New Year's Resolutions for the San Francisco 49ers

Ah, the beginning of January. Some of us make wild promises to ourselves to lose weight, stop smoking or get those credit cards paid down. By Easter, the beer gut is still there, the ash tray in the car is overflowing and we have three new Bass-o-Matics from QVC. The San Francisco 49ers need to make some resolutions that they can actually keep.

The resolutions may change based on what happens in January, but the results in the playoffs are fairly predictable for the 49ers at the moment. Of course, no one thought that an injury-riddled Green Bay Packers team could have won four games on their way to winning the Super Bowl last year, so who knows?

Get Better at the Quarterback Position

Alex Smith has been much better this year, but he is still not a top-10 (and maybe top 15) quarterback. We all saw in the Week 14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals that Smith is not very good in the two-minute drill with the game on the line. 

In Smith’s defense, the training wheels were on with that drive, and they are still on in the red zone. The poor performance in the red zone will probably catch up to the 49ers in the playoffs because a team cannot trade field goals with touchdowns against the Saints and Packers. 

The 49ers need to resolve to get better at this position in the offseason, whether it the continued development of the quarterbacks they have, bringing in a free agent or simply trusting the guys they have a little more and being OK with 2-4 red zone turnovers next year. Also, they should at least call the Rams or the Colts and see what the asking price is for Andrew Luck. 

Anchor the O-Line

Jonathan Goodwin has been a serviceable center for the 49ers in 2011, but they can get better at this position. One of the keys to preventing sacks is to have a field general on the offensive line that can run the show in blitz protection.

Part of the responsibility for all the sacks the 49ers have had in 2011 has to fall on Goodwin’s shoulders. The 49ers need to resolve, either through the draft or free agency, to find the long-term signal caller in the middle of the line.

Find a Big Receiver

After the release of Braylon Edwards, the 49ers’ tallest receiver is now Michael Crabtree at 6’1”. It is not necessary to find a guy who is a No. 1 receiver, but it would be nice to have a 6’3” or 6’4” body in the Red Zone and on 3rd down.

In fact, the New England Patriots have proven this year with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez that it is not a bad thing to have two good tight ends. Maybe the 49ers can find a college basketball convert to play in San Francisco. The third New Year’s resolution for the 49ers is for Jim Harbaugh to at least go to the Pac-12 basketball tournament in March and see what’s there.

Get Even Better on Defense

Since I don’t think the 49ers are going to play with Alex Smith’s tender psyche and go get a quarterback, to pose a legitimate threat again, they are going to have to rely on defense in 2012. It is unreasonable to count on having such a high takeaway ratio every year, so they cannot be complacent. 

A good cautionary tale is the 2010 New Orleans Saints.  In 2009, the Saints defense was tops in the league in takeaways, and this style was punctuated by Tracy Porter’s fourth-quarter pick-six to ice Super Bowl XLIII. 

However, in 2010, the Saints defense did not get as many takeaways, and the season ended up with an embarrassing first-round playoff loss to the 7-9 Seahawks. The 49ers needs to find another pass-rusher to compliment Aldon Smith and look for ways to continue to upgrade the secondary to make sure 2011’s defense is not a fluke. 

Make Sure That the New Stadium Continues to Progress

One of the critical keys to a franchise’s long-term success is to play in a great stadium. It helps attract free agents, brings in money for the franchise that can be invested in the team and creates prestige for the organization.

Candlestick Park is a dump. Los Angeles is ready to build a stadium if a team will move there. The 49ers must have the resolve to keep the focus on the new building to keep the team in the Bay Area and move forward.

Prove That 2011 Was Not a Fluke

Regardless of how the 2011 season ends up, the 49ers will enter the season in September with a lot to prove. Of the eight 2010 division winners, only three (the Patriots, Steelers and Falcons) will make the playoffs in 2011. This offseason will be Jim Harbaugh’s first full offseason as a head coach. Hopefully, he has the resolve to be as good out of the season as he was in it.