San Francisco: A Return To The Top

San Francisco has been filled with disappointment.  Both the 49ers and Giants have been in a drought.  Both of these droughts began when both franchises lost key players.  For the 49ers this meant the loss of Jerry Rice.  Jerry Rice's departure started a ripple effect that resulted in consecutive losing seasons.  While the 49ers, who were desperate, made risky moves in an attempt to restore the team to their winning days.  All of the money they spent and all of the players who had precious years wasted while the team fumbled in mediocrity ended with the departure of Mike Nolan.  This paved the way for the other Mike; Mike Singletary.  This Mike brought on a tough persona that was focused on getting stops on the defensive end and playing smashmouth football.  With this Mike at the helm of the 49ers ship they were steered into a direction that will eventually lead them to redemption.  The change is obvious and their record reflects that as the 49ers have accomplished their first non-losing season for the first time in a long time.  The 49ers are putting off a vibe of success and it has reflected in their mentality of personnel choices.  Following the mantra of "games are fought and won in the trenches" the 49ers have added two tough offensive lineman that will surely shore up their offensive woes.  This will have a great impact on the field as Gore will now be in perfect position to have an extremely successful rushing season while Smith (who is having his first season with a returning offensive coordinator) will feel comfortable enough to have the most productive season of his career.

The Giants have also been unsuccessful after losing Barry Bonds.  The home run king who holds the single season home run record and the all-time home run record.  His departure from the Giants because of an infamous scandal also marked the beginning in the decline of the Giants and the end of their reign in the NL west.  Like their fellow 49ers the Giants made many risky attempts that they are still paying for.  Barry Zito is one of the first names that come to mind as the Giants dumped nearly 20 mil. a season on him just so he can bring his Cy Young magic to this faltering franchise.  However, it backfired for both parties as Zito flopped and failed to produce making himself and the Giants look like fools for the money that they were paying him.  But alas a savior did emerge and pull the Giants from their brief departure into an abyss.  His name, is Tim Lincecum.  Lincecum who was drafted by the Giants (10th overall) in 2006 became the first player since Bonds to bring an elite talent to a faltering organization.  Lincecum's achievements are well known as he has won back to back Cy Young awards which has reinvigorated the Giant into a winning mindset.  This mindset has saved the Giants from their drought as last season was their first winning season since 2005.

Both San Francisco teams are on a direct route to salvageing their droughts of sub par seasons.  Both teams should focus on building on their recent success in order to evolve into franchises that challenge titles in both leagues.