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Previewing the San Francisco 49ers’ 2015 NFL Regular Season

ByPeter Panacy|

The San Francisco 49ers capped off their 2015 preseason campaign with a 14-12 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the final tuneup prior to starting the regular season.

Following the matchup, San Francisco was forced to cut its roster down to 53 players — the final list can be viewed from Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

Perhaps the most surprising cut was veteran defensive tackle Darnell Dockett whom the 49ers signed as a free agent over the offseason. Injuries and less-than stellar play from Dockett probably influenced San Francisco’s decision to part ways with the 34-year-old defensive lineman. And the ongoing development of rookie defensive end Arik Armstead negated the need to keep Dockett anyway.

Running back Jarryd Hayne made the roster after a promising preseason breakout. He was also joined by the entire remaining class of 2015 draft picks.

With the roster in shape for Week 1, the 49ers are now gearing up for their regular-season debut on Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings.

Let’s break down all the elements for which fans should look as San Francisco gears up for that game and the remainder on their 2015 schedule.

The Schedule

Back in February, CBS Sports’ John Breech broke down all 32 teams’ schedules in 2015 and determined the 49ers had the third-toughest schedule with an opposing winning percentage of .561.

A lot has changed since then. The NFL draft has certainly influenced the rankings as well as the preseason. And injuries have, and will continue to, affect the nature of each and every team San Francisco will face in the upcoming campaign.

Still, it doesn’t take too much to understand the 49ers have a tough challenge ahead of them in head coach Jim Tomsula’s first year at the helm.

  • Week 1 vs. Minnesota Vikings
  • Week 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Week 3 at Arizona Cardinals
  • Week 4 vs. Green Bay Packers
  • Week 5 at New York Giants
  • Week 6 vs. Baltimore Ravens
  • Week 7 vs. Seattle Seahawks
  • Week 8 at St. Louis Rams
  • Week 9 vs. Atlanta Falcons
  • Week 10 BYE
  • Week 11 at Seattle Seahawks
  • Week 12 vs. Arizona Cardinals
  • Week 13 at Chicago Bears
  • Week 14 at Cleveland Browns
  • Week 15 vs Cincinnati Bengals
  • Week 16 at Detroit Lions
  • Week 17 vs St. Louis Rams

Aside from Week 1 against the Vikings, San Francisco’s schedule starts off pretty tough. Playing on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals won’t be an easy task. And coming home to face the Green Bay Packers — even without wide receiver Jordy Nelson — won’t be any easier despite the 49ers’ recent success against quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Co.

Can the 49ers maintain their recent history of success against the Green Bay Packers in 2015? Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Back-to-back home contests against the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks also present tough challenges. Both teams are at the upper echelon of NFL talent right now, so it’s pretty easy to see how the first half of the 49ers’ schedule will be awfully tough.

Prior to their Week 9 bye, it’s feasible to think the 49ers could start with a 4-5 record provided they knock off teams like the Vikings, New York Giants, St. Louis Rams and Atlanta Falcons.

The second half of the year gets a little easier, but tough matchups versus the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and additional NFC West contests present a rough schedule overall.

The Offense

Geep Chryst will handle the offense in 2015 after being in charge of the red-zone offense last season. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco’s offense scored just two touchdowns over the course of the preseason. While these exhibition statistics mean little, moving the ball still remains a notable concern for the 49ers heading into the regular season.

In 2014, the 49ers finished with the No. 30 ranked passing offense with 3,063 total yards through the air. While the running game was, and will likely be, the staple of offensive approach, getting the 49ers offensive attack going will be one of the primary objectives of offensive coordinator Geep Chryst.

Chryst was in charge of red-zone plays last season, which was one of the primary areas of weakness for San Francisco last season. Does that inspire much confidence this year?

But some members of the 49ers feel as if Chryst will do a great job running the offense.

“I’ve known Geep for a long time,” 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin said in an interview with CSN Bay Area’s Mindi Bach (h/t Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area). “He was actually my quarterbacks coach in Arizona my rookie year. He’s a great football mind. I think he can bring a spark to the offense.”

Boldin and fellow wideout Torrey Smith are expected to be major factors in the receiving game. Smith helps stretch the field, which should open up opportunities for Boldin, tight end Vernon Davis and the other crop of passing targets for quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Aug 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) catches a pass during the first half against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

As long as the offensive line holds up.

