49ers 2015 schedule and game-by-game predictions

The 49ers just annouced their 2015 schedule. Here it is:

Week 1: Monday, September 14 vs. Minnesota Vikings — 7:20 p.m. PT on ESPN.

Grant’s projection: Win. The Vikings have no chance if they trade running back Adrian Peterson.

Week 2: Sunday, September 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers — 10:00 a.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection: Loss. Who on the Niners can cover Steelers’ wide receiver Antonio Brown?

Week 3: Sunday, September 27 at Arizona Cardinals — 1:05 p.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection: Loss. The Cardinals beat the Niners in Arizona with backup quarterback Drew Stanton last season. Starting quarterback Carson Palmer should be healthy for this game.

Week 4: Sunday, October 4 vs. Green Bay Packers — 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection: Loss The Packers are the best team in the league. Running Back Eddie Lacy will have a big game.

Week 5: Sunday, October 11 at New York Giants — 5:30 p.m. PT on NBC.

Grant’s projection: Win. The Giants have about one good player — wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. He won’t beat the Niners by himself.

Week 6: Sunday, October 18 vs Baltimore Ravens — 1:25 p.m. PT on CBS.

Grant’s projection: Loss. The Ravens are Super Bowl contender. They have an excellent defense and they will shut down Carlos Hyde.

Week 7: Thursday, October 22 vs. Seattle Seahawks — 5:25 p.m. PT on CBS.

Grant’s projection: Loss. The 49ers have no answer for running back Marshawn Lynch, even at home on a short week.

Week 8: Sunday, November 1 at St. Louis Rams — 10:00 a.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection: Loss. The 49ers have a few extra days to prepare for this game. Will it make a difference? I doubt it. The Rams have the better coaching staff and the home-field advantage.

Week 9: Sunday, November 8 vs. Atlanta Falcons — 1:05 p.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection: Win. The Falcons are a few years away from mattering. They have no running game or defense.

Week 10: Bye

Week 11: Sunday, November 22 at Seattle Seahawks — 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection: Loss. The 49ers never have beaten quarterback Russell Wilson in Seattle.

Week 12: Sunday, November 29 vs. Arizona Cardinals — 1:05 p.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection:  Win. The Cardinals don’t have enough of a running game to pull out this win in Santa Clara.

Week 13: Sunday, December 6 at Chicago Bears — 10 a.m. PT on FOX

Grant’s projection: Loss. The Bears beat the Niners last year, and now they have defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. He should know how to stop the Niners’ offense.

Week 14: Sunday, December 13 at Cleveland Browns — 10 a.m. PT on FOX.

Grant’s projection: Win. The Niners have to fly cross country two weeks in a row, but they get to play the lowly Browns in the second game. The Niners lucked out.

Week 15: Sunday, December 20 vs. Cincinnati Bengals — 5:30 p.m. PT on NBC

Grant’s projection: Loss. Who covers scat back Giovani Bernard? Who covers wide receiver A.J. Green?

Week 16: Sunday, December 27 at Detriot Lions — 10:00 a.m. PT on FOX

Grant’s projection: Loss. How do the Niners cover Calvin Johnson AND Golden Tate?

Week 17: Sunday, January 6 vs. St. Louis Rams — 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX

Grant projection: Win. The Niners will get the best of quarterback Nick Foles at Levi’s Stadium for the second season in a row.

Final record: 6-10

What do you think the 49ers’ final record will be?

This article has 122 Comments

  1. On paper it looks like they’d be lucky to get 7 wins, but it’s way too early….

  2. As we stand here today, I’m going with 10-6. I think they still have a decent amount of talent to be competitive most weeks.

  3. Week 2 against the Steelers, Leveon Bell should still be suspended for his doobie indulgence. That makes the game easier. They get a win in week 2.

  4. As I said in the other thread, until games start getting played we can’t know for sure how strong/ hard the schedule is going to be, nor how good the 49ers will be. Lets get through the off season first.

  5. “What do you think the 49ers’ final record will be?”

