Though the 49ers were pounded Sunday night in Denver, losing 42-17 to the Broncos, veteran running back Frank Gore doesn’t believe the sky is falling.
“We’ve got a great team,” he told reporters this week. “We’ve got a bunch of great guys in the locker room who play hard, and we will bounce back.”
Gore not only has faith in the players on the field with him Sunday night, but in those who weren’t – the long list of key injured or suspended players who should be back for the second half of the season.
Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman, Mike Iupati, Chris Culliver and Jimmie Ward, among others, will either be back after this bye week – for the Nov. 2 game against the Rams at Levi’s Stadium – or in the coming weeks.
“When everybody gets back, we’ll be fine,” Gore said.
And, Gore’s not alone. Even many NFL analysts around the country look at the 49ers as a team still headed toward the playoffs.
In fact, in a four-way discussion on NFL.com this week on the topic of which team from last season’s NFC Championship Game is more likely to miss the playoffs, the 49ers or Seahawks, three of four believe the 49ers are in better position than Seattle.
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NFL.com writers Adam Schein, Charley Casserly and Gil Brandt all give the 49ers (4-3) the edge over Seattle (3-3) at this point in the season. Both teams, of course, trail the Cardinals (5-1) in the NFC West race. Arizona still has to face the Seahawks twice this season and the 49ers once more – in the final regular-season game at Levi’s Stadium. Arizona beat the 49ers 23-14 on Sept. 21.
The main reason the analysts favor the 49ers over Seattle is the fact the Niners have so many missing pieces. That should point to San Francisco being a much better team in November and December than it is now.
Casserly, a former NFL executive, noted that the return of Smith should revitalize San Francisco’s dormant ability to rush the passer. Plus, the secondary – which he says “isn’t very strong to begin with” -- will be much stronger with Culliver and Ward back.
But he also points to the offense as primed for a rebound, too.
“The offensive line has battled the injury bug,” he wrote. “Consequently, this unit, which has been a huge key to the 49ers’ success in recent years, has struggled. San Francisco lost center Daniel Kilgore to a broken leg on Sunday – that’s the bad news. The good news? The rest of the O-line should be healthy after a Week 8 bye. Now the group just needs to show more consistency. Alex Boone, for one, has not played as well this year as he has in the past.”
In fact, though the 49ers will miss Kilgore – with rookie Marcus Martin primed to replace him – the loss of Iupati vs. the Broncos was huge. According to Pro Football Focus grading of the offensive line Sunday night, Iupati’s replacement, Joe Looney, allowed six quarterback pressures.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis is just getting going at right tackle after a long injury and Boone hasn’t regained his form after a long holdout. Yet on Sunday night, Boone had a breakout game, with Pro Football Focus giving him a positive grade for the first time this year.
So yes, the 49ers didn’t look good Sunday night in Denver. They looked awful, in fact. But with nine games remaining, their best days of 2014 might be ahead of them.
