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49ers to honor Walsh in opener vs. Cardinals

Sep 10, 2007 - 10:29 AM Arizona at San Francisco Monday 10:15 pm EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- The San Francisco 49ers will put their glorious past on display before embarking on what they hope is a promising future.

The 49ers will honor the memory of legendary coach Bill Walsh during their season opener against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night.

The architect of San Francisco's dynasty that captured five Super Bowls from 1981 to 1994, Walsh died on July 30 at the age of 75.

Walsh brought the 49ers from a 2-14 record in 1979 - his first season with the club - to the franchise's first Super Bowl championship in 1981.

While no one is mentioning San Francisco as a Super Bowl contender this season, the 49ers are a trendy pick to win the NFC West - this coming after four consecutive losing seasons.

The Niners have gone 4-12 and 7-9 in their first two seasons under coach Mike Nolan. With a young nucleus on offense featuring running back Frank Gore, tight end Vernon Davis and quarterback Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, and a revamped defense, hopes are high for a major turnaround in the Bay Area.

Gore rushed for a franchise-record 1,695 yards and led the team in receptions with 61 in 2006. While Smith had so-so totals of 16 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions, it was a marked improvement from his disastrous rookie campaign, when he had just one scoring pass and 11 picks.

The biggest change, however, may come on the defensive side. San Francisco brought in four free agents, headed by Bills cornerback Nate Clements, whom they signed to an eight-year $80 million dollar contract. The 49ers also took linebacker Patrick Willis with the 11th overall pick in the draft.

For the second straight season, they open with the Cardinals, having dropped a 34-27 decision on the road to their NFC West rival in 2006. Arizona made it a sweep with a 26-20 victory at San Francisco in Week 16.

The Cardinals were the trendy pick to make a major move in 2006, but they lost eight in a row after the opener and fired coach Dennis Green after a second straight 5-11 season.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Ken Whisenhunt makes his debut as a head coach, promising to restore the offense with an added emphasis on the running game.

The hope is that adds to a productive season for running back Edgerrin James, who scored just six TDs and averaged a career-low 3.4 yards a carry in his first season in the desert.

Arizona has plenty of other weapons on offense. Second-year quarterback Matt Leinart has an outstanding wide receiver tandem in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Fitzgerald had 13 catches for 226 yards and a touchdowns in the two meetings last season.