    April 21, 2015 at 5:31 pm
    The pessimist in me wants to say that’s a 6-10 looking schedule.

  6. You know, I had written a whole long bit about my predictions, but deleted it. I just have no freaking idea. There are just too many unknowns.

    Nothing between 5-11 and 10-6 would surprise me at this point. If I had to guess, I suppose I’d say 9-7.

  7. I agree with everything you say but that the Niners can beat Arizona and the Rams at home. They lose both of those games and go 4-12.

    One step closer to firing the GM!

  8. “The Giants have about one good player — wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. He won’t beat the Niners by himself.”

    No but apparently Antonio Brown can beat the Niners by himself;

    Loss. Who on the Niners can cover Steelers’ wide receiver Antonio Brown?”

    1. Hahahaha.

      In fairness to Grant, I think he means Brown is the player that takes them over the top of the 49ers, not that he will do it on his own.

      Question is, will he even be playing for the Steelers this year? He’s holding out, and the Steelers have a history of letting disgruntled WRs walk.

      1. I don’t know about “way” better but I’d take Ben over Eli if those were my only two choices. Their career stats are very similar and although Ben had the better 2014 statistically it wasn’t “way” better.

  9. If it’s a new CK and the staff is decent, 10 wins.

    If it’s the same old CK, and Tomsula and company are less than competent, 5 maybe 6 wins

  10. I’m gonna laugh when all you idiots are like wow. Kasper nick actually improved, Hyde, Hunter and Bush prove to be a massive problem for DC’s, our defense doesn’t skip much of a beat. Whose gonna cover elite wide receivers Grant? I’ll tell you who, the 49ers defense as a whole. I seriously don’t know what kool-aid yall are drinking but most of you know little to nothing about this team to think that they will that bad this year. Their schedule is relatively easy. Every team on the schedule has just as many holes and flaws as we do. This is football and anything can and will happen. Last time I checked we still had Kaep, Hyde, vernon, bowman, reid, bethea, brock, aldon, brooks, carradine, dial, lynch, still a good one line, boldin, torrey, quinton, ellington,Simpson not to mention whoever we draft. I’d take DGB over anyone in the draft, even white or cooper. You heard it first here, dgb will be the best wide out for the next 6 to 10 years in the nfl. Nines should draft him because he has immense talent plus he and Kaep have something in comm in that could for a tight bond. Both have been adopted by white parents. Kaep could take dgb under his wing and keep him out of ttouble. It looks like a match made in heaven. What the nines need is a big fast red zone threat and it gets no closer to that than dgb! As for all you pessimistic fans out there. Don’t hold your breath lol

    1. Looks like the Kool-Aid is being poured on both sides of the isle today. Columns like this are exercises in entertainment. No one knows how it’s gonna turn out so just RELAX and let it happen. Though admittedly, Quest for Six could take on a whole new meaning now.

    1. Double-posting .. Grant .. ? .. lol

      With Coffee assuming the role of the pessimist
      (for this column) .. and Razor takin’ on the role
      of the optimist, here ..

      I’ll go one better and say the Niners go 12-4
      this season ..

      Big Ben ? … Nah .. I don’t worry about him ..
      The guy is a statue ,,,
      Aldon and Lynch will be on him like white on rice ..
      … ALL DAY !!

      Thing is, Grant .. being a bit of a pessimist yerself ..
      You ask about .. “Who’s” gonna cover this guy and
      that guy … but.. I’ll turn it around on ya ..

      Who’s gonna cover our guys ??

  11. Grant, some of your picks are puzzling. First, if something happens last year it is not ian indication of the same thing happening the next. Antonio brown will beat us single handed? I guess their D will shut out our O? L Bell will probably be suspended. Bears beat us last year and lost the guy who caught 3 tds. Bengals game – did you forget who their qb is.

  12. I know that making Predictions is a Half Baked Exercise especially in late April?

    But 5-11?

    Talk about being Brother Bummer Grant,

    The 49ers haven’t even had their Draft & the 2015 season is already over!

