LA Rams Wednesday Walkabout NFC West 2.1

San Francisco 49ers – continued

Bret: The San Francisco 49ers had the same bad luck in 2020 that the LA Rams experienced in 2019. It’s really tough to win when the team is fighting through multiple injuries at the same position. But let’s be real. If the 2020 season allows the 49ers to excuse themselves due to injuries, then the same logic applies to their 2019 success at the expense of the Rams injuries.

The 49ers are two years removed from winning the NFC Championship game. And yet, their offense is in a bit of turmoil 2020 showed a team with three quarterbacks capable of winning a game, and also capable of huge mistakes to lose a game. It was a season filled with a Who’s who of NFL players. And through it all the 49ers were able to audition nearly two NFL teams’ worth of players in the season.

Now, the 49ers must use that expensive knowledge to rebuild the roster out of all the 2020 spare parts. That will be even more complicated with the hiring of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as the New York Jets head coach. No doubt, he will be aiming the Jets personnel office to the best of the 49ers’ free agents, and the Jets will have enough money to spend. But it goes both ways, as the 49ers are reportedly very high on Jets QB Sam Darnold.

That will no doubt dilute the 49ers stalwart defensive. Will they be able to make up the difference on offense? Not with Jimmy Garoppolo under center. But there are far too many rumors about the 49ers shopping for other quarterbacks for some not to be true. But a new quarterback means breaking him in.

The 49ers once more get a last-place team schedule and last place team spot in the upcoming NFL Draft. But their performance in 2020 was as much about not having a plan as stitching together scraps of players from other teams’ waiver wires. While that is enough to win a few games, it isn’t enough to get them over the .500 mark.