The 2012-2013 NFL season should prove to be a huge test for the San Francisco 49ers.
It will be a year full of rematches and even a couple “what if” games.  Next season will see the defending NFC West champion 49ers facing off against the NFC North and the AFC East.  The usual twist to the NFL’s scheduling process will also give fans two playoff rematch games against the New Orleans Saints and the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

Coming off their best season in 15 years (13-3) the San Francisco 49ers look forward to the challenges that face them come next fall.  The record-setting defense and punishing rushing attack will no longer be taken lightly and the success of next year’s team will likely swing on the performance at the quarterback position.  For the sake of argument we must assume that coach of the year Jim Harbaugh will be putting his stamp of approval on Alex Smith once again next year.  Smith, coming off the best season of his career, will be asked for a repeat performance in order to overcome some large hurdles yet again.

The 2012-2013 season will have the 49ers staring down a much tougher road schedule than they have home contests.  They have the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions, and the world champion New York Giants all coming to visit Candlestick Park.  Last regular season the 49ers defeated the Giants at the Stick and the Lions in Detroit.  The Bears should prove a dangerous opponent no matter where they play, depending on the health of quarterback Jay Cutler and contract extension talks of running back Matt Forte.  Also coming to town will be the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and the trio of NFC West rivals.  The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins both  look to improve on their 6-10 performances from last year.  Unfortunately, neither team fared very well on the road last season, going a combined 3-13 away from their home stadiums.  All that being said look for the hungry and revamped San Francisco 49ers fan base to cheer even louder this upcoming season after the team brought them such positive results last year.

I see the 49ers dropping one of the three games against either the Giants, Bears, or Lions.  I would lean more towards the Bears game since the 49ers have not seen them in a long time and the Bears’ defense may give the 49ers fits against the run.  Although the games against the Lions and Giants are both rematches from a season ago we should see the same results.  The Lions are not as strong away from home (where the 49ers beat them last year in a late game thriller) and I find it hard to believe the 49ers will make the same costly mistakes that kept them out of Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants.  San Francisco’s home record 7-1.

Unfortunately for the 49ers their trips away from home are all going to be very tough, hard-fought games in some very tough stadiums for visiting opponents.  In their five, non division, games they will travel to the AFC Champion New England Patriots (13-3),  the NFC North Champion Green Bay Packers (15-1), and the NFC South Champion New Orleans Saints (13-3).  They also have to travel to the Metrodome to face the Minnesota Vikings and a trip to New York to face the Jets.  We all know what the Saints can do in the Superdome and depending on the time of year the weather could play a huge part in the outdoor venues against the Packers, Jets, and Patriots.

With some strong discipline and a little luck we should see the 49ers going 5-3 on the road this year.  The Saints will want to avenge their playoff loss to the 49ers last season in a big way, and where better to do so the at home.  That game should be a rematch of epic proportions and will more than likely be an early season Monday Night Football game.

The other two intriguing road games on the schedule are the Packers and Patriots.  Both of these are very good “what if” games for San Francisco.  What if the Packers took out the Giants in the divisional round last year?  We would have seen the 49ers travel to Green Bay to set up yet another “Aaron Rogers vs. Alex Smith” debate.

What if the 49ers did not “fumble” away their chance to go to the Superbowl last season and face off against Tom Brady and the Patriots?

Both of those scenarios will be tested and answered next year.

The San Francisco 49ers will march through the NFC West again next season and finish at 12-4 locking up the number two seed in the playoffs for the second year in a row.  What they do with it remains to be seen.  One thing is for certain, under the leadership of Jim Harbaugh there are no limits to what this team can do and they should be a force for years to come.

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This year’s divisional round has the potential to be one for the history books.  Often times, the conference championships tend to be the most exciting round of the NFL playoffs, and it has the potential to be again this year.  However, this season’s elite eight comes with a host of exciting story lines and half a dozen teams that have a legitimate shot at the championship.

