San Francisco 49ers: Thresholds for Success in 2016

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January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chip Kelly poses for a photo after being introduced as the new head coach for the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

The Niners can finish with a winning record in 2016

OK, this one is quite the reach, but until the games are played, it is a threshold which is possible.

My 10 early predictions for the 2016 season article suggested the Niners will win just four games this season. Though this prediction could still entirely be true, what if everything just falls into place for this squad?

Niner Noise’s Rob Lowder wrote an excellent piece on how the younger players will dominate the Niners roster this season, including receiver Bruce Ellington, safety/corner Jimmie Ward and the overall defensive line. Ellington, in particular, has a great opportunity:

"Ellington’s versatility will be the key in his emergence that pushes him over the top of so many other worthwhile candidates. Whether it’s on sweeps, as seen above, passes out of the backfield, short or longer routes, Ellington has shown flashes of potential that have yet to materialize. No longer."

These two players combined with the other younger players, if they take the next step this season, can lead to some success. They might get dominated by some serious (and experienced) competition, but provided they learn and they continue to show improvement, this will be vital in the long run.

If all of the thresholds are met in 2016, and the younger guys develop quickly and Kelly’s game plans and play speed are consistently working, who knows what the final record could be? If some of the chips (pardon the pun again) fall right, a 9-7 season is not completely out of the realm.

There are several coin flip games this year. Miami, Buffalo, New York Jets, Chicago and Tampa Bay can all be beaten with a good team performance.

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If the Niners run the football for 130-plus yards per game, get 40-plus sacks, whoever is the QB throws for more than 20 TDs and Smith can have a career year, what will their record be? Then throw in the growth and development of the younger players, there is the chance of a decent season, perhaps a winning one.

The Niners don’t need to be world beaters to achieve these suggested thresholds. Most of them are revisiting recent Niners history, and a couple of them are simply required to be a good NFL team.

These thresholds are not set in stone. There are endless numbers of them depending on what you see as a priority. All we want is a competitive Niners team again.

Next: San Francisco 49ers: Identifying Most Important Figures in Chip Kelly's Offense

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com, Sports-Reference.com and 49ers.com unless otherwise indicated.