SAN FRANCISCO 49ers
2021 Record - 10-7-0
Head Coach - Kyle Shanahan
New Additions - Charvarius Ward (DB), Oren Burks (LB), George Odom (DB), Ray-Ray McCloud (WR), Kerry Hyder, Jr. (DL), Kemoko Turay (DL)
Offensive Rank in 2021 - 7th (376 YPG); Scoring - 13th (25.1 PPG)
Defensive Rank in 2021 - 3rd (310 YPG); Scoring - 9th (21.5 PPG)
Trey Lance will be the starting quarterback this season. He is entering his second NFL season and he passed for 603 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions last year. Jimmy Garoppolo (3,810 pass yards, 20 TD and 12 INT) is still on the team and will be available unless he gets traded. The running backs include Elijah Mitchell (963 yards, 4.7 YPC average, five TD), Jeff Wilson, Jr. (295, 3.7 YPC, two TD) and rookie Tyrion Davis-Price (LSU). Fullback Kyle Juszczyk had 30 receptions for 296 yards with a touchdown. The wide receivers are Deebo Samuel, who had 77 receptions for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns along with 365 rushing yards (6.2 YPC) and eight touchdowns. Brandon Aiyuk had 56 receptions for 826 yards and five scores while Jauan Jennings had 24 grabs for 282 yards and six touchdowns. Ray-Ray McCloud (39, 277) comes over from Pittsburgh this season and rookie Danny Gray (SMU) is also available. George Kittle is the tight end and he made 71 catches for 910 yards with six touchdowns.
The defense is led by Nick Bosa (15 1/2 QB sacks) up front at the end spot while linebackers Fred Warner (team leading 137 tackles) and Azeez Al-Shaair (102 tackles and one interception) will be ready again this season. Defensive End Drake Jackson (rookie from USC) will be on hand as will Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw. The secondary has corner men Emmanuel Moseley (one INT) and Charvarius Ward (two interceptions with Kansas City) along with safeties Jimmie Ward (two picks) and Talanoa Hufanga.
Outlook for 2022 season - The big question for the team will be whether Trey Lance is ready to be the starting quarterback, but Head Coach Kyle Shanahan has made clear this is the direction the team is going in the 2022 season. The 49ers made it to the NFC Championship Game last year and nearly won. So this is a big move as Jimmy Garoppolo was the starting QB last year.
The defense is solid and finished in the top ten in the NFL in all but two defensive statistical categories, those being interceptions and turnover differential. The 'Niners had just nine interceptions but did amass 48 quarterback sacks while allowing just over 21 points per game. As long as Bosa is doing his thing and the rest of the front seven is intact, this team will right there among the top defenses in pro football.
The offense can move the football and the main ingredient is WR/RB Deebo Samuel. But he has been making noise about wanting to be traded and if the 49ers offense is to be a consistent unit again, they need Samuel to do his thing this year in the Bay area. Whether or not this team can win the NFC West (the L.A. Rams are the defending Super Bowl champions and Arizona was a playoff team last season) remains to be seen, but the 49ers should be a playoff team again. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess as to how far they can go.
TEAM SCHEDULE
Week One - at Chicago
Week Two - vs. Seattle
Week Three - at Denver
Week Four - vs. L.A. Rams
Week Five - at Carolina
Week Six - at Atlanta
Week Seven - vs. Kansas City
Week Eight - at L.A. Rams
Week Nine - BYE
Week Ten - vs. L.A. Chargers
Week Eleven - at Arizona (in Mexico City, Mexico)
Week Twelve - vs. New Orleans
Week Thirteen - vs. Miami
Week Fourteen - vs. Tampa Bay
Week Fifteen - at Seattle
Week Sixteen - vs. Washington
Week Seventeen - at Las Vegas
Week Eighteen - vs. Arizona
No comments:
Post a Comment