LOL, and least they are admitting it finally..

[HumanCockroach]

http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/york-wa ... e-seahawks

Good luck, you and 30 other teams Mr. York.

[Zorn76]

The more I think about it, the more I believe the 49ers are on the horizon of some serious trouble moving forward.

Even healthy, this is a 9-7 team AT BEST next season.

Meanwhile, I don't think we could see a more focused group of guys on our team heading into next year. We're gonna have the big pieces in place to make another run at this thing.

We defied the odds by just getting to the SB for 2014, and we have as good a shot as any to get back to it again for 2015.

Been a long time since anybody made 3 in a row, but we can do it.

Go Seahawks!!!

[Hawk Sista]

That headline took the edge off of this week, just a wee bit

[Futureite]

I have been saying that for about a year now. I loved JH and the staff, but their mentality was too old school. They buried talented players on a hierarchy and never let them see the field. As proof, look who the potential game winning TD was thrown to - Ricardo Lockette. We never used him - ever. Hawks use guys like Chris Mathews. But we never used Jon Baldwin. We never gave guys like La'michael James a shot. I am sure Carroll would have found a way to use him, as he has all of his pieces.

The one position that I would disagree with is at QB. I still like the way JH forced Kap to stick in the pocket. Carroll lets Wilson run at will, whenever he wants. I do not think this is the right approach longterm. It's not developing the QB, as I've stated here ad nauseum. But, it did nearly win you back to back SBs. So it's a chicken or the egg argument. To me, it is still a "win now" approach and it will come to roost if and when your D fades.

Now, our FO is a mess. On one hand, Kap is working with Kurt Warner, who is teaching him everything humanly possible about playing purely from the pocket. On the other hand, our owner and QB coach Steve Logan have made a number of not so subtle statements about letting Kap run and use his athletic ability. These are confusing, mixed messages. It's just another example of our management not having a cohesive plan or being on the same page with our players. Not good.

Overall though I agree with York on this one issue (overall, I cannot stand York as our owner). We do need to do some things like the Seahawks are doing.

[HumanCockroach]

The more I think about it, the more I believe the 49ers are on the horizon of some serious trouble moving forward.

Even healthy, this is a 9-7 team AT BEST next season.

Meanwhile, I don't think we could see a more focused group of guys on our team heading into next year. We're gonna have the big pieces in place to make another run at this thing.

We defied the odds by just getting to the SB for 2014, and we have as good a shot as any to get back to it again for 2015.

Been a long time since anybody made 3 in a row, but we can do it.

Go Seahawks!!!

Not sure I'm ready to write them off as readily as some, one great draft, and the decisions made in regards to some of their players could vault them right back to SB contender. Whether the FO can pull that off remains to be seen, but they still have talent, and that isn't going to completely dissapear over one off season. IMO some of this stems from the loss of players buying in to what the FO is doing, and some of it stems from some pretty lackluster drafting the last couple seasons.

Will they be able to replace the aging stars? Will they be able to harness Kaeperniks potential, into something more than flashes? Can they get the veterans to buy back in? Who is going to replace the aging heart of that team ( Willis, Gore, Boldin, Davis, Smith etc) and can they replace their production? Will Smith finally end up in prison? Lots of variables and questions, and I'm not sure any of them can be answered now.

[Zorn76]

HC - Anything's possible, naturally, but I think 2015 will see them to another non playoff season.

They are currently over the cap, and will have to make some personnel decisions for starters. Crabtree and Iupati are prime candidates to leave. Both aren't spectacular but are good players at their positions. CB's Culliver and Cox could test the FA market as well. We'll see what happens there.

The main problem heading into next season, though, is the coaching staff. There are growing pains for HC's and coordinators, generally speaking, and I don't see Tomsula or Chryst bucking that trend. Again, it's possible they do a really good job from the start, but the odds are slim.

Too many things have to fall into place for SF to make the playoffs, let alone a deep playoff run. Lots of questions surrounding Kaepernick (who I still believe has upside), and what kind of draft they have, along with which FA's they keep or bring in.

I think their best odds of returning to the post season will have more to do with teams like the Lions and Cowboys doing worse than expected. There's also the Cards to consider, but they have major QB issues of their own, along with the Rams (who I think miss out as well).

I don't see the 49ers finishing any better than 9-7 next year, and that typically isn't good enough to advance after the regular season ends.

[HumanCockroach]

Interesting that people see things so differently, I doubt the Boys do much of anything next season, they also currently reside over the cap, and are facing at least the loss of Murray, have an older injury prone QB with multiple back surgeries and a horrible defense without the necessary funds to quickly improve it, as well as an ancient TE that will be another year older. I could see the Boys going much the way of the Bears last season to be honest.

I don't think the Lions are going to fall of the mountain the way I see the Boys doing so, but who knows with that team? They could win the division, or finish last depending on the year....

I'll believe the Niners demise, when I see it, much like I'll believe the St Louis threat when I see it, until then, I'll at least wait to see what decisions are made on their part, and whether they can find a way to keep some of those "core" players around, happy and productive ( Willis is also a very real possibility as a cut, he has an insanely high cap number this year for a LB).

[Zorn76]

I hear ya.

It basically boils down to this, IMO: Will the 49ers win 10 games (or more) to secure a playoff position in 2015?

Answer: No.