San Francisco 49ers Information
The San Francisco 49ers have been playing football since the 1946 season and officially joined the NFL in 1949. The team didn’t win their first division championship until the 1970 season and didn’t make a Super Bowl until 1981 but went on to win four Super Bowls in the 1980s and another one in the 1994 season. The organization is 5-0 in the Super Bowl and has won 17 division championships and made 23 playoff appearances over the years. The teams in the 1980s were led by coaches Bill Walsh and George Seifert and were led on the field by all-world QB Joe Montana. Montana might not have been the most gifted athlete but he seemingly made all the right plays at all the right times. His stats say he might have been a top-10 QB in the league but his trophy case might make you think otherwise. Dennis Erickson, a coach who made his name known in the college ranks, took over the team in 2003 and finished his first season with a 7-9 record. Many will look at the current SF team and call it a “rebuilding” process, but you’ll never hear the team say that.
The team lost star wide receiver Terrell Owens in an off-season trade but did get defensive lineman Brandon Whiting in return. The team also lost QB Jeff Garcia to Cleveland via free agency. The team made ten picks in the 2004 draft and with their first pick, they selected Rashaun Woods at #31. Woods, a wide receiver out of Oklahoma State University, made some amazing plays during the 2003 college football season and showed he could adjust to the NFL game. With the other nine picks, the team selected three linemen, two secondary players, a quarterback, a running back, an inside linebacker, and a punter. All ten draft picks played Division I football last season so they’re all used to playing on the big stage, none of which is bigger than the NFL.
Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey will compete in training camp and preseason to determine who will be the opening day starting quarterback for the team. Kevan Barlow and Garrison Hearst split carries in 2003 but after Barlow finished the season with a yards per carry of better than five, the team elected to release Hearst and make Barlow their number one running back. With the loss of Garcia and Owens, it’s likely Barlow will be the focal point of the offense and could end up with more than 1,500 yards this year. The 49ers lost their top three receivers after the 2003 season, so Brandon Lloyd and Cedrick Wilson will be the top two options with Woods likely contributing more than the average rookie. Eric Johnson has stepped into the offense at his tight end position and made himself one of the better tight ends in the league.
The 49ers also went through three different place kickers last season before finally settling on Todd Peterson. Peterson will return for the 2004 season, but he knows that if he can’t get the job done, the team will look for someone who can. Last season, Derek Smith led the team in tackles and tackles for loss while Julian Peterson finished second in tackles and led in sacks with seven and forced fumbles with two. Andre Carter recorded another 6.5 sacks for the team. Tony Parrish led an impressive secondary with nine interceptions and more than 200 return yards. Ahmed Plummer added four interceptions (one returned for a score), Mike Rumph had three, and Peterson finished with two. Parrish also led the team with 18 passes defensed while Plummer finished with 16. Peterson was arguably the MVP of the team in the 2003 season and was rewarded with the tag of “franchise player” for the San Francisco 49ers.