Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE
The San Francisco 49ers will compete for the Super Bowl for the first time since 1994, and they have looked good getting there. The way this team has played since the decision by Jim Harbaugh to go with Colin Kaepernick has been remarkable, and the gamble has led to a birth in Super Bowl XLVII.
The last 49ers championship squad had Mike Shanahan running the offense with Gary Kubiak as the quarterbacks coach, with Ray Rhodes running the defense. That Niners team had a massive offseason as they added guys like Deion Sanders, Ken Norton Jr., and Bryant Young to name a few. Their offense was run by guys like Steve Young and Jerry Rice, but these days San Fran uses a fantastic running game very effectively. That said, it is worth noting Kaepernick has been very good through the air lately.
San Francisco uses numerous different formations, and lately they are going deep with the personnel as well in their running game. Their ground attack can be very aggressive, it will be a different animal than the AFC champ has faced. Their opponent will need the extra week to prepare their defense (linebackers in particular) to be able to understand and recognize their keys/strategies vs the dynamic 49ers team.
I am interested to see if the huge game that Kaepernick-to-Vernon Davis had will carry over and the extra week off furthers their time working together. If Kaepernick is going to add Davis to his strong chemistry with Michael Crabtree plus their running game then we could be talking about the Super Bowl champs (at the very least the offense looks really potent).
@craigballard77
