Given that I shade a little bit more toward the "pessimist" side of this offseason, I think there are a few things that absolutely need to go right for the San Francisco 49ers to take a step forward from 8-8. I don't doubt that they can, but I do think the team is facing some serious obstacles.
One way to circumvent a couple of these big obstacles is to have an excellent pass rush. If we can put pressure on the QB, that makes it a whole lot easier for the CBs on the team to grow into their positions.