Starting off the action this weekend will be, perhaps, the most polarizing of all four match ups. The San Francisco 49ers play host to the New Orleans Saints.  This game will both prove critics wrong, and stop the streaking Saints in their paths.

I see a lower scoring game than Saints fans are used to the past several weeks.  The colder, wetter, potentially sloppy conditions that have made Candlestick Park famous, will frustrate New Orleans and force them in to making costly mistakes.  If the 49ers are able to capitalize on those mistakes it will, once again, put them in position to silence their critics.

Offensively, these two teams are almost as opposite as you could imagine.  The Saints will score points, it is inevitable, and I don’t think even the most die-hard San Francisco fan believes this will be a shut out.  Drew Brees will have his chances to take his shots down field, however, with the 49ers front four being able to bring pressure almost every snap look for Brees to be checking down a lot more as the game moves along.  The 49ers greedy defense along with their number one rated turnover margin will cause this team fits much like the St. Louis Rams did back in October.

The 49ers will need a steady dose of Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter.  Both of these running backs are averaging over 4.2 yards per carry and will be used to soften up an already shaky Saints’ secondary.  If this part of the Niners game plan clicks it will open up gaps in the secondary for TE Vernon Davis and WR Michael Crabtree, both of which are favorable matchups against any defense.  Win the TOP battle and protect the football, two keys for the offense for a San Francisco victory on Saturday.

Defensively, both of these squads will be paramount to a victory.  The edge, once again, goes to the home team.  The field conditions will slow down both offenses and the turnover battle also favors the 49ers.  Look for another bend but don’t break performance from San Francisco holding the Saints out of the end zone when the chances come.

Look back at the week two matchup last year between these two teams and I think we should expect more of the same with a slightly different outcome.  With a winning season under their belts expect this 49ers team to take better care of the ball this time around and put up similar numbers on the ground.  Last year, Alex Smith threw for 275 yards 1 TD and 2 picks.  His turn around this year is well-known,  only throwing seven picks over 16 regular season games.  Frank Gore will have 100+ yards on the ground and two all-purpose TDs.  The 49ers defense will force a pair of picks and recover a fumble.  The final score will be a three-point decision again this year, only this time favoring the home team, and this time it will punch the San Francisco 49ers’ ticket to the NFC championship.

Remember, you heard it here first.

Adam Smith is an NFL team writer for The Penalty Flag.  He can be contacted at ASmith@thepenaltyflagblog.com.

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The San Francisco 49ers showed the NFL world on a national stage that they are a team to be taken very seriously in the upcoming postseason.  With or without lights on the field this squad shined brightest when they needed to.  Critics will once again find a way to downplay the complete, three-phase domination of the AFC north contending Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.  A hobbled Ben Roethlisberger, a missing James Harrison, and of course the tendency for electrical problems throughout the evening.
The 49ers seem to have cured their offensive line woes of late, keeping QB Alex Smith upright allowing no sacks to a very good defensive team in Pittsburgh.  They also improved their defensive standing in every category, surrendering only three points, causing four turnovers, and once again not allowing a hundred yard rusher or a rushing score.  The latter setting an NFL record of 14 games without an opposing player crossing the goal line via a rush.
The decision to start Roethlisberger was, at best, a questionable one.  The Steelers were looking to secure a lead in their division following another bad loss by their rivals the Baltimore Ravens. After surrendering two interceptions on their first two possessions it was obvious that Big Ben was not able to play up to his normal level.  Only trailing 6-0 at the half perhaps the ball should have been turned over to 37-year-old backup Charlie Batch.  Well, hind sight being what it is, and the way the 49ers defense was clicking, the game could have gotten much more out of control with Batch in the game.

Looking ahead there is a lot to anticipate out of the bay area this postseason.  The 49ers are now in the driver’s seat to secure a first round bye and the number two seed.  There are several reasons for the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints to be a little weary of the team making a lot of noise from out west.