    I think I’ll sit out this Silly Exercise & just wait for the Product to hit the field in September before coming to any Logical Conclusion.

  13. Looking at the schedule right now I’d say 5-11, but of course Scoot is right that we don’t know ANYTHING yet.
    That’s why they are called predictions……
    Even after preseason it’s still a crapshoot. The real rumble starts around week 8.

  14. 16-0 and super bowl win.

    Hyde: 1700 yards
    Kap: 44 tds, 7 ints, 950 yards rushing

    Until they play game one. Then I say 7-9.

  15. Absolute doom and gloom for 9ers huh? Losing harbaugh sucks but this team is not dead. We lost gore, he was my favorite player. I get it, it sucks but isn’t that why we drafted Hyde??? The guy is ready to go. He will be just as good as a 31 yr old gore. Anyone who is worried bout our D line missed the boat, again we drafted young good players. Did ppl think Justin smith would play forever, that’s why we drafted tank! McDonald was slowing down and a distraction and we have D line men. Ppl are freaking out at LBer. The Willis/Borland thing was awful but we have been spoiled! Give a lot of other 3-4 teams bowman, MW, smith, and brooks/lynch and they wld be thrilled. There is a lot of competition at CB and o line I’m excited about and we finally have a couple deep threats at WR. Lastly, the team only goes as far as the QB play, as with every team, and personally I’m excited to see what Kap can do with a full play clock, some different kind of WRs and a coaching staff that will let him make plays! I’m very excited about this year… 10-6 cuz of the tough schedule but playoffs.

  16. Okay I have to bring it up: it sounds like the reason the Niners will suck, according to Grant, is the defense won’t be able to stop anyone. He didn’t mentioned anything about how, potentially the new and improved Colin Kaepernick, and those WRs, will counter the lack of defense. Niners are going to be a top 10 offense!
    Who’s with me? This is Colin’s year man! He’s going to run all over the place! Until week 7 and the Seahawks knock the twitter out of him.

      1. If Lynch plays. Keeping Brooks has cast a shadow on just how, when, and where Lynch will play.

        1. Lynch will play. It will be up to Brooks if he wants to fire himself.

          Another reason (besides ego) Brooks is cranky when he’s riding the pine… contract de-escalators that factor things like annual sack totals. A contract restructure could smooth alot of ruffles feathers. Mangini should be more open to player rotation too. Failing that, package Brooks with pick 15 or 46 to trade up.

          1. If the 49ers pick an an OLB early, that could open the door for packaging Brooks to move 46, 79 or 123 up.

            1. I asked Maiocco about the chances of trading a player as part of a trade in the draft and he said slim to none because they aren’t deep at any position….

          2. I can’t agree with that Brodie. The only talk of releasing or trading an OLB was when it was revealed that the team planned to do so with Aldon Smith if he didn’t restructure his deal. Baalke meanwhile all but assured that Brooks would be with the team this upcoming season. (Yes I know Baalke has a habit of saying one thing and doing something completely opposite, but still…) This in turn brings up the question of what role they see Lynch in this year and beyond. I had thought that Lynch would be replacing Brooks, but I’m starting to believe that the front office wants him to replace Aldon after this season instead, which in turn makes me wonder how much playing time Lynch will be given.

            1. Its a good question, Mid. I expect the starting OLBs will be Smith and Brooks. Lynch will be rotated in, but I think he’ll be the 3rd guy this year unless Brooks turns up unprepared again this year.

    1. I see you waited until the second sentence to make this about Colin. Marvelous restraint.

  17. “The Niners have to fly cross country two weeks in a row, but they get to play the lowly Browns in the second game.”

    Unless they choose to stay in Youngstown.

  18. .I see 12 games the 49ers should win on that schedule.

    The 49ers are better than the Rams, Browns, Giants, Falcons, Vikings, Steelers, Lions and Bears anywhere, that’s 9 wins.

    The 49ers are better than the Cardinals, Ravens, Bengals at home, that’s 3 more wins.

    The four losses are to the Seahawks, twice, Cardinals in Phoenix, Packers in Green Bay.

