SANTA CLARA – The 49ers entered the offseason with their presumptive franchise quarterback locked up to a lucrative, long-term contract.
They also ended the 2017 season on a five-game win streak. Plenty of players in the locker room said they wished the season were just beginning, not coming to a conclusion.
The 49ers accomplished good things down the stretch, including victories over playoff teams Jacksonville, Tennessee and the L.A. Rams, who were resting many of their starters in the season finale. But those wins do not carry over to 2018, even if the momentum was palpable.
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Coach Kyle Shanahan also knows that it is a completely different challenge when the pressure is on down the stretch of the NFL regular season, as opposed to the 49ers of a year ago. They were merely playing the role of spoiler with nothing to lose.
“I am aware that people have talked highly about us and that’s what comes with the territory when you win your last five games after starting so bad,” Shanahan said. “I mean, we all know that doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t. You have to work and you have to go about your business.”
The 49ers lost their first nine games of the season for the worst start in franchise history. The team was mostly competitive during their skid, though, losing an NFL-record five consecutive games by three points or less.
But it is the way the 49ers finished the season – with a quarterback acquired from the New England for a mere pittance – that has the fan base inspired to dream big.
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“I think it’s exciting for the fans -- no doubt about it,” Jimmy Garoppolo said. “It was a good end of the season. It sounds very cliché, but it’s a new year. We have new players. Every team is different around the league now. You kind of start from the ground up and I think we started with that in OTAs and got a good jump on it. But now training camp is here and we have to take it one day at a time."
There is plenty of turnover on the team, as there is every season. The team will have at least 10 new starters at the opening of 2018 from the group that finished out last season.
Jerick McKinnon has replaced Carlos Hyde. Weston Richburg and Mike McGlinchey are in; Daniel Kilgore and Trent Brown are out. Richard Sherman takes over for Dontae Johnson. Pierre Garçon, Arik Armstead and Jaquiski Tartt are back from injuries that ended their seasons.
“The way we finished last year was all positive and everything, but this is a completely new season with new challenges,” said left tackle Joe Staley, the longest-tenured 49ers player. “I think everybody is very focused and understands that. It’s exciting to be able to build on something positive from last year and kind of carry it into the offseason. But there’s nobody in that locker room is saying, ‘We’ve arrived.’ We know we have a ton of work to do.”
Shanahan said he has not specifically addressed expectations for this team because all he would be doing is talking about what others outside the organization are talking about. The only thing that matters to him is how hard the team is working. And he said he is impressed with what he saw during the offseason program, heading into training camp.
“I felt we worked our tails off last year, and I think we’re working even harder this year, which I didn’t know was possible,” Shanahan said.
While the hard work has just started with the 49ers’ first training camp practice being held on Thursday, Shanahan said what will likely determine the team’s success this season is how it responds to a couple of losses along the way.
“We were 6-10 last year,” Shanahan said. “We won those last five games and we weren’t just blowing guys out. I just mentioned all the young people we have that this can go a lot of ways. Every season is hard. Nothing is easy, and by no means are we coming in thinking that this is just going to happen.
“We’re ready to get to work, and we know it’s going to be hard. We know we’re going to face adversity. What’s going to separate us is hopefully how we respond to the adversity.”