San Francisco 49ers (Niner Noise)

Team MVP: LB Patrick Willis In his first NFL game last year Willis had 11 tackles (nine solo) and a forced fumble in a 49ers victory. He finished the season leading the NFL with 174 tackles which earned him the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Willis looked like a veteran in his first year and in his sophomore season he will add to his accolades possibly earning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and another Pro-Bowl selection. Without Willis the 49ers are a joke on defense. He is the backbone of the team and he knows he has to lead by example. Look for more astonishing numbers from Willis this year. Break-Out Player: QB Alex Smith This has to be the year of Alex Smith for the 49ers. At the end of the season he will defy all critics and doubters as he rises to the same class as other NFL elite quarterbacks. Or at least that is what anyone who loves the Red and Gold is hoping for. If Smith does not have his break out season in 2008 the 49ers will be stuck with the highest paid back-up wasting $24 million in guaranteed money on a bust. Smith has to defy all odds and use the Mike Martz system to his advantage as Trent Green, Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger have done in the past. Forget that this has to happen for Smith's career, to save Mike Nolan's job and for the 49ers new stadium plans. This has to happen for all the 49ers Faithful who have endured years of incompetent owners in the York Family, the horrid Terry Donahue era and only two playoff victories in the last decade all while watching the team amount five consecutive losing seasons. The new direction and identity of 49ers starts and can end with Alex Smith. Biggest Disappointment: Head Coach Mike Nolan How Mike Nolan held onto his job last year is anyone's guess. With the hiring of new offensive coordinator Mike Martz I wonder if the York Family held onto Nolan only to hand the reigns off to Martz if the 49ers endure another disappointing season. Nolan to his credit has built the defense into championship caliber but not much can be said about the other side of the football. So goes Alex Smith goes Nolan which is ironic given their tense relationship last year. Fantasy Stud: RB Frank Gore Gore is a stud, maybe the only offensive stud on the 49ers roster. He has had two consecutive 1,000 rushing yard seasons (1,695; 1,102) while also leading the team in receptions the last two years (61; 53). With Martz as the offensive coordinator the 49ers hope Gore can turn in the type of season Marshall Faulk had in his first year under Martz, meaning Gore looks to put up career record numbers. Offensive Outlook: The hiring of offensive coordinator Mike Martz is suppose to turn a sluggish sometimes non-existent offense into the second upcoming of the Greatest Show on Turf. Problem is the 49ers receiving core is led by Isaac Bruce who had his best years back at the turn of the century. The assumed second wide receiver, Bryant Johnson, was a back-up behind two pro-bowl receivers when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. The other wide receivers are ineffective leftovers from last season that avoided the boot that Darrell Jackson received (Arnaz Battle, Ashley Lelie and Jason Hill). TE Vernon Davis looks to have a big year, but that has been said each year he has been in the league to no avail. I just hope amounts more receiving yards than muscle mass this year. The offensive line was supposed to be the backbone of the team last year which proved to be false. The only thing the O-line consistently accomplished was watching their QB's get sacked 55 times. They will be better this year with LT Joe Staley and LG Adam Snyder being the anchors. Second round draft pick Chilo Rachel will most likely be the back-up at RG behind Tony Wragge, however he will not be the back-up for long. As he gains more experience he should take over the starting job at some point in the season. Oh, and then there is this little competition at quarterback between Alex Smith, who is still looking to make an impact, any kind of impact, a career back-up in Shaun Hill who dazzled the 49ers Faithful because he won the two games he started, and a journey-man back-up, J.T. O'Sullivan, whom the 49ers brass think might be able to start because he knows the Martz system. I want whoever gives the 49ers the best chance at winning to be the starter. When the season begins I think Smith will be under center. Patience is wearing thin with the 49ers Faithful, so Smith needs to show improvement in some way. The only true threat on offense is in the backfield with RB Frank Gore. Free agent RB DeShaun Foster will help Gore by taking some of the load off his shoulders as the back-up. Defensive Diagnosis: The heart