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Catching Up: Season 87 and Beyond for The Good Guys

by JAMoney14 | 1 year ago | 0 Comments

Just a few short seasons ago, the San Francisco 49ers hoisted the greatest prize in all of football above our heads. Season 84 saw one of the least likely runs in football postseason history... Onside kicks, fumbles, missed throws, everything. At the end of the day, the resolve held strong and the Good Guys stopped the surging Raiders on the goal line to secure another Red Zone Championship.

The day was a culmination of a magical season that saw rookie quarterback sensation, #1 overall pick, George Curran, take over and lead one of the best seasons any 49ers Quarterback has ever had... But Curran was injured early in the super bowl, leading to Brenton O'Neill (now with Cleveland) to lead the charge and finish the job to secure the gold.

Despite the less-than-poetic ending to George Curran's rookie campaign, there was no regrets from the 49ers as they proudly held the championship skywards...

4 years later, the dynasty that seemed like a sure thing has gone through ups and downs. Especially in the latter years, San Francisco's PR team has been either unwilling or unable to keep fans abreast of the inner workings of the historic organization. As we are just 2 weeks into Season 88, we plan to correct that omission...

Today, we're covering the San Francisco 49ers in their quest to #DoItAgain.

Season 85

George Curran was selected as the #1 overall pick in the Season 84 draft, a move that shocked many inside the San Francisco organization, having obtained the draft pick from in-division rival Los Angeles, who themselves were undergoing new management changes.

Curran was projected as the #2 quarterback in the class, just behind the monster arm of Gerald Oden, who fell to Cincinnati later in the 1st round. However, it was clear in Season 84 the two were not of the same cloth. Oden sat behind Joe Burrow much of his rookie campaign, but still threw 14 touchdowns in reserve duty before moving on to have 2 good - not great - seasons in Cincinnati. Head Coach Patrick Allen has since given up and moved on from Oden, who now is doing his best to turn around a Steelers team with a brand new coaching staff in what could be his last shot.

Curran, on the other hand, didn't quite see the same success he did in his rookie campaign, but wasn't terrible by any measure. Curran threw for 32 TDs and 13 INTs in a very good, but not the MVP caliber season he had shown just 1 year ago. Despite his success, the team certainly maintained what would be considered a "Super Bowl Hangover" and ended just 9-8 on the season, narrowly edging out the 8-9 Cardinals to maintain control of the NFC West.

However, the frustrations that came on the defensive side of the ball led to key losses to the Titans, Jaguars, Bears, and Buccanneers and eventually saw it's way into a 38-20 blowout to the Carolina Panthers in the Wildcard round of the playoffs, a sad ending after a miraculous victory over the Panthers the previous year.

Regression from key players on defense like Dee Winters, Fred Warner, Ji'Ayir Brown, and Justin Madabuike made the headlines, but personnel issues inside the locker room also played a major part in the lack of cohesion for the 49ers in their Season 85 campaign.

Season 86

With tensions already extremely high after a disappointing season in Season 85, more question marks arose as Season 86 was the first without star weapon Christian McCaffrey. While true that CMC spent the prior 3 seasons extremely banged up, he played an extremely pivotal role in the Season 84 championship run, racking up over 270 rushing yards against the then-powerhouse Bucs. His role stayed as important until his eventual departure, a 3+1 casualty, to Cincinnati in Season 86.

Season 86 saw the addition of Alvin Kamara to help spell the young Washington State product Darrell Cox. Both players recorded 186 and 185 touches throughout the season and were key in leading the 49ers back to 10+ wins in Season 86. Cox and Kamara combined for 2,146 yards from scrimmage and were massive additions for Curran, who upgraded to 43 TDs and 16 INTs with a newer core of weapons.

In addition, the 49ers opted to continue their firesale on existing draft picks to secure prime talent. This committment - combined with the hefty stock it took to secure the #1 overall pick to select George Curran - would remove any draft considerations for the 49ers until Season 88.

