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| | Monday, July 24 49ers: Time to move on | |||||||||||||||
| By Tom Oates Special to ESPN.com Once Steve Young went down with a career-ending concussion, any resemblance between last year's San Francisco 49ers and the team that dominated the NFL for 20 years was purely coincidental. The team that only tinkered with its roster for two decades is now in a full-fledged rebuilding mode after a 4-12 season in which the offense wobbled and the defense collapsed completely. Two years of salary-cap purges mean there could be as many as 15 rookies on the roster this year. With all that youth and an unsettled quarterback situation, it will be awhile before the 49ers are back on top again.
Jeff Garcia, the nimble former Canadian Football League star, was 2-8 as the starting quarterback. To his credit, he did return to the lineup and play well after a midseason benching. Garcia is not the long-term answer, though, and neither is Rick Mirer, who will be playing for his fifth team in five years. General manager Bill Walsh drafted Giovanni Carmazzi on the third round and Tim Rattay on the seventh in hopes of finding his quarterback of the future. Neither, however, is the quarterback of the present. Key position battle The 49ers re-signed wide receiver Jerry Rice, who at 37 was more productive than young lions Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes last season. With youngster Tai Streets also flashing big-time potential late in the season, it'll be interesting to see if Rice, a San Francisco icon, is relegated to a supporting role. Biggest adjustment For the first time since 1979, the offensive line won't be coached by Bobb McKittrick, a man who routinely worked miracles with average talent and little size. McKittrick died of cancer in March at the age of 64. The line returns intact, but that's not saying a whole lot, especially without McKittrick around to coach it. Rookie report The 49ers' main hope for improvement springs from the draft, where Walsh emphasized quantity over quality. Five rookies taken in the top three rounds -- linebackers Julian Peterson and Jeff Ulbrich, cornerbacks Ahmed Plummer and Jason Webster and end John Engelberger -- could start on defense. The 49ers are particularly excited about Peterson and Plummer, the two first-round picks. Two 1999 picks who missed all of last season with injuries -- first-round tackle Reggie McGrew and fourth-round cornerback Anthony Parker -- could also start on defense.
| ALSO SEE Falcons: Lots of ifs in Atlanta Panthers: Getting defensive Saints: Big Easy turnaround Rams: What next for the champs? | |||||||||||||||
