Larry Ness' 20* PERFECT STORM (2-0 NFLX start in '09)
My 20* PERFECT STORM is on the SF 49ers at 10:00 ET. The 49ers, like their cross-bay rivals (Raiders), last made the postseason in 2002. However, the 49ers showed great improvement last year, after Mike Nolan was replaced after seven games. Hall of Fame MLB Mike Singletary took over and after an 0-2 start (1-1 ATS), led the 49ers ro FIVE wins in their final seven games (4-2-1 ATS). Mike Singletary earned a four-year, $10 million and begins his first full season in 2009 as the 49ers' head coach. The Cards won the NFC West last year (at just 9-7) and while the Cards are the heavy favorites to win it again, let's not forget that the Arizona franchise owns just TWO winning seasons since coming to the desert in 1988. My point is, the 49ers (led by the emotional and motivational Singletary), should believe they have a chance. The story in Denver is much different. The Broncos needed to win just ONE of their final three games last year, to clinch the AFC West. However, the team lost all three, including an absolutely embarrassing 52-21 Week 17 game at San Diego. The collapse caused Denver to release Mike Shanahan after 15 years with the team. Owner Pat Bowlen made a surprising hire in Josh McDaniels, who gets his first head coaching job (was New England's OC these last two years). The off-season did not go smoothly for Denver, which eventually traded QB Jay Cutler to Chicago and for among others, got Chicago QB Kyle Orton in return. The "Jay Cutler situation" was just part of a turbulent off-season, as the team has also engaged in a dispute with star WR Brandon Marshall (104 catches / 1,265 yards / 6 TDs). The 33-year-old McDaniels has been highly criticized for his handling of both the Cutler and Marshall situations (Marshall won't paly here), among other issues. Denver has revamped its defense but the team had no choice, as the team has allowed more than 400 points in each of the last two season (allowed 28.0 PPG in 2008). Ironically, this year's Denver defense will be coordinated by Mike Nolan, who was fired as head coach in San Francisco midway through last year, after posting an 18-37 record in four seasons. The outlook for this year is not very bright. Orton, despite his 21-12 record as a starter, is a HUGE drop-off in talent from Cutler and after more than a decade of being one of the NFL's premier rushing offenses, the Broncos are now no better than a middle-of-the-pack rushing team. Of course, the team is hoping that No. 1 pick Knowshon Moreno (Georgia) will be able to change that. We'll have to wait and see about that but as of right now, don't expect to see too much of the rookie. Shanahan was always noted as an excellent preseason coach but who knows about McDaniels and with all the changes, I want NO part of the Broncos in this one. Singleatry is the type of fiery coach I like to back in these type of settings and the 49ers have a real QB 'battle' going on this preseason, which is always a plus in these games. Singletary announced that Shaun Hill would open the 49ers' preseason as the No. 1 quarterback. Hill will start over Alex Smith (former overall No. 1 pick) against the Broncos, although it is undetermined how long Hill will play. Singletary did say that Smith would get at least some time with the first unit "to keep things fair." Hill is 7-3 as a starter in the past two seasons while Smith, who has suffered injury problems since being selected first out of Utah, is just 11-19. A new 49er, ex-Chief Damon Huard, will follow Hill and Smith in the lineup, with rookie Nate Davis (Ball State) getting some late action. If you ever saw Davis at Ball St, you should know that he could be very effective vs the 3rd and 4th-stringers. The 49ers have been a very good home team these last four preseasons, winning SIX of their eight games and like their cross-bay rivals did last night (Raiders beat the Cowboys 31-10), should roll to an easy win. PERFECT STORM 20* SF 49ers.