The San Francisco 49ers were one of those almost teams last year. They gave the ball back to Alex Smith who showed promise. Rookie wideout Michael Crabtree finally came to his senses and ended his holdout and actually redeemed himself with some good games, putting up 625 yards on 43 rec. for a pair of touchdowns in 10 games. The Niner defense still looks solid with the mean machine Patrick Willis at linebacker. The acquisition of Ted Ginn Jr. from Miami offers more hope for the Niners special teams play as Ginn was able to carve a niche out for himself with the Dolphins as a return guy. Maybe he'll move into a WR spot too.

At 8-8 last year, the Niners finished worse than anyone thought in the beginning of the season. The niners started 3-1 with a last second loss to the Minesota Vikings on a heroic toss from Brett Favre for a touchdown to hand the Niners their one loss. Things were looking up. Then the losses started to pile up. Singletary's smash mouth run game brokedown when Frank Gore hurt his ankle. Quarterback Shaun Hill was benched and Crabtree came on board to catch passes from resurrected Alex Smith. The Niners looked good again, briefly, but the wins were not enough and the Niners finished behind the first place 10-6 Arizona Cardinals.

Big play from tight end Vernon Davis surprised many as he exploded for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2009, almost tripling his output for 2008. With Davis as a new and clear threat for defenses to conend with, things might open up for Crabtree and the other 49er wideouts.

This year the Niners look active and confident, but also prepared to work. Alex Smith came out saying he is ready to work and expects the best man to start at QB, either him or offseason pick-up David Carr, who came on board to drive competition at the passer spot. If the defense and Frank Gore can stay healthy, the Niners should have a good shot to, at the least, give Arizona a run for its money.