Ranking 49ers Teams over Last 10 Years by Strength

No. 6: The 2008 Niners

Another year the 49ers made a building block. Signing defensive end Justin Smith in free agency really proved wise. Experts across the board thought that Smith’s five-year, $45 million deal was an overpay by the Niners. But, boy, were they wrong!

The 2011 team MVP played in 110 games over his seven seasons in San Francisco. He was the most consistent player on the team and, maybe, in the league for that matter. He never had a season without a sack, and missed only three games in a 14-year career (seven with Cincinnati and seven with San Francisco).

A player like that would put a lot of teams over the top, but not the 2008 Niners. Why not?

Still No Offense

The 49ers hired Mike Martz, known for his “Greatest Show on Turf” offense in St. Louis earlier in the decade, to be their offensive coordinator in 2008. Martz was still a decent offensive mind, but the problem was that his system required a quarterback to have an extra second, so that the deep passing attack could develop. This wasn’t going to work, as the 49er offensive line was horrible at the time.

Martz also started J.T. O’Sullivan at QB for the Niners, over much the more talented Alex Smith, because he had a head start on knowing the offense. Eventually, Smith regained the job, but the season was lost.

Bottom Line

The 49ers won five of their final eight games in 2008. They failed to make the playoffs though, and showed the same signs of incompetence across the board, losing to Miami in Week 15 and ending their playoff hopes with only a few weeks to go.

Next: No. 5, the 2009 Niners