Coming off a bad loss the Kansas City Chiefs, the Packers will still be able to secure home field throughout the NFC playoffs if they are just able to win one of their remaining two contests against division rivals.  Looking back on their 13-0 start some of their dominance thus far may be attributed to a very favorable schedule against weaker opponents.  Their one loss coming from a team with a losing record that had to settle for Kyle Orton to lead them out on to the field.  The combined records of the Packers’ victims is a less than impressive 84-98 with wins on their resume against the 2-12 St. Louis Rams and twice against the rebuilding 2-12 Minnesota Vikings.  Luckily their high-powered offense is able to outscore teams 480-297.  As the Chiefs proved, maybe their luck has run out.
The Saints have been on a very similar path.  They have played their games against teams at a combined 80-102.  Also, dropping two of their three games to inferior opponents, the aforementioned Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  This Saints team is scoring points in bunches as well, but like the Packers they are giving almost as much as receiving having outscored their foes 457-306.

We take a look at San Francisco, and of these three NFC powerhouses, on paper, they have the best chance to be representing the NFC in the Superbowl.  They have, by far, played the toughest schedule of the three.  The Niners have traveled to the east five times in their run to 11-3.  They have earned that record against teams at 87-95 with their only losses coming to playoff teams the Baltimore Ravens, the Dallas Cowboys, and a close loss to division rival the Arizona Cardinals.  Their offense may not be as flashy as the other two dominate NFC teams, but they make up for it with the best defense and special teams in the entire NFL.  That may just be enough to have the 49ers hoisting a nice trophy in February.  Just ask the ’85 Chicago Bears or ’00 Ravens.

Adam Smith is an NFL team writer for The Penalty Flag.  He can be contacted at asmith@thepenaltyflagblog.com

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A prototypical “game manager” no more, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Alex Smith,  has proven to his coaching staff, teammates, and fans that he may be worth more than his current one year deal.  Back at the beginning of the season, every person involved in the San Francisco organization assumed the seven-year starter’s new one year deal was just to make room for rookie Colin Kaepernick.  Everyone except for first year head coach Jim Harbaugh and of course, Smith himself.

Without an offseason worth of OTA’s, position meetings, and weeks worth of snaps taken by both Smith and Kaepernick some critics may say that Coach Harbaugh took the easy way out and named Alex Smith the starter.  However, the long time quarterback turned head coach may have seen something in Smith that only he could see.

The comparisons have continually been made between Alex Smith and Aaron Rogers having both come out in the same year.  Many people say that the 49ers made a mistake taking Smith with the first overall pick instead of Rogers and the typical football fan would agree.  However, most of the time it is never mentioned that during Aaron Rogers’ first three seasons he was able to watch from the sidelines and learn from future hall of famer, Brett Favre.  The other side of the equation has Alex Smith thrown in to a starting role from the word go.

During his tenure with San Francisco, Smith has gone through more turnover and turmoil than most NFL players see in their entire career, four head coaches and offensive coordinators.  Until this season he has never really had the chance to bond with a head coach that knows what it is to be a quarterback at the professional level.  The system put in place by Coach Harbaugh along with a strong running game has many fans and players thinking contract extension for the man who most thought may be replaced by Stanford’s Andrew Luck next April.  The success of this year’s 49ers has put to rest, any thoughts of a top five draft pick, a luxury the 49ers have enjoyed for far too long.

Whether or not Alex Smith ever joins the likes of former San Francisco greats at his position has yet to be seen.  What is known is that he looks comfortable in his current role in Coach Harbaugh’s system and has increased his stock ten fold in his 13 starts this season.  Is he Drew Brees or Aaron Rogers? No, but what you have in this new and improved player is an extremely confident quarterback who has earned his starting position and will be looking at a contract offer at the end of the season.

Adam Smith is an NFL team writer for The Penalty Flag.  He can be contacted at asmih@thepenaltyflagblog.com.

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