i don’t know about overconfident. I know for a fact if we stay reasonably healthy we are a legit top 4 NFC team. Shanahan will figure it out, can’t possibly have worse luck with qb position than last year.
hopium perhaps. It also looks like the Seahawks have some swagger back and are legit on the upswing.
it’s gonna be fun
I think four things will determine whether the 49ers will win the NFC:
1) Will Brock Purdy play as well or better than he did last year? How will the surgery affect him? And was he a flash-in-the-pan last year?
2) Is the addition of Hargrave enough for the 49ers overcome all the losses the defense had--Omenihu, Ward, Ebukam, Al-Shaair and Moseley (not to mention Tarvarius Moore and Hassan Ridgeway)? None of these guys were superstars, but still important pieces on a really good team last year.
3) And can the defense overcome the loss of DC DeMeco Ryans while replacing him in an unusual way by hiring Steve Wilks but not letting him bring any of his own people? 49er fans are unconcerned about this because there was no drop-off when Ryans took over from Salah, but Ryans was actually a better coach than Salah and he came from in-house. Wilks is a good coach, but he is not the motivator that Ryans or Salah are, nor would anyone mistake him as any kind of defensive mastermind.
4) Will the offensive line be as effective with the loss of McGlinchey and Trent Williams turning 35? Yes, Williams was still elite last year, but with the exception of Andrew Whitworth, not many offensive linemen remain effective past age 34.
