Rabbitsheriff
Contributor
After three NFC title game appearances and 5 yards short of a Super Bowl win, the 49ers seemed like a team that would continue to be elite for years to come. 2014 was a reality check, with a year of unfulfilled expectations and an 8-8 record. If the regular season was a fall back to parity, the offseason was hitting rock bottom, with little to no expectations for 2015.
Coaching Staff
The free fall started with the firing/resigning/mutual break up of ownership and Jim Harbaugh, the fiery coach who led the team out of ten years of mediocrity and into the elite of the NFC. While a fan favorite of some, his personality wore thin with the GM and owner, and, reportedly, with some of the players on the team. With many high profile names speculated to take his place, the team went with DL coach, Jim Tomsula, a long time 49er coach with no coordinator experience but is a player favorite. Along with Harbaugh, the exodus of coaching staff continued, with DC Vic Fangio going to the Bears and OC Greg Roman (good riddance) going to the Bills. They were replaced by former Jets and Browns head coach Eric Mangini as the DC and QB coach Geep Chryst as OC. Chryst will look to make the offense a little more uptempo, with several instances of delay of game penalties, or timeouts used instead, often hampering the offense (and costing the 49ers a Super Bowl win), caused by delays in getting the call down to the filed by the previous OC. Hopefully, Chryst also has some help on the offense from someone with a name spelled close to his own, they will need it.
Defense
LB/DL
As if a regime isn’t enough change to deal with in an offseason, the hits just kept coming for the 49ers. On the defensive side of the ball, they only return ONE starter from the Super Bowl team that played just 2 and half years ago. That is Navarro Bowman, who didn’t play at all in 2014 after suffering a gruesome leg injury in the NFC Championship game loss to the Seahawks in 2013 postseason. ILB stalwart Patrick Willis unexpectedly retired near the top of his game. The promising 2nd year man slotted to take P.Willy’s place, Chris Borland, retired due to fears of health implications from playing football just a week after Willis. Pro Bowl DE Justin “Cowboy” Smith retired, though he was the only one someone would have remotely thought would retire prior to the 2015 offseason. Aldon Smith, oft troubled yet highly skilled pash rusher, was released after yet another run in with the police and alcohol. Gone due to free agency are Chris Culliver and Dan Skuta. Recently, Ahmad Brooks was allowed to leave practice in Denver, to tend to matters where he was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery.
DB
With all of this turnover, the 49ers are having to turn to youth in the next man (defensive team?) up philosophy. Promising 2nd year OLB, Aaron Lynch is set to take one of the OLB positions, along with competition from Corey Lemonier and 3rd round draft pick Eli Harold. The ILB position up for grabs will be fought for by Nick Moody, Shane Skov and Michael Wilhoite. At cornerback, Tramon Brock is expecting to lock down a starting position, but a laundry list of players will compete to start next to him and in the slot. Enter Chris Cook, Shareece Wright, brought in during free agency, as well 2nd year players Dontae Johnson, Kenneth Acker, Marcus Cromartie and Keith Reaser. The DL will be manned by a rotation of free agent signee Darnell Dockett, Ian Williams, Mike Purcell, Tank Carradine, Quinton Dialand Glenn Dorsey. First round draft pick, Arik Armstead, looks to be a development project, with a lot of potential but will need time before starting.
At least the safety positions had no turnover, with Pro Bowlers Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea returning. Jimmie Ward will look to build upon his lackluster and injury filled rookie year backing up Reid and possibly playing the slot again…so long as he doesn’t have to guard Brandon Marshall. A curious second round pick was spent on Jacquiski Tartt, a hard hitting safety out of the small BCS school, Samford. Some training camp reviews have shown the 49ers using Jackquiski in a Big Dime, allowing for the safety to play in the box to provide some run support while also being able to cover receivers.
