There have been more or less changes among the San Francisco 49ers' fifty-three-man roster, forming a semi-new team.
First of all, among the offensive group, the quarterback list is led by Lu Ke, Colin Kaepernick is the first substitute, and Scott Tolsin is the second substitute.
On the running back list, Kendall Hunter is on the injured list, led by Marcus Lynch and Frank Gore, this year's second-round pick LaMicheal James and undrafted rookie Juhl -Hampton managed to stay on the roster.
Among them, Gall was a third-round pick selected by the San Francisco 49ers in 2005. He is considered a veteran of the team. He was selected to the Pro Bowl twice in 2006 and 2009. He missed most of the season due to injury last year and then entered the training group. It wasn't until this offseason that he officially returned to the team and competed for a position.
The tight end list is led by Vernon Davis and Logan Newman. In addition, undrafted rookie Garrett Celek also successfully entered the final list.
On the wide receiver list, after Kyle Williams returned from injury, he joined Michael Crabtree and Teddy Ginn, plus this year's first-round pick AJ Jenkins. Come, the team will have four wide receivers, but that's not all. The team's most important offseason poaching this year came from wide receivers.
Randy-Moss.
The 21st overall pick in the first round of the 1998 Minnesota Vikings draft. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl six times and made the All-American first team four times. He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1998 and the five-time receiving touchdown champion. There is no doubt that he is a Hall of Fame-level receiver with top-notch abilities that can dominate one side.
He has played for four teams including the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans.
But unfortunately, he was never able to win a Super Bowl ring. In fact, he was on the Patriots' winning season in 2007, with 98 catches and 1,493 yards, breaking the record. The Patriots' single-season receiving yard record; and that season, the Patriots lost the most important game in the Super Bowl, and Moss missed his first championship ring. Pass.
After joining the Tennessee Titans in 2010, Moss's condition declined rapidly and his performance was unsatisfactory. After the season, he was unfortunately laid off; in 2011, Moss announced his retirement, ending his thirteen-year career; but this year, three At the beginning of the month, Moss announced through social media that he was officially back and hoped to find a strong team to use his remaining heat.
Everyone knows Moss wants to make a run at the Super Bowl.
Someone once said that maybe Jerry Rice is the greatest receiver in the history of the NFL, but Randy Moss is undoubtedly the most talented receiver. If Moss was willing to put in half the effort of an ordinary player, he wouldn't have only participated in one Super Bowl in his 13-year career.
Proud men of heaven tend to be proud of their talents. Since his college days, Moss's ability to create controversy has been no less than his talent of catching touchdowns. After turning 30, he should have gradually matured, but his speed and ability is declining, but temper is increasing. No one other than the Patriots' Bill Belichick could control Moss.
In the 2010 season, Moss returned to his parent team, the Minnesota Vikings, before going to the Tennessee Titans. However, just four months later, he disturbed the entire team and repeatedly confronted the head coach. As a result, he was embarrassed. He was kicked out, and soon after, he signed with the Tennessee Titans.
Now, Moss is the record holder for third in NFL receiving yards and second in receiving touchdowns. There is no doubt about his greatness; but the problem is that he is already thirty-five years old and has retired for a whole year. Will he still be able to adapt to the intensity of the league after 20 years? Especially today's young cornerbacks, who are all very energetic and fierce. After losing their physical talent, how much energy can Moss still contribute?
All of this puts a big question mark on Moss' comeback.
Finally, the San Francisco 49ers signed Randy Moss to a one-year contract. The hot-tempered young coach Jim Harper meets the unruly veteran Randy Moss head-on, and whether the second-year quarterback Lu Ke can tame this arrogant lone wolf has become a question for the ball. One of the biggest variables in the team's offense.
On the offensive line list, Jonathan Goodwin serves as center, Mike Rupatti and Joe Stanley serve as protectors on the left blind side, and Anthony Davis and Alex Boone become protectors on the right side. .
Stanley switched from the right side to the left side, teaming up with Rupadi to protect Lu Ke's blind side; Boone was the player who caught the duck in the federation finals. His performance was not good at the time, but after the offseason, But he successfully joined the starting lineup and teamed up with Davis to protect Lu Ke's right side.
By the way, there are three substitute rotation players on the offensive front, including this year's fifth-round pick Joe Looney.