    Even if the 49ers lose each of the games they “should” lose and lose two of the games they “should” win, that results in a 10-6 record.

    Worst case is 8-8, best case 12-4.

      1. So it is, thanks.

        Even so, I’m still putting the Packer game in the “should lose” category.

      2. Yeah and although it’s not Candlestick it’s still a home game, and Kaep’s 3-0 against Green Bay and Rogers in the last 3 meetings. I’m not saying it’s a sure thing win for SF, far from it, but the Niners do have a way of showing up strong when they play the Packers.

    1. I’ll take the other side of those predictions in a parlay. I’ll even give some nice odds. Let me know if you’re interested…

  19. Grant,

    How is it that the Rams coaching staff is better than the 49ers’?

    Jeff Fisher is perhaps the most overrated HC in the NFL. Look at his record. How long has he been in the league? How many times has he made the playoffs? What is his playoff record? If you look up “mediocre” in the dictionary, you would see Fisher’s picture.

    1. ” Rams have the better coaching staff”……..ha ha ha

      we have 3-4 former head coaches on our staff…..

  20. 11-5

    – The Super Bowl champion 1982 49ers went a dismal 6-3, mainly because they lost 8 starters.

    Last year’s 49ers lost 8 starers on defense alone. They had the 2nd worse offensive line continuity in the NFL. In one game they completely ran out of running backs. In another tight ends. They went 8-8.

    – The 49ers are not replacing the 2011 versions of Justin Smith, Frank Gore, Mike Iupati, Crabtree and Patrick Willis. They are replacing the 2014 versions of those players.

    We lost Borland, Cully and Cox. That’s bad. But we’re gaining Bowman, Brock and Ward. Johnson and Cook are solid.

    – Jonathan Martin will not play for the 49ers.

    – Marcus Martin will. He was only 20 last year. Thrown into the fire with a truncated camp due to kneecap dislocation. PFF can stuff it. The kids going to be great.

    – No hold outs.

    – One OC calling plays, not four.

    – Torrey Smith

    – The 49ers best NT is finally healthy.

    – The 49ers will rotate the D line. Its not about “replacing” Justin Smith. Docket 2015 = Gary Johnson 1984. Come December the 49ers will have the freshest legs of any defense.

    – The 49ers will rotate running backs. Baalke’s said so. Come December the 49ers will have the freshest legs of any running back unit.

    – Aldon Smith and Aaron Lynch will terrorize the league.

    – Far better team moral compared to same time last year.

    – The 49ers will have 1.5 drafts with Brandon Thomas, Tre Millard, Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser in camp.

    1. B2W,

      That covers it pretty well.

      I’m jumping on the over side of the 8.5 over / under for the 49ers.

  21. Week One vs. Minnesota: Win
    Vikings will have no answers for Kaep or Hyde. This game could be even worse for them if Peterson is gone.

    Week Two at Pittsburgh: Win
    Not having Bell will make the Steelers offense one-dimensional and their defense is being overhauled. Should (or at least better) be an easy win.

    Week Three at Arizona: Loss
    The Cardinals are an up-and-coming title contender that is currently missing a lynch pin on offense, but I’m expecting them to address that with Gurley or another quality back from the draft’s first two rounds.

    Week Four vs. Green Bay: Loss
    Too many questions currently about our defense that if not answered will allow Rodgers to mutilate the secondary and Lacey to run wild.

    Week Five at New York: Win
    Right now it looks like a winnable game, but it’s very hard to predict the outcome when these two clash. Each game has either been a blowout or came down to one single play.

    Week Six vs. Baltimore: Loss
    Both teams have questions to answer, but one has a coach with a knack for usually answering those questions. Could be a hard fought loss or a complete blowout depending on Chyrst’s game plan.

    Week Seven vs. Seattle: Loss
    Tomsula may be one of the best to coach a DL, but his units have been pulverized by Lynch and company here of late, and there’s no evidence suggesting otherwise for this meeting.

    Week Eight at St. Louis: Loss
    This should be a win, but the Rams have a habit of making things difficult for the 49ers and pulling out a win in the process. Expect that to continue.

