vulnerable to big passing plays.

 

Special Teams

Punter--Andy Lee is a Pro-Bowl punter and will likely be so for many years to come, that's how good he is.

Kicker--Joe Nedney. Nedney doesn't have the biggest leg but he is very solid and reliable

Coverage--Our special teams coverage has been very good. Very few big runs have broken against it and no touchdowns

Return--Our return game is probably the worst in the league. Our punt return average this year was a lousy 4.4 yards per carry. Kick return was better--not spectacular but at least solid. With an average punt return game we'd probably be in the playoffs, as two of our losses can be directly attributed to scores generated off punt return fumbles.

 

Coaches

Head Coach, Mike Singletary--A Singletary has taken a group of underachievers and improved them dramatically. He's got the team believing in themselves and has most of the fans believing in him. For a rookie head coach who lost his star running back for three games, had to switch quarterbacks midway through, and had no legitimate WR threat for half the season he did remarkably well.

Offensive Coordinator, Jimmy Raye--C. Many fans felt that Raye took too long to adjust to Alex Smith's capabilities and that his play calling is too conservative. He has several well-designed plays in his repertoire, but when the team gets a lead (no matter how small), he tends to sit on it and try to play smash mouth with a line that can't run block.

Defensive Coordinator, Greg Manusky--A. The 49er defense is a top ranked defense against the run and solid against the pass. A few extra pieces and we'll have a top 5 defense.

 

Overall grade--B

I have high opes for the direction this team is going. It's been a long 7 years since Mooch was fired by the Yorks, and this is a step in the right direction. I think Singletary has the team headed down the right path and it's nice to see some playmakers developing on both sides of the ball. With two first-round picks in the 2010 draft we have the opportunity to address some real areas of need.