2012 NFL Playoffs: Why 49ers Have a Legitimate Shot at Super Bowl

The San Francisco 49ers are in unfamiliar territory.

It seems as if it was over a decade ago that the 49ers were in this position. 12-4, and hosting an NFC division championship game. Remember those years? Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Garrison Hearst.

Obviously, it was less than a decade, but the 49ers are back in the NFC Divisional Round game. Now I know what you're thinking: This team was in such disarray last season that there's no possible way they could be this good.

Oh, yes there is, and it starts at the top.

Towards the end of last season, former coach Mike Singletary essentially lost control of the locker room. Vernon Davis became disgruntled. Alex Smith struggled profusely. The 49ers failed to gain any traction in the NFC West and finished with a 6-10 record, extending the postseason jinx.

Singletary was fired after that. The 49ers needed a change, and desperately.

Enter Jim Harbaugh. The fiery, feisty head coach who was just coming off of his third consecutive monster season at Stanford. Harbaugh was the hottest name on the market and any team that would have signed him would have hit a home run and been the envy of everyone in the league.

Being a former quarterback, Harbaugh would have been the perfect candidate to turn Alex Smith around. This turned out to be a no-brainer.

Alex Smith is a completely different quarterback this year. Vernon Davis is having fun, and it's showing. Michael Crabtree is a star in the making, and Frank Gore is, well, Frank Gore.

On defense, Vic Farigno got Patrick Willis to buy in this season, and it's paid huge dividends. Aldon Smith is the car-car-house lock for Rookie of the Year and he is going to be a great one for years.

By the way, their run defense is the best in the NFL.

While some questions remain about this 49ers secondary, the Niners are in prime position to make a lot of noise in this year's playoffs.

In Harbaugh, the 49ers now finally have some stability, leadership, and discipline, which had been sorely lacking since the Steve Mariucci days. And guess what? The 49ers are in the playoffs.

The 49ers have a tough test ahead of them against New Orleans, but should they happen to pull off the miracle upset, they could very well be in line to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.