Offense
RB
With all the turmoil on the defensive side of the ball, one would hope that there would have been little impact to the offense in the offseason. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will know this was not the case. Gone in free agency is the Inconvenient Truth, the highest rushing 49er ever, Frank Gore. With Gore gone, Carlos Hyde will look to improve on his rookie season as the 49ers lead back. To help complement the bruiser, the 49ers brought in oft injured, but highly skilled, Reggie Bush. Both have looked good out of the backfield catching passes in the preseason and training camp. If Bush can stay healthy, it will be a nice combo of RBs. Kendall Hunter returns after an ACL injury robbed him of any contributions in 2014, as well as spending a 4th round pick on Mike Davis out of South Carolina. Also set to make the team is rugby superstar, Jarred Hayne. With no American football experience, the “Hayne Plane” has wowed coaches and teammates alike with his punt returning abilities, which makes good use of his shiftiness and field vision. He has looked good out of the backfield, though most of his contributions in his rookie year will come on special teams. So long as his legal issues don’t impact him as well, Bruce Miller looks to remain at FB.
OL
It is more of the same, as far as the offensive line offseason experience goes. Pro Bowler LG Mike Iupati left for division rival Arizona in free agency and LT Anthony Davis decided to retire…at least for a year, to freshen his body and his mind. Last year’s starting center, Daniel Kilgore (from yours truly’s alma mater, Appalachian State!) will begin the season on the PUP with a lingering leg injury from 2014. So two returning starters look to anchor the line, with maybe the best player on the roster, Joe Staley at LT and Alex Boone moving from LG to RG. Recent draft picks Joe Looney and Marcus Martin will be manning C and RG positions, with Buffalo cast off, Erik Pears, taking over for Davis at RT. Rookies Ian Silberman and Trent Brown look to make a name for themselves and make the team as backup linemen.
WR
If the 2015 starting WRs for the 49ers look a lot like the starting WRs that beat them in Super Bowl 47, that’s because, well, they are! Anquan Boldin came to the 49ers in the offseason after that title game, providing a solid 80+ receptions and 1,000+ yards in each of the two seasons since. Now his longtime friend and former teammate joined him in free agency this season, Torrey Smith. This looks to give the team a deep vertical threat, which should open up things underneath for Boldin and other receivers. The slot receiver position is wide open for competition for youngsters Bruce Ellington and Quinton Patton to battle it out, while free agent pickup Jerome Simpson serves to push the younger players. There is a lot of talk of UDFA DeAndrew White making the team. While his teammate Amari Cooper at Alabama was the 4th overall pick, White suffered injuries while in college and went undrafted, but has shown some spark in training camp.
TE
Vernon Davis looks to build on an absolutely awful 2014, where he scored 2 touchdowns in the first game and then didn’t hit paydirt again for the rest of the season. While injuries took their toll, the tight end has stated himself he felt he never was really included in the gameplan and that was a cause for the down year as well. By the look of it in training camp, this will not be a problem, as he leads the team in training camp receptions. Davis will still look to serve as a deep threat and is certainly a handful for a LB to cover. Vance McDonald returns as the second string TE. While he was heralded as a pass receiving TE out of college, he actually graded out as one of the top ranking blocking tight ends in the league. Fourth round pick, Blake Bell looks likely to make the team, but is definitely a work in progress as he switched from QB to TE in college.
QB
Which brings us to the all-important position, quarterback. After a meteoric rise in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Colin Kaepernick crashed down to earth a bit in 2014. Although he posted highs in passing yardage, his QB rating has declined in each year he has played, along with this TD:INT ratio. While he definitely could have done more himself last year, some of the regression could have be blamed on his previous coaches. At times it seemed they were trying to put a square peg through a round hole, trying to make Kap a pocket passer. With his athletic ability, he is obviously not that. Colin did post highs in rushing yards in 2014, with 639 yards, but most of these were not from designed runs, but from where his pass protection broke down and he ran for his life, including a 90 yard TD run versus the Chargers. This year’s OC looks to give Colin more options in the run game, with more read option and rollouts where he can rush or pass. All 49ers fans are hoping that the QB play is pointing up for 2015.
