Have San Francisco 49ers Turned Corner After Abysmal Start?

By their lofty standards, the San Francisco 49ers made a dismal start to the new NFL season through the first three weeks.

After picking apart the Dallas Cowboys on their way to a 28-17 Week 1 win, the Niners suffered two second-half meltdowns in defeats to the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals.

Offensive miscues, poor clock-management, penalties and poor defensive play on the back end were all key factors in those losses, leaving many to question whether the 49ers' players are 100 percent behind head coach Jim Harbaugh.

However, the 49ers have shown great spirit in responding to those setbacks, addressing the speculation surrounding Harbaugh's relationship with the team with victories over the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Niners now stand at 3-2 and are beginning to look like the physical football team that has imposed its will on opponents in recent years on the way to three consecutive NFC Championship Game appearances.

But have the 49ers truly turned a corner? Here I analyze whether Harbaugh's men are primed for another playoff push following early season struggles.

Addressing Areas of Concern

To properly determine whether the Niners have turned a corner, it is necessary to look at each of the difficulties that plagued them in the first three games and assess San Francisco's performance in dealing with those issues in its recent return to form.

Penalties

The 49ers' lack of discipline was perhaps the biggest factor in the losses to the Bears and the Cardinals.

Through three weeks the Niners led the league in penalties, conceding a total of 36 penalties for 305 yards, per NFLPenalties.com (h/t B/R's Bryan Knowles), although many fans would likely argue that a large number of those were unjustified.

It would not be completely erroneous to say that San Francisco was unfortunate to be on the wrong end on a good amount of those penalty calls. Indeed, the Niners were unduly penalised on a couple of personal-foul calls against Arizona, as highlighted by David Fucillo of SB Nation, and evidently struggled to adapt to the new points of emphasis on illegal contact and offensive pass interference in the opening games of the campaign.

Yet regardless of whether the calls were justified or not, the fact the Niners were continually penalized for the same indiscretions was a great source of frustration for players and fans alike.

San Francisco gave up another 10 penalties for 80 yards versus the Eagles. However, last Sunday the Niners displayed a distinct improvement, conceding just two for 10 yards in what was by far their most disciplined showing of the season.

One relatively clean game is not enough to represent a turnaround in regard to the 49ers' penalty issues, but it does seem to indicate the locker room is united and not divided by disharmony with its coach.

Defense

The 49ers' defense played well enough to win the opening three games of the season but was not without its deficiencies.

Perhaps predictably, it was the revamped secondary that was the weak point of the unit, allowing the Bears to score three fourth-quarter touchdowns through the air as veteran Brandon Marshall capitalised on the inexperience of rookie nickel cornerback Jimmie Ward, who was then responsible for Cardinals receiver John Brown's pair of scores the following week.

Yet the secondary's struggles in defending the pass were somewhat understandable given that the Niners pass rush found it hard to make any sort of impact, registering just four sacks in the first three games.

That number has only increased by one in the last two weeks, but the 49ers have been getting more consistent pressure, hurrying and hitting the quarterback on a more regular basis.

One of the primary reasons for San Francisco's improved play in pursuit of opposing quarterbacks is the expanded role of rookie fifth-round pick Aaron Lynch, who has taken over from Corey Lemonier as the primary pass-rush specialist in the absence of the suspended Aldon Smith.

	Ahmad Brooks	Dan Skuta	Aaron Lynch	Corey Lemonier
Sacks	1	0	0	0
Hits	2	0	3	1
Hurries	1	3	6	1

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Lynch has six quarterback hurries, three hits and two batted passes, so far proving the 49ers right for taking a chance on a player who went into the draft with considerable character concerns.

The improvement in the pass rush has been coupled with some fine play from the secondary, particularly from cornerback Perrish Cox and strong safety Antoine Bethea.

Cox, who is filling in for Tramaine Brock while the Niners' starting corner recovers from turf toe, has five takeaways to his name and is ranked as the No. 5 cornerback in the league by PFF, which also rates Bethea as the No. 2 safety in the NFL. The former Indianapolis Colt producing a stunning showing against the Eagles in which he snagged an interception and forced a fumble that was recovered by Cox.

Bethea is outperforming his predecessor, the Cleveland Browns' Donte Whitner—ranked at No. 55 by PFF—and the 49ers are also playing well against the run thanks largely to a stout defensive front of Justin Smith, Ian Williams and Ray McDonald, all of whom are enjoying decent seasons.

