2012 production into perspective

In addition to Crabtree, the 49ers will not have Walker or Moss this season, and who knows when Manningham will return from his knee injury. Those four players combined last season for 176 catches, 2332 receiving yards, 16 TD catches; 872 YAC, 19 deep catches; 114 first down catches, 31 third down conversions and 14 thirdandlong conversions.

Do you think the 49ers can make up all of that production this upcoming season? If so, how?

Here's another question for you: How good do you think the 49ers will be on third down this season without Crabtree? The 49ers converted 36.62 percent of their third downs last season, which ranked 22nd in the NFL. Keep in mind, in 2011 before Crabtree emerged as a dominant third down receiver the 49ers converted 28.11 percent of their third downs, which ranked 31st.

Anquan Boldin was a good third down receiver for the Ravens last year. Who else on the 49ers do you think could emerge as a solid third down target for Colin Kaepernick?

Final question: Which 49er can replace Crabtree's YAC? Kyle Williams? Vance McDonald? Neither Anquan Boldin nor Vernon David is a big YAC threat.

Double Bonus question: Delanie Walker was the most productive deepthreat tight end in the NFL last season. The 49ers always had two deepthreats on the field with him and Vernon Davis. Jenkins? Ricardo Lockette?

People are setting themselves up for disappointment if they think Crabs will play a down this season. He had a complete tear of his achilles. Suggs had a partial tear and was nowhere near as explosive nor effective as he was when he returned. And playing OLB is totally differentnt from the constant cutting and redirecting that a WR has to do. You can compare the two. If Crabs were smart, he sit out the entire year and make sure he is 100% for 2014. A very important year for him because its a contract year and he will have to prove to the Niners and the rest of the league that he completely recovered from the injury if he wants to get paid. Injuries are a part of the game. It sucks and but that why they have a depth chart. The next guy up, will have to step up and produce.

OK, that stimulate some responses. Now AB will try to fill MCs spot and the WB spot is a bit harder to cover for. A point of disagreement with Grant is that Boldin does have some YAC capability IMO, only he uses strength to break tackles instead of speed, quickness or elusiveness. Other YAC (actually this should be RAC=Run After Catch.

> Yes I think the 9ers can compensate for the overall production. Many of SF pass plays are designed to get a particular receiver open as the primary. So we have opportunities for whoever they run out there on the field. CK said it: Q: What makes MC so good? A: He gets open.

> 3rd Down: see above. Whoever gets open! So, Boldin, and VMac and Lockette have bigger bodies to shield away defenders, and CK can drill the ball through some tight windows, and has the moxie to do it. The Elephant in the room on questions of 3rd down efficiency of course is effectiveness on 1st down. Hello.

Fun to speculate, I guess, but it all guesswork, and in the absence of much past history to go by, it not going to be very informed guesswork. Kaepernick zeroed in on Crabtree last year as his most reliable received, so natural...

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2010 Chicago Bears

Five weeks into the 2010 NFL Season, nobody expected the Chicago Bears to be 41. And nobody dreamed that they'd be leading our division. But they are. How did they get here? It's a tough question, and one that many sports analysts have opinions about. The general consensus is that the Bears' winning season has more to do with good fortune than it does with good football. Still, it might be more complicated than that. What if the Bears are good because they are lucky?

It's difficult to deny the bubble of fortuitous circumstances surrounding the Chicago Bears this year. From the bizarre "process" call in week one, to the slew of penalties against the Packers in week three, the Bears have gotten more than their share of breaks. During the horrific Sunday Night Football game against the Giants, it seemed their luck had finally run out. Cutler went down with a concussion, and Todd Collins reminded fans just how lucky we are to have Cutler in the first place. The Bears amassed a lousy three points equal to the number of quarterbacks they cycled through in the game. Critics wasted no time jumping in to point out that they'd doubted the Bears all along, and it was only a matter of time before their record reflected their lack of skillful play.

But a week later, the Bear bubble of luck bounced back. Despite Todd Collins throwing four interceptions and accumulating a meager 32 passing yards, the Bears beat the Carolina Panthers 236. The only reason for the high score was because Matt Forte's running game came out from hiding at an opportune time in the first quarter. The rest of the game they played poorly, but luckily, the Panthers played worse. Richard Wiseman, there are four characteristics that lucky people (or teams) share. First, lucky people create, notice, and act upon the chance opportunities in their lives. The Bears defense is number one in the NFL at creating turnovers, or opportunities. The Bears also noticed and acquired Julius Peppers in the offseason, and his play has been critical to their success this year. Finally, the Bears cannot control the number of penalties their opponents amass in a game, but they can, and do, take the opportunity to score points off those gifted yards.

Another characteristic of lucky people in Dr. Wiseman's research is their ability to transform bad luck into good fortune. In last week's game against the Carolina Panthers, the Bears did just that. It was awfully unlucky that Cutler had to sit out with a concussion, but the Bears took the opportunity to amp up their running game, and success ensued. Instead of conceding a loss, the Bears stepped up to the challenge, finding a creative way to win.

So, the Bears are lucky. Is that all there www.nikepanthersnflstore.com/Black+Jon+Beason+Jersey is to it?

While the luck argument is convincing, it's not complete. It doesn't capture the whole picture of what's really going on with the Chicago Bears this season. Amidst all the luck, there are glimpses of something more an elevated level of performance. The Bears are playing better this year. Though we certainly don't see it consistently throughout every game, the Bears have displayed uncanny spurts of talent during the past seve...

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2008 June Trivial Opinions

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