Top 5 things to worry about as a 49ers fan

After two games, I would like to outlines the top 5 things that I am worrying about this season. We all know the whole world thinks the 49ers are going to just lie down because of all the players (and coaches) that have left. But as a 49er faithful, I refuse to believe a team with players like Anquan Boldin, Navarro Bowman, Antoine Bethea, and Joe Staley are going to just sit back and let the sky fall. Anyways here are the things I am most concerned about this season in ranking order.

5) Injuries

We all know injuries are a part of the game but still should be a cause of concern for every team, especially the 49ers. Even though Blaine Gabbert has looked better this offseason, I think he will look completely different if thrown into the fire behind a struggling offensive line and with starter quality defensive players and game planning to go against. Also, with the lack of depth at outside linebacker, any injury to Eli Harold, Aaron Lynch, or Ahmad Brooks will pretty much throw my next cause of concern this year into danger. 49ers are thinnest at QB, OLB, and OLs. Any injury could send the year downhill.

4) Kaepernick

I am a big Kaepernick fan. I think with the proper tools and play calling he can be that explosive player we saw in 2012. I think he’s better than Cam Newton and statistics in 2014 proves that. If Kaepernick played in the NFC South, he would definitely have his team in the playoff every year. The reason why I’m concerned for him is I feel he pays too much attention to what people think about him. Even though he says he doesn’t care, and he may not, but I still think he hears the voices of the critics. Those voices can make him try to be something that he is not which can do more harm than good. I think its unfair to try to turn Kaepernick into a Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Drew Brees. Just like you can’t turn an apple into an orange because you want orange juice. What makes Kaepernick special is because he can be explosive in and out of the pocket. Just watch his Green Bay games and see what I am talking about. With the distractions of his critics and his social media, I worried he may turn into RGIII and have everything he says, does, or tweets be securitize. I want him to be him. If he sees man coverage and a bunch of green, I rather have him take off and run for 90 yards opposed to trying to sit in the pocket looking and looking for someone and taking a sack.

3) Pass Rush

The 49ers were able to make it to 3 straight NFC championships from 2011-2013 with pretty much the same players they had in 2010. One of the biggest changes to the team in 2011 was the 49ers finally got a prolific pass rusher in Aldon Smith. We give Vic Fangio a lot of credit because of how his defenses ranked but do you ever wonder how he was able to do it while having the team ranked near the bottom in blitzes? Aldon almost instantly clicked on that right side with Justin Smith. He pretty much pushed Parys Haralson out the door during that time. Justin Smith and Ray Mcdonald were underrated pass rushers and now the team is without them also. I do like what I see in Lynch and Harold and it seems Dial, Carradine, and even Dorsey can do some damage up front, but 49ers don’t really have a guy to strike fear on the outside like when Aldon was here. I am a fan of Mangini’s defense early on though. I think his blitz packages will make or break the my next concern.

2) Secondary

Outside of Tramaine Brock, the cornerbacks are very young and unproven. Also, Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid both gave up big plays and they are supposed to be the strongest players in the secondary. Throw in the factor of learning a new and more complex Eric Mangini defense, the secondary may encounter a lot of problems early on. I vision all these DBs to be on a island several times throughout each game. I like Kenneth Acker a lot. I think he has great speed and competes well and doesn’t back down from any receiver, similar to Chris Culliver. I think Mangini may want to incorporate some of the things the 49ers did will under Vic Fangio. Mangini and the whole squad have a tough schedule of elite receivers this year with Randall Cobb, Odell Beckham, Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, and AJ Green.

1. Offensive Line

The 2015 49ers are going to either sink or swim with this offensive line. Going back to my point about the 3 straight championships, everyone knew what made the 49ers dominant was their clock killing running game. That was primarily made possible with hogs 49ers had upfront consistently until last year. Just imagine if the offensive line returned to 2011-13 form. That’ll mean Hyde/Bush would have a bigger year than Gore/Hunter. Kaepernick will have a better year than Alex Smith did. Torrey Smith/Anquan would also have bigger years than Moss/Crabtree. With the offensive playing with the lead, Mangini can use all those blitzes we saw in the preseason that created countless free runners to the QB.

The 49ers keys to victory will be their offensive line. If they play poor, 49ers will be on the clock immediately after their last game of the season.