Well that’s it. That’s a lot to take in if you haven’t necessarily followed the 49ers that much in the offseason. With a new coaching staff, lots of new players, young and old, the 49ers will look to prove the doubters wrong and actually contend for the playoffs. A lot will have to depend on the QB play and how the new look defense plays, with a new cast and DC.
Coaching Staff
The free fall started with the firing/resigning/mutual break up of ownership and Jim Harbaugh, the fiery coach who led the team out of ten years of mediocrity and into the elite of the NFC. While a fan favorite of some, his personality wore thin with the GM and owner, and, reportedly, with some of the players on the team. With many high profile names speculated to take his place, the team went with DL coach, Jim Tomsula, a long time 49er coach with no coordinator experience but is a player favorite. Along with Harbaugh, the exodus of coaching staff continued, with DC Vic Fangio going to the Bears and OC Greg Roman (good riddance) going to the Bills. They were replaced by former Jets and Browns head coach Eric Mangini as the DC and QB coach Geep Chryst as OC. Chryst will look to make the offense a little more uptempo, with several instances of delay of game penalties, or timeouts used instead, often hampering the offense (and costing the 49ers a Super Bowl win), caused by delays in getting the call down to the filed by the previous OC. Hopefully, Chryst also has some help on the offense from someone with a name spelled close to his own, they will need it.
Defense
LB/DL
As if a regime isn’t enough change to deal with in an offseason, the hits just kept coming for the 49ers. On the defensive side of the ball, they only return ONE starter from the Super Bowl team that played just 2 and half years ago. That is Navarro Bowman, who didn’t play at all in 2014 after suffering a gruesome leg injury in the NFC Championship game loss to the Seahawks in 2013 postseason. ILB stalwart Patrick Willis unexpectedly retired near the top of his game. The promising 2nd year man slotted to take P.Willy’s place, Chris Borland, retired due to fears of health implications from playing football just a week after Willis. Pro Bowl DE Justin “Cowboy” Smith retired, though he was the only one someone would have remotely thought would retire prior to the 2015 offseason. Aldon Smith, oft troubled yet highly skilled pash rusher, was released after yet another run in with the police and alcohol. Gone due to free agency are Chris Culliver and Dan Skuta. Recently, Ahmad Brooks was allowed to leave practice in Denver, to tend to matters where he was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery.
DB
With all of this turnover, the 49ers are having to turn to youth in the next man (defensive team?) up philosophy. Promising 2nd year OLB, Aaron Lynch is set to take one of the OLB positions, along with competition from Corey Lemonier and 3rd round draft pick Eli Harold. The ILB position up for grabs will be fought for by Nick Moody, Shane Skov and Michael Wilhoite. At cornerback, Tramon Brock is expecting to lock down a starting position, but a laundry list of players will compete to start next to him and in the slot. Enter Chris Cook, Shareece Wright, brought in during free agency, as well 2nd year players Dontae Johnson, Kenneth Acker, Marcus Cromartie and Keith Reaser. The DL will be manned by a rotation of free agent signee Darnell Dockett, Ian Williams, Mike Purcell, Tank Carradine, Quinton Dialand Glenn Dorsey. First round draft pick, Arik Armstead, looks to be a development project, with a lot of potential but will need time before starting.
At least the safety positions had no turnover, with Pro Bowlers Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea returning. Jimmie Ward will look to build upon his lackluster and injury filled rookie year backing up Reid and possibly playing the slot again…so long as he doesn’t have to guard Brandon Marshall. A curious second round pick was spent on Jacquiski Tartt, a hard hitting safety out of the small BCS school, Samford. Some training camp reviews have shown the 49ers using Jackquiski in a Big Dime, allowing for the safety to play in the box to provide some run support while also being able to cover receivers.
