3 Things We've Learned About the 2012 San Francisco 49ers so Far This Offseason

The San Francisco 49ers have been quite successful so far to start out the 2012 offseason, and we've learned a few things along the way.

Trent Baalke and the 49ers' front office has proven over the last few years that they aren't really keen on making huge splashes in free agency, unless Peyton Manning is available, of course.

The strategy is simple, yet effective: Baalke wants to build through the draft, supplementing the roster with short-term contracts for savvy veterans who will be able to hold down the fort until the players the 49ers drafted are ready to come in and take over.

Let's take a look at three things in particular I've learned about the 49ers while observing the way things have been handled during the offseason.

The Defense Has a Chance to Be Legendary

Despite what fans from many other teams may tell you, the 49ers possessed one of the top three defenses in the NFL last year.

The best part is that they haven't even begun to exhibit the kind of dominance they're capable of laying down on the rest of the league.

After re-signing Carlos Rogers and Ahmad Brooks, the 49ers will be bringing back all 11 starters next year. They will all be in the second year of Vic Fangio's reign as defensive coordinator, and you can be sure the entire unit will play far better together in 2012 than they did in their rookie year in his system.

The trio of Justin Smith, Isaac Sopoaga and Ray McDonald gives the 49ers one of the top five defensive lines in the NFL. All three men are incredibly strong and play with leverage and discipline, keeping blockers off the inside linebackers.

The quartet in the linebacking corps of Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and Ahmad Brooks is the very best in the NFL. Their next-best rival isn't even a close second.

The front-seven, comprised of the defensive line and the linebackers, is far and away the best combination in the NFL. Aldon Smith should break out with a monster year as a full-time starter, giving the secondary unit a shot in the arm.

Speaking of the secondary, which used to be the Achilles' heel: They are developing into a top-10 unit. Rogers, Chris Culliver, Tarell Brown and the newcomer Parrish Cox will give opposing wide receivers all they can handle as the rest of the opposing offense tries to contend with the best front seven in the league.

The 49ers have a chance to field a legendary defense in 2012. If what we saw last year is any indication of what to expect this year, they certainly will.

The Offense Will Surely "Open Up" in 2012

Alex Smith has never had a loaded stock of weapons on offense. All seven years since he's been with the 49ers have been highlighted by a yearly hodge-podge of bargain bin "receivers" with which to throw the ball to.

After the players Baalke brought in this year, Smith has no more excuses. 

The 49ers are loaded on offense.

Minus the offensive line, the starting lineup will now look like this: Randy Moss on one side, Mario Manningham on the other, Michael Crabtree in the slot, Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker in at tight end and H-back and Frank Gore running the ball. The 49ers additionally feature Bruce Miller, an up-and-comer, at the fullback position and Kendall Hunter—the flashy running back with game-breaking speed and quickness.

There's no reason for Smith to struggle with this group of weapons in place.  

Far too long have the 49ers had to manage on offense without being able to stretch the field. Frank Gore has seen far too many eight-and-nine-men boxes as teams load up to stop the run. 

Now, the roster features the kind of talent that will force teams to play much more honestly against the threat of a deep pass.

Having Moss and Manningham is sure to open things up for the running game. Really, looking at this group, you have to come to the conclusion that they are in better shape than ever before to run truly balanced attack. 

For 49ers fans, though, a balanced attack will appear to us as if we are watching a pass-first team.

Get ready to watch the offense open up in 2012.

Trent Baalke Is Ruthless, and That's a Good Thing

Don't let the smile fool you: Trent Baalke is as ruthless as any GM in the NFL.

And that is a good thing.

Something I've noticed over the last few years in watching the way Baalke runs things on the personnel side of things is that he sticks to a strict set of values. He won't deviate from the value he places on players, and he isn't afraid to lose them if others are willing to pay over that value.

For instance, look at what happened with Joshua Morgan. 

Morgan was considered to be one of the best bargains to be had at his position coming into free agency. The Redskins gave Morgan a two-year contract worth $11.5 million ($7.3 million guaranteed). 

Many fans here in Northern California were upset when we let Morgan go. 

What did Baalke do in response? He calmly brought a few other receivers in for workouts. One of them happened to be Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham. 

The 49ers ended up signing Manningham to a two-year, $7.5 million contract ($3.2 million guaranteed).

There's no possible way you can convince me that Morgan is somehow better than Manningham.

In fact, if anything is true it would be the opposite. Both players have played four seasons in the NFL. During that time, Manningham far exceeds Morgan in every area (including doubling Morgan's touchdown totals).

This is just one example of the way Baalke's ruthlessness has helped the 49ers to ascend once again to the top of the mountain of NFL greatness.

He did essentially the same thing when he allowed Dashon Goldson test the market in 2011 and when he allowed Carlos Rogers to do the same this year.

Both players wanted deals that the 49ers weren't willing to do. After seeing what the rest of the league had to offer, both players came back to the fold and made deals that are beneficial to the organization as well as for themselves.

Baalke knows what he wants, and he knows what he's looking for to build the team for the long haul. He knows that you can't build a successful franchise in the NFL if you're sentimental about it. 

He's ruthless, and I couldn't be happier about it.

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