San Francisco 49ers: 5 Players Who Must Improve to Ensure Success in 2012

There are a handful of players on the San Francisco 49ers who must continue to improve their stellar play next season or the team could experience a tremendous letdown in 2012.

This past season was a magical one for the San Francisco 49ers and their fans. The 49ers exceeded everyone's expectations in 2011, finishing the regular season with a record of 13-3 and only missing the Super Bowl by a couple of plays. 

Don't go thinking they will easily match their success in 2012, because things are about to get a whole lot tougher.

The 49ers have a brutal first-place schedule that will test them to the limits next year. Besides the NFC West, the team faces the NFC North and the AFC East. They face an intense east-coast road schedule, traveling to square off against the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots and New York Jets.

Ouch.

These five men will determine the direction of the franchise with their ability or inability to improve upon their individual contributions.

Anthony Davis

There are many fans who are still upset with the 49ers for trading up a couple of slots in the 2010 NFL draft to acquire Anthony Davis from Rutgers. I'm not one of them, however.

Granted, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for Davis, who has a propensity to rack up the false-start penalties and can sometimes get lost in pass protection. 

Still, it's important to remember that Davis is still only 22 years old. He's still a pup.

He has gotten stronger and quicker on the edge since arriving in Santa Clara two years ago, and his progression from 2010 to 2011 was significant.

In order for the 49ers to continue their upward trend, Davis needs to continue to improve upon a solid 2011 campaign. He needs to develop better lateral movement to handle speed on the outside, while continuing to build upon his strength and explosion.

If Davis fails to improve and regresses next year, the 49ers will find themselves looking at drafting yet another offensive lineman in 2013.

Chris Culliver

Chris Culliver came in as a rookie in 2011 and performed admirably for a third-rounder.

He turned himself into a major contributor in the 49ers secondary, and there are rumors that the team hopes he can become one of the starters in 2012 (hopefully opposite Carlos Rogers).

This is a development I'd be thrilled to see.

It has been too long since the 49ers found a gem at the cornerback position in the draft, and the team has had an atrocious pass defense over the last decade or so.

The 49ers moved from almost dead-last in this regard in 2010 to the top half in 2011, ranking 16th in the NFL.

With a schedule that includes the Packers, Saints and Patriots, it is crucial that the 49ers continue to improve.

Culliver needs to build upon his promising rookie campaign if the 49ers hope to continue their winning ways.

Vernon Davis

Vernon Davis needs to come out in 2012 and have a monster year for the 49ers to ensure they make it back to the playoffs.

Davis showed the league exactly what he's capable of doing within the 49ers' version of the West Coast offense when he busted out with almost 300 yards receiving and four touchdowns in the team's two playoff games.

The team needs him to start having those kinds of games on a consistent basis if they have a prayer to win 10 games in 2012.

I don't see this being an issue, though. 

At one point last season, Davis was quoted as saying:

"

I’d say the time is right. When I first got in this offense it was almost like I wanted to quit, like, 'This is too much.' It was too much information at one time that they were throwing on me and Delanie (Walker) and the rest of the tight ends, but we stuck with it, we learned as much as we possibly could and here we are.

We’re getting better and better each and every week.

"

He will have all offseason to get better and better acquainted with the playbook, and I expect to see him challenge Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham for the title of "best tight end" next year.

Aldon Smith

As good as Aldon Smith was for the 49ers in 2011, he still has a long ways to go before he can be considered a good all-around outside linebacker.

He is an exceptionally gifted natural pass-rusher, but Smith struggles to know his assignments when asked to cover in space against the passing game, and he hasn't yet mastered the art of maintaining an edge on running plays.

I am guessing Smith will be the opening day starter, but he will need to become a much more well-rounded player in order to give the 49ers defense the best chance against the high-powered offenses they will be competing against in 2012.

Alex Smith

One of the things you notice when watching the elite quarterbacks of the NFL is that they always know where their check-downs are, no matter how badly things break down around them in the pocket. 

Alex Smith needs to improve upon this area of his game.

Too often in 2011, Smith lost track of where his checks were on busted plays, and he ended up taking 44 sacks (seventh in NFL).

Additionally, Smith needs to continue to improve upon his accuracy. As many of you have noted, Smith has a tendency to sometimes airmail his passes when he's pumped up. He also has thrown many a ball at the feet of his intended receiver.

I guarantee Jim Harbaugh and Smith will be working on improving his mechanics over the course of the offseason, and I will be surprised if we don't see continued progress in 2012.

One thing that doesn't need improving is Smith's poise. He led five fourth-quarter comebacks during the 2011 season while doing it once more in the playoffs.

If Smith doesn't continue to show improvement from last year to next season, it could very well be a long one for the 49ers and their fans.

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