The unexpectedly rapid return of the passing game has to be the story of the preseason. The aerial attack has been firing blanks since Donahue inexplicably dumped Owens AND Garcia after the 2003 season, even though they got along SO well. Since then the 49er passing offense has ranked 20th ('04), 32nd ('05), and 29th ('06). Pitiful, especially for a team that boasted at least 4 solid receiving options each year for almost 20 seasons. While things aren't quite back to that level, it looks like Jackson, Battle, Jacobs, Lelie - and eventually Jason Hill - will give Alex Smith some very solid options. To quote the statheads at FootballOutsider.com (from the 2007 Pro Football Prospectus)
Add a healthy Vernon Davis [the next great tight end] to the mix, and that passing attack could be downright dangerous - especially in a division in which the only potentially dominant secondary is the one Smith will face in practice.
Read the back half of that sentence again. That "dominant secondary" is the same one that has been a major weakness throughout the Nolan Renaissance (26 in '06 and the big 3-2 in '05), even though Walt Harris made the Pro Bowl last year. The addition of Nate Clements and Michael Lewis to the Harris/Spencer/Roman nucleus (as well as a couple nice pickups in the draft) has brought a new swagger to that group. They're going to need that and some stellar play as they go up against the 3-deep receiving corps of the Cardinals and Rams, with even more formidable tests coming against the Saints and Bengals.
With all that said, I've made it pretty clear what I think of the exhibition season and trying to extrapolate its results into the regular season. This team still has major steps to take (including attempting a successful switch to the 3-4). The 2007 49ers are markedly better on paper than the version that beat the Broncos to end last season. Now it just needs to go out and fulfill its potential.
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