    Week Nine vs. Atlanta: Win
    A weak Atlanta OL will equal a 49ers sack fest. The Falcons will also have no way to counter Kaep’s legs or the run game.

    Week Ten: Bye
    By now, we should know whether Kaep is the future, if Bush is still fast, how a new look DL is holding up, how many key injuries we have (if any), and whether the coaching staff needs to be run out of town on a rail or have statues erected in their honor.
    The record is 4-5. Not great but still alive.

    Week Eleven at Seattle: Loss
    Colin. Kaepernick. In. Seattle. Nuff said.

    Week Twelve vs. Arizona: Loss
    I’m expecting the team to be pretty banged up after the Seattle game which will pave the way for the Cardinals to sweep the season series.

    Week Thirteen at Chicago: Loss
    The 49ers will go up against the two coordinators they spurned for the management friendly option. It won’t be pretty and could very well be the team’s worst loss.

    Week Fourteen at Cleveland: Win
    49ers will throttle the hot mess that is the Browns…even more so if the hot mess Johnny Man(HE’S NUTS)ziel is the quarterback.

    Week Fifteen vs. Cincinnati: Win
    The key to stopping the Bengals is QB Dalton. Whether the 49ers D will have to lift a finger or watch him implode without any assistance remains to be seen.

    Week Sixteen at Detroit: Loss
    The nail in the coffin game. Mangini will have no answers for the Lions offense which will be the deciding factor.

    Week Seventeen vs. St. Louis: Win
    In what could be a game that decides the last place team, the 49ers will emerge victorious and send Jeff Fisher looking for another team to coach.

    Final record: 7-9

  22. This is what I would clearly call a case of putting the cart before the horse. No one commenting here has the slightest idea of what the team will be like this year yet you’re all ready to put your two cents in about what you think the team’s record will be. In the words of the immortal Bugs Bunny, what bunch of maroons.

    1. @ To,

      That’s basically what I posted above,

      Seriously you have to be a “maroon” to put any effort in a Late April Prediction.

      In a word….

      FUTILE

      1. No you don’t. It’s true that it’s too early to tell what will happen this upcoming season, but (like the draft) it’s fun to make a prediction and then see if you’re right or wrong. That’s all it is: a fun attempt at predicting the future. There’s nothing futile or important about it.

        1. @ Midwest,

          I guess my point is for those who are predicting Doom Gloom for the 49ers by going 4-12 or 5-11.

          I find that to be Absurd.

        2. Mid:

          Ignore these guys. I enjoyed reading your writeup and like you said it’s fun especially since there’s not much happening til next week.

  23. You same people calling yourselves 49er fans and expecting them to win 5-7 games will be the same ones getting upset during the season. Why even bother watching the games and getting mad if you feel they are horrible? smh.

    1. @ Solomon

      HA!

      So True,

      But then again Grant HOOKED them with the article to begin with!

  24. Hah, I love how sour everyone gets. We had so many critical injuries last year.

    Our O line will be much better y/y. We’ll have a top 5 O-line, barring injury.

    This will help improve a running game that was anemic, and predictable. I love Gore, but the truth is he couldn’t bounce it outside anymore. He also wasn’t a credible receiving threat. Excluding the one great play in Philly, he had 56 receiving yards all season.

    Our receiving core will be better. Brandon Lloyd could not get open though we still inexplicably threw at him. Stevie runs such weird routes that he isn’t capable of getting in sync with most QBs. Ellington will be 1 year older and hopefully better, Torrey is a big upgrade from Crabs, and hopefully we’ll have a rookie who can contribute.

    Our D line will be better, even if we don’t have J Smith. Ian Williams and Dorsey are both VERY good when healthy. RayMac stunk last year. Tank has huge potential, but had some trouble learning to move away from being a pure edge rusher. He’s getting there, and it started to show last year. And Q looks good. He’s not a pure NT, so if he can play a more natural position he’ll be a real asset.

