San Francisco 49ers

I can barely bring myself to write about this team, so hopeless they are.

Alex Smith has to be considered a bust by now. Sure, the kid can play, but the kid isn’t a kid anymore and turning in four, maybe five good performances a season isn’t enough to convince any head coach that he’s got what it takes to be a successful NFL QB. A decent back-up, sure – the guy has first round talent but no consistency. But if you expect Smith to carry the hopes of your team, your team’s in for a bumpy season.

Frank Gore – one of the NFL’s better rushers – is doomed to a career in the vein of Barry Sanders, or the modern equivalent, Stephen Jackson of the Rams – great players on a terrible team. I feel for him and for the fans, which are now of an age that regards the glory days as prehistory. For a franchise with 5 world titles, a championship appearance, let alone win, seems a million miles away.

Verdict: good players will see this team get a few wins, but there is nothing in the way of on-field leadership to suggest the 49ers are able to eke out the win when their backs are to the wall. They should finish last in the NFC West and go 4-12 for the season, and I might be being a tad generous there.


Pick up THE HARE newspaper at Night and Day, Bar Centro, Font or Tiger Lounge in Manchester town centre, or the Oakwood in Glossop.

E-mail theharenewspaper@hotmail.co.uk with questions, comments or contributory pieces.