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San Francisco 49ers: 10 Key Stats to Watch for the Upcoming 2016 Season

By Peter Panacy

Jan 3, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) runs the ball against the St. Louis Rams in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Rams 19-16 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) runs the ball against the St. Louis Rams in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Rams 19-16 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 22, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril (56) sacks San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated San Francisco, 29-13. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril (56) sacks San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated San Francisco, 29-13. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 6: Pro Football Reference’s Simple-Rating System

2015 SRS: minus-5.53

OK, time for a little more of an advanced stat.

Pro Football Reference utilizes what’s called a simple-rating system to combine a team’s point differential and its strength of schedule into a number to help indicate how effective a team is against the teams it faces.

Here’s the dirt:

"Simple Rating System, explained in this blog post, uses a team’s point differential and strength of schedule to assign a rating to each team, with 0.0 considered average. The difference in two teams’ SRS ratings can be considered to be a point spread should they play each other, disregarding home field advantage."

As mentioned, a zero SRS is considered average. And the 49ers last year were far below average.

San Francisco’s 2015 SRS was at minus-5.53, which ranked 24th out of 32 teams. The 49ers had a tough schedule, to be sure, but it’s not going to be anywhere near what they’ll face on the upcoming season.

Per John Breech of CBS Sports, the Niners are tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the toughest schedule in 2016. Opponents’ 2015 winning percentage stands at .555 — highest in the league.

Playing in the NFC West doesn’t help, and pending matchups with the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers don’t bode well either.

But if the 49ers can whittle the SRS number a little closer to zero this season, it will mean a lot in terms of how San Francisco is matching up with the rest of the league.

Speaking of point differentials…

Next: No. 5: 2016 Point Differential