San Francisco poised for a breakout year

The NFC West has been a bit of a laughing stock division for quite some time now. Not since 2005 has a team won that division with more than 10 wins. Since 2004, the winner of that division has only managed to get 9 wins. And in those 6 years there’s only been two winners, the Seahawks (’04-’07) and the Cardinals (’08 and ‘09).

While the division is still probably the weakest in football, there looks to be a changing of the guard.

The 49ers finally seem ready to take over the West, which for the past few years hasn’t taken much. Under the guidance of Mike Singletary,the 49ers defense has become one of the best in football. Aggressive and relentless, just like their coach used to be when he roamed the middle of the Bears dominant defense during the mid to late 80’s.

What makes this years 49ers team different is the other side of the ball. There finally seems to be some hope for offensive stability, which has been lacking in the bay area for quite some time. It seems that Alex Smith, who is entering his 6th year, is ready to lead the team. He’s got some weapons at his disposal in Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis and Frank Gore, and his offensive line seems to have finally found some unity.

Smith struggled in his first few seasons with the 49ers after being the drafted first overall in 2005. But at the end of last season he seemed to be coming into his own.

Something that really stands out though was his contract restructuring before the 2009 season. Smith was still cashing in on his ridiculous rookie contract. His desire to stay with the 49ers organization prompted him to renegotiate his contract, going from earning $24.6 million down to $8 million over his remaining two years. This is exactly the kind of culture Mike Singletary wanted to create in San Francisco, no more me first, but instead, team first.

With the Cardinals really not having a suitable predecessor to Kurt Warner it’s the perfect opportunity for the 49ers to overtake the division. I know there’s a bunch of Seahawk fans out there saying “Well what about us?”. But they need to be realistic about their teams expectations, something that they’ve never been able to do in the Pacific Northwest. This is going to be a statement year from the 49ers, the one that says “We’re back!”. If you don’t believe me tune into a few of their games this year, the team will speak for itself. And that’s just the way Singletary wants it.

Technorati Tags: Alex Smith, Mike Singletary, NFL, San Francisco 49ers

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