Now that the 49ers have 4 games in the books, it would certainly make sense to start looking at the first quarter of the season and reviewing the 49ers performance. However, the quirks of the schedule have given me a different idea.
The 49ers face the Atlanta Falcons this week and then have a bye week next week. Given that bye week, I thought I'd just use next week as a time to review the 49ers performance to date and see what people think going forward. And actually, 5 games is a quarter of the way to something big. If the 49ers win their division with no first round bye, and play 20 games, that means they'll have played in the Super Bowl. Now I realize a Super Bowl appearance is asking a lot and I'm not predicting one at this point. But we can always dream can't we?
Another reason I'm fine waiting until next week is that I think we'll have a much better idea of things following this week's game, as opposed to last week's win over the Rams. With 3 games against a shaky NFC West, a game against a very solid Falcons offense would tell us a lot more about this defense. Good teams beat potential playoff teams. While it's true the 49ers almost beat the Vikings, they still ended up losing that game. It might have been a necessary step backwards to take many steps forward, but they still lost the game.
If the 49ers lose to Atlanta, the first quarter of their season is viewed in the context of the wins: They could definitely win the West, but not much else. A win over Atlanta gives them even more "street cred" around the league. I certainly don't look down upon the wins so far. 3-1 is 3-1 no matter who you play. Last year's 49ers had a chance at 3-1 and certainly couldn't pull it off.
So it's safe to say things have certainly started off well for your 2009 49ers. Winning at home against a playoff caliber team is the next step for this team to take. Feel free to discuss the first quarter of the season here, but we'll be back next week with a more official first quarter review.