Last season the 49ers went 7-9-0 and finished in second place in the NFC West division, missing the playoffs.

Offense: The quarterback position in San Francisco last season was one of constant turnover. Alex Smith, the first pick in the 2005 draft, missed the entire season with a shoulder injury and left the 49ers scrambling to find his replacement. Even with two quarterbacks that had no previous starting experience in the NFL, the 49ers finished 13th in passing yards last season. Last year, the problem was not the quarterback but the running game that finished 27th in the league overall. Frank Gore missed two games and finished with as many touchdowns as fumbles, six. With some stability at the quarterback position, and a healthy Gore, look for San Francisco to improve on the offensive side of the ball this season.

Defense: San Francisco gave Nate Clements a big contract in before the 2007 season but so far he has failed to live up to that contract. So this summer the Niners signed corner Dre’ Bly to play across from him and give the team another solid cornerback. The Niners hope that Clements and Bly together can help improve the 20th ranked pass defense from a year ago. The strength of this unit will be the linebackers, especially the inside linebackers in the 3-4 defense. Patrick Willis has averaged over 150 tackles a season in his two years in the league and will be joined by Takeo Spikes in the middle this season. Spikes is on his fourth team of his career, but is still capable of putting up over 100 tackles for this team. The rush defense that ranked 13th last season should improve with the addition of Spikes to the middle of this defense.

Star Power: When he was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Vernon Davis was seen as a player who could change the way the tight end position was played. After three disappointing seasons in the league Davis is now seen as a player who needs to change his ways if he wants to continue to even play in this league. Davis has all of the skills to be a quarterback’s best friend, but something hasn’t been working for him so far. Hopefully the stability at the quarterback position with Shaun Hill established as the starter will help Davis as well. Expect 600 yards receiving and five or so touchdowns from him this year, which would be career bests for Davis.

Biggest Addition: The best player that the 49ers added to the roster is currently the only first round draft pick remaining unsigned, Michael Crabtree. Currently Crabtree and the Niners are working to get a contract done, but when they do Crabtree will walk on to the field as the best receiver on the team from day one. In his two seasons at Texas Tech, Crabtree had over 3,100 yards receiving to go along with 41 touchdowns. He is an explosive receiver who has a chance to make a big play every time he touches the ball. This time next season we will be talking about Crabtree as one of the best receivers in the entire league.

Biggest Loss: Michael Crabtree is also the biggest loss to the Niners this season as he is holding out for a better contract than what the San Francisco is offering. The 49ers drafted Crabtree expecting him to be the number one receiver for this season and beyond but now without him they receiving corps is in shambles. The only established receiver on the roster is 36-year-old Isaac Bruce whose best seasons are far behind him. Crabtree would have stabilized this unit and made life a lot easier for quarterback Shaun Hill. Even if Crabtree does sign before the season opens he will be so far behind in learning the offense and getting a connection with Hill that he will not live up to his potential this season.

Biggest Game: On Sunday, September 13th the Arizona Cardinals host the Niners in a Week 1 matchup. In the first four weeks of the season the Niners play all three of their division foes, and the Minnesota Vikings, so this game against the Cardinals will be a good test against the best the NFC West has to offer. If the Niners can sneak out a victory in game one, they will have the momentum playing against the rest of the division in the coming weeks.