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		If the 49ers stay healthy, the sky's the limit By Morris Phillips October 23, 2011

	Any team with shoulder pads and helmets needs to stay healthy. If the 49ers are fortunate to be a football that maintains its health, look out. Here’s why: The 49ers’ (5-1) lead in the NFC West continues to grow. After another day of losing within the division, the gap between San Francisco and Seattle is three games and the gap between the 49ers and Arizona is four games. Have the 49ers built an insurmountable lead? Of course not, but this lead in this division is about as close as it gets. Five of the 49ers’ remaining 10 games are within the division and all signs point to those games being the team’s stepping stone to favorable playoff positioning, hopefully a wild-card round bye. Have doubts having lived through the last eight years without even a playoff game? You should, but remember this: the 49ers have the stingiest defense in the NFC, allowing just 16 points a game. Four of those five divisional games come against the bumbling Rams, who have scored just 10 points in their last eight quarters, and the Cardinals, who have allowed more than 30 points in each of their last three losses. And the 49ers also get the Seahawks who managed just three points on Sunday with backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst at the controls. Outside of the divisional battles, the 49ers will get real tests from the Steelers, Ravens and Giants, but in the next two weeks, they get the Browns, losers of two of the last three, and the Redskins, losers of three of their last four after a 2-0 start. Also the Redskins don’t look any more formidable with John Beck at the controls instead of the benched Rex Grossman. Just like last year, the 49ers are navigating through a weakened NFC. The world champion Packers are undefeated, but the next spot in the pecking order is up for grabs. Competing for that spot and the coveted playoff bye are the Lions, Saints, Cowboys and Falcons along with the 49ers. All four teams have had issues in the early season with inconsistent play all four are currently behind the 49ers in the standings. If the 49ers can continue to lead this group in the standings, it should result in a first round bye in playoffs. One thing to watch for is the 49ers’ serious lack of depth. If the team does suffer injuries, the replacements in the lineup will be a big drop off from the current starters. At almost every position, the 49ers attempted to beef up in the off-season by acquiring free agents, but we know how poorly the off-season went in terms of adding new players. Instead of getting more balance in the roster, the 49ers instead settled for a younger look out of necessity when many veterans decided to go somewhere else rather than sign with a 49ers’ team that didn’t have a favorable outlook. As a result, the 49ers are probably younger and less experienced than they’ve ever been. The team also has very few players that have played on a winning NFL team and/0r qualified for the playoffs in their career. So the team’s story is simple: if they can stay healthy, the sky’s the limit, if not, just hope they can hang on within the NFC West.