49ers New Hope
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to this Christmas Day edition to the Next Best Sports Blog, Matthew Durant back at it again but this time to talk about the Bay areas favorite football team the San Francisco 49ers and the new found hope this team has for next year!
Yes I understand that you might think I’m just another crazy 49er fan.... which I might still be but you have to think that the Jimmy G trade has been a huge success! I mean I’m not saying that if we would have gotten him during the draft that we would be a playoff team but we did just put 44 points up on the best defense in the league! Granted the Jags have been said to be lacking at the QB position but Blake Bortles has done enough to get them to 10-5 and clinch a playoff spot and we beat the Titans last week which is also a possible playoff team! Which shows that this 49er team has grown from that 0-10 team that didn’t know how to finish a game and was thought to possibly go 0-16 (sorry browns fans).
Plus we finished the season 6-10 after beating the Rams this weekend... Which may have a little less meaning because they were resting starters but this team has played with fire and were bummed to not have the Rams starters playing! And afterwards Both Joe Staley and John Lynch made remarks about if they would have finished off some of those games early in the season that if they would have been in playoffs that there isn't a team that would want to play the 49ers.. Which is true! there was no hotter team in December than SF going undefeated in the last month! But think about it this team may have just become a huge free agent destination!
You may be sitting there saying why would free agents want to come to San Francisco? Well before this year I would agree, I would barley want to be here! But now you have Jimmy Garoppolo, Kyle Shannahan, John Lynch, a young core in defense. It’s shown that just by keeping an offense on the field that it can help hide deficiencies on that side of the ball and the offense is just begging for a big time number one wide receiver to be playing on it along side the ever dependable Pierre Garçon and Marquess Goodwin who has emerged as a play maker and more than a one trick pony!
It’s because of things like this that players on the team are already aiming for next year as a come back story for the team! I mean Carlos Hyde has already said that he believes the team will be in the Super Bowl next year! I mean that may be a stretch! But hey you never know! With the amount of guys that have gotten hurt it very well may be possible!
Here’s a few positions I think we could use some upgrading to help really make us competitive next season to make Hyde’s prediction come true!
Wide Receiver:
The reason I say this is a major position to upgrade is because we don’t have a true number one guy, Garçon was having one heck of a season but I think he would produce even better as a number 2 guys because he would benefit from single coverage and less safety help. Along with the emergence of Marquis Goodwin and Trent Taylor would make this a formidable group for Garoppolo to throw too!
Cornerback:
Cornerback is an interesting position for the front office to tackle because you can go a couple of ways with it. You could spend a first round pick on the top corner prospect to pair them with Witherspoon who has grown tremendously during this season and with Kuaun Williams at the nickel. But there is the possibility of moving ward back to corner with the emergence of Colbert, Tartt, and the possibility of resigning Eric Reid. Or the last option find someone young in free agency, the only issue is young talented player regardless of position will require a lot of money and honestly I wouldn’t want to get to outrageous with paying a single corner when we need help at other spots as well.
Pass Rusher:
We are in need of a guy like Von Miller someone you know can get to the quarterback! Solomon Thomas hasn’t been bad but missed some time this year, Erik Armstead was much better this year in the new scheme before being sidelined with a broken hand and DeForest Buckner has been monster, and if he can keep developing will be a superstar. But the issue is that he’s the only one at that level and constantly get double teamed, he’s gotten stronger and is able to beat them but getting another guy who can get to the quarterback will help each and every guy on the D-line for years to come.
Offensive Line:
Let’s be honest they have been a rough position group to watch Zane Beetles aged 20 years in the course of two. It hasn’t helped that guys who were showing promise got banged up such as Joshua Garnett and Erik Mugnesun added with the injuries to both Staley and Brown it’s been a rough year as a whole. But when healthy I believe that Staley and Brown are both in the upper tier of tackles and I think in the new scheme Garnett will thrive, but I truest think we need a new guard due to Lakien Tomlinson definitely not being the answer and Beetles being to slow to keep up with top tier defensive lineman. I also think an upgrade at center would be good, I think Kilgore is a decent back up but I don’t know if he has the physicality to be a dominate presence in the middle. I can see us finding a center in Free agency as they tend to be hard to find in the draft. I mean the last one we drafted was an absolute bust (Marcus Martin) but I’m sure we could find a veteran to help solidify that front.
Bonus!
Linebacker:
I put line backer on here not because we need a number one guy, because Foster has shown he has the ability to be that guy and he will grown into the role as the linebacker who calls the plays. Brock Coyle has played well at times and is only a third year player and people forget that we sign Malcom Smith who will be a huge upgrade over Eli Harold. But I think getting another guy with some talent to help the depth as all of the linebackers have gotten a little banged up and it would be good to have that fill in guy who could keep them all on there toes because he has the talent to start, just like Larry Grant was a few years ago, a spark plug of the bench.
Well there you have it! These are just a few of the position that I believe will be important to upgrade at look at during this offseason. I have all the faith in Shannahan and Lynch after the successful offseason we had last year, and I’m sure they will take the steps to continue getting this rebuild on track and getting the 49ers back to the postseason where they belong!
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