The San Francisco 49ers head into the 2013 season as one of the favorites in the NFC to make it to the Super Bowl and after losing to the Baltimore Ravens 34-31 in the championship their biggest threat to return to the big game could come from its own division with the Seattle Seahawks.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh made the tough decision last season to play Colin Kaepernick over Alex Smith and now that Smith has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, the team belongs to Kaepernick. The young star led the team to an impressive record down the stretch and he played very well in the playoffs and now expectation will be raised even more for the 49ers this season. The team made a number of solid free agent moves and draft picks and despite having Michael Crabtree injured, they should be able to compete for the NFC championship again.
Kaepernick will not be able to sneak up on anyone this season after coming in with such explosiveness in 2012 and he will have some new faces on offense, including wideout Anquan Boldin, who was traded from the Ravens after the Super Bowl. Boldin will get his chances with Crabtree out and while the position is dealing with injuries to Crabtree and Mario Manningham, there is talent on the roster with second-year pro AJ Jenkins as well as Quinton Patton. The team still has Vernon Davis, but they will be down an athletic tight end in Delanie Walker and that production may be hard to match from last season.
The roster turnover has been large for the 49ers this season from last year and gone already are Randy Moss, Dashon Goldson, Smith, Walker as well as Tedd Ginn Jr. and Brandon Jacobs, although the running back did next to nothing last season with the team. The 49ers added a number of interesting players in the draft as well, including Eric Reid, Tank Carradine, Patton and Marcus Lattimore, who is recovering from a knee injury. The team had over 10 draft picks, which could signal the high roster turnover and now Kaepernick will get the chance to start the year as the number one quarterback on the depth chart.
The 49ers ranked 23rd in passing yards last season per game but fourth in rushing yards behind the athletic Kaepernick and running back Frank Gore and depending on what offensive coordinator Greg Roman does, those numbers may improve. The defense was stellar last season and ranked fourth in both rushing and passing yards allowed per game and despite losing Goldson, they are expected to be in the top five once again.
The schedule starts of rough with a rematch with the Green Bay Packers after the 49ers defeated them in the playoffs, then they will travel in Week 2 to Seattle to play the Seahawks in a nationally televised game. The Seahawks look like the other big threat in the NFC and they are also one of the favorites to win the West after the way Russell Wilson played last season and the additions of Percy Harvin and Cliff Avril. The 49ers will have to be tough again in the division, as all three other teams have improved, including the Cardinals after trading for Carson Palmer. The Rams played the 49ers tough last year and took one game and tied another and they will be better after adding some solid talent in the draft as well.