The San Francisco 49ers have been a sleeping giant since 2002, the last time they appeared in the playoffs. The NFL is great when the 49ers are good. Are the 49ers back after a perfect preseason or this sleeping giant was just yawning and stretching?
“Trust me, I’ve been 4-0 before in preseason and get the crap kicked out of you in the regular season,” said 49ers’ head coach Mike Singletary. “So I mean, we’re smart enough to know better now. The most important thing is you look at the film, you’re honest with yourself about what you see. We know we have a lot of detail work to do. I mean a lot of detail. So I’m looking forward to that, I’m looking forward to getting into the rhythm of the regular season, and our guys understand the challenge ahead of us, and the focus we have to have and the detail we have to have and the consistency we must have in order to be effective once the season starts.”
On paper and based on the first-unit offense and defense, the 49ers are focus on being more than just a .500 team. The preseason isn’t always the best barometer for a teams to base their stock on before the regular season, especially after going 4-0 – hint the Detroit Lions of 2008. But what can be judged from the preseason is the discipline, the will, the energy, and the talent in key positions. The 49ers’ accomplishment of going 4-0 in exhibition play means something, just not everything.
“Like coach Sing [Singletary] says, it means nothing but it means everything,” backup quarterback and former first-overall NFL Draft pick in 2002, David Carr. “You go out and set a goal and that’s really what you do. You play to win the games as they say. It feels good. Even though it’s a preseason game at least we know we can close it out. At least we know we can finish. We’ve done it for the last couple of weeks. It’s a good feeling as a team.”
The 49ers’ defense will be their calling card and they will be the wind to push this quiet storm. This defensive unit is young, but experience and have chemistry after being together for a couple of years. Now since the preseason is over, it’s time to get down.
“I mean, it does feel good to win,” said linebacker Manny Lawson. “But yeah, we know that now the preseason is over with that means it’s time to really get down to the nitty gritty.”
