Well, that was disappointing...
Still, the 49ers brought thrills and excitement to its starving fan-base this season and the future is looking bright. When Jim Harbaugh was hired as head coach, he brought with him the right role model for his aspirations: Bill Walsh. And although it's not fair to bring up comparisons because both inherited different situations, Coach Harbaugh is still way ahead of schedule. On the brink of a Super Bowl berth in a lockout-shortened first season is more than awesome. "THANK YOU" Forty-Niners for a GREAT SEASON!!!
Coach Walsh signed on to a 2-14 team that needed to be molded from top to bottom, inside and out, with dubious draft prospects to look forward to and no championship trophies filling the shelves; Coach Harbaugh came to a much stronger roster with a win-loss record of 6-10 the previous season. So, I don't think he's had nearly the mess to clean up. But going as far as they did was not projected at all. He's instilled a wonderful team-first attitude, and is working with a master alchemist in Trent Baalke, the general manager for the team.
I'm looking forward to what magic they can conjure up for next season. They've put together a fantastic coaching staff, a league-leading defense, and a talented special teams unit. If they can only put together that third piece, a high-scoring, score-at-will offense, then there will be no stopping them! And why not? I don't understand why professional teams can only seem to put together part of the puzzle (okay, well, money). Baseball teams are either pitching-first or hitting-first teams. I can understand basketball teams limiting their focus since their squads can only have five players on the floor at one time. But for my Niners, I want it all. Naturally, the defense can always get even better, the special teams units can get stronger too, but I want to see more synchronicity within the offense. More time spent together with the playbook should account for most of that; improved personnel and execution should take care of the rest.
Now on to an exciting off-season of improvement!! Free agency. The college senior bowls and the all-star games. The scouting, the combine... the draft! Didn't I use the word 'alchemy' above? Maybe that's what I find so fascinating. It's like trying to turn straw into (red and) gold.
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