    Our LB core will be better than a year ago. Aldon will be available for the entire season and will have 12+ sacks. A Lynch is the real deal too. Brooks will be back. If Bowman is 100%, which it looks like he is, he will be one of the best MLBs in the league. 2 year’s ago he was the best MLB in the NFL Bar None ;)

    Our TE’s can’t get any worse than a year ago. So, we’ll be the same or better. Hopefully meaningfully better.

    Yeah we lost Parrish and Cully. However, Ward will improve y/y, Brock was our #1 pre injury, and Dontae Johnson is the real thing. Plus, we may end up with a top 3 corner in the draft. The safety position will be the same.

    Then there is Kaep. He had nobody to throw to last year other than Boldin. He should be better with this year’s weapons. The reality is he wasn’t great when he had pressure right in his face, which he had A LOT of last year. The guy is a animal on 3rd down – imagine if he has someone to throw to other than Boldin, like a RB in space? Tomsula said Reggie is an every down back – he isn’t. But, he will be a big addition on 3rd down.

    11-5

  25. We have an entirely different coaching staff. We have Willis and Borland retiring. We lost a few players to free agency. We have another player in trouble. We have an offensive line that cant pass protect, we have a defensive line that cant pass rush. We have a secondary that cant cover anyone. We have a hole at LG, the center position is still up in the air. We don’t have a tight end. Our deep threat would drops balls if the QB can find him. We don’t have home field advantage in our new stadium which some blame for the demise of the team.

    I say good we got them where we want them. Yup I don’t see any problems, just opportunity, playoffs here we come.

    1. Under,

      “We have an entirely different coaching staff.”

      It remains to be seen how this affects the team. The new staff may produce better results than last year’s staff.

      “We have Willis and Borland retiring.”

      Willis, while still good, hadn’t been himself for two years, due to his toe injury. Borland showed promise, but was likely to have at least some trouble in coverage. I think a healthy Bowman and Wilhoite will be just fine.

      “We lost a few players to free agency.”

      None of the players that left were key players, with the exception of Iupati. That’s what happens when a team drafts well and is committed to manage their cap well.

      “We have another player in trouble.”

      Far, far from correct behavior on Miller’s part, but let’s see how that plays out.

      “We have an offensive line that cant pass protect, we have a defensive line that cant pass rush.”

      The offensive line was near (second worse?) the bottom of the NFL in continuity, which is a pretty good predictor of offensive line performance (e.g., remember the improvement when A Davis returned?). The D line (including nickel package) pass rush suffered from A Smith being suspended (he was never himself, even after he came back), Brooks had a bad year and A Lynch was a rookie, both should be better this year (at least Lynch should be, anyway). Ian Williams missed the entire year and Dorsey was injured.

      “We have a secondary that cant cover anyone.”

      How do you know that?

      “We have a hole at LG, the center position is still up in the air.”

      As good of a run blocker as Iupati was for the 49ers, he was very poor as a pass protector (ironically, something you called the 49ers for note being able to do above). It’s quite possible, losing Iupati result in an overall improvement in the play of the O line. Kilgore was playing very well when he went down with injury. Marcus Martin will be fully healthy and should be fine. Additionally, Thomas would’ve been a late first or early second round pick had he not been injured and Joe Looney is in the mix.

      “We don’t have a tight end.”

      While I understand your comment here, VD should be better this year (he did have some injuries last year and his mind was somewhere else in the off season) and Carrier should do well with more opportunities. Also, the TE coaching this year will be vastly improved. So, while it’s no longer an area of strength, the TE group should be much better next year.

      “Our deep threat would drops balls if the QB can find him.”

      I’m assuming that you’re referring to T Smith. True, he had a lot of drops last year, but that drop rate isn’t representative of his career.

      “We don’t have home field advantage in our new stadium which some blame for the demise of the team.”

      The 49ers’ home record in the first year of Levi’s being open is an effect, not a cause.

      “I say good we got them where we want them. Yup I don’t see any problems, just opportunity, playoffs here we come.”

      I doubt everything will work out perfectly for the 49ers next year, but I think there is reason to expect the team to bounce back this year.

