Team-Building Lessons 49ers Can Learn from Budding Seahawks Dynasty
Say the words "Seattle Seahawks" and "dynasty" in the same sentence to any San Francisco 49ers fan, and watch as some combination of outrage, resentment and nostalgia spew forth in return.
A 49ers franchise that dominated the 1980s with a dynasty of its own and that had another in the making at the start of this decade must now kowtow to its fiercely hated rival.
Braces yourselves, Niners faithful, this crushing reality won't abate anytime soon.
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One year after eliminating San Francisco en route to thoroughly demolishing the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seahawks find themselves one Tom Brady-led New England Patriots team away from securing their second straight Lombardi Trophy.
Russell Wilson and Co. overcame a 16-point deficit against the Green Bay Packers and won with a game-winning touchdown pass in overtime in the NFC Championship Game.
Scoring 15 points in a mere 45 seconds late in the final frame—after playing their worst football of the year over the previous three quarters—was both unreal and expected.
A narrative of resilience and winning in the biggest moments has followed this Seattle-based gridiron power over the past 37 games. Even with a former dynasty-like Patriots opponent next on the docket, it's only a matter of time until that total rises to 38.
Yet not only are the Seahawks the new budding power at the division, conference and league-wide level, they're accomplishing it in ways that had brought the red and gold so much success over the past three seasons.
The 49ers reached three consecutive conference championship games—and were one play away from winning a Super Bowl—from 2011-2013. An upper-echelon defense, top-five rushing attack, clutch special teams play and a quarterback who led with his arm and legs were the calling cards of those fiery Jim Harbaugh-coached teams.
Why does that sound so familiar? Oh, because that's precisely how the Seahawks have captured—and will continue to secure—championships under Pete Carroll.
Wait, and why aren't the 49ers doing that anymore? Oh, right—because the CEO and general manager couldn't get along with the head coach and fired him for reasons totally unrelated to football.
They then promoted a defensive line coach that no other team even interviewed for an assistant role, let alone head coach.
Our apologies, Jim Tomsula, you just have impossible shoes to fill.
Point being, the Seahawks are everything the 49ers wish they could still be.
And no amount of "Sea Chickens," "Seadderall," "Cheathawks" or any other clever ridicule will deter these burgeoning champions from realizing their dynastic potential.
OK, but what exactly can the 49ers learn from Seattle, and how will they implement it?
Gleaning the necessary lessons is easy—run the ball and stop the run, score touchdowns in the red zone and rush the passer, own the turnover battle and win special teams.
Reestablishing said gridiron tactics, unfortunately, is another matter entirely.
San Francisco possesses most of the requisite personnel. It has the linemen, running backs, pass-rushers, dual-threat quarterback and kicker.
What the Niners don't have, however, are the coaches, offensive philosophy and atmosphere where winning football games is the No. 1 priority.
Take this past season for example.
CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke's shameful mishandling of Harbaugh's contract situation created an all too chaotic and misguided campaign. Knowing his own lame-duck status, it was as if Harbaugh sensed the inevitable and authorized an illogical series of game plans on offense.
Put simply, the 49ers utilized their personnel in all the wrong ways.
They abandoned a ball-control, Frank Gore-led rushing attack in favor of a pass-first approach. They inexplicably went away from what had made them championship contenders and instead forced Colin Kaepernick into becoming something he isn't—that being a pure pocket passer.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman and his assistants helped eliminate Kaepernick's instincts and lethal abilities on the ground while putting a dominant run-blocking offensive line in far too many pass-protecting scenarios.
Kap sustained a league-worst 52 sacks, and the Niners' loaded offense ranked 25th with a measly 19.1 points per game.
Possessing three former 1,000-yard receivers, a tight end who scored double-digit touchdowns the season before and a rocket-armed quarterback turned this squad into a delusional and ineffective bunch.
You know the phrase "unrealized potential"? Here it was at the highest level.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, predicate their offensive methodology around running back Marshawn Lynch and Wilson's abilities outside the pocket. Their play-action and misdirection-fueled attack makes up for their otherwise average group of receivers.
Unlike a 49ers team that forsook its run-heavy, read-option schemes over the past couple of years, this Darrell Bevell-coordinated offense knows where its strengths lie.
Lynch and Co. led the league this season in rushing and ranked a respectable 14th in scoring. Wilson compiled 20 touchdowns next to just seven interceptions through the air while leading all quarterbacks with 849 yards and six scores on the ground.
He rated seventh with 12.2 yards per completion and, with help from the league's most fearsome defense, orchestrated an NFL-best five game-winning drives, including the one Sunday against Green Bay.
Again, it wasn't that long ago when Kaepernick owned the second-highest yards per completion (13.2) and delivered four game-winning drives of his own in 2013, including one in the playoffs. Totaling 243 yards and a touchdown with his legs in two postseason games wasn't too shabby, either.
Yet that's also when Kap had the benefit of play-action opportunities with a consistent ground assault despite having only two legitimate targets in the passing game.
Simply giving him an abundance of weapons in 2014 and pushing for immediate Peyton Manning-like results created far too many unrealistic expectations.
Coming back full circle, what will it take for a revival of those fruitful 49ers campaigns of the early 2010s? How can San Francisco return to postseason form in 2015?
Some might believe a miracle is in order based on how the front office sabotaged this team's winning makeup under Harbaugh. And maybe that's the case.
But really, Tomsula need only look at what the 49ers did such a short time ago—and what the Seahawks are doing now.
The pieces are in place—time to execute.
Unless noted otherwise, all player and team stats come courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Joe Levitt is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, waxing academic, colloquial and statistical eloquence on the San Francisco 49ers. Follow him on Twitter @jlevitt16
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