and soul of the 49ers is held in the hands of Patrick Willis and the defense. Last year the 49ers showed the NFL how much of a force their defense can be when they faced-off against Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings. I was at the game and I was expecting Peterson to run all over the 49ers just as he did earlier in the season against a very good San Diego Chargers defense. Led by Willis, the 49ers D held Peterson to just 3 yards on 14 carries. The defense was ranked number 25 in NFL last year. The low standing is misleading and can be attributed to the offense going three and out on almost every possession. The 49ers defense is excellent, but to be left on the field for so long took its toll and thus affected their numbers and ranking. If the offense can stay on the field for more than just three downs the defenses numbers will dramatically improve. The 49ers signed DE free-agent Justin Smith from Cincinnati to replace the legendary Bryant Young who retired. First round draft pick Kentwan Balmer will factor into the success of the D whether as a back-up or a starter. The 49ers will most likely line-up in a 3-4 base; however a 4-3 base might also used in certain situations. 3-4 base might look like: (Left DE) Justin Smith, (NT) Aubrayo Franklin, (Right DE) Isaac Sopoaga (Left LB) Manny Lawson, (Middle LB) Jeff Ulbrich, (Middle LB) Patrick Willis, (Right LB) Tully Banta-Cain "Red Letter" Game: Week 10, November 10, at Arizona Cardinals By the time week 10 of the NFL rolls around the 49ers will have faced off against division rivals three times, played against the Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles and the two teams that met in last year''s Super Bowl. If the 49ers are not at least 4-4 or have just one win when they have their bye in week 9, the Mike Nolan era is finished. The York Family will spend the bye week trying to figure out whom to hand the head coaching reigns to, Mike Martz or Mike Singletary. Ultimately if this does happen I think Martz would get the promotion although Singletary deserves it more because of all the talent he has developed for the 49ers. The Cardinals game is significant in that the 49ers will have gone through the toughest part of their schedule and are either on the rise as the unexpected surprise of the season or on a downward spiral with the expected disappointment of another losing season beginning yet another era of rebuilding. Projected Record/Outlook: 6-10 The 49ers face a very tough schedule in the first half of the season (see above). I don't understand how a team this bad last year has such a tough schedule. It does ease in the second half of the season however that may not matter because come week 9 when they have their bye the 49ers will only have two wins. Under Mike Nolan the 49ers have shown they know how to win in December unfortunately it might be due to the fact they have no pressure on them as another wasted season comes to end. I am optimistic about the 49ers this year and I think they will improve, but getting back to .500 is unrealistic. Parting Smack: The NFC West can be categorized as the worst division in the NFL. The only descent and somewhat playoff caliber team is the Seattle Seahawks, but that's not saying much. The St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals are better than the 49ers; again, that is not saying much. It might be a good thing the 49ers are in hapless division because the debate of who is the worst team in the NFL will include all of the teams of the NFC West. St Louis Lams: Going nowhere slow, just like the 49ers. Both teams will compete for the right to be the leaders of the bottom of the division. Stephen Jackson is still holding out for a bigger contract and each day he is not in training camp helps the 49ers avoid being the cellar dwellers this season. Seattle Seasux: One team has to win the division and be awarded a playoff spot even if they don't deserve it and have a worse record than other teams not making the playoffs. In Mike Holmgren's final season as a head coach, the Seasux hope to send off Holmgren with a loss in the first round of the playoffs. Arizona Crampinals: This team is cursed to always be horrible. They could trade rosters with the New England Patriots and would still only amount five wins in a season. When the Crampinals were playing at Sun Devil Stadium it was rumored it was built on an Indian burial ground, hence the curse. Now they have moved into the crushed soda can that is University of Phoenix Stadium and the curse seems to have followed them as they continue to not win. Forget the curse of the team or the stadium, it probably has to do with the fact they play in a State where it feels like Satan is giving you hug every time you walk out the door. - Eric Melendez