Panthers Hope to Emulate This Seasons 49ers in 2012

I will say that part of the percieved rise of the 49er’s is because of their underachieveing last season. I and many others thought they should have won the NFC West last season with the talent they had on that team.

True, Alex Smith has been pretty much mistake free this year, but he has also only thrown for more than 200 yards twice IIRC; Gore (and the O-Line, as mentioned) has been the driving force behind their improved offense, which when paired with the improved defense has been the biggest factor to their 6-1 start. It’s the tried and true method of winning, since there’s only so many elite QBs who can run the type of spread offense that is becoming popular in the NFL these days…

Mike Singletary was a horendous head coach. I remember watching some segment on him making his team climb a 45 ft. 45 degree angle hill known as “Pain”. For players that fought for less practice and less padded practice I’m sure this type of boot camp training camp went over terrible. He flip-flopped on his QB’s and called out players publicly, hell he got into a screaming match with Vernon Davis on the sidelines. Some people just aren’t cut out to coach and he dragged that talented team down. IMO that’s a huge part of this turn around.

They will lose in the first round of the playoffs though.

I know, but I just don’t think Green Bay is THAT good. They’re good no doubt. But they’re not “worlds” above the rest of the league imo. I’m willing to bet that the finish the season with around 4 losses.

somebody that’s just electric with their speed for the return game. I don’t know if I’ve seen any under the radar players this year, but in year’s past, I felt that it would have been extremely beneficial for us to add someone like Darren Sproles, Wes Welker, or Leon Washington. They’ve all gone on to do bigger and better things other than special teams, but at one point in all of their careers before they became household names, their special teams play let me know they could become big time players.

Here is whats going to happen. We will draft Matt Kalil, sign Vincent Jackson or Dwayne Bowe. I think our big FA splash will be at WR. After this season what WR wouldn’t want to play for Cam? I could see us easily picking up Dwayne Bowe, play for Matt Cassel in Kansas or come to hip and upcoming Charlotte and play for a QB like Cam coming off the best rookie year for a QB in history?

I think so many WRs will be itching to play for Cam we will have some good choices

does anyone know, do we have to pay any kind of money to Thomas Davis prior to him playing for us next year? is there any kind of “decision date” involved?

And sign free agents for dt and lb.
We will have Gettis back next year and if his speed is what it was before he will definitely be getting some deep throws and taking pressure off Smith as the #2.

It’s because of their easier schedule. They’ve really beaten very little in the way of superior competiton. Here’s how their season has played out so far…

SEA 17 @ SF 33 - Really weak division opponent. Easy, predictable win, especially since the Seahawks were starting .

DAL 27 @ SF 24 - Even the Cowboys managed to beat them, though it wasn’t easy. Given all of Dallas’ woes this season, this isn’t a good loss to have on the Niners resume.

SF 13 @ CIN 8 - The Niners offense went up against a really good Cincinnati defense and mustered one TD and 2 FGs while giving up a safety to the Bengals. Meanwhile, they managed to keep a rookie QB and WR duo (i.e., Dalton and Green) in check. A lot of people seem to think the Bengals are awesome this year. And, while their defense is playing well and their young offense is starting to gel, they too haven’t played the really tough teams on their schedule yet. So, to me, San Francisco and Cinncinnati are both paper tigers.

SF 24 @ PHI 23 - The Eagles still haven’t righted their ship yet and the Niners squeaked this one out. On paper, Philly should have won this one. But they’ve been underperforming all year long. And, San Fran just happened to have the right matchup: Frank Gore vs. a worn out D-line. That’s why they dominated this one. Not because they’re all-world or anything.

TB 3 @ SF 48 - Blow out victory for the Niners. And yet, most everyone views Tampa Bay as the weaker team in our division this year. Not based on record, obviously. But rather, in terms of talent and capability, the Bucs aren’t the strongest team against which to measure yourself. That said, the Niners clicked on all cylinders in this one. The Bucs turned the ball over multiple times and had almost 100 yds in penalties. That magnified the Niners ability to play ball control and they ran up the score. No biggie.

SF 25 @ DET 19 - This was their signature win. Detroit has been putting things together this year (moreso than SF) and they were unbeaten at the time. But, the Lions were also due for a letdown. Harbaugh had San Fran pumped for this game. They simply wanted it more. Even then, Detroit nearly pulled it out. The key was the Niners defense. And that’s been the case for most of the season. It’s also their running game. Frank Gore had 141 yards rushing on just 15 carries. So he gashed them on limited touches. But that was also the Niners’ strength vs. Detroit’s weakness…i.e., the Lions currently have the 30th ranked defense vs. the run. So, this was a made-to-order game for San Fran. They’re particular brand of offense (i.e., pound the ball) wasn’t challenged, and yet their defense reasonably contained Stafford, Megatron, and Best. That’s why they took the win. Not because they’re a powerhouse yet.

CLE 10 @ SF 20 - Another weak opponent. It’s a win anyone would take. But again, the Niners’ record of 6-1 is rather inflated by a lot of weak, underachieving opponents right now. They’re not being overly challenged by the bonafide division leaders in either conference. Once they face-off with Pittsburgh and Baltimore…or maybe the Giants and Redskins…and especially teams like New Orleans or Green Bay in the playoffs, you’ll get a much better sense of how strong they really are.

It’s kind of been a perfect storm for San Francisco this season. They stockpiled draft picks (i.e., they had all five picks in rounds 1-5, and then 5 more in rounds 6-7) and used them wisely. They added a key free agent here and there (i.e., Ted Ginn, Jr., etc.). They cleared the whole losing atmosphere with Harbaugh. They got a weak division opponent to start off the season with a win to help their players buy into the new system. They’re opponents thus far in the season have a combined record of 26-24 (kind of middle of the pack), but when you look more closely, 11 of those combined wins come in the shape of 5-2 Cinncinnati and 6-1 Detroit, both of whose wins have benefited from fairly easy schedules so far, as well. Their remaining opponents? They have a combined record of just 15-21. Ugh. That’s all you really need to know.

So, while San Francisco should easily make the playoffs this year…and maybe even secure a first round bye…I expect them to wilt when faced with the other division leaders, either in their remaining regular season schedule (i.e., Pittsburgh/Baltimore, New York/Washington/Philly) and especially in the playoffs (e.g., Green Bay or New Orleans). Yes, the Niners have a good defense and a good run game. That’ll certainly help them against a lot of teams (especially if their special teams kick in). But all in all, I just don’t think they’ve turned the corner yet. They’ll make a tremendous amount of progress this season. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re one-and-done in the playoffs and then miss them entirely next season as they face a much tougher schedule.

But that’s just my two cents,
—Neil

1. rushing defense and #2 special teams. And sprinkle in some Frank Gore.

They are winning in spit of everything else.

seriously people? every other week someone is trying to explain how we are similar to some other team. Well we aren’t. We are the Panthers and no one else is. Our team has different weaknesses and different strengths. Take us for what we are.

BAMF and the front office won’t be able to reform our defense into a top-ten defense in one offseason. The way I see it, our defense has just been shivved. Rivera and the staff have put a bandaid on the wound, but it’s not really helping. Soon the defense will go to the hospital and get stitches (this offseason). However, when you get stitches, you have to wait some time before you can become active and have the stitches removed or else the stitches will burst and you will be right back where you started. Rome was not built in a day (or an offseason for that matter), so I think it is a little dopey for us to be comparing our team to another team.
For the record, I agree that the team should bring in a quality WLB and DT as well as Special Teams talents this offseason.