San Francisco 49ers Odds

If not for a lost fumble in overtime, the San Francisco 49ers might very well have been the NFC representative in last year’s Super Bowl. Might high profile offseason acquisitions like that of Randy Moss be the missing link in 2012?

 

 

The Niners are facing off against the Packers in Week 1, and a game from Lambeau Field is not exactly the greatest warm up game for a team with a lot of new parts. However, the 49ers could make a very big and swift statement to the rest of the NFC with a win in Week 1. It will be difficult, because the Packers still have that guy named Aaron Rodgers, who can pick apart defenses. San Francisco’s strength last season was stopping the run, and Rodgers doesn’t need to run the ball that much to win football games.

NFL odds makers have listed the Niners as +6 ½ underdogs on the road against Green Bay to start the season, with a total of 45 points. The OVER might be the sneaky play here. While both teams are good defensively, early season games seem to be higher scoring than games in Week 10. With all the offensive additions to the Niners, I like them to score two or three times against the Packers, and the Packers to score a lot more.

My Pick: OVER 45

 

 

Don’t get excited Alex Smith haters; it wasn’t him as my man Geno Bisconte mistakenly tweeted to all of his followers. However, it might be almost as serious. 49ers’ linebacker Aldon Smith was stabbed several times at a party in San Jose, California last weekend; however, it doesn’t appear to be very serious wounds, and Smith s “recovering comfortably,” according to the team.

Police apparently responded to reports of gunshots at the party around 2 AM, and when they arrived on the scene, they found two people shot and Smith stabbed. At this point, Sacramento police don’t have any suspects, but they are still searching.

Smith had a phenomenal rookie season, as he posted 14 sacks, which is a 49ers rookie record. However, it hasn’t come with all bells and whistles. Along with the recent stabbing issue, Smith was arrested for DUI in January in Miami, and one can only speculate if Smith was just in the wrong place at the wrong time this past weekend, or he was at a party with people there that he should not have been at in the first place. It is probably a combination of the two, but Smith and the 49ers are lucky this situation didn’t get a lot worse.

 

 

There is a lot of buzz going around in 49er-land this offseason, as there have been plenty of news related items to talk about. From the Peyton Manning situation, to the comments Alex Smith made about Cam Newton, and all the new players coming in, the 49ers are looking like a real contender. Obviously it remains to be seen if that’s the case, especially if your name is Alex Smith, but the 49ers have been stocking up on weapons.

One of those weapons is Randy Moss, who is fresh out of retirement. Moss apparently has been impressing San Francisco's coaches and staff with his conditioning and speed. Moss is 35 years old, and after taking a season off, if he can actually get the ball thrown to him accurately, he could be a big weapon for a 49ers team that was in the basement in passing last season.

 

 

OTA’s are underway in the NFL, and the 49ers are one of the favorites to win it all in 2012-2013. The Niners are +1000 to win the Super Bowl this season, and at most sportsbooks, only the Packers and Patriots have better odds to take home the title.

The only reason that the Niners are not favored by more is Alex Smith. Smith played and managed the game well last season, but was not good enough in the playoffs to get past Eli Manning and the gun-slinging Giants. 

Reports that came out today have the Niners and their coaching staff denying that they ever pursued Peyton Manning, which is a joke. Manning visited the Bay, and if they could have had him over Smith they would have done it in a heartbeat. 

Alex Smith is good, but no matter how many new weapons they have around him, he is going to have to raise the bar if the Niners want to get out of the NFC, which will be a very tough conference this season.

 

 

We have almost had a month of NFL free agency, and the 49ers have been busy trying to build up their weapons to make another run at winning the NFC title game and getting to a Super Bowl. The 49ers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants in the championship game, and since free agency began, they have been building up their arsenal. Below, I take a look at some offseason news, free agent signings, and draft buzz surrounding the club by the bay.

Free Agent News

San Francisco has been very busy over the last month, and look significantly better on offense than they did last season. They were already a great defensive team, but now, the newly resigned Alex Smith will have multiple weapons around him. Last season it was really Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and no one else, but Gore is aging, and the Niners really lacked a pass attack last season. This season should be much different. 

After taking a year off, Randy Moss has come back from retirement and signed with the 49ers. This is huge for San Francisco because, if he can be even a shadow of his former self, he will demand coverage and open things up for Michael Crabtree and the newly signed Mario Manningham. 

Soon after the 49ers agreed to terms with Moss, they got their hands on Manningham as well. Other free agent signings for the 49ers include cornerbacks Perrish Cox and Carlos Rodgers, QB Josh Johnson, WR Ted Ginn, and RB Brandon Jacobs. I don’t even need to see them play in the preseason. If your NFL betting shop offers future odds on who is going to win the NFC West, lay your house, your car and your retirement savings on the 49ers. 

General news

Two big stories surrounding this team in the offseason were the Peyton Manning saga, and the New Orlean Saints’ bounty scandal. The Manning situation played itself out and was relatively low key. He would have done well by the bay, but when Manning chose Denver, the 49ers quickly resigned Alex Smith. 

The other news is rather recent; when audio of the NFC divisional playoff game speech of former Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams was released, we found just how much the Saints were truly looking to kill. Quotes of how they wanted to turn Frank Gore’s head sideways and hit Vernon Davis’ legs were the talk of the NFL for the last several days. Hopefully, that and the catastrophic fumbles by young wide receiver Kyle Williams last season’s NFC title game can subside before next season. 

Draft Buzz

It would not surprise me to see the 49ers make a trade to move up a bit in this month’s NFL draft. The 49ers currently pick 30^th, and I would be very surprised if they weren’t actively trying to move up no less then 10 spots or so. San Francisco has done well in free agency, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they went for more offense in the draft. Tight end, wide receiver and even a running back are all possibilities for them in the first round. 

Either way, they still have a few holes to fill. It also wouldn’t surprise me if they went offense in the first round and defense the rest of the way. They could use a little more depth in their front seven and might even draft a quarterback in the later rounds. The draft is only a few weeks away, so we should be seeing some moves from a lot of teams in the next few weeks.