Bodog Beat

Shaun Hill will likely assume the No. 1 QB role this year for the Niners. (AP Images)

You may not recognize the San Francisco 49ers this season. The franchise that basically invented the West Coast offense will be a physical, pound-it-out team in the mold of head coach Mike Singletary, a Hall of Fame linebacker. Singletary seemed to have gotten this team's attention in thesecond half of last season after taking over on an interim basis for the fired Mike Nolan. San Francisco went 5-4 in its final nine games.

The big move was inserting Shaun Hill as quarterback, as he led the team to four wins in the final five contests. Yet Hill is officially battling for No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith for the starting job this preseason, although pretty much everyone assumes it's Hill's job. He is 7-3 as a starter over the past two seasons, while the team is 5-17 over that span with other starters.

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Jimmy Raye is the team's seventh offensive coordinator in as many years, but he has basically been ordered to get the ball in running back Frank Gore's hands. Former offensive coordinator Mike Martz's pass-first offense just didn't jibe with Singletary's beliefs. That's not to say this team won't pass, certainly. The Niners probably have their best group of receivers in years, presumably led by rookie Michael Crabtree.

And Raye has a few tricks up his sleeve with an offense called "Taser." It’s basically the Wildcat, but during camp the Niners have been lining up receivers Michael Spurlock and Arnaz Battle at quarterback, Gore in the slot as a receiver and QBs Hill and Smith out wide as receivers. Anything to improve an offense that was No. 23 in the league last year.

As long as Gore can avoid the ankle problems that have plagued him the past two years, he should approach his 2006 rushing numbers of 1,695 yards, a team record.

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On defense, the Niners allowed only 14.2 points per game in their final five games last year. The unit really needs a top-flight pass-rusher but has one of the best young linebackers in the NFL in Patrick Willis. Think Singletary will teach him a thing or two? In my opinion, this is the sleeper team in the NFC this season.

Here is the 49ers' 2009 schedule, and we'll break it down after:
Sept. 13 at Arizona Cardinals, 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 20 vs. Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m.
Sept. 27 at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 vs. St. Louis Rams, 4:15 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Atlanta Falcons, 4:05 p.m.
Week 6: Bye
Oct. 25 at Houston Texans, 1 p.m.
Nov. 1 at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m.
Nov. 8 vs. Tennessee Titans, 4:15 p.m.
Nov. 12 vs. Chicago Bears, 8:20 p.m.
Nov. 22 at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m.
Nov. 29 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4:05 p.m.
Dec. 6 at Seattle Seahawks, 4:15 p.m.
Dec. 14 vs. Arizona Cardinals, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m.
Dec. 27 vs. Detroit Lions, 4:05 p.m.
Jan. 3 at St. Louis Rams, 1 p.m.

Strength of schedule: 26th (opponents combined to go 113-142-1, .443, in 2008)
Projected record: 9-7
Bodog over/under total: 7
Bodog odds to win NFC West: 51/20
Bodog odds to win NFC: 25/1
Bodog odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: 55/1

If San Francisco is going to contend in the NFC West, like I think it will, we should know right away with three of the first four games in the division. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I suppose) the toughest division test comes first with a game at the NFC champion Cardinals. Arizona swept the 49ers last year, including winning in the 2008 opener. But remember that San Francisco was stopped on a last-second goal-line stand in the rematch at Arizona last year and could have easily won that game. The Niners always seem to play well at Arizona. This is the fourth year in a row those two open against each other.

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Former Niners defensive coordinator Jim Mora returns to San Francisco as the Seahawks' new head coach in Week 2 in a battle of rookie (full-time) head coaches, and the 49ers will be favored to win there and probably should. In Week 10, Singletary's former Bears visit for a prime-time game. Remember that the Niners were rumored as one of the teams angling to get Jay Cutler before Chicago did. It's San Francisco's first-ever Thursday night home game.

San Francisco, and the rest of the NFC West, drew the very tough AFC South this year, and that could well mean three losses for the 49ers. I really only like that home game against the Jaguars as a potential victory; it's Jacksonville's first-ever visit to Candlestick Park. Also of concern is that team has to deal with cold-weather games in Green Bay and Philadelphia in December, so that's probably two more losses. Even that trip to Seattle could see some nasty winter weather.

So can this team reach have a winning season and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002? With an upset or two, I think it's very possible, and 49ers' odds on Bodog to win the division and the over total of wins are great value.

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