NFL: 5 teams most likely to underachieve
By Bryce Olin
1. San Francisco 49ers: 10.5 wins
As current Seattle resident, it’s impossible for me to say anything about the 49ers without being called out as a “homer,” but here it goes.
I don’t think there’s any possible way the 49ers get to 11 wins. Consider who they’ll be missing on defense from last season.
Navarro Bowman will not play at least until Week 6, as he rehabs his torn ACL and MCL, but it’s possible he could miss the entire season. Aldon Smith will miss the first nine games of the season, serving a suspension for multiple off-the-field incidents dating back to the end of last season. Starting defensive tackle Ray McDonald will serve at least a six-game suspension as part of the NFL’s new domestic violence policy. Fellow defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey could miss the entire season with a torn biceps injury.
The season hasn’t even started yet.
On top of the injury/suspension issues, the offensive line struggled mightily to protect Colin Kaepernick in the preseason. While the preseason can lead to obviously wrong assumptions, I don’t think it’s wrong to assume the protection issues will continue into the season, especially with rookie center Daniel Kilgore calling out the line signals.
Kaepernick finished the preseason 12-of-22 passing for 115 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a Quarterback Rating of 69.3, according to 49ers.com. I anticipate Kaepernick will be better in the regular season, obviously he’ll have to be, but if the preseason is any indication, it’s going to be difficult for the 49ers offense to score points.
In the 49ers’ first seven games, they face Dallas, Chicago, Arizona, Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Denver, in that order. San Francisco will lose three of those games, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Denver. It’s possible they could drop another game one of those first seven games, giving them three or four losses heading into the bye week. If that happens, there’s no way the 49ers win 11 games.
I’m not saying the 49ers won’t make the playoffs; they could easily go 9-7 or 10-6, putting them in position to make the playoffs. For a team that’s gone to three straight NFC Championship games, that’s just not good enough and qualifies as an underachievement.