The whole power ranking thing is kind of funny to me. Can't really figure out what makes one team good and another bad. Last year
The Seahawks were ranked by PFF and PFT as the best team in football coming into the playoffs. We lost Clemons to an ACL and Jason Jones to FA but have answered those losses with Avril and Bennett while also improving our secondary with Winfield and then signed Harvin. Prior to the draft NFL.com had the Niners ranked #1 and us #2 and ESPN had us #1 and the Niners #2. Post Draft the rankings pretty much stayed the same but after the Niners lost Crabtree even NFL.com moved us to #1.
Now that's all fine but when Harvin went down some rankings dropped us all the way to #4 which is lower than anyone had us previous even before we signed Harvin and bumped the Niners back to #1 even though Crabtree is still injured.
I was thinking today, if we lost Rice, Baldwin and Tate was coming off a torn ACL but we signed Boldin, Lynch was turning 30 and Mebane 34, we didn't sign Bennett or Avril or resign Jason Jones but brought in a DT that has been referred to as a bust, lost McCoy and replaced him with a rookie and lets say Kamtrack was being replaced by a rookie. Does anyone think we would still be ranked even #4?
I have a feeling we wouldn't be in the top half of the power rankings, so how is it the Niners are so damn power pole resilient? Are the polls pandering to the readers? Is the NFL propping up the Niners because they are the most profitable team in the league? Or is there something I am missing?
Yes.
I looked at their home preseason loss to the Broncos and Kaep went 4-4 but only for 38 yards and the receivers that caught passes were made primarily of guys I have never heard of. Their defense gave up 69 yards on the ground to CJ Anderson at 4.6 yards a clip and their secondary allowed Brock Osweiller to go 13-18 for 105 yards an in the end they lost. For a team that keeps getting labeled as the deepest roster in the league, they sure seem to have some deficiencies.
4-4, two passes to Boldin, one to VD, and one to Marlon Moore. I can understand Moore, but you've never heard of the other two??
First, It's pretty ridiculous that you're using the first preseason game as an argument against the 49ers being one of the top teams in the league. Are you suggesting that holding a RB to 69 yds, and a QB to 105 yds TOTAL, while playing backups is a bad thing?
You can dismiss Goldston and say he is over rated but if he is a repeat probowler and last years allpro then is he really that bad or is everyone wrong? If their wrong like Niner fans want us to think then why would we believe they are right about power rankings?
Sopa and RJF never made probowls and the defense looked bad when they had to rely on them but then why were they the first and second string on the deepest roster in the NFL? Why should anyone assume their replacements will be any better? Both left in FA for teams that will have them as starters and were willing to pay more than the Niners. Why is it an automatic assumption that the failed project out of KC and a rookie will be an upgrade?
What makes you think the defense looked bad when Sopoaga and RJF were in? Were the 49ers not one of the strongest teams against the run last season? "Failed project" is for depth, plus it's been fairly well-documented that he was miscast in KC. Ian Williams is not a rookie, and the 49ers staff saw fit to offer him money over the other two departures, so only time will tell if it was a worthwhile decision.
Crabtree accounted for nearly half of the Niners 3rd down conversions and was a master at getting separation early and getting YAC, Not to mention Kaep's #1 target by far. Boldin is a possession receiver that doesn't get separation but fights for the ball and is best suited as a #2 in single coverage. With no other real threats he will be double covered much of the time. Will he be a suitable replacement for Crabtree? Crabtree was not only on the roster last year he was the biggest contributor to it. Is that really no big loss?
As you've described it, Crabtree was basically the only receiving threat on the team last year, yet they still ended up playing well enough to reach the Super Bowl. Why is it improbable then, that with limited receiving options (according to fans) they cannot still continue to play well?
Walker dropped a lot of balls last year but they kept playing him because he was a big part of their running game. Is it realistic to think a rookie is going to step in and pick up right where he left off? Again Walker left to be a starter and for more money.
I could also ask you if it is realistic to expect every single draft pick the team makes to be a bust and not produce on the field? If he is even mildly productive then it is a success for a backup role.
These are just some of the questions. Can Harbaugh learn to rotate out his starters? If not can Justin Smith stay healthy and will they be burnt out by the playoffs again?
Whether or whether not, is irrespective of the question at hand. The Niners are being ranked as a top team, and this question has no bearing on that.
Can Gore continue to be productive at 30? Can Hunter finally stay healthy?
I don't think the 49ers running game is questionable by anyones standards....
Will Keap learn to spread the ball around without his relief valve on the field? Will any of these scrub receivers step up or are we looking at the type of meltdown we seen in Seattle when we lost all our receivers?
Again, whether or whether not, is irrespective of the question at hand. The Niners are being ranked as a top team, and this question has no bearing on that.
Can Manningham and Williams come back 100% and be productive off injury? Even though neither has ever been dominant in this or previous systems?
Can that secondary survive without Goldston or Culliver? Will Reid be starter quality in his first year? Is Ausimongo done? Will Brown get his 2 Mill or will he go into the season disgruntled?
Kind of going on but there are more than enough reasons to question how they will manage to maintain let alone being the best team in football.
Someone tell me what I am missing.
