Ron Borges

The beauty of being Mike Nolan is that it'll be difficult not to improve your team. The difficulty of being Mike Nolan is that no matter what he does, he can't improve it enough to make it competitive this season.

A year ago, in Nolan's first season as head coach, the 49ers were the worst offense in the league. They were ably backed up by the worst defense in the league. That leaves a lot of room for growth, and some of that should occur with second-year quarterback Alex Smith. Smith should benefit from the watchful eye of new offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who nurtured a young quarterback named Troy Aikman all the way to the Hall of Fame career. He's also being tutored by veteran Trent Dilfer, who was imported to perform that task more than play ahead of him. That's a lot of help, but where he really needs it — at wide receiver and along the offensive line — there are more suspects than prospects.

The best of the receivers is imported Antonio Bryant, who hollered his way out of Dallas and Cleveland but did haul in 69 passes last season for 1,009 yards for the Browns. He and No. 1 draft choice Vernon Davis will be the 49ers’ biggest and best targets. Now Turner has to teach Smith how to best use them.

Davis is being thought of as a more athletic and faster version of Antonio Gates, San Diego's Pro Bowl tight end, which is hard to believe is possible considering Gates' recent successes. Davis' strength is incredible and his speed is such that he's the fastest receiver on the team despite his bulk. He's a huge upgrade to put near a young quarterback who had no safe place to go with the ball a year ago. Add to that former Pro Bowl tight end Eric Johnson coming back to good health, and the 49ers passing game may show signs of life.

The offensive line is in need of an overhaul and the addition of aged eight-time Pro Bowl guard Larry Allen will not be enough to transform this group into what Nolan would like. He'd love to see a power running game created to limit the pressure on Smith and control the clock, and he thinks he has the back to do it in Frank Gore but even a road grader needs holes to be opened for it, and this unit may not be able to do that with consistency. San Francisco is relying on a fading Allen and oft-injured tackle Jonas Jennings. They've already lost former Pro Bowl center Jeremy Newberry, so Eric Hietmann has to prove he will hold up in the midst of a shaky offensive line.

Defensively, San Francisco allowed an average of 391.2 yards and 26.8 points a game so the need for improvement is obvious. Why, then, did they let their best linebacker, Julian Peterson, and top pass rusher Andre Carter leave in free agency? Because Peterson was too pricey for a rebuilding team and tended to freelance too much while Carter simply did not into fit Nolan's defensive system.

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Instead of spending money on them, San Francisco chose to re-sign solid inside linebacker Derek Smith, who has led the team in tackles the last five seasons, and drafted Manny Lawson, who was Mario Williams' sackmate at North Carolina State last season, with its No. 1 pick. The defense produced only 28 sacks last year, so Lawson's pass rushing skills will be utilized from the outset despite his inexperience. Nolan knows he has to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, because last season the secondary gave up an average of 276.7 passing yards a game. The fact it had seven different starting combinations was part of the problem, so the 49ers will seek to find a cohesive unit during camp and hope it can stay healthy.

Hot seat
Alex Smith. The No. 1 overall pick a year ago, Smith was abysmal when he had to play last season. His 40.8 passer rating was the lowest by an overall No. 1 pick in league history and that wasn't the worst of it. He committed 11 fumbles and threw 11 interceptions before delivering his first and only touchdown pass of the season in the final game of the year. He was completely unsure of himself last season and must learn a new offense under new coordinator Norv Turner, who likes to see the ball go deep when it's not being handed off. Smith might do a lot more of the latter than the former this season, but he still has to show enough improvement to give the Niners hope that he's the future, because if he isn't they have no future.

Overheard
Even with the addition of No. 1 pick Vernon Davis, the 49ers will make good use of former Pro Bowl tight end Eric Johnson in the passing game if he's healthy. Turner will often come out in a two-tight end set because Davis and Johnson may be his two most dangerous weapons in the passing game. Although he missed all of last season, Johnson is only a year removed form catching 82 passes. That's a number that stands out nearly as much as Davis' 4.37 time in the 40-yard dash.

Outlook
The Niners should be more entertaining than a year ago, but how could they not be after finishing last in the league in total offense and last in the league in total defense? Only three other teams in NFL history hold that distinction. They were also 30th in the league in points scored and 30th in most points allowed. In other words, they were consistently bad at about everything that is involved in playing football.

Just the presence of the phenomenal Davis at tight end should increase the entertainment value and the other building blocks Mike Nolan has brought in will at least make them respectable this year, if not yet ready to become challengers in the division.

Prediction
Fourth.

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