"Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in."

The famous Al Pacino line in The Godfather, Part 3 "Just when I thought I was out.....they pull me back in" perfectly describes how I'm feeling about the San Francisco 49ers. Why shouldn't I feel excited for the 49ers at the moment? They lead the NFC West by two games, have beaten two east coast teams, came back against the "Dream Team" in Philly and steamrolled the Buccaneers. Alex Smith is actually looking like a first overall draft pick, Frank Gore is doing Frank Gore things, and they're dominating both sides of the line of scrimmage. So why do I have only one foot on the bandwagon?

I'm not fully jumping on the bandwagon yet because the season is still early. Because Alex Smith could revert back to the Alex Smith we've seen for the past six seasons. Because the 49ers are still lead by a rookie coach in Jim Harbaugh. Still I'm straddling the fence. The 49ers have pulled me back in, just when I thought I was out again.

I'm pulled in because they 49ers have the best turnover margin in the league. I'm pulled in because Alex Smith hasn't made any crippling mistakes so far which is more a credit to Harbaugh and the coaches for making it hard for Smith to fail. I'm pulled in because the 49ers actually have a pass rush. I'm pulled in because the 49ers aren't giving up red zone points along with any rushing yards.

Now with all that said, I do not believe the 49ers are in the same class with Green Bay or New Orleans or really anywhere close to those teams. I would still take Rodgers and Brees over Alex Smith in a New York minute. And while the 49ers defense has been really impressive this year, I don't see how they stop either of those offenses. Stranger things have happened in the NFL playoffs, but 49ers just aren't in the same class with the top NFC teams. I do believe they're right there though with any of the NFC East team, the rest of the NFC South and North.

Right now though I'm just going to enjoy watching the 49ers. I'm riding the wave with every other fan on the three-game winning streak. This is the first time in years that I can just sit back and really enjoy the 49ers play football and I'm loving every minute of it. It feels good being a 49ers fan again.