Jim Harbaugh San Francisco 49ers: How Many Games Will He Win in 2011?
Jim Harbaugh San Francisco 49ers: I felt like Jim Harbaugh's "Decision" was more agonizing to sit through than that of LeBron James.
The guy just seemed to waffle more about his coaching future than Brett Favre did about retirement.
But now Harbaugh's decision has finally been made—he has agreed to a five-year, $25 million deal to coach the San Francisco 49ers.
The question now is whether or not he'll succeed by the bay.
Well, let's think a little bit out of the box here.
Harbaugh and the 49ers know who they're going to play next season—although not when they'll play them—so I'll go game by game and analyze whether San Francisco can get the "W" or not.
Here it is: a look at how many games Harbaugh will win in his first season as an NFL head coach.
Away: Arizona Cardinals
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In 2010, the San Francisco 49ers went on the road and pummeled the Arizona Cardinals, 27-6.
The Cardinals finished the regular season ranked 23rd or lower in all major statistical categories on offense and defense, and their offense averaged nine points less per game (18.1) than their defense allowed (27.1).
Arizona ranked 30th in points allowed and 30th in rushing yards allowed (145.2 per game).
Of course, all games will depend on offseason moves made by San Francisco, but those numbers speak for themselves.
Winner: 49ers
Home: Arizona Cardinals
2 of 17
This season the 49ers beat the brakes off the Cardinals at home by a score of 38-7.
Arizona really struggles to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball--they ranked 31st in passing yards (182.6 per game) and 32nd in rushing yards (86.8 per game).
The Cardinals offense scored just 28 total offensive touchdowns in 2010, and will likely have a revolving door at quarterback once again.
So will San Francisco, but it can't be that bad, huh?
Winner: 49ers
Away: St. Louis Rams
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In 2010, the 49ers lost to the Rams on the road 25-17 in a hard-fought game.
It could be much of the same in 2010, when Sam Bradford—the likely Offensive Rookie of the Year—has a another year of experience under his belt.
Though St. Louis only scored 18.1 points per game, the Rams are a young team who certainly will benefit from playing together for an entire season.
The team's defense ranked 12th in scoring (20.5 points per game) and 19th in total yards allowed (336.8 per game).
Winner: Rams
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Home: St. Louis Rams
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The 49ers also had a tough game against the Rams at home last year, edging out St. Louis by just a field goal, 23-20.
The Rams rank 19th or better in ever major statistical category on defense, but are 21st or lower in the same categories on offense.
If St. Louis upgrades their offense during the offseason, this will be a hard game to win for the 49ers.
Either way, the 49ers and Rams seemed to be pretty evenly matched last year.
Sam Bradford is the real deal, though. He gets another win over San Francisco here.
Winner: Rams
Away: Seattle Seahawks
5 of 17
In the season opener, the Seattle Seahawks pounded the 49ers by 25 points, but that was arguably the team's most impressive game of the entire season.
Seattle really fell apart after that, finishing the regular season near the bottom of the league in most major categories.
The Seahawks offense ranked 23rd in scoring, 28th in total yards and 31st in rushing yards.
Someone please tell me how they're in the playoffs this year.
Winner: 49ers
Home: Seattle Seahawks
6 of 17
In the second meeting between these two teams, the 49ers turned the tables on the Seahawks and beat them by 19 points.
There are several reasons why that happened.
Seattle finished the season ranked 25th in points allowed, 27th in passing yards allowed and 27th in total yards allowed.
The Seahawks lost nine games by at least 15 points in 2010, and couldn't stop just about anyone.
They're not going to have a magical defensive turnaround in 2011.
Winner: 49ers
Away: Philadelphia Eagles
7 of 17
The 49ers played the Eagles surprisingly close in 2010, losing to Philadelphia 27-24.
But San Francisco won't be able to hang with one of the league's best all-around offenses next season.
In 2010, Michael Vick and company ranked third in the NFL in points scored and second in total yards.
