San Francisco 49ers: The Bandwagon is Gaining Steam in 2010

Pardon the cynicism, but we've heard this before. The story reads something like this. A young team, laden with a nice core of talented blue chippers finishes the previous season favorably and instantly is considered a sleeper team for the coming NFL season.

For the past several years, the San Francisco 49ers have been that trendy preseason team picked to surprise. In each of those years, the 49ers have failed to meet these expectations. From last season dating back to 2002 (the last year San Francisco qualified for a playoff berth), the yearly win total (8, 7, 5, 7, 4, 2, 7) has been something of a nauseating roller coaster ride. It's seemingly one step forward, two steps back with this franchise. I'm here to boldly proclaim this year will be different.

There's a saying that I've always believed, as it pertains to professional sports—"It's not about the X's and O's, it's the Jimmy's and Joe's." Is it corny? Is it cliché? Absolutely. But it's true. Bill Belichick is considered one of the most brilliant defensive minds in the NFL, but when his talent level fell off considerably last season, his defense went from dominant to doormat.

The point of course is San Francisco's roster is loaded with talent now. In the last three to four years, the 49ers roster has seen a major overhaul. They have added All-Pro talents like Vernon Davis, Aubrayo Franklin, and Justin Smith. Left tackle Joe Staley is considered one of the premiere young tackles in the game today. Free safety Dashon Goldson is beginning to make a name for himself around the league as a playmaker roaming the secondary.

They now boast arguably the league's best and most complete linebacker in Patrick Willis. Twenty-three-year-old Michael Crabtree and 27-year-old Frank Gore call San Francisco home. To say the talent level has increased since Mike Nolan's abysmal teams, is like saying the Miami Heat are going to be a good basketball team next year.

The head coach of the present and future is in place in Mike Singletary. Singletary has outstanding leadership skills and, without question, gets his players to bring it every Sunday. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky has held the position since 2007 and the unit has seen a consistent improvement every year under his tutelage. In fact, the defense is now considered one of the best the NFL has to offer. Offensive coordinator has been a very unstable position within the 49ers organization for the better part of a decade, but a little continuity was achieved with the retaining of Jimmy Raye.

The offensive line received two major contributors to aid Frank Gore and the 49ers' running attack in first-round choices left guard Mike Iupati and right tackle Anthony Davis. The last time a franchise drafted two offensive linemen in the first round in the same draft was the New York Jets, when they selected Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Do you know who led the NFL in rushing in 2009? You guessed it. The New York Jets.

If the 49ers are a well oiled machine, Alex Smith is the holder of the keys. The skill players on the offensive end, as previously mentioned, are the best the 49ers have had, certainly in Smith's time with the franchise. Smith is healthy, doesn't have to come into camp battling for his starting position, and is working with the same offensive coordinator for the second straight year. These are some of the main reasons I believe Smith will perform very well in 2010.

Smith willingly sacrificed some of his salary and opted to remain in San Francisco, rather than taking the easy way out and signing elsewhere and starting over. To me, that was refreshing and honorable. Something you just do not see out of professional athletes in this day and age. He is a 26-year-old QB coming off a very solid season, one in which he only started for half the year.

Smith's college coach, Urban Meyer, once said the following in regards to Alex, "He's a guy that, until he understands it, he is nonfunctional. He is a guy that—I keep hearing how Brett Favre kind of makes something out of nothing and is a person that runs around to make a play—Alex Smith is not that kind of player. Alex Smith is a person that, once he is taught, has to learn it all. He might struggle early, but once he gets it, he gets it."

Meyer said this in the spring of 2005 and it sounds like he said it yesterday. It makes perfect sense. The first few years of Smith's career, he was basically put in a position to fail. I'm not convinced even Peyton Manning would've enjoyed success under the same set of circumstances. Smith played with Arena League caliber talent in some cases, battled with multiple devastating injuries, and was even thrown under the bus by his head coach when he tried to be a soldier and play through a debilitating shoulder injury.

It doesn't help his cause either that his direct competition from that draft, Aaron Rodgers, has gone on to reach Pro Bowl status and is already considered one of the elite quarterbacks in the entire league. But what 49ers fans must realize is, the book on Smith isn't closed. Hell, it's barely even been scribbled on.

Coach Singletary openly endorses and supports Smith, and 49ers fans should as well. Reports out of training camp are that Smith has been a sponge, as far as asking questions and offseason dedication, and has played exceptionally since day one. I know there are thousands of doubters of Smith out there, and he will have to perform well to change that perception, but I'm saying it's going to happen.

The kid obviously has the talent, you don't get drafted first overall if you can't play. Critics will dispel the validity or importance of it, but Smith's score of 40 on the Wonderlic test remains one of the highest ever recorded. As bright as Smith is, the outlook for the San Francisco 49ers season is even brighter if he performs as I believe he will in 2010.