Offense
RB
With all the turmoil on the defensive side of the ball, one would hope that there would have been little impact to the offense in the offseason. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will know this was not the case. Gone in free agency is the Inconvenient Truth, the highest rushing 49er ever, Frank Gore. With Gore gone, Carlos Hyde will look to improve on his rookie season as the 49ers lead back. To help complement the bruiser, the 49ers brought in oft injured, but highly skilled, Reggie Bush. Both have looked good out of the backfield catching passes in the preseason and training camp. If Bush can stay healthy, it will be a nice combo of RBs. Kendall Hunter returns after an ACL injury robbed him of any contributions in 2014, as well as spending a 4th round pick on Mike Davis out of South Carolina. Also set to make the team is rugby superstar, Jarred Hayne. With no American football experience, the “Hayne Plane” has wowed coaches and teammates alike with his punt returning abilities, which makes good use of his shiftiness and field vision. He has looked good out of the backfield, though most of his contributions in his rookie year will come on special teams. So long as his legal issues don’t impact him as well, Bruce Miller looks to remain at FB.
OL
It is more of the same, as far as the offensive line offseason experience goes. Pro Bowler LG Mike Iupati left for division rival Arizona in free agency and LT Anthony Davis decided to retire…at least for a year, to freshen his body and his mind. Last year’s starting center, Daniel Kilgore (from yours truly’s alma mater, Appalachian State!) will begin the season on the PUP with a lingering leg injury from 2014. So two returning starters look to anchor the line, with maybe the best player on the roster, Joe Staley at LT and Alex Boone moving from LG to RG. Recent draft picks Joe Looney and Marcus Martin will be manning C and RG positions, with Buffalo cast off, Erik Pears, taking over for Davis at RT. Rookies Ian Silberman and Trent Brown look to make a name for themselves and make the team as backup linemen.
WR
If the 2015 starting WRs for the 49ers look a lot like the starting WRs that beat them in Super Bowl 47, that’s because, well, they are! Anquan Boldin came to the 49ers in the offseason after that title game, providing a solid 80+ receptions and 1,000+ yards in each of the two seasons since. Now his longtime friend and former teammate joined him in free agency this season, Torrey Smith. This looks to give the team a deep vertical threat, which should open up things underneath for Boldin and other receivers. The slot receiver position is wide open for competition for youngsters Bruce Ellington and Quinton Patton to battle it out, while free agent pickup Jerome Simpson serves to push the younger players. There is a lot of talk of UDFA DeAndrew White making the team. While his teammate Amari Cooper at Alabama was the 4th overall pick, White suffered injuries while in college and went undrafted, but has shown some spark in training camp.
TE
Vernon Davis looks to build on an absolutely awful 2014, where he scored 2 touchdowns in the first game and then didn’t hit paydirt again for the rest of the season. While injuries took their toll, the tight end has stated himself he felt he never was really included in the gameplan and that was a cause for the down year as well. By the look of it in training camp, this will not be a problem, as he leads the team in training camp receptions. Davis will still look to serve as a deep threat and is certainly a handful for a LB to cover. Vance McDonald returns as the second string TE. While he was heralded as a pass receiving TE out of college, he actually graded out as one of the top ranking blocking tight ends in the league. Fourth round pick, Blake Bell looks likely to make the team, but is definitely a work in progress as he switched from QB to TE in college.
QB
Which brings us to the all-important position, quarterback. After a meteoric rise in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Colin Kaepernick crashed down to earth a bit in 2014. Although he posted highs in passing yardage, his QB rating has declined in each year he has played, along with this TD:INT ratio. While he definitely could have done more himself last year, some of the regression could have be blamed on his previous coaches. At times it seemed they were trying to put a square peg through a round hole, trying to make Kap a pocket passer. With his athletic ability, he is obviously not that. Colin did post highs in rushing yards in 2014, with 639 yards, but most of these were not from designed runs, but from where his pass protection broke down and he ran for his life, including a 90 yard TD run versus the Chargers. This year’s OC looks to give Colin more options in the run game, with more read option and rollouts where he can rush or pass. All 49ers fans are hoping that the QB play is pointing up for 2015.
Well that’s it. That’s a lot to take in if you haven’t necessarily followed the 49ers that much in the offseason. With a new coaching staff, lots of new players, young and old, the 49ers will look to prove the doubters wrong and actually contend for the playoffs. A lot will have to depend on the QB play and how the new look defense plays, with a new cast and DC.