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San Francisco 49ers: 5 Reasons for Hope in 2016

By Peter Panacy

November 8, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (59) and defensive end Arik Armstead (91) celebrate during the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Falcons 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 8, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (59) and defensive end Arik Armstead (91) celebrate during the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Falcons 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly smiles during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly smiles during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1: Head Coach Chip Kelly’s Influence

Former head coach Jim Tomsula and Co. engineered a 49ers team to a league-low 238 points on offense. And the rest of San Francisco’s offensive stat lines weren’t pretty either.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise the Niners went in a new direction this offseason and hired head coach Chip Kelly to replace Tomsula. And Pro Football Focus’ Jeff Deeney said it best shortly after the hire:

Kelly’s uptempo and high-intensity offense, even if there are major shortcomings on that side of the ball, should provide us with a little more excitement. Regardless who starts at quarterback this season — Colin Kaepernick or Blaine Gabbert — Kelly has already proven he can make any QB situation work.

Heck, he turned an unknown quarterback in Nick Foles into a 2013 Pro Bowler with the Philadelphia Eagles.

And Kelly turned a 4-12 Eagles team in 2012 into a 10-win franchise the following year.

But let’s dive a little more into the details.

According to Football Outsiders, the 2012 Eagles’ offensive DVOA was minus-10.8 percent, which ranked 25th in the NFL. The next year, that number jumped to plus-22.9 percent — No. 3 in the league.

OK, so there are a lot of factors going into the increase. The Eagles had different personnel, a different crop of opponents and a slew of other variables the Niners may not enjoy. And one could argue the rest of the league has adjusted to Kelly’s unique style.

So the 2016 49ers probably won’t be the third-most efficient offense in the league this season. But the adjustments teams will have to make will be far more complicated than what opponents had to do against Tomsula and his staff.

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Sure, there are questions as to how Kelly’s offense will affect the defense. The perceived notion a Kelly-led offense puts the defense at risk, due to the large number of snaps this unit will likely face over a season, raises some doubts as to how good the 49ers will be.

But if we tack on the possibility San Francisco’s front-seven unit being vastly improved over last year, as mentioned on the previous slide, there could be a bit of an offset.

And maybe that’s enough to give 49ers fans even more hope on what promises to be an interesting, if not dominant, year in 2016.

Next: Predicting 49ers 2016 Depth Chart Before Training Camp

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