The O-line was a primary issue during the preseason. Especially along the right side, this unit was consistently allowing opponents’ pass-rushers to punch through protection schemes.

Part of the way to hopefully solve this will be the new zone-blocking scheme employed by the offensive line to maximize San Francisco’s ground game.

With running back Carlos Hyde getting the chance to showcase his skills, the 49ers rushing attack will be asked to do a lot over the course of the year. Hayne, rookie Mike Davis and veteran back Reggie Bush also give this element different looks.

Still, I wouldn’t expect the 49ers to be overly dynamic and effective unless Kaepernick shows vast improvement over what was seen a year ago.

The Defense

Tomsula’s former coaching unit will look much more different than at this point a year ago. Following the losses of defensive ends Justin Smith and Ray McDonald, the defensive line will now rely upon the services of guys like Armstead, Quinton Dial, Ian Williams, Glenn Dorsey, Tank Carradine, Mike Purcell and Tony Jerod-Eddie.

The fact that this unit was able to part ways with Dockett speaks to its depth.

While the inside linebacker tandem of NaVorro Bowman and Michael Wilhoite should be just fine, there could be concerns for the outside pass-rushing group of linebackers.

With former linebacker Aldon Smith no longer in the picture, the 49ers will be reliant upon younger players like Aaron Lynch and Eli Harold to supplement the pass rush from this position.

And veteran linebacker Ahmad Brooks will participate in the regular season despite the legal issues facing him for off-the-field decisions last December.

Getting to the quarterback will be a primary objective for any defense, and the 49ers are no exception. Fortunately, San Francisco’s developing crop of defensive backs seems to be answering the call.

Alongside veteran cornerback Tramaine Brock, young players like Keith Reaser, Kenneth Acker and Dontae Johnson will look to add their mark to this budding group. Acker and Johnson were particularly strong against the pass this preseason per Jeff Deeney of Pro Football Focus.

Combined with incumbent safeties Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid, the 49ers secondary could be a strength this offseason as long as the depth isn’t exposed too much.

And the stellar play of rookie safety Jaquiski Tartt during the preseason points to some excitement during the regular season.

The 49ers defense will likely be a strength during the regular season. Defensive coordinator Eric Mangini’s group may not be a top-five defense as it frequently was under former coordinator Vic Fangio. But at least this group has plenty of strengths that should carry over for years to come.

This and That

Wide receiver Jerome Simpson will miss the first six weeks of the regular season while serving a mandated NFL suspension. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco’s first-team offense, aside from the running game, was a concern during the preseason. Perhaps the 49ers kept things a little vanilla during this exhibition stretch. Or they were really just that bad.

The reality could be somewhere in between. We might expect this unit to be better in the regular season. But the offense will rely heavily upon the success and balance of the running game, offensive line, play-calling and the abilities of Kaepernick.

Wide receiver Jerome Simpson will be suspended for the first six weeks of the season, which opens things up for fellow wideouts Bruce Ellington, Quinton Patton and DeAndrew White to step up.

Hope also points to tight end Vernon Davis returning to his 2013 form. After a horrendous year in 2014, Davis will look to reemerge as one of the elite tight ends in the league. Hopefully the addition of Torrey Smith will provide the opportunity for Davis to run more traditional tight end routes instead of being San Francisco’s lone deep threat.

Mangini’s defense will be more aggressive in 2015. We saw some of this during the preseason with the 49ers blitzing more frequently than they had done under Fangio. As long as the pressure gets there, and the secondary isn’t exposed too quickly, this approach should produce some good numbers.

San Francisco has fallen from the upper tier of NFL teams in the eyes of most national pundits. And that may be perfectly fine. The context should allow the 49ers to set themselves up for a long-term stretch of success as long as the team continues to work in a positive direction.

Regardless of whatever hopes the most optimistic of 49ers fans would think, San Francisco probably isn’t going to finish with a better-than .500 record this season.

Like it or not, 2015 is a transition year. The best possible outcome will be if a sizable core of young 49ers players start to showcase their talent with strong enough efforts to suggest they’ll be cornerstones of the franchise moving forward.

If Kaepernick, Hyde, Smith, Lynch, Reaser, Acker, Tartt and others display enough poise, the 2015 season could be a success regardless of the record.

And that would be perfectly acceptable moving forward.

Next: 49ers Final Roster Cuts -- Instant Thoughts

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.

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