The undrafted rookie tight end DeMarcus Dobbs, who had been working hard before, unexpectedly suffered an injury and had no choice but to enter the injured list. His chance to play this season is very slim.
Generally speaking, the changes in the offensive team are still focused on the changes and adjustments of the offensive line, hoping to provide Lu Ke with a more solid and reliable pocket; while for other positions, based on last season, We have made up for the shortcomings and made improvements in a small area, hoping to continue the good state.
This is also the benefit of young players. With rookie players as the main lineup, in the first few seasons, the personnel changes will not be too drastic, and the competitiveness will be relatively stable - of course, the biggest instability comes from the performance of the young people themselves, which is inherently a handful. Double edged sword.
Relatively speaking, the defensive team is older. However, there is no top superstar in the San Francisco 49ers. The core pillar Patrick Willis completed the contract extension in 2010, so there is no need to worry. This also allows the team to continue the main defensive lineup from last season.
During the offseason, the team mainly signed some substitute rotation players to increase the depth of the defensive team; more changes occurred in the second-line defense, and some changes appeared in the cornerback and safety lineups. There are new faces, and there are some changes in the starting lineup due to state and injuries.
But there are no changes worth mentioning. All those familiar names and faces have been retained. There was only one thing: Lu Ke accidentally bumped into undrafted rookie defensive end Tony Jarrod Eddy during the voluntary training camp. He also stayed and made it to the final roster of fifty-three players.
Interestingly, the San Francisco 49ers' final roster has a total of seven undrafted rookies, which is among the highest in the league.
But the specific reason? The media didn't ask, and Trent Baalke didn't say anything.
From the offensive team to the defensive team, if you add in the special teams team with three core players that have not changed, the San Francisco 49ers' main player lineup basically continues the personnel from the 2011 season. In terms of pure strength on paper, they are still among the best in the league. The most competitive team in the league, if they can maintain their form last season, they will also be the favorites for the Super Bowl.
No wonder that when he invited Peyton Manning to join, Trent Baalke repeatedly emphasized that they are a team with the ability to win championships. All they need now is a top commander to lead the team towards the championship. moving in the right direction.
But, this is only if.
Why?
Looking at the opening game of the 2012 season, this is the best answer.
On September 5, the first game of the new season was officially staged at Metropolitan Stadium, with the defending champion New York Giants facing off against the rival Dallas Cowboys at home.
The New York Giants, who had just counterattacked and won the championship as a dark horse last season, fell out of shape again and lost the game with a score of "17:24"; and the Dallas Cowboys, who did not even make the playoffs last season, It was a successful start to the season.
This is the NFL. All accidents can happen, and the strength is often among the best. There are countless factors that determine the direction of the game and the championship. No one can take it lightly. At the same time, every team has the possibility of winning the championship. Whether it's a mule or a horse, you can only tell if it's a mule or a horse.
The San Francisco 49ers are certainly no exception.
Last season, the San Francisco 49ers were ranked the second seed in the National League and had a brilliant record; naturally, this season, the San Francisco 49ers' schedule will also become more difficult.
Throughout the regular season, in addition to the civil war in the NFC West, within the league, the San Francisco 49ers will also face the four traditional strong teams in the NFC North, and then face the NFC East champion New York Giants and NFC South champion New Orleans Saints ; Outside the league, the San Francisco 49ers will face the American League East this year.
Putting aside the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, two strong teams that have faced each other in the playoffs, look at the teams in the American League East and National League North to get an idea of the difficulty of this season's schedule.
American League East, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills. It is foreseeable that the highly anticipated match between Lu Ke and Brady is about to take place.
NFC North, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears. This time, it was the turn of the "Lu Ke VS Rogers" showdown.
If we say that last season, the teams the San Francisco 49ers faced were generally weak, but unexpectedly showed strong immediate combat power, making the schedule more difficult; then this season, the San Francisco 49ers will face traditional strong teams. After taking turns to bomb, the difficulty of the schedule has increased by more than one level compared to last year.
Therefore, speculation and exercises on paper strength are "just ifs".
With such a difficult schedule, it is really difficult for people to have more expectations and hopes for the San Francisco 49ers' season prospects. After losing their splendor, the swan will turn into an ugly duckling again. This is really a high probability event.
For example, the first week of the regular season:
The San Francisco 49ers are about to travel north to Wisconsin to challenge the Green Bay Packers away from home.