Philadelphia's defense was shaky at times but overall was good enough for the team to win 10 games.
Winner: Eagles
Home: Dallas Cowboys
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The Dallas Cowboys finished at 6-10 in 2010, but I think anyone who watches the NFL can tell you that the team is much more talented than their record indicates.
Their refusal to run the ball was a big problem early on, but that improved when Jason Garrett took over as head coach midway through the season.
If the Cowboys can improve their pass defense and Tony Romo comes back healthy in 2011, Dallas will compete for an NFC East title.
Oh yeah, they'll beat the 49ers along the way, too.
Winner: Cowboys
Away: Washington Redskins
9 of 17
The Washington Redskins struggled mightily on the defensive side of the ball in 2010.
They ranked 22nd in points allowed and 31st in both yards and passing yards allowed, and they gave up 23 passing touchdowns while allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 63.5 percent of their passes.
In 2011, Washington will likely be without Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth, too.
Something tells me they won't be winning very many football games next season.
Winner: 49ers
Home: New York Giants
10 of 17
The New York Giants finished at 10-6 in 2010, but they also failed to make the playoffs.
Still, the Giants are as well-rounded a team as their is in football.
They ranked seventh in total defense and fifth in total offense, but it's just a matter of them being able to translate those stats into more wins.
If they do, watch out for the Giants again next season.
Winner: Giants
Away: Detroit Lions
11 of 17
The Detroit Lions shocked the football world by winning four straight games to end the 2010 season.
But not all is well in Detroit.
Though the team showed vast improvements on the defensive side, they still struggle against the pass (24th in yards allowed) and running the football (100.8 yards per game).
Meanwhile, San Francisco had the league's No. 6 rush defense in 2010 and has some nice weapons—like Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree—in the passing game.
Winner: 49ers
Home: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12 of 17
In November 2010, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into San Francisco and embarrassed the 49ers with a 21-0 shutout victory.
And since that game Josh Freeman has been playing on another level.
The Bucs finished their season by winning three out of their last four games, two of them against playoff teams (Saints and Seahawks).
If Tampa Bay continues to progress next season like it did at the end of 2010, we could see a repeat of that 21-point beatdown.
Winner: Bucs
Away: Baltimore Ravens
13 of 17
In 2010, the Baltimore Ravens went 12-4.
In 2010, the San Francisco 49ers went 6-10...in the NFC West.
Baltimore definitely needs to improve its pass defense, but we don't know who San Francisco's quarterback is gonna be.
Advantage: Baltimore.
Winner: Ravens
Home: Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns did show some progression in 2010, especially on the defensive side, but they still didn't set the world on fire.
Cleveland ranked 31st in points per game (16.9) and 29th in both total and passing yards.
If the Browns don't do something to upgrade their passing attack, the offense will struggle once again next season.
Just how much is the question.
Winner: 49ers
Away: Cincinnati Bengals
15 of 17
The Cincinnati Bengals underachieved on both sides of the ball in 2010.
They ranked 24th in points allowed, 22nd in points scored, and stumbled to a 4-12 record.
And next season they could be without Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens on the offensive side.
Even if they're consider prima donnas at the wide receiver position, that's a big chunk of offense to lose in one offseason.
Winner: 49ers
Home: Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2010 regular season at 12-4 and as the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
The team's defense ranked second in total yards allowed, first in rushing yards allowed and first in points allowed.
Need I say more?
Winner: Steelers
The Final Outlook
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There's still a ton of things that could happen in the offseason to make these predictions mean absolutely nothing.
But they seemed like a fun thing to do nonetheless.
Jim Harbaugh will be facing tons of questions in 2011, and even more obstacles.
He'll need to find a quarterback and upgrade several positions on both sides of the ball.
Given what he's done at Stanford, though, it seems like he will succeed in San Francisco sooner rather than later.
But turning a 6-10 team around in just one season is no easy task.
Final Outlook: 8-8, 4-2 in NFC West (2nd place behind St. Louis), miss the playoffs
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