OK, NEXT year is the 49ers year.

Vernon Davis: arising star on the 49er offense. Image crtsy Flickr user Italian_Freedom_Fighter

This was supposed to be the year the Niners made the playoffs. I feel that the pieces are all there for this to be, not only a good team, but a Super Bowl team. Singletary is not a strategist and he plays a basic kind of football that is not getting the job done.

Although the O-Line could be stronger, many of the other pieces are there. Vernon Davis has come into his own this season, blossoming from a whiny kid into an elite tight end, perhaps this is Singletary’s greatest achievement with the Niners. Frank Gore is a machine, but like all running backs his days are numbered, he already spent five games on the bench this year with another ankle injury. Alex Smith, the humbled Number One overall pick, seems to be doing his job satisfactorily.

The defensive pieces are there. Obviously anchored by Patrick Willis, this defense has shown that it can hold in big games and against premier offenses, however, it has also failed at times. Perhaps youth led to some slip ups.

Point of all of this is, the Niners are in a position to be a really good squad next year. Is Singletary the man to helm this team though? He could be, but the failures are piling up. The Niners are a few parts shy of a Super Bowl win, for sure, but windows open and they close and I’d hate to see any windows close in the next few years without at least an NFC Conference Championship appearance.