Barber: Great debate on 49ers’ 2017 season

Finally, football. And I’m not gonna lie to you, it took forever to get here. I mean, waiting to see whether the A’s will lead the majors in errors or Pablo Sandoval can put together an 0-for-100 streak can take you only so far through the calendar.

We are in desperate need of the NFL, with all its flaws, with all its hypocrisies, with all its brutality and self-congratulation.

And dare I say it, the local teams are interesting this year. We’ll tackle the Raiders in a couple days. Let’s start with the 49ers, who offer a new general manager, a new head coach and a new quarterback for 2017. How will it all come together?

Here’s my internal debate on the Niners, who open at home against Carolina on Sunday.

PRO: Ring in the new year! Gone are the Game of Thrones infighting of the Harbaugh exit, the bumbling pratfalls of Jim Tomsula and the hollow promises of Chip Kelly. In comparison, Kyle Shanahan is a breath of fresh air. The new coach is a young strategic mastermind who has 49ers players mesmerized by his ability to explain the game.

CON: Slow your roll, champ. Shanahan was a good hire. But unless you see Julio Jones or Davonta Freeman whipping out a key fob in Santa Clara sometime soon, don’t expect the 2017 49ers to look anything like the 2016 Falcons. Shanahan and GM John Lynch inherited the most depleted roster in the league. Anything less than a four-year turnaround will be a quick fix.

Oh, and your quarterback is Brian Hoyer.

PRO: Don’t sleep on Brian Hoyer! He may not have Colin Kaepernick’s body or Matt Ryan’s arm, but the guy has been a serviceable QB at several stops.

CON: Some people thought Blaine Gabbert would be serviceable, too. Turned out the service was giving the ball back to the other team. Also, you have just two quarterbacks on the roster, and the other one is a rookie. Hoyer has missed games the past four years with a knee injury, concussions and a broken arm. Lace ’em up, C.J. Beathard!

And one more thing to consider: Your entire receiving corps is new to the team. Like, the whole unit. You know how sometimes you’re playing poker and you have the urge to throw in your entire hand for five new cards? The 49ers gave in to the urge. They didn’t even keep, like, the 10 of clubs. Across the bay, Derek Carr finishes sentences for Cooper and Crabtree. Here, Hoyer is still trying to learn first names.

PRO: Glad you brought this up. For once, the 49ers quarterback will have some targets. Stretching back even into the Harbaugh years, this team’s receiving corps has basically been the theatrical release of “Slow and Slower,” followed by a string of plodding sequels. You could debate Smith vs. Kaepernick or Kap vs. Gabbert all you wanted. It never mattered much because they were all throwing to guys bound for the CFL or retirement.

The reshuffled cast is a huge improvement. Pierre Garcon is a receiver who logged 113 receptions and 1,346 yards one year, and Marquise Goodwin is the burner the 49ers have lacked practically since John Taylor.

CON: I’ll give you Garcon. He’s a superb possession receiver. Just like Anquan Boldin before him. The problem for Boldin was he didn’t have a complement to stretch the field. And if Goodwin can’t catch the ball, Garcon won’t have one, either.

Maybe the 49ers shouldn’t have tied up so much money in fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who plays a position that is virtually obsolete and whose name is a Jumble puzzle with no solution.

PRO: Let’s talk defense, then. Have you seen this kid Reuben Foster, the rookie Will linebacker? He gets from sideline to sideline like the beam of a spotlight during a prison break. He has a winning personality and a head for the game that leaves other rookies in the dust. People are calling him the steal of the draft at No. 31 overall.

And he’ll be paired with NaVorro Bowman, one of the most accomplished linebackers of his generation. If Bowman can take another leap forward from his injury setbacks, this duo could resemble the heyday of Patrick Willis and pre-injury Bowman.

CON: Love these guys. Immense talents. Easy to root for. But we’ll be fortunate if we get to see them on the field together for any extended period of time. They’re off the charts, if those charts are in the scouting files. The problem is the charts in the medical office; they’re definitely on those charts.

Foster fell to the bottom of the first round because his right shoulder was shredded. And he has already suffered a couple of minor dings with the 49ers, including a sprain of that same shoulder. We just don’t know if he can stay on the field. And the sad truth is that Bowman might never be the player he was before his knee was totaled in the 2013 NFC championship game.

PRO: Oh ye of little faith. I hope you at least can give credit to the 49ers’ defensive line. This should be the strength of the team, and maybe one of the top lines in the NFL. I mean, DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead? They’re huge and disruptive. If you put them together, they’d be a shade under 13 feet and 600 pounds. The rest of the line is pretty good, too, and you should be fired up about a couple of newcomers at defensive end - Elvis Dumervil and Solomon Thomas.

CON: Dumervil and Thomas should be fun to watch. But I’d be more comfortable this season if the 33-year-old Elvis could give some of his mileage to the 21-year-old Solomon. As for Buckner and Armstead? Yeah, they’re solid building blocks. They also were part of the 2016 defense that ranked dead last in the NFL in total yardage (406.4), rushing yardage (165.9) and points (480) allowed. You know, the defense that surrendered 313 running yards to the mighty Buffalo Bills.

PRO: Look, Titletown wasn’t built in a day. There will be growing pains. But Lynch and Shanahan clearly have things moving in the right direction. The 49ers might not be a playoff team this year, but they’ll be competitive. And after the Tomsula-Kelly dystopia, that’s enough.

CON: What’s your prediction?

PRO: 7-9, lots of close games and establishment of Santa Clara as a destination for ambitious free agents.

CON: Sorry, it’s 4-12. There will be hints at improvement. But by January, we’ll all be wondering about those six-year contracts Jed York gave his GM and head coach.

You can reach columnist Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.