2009 NFL season in review: San Francisco 49ers

What can we say about a team that went 8-8? It seems that the San Francisco 49ers are a franchise headed down the right path, yet it also seems that their fans expect them to be a lot farther down that trail than they actually are. In each of the last three seasons they have won more games than the previous, but after a 2-0 start to 2009, the Niners suffered through a five week winless streak that seemed to take the steam out of them for the remainder of the season.

The 49er offense scored 330 points or 20.6 points per game, good enough for 18th among the 32 NFL teams. However this team seems to be searching for their franchise QB. They have overall number one draft pick Alex Smith but there does not seem a lot of faith placed in him as the QB of the future. He did play in 111 games and completed 60% of his passes. He threw 18 TD’s and 12 interceptions in 2009, and while that isn’t really bad, it also isn’t really good. In all the team rushed for 1,600 yards led by Frank Gore and his 1,120 yards.

The 49er defense gave up 281 points, or 17.6 per game. That means that the 49ers outscored their opponents on average of three points per game. Their take away differential was also +9. Given those numbers we can see why many though their 8-8 2009 campaign was something of an under achievement.

With all that being said this is not a team that needs a total rebuild, they just need, a tweak. A tweak to the defense, and a few more offensive weapons and we will be able to talk about the 49ers being ready to contend for a division title. They may still need a QB, but Smith seems serviceable for now, it seems he could stand for the team and organization to stand behind him and show that they believe in him.

Related Links:

•San Francisco 49ers News and Notes
•2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
•NFL Complete.com