4 San Francisco 49ers
THE BELIEF On awall outside the locker room at the 49ers' training camp, there's a banner withX'd out helmets of the Seahawks, Rams and Cardinals that boldly says: win thewest. The 49ers may have had the worst record in the NFL over the last twoseasons (6-26), but second-year coach Mike Nolan is infusing the franchise witha winning attitude as he continues to remake the team. Since last year he hasadded playmakers, strengthened a porous offensive line and brought incoordinator Norv Turner to work with quarterback Alex Smith, the No. 1 draftpick out of Utah in 2005, who was overmatched in his seven starts.
THE REALITY SanFrancisco still doesn't have enough talent to escape the NFC West cellar, butjust as the team improved from two wins to four in Nolan's first season, theNiners will take another step in the right direction this year.
Chief among thenewcomers is tight end Vernon Davis, the No. 6 pick from Maryland. Millions ofTV viewers saw him cry uncontrollably after he was chosen, but Davis assuredNolan in their first phone conversation that he wasn't bawling about going to afranchise with the NFL's lowest-ranked offense and defense. He was justthrilled to achieve his NFL dream. "I get the opportunity to be on a teamwhere we go from being down to being on top," Davis says.
To be sure, tightend-where the 49ers had an NFL-worst 17 catches in '05-is no longer a weakness.Davis often will be paired with Eric Johnson, who missed last season with atorn right plantar fascia but in '04 was one of the league's top pass-catchingtight ends (a team-high 82 receptions for 825 yards). San Francisco alsobrought in free agent Antonio Bryant, a poor man's Terrell Owens. Last seasonin Cleveland the high-strung wideout had a career-best 69 catches for 1,009yards, including 15 receptions of 20 yards or more.
Having more andbetter targets can only be a plus for Smith, who finished his rookie year with11 interceptions, three lost fumbles and one touchdown pass. Smith's 40.8quarterback rating was the lowest by a top pick since Terry Bradshaw's 30.4 in1970. "I'm not going to lie," says Smith. "Sometimes I did questionthings, even questioned myself." An already thin line was plagued byinjuries, leaving Smith vulnerable to 29 sacks-a staggering number for someonewho threw only 165 passes.
The line shouldbe better this year, even with center Jeremy Newberry out for the season (leftknee injury). The 49ers signed free-agent Pro Bowl left guard Larry Allen, whoremains solid if unspectacular at 34. And left tackle Jonas Jennings returnsafter missing 13 games with an injured shoulder.
But the biggestboost for Smith may be the arrival of Turner, who, as the Cowboys' offensivecoordinator in the early 1990s, had such an impact on Troy Aikman's career thatAikman chose Turner to present him for induction into the Hall of Fame thissummer. In Turner's motion-heavy offense San Francisco will set up deep passeswith power runs from Frank Gore.
There are noquick fixes, though. Despite having plenty of salary-cap room, the 49ers arebuilding largely through the draft (19 picks over the past two years),emulating the strategy of the Eagles and the Patriots. It's just going to takeSan Francisco a good while longer to match those teams' success on thefield.
2006 SCHEDULE
SEPTEMBER
10 at Arizona
17 ST. LOUIS
24PHILADELPHIA
OCTOBER
1 at KansasCity
8 OAKLAND
15 SAN DIEGO
22 Bye
29 at Chicago
NOVEMBER
5 MINNESOTA
12 at Detroit
19 SEATTLE
26 at St.Louis
DECEMBER
3 at NewOrleans
10 GREEN BAY
14 at Seattle(T)
24 ARIZONA
31 at Denver
(T) Thursday
SCHEDULESTRENGTH
NFL rank 23
Opponents' 2005winning percentage .477
Games againstplayoff teams 4
ENEMY LINES
AN OPPOSINGTEAM'S SCOUT SIZES UP THE 49ERS
> Their youngplayers need to taste success early in the season to get some confidence.
> With thequarterback position in flux, you've got to be so good everywhere else-and the49ers aren't. I don't put it all on Alex Smith, but he's got to take the nextstep.
