You need an All Of The Above option! LOL
It's a tough question because I want them all. But.... to take them in order:
Alex Smith needs to show he's really THAT QB - Not so much, I have faith he'll be at least as good as Kirk and whatever my/our thoughts on Kirk the QB wasn't the biggest area of problem for us the past few years. 5th on the list for me.
I want to know that Guice is the homerun-hitting steal we all think he is - Right up there. Running has been a big problem for us historically, it would be awesome to see this fixed. With Thompson back, Guice on deck and ThinRob coming back if the O-line can block properly then we should be in good shape. 3rd out of the 6 items for me.
Josh Doctson needs to prove he's a #1 NFL WR - Meh 6th on the list for me. I have faith he'll be good this year, but I don't think a breakout season for him is necessarily a key to our fortunes. While we might not have a weapon that truly strikes fear into CB's league wide yet, we do have some nice weapons and Smith strikes me as the kind of QB that'll use them. I think our passing game will be fine regardless of him having a break out season.
I need to see the beginning signs of a dominating DL and defense - Now this is where I see our fortunes rising or falling. This is where our playoff potential begins for me. This is the thing I'm most interested in seeing. Is there a kernel of something special here with Allen, Payne, Settle etc. Number 1 on my list.
I need to see Jordan Reed healthy and ready to dominate - Never gonna happen! LOL I use the word faith a lot above... I have no faith in Reed staying healthy. I hope it happens... I hope he's still a dominant force... but it's no higher than number 4 on my list.
I need to see that our young CBs can make us forget the Kendall Fuller trade - Number 2 for me. I have confidence that the Offense will be at least average this year, possibly very good. All about the D this year. I want to see a strong showing in all phases of the D for us.
So in recap...
Show me the D-Line, show me the Secondary, show me the running game, show me Reed can stay healthy, show me Alex has the right arm and lastly show me Doctson with lotsa touchdowns.