The San Francisco 49ers are heading into the 2013 season after winning the Super Bowl and the team has a number of injuries to overcome, including to Patrick Willis and Michael Crabtree and this year they will need players to step up to help back to the championship over teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins.
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.
Boldin has been stepping up in workouts and practice since Crabtree went down and he has been a stalwart for the team as they deal with a wide receiving corps that is growing thinner by the way, as Mario Manningham is also dealing with injuries. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been working with Boldin, who said that he has spoken with Crabtree to make sure he is in a good head as he tries to recover from his injuries.
Boldin was an essential player for the Ravens in the playoffs and now he is the top receiver for the 49ers, as first round pick from last year AJ Jenkins never made a catch and the rest of the position is unproven ahead of injured Manningham. Crabtree could be out for a year with his injury, meaning Boldin must step up for the team this season. Kyle Williams is also coming off of a knee injury that will keep him sidelined, adding even more pressure to Boldin. Last season he had over 900 yards and 65 catches for the Ravens and he had six catches for 104 yards and a TD in Baltimore's 34-31 win over San Francisco in the Super Bowl.
Boldin has been picking up the offense quickly and now the team is working on ways to make up for the lost production. Crabtree was the leading receiver for the team last year while working with Kaepernick, making 85 receptions for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns, all career highs.
"I've been through injuries. I know how it is," Boldin told reporters, according to the San Jose Mercury News "I fractured my face, tore my ACL. It can be a pretty lonely time, at times you think people forget about you. You feel unwanted at times because you're not around guys and a lot of people don't call anymore."