Great post. Good reasoning, and I think you're spot on.
Who have the 49ers beaten? The Browns handed them the ball at least 3 times, one on the goal line negating 3 to 7 points. The talent is there for SF, the coaching is there, but they're still coming together as a complete team. And that's what will be the deciding factor.
For example, Cleveland's DLine had GAPING holes to run through, because they don't play as a unit. And where was the tackling? SF appeared to block really well, but how much of that was the fact that the Brown's defense was in disarray?
What I think the 49ers have going for them is an elite play caller, and elite defensive talent. When you pick early though, it's easier to pick up that talent.
I don't think Jimmy G is that great, yet. He's relatively inexperienced and hasn't really faced diversity on the field. It's going to be like Kyler Murray coming to the NFL with a history of not losing, then all of a sudden being confronted with the best athletes in the world, and the best coaching staffs in the world.
But even Kliff Kingsbury can get a win when he faces a team that started out all barn burners, but as soon as they start facing diversity, has pretty much given up on the season. The Bengals, much like the Browns, have a lot of talent scattered around their team. Problem is, they aren't playing as a team.
I think once JimmyG gets another year or two under his belt, he's going to either really improve, maybe Top 10, or he's going to hit a brick wall. Nothing in between. I'll be interested to see how he responds when things get really tough. It's all rainbows and unicorns in SF right now. You can tell, because Richard's mouth has started running non-stop.
I still love Sherman, but man, he really needs to mature. The mouthiness was fun when he was on a team that no one expected to do anything, but now it's really starting to get old, because it's based on either half-truths, or downright dishonesty. If you're going to point the finger when you're right, you need take responsibility when you're wrong.
But back to the OP, the 49ers are going to face a buzzsaw against the Rams Defense. LA's main problem is going to be if they can't run the ball. If SF stops the run, with all that 1st round talent on the DLine? It's going to be a laugher. I have faith in McVey though, because as smart as Shanny is, Timothy is smarter. So I'm calling this a loss for SF in another tight game.