The national media did, starting with Cris Collingsworth saying that the Cardinals “might be the worst playoff team in NFL history.”

Whisenhunt’s terrible coaching down the stretch gave some truth to that kind of sentiment.

had three more sacks than the Bears had.

Those teams made meaningful personnel changes. Arizona went to a hall of famer at QB (and they did finish just 9-7 – while they got hot in the playoffs, they didn’t exactly tear up the regular season). Atlanta got the best performance from a rookie QB ever and also added Sam Baker, Michael Turner, and Curtis Lofton. Miami had a totally different set of players and coaches – they fired just about everybody. They got rid of Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas (and many others). They added Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Chad Pennington and got Ronnie Brown back from injury.

In contrast, we have essentially the same team we had last year. Without the team changing much why expect different results? We still have a weak pass rush. We still have a middle of the pack offensive line. We still have a journeyman QB. Here’s a interesting way to put it: who on this team would start for the Patriots? Willis, Gore, Smith, Clements, Rachal, Lawson and Andy Lee. That’s it. I’m not counting Staley because he would have to move over to the right side (he’s not displacing Matt Light). That’s 7 players out of 24 starters.

I expect our 2009 49ers to remind us a lot of our 2008 49ers (and they should because, again, its the same players). We’re going to be beaten soundly by the really good teams, much like in the Chargers preseason game. Last year it was the Patriots, Eagles (although we really gave that game away), Saints, Cowboys and Giants (combined, 0-5). This year it will be the Eagles, Vikings, Colts, Falcons and Titans. We’ll beat the really bad teams. Last year it was the Rams and Lions (combined, 3-0). We’ll beat those same teams again this year. And then we’ll split games against the mediocre teams. Last year it was the Seahawks, Cards, Bills, Jets, Dolphins and Redskins (combined, 4-4). This year it will be Seahawks, Texans, Packers, Bears, Jags and Cards. Maybe we steal one from an elite team that fumbles four times or give away a game to the Rams, but by and large we’ll finish right around the same as last year because, just like last year, we have middle of the pack talent.

There’s two ways I’m wrong about this (and boy I do hope I’m wrong about this). First, I’m wrong if a couple players make a huge leap in performance. If Goldson turns into the ballhawk we’ve been missing, Balmer turns into Richard Seymour, Lawson discovers how to rush the passer and Hill channels his inner Tom Brady, then we can do some things. While Goldson and Balmer look better than last year, they don’t look THAT much better. And Lawson and Hill look exactly the same.

Second, I’m wrong if Jimmy Raye and Mike Singletary are WAY better coaches than Nolan and Martz. Getting rid of Martz is a big change, but its hard to believe it will make a big enough difference to separate us from the pack.

The frustrating thing is that we’re so close to becoming a really good team. The fastest fix would be finding a franchise QB. That would change everything. But a pass rusher or two and a stud RT would turn us into a great defense/great running game team. We really are just a couple players away. But we’re not there yet.