Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - San Francisco 49ers

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

SAN FRANCISCO 49'ers - Passing 186 ypg     Rushing 138 ypg

You know what to expect when you see the 49ers play, a brand of power football that was carved out by former coach Mike Singletary and has been enhanced by Jim Harbaugh. They only sign big players that hit hard on both sides of the ball. This is truly a team with an old school mentality.  How does all of this help your Paper Pigskin team?

NFL Brain Dump: Checking The Climate

This week's brain dump will take a brief look at some of the league's on-goings.  Even though we're approaching week 9, we haven't quite reached the half-way mark because only half of the teams have completed half of their schedule due to the bye weeks.  There have been a few surprises and many disappointments.

Aaron Rodgers continues to lead the Green Bay Packers to victory.  There are some quarterbacks who have been under performing  this season and the media have given them outs by saying this is the result of injuries to their top wide receivers.   No such excuses are coming from the Packers' organization.  Green Bay has lost their top three wide receivers from last season and Rodgers just keep piling on the wins.  This is nothing new.

Colin Kaepernick isn't playing like he's the future of the NFL.  This shouldn't be a concern for any fan of the San Francisco 49'ers because he is doing what he is supposed to do, which is executing the game plan set forth by his head coach.  If anything, the underwhelming performance early in the season can be attested to Coach Harbaugh wanting to show off his toy but it can't work right without the proper accessories (Crabtree).  What they have done in the bay is revert back to running the ball which has been a recipe for their success in the past. This shouldn't surprise anyone.

Alex Smith is a terrible quarterback.  No, I don't really believe this.  This is something that people like to say because he isn't putting up flashy numbers and doesn't take chances beyond the intermediate level of the defense.  He is a game manager who is completing the assignment given to him by Kansas City Chief's head coach Andy Reid.  Are we really going to argue with the results he has produced? Many quarterbacks in his situation will listen to the chatter from the peanut gallery and try to show people how wrong they are.  Alex Smith is is playing within himself and being the best that he can be.  I thought KC would do good but being undefeated is surprising.

There is something really wrong with the Dallas Cowboys.  This has nothing to do with Tony Romo choking away games because he is playing some amazing football this season.  This has nothing to do with the over-hyped outburst by Dez Bryant in last weeks loss; I love the passion he displayed.  I'd much rather go to battle with somebody that I know cares about me surviving than somebody who acts like everything is cool.  Over the years, Dallas has put talented players on the field but have lost a lot of close games.  Maybe it's the coaching.  Maybe its the owner that doesn't know how to chill.  They have the best team on paper in their division.  Their results have been a disappointment.

Greg Schiano has no idea how to lead a group of men.  Neither the old players or new players like him.  I'm really surprised he hasn't been fired yet; I can imagine this is disappointing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans.  Tony Dungy put in work during his tenure in Tampa and built a culture of winning football, just to have ownership sacrifice that for a quickie super bowl win.  Now it seems like they've chosen to fully embrace their traditional losing culture.

That's all I really have to say this time around.  Next week will bring a full mid-season report.

Let me know what you think of these musings in the comments section.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential NFC West

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football). I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles. I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

San Francisco 49ers  206 passing ypg  156 rushing ypg  (posted August 23, 2013)

QB:  Colin Kaepernick has all the tools to produce Paper Pigskin greatness from the quarterback position; running speed, throws lasers, and rarely turns the ball over.  The only question that's needs to be answered before he can be considered a no brain top five pick is if Coach Harbaugh will choose to unleash him with the read option and air it out or will he pound defenses with the pure power running game and short passing.  If the playoffs type aggressiveness is the decision, expect a top three year from Kaep.  If Harbaugh decides to be conservative, you'll still get solid low QB1 contribution.  A late 4th/early 5th round selection is merited.