Back to the Drawing Board for 49ers

Last season, after a tough loss in the NFC Championship, it was obvious where the 49ers had to improve. This year, however, despite narrowly missing their 6th ever Super Bowl championship, they have to feel pretty good about where they stand heading into the 2013 season.

Kaepernick: A True QB1

I've put off writing this for a few days as I tried to gain some prospective after that tough loss to Baltimore, but the more I look at the 49ers and what the future holds for them, the more confident I become. They've found their quarterback of the present and future in Colin Kaepernick, a guy who makes them a legit tittle contender now and should only get better over time. We tend to forget cause he was making it look so easy, but the Super Bowl marked just the 10th career start for the big-armed, quick-footed signal caller. Where I'd like to see him improve though in his first full season behind center, is in the clock management aspect of the game. The 49ers had all the time in the world during that last drive in the Super Bowl, but they just looked out of sync and unsure how to use the clock once they got down inside Baltimore's 10 yard-line with over 2 minutes left on the clock. There were numerous other instances which I'm sure they could have back in that game, but the last couple plays of that very last drive would have to be the spot they'd like to re-do the most as they really had the game in their hands at that point.

49ers Fall Short of SB Win

Again though, it was a sign of a young offense led by a young QB, that will only get better and better. They and offensive line that's one of the youngest and best in the game and all will be returning next season. Then there's the receiving core, which took a complete 180 in 2012 after being basically non-existent for most of 2011. You can put a lot of that on the emergence of Michael Crabtree, who finally took that next step in 2012 and showed everyone why he was so highly touted coming out of Texas Tech. He's a legit number one wideout and has developed a great chemistry with Kaepernick already. Mario Manningham was also putting up some solid numbers in the 49ers passing game before going down with a season-ending injury in December. When looking ahead to 2013, even if Randy Moss doesn't return, the 49ers have to feel good about where they are at wideout, and won't need to do nearly as much work there this spring.

Perhaps the area in which the 49ers need the most improvement lies within their secondary, and on their defensive line. At the tail-end of the season, the 49ers pass-rush became virtually non-existent, and it caused their pass-coverage to suffer some because of it. I know a lot of that had to do with Justin Smith being injured and not being 100% upon his return, but the 49ers need to get more depth along that front line, and could really use another impact corner. Carlos Rogers is still a viable starter and Chris Culliver took some big steps this year, but the Niners need that one premiere cover guy that they can throw on a Julio Jones and not need to worry about giving help to. They linebacking core looks great going forward, and I love their starting safeties, but more depth on the D-line and in the secondary could help out a defense that looked a bit tired at times in January/February. As far as their offense is concerned, I really don't see a dire need in any one particular area right now. They'll likely look into another veteran wideout to replace Moss (assuming he leaves) but the the one area offensively I could see them using a high draft pick on is at running back. Frank Gore isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but he's going to be 30 and has racked up a lot of mileage over the last 6 seasons.

We'll talk much more about what the 49ers will do this offseason throughout, but I just wanted to re-assure Niner fans still reeling from the loss on Sunday that even better times lie ahead, and that's coming from a guy who cannot stand the term "we'll get 'em next year"!

49ers Favored in "HarBowl"

The odds are in, and to nobodies surprise, Las Vegas has picked the 49ers as the favorites to win Super Bowl XLVII by 4 points.

A big reason why the 49ers are being favored in their first Super Bowl appearance in nearly 20 years is because of their explosive offensive attack. In a game that features two stout defenses, it's going to come down to which team can generate the most offense, and if their last two games are any indication, the 49ers will be up for the challenge. With Colin Kaepernick under center, the 49ers have proven that they can put up points in bunches as they can now beat you in a variety of ways. Just look at last weeks game vs. the Falcons when San Francisco didn't get a single first down in the first quarter, then went on to torch Atlanta's D throughout the rest of the game. Once that switch gets turned on, the Niners are a tough team to stop thanks to the playmakers that offense has generated and particularly the play of that offensive line. We've seen Kaepernick have a couple of outstanding games in January, and Frank Gore and LaMichael James have been able to run at will because of the way that line is playing, and they are going to have to be the ones that again set the tone vs. Baltimore.

As potent as the 49ers offense has looked the last two weeks, this will be the toughest defense they've run into since that Seattle game in December, and that was the last time the 49ers were handed a loss. My guess is that Baltimore will stack the box heavily to keep an eye on both Gore and Kaepernick running the ball as I think they're going to try and force the Niners to beat them through the air. Kaepernick has done a tremendous job (for the most part) of protecting the ball, but the Ravens make a living off turning the ball over and 'Kaep is going to have to be extra aware of the playmakers in Baltimore's secondary. That being said, and as good as the Baltimore defense is, the 49ers are favored in this one because they can win whatever type of game this turns into. They've shown already during these playoffs that they aren't scared of facing an early deficit and making a comeback. They also are more than capable of playing defense and running the ball should this one turn into a low-scoring, smash-mouth type of contest.

I do think this one will be close, but I do think the 49ers will pull away in the end. They are playing with a ton of swagger right now, and Baltimore has just barely survived a few games in order to make it to this point. The only way the Ravens win this one is if they get to Kaepernick early and often, create some turnovers and make Kaepernick look like a 2nd year QB with just 12 career starts.Otherwise, if Kapernick gets going, it opens up the running game and like I said earlier, makes the 49ers a very tough team to slow down. I'll go ahead and make my prediction now, even though we'll be discussing this game again before next Sunday's showdown. My guess is it will be a bit of a defensive battle in the first half then the 49ers take over and dominate the 2nd. Picking a score is always just blind speculation, but I'd be surprised is San Francisco doesn't win by 7+. I'll go with 27-17, Niners.