> I don'tknow how much guard Larry Allen has left in him after 12 years in Dallas. I'dbe surprised if he has a good year.
> SanFrancisco is weak at wide receiver, and I don't think Antonio Bryant is goingto be the answer. Guys like him, who have been in a few different places, don'tall of a sudden become stars.
> They'll belucky if they win more than five games.
Derek Smith is agood linebacker, but when you get to be 30 or 31, you start to recede a bit.Smith is in that stage.
BREAKOUTPLAYER
Vernon Davis
TIGHT END
He envisionshimself becoming an elite tight end on a par with Antonio Gates and TonyGonzalez. And Davis has already topped them in one department: His five-year,$25 million contract is the largest ever for a player at that position. The6'3", 253-pound Davis has a swagger that's perhaps justified by hisprodigious physical gifts. Last winter he clocked a 4.38 in the 40 at thecombine, the fastest time ever recorded by a tight end. Davis will createserious matchup problems for opponents.
PROJECTEDSTARTING LINEUP
WITH 2005STATISTICS
COACH MIKE NOLAN(4-12 in NFL), second season with San Francisco
OFFENSE
ANTONIO BRYANT --NEW ACQUISITION
POS WR
REC 69
YARDS 1,009
TD 4
FRANK GORE
POS RB
RUSH 127
YARDS 608
TD 3
ALEX SMITH
POS QB
ATT 165
COMP 84
PCT 50.9
YARDS 875
TD 1
INT 11
RATING 40.8
ERICJOHNSON*
POS TE
REC 82
YARDS 825
TD 2
ARNAZBATTLE
POS WR
REC 32
YARDS 363
TD 3
JOE NEDNEY
POS K
FG 26-28
POINTS 97
VERNON DAVIS (R)-- NEW ACQUISITION
POS TE
REC 51
YARDS 871
TD 6
JONASJENNINGS
POS LT
HT 6'3"
WT 325
G 3
LARRY ALLEN --NEW ACQUISITION
POS LG
HT 6'3"
WT 325
G 16
ERICHEITMANN
POS C
HT 6'5"
WT 307
G 16
JUSTINSMILEY
POS RG
HT 6'3"
WT 301
G 16
KWAMEHARRIS
POS RT
HT 6'7"
WT 306
G 16
DEFENSE
BRYANTYOUNG
POS LE
TACKLES 36
SACKS 8
DEREK SMITH
POS WILB
TACKLES 116
SACKS 0
INT 1
ANTHONYADAMS
POS NT
TACKLES 40
SACKS 2.5
JEFFULBRICH
POS SILB
TACKLES 41
SACKS 0
INT 0
MARQUESDOUGLAS
POS RE
TACKLES 58
SACKS 1
SHAWNTAESPENCER
POS CB
TACKLES 83
INT 4
ANDY LEE
POS P
PUNTS 107
AVG 41.6
TONYPARRISH
POS FS
TACKLES 44
SACKS 0
INT 2
BRANDONMOORE
POS SOLB
TACKLES 71
SACKS 5
INT 1
MIKE ADAMS
POS FS
TACKLES 74
SACKS 1
INT 4
MANNY LAWSON (R)-- NEW ACQUISITION
POS WOLB
TACKLES 58
SACKS 10
INT 0
WALT HARRIS --NEW ACQUISITION
POS CB
TACKLES 57
INT 1
NEWACQUISITION
(R) Rookie (college statistics) *2004 statistics
2005 RECORD4-12
NFL RANK (RUSH/PASS/TOTAL)
OFFENSE 17/32/32
DEFENSE 18/32/32
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PHOTO
MARK J. REBILAS/US PRESSWIRE (ALEX SMITH)
LOOKING UP Alex Smith hopes a better line will help him improve on a dismal rookie year in which he suffered 29 sacks.
PHOTO
PETER READ MILLER
DEREK SMITH
PHOTO
GREG TROTT/WIREIMAGE.COM
PHOTO
HELMET PHOTO BY DAVID N. BERKWITZ
TWO PHOTOS