Must win - One week In?

Even a modest prediction for the San Francisco 49ers before the season started was 10 wins. With five or six wins in their division alone easily attainable another five against the NFC South and AFC West didn't seem like a stretch at all.

With one game left in week two the Niners schedule - based on early returns and one awful game by the Singletary's - looks downright mean all of the sudden:

Week 1 at Seattle - Expectation: Rebuilding year for the 'Hawks with a new coach and a lot of new pieces. Loud place to play but the Niners will take care of business (and expectations) and get the win. Result: Three early chances to score TD's are blown leading to just six points and the team implodes, leaving a wake of accusations and allegations about communication and competency on the offensive side. Wow, even for the NFL the division-champs-to-be were smoke and mirrors pretty quick.

Week 2 vs. New Orleans - Expectation: Chalked this one up as four-six losses before the season. The defending champs come to town and are just too balanced for the Niners to upend. If they play well though, it could be a confidence-booster. The 'ol hang with the best, means we are close moment. Lose badly (like home loss to Atlanta in '09) and its back to the drawing board. Reality: Sandwiched between last's week debacle and next week's trip to KC (early start, short week, loud stadium, 2-0 Chiefs) and this game looks pretty important now.

Week 3 at Kansas City - Expectation: The Chiefs are not there yet. They have a few pieces and like Seattle it's loud and can be hostile when the team is going well but once again, this is a game a good team should be able to find a way to win. Reality: The Chiefs haven't proven a ton yet. They were outplayed by the Chargers a week ago and the torrential downpour mitigated those circumstances and beating the Browns isn't a huge hurdle to clear but the previously mentioned issues will be. West coast teams do not play well at 10 AM Pacific time, preparing for an opponent on a short week is hard and those communication issues will only be magnified in a raucous success-starved Arrowhead on Sunday morning.

Week 4 at Atlanta - Expectation: Loss. The Falcons crushed the 49ers last season at the Stick. Why would the boys of the bay roll into the ATL and suddenly handle Matty Ice and the Birds? Yea, I couldn't come up with a good reason either. So that means 2-2 after four weeks, waiting for the schedule to soften a bit. Reality: 0-4?? Season over, quarterback controversy, need for a new coach/offensive coordinator and a top-10 defense pissed that the other side of the ball is worthless despite the presence of at least two bona-fide playmakers (more on that in a second).

From there seven home games remain - three against hapless NFC West foes - but at 0-4 what does it matter? The Niners rally late and finish 7-9 again? Another off-season of pining about missed opportunities, 10-win seasons, playoffs and what could have been. Wait haven't we been down this road before?

Even at 1-3, Philadelphia comes to town and will be no easy task. Next up is the Raiders are a team the 'Niners should handle but no one is a pushover at this point. Another early start follows this time in Carolina - another road game that a playoff team wins - and then a "home" tilt with Denver across the Pond before the bye week. What was purported to be a 5-3 or 6-2 team heading into the break could be looking at a reversal of numbers. 2-6 or 3-5 certainly seems plausible when staring at an 0-4 hole. But they'll regroup after the bye, going 6-2, and string along that optimism all the way until next fall. Will that last gasp matter? Tonight should tell us a lot. Of course an upset of the defending champs at home, could sweep all of this under the rug. Such is life.

Additional thoughts: Mike Singletary may be an icon, a tremendous motivator and a wonderful mentor but he is meant to be the head coach of an NFL team. The jury has to still be out. While many coaches are blessed with great players, others get the most out of what they have. The Niners defense is formidable, the offense has more quality skill players than at any point in recent memory and then there's quarterback. Sure, Singletary's Papa Bear approach worked wonders with Vernon Davis but he was also supremely gifted. Can the same be said of Alex Smith? And for all of Coach Sing's football gusto how much does he know about molding QB's? For a franchise with two of the greatest gunslinger's ever the dearth of talent at the most crucial position in football since Jeff Garcia and definitely Steve Young and Joe Montana before him is a glaring problem and will continue to be.

Michael Crabtree is gifted. He has the potential to be a great receiver but he has really put himself in a precarious position as a pariah. The long holdout last season, the "diva" tag, missing the preseason, getting veteran treatment before proving anything to the point that V. Davis felt compelled to get in his face at practice then looking awfully lost when the lights came on Week 1. Not a great start. He needs to work hard, figure out what he's doing and start making a discernible difference if the 'Niners offense is going to take the leap necessary to be good week-in and week-out.

Enjoy the game.

Long hiatus over, NFL season upon us!

There is a lot to discuss but this post will be short.

Plenty of exciting topics to touch upon, like the baseball races - Cy Young, Triple Crown, NL West,  NL East, AL East.

Basketball and hockey are close to returning.

Good first week of college football, with some big match-ups in two days and of course the NFL begins tonight.

On that note allow me to make my first pick for the season.

Vikings @ Saints (-5.5)

I'll take the defending champs to cover and I'll be back by Sunday morning for a run-down of the rest of the picks.