Defensively, the team improved from their prior season, despite allowing 2 more points per game. The balance became an issue to watch for years to come, as the overwhelming offensive force was never enough to outright the lackluster defense. Despite that, the effort was enough to drive through the division rival Rams and powerhouse Vikings in the playoffs, before the 49ers were dispatched in heartbreaking fashion by the Bears 23-28 after a late 4th quarter surge by the Bears.

Season 87

Season 87 saw the 49ers reach their peak, in many pundits eyes. The spending, the change, the selling of draft picks, everything had caught up to the Good Guys and this could be their very last season in the limelight given the obvious cap issues they were facing. Players like George Kittle, Elijah Mitchell, Kendrick Tull, Josh Sander, and Quez Watkins would see their last playing time in the Bay during this campaign.

The 49ers would get out to a dramatic start, winning their 6 of their first 8 games by just one possession and dropping key games to Cincinnati and Carolina. Though the consistency would find it's way in the form of a powerhouse offense by years end, those one-possession games shifted from 28-23 affairs to 50-43 games.

As defensive issues continued to rear their ugly heads and the organization dealing with internal problems, it fell to George Curran to pull the team out of many shoddy situations and use his arm to score more points than the other team. At the end of the day - that is what it became.

Despite the additions of young breakout stars Quincy Vaughn and CJ Moses, as well as the free agent additions of Trenton Simpson and Foyesade Oluokun, the defense struggled mightily in the latter half of the season, though it wasn't without it's strong spots. The aforementioned CJ Moses dominated the defensive tackle position, racking up 17 sacks and being lauded as one of the top defensive lineman in the sport in his 3rd season. Moses was drafted the same year as Curran (2nd round) and often flew under the radar, playing behind Javon Hargrave, Madibuike, and later, Chris Jones... Despite that, he found his time to shine in Season 87

Breakout performances from other members of the defense, such as rookie safety Quincy Vaughn and longtime slot corner Deommodore Lenoir, while not showing through on the statsheet at the time, proved promising for the future of the 49ers... Especially in a year where they were going to lose important pieces like LOLB Josh Sander (also drafted alongside CJ Moses), Kendrick Tull, and Cole Holcolmb.

Despite that, the offense carried the Good Guys into the postseason with an impressive 13-4 record and another NFC West Championship to face the Giants in the 1st round. The season ended in devestating fashion, as the new ownership with the New York Giants played safe, comfortable football juxtaposed to the risk-heavy, reward-heavy offense led by George Curran and parlayed extremely fortunate bounces and special teams play into a 30-27 victory in the wildcard round.

The disappointment was all the more stinging once the Red Zone Awards committee announced that George Curran had won his 2nd RZ MVP award in 4 years.

Season 88

As of publish date, the Good Guys in the Bay sit at 2-0 with two convincing victories over the Cardinals and Rams in the NFC West. A newly reformed defense was complete with a trade with Kansas City to secure perrennial DPOY contender LB Nick Bolton to add to stars Fred Warner and Trenton Simpson.

The defense also boasts an older and wiser Quincy Vaughn, CJ Moses, pass rushers Drake Jackson and Titus Wayne, and CBs Kendrick Harris and Shaq Hunt coming into their own alongside the veteran presence of SS Tolanoa Hufanga, DT Chris Jones, and CB Derek Stingley Jr.

While the defense saw an overhaul, the offense did as well, though now leaning on younger stars. While WR Brandon Aiyuk maintains his status as one of the league's top weapons at the position, WR Travarres Barnes has gone from overlooked 1st round "project" to George Curran's #2 weapon and Season 87's rookie pick Dakota Cobb has entered in as the slot WR to great results. The biggest change offensively certainly comes at the LT and TE positions, as veteran blindside protector Leremy Tunsil moved on to give way to 2nd year man Gregory Farrow. In what many around the league see as a larger issue, TE George Kittle (Curran's #1 receptions leader his entire career) also opted to move on to Cincinnati to give way to the rookie duo of Matthew McCann and Michael Flynn, who have combined for 11 catches, 148 yards and 4 TDs in their first two games together.

The early spike of defense is not a new thing - we have seen this spike come and go as the season progresses.