San Francisco 49ers could be crushed beneath the weight of expectations

The San Francisco 49ers are trending in the right direction and are drawing praise from around the league – but, will they fold under the weight of those expectations?

The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a three-year run in which they’ve gone a woeful 13-35. Following the departure of Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers haven’t had much in the way of success, and have gone through head coaches faster than a Kardashian goes through an NBA team.

But — the winds of change seem to be sweeping through Santa Clara.

Despite that three-year run of misery, there are some very encouraging signs. Kyle Shanahan seems like the real deal as a head coach, and though some of us had misgivings when he was hired, general manager John Lynch has been pretty solid in the role

Let’s also not forget that roughly half (six) of the thirteen wins over the last three years came last season as San Francisco, behind quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, ripped off five straight wins, pulling the club to a 6-10 mark to end the year.

This offseason, Garoppolo got paid, and the team has brought in some weapons for him to utilize, such as Jerick McKinnon and Dante Pettis, to go along with the likes of returners Marquise Goodwin, Pierre Garcon, and Trent Taylor.

Richard Sherman was a much needed veteran addition to a secondary that needs some guidance, and Mike McGlinchey, will bookend with Joe Staley, giving the 49ers a powerful set of tackles who will help keeping Garoppolo upright and functioning.

It’s all good vibes coming out of the 49ers this offseason, and the additions they’ve made have drawn widespread praise. The upward trend of this team has also drawn some lofty comparisons and saddled them with big expectations as we go into year two of the Shanahan/Garoppolo-led 49ers.

Some of those lofty comparisons have come from former 49ers executive John McVay – father of current Rams HC Sean McVay – who was around during the Golden Era of San Francisco football led by Joe Montana and Bill Walsh.

During his induction to the Bay Area Hall of Fame recently, McVay spoke about those glory days and says he sees strong similarities between then and now.

"“The three of us worked beautifully together. And I kind of see that right now with Jed York, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, I see the interaction between the coach and the general manager. I see them (exchanging ideas): ‘How do you like this kid? How do you see that kid?’ And so on and so forth.”"

It’s high praise from somebody who was there and saw it all firsthand. But, it’s also unintentionally saddling this current 49ers squad with unreasonably high expectations and a lot of added pressure.

Directly comparing the 49ers during the Bill Walsh/Joe Montana years to a team that won just six games last season is –ambitious. To say the least.

Those are expectations and pressures though, the team is already running with. In a recent interview, newcomer Jerick McKinnon said the team is already talking Super Bowl.

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"“The Super Bowl. That’s what the eyes are on. That’s the prize. That’s the ultimate goal. The whole team has talked about it. We had a thing with the Navy SEALS. They were asking us, ‘What’s the goal?’ It was equally collaborated on: ‘Win the Super Bowl.”"

While having high expectations in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, when those expectations become unreasonable, things can start to spiral out of control fairly quickly. And once that happens, the whole house of cards can come tumbling down in an instant.

Look for instance, at last year’s Oakland Raiders. They came into the 2017 season fresh off their first postseasn berth since the Cretaceous Period, and were the sexy pick to dethrone New England and contend for a Super Bowl.

We all saw what happened there – one thing went wrong, followed by another, followed by another, and then another. And before we all knew it, the Raiders had ridden two separate four-game losing streaks to an underwhelming 6-10 season.

The Raiders folded under the weight of those expectations and suddenly, everything looked bleak for the Silver and Black. An outlook that has colored the offseason in the eyes of many.

That’s not to say that will definitely be the case for San Francisco. It’s just – food for thought.

Things seem to be trending in the right way for the 49ers. They seem to have a prime time quarterback in Garoppolo. They have an offense that looks capable of putting up big numbers. And they have a defense that looks like it could be very good.

But, despite all of the good vibes coming out of camp for the 49ers, there are still plenty of question marks around this team. And that’s just from a personnel standpoint. Do they have enough to achieve the stated goal the “whole team” has agreed on?

The one thing that’s certain is that this team will face trials and tribulations. Garoppolo, though 7-0 as a starter now, isn’t going to remain undefeated forever. As teams get more tape on him, defensive coordinators will be more creative in their scheming to stop him.

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Sooner or later, teams will find ways to stop him. And when they do, will the 49ers be able to adjust?

Ultimately, the questions that need to be asked about this 49ers squad are – will they be able to live up to the hype? Or will they buckle under the weight of those expectations?

How they handle the adversity that is guaranteed to come will ultimately, answer that question for us.