The 49ers are so desperate for wide receivers, they may even do the unexpected: make a trade with the Raiders.This would have been unthinkable when Al Davis was alive, but this is a new day for the Raiders. New general manager Reggie McKenzie will do whatever it takes to improve the team, and what stands out now is that he has a glut of young, fast receivers, but no draft picks — except for supplemental ones — before the fifth round. Read More

It’s difficult to predict how an assistant coach will do when he becomes a head coach, as Dennis Allen is set to do for the Raiders, and even a glimpse of Raiders history doesn’t help much. John Madden and Tom Flores prospered, but they were given talent-laden teams. Mike Shanahan didn’t last out a season, but that was partly because he was trying to put in an offensive system Al Davis hated. Read More

The 49ers’ winning formula finally failed them. All season, the 49ers had relied on strong defense, efficient offense, great special teams and, most of all, winning the turnover battle. Not in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. This time, two costly mistakes by kick returner Kyle Williams cost them a game they should have won in regulation. Read More

The first thing the 49ers should do in the offseason is re-sign Alex Smith to a multiyear contract. I’m sure Alex will be willing. He’s had two chances to leave the Niners, but has returned each time. The first time was after the 2008 season, when then general manager Scot McCloughan said he’d either have to accept a restructured contract, at a lower salary, or leave as a free agent. He stayed. The second time was last February, when he was a free agent, but Jim Harbaugh asked him to come back. After the lockout ended, Alex signed a one-year contract. Read More

If you watched the New Orleans Saints take apart the Detroit Lions at the Superdome, you know why it was so important that the 49ers play them at Candlestick Park. The Saints have been unbeatable at home this season, playing on artificial turf in a domed stadium before adoring fans who fill the stadium with ear-splitting noise. Read More

The comparisons between the 49ers of 1981 and the 2011 version are compelling. Both were teams with a strong defense and an offense based on mostly short passes. Both were led by young quarterbacks — Joe Montana was 25, Alex Smith is 27 — who were effective within the structure of the offense. Montana threw for 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 88.7. Smith threw for 17 touchdowns, only five interceptions and a quarterback rating of 90.7. Both teams had outstanding coaches with a Stanford background, Bill Walsh and Jim Harbaugh. Read More

The 49ers’ success is no fluke, and they once again have the organizational strength to be consistent winners, with Jed York as CEO and Trent Baalke as general manager. Jed is nothing like his father, John, for which we can all be thankful. Though he’s only 30, he’s grown into the job he inherited, working tirelessly to get the funding for the proposed new stadium in Santa Clara, now scheduled to open in 2014, and he nailed down $850 million in bank loans about two weeks ago. Read More