Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

One of the biggest holes the San Francisco 49ers need to fill on offense is at wide receiver.  GM Trent Baalke is expected to address this issue in both free agency and the draft.  There are plenty of free agent wide receivers available and the 49ers could find a sleeper in the later rounds of the draft, who could help contribute to the 49ers 29^th ranked passing offense that averaged only 183.1 yards a game.  Wide receiver Joshua Morgan, who broke his leg in week 5 against the Buccaneers and missed the rest of the season, has been running drills on his healed leg for the past two weeks.  Morgan had 15 receptions for 220 yards and one touchdown before he broke his leg, with five of those receptions coming against the Bucs.  The 49ers could have used Morgan at wide receiver as no one stepped up to take over for the WR’s production.  Morgan is a free agent, but he wants to return and the 49ers want to bring back the wide receiver.  Morgan can re-sign with the 49ers starting on March 13 when the free agency period starts.  Morgan said the following about re-signing with the 49ers,

“When they tell me, I’ll be there.”

Losing Morgan for the season was a big blow and it hurt the 49ers, especially in the NFC Championship game.  Morgan has been progressing well since he was drafted in the sixth round in 2008.  In 2010, Morgan had his best season with 44 receptions for 698 yards, two touchdowns and averaged 15.9 yards per reception.  He only started 11 games in 2010.  The wide receiver is not really  a number one receiver but can be a solid number two receiver for the 49ers.  The advantage to re-signing Morgan is his size and speed which is a good fit for Jim Harbaugh’s power-based West Coast offense.  He also has experience with  the offense, which is known to be complicated.

The 49ers should sign a true number one wide receiver to upgrade the passing offense and to push Michael Crabtree to produce like a top-ten draft pick.  Bringing back Morgan and adding him into that potential mix will do wonders for the 49ers passing offense next season.  There is a chance Morgan could test free agent market, but with him missing most of the season with a broken leg, he will probably receive his best offer from the 49ers.

49ers wide receiver Joshua Morgan’s season ended when he was placed on injured reserve after breaking his lower leg week 5 vs. the Bucs. It was the worst possible time in Morgan’s otherwise healthy career for an injury like this to occur, during his contract year. Morgan is set for free agency at season’s end and after the team acquired WR Braylon Edwards many thought his days as a starter were over. But that was before the barrage of injuries to the WR core Morgan started every game through week 5 and was enjoying his best start to his career as the 49ers leading receiver (among the WRs, TE Vernon Davis is the teams overall leading receiver).

Shortly after the injury head coach Jim Harbaugh said in a rare candid statement that re-signing Morgan would be a priority this offseason. I’m a big fan of Morgan and despite the team having Michael Crabtree and Edwards who are both superior to Morgan he is one of the hardest working and better blocking WRs in the entire NFL an underrated skill.   Morgan a former 6th round pick out of Virginia Tech is starting to emerge and has good chemistry with QB Alex Smith.  Morgan will not receive long term offers or any high dollar short term offers from other teams due to the injury making it relatively easy for the 49ers to re-sign him if that’s in fact what they plan to do.   However, if a free agent happy team like the Redskins offers him a multiyear deal or big money in the short term I think the 49ers would be wise to pass. Don’t get me wrong Morgan is a nice player but he’s not worth big money and is easily replaceable. Should the 49ers bring Joshua Morgan back this offseason?  YOU DECIDE!

 
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Follow me on twitter @Matt_NinerNoise

Before I get to the offense I thought I’d start with the special teams which is also among the very best in the NFL. The coverage units have yet to give up a touchdown return and its biggest error was allowing a blocked field goal in Philadelphia. Andy Lee continues to show that he is the best punter in the league; the guy can boot the ball 60 yards almost automatically 70 with regularity. David Akers has been excellent in both field goals and kickoffs hitting on all but 2 kicks (1 was blocked). Ted Ginn Jr put the game away against Seattle with 2 TD returns in a span of a couple minutes and has been excellent in the return game all season long.

Now onto the offense, Frank Gore had a horrific start to the season averaging only 2.5 yards per carry. Niner faithful everywhere were screaming about Gore losing a step, calling for more Kendall Hunter even. Then the 49ers went on an East Coast road trip that watched them and the offensive line get things together. Gore has surpassed 100 yards in each of his last 3 games capping it off with his most impressive performance at Detroit with a 144 yard performance on just 15 carries. Kendall Hunter has provided a spark and a different dimension to the running game with his scat back like around the edges style is a perfect complement to Gore’s power game.

While Gore was busy getting pelted with rocks early in the season he wasn’t alone, the offensive line was right there with him. The OLs performance the first 3 games was forgettable but not awful. Early in the season the team held up ok in pass protection but couldn’t get it right in the run game. It’s obvious now by watching this group that the running game has been given the biggest makeover on the offense and is much more complex than it was under former coach Mike Singletary. The group now seems cohesive and together, a young group that should only get better as the season goes on.  Personnel wise Mike Iupati ranks as one of the very best guards in the NFL.  Jonathan Goodwin is a very solid center that has won a superbowl and went to a probowl at 32 he’s the oldest player on the team but has less mileage than a typical 32 year old since he didn’t become a starter until his 5th season in the NFL and has played very well for the team thus far.  Joe Staley made the famous “we don’t suck” comment after week 3 when the OL was struggling has settled in at left tackle and dispite giving up what seems like 1 sack per game Staley has been solid.  I’ve heard a lot about Staley being overrated by fellow 49er fans, something to take into account is that Staley should get better as the season goes on let’s not forget he missed a large portion of last season with an injury.  The right side of the line has been the target of considerable scrutiny as guard Chilo Rachal has struggled, luckily the 49ers have serviceable backup in Adam Snyder  who has played mostly well since taking over for Rachal as the starter, this is a position the team needs to target next offseason.  Anthony Davis the young 2nd year right tackle struggled early, especially in pass protection but has put together a couple of very good games back to back vs the Bucs and Lions.  Davis has huge upside but needs to cut down on his mental mistakes especially penalties to fullfill that potential. 
LOTS MORE ON PAGE 2

(more…)