      1. Ex – I was just using those examples of how other posters/Grant were finding fault with the team. The only thing I really agree on is CK inability to find his target, and I seem to be the only one that is questioning the center position. I am totally on board with this team. I didn’t mean to sound negative, as that isn’t my nature – I do consider myself an experienced optimist.

    2. “We have an entirely different coaching staff”
      ** Yes, and my interpretation is it isn’t a huge net loss. Yes, Harbaugh was successful. But he was a terrible game manager. GRo was an atrocious play caller, and we serially got calls in late to the huddle, wasted timeouts, and got delay of game penalties. Fangio had a successful D, but how much of that was the players? His blitz designs were sophomoric, and he basically ran a base D the entire time. That D can be replicated and the offense potentially improved.

      As stated above, I believe our Oline will be better as injuries were a huge part of the problem. Kilgore is a good center when healthy. Whomever wins the LG spot (B Thomas or M Martin) should be good. They’re certainly talented athletes. A Davis will be healthy (MASSIVE upgrade from J Martin). And Boone is a good RG, that can play tackle if necessary. Obviously Staley is the man at LT. So, WAY better y/y barring injury.

      The combo of Wilhoite and Bowman are better than last year’s MLB combos (Wilhoite/Willis, Wilhoite/Borland). Losing Willis sucks as he was awesome, but Bowman is better. So, it’s still an improvement to last year’s lineup.

      Our secondary can cover people. We have 2 very good safeties. Obviously corner is a question mark, but it was a question mark last year with Cully coming back from injury and Cox having to fill in for T Brock. Playing slot as a rookie was obviously a challenge for Ward, but it’s reasonable to think he will get better y/y. We drafted 4 corners last year, and we may end up drafting another one early this year. A starting secondary of T Brock, D Johnson, Ward, Bethea, & Reid is still pretty good.

      Again, I think D line will be better y/y. We got no pressure last year, as RayMac had an off year, we lost 2 stud NT’s, and Tank was still developing. I admit Justin Smith is awesome. Monster motor, great leader, good run defender, and helps create sacks for our OLB (Smith/Smith combo). But, net I still think we’ll be better.

      Yeah, Torrey had some drops. But Crabtree can’t get open. If the coaching staff didn’t think it was an upgrade they would have resigned Crabs. Again, better than a year ago.

      Last year we were a poorly coached offensive, trying to be power run, with no viable deep threat, a battered Oline, and a RB that lost a step. Our defensive line had meaningful injuries and RayMac was mediocre. Our defense is much more dangerous with Aldon playing, and we have some real talent in A Lynch.

  26. Thank you Grant.

    Now we know the extreme pessimistic view of the 2015 49ers season.

    Undoubtedly a tough schedule. I can see scenarios where we beat the Steelers, Lions, Bengals, and Bears. Cardinals are good, but beatable. I may not even watch the Seattle games.

    With a solid draft that contributes early on, best guess at this point 10-6.

  27. What makes these kind of predictions just plain silly is long and short term health. If the 9ers stay relativley heathy and they happen to hit a number of opponents right when they are dealing with injuries then they have a winning season. If it goes the other way then they don’t. I’m not very confident about our new coaching staff but the health of their and their opponents rosters will have more to do with the teams success or lack there of than the quality of our coaching staff. I will make my first prediction the week before our first reg season game and I will make my first bet at the same time. To put your money out there any earlier is just a sucker bet. imho

    1. What makes these kind of predictions just plain silly is long and short term health.

      That’s not all that could affect this season. A bad draft, terrible play-calling, Kaep, the explosiveness of Bowman, etcetera, will all play a factor.
      That said, I feel like you’re missing the point of this being a fun exercise. Yes it shows either optimism or pessimism, but it’s still fun, especially if you like breaking down and analyzing things (raises hand). At least that’s why I do it.

