Ok...I'm Getting Excited

I don't know what to expect from the 49ers this year. I can tell you one thing for sure....they'll be a hell of a lot better than they were last year.

I have been incredibly critical of Nolan's regime so far. So many of his moves on and off the field have been inexplicable. He's been loyal to players who have clearly fallen off (Dilfer and Derek Smith come to mind) and it's been directly correlated to the Win - Loss column. His 4th down decisions have been tremendously awful and so have his choices of coordinators (See Davis, Billy and Hostler, Jim.) His relationships with players have come into question, especially the Alex Smith debacle. He openly questions players toughness, like Smith, and even dramatically crawled on the locker room floor like a "man in the desert dying of dehydration" to mock Jonas Jennings.

However to be fair he has been backed up into some impossible situations. He took over a team with no talent and while it hasn't been reflected statistically he certainly has the roster headed in the right direction. He has hired brilliant offensive minds as coordinators. There just so brillant that they get head coaching jobs. McCarthy left for Green Bay and was replaced by Turner, who did an outstanding job. Turner left for San Diego and left so late in the process that Nolan couldn't even make overtures to other potential candidates such as Ken Zampese. He was stuck with hiring in house.

Now Nolan has brought in another brilliant offensive mind, albeit a controversial one. Mike Martz is either going to make or break Coach Nolan.

The defense of this team should emerge to be a great strength. As I alluded to if Nolan's done one thing well it's been in player evaluation. He has drafted well and has also wisely used free agency to acquire star players (like Clements and Lewis) while avoiding the pitfalls of a team like the Washington Redskins.

So as the draft and free agency near I find myself getting excited. In a weak NFC west there is no reason the Niners shouldn't be competitive. The Defense has young core with Willis, Lawson, Clements and Lewis. There have been a lot of rumors swirling around, for over a year now, about the Niners adding Lance Briggs. While I question the fit and question if that money could be better off spent elsewhere it's hard to argue with the talent Briggs would bring with him. And if the thought of a line backing core of Briggs, Lawson, Willis and whoever else is certainly something to salivate over.

So while I spent the 07 season moping it's time for some positive thinking.

Hell if Eli Manning can turn it around overnight than anything can happen. The economy can boom, we can get out of the War in Iraq and Alex Smith can be the next big thing.



....Alex Smith is...unstoppable!