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Fantasy Blitz - FANTASY FOCUS: THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
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Posted On: 6/4/06
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The 49ers have been playing professional football since 1946. The 2005 version from an offensive standpoint may have been the worst in franchise history.
The 49ers scored just 239 points total, with 23 touchdowns. They only threw eight passing scores and were last in the NFL in total yards per game at 224. These numbers would scare any fantasy owner away.
Head coach Mike Nolan is making changes and offensively things can only get better. Probably not enough to put many 49ers on any fantasy team but things will improve.
First, Nolan brought in former Redskins and Raiders head coach Norv Turner. Turner had a playoff year in Washington but his biggest accomplishment in the pro coaching ranks came when he was with Dallas. He took over as offensive coordinator of the Cowboys in 1991, the year before they were ranked 28th in offense. By 1992 and 1993 they won the Super Bowl and were ranked 4th offensively both years. He turned Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith into household names while allowing his offensive line to mature together to become the best in the league.
Turner will begin with second year quarterback Alex Smith, who threw only one touchdown pass last year while throwing 11 interceptions. Smith will start the season and it is his job to lose. San Francisco obtained Trent Dilfer in a trade with the Browns to back Smith up. Dilfer has thrown 176 touchdowns in his career and has been on a Super Bowl winning team in Baltimore along with losing teams in Tampa Bay. He and Turner will work with Smith on his reads. On paper, it all sounds great, but for fantasy purposes stay away from Smith and Dilfer. Between them they will throw for more than the eight touchdown passes last year but they are bench material for this season. If you have to have either one on your roster this year you probably are not making the playoffs. To add either to your roster wreaks of an act of desperation.
From the draft comes super rookie TE Vernon Davis. Here is the difficult part of fantasy football. The entire world agrees that Alex Smith is not a worthy fantasy player just yet. Davis on the other hand will be the featured go to receiver in this offense. The average starting TE in deeper fantasy leagues does not score much more than five touchdowns a year. Davis, while being a 49er can get there. If you are set with two running backs and wide receivers and are comfortable at quarterback you can start Davis this year.
At wide receiver the 49ers brought in Antonio Bryant who will team with the returning Arnaz Battle. Between them last year they caught 73 passes and 7 touchdowns. Both are no more than reserves at this point. One interesting player the 49ers brought in via the draft was Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson. Turner will move Robinson to wide receiver and he will be the third receiver along with being involved in some gadget plays. He could bring some possible value, especially later in the season when he has had time to understand the offensive system. You could get a couple of touchdown passes and some touchdown receptions from him this year. He has the athleticism and size to score. Although Turner will be behind both Bryant and Battle on the depth chart, he has slightly more fantasy potential this year than they do with his versatility. All are reserves, but look for Robinson to outscore both Bryant and Battle this year.
The 49ers did not draft an offensive lineman and the only free agent move they made was to acquire thirteen year veteran Larry Allen. Allen helped open many holes for Emmitt Smith in Dallas for Turner. Last year they used three running backs, Kevan Barlow, in his sixth year, rookie Frank Gore, and Maurice Hicks. Each of them scored three touchdowns. Gore gained the most yards and Barlow is the better receiver. They all return and at this point none of this group warrants much fantasy consideration. We see the hated running back by committee approach early in the season.
Gore should eventually take the job as Turner will look to the former Hurricane to become his new Emmitt Smith. Again none of these guys should be any more than reserves, but Gore should bring the most value followed by the veteran Barlow. By next year Gore should be the starter coming into camp and his value will be greater. This year the 49er runners along with just about everyone else with the exception of Vernon Davis are strictly bench material to begin 2006.
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