San Francisco 49ers: Winless franchise needs to mimic Raiders
The San Francisco 49ers are 0-6 but have shown signs of definite progress. To take the next step, they should look to mimic the Oakland Raiders.
After losing five successive games by three points or less, one of the questions surrounding the San Francisco 49ers has been whether they are best 0-6 team in history. According to Football Outsiders, they are not.
San Francisco is ranked at No. 26 in the league with a DVOA rating — which measures team efficiency — of -21.0 percent. Four 0-6 teams in NFL history have had superior DVOA grades — the 2013 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 2007 Miami Dolphins, 1997 Indianapolis Colts and 2001 Detroit Lions.
It was the 2013 Bucs that had the best record of that quartet, finishing 4-12, but they actually got worse in 2014, finishing 2-14, and the Colts and Lions also continued to struggle a season later.
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The 2008 Dolphins went 11-5 after their 1-15 season a year earlier but that success was not sustained. If the 49ers are eyeing inspiration, they should look to two 0-6 teams from years gone by who actually had inferior DVOA ratings to that of the 49ers.
Oakland’s 2014 Raiders team (DVOA: -22.3 percent) and the 2011 Dolphins (DVOA: -22.8 percent) finished 3-13 and 6-10 respectively before going 7-9 in the subsequent campaigns. For the Raiders in particular, that 7-9 season in 2015 was the start of a return to relevance and competitiveness, and they are considered a legitimate playoff contender in the AFC.
Of course in 2014, the Raiders already had their quarterback of the future in place in the form of Derek Carr, and his development helped accelerate their transformation from also-rans to postseason candidates. San Francisco does not have such a luxury and has numerous other holes on the roster to fill.
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However, their competitive if extremely unfortunate start to the season is an indicator this team is making progress and, going forward, the success of their neigbours from the east Bay will be something the Niners will be looking to mimic.