Look out for us, Singletary says

Associated Press

SANTA CLARA, Calif.

The San Francisco 49ers are cleared for takeoff. They will travel more than any other NFL team this season — 10,000 miles more than the next-closest Seattle Seahawks — as San Francisco’s schedule includes road games in Atlanta, Charlotte and Green Bay, and a “home” game in London.

And while we can calculate precisely how far the 49ers will go (35,219 miles), we cannot truly know how far they have come.

Coming off their 8-8 record last season, when all but two of their losses were by a touchdown or less, are they a team on the verge of busting through?

Or is this another tease, like in 2007, when the 49ers showed a lot of promise and thought they might be the NFC West team to beat and instead wound up 5-11?

Predictably, there is precious little wavering on the subject at 49ers training camp, where some players are teeming with optimism as they head into Coach Mike Singletary’s second full season. It is August, after all, the most hopeful of months in the NFL.

“Keep your eye on us,” fourth-year safety Dashon Goldson said.

“This is going to be a breakout year for the Niners.”

Linebacker Takeo Spikes, who after 12 seasons with four teams has the advantage of even more perspective, is similarly upbeat.

“Last year we went into uncharted waters,” he said, referring to Singletary’s first full season as coach.

“As a team, we didn’t know what to expect. Now we do. We realized after the hard work we put in last year, we were 8-8 but we easily could have been one of those 10-6 teams.”