San Francisco 49ers Have An Easier Schedule, Still May Not Net Many Wins
By Kevin Saito
The San Francisco 49ers, by the numbers, have one of the NFL’s softer schedules in 2017 – but it’s a schedule that still may not net them a lot of wins.
Given the hiring of HC Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch, it’s clear that the San Francisco 49ers are charting a new course toward stability. Toward returning the franchise to the standard of relevance and success that had once been synonymous with the team – a standard that hasn’t come close to being met over the last three seasons.
But now, with Shanahan, Lynch, and a roster that has a boatload of new faces (twenty-two and counting), the 49ers are embracing change as they embark on their new era. And though the NFL schedule makers ostensibly gave them a break with the league’s twentieth toughest schedule – an opponent’s combined winning percentage of .475 – it’s hard to see a lot of wins coming San Francisco’s way in 2017.
The 49ers are going to open up with a pair of tough ones – Cam Newton and the Panthers in week one, followed by Russell Wilson and the Seahawks in week two. The following four weeks though, are against non-playoff teams in the Rams, Cardinals, Colts, and Washington.
Given the upgrades to the roster, it’s not inconceivable that, given how the first six weeks of the season shape up, that the 49ers could start the year 3-3. Granted, .500 after six games isn’t necessarily where you want your team to be, but for the 49ers – a team that won two games last year – it would be a marked sign of progress.
And given that the rebuilding and turnaround of this franchise is not going to be an overnight thing, making forward progress is critical.
After that though, the 49ers’ schedule gets tougher with a pair of games against the Cowboys (at home), before traveling to Philadelphia for a tilt with the Eagles.
Following the game with the Eagles, the 49ers will have three straight home games – Arizona, the New York Giants, and after their bye week, their second matchup with the Seahawks.
Three of San Francisco’s final five games will be on the road – Chicago and Houston, before closing ou the regular season with a game against the Rams in Los Angeles. They also have home dates with the Titans and the Jaguars in weeks fifteen and sixteen.
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Teh 49ers will be very much a work in progress this season. Shanahan and Lynch are already putting their own stamp on this team, just with the players they’ve signed in free agency – and even more so through the Draft.
It seems pretty safe to say that any resemblance between the 2016 49ers and the current version will be purely coincidental as the team tries to move quickly beyond the Tomusla-Kelly era of futility – a two-year stretch in which the team won just seven games.
This team has upgraded the talent at some key positions. And while their new quarterback(s) in Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley aren’t exactly synonymous with winning, they would seem to be a step up from the debacle that was Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert over the last couple of years.
Given the new coaching, new players, and new way of doing things, the 49ers should exceed their win total over last season. Truth be told, it would almost be hard not to. And though they’ll be more competitive overall, it’s hard to see this team netting a whole lot of wins in 2017.