June 3, 2008

Mission accomplished: After scoring a  league-low 219 points last season, the Niners reached out to Mike Martz to become the team’s fourth offensive coordinator in the past four seasons. Considering Martz’s well-earned reputation for assembling lively, freewheeling, pass-heavy offenses, at least the Niners won’t be as dreadfully boring as they were in ’07. The team also appeared to add a host of useful parts via free agency, most notably DE Justin Smith and WRs Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson, who could blossom in a starting role after being stuck behind Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in Arizona. 

Unfinished business: What promises to be a most intriguing starting QB competition involving former first-round pick Alex Smith, Shaun Hill and newcomer T.J. O’Sullivan is just beginning to materialize. Although players such as Bruce, Johnson and RB DeShaun Foster must certainly be considered serviceable, it seems like the Niners did surprisingly little, especially via the draft, to upgrade their listless offense. The OT position appears especially thin, particularly on the right side, where the team’s reliance on injury-prone Jonas Jennings could be a very risky proposition. On defense, there are still pass-rush concerns. Ex-Bengal Smith is supposed to help out in that area, but he had only two sacks in ’07, and former first-round pick Manny Lawson has been a disappointment as a pass rusher.