San Francisco 49ers
2007 Record: 5-11
ATS: 5-10-1
Super Bowl Odds: 65-1
The 49ers finished 5-11 in 2007 and only played over the total in 6 of those games. Alex Smith was injured midway through the season, forcing the Niners to go to Trent Dilfer as their starting QB. San Fran was horrid on offense in 2007, ranking last in every offensive category except rushing yards per game. To help remedy this, the 49ers went out and added offensive guru Mike Martz as their offensive coordinator. Martz takes over an offense that is in complete disarray and has nowhere to go but up.
This is an offense without a No. 1 receiver, yet the new offensive boss loves to attack via the pass. Isaac Bruce and fellow veteran newcomer Bryant Johnson will be an upgrade at the receiver position but they will need some young blood to step up. What Martz gets out of Smith and Shaun Hill at QB will go a long way in determining how the Niners’ season goes. The 49ers do have RB Frank Gore in the backfield and the explosive Vernon Davis at TE; most expect Gore to bounce back from a disappointing year. Lineman Justin Smith was added in the offseason and they expect him to be the starter at right defensive end.
The consensus coming out of the draft was that the team got better, but there might not be enough impact players to save Mike Nolan’s job this year. San Fran is going to be slightly improved, but they could very easily implode if they cannot solve the QB issues and shore up their receiving corps. If Nolan and Martz can complement each other on the sidelines, the Niners could speed up the transition process and be the surprise team of 2008.
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