San Francisco is No. 5 in the league against the run, allowing just 77.2 yards per game despite facing the likes of Matt Forte, LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles.

The Niners are No. 2 in overall defense courtesy of their upturn in play, which has been achieved without Aldon Smith and All-Pro NaVorro Bowman.

There are still problems with a pass rush that has not been helped by the poor play of outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks, but after some early troubles this unit is back to performing at the same level that has produced regular success in recent seasons.

Bowman's return will be "later than sooner," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told KNBR (h/t Niners Nation, via NFL.com's Marc Sessler), yet with him and Smith—who could form an exciting tandem with Lynch—back in the fray, the 49ers' defense has the potential to make further strides.

Offense

The Niners offense looked superb in the first half against the Cowboys, pouring on 28 points to all but ensure a Week 1 victory.

San Francisco did not add to that tally in the second half of that game, though, a theme that continued in the Bears and Cardinals games, in which the 49ers scored a total of just three points in the final two quarters.

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick should take much of the blame for the collapse in the home opener with the Bears, a game in which he tossed three interceptions, but the offense's lack of production was predominantly due to an apparent willingness to avoid the run-first philosophy that has led the Niners to three straight NFC Championship Games.

The 49ers' all-time leading rusher, Frank Gore, carried the ball just 35 times in the opening three games, totaling just six rushes in Arizona.

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

In the last two weeks Gore has seen a significant increase in his workload and, ably supported by rookie backup Carlos Hyde, has reeled off consecutive 100-yard games and is now averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

It is not surprising given those numbers that the 49ers have enjoyed success after restoring Gore—and an offensive line that dominates in run blocking—as the focal point of their offense. Indeed, San Francisco outscored the Eagles and Chiefs 22-7 in the second half of those respective games and has controlled time of possession in both encounters.

The move to re-emphasize the ground game has also clearly helped Kaepernick, who managed the game perfectly last Sunday, with the Niners still possessing all three timeouts deep into the fourth quarter under a signal-caller who has continually struggled with handling the play clock and delay-of-game penalties.

Still, all is not rosy on the 49ers offense.

When Phil Dawson kicks five field goals, as he did last weekend, it should be evident to even the most passive observer that an offense is having difficulty in the red zone.

It is a familiar problem for the Niners and one that refuses to go away. San Francisco, per Team Rankings, is at No. 25 in red-zone scoring percentage, having punched the ball in just 44.44 percent of the time in 2014.

This particular flaw ended their season in the NFC Championship game last term and proved pivotal in the Niners' Super Bowl XLVII defeat to the Baltimore Ravens, yet it is an issue that San Francisco has still not fixed, despite the presence of red-zone targets such as Vernon Davis, Brandon Lloyd and Steve Johnson, who already has two touchdowns to his name.

Failures in pass protection—in which San Francisco stands at No. 28 in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders—have not helped, although the absence of right tackle Anthony Davis, whose replacement Jonathan Martin is ranked at No. 48 among all tackles in pass-blocking by PFF, is partially responsible for the below-par play in the trenches.

It's clear the Niners' offense works best when reliant on the rushing attack, which takes the pressure off Kaepernick and allows San Francisco to dictate the pace of the game.

However, Kaepernick will at some point be tasked with winning the game on his own, as he has often done in the past. And when that moment comes, the Niners—and particularly the offensive line—will need to step it up down near the goal line if Harbaugh's men are to be serious Super Bowl contenders once again.

Final Thoughts

Have the 49ers turned a corner? In terms of getting back to the standard of play they have displayed in previous seasons, the answer is yes.

The frightening thing for opposing teams is that this group could get even better with the return of Smith and Bowman.

But what is most disappointing for a club looking to make the jump from perennial contender to Super Bowl champion is that many of the issues that have been persistent throughout the last thee years still remain, while new concerns such as an inconsistent pass rush and poor play in the special teams (where the Niners are ranked at No. 29 by Football Outsiders), have arisen.

The only way the 49ers and Harbaugh can silence those questioning the harmony in the franchise is by ending the wait for a Super Bowl victory.

San Francisco has already faced considerable challenges in their quest to win a Lombardi Trophy this season, and while there are still great areas of concern within this squad, the main thing we can take from the 49ers' tumultuous start is that they have the character and talent to once again contend for the biggest prize of all.

All statistics courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise stated.

Nicholas McGee is a San Francisco 49ers Featured Columnist based in Leeds, England. Follow him on Twitter @nicholasmcgee24.