  28. Midwest don’t want to step on anyones fun, just as long as we are all willing to admit that when we make these kind of april predictions that we are pulling them out of our collective butts. I still believe that health and suspensions will decide many more games than any other factor, I believe that if the Willis, Bowman, Brock, A. Smith, Dorsey, Borland, Williams, A. Davis, Iupati, V. Davis, Crabtree and Kilgore had each been available for 16 games last year the team would have won 12 or 13 games.

  29. I agree that it’s far too early to predict the schedule, but it is simply an exercise much like the draft, and it’s not coincidental that the only complaints are directed at those who predicted a losing record.

    If I’m in Vegas and betting on the Niners record right now, I’m taking the under on 8.5. The reasoning is pretty solid. New Coaching staff, with inexperience at HC, and poor performance history with both Coordinators.

    Large turnover on defense and questionable talent level at CB.

    Schedule that features 6 games against the hardest division in the league, and 5 10am starts.

    There is a reason pretty much every analyst is forecasting a poor season for the Niners. That’s not to say it is going to happen, but the odds strongly favor that outcome.

    1. Rocket I tend to agree with you but I don’t feel stongly enough to put my hard earned money on it. I will make single game bets and i will make parlays but as a general rule I stay away from season long bets too many things can go wrong over the length of a season. If the 9ers go 8-8 you win your bet but if A. Rodgers pulls his calf muscle right before the 9er game and the 9ers win now they are 9-7 and you lose. IE “sucker bet”

      1. Yeah I agree with you Old Coach, and I wouldn’t actually make the bet for the reasons you just stated. It was more of an example of how I see the Niners season going at this point. The only season long bets I ever make are a few bucks on a long shot with great odds. Who knows the Niners may fit that category this season.

        1. It depends on how highly you view the Coaching staff and roster of this team. As I pointed out above, I don’t think highly of the Coaching staff, and with all the roster turnover I can easily see a 6-8 win season without anything going disastrously wrong, which I assume means injuries.

          1. Rocket,

            It looks like we’ll have something to talk about as the season progresses.

            BTW, I include the coaching staff not being at least competent as part of a potential disaster.

            1. ex,

              That would be a disaster but not one I’d be surprised by. As for having something to talk about, let me state right now that I hope you are able to rub this in my face come January. Nothing would please me more.

              1. Rocket,

                I know you do, and I’ll try not to disappoint you, if opportunity presents itself!

  30. There’s only one game on the 49ers schedule that I would be really surprised if they won.

  31. Most people seem to expect that we will lose to Seattle. Yeah, I’m concerned that we’ll have trouble matching up with Graham.

    But after the first Seattle game last year, I said that Kaep needed to play within himself and take what the defense gives him. I thought he did that in the second game and played better, not spectacular, but no turnovers either. I’m heartened by Kurt Warner’s comment before he started working with Kaep that he wanted to work on getting Kaep to take the easy play – the play that the defense gives him. If Kaep could just do that, then I think we can be in every tough game we have to play this upcoming season.

  32. We have the best owner, best GM and best head coach in Football, no way we just win 6 games. Oh wait I was singing the Cher song. If I can turn back time. I would find a way. Yea 6 wins if we are lucky.

  33. Lmao. SF has never beat Russell Wilson….. Hmmmm. How many times have the packers beat the 49ers since their emergence from the bottom???
    I guess some of you really didn’t think those injuries last year were that big.
    11-5 10-6…. And we will see.

    1. We really don’t know. But his tenure so far with the 49ers has not been good. I don’t know what he did the first year and last year he was the position coach for TEs. Need I say more about that. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if a guy like Mangini found his previous positions didn’t challenge him. DC will challenge him and maybe he’ll rise to that challenge. It’s a good think we have a couple of position coaches that were former HCs and can potentially take over if necessary.

      1. Cubus,

        Exactly right, we don’t know. Just as we don’t know if the new coaching staff can get more out of the offense.

  34. All I know for certain is what newJim will say at the end of the season;
    ‘Awesome, just awesome. Guys showing up, doing their jobs. Working hard.
    Everybody working together. Awesome, just awesome’

  35. With this current level of talent and coaching, 5-11 is looking like a real possibility!

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