NFL 2006 Season Profile: San Francisco 49ers

Mike Nolan returns as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers this season. Coming off a 4-12 season last year he has his work cut out for him. San Francisco doesn't exactly have the easiest schedule in the league this year. The only major free agents signings the Niners had were Trent Dilfer and Antonio Bryant. If they want to make any noise this year they are going to have to primarily rely on their draft picks, young talent, and very good coaching.

2006 NFL Draft Overview

Round 1
6th pick - Vernon Davis (TE, Maryland)
22nd pick - Manny Lawson (DE, North Carolina State)

Round 3
20th pick (84th overall) - Brandon Williams (WR, Wisconsin)

Round 4
3rd pick (100th overall) - Michael Robinson (QB, Penn State)

Round 5
7th pick (140th overall) - Parys Haralson (DE, Tennessee)

Round 6
6th pick (175th overall) - Delanie Walker (WR, Central Missouri State)
23rd pick (192nd overall) - Marcus Hudson (CB, North Carolina State)
28th pick (197th overall) - Melvin Oliver (DT, Louisiana State)

Round 7
46th pick (254th overall) - Vickiel Vaughn (S, Arkansas)

Most analysts agree that Vernon Davis and Manny Lawson are both impact draft choices and should definitely be starters with San Francisco this season. I think given San Francisco's weak receiving and the talent of 3rd round pick Brandon Williams that he could surprise some people and put up decent numbers. Michael Robinson out of Penn State also played a lot of Wide Receiver interesting to see which position he'll see more of. Overall the 49ers drafted pretty well. Most of the time the lower lesser known picks can end up being the best players drafted so only time will tell how well they truly did.. I am disappointed however to see that the 49ers did not pick up any Offensive Linemen along the way. The OL may be one of the weakest links on the team at the moment.

Key Signings
Trent Dilfer- QB
Dilfer may not put up the best stats but two things are very clear. One he is a quality veteran quarterback and two he has a Super Bowl ring. In a pinch he could definitely come in handy and he hopefully will be able to provide veteran guidance to Alex Smith.

Antonio Bryant-WR
Aside from the success of any future draft picks, this receiver may end up being San Francisco's best off season signing. He finished last year with the Browns with more yards and more catches than San Fran's top receiver last year Brandon Lloyd.

Key Losses

Kevan Barlow-RB
Without a doubt one of San Francisco's biggest losses was when they traded Kevan Barlow to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick. Barlow battled a knee injury last season and with the rise of Frank Gore the 49ers obviously felt they could afford to lose him if they were compensated. Barlow's departure will put much more pressure on the remaining backup running backs. Of particular interest will be to see how backup Maurice Hicks performs. Hicks in his third year out of NC State saw limited action last year but looked fairly impressive. On 59 attempts he rushed for 308 yards. He also served as the Niners kick returner. None the less given San Francisco's weak offensive line and young Quarterback they need all the help they can get on offense.

Jeremy Newberry-C
Newberry's latest battle with knee surgery appears that it will keep him out of a 49ers uniform this season. If healthy he may have been the strongest link on the 49ers Offensive Line. He has spent the past few years battling recurring knee injuries. After this latest surgery he'll now have two knees that have undergone microscopic knee surgery. At 30 the two time pro bowler may be forced to retire.

Brandon Lloyd-WR
The 49ers traded their top WR to the Washington Redskins for draft picks. Some close to the team claim it had to do with personality conflicts. Regardless it leaves a massive hole.

49ers Offense 2006
Only two teams were sacked more than the 49ers in the NFC last season. For a rookie Quarterback that can't be a good feeling. If San Francisco wants to get anywhere their offensive line is going to have to do a better job at protecting the Quarterback. If they don't we might not see Alex Smith in the NFL with a long career. Further complicating the situation is the fact that center Jeremy Newberry is out for the season. 2005 second round draft pick David Bass is expected to replace him.

The verdict is out as to whether or not Smith will be a quality QB in this league and this year we should begin to get an indication one way or another. Bringing in Trent Dilfer was a good idea and given the state of their Wide Receivers Antonio Bryant was an even better idea. Rookie Vernon Davis if not this season then definitely next will be a quality Tight End.

Frank Gore (although he only had 140 carries) finished 4th in the NFC in average yards per carry (with 4.8). If he can sustain those numbers throughout the season then the 49ers might be able to completely compensate trading Barlow.

49ers Defense 2006
Fortunately for the 49ers their defense is in as bad of shape as their offense. Their rush defense was an almost respectable 18th overall (out of 32) in yards allowed. Their pass defense however was last in the league and the defense allowed a stagging average of 26.8 points per game. Unfortunately the 49ers didn't make any major changes on defense other than drafting heavily defensive players. The 22nd pick Manny Lawson will definitely be an impact but their problem seems to be more with the secondary.

2006 Schedule

September
9/10 at Arizona
9/17 vs Saint Louis
9/24 vs Philadelphia

October
10/1 at Kansas City
10/8 vs Oakland
10/15 vs San Diego
10/22 Bye
10/29 at Chicago

November
11/5 vs Minnesota
11/12 at Detroit
11/19 vs Seattle
11/26 at Saint Louis

December
12/3 at New Orleans
12/10 vs Green Bay
12/14 at Seattle
12/24 vs Arizona
12/31 at Denver

Prediction: 4-12

The 49ers have drafted fairly well last year as well as this year and we should begin to see more and more of Mike Nolan's imprint on the team. This team is definitely looking to the future and while the short term may not be good I believe in the next few years several of their draft picks may just well mature into very good NFL players.

That being said I am going to be optimistic and go with the 49ers having a 4-12 record. Its not that San Francisco is any worse than last year its that they simply have an incredibly hostile schedule. Ten of their Sixteen Games are against teams that I believe are at least in contention for the playoffs (Kansas City, San Diego, Chicago, Minnesota, Seattle, Arizona, Denver, and New Orleans)
In their schedule I can only see four games that they have a better than even chance of winning (Against Oakland, Green Bay, and Saint Louis).