Why San Francisco 49ers Fans Can Start Making Plans to Travel to New Orleans

The 2011 NFL season came to an end last night when the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots for the Lombardi Trophy. It was, by all accounts, a poorly played game that ended with a great deal of drama.

It also left the San Francisco 49ers to wonder what could have been.

I am pretty sure that the Niners players and coaches watched the Super Bowl knowing full well that they would have defeated both teams the way they played Sunday night.

That is now in the past, and there is absolutely no reason to look back. Instead, it is time to look forward to what promises to be an interesting offseason of roster moves and the like.

The San Francisco 49ers, as currently formed, are already a top-five team in the NFL. They do, however, have a lot of questions that need to be answered this offseason. Alex Smith, Carlos Rogers and Dashon Goldson are all set to be free agents.

The 49ers have a vast amount of money to spend on their own free agents and possible acquisitions outside of the organization. And then you have the 2012 NFL draft, an event that Trent Baalke and Co. aced last season.

The feeling around 4949 Centennial Blvd. in Santa Clara couldn't be any better right now. Well, it could, but this isn't a time to dwell. This is a team that just had a seven-game turnaround, from six wins in 2010 to 13 wins and an NFC Championship appearance in 2011.

Where do the 49ers move forward? Are they truly elite?

First, San Francisco will move forward fully understanding that the 2011 version of this team will probably be one of the worst that it fields over the course of the next five seasons or so. That is a truly scary proposition for the NFL, and the NFC West in particular.

For the first time since joining the 49ers organization last January, Jim Harbaugh is going to have a full offseason slate to hone and fine-tune this team. He will have minicamps, organized team activities and a full training camp before the start of the 2012 season.

The 49ers will also actually be able to utilize their full playbook on both sides of the ball, something they were unable to do in 2011 due to the lockout. This is a team that was still drawing up new plays in the NFC Championship Game, while their opponent had locked in theirs months prior.

In short, they will not be behind the proverbial eight ball like we saw in 2011.

Additionally, Alex Smith (if he is retained) will have the pleasure of being able to work with his head coach and quarterback guru whenever he sees fit. Harbaugh has already stated that it takes a quarterback until his second season to fully grasp the nuances of the scheme.

San Francisco's defense is also going to be more on point when the 2012 season comes around. Aldon Smith will have a year of experience under his belt, NaVorro Bowman will be able to work with the 49ers talented defensive coaching staff multiple times, and the scheme will be much more tight-fitting.

Then you have the NFL draft, something that the 49ers absolutely aced last season.

By all accounts, they had one of the best 2011 rookie classes in the NFL. The aforementioned Smith was a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Kendall Hunter played extremely well complementing Frank Gore. Chris Culliver stepped into the defensive back rotation, and Bruce Miller became one of the best blocking backs in the league.

San Francisco 49ers fans can go into April with the utmost confidence that Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh are going to work together well in order to get the best possible value at needed positions throughout the draft. It also doesn't hurt that I project them to have two compensatory picks due to 2011 free-agent losses.

There's also free agency, where the 49ers are going to be cautious but active, much like what we saw in the shortened 2011 offseason/signing period.

The wide receiver position was a major shortcoming of the team in the postseason, and the front office fully understands that.

I know the end of the 2011 season was extremely bittersweet for the 49ers and their fans. With that said, the future is incredibly bright for the up-and-coming franchise.

If you have the money and ability, I would recommend you start making plans for a trip to New Orleans next February. I know I am!