How the 49ers Football Team Can Dominate the NFC West This Season
Let me tell you something fascinating I noticed while watching the 49ers' preseason preparations. There's a certain energy around this team that reminds me of championship squads I've covered over the years. The way they're approaching this season feels different - more focused, more intentional. I was watching game footage from last season when it hit me how much the NFC West has evolved into one of football's most competitive divisions, with the Rams, Seahawks, and Cardinals all bringing legitimate threats. Yet something tells me this could be San Francisco's year to reclaim dominance.
Speaking of intentional changes, I came across this interesting story from basketball that perfectly illustrates my point about strategic transformations. Calvin Abueva, playing for Magnolia in the PBA, recently switched to jersey number 73 specifically to emulate Dennis Rodman's legendary playing style. Now, if you remember Rodman like I do, he wasn't the most gifted scorer, but my goodness, he dominated through relentless defense, rebounding, and doing whatever dirty work his team needed. Abueva recognizing that changing his approach could elevate his entire team's performance - that's the kind of strategic thinking I'm seeing with the 49ers this offseason.
Here's what excites me about San Francisco's situation. Their defense has this Rodman-like potential to just overwhelm opponents. With Nick Bosa leading that defensive line and Fred Warner orchestrating from the middle, they have the personnel to completely disrupt the offensive schemes of their division rivals. I've watched them in training camp, and the intensity is palpable. They're practicing with an edge that suggests they understand exactly what's at stake this season. When you combine that defensive mentality with an offense that's finally healthy and explosive, you begin to see the blueprint for how the 49ers football team can dominate the NFC West this season.
I had a conversation with former NFL defensive coordinator Mike Smith last week - he's been studying the NFC West extensively - and he pointed out something I found compelling. "The 49ers have the most complete roster in the division," Smith told me. "Their offensive weapons match up perfectly against the defensive weaknesses of their division opponents. Deebo Samuel against the Rams' secondary? George Kittle versus Seattle's linebackers? These are mismatches that could decide the division." He estimates that if the 49ers can split their division games and dominate outside the NFC West, they could finish with 12 or 13 wins, which would almost certainly secure the division title.
Looking at their schedule, I count at least 9 games where they should be clear favorites. The key will be those head-to-head matchups within the division. I remember watching them struggle against the Cardinals last season, and that can't happen again. Their offensive line needs to protect Jimmy Garoppolo - or Trey Lance, depending on how things shake out - better than they did in 2021 when they allowed 28 sacks in division games alone. That number needs to drop below 15 this season for them to control the division.
What really convinces me about their chances is the coaching staff. Kyle Shanahan has been through the battles, learned from his mistakes, and now has the personnel to execute his vision. It reminds me of when great coaches finally get all the pieces to click. The way Calvin Abueva studied Rodman's game film to transform his approach, I see Shanahan and his staff doing similar deep analysis of what works against each NFC West opponent. They're not just running their system - they're tailoring specific game plans for each division rival.
At the end of the day, football comes down to which team wants it more, which team prepares better, and which team executes when it matters. From what I've observed, the 49ers have that special combination of talent, coaching, and motivation that separates division winners from the rest of the pack. The NFC West will be a battle, no question, but I'm putting my money on San Francisco to come out on top. They've learned from past seasons, made strategic adjustments, and appear fully committed to doing whatever it takes - much like Rodman did throughout his legendary career.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
