NFL Previews: NFC West

Today maybe the most competitive division in the NFL, the NFC West. Most competitive because 3 of the 4 teams could conceivably win the division. By default. Someone has to finish first.


San Francisco 49ers
Last Year: 8-8, 2nd place
Key Additions: Mike Iupati (draft), Anthony Davis (draft), Ted Ginn, Jr
Key Losses: None, unless Aubrayo Franklin never signs

Yeah, it's the chic pick. But you tell me, who's better? The Niners should be competent this year, and competent is good enough in the wasteland that is the NFC West. The running game, already a strength with Frank Gore, should be improved with the additions of Iupati and Davis on the line. The passing game should be good enough, a whole year of Michael Crabtree will only help Alex Smith, and Vernon Davis is a beast. He'll score 6 or 7 TDs and have about 40+ catches just with that simple seam route he runs and Smith always hits him for. Watch a 49ers game and I guarantee you they'll run it at least twice. And they should, they're so good at it they have no reason to not run it, no one can stop Davis and Smith has it down pat with him. It's like how Daunte Culpepper would just chuck the ball up to where only Randy Moss could get it. The Vikings literally called that play "school yard." Keep doing it until they stop you. Defensively, whoa boy. Patrick Willis is the heir apparent to Ray Lewis as the dominate middle linebacker, and if he shows up and signs his contract Franklin is a monster in the middle. They could use a better pass rush and the secondary is a question mark, but like the offense it's good enough to get this team to first place. Mike Singletary has this team where he wants it: incredibly physical. You may beat the 49ers, but you're not going to be 100% the next week. And yes, I did list Tedd Ginn, Jr as a key addition. He's a terrible WR but he's a very good kick returner, the 49ers were truly terrible in the return game last year. Dead last in yards/punt return and 23rd in yards/kickoff return. Ginn will be a significant upgrade, and when the Niners start putting up a few more points than they did last year it won't be just because of whatever improvements Alex Smith makes, it'll also be in part to them having a shorter field to work with thanks to improved kick returns. And no one in the mainstream press will consider that. Special teams aren't a third of the game, but they matter.

Seattle Seahawks
Last Year: 5-11, 3rd place
Key Additions: Charlie Whitehurst, Leon Washington, Russell Okung (draft), Earl Thomas (draft)
Key Losses: Walter Jones (retirement), Seneca Wallace, Nate Burleson

Pete Carroll gets a bad rap as a NFL head coach. He is clearly better off in college, but his NFL tenure is not that bad. He spent one year with the Jets, they sucked when he took over and the sucked after he left, I don't know what more he could have done in one season. He had them in contention for a good part of the season until the infamous Dan Marino fake spike. In New England he never had a losing season, although his win total went down every year. Great coach? No, but not a bad one either. In Seattle he is a welcome change from Jim Mora, who stinks. Carroll inherits a mess of a team and has done a pretty good job so far in the off-season. He got maybe a QB of the future for an exchange of picks in Charlie Whitehurst, got the dynamic when healthy (and that's not a small question mark) Leon Washington for peanuts, and had a good draft. This team has a ways to go, but they're doing smart things in the off-season, have a solid coaching staff and some good players. They might win the division, but that's a pretty big leap from where they were last year. It's not unprecedented, but it's unlikely. The offensive line needs work, the defense is hit or miss (real good group of LBs, obviously), the running game has high risk high reward players, Matt Hasselbeck is old and beat up and Charlie Whitehurst is unproven. Of course if the Niners flop it's anyone's division.

Arizona Cardinals
Last Year: 10-6, 1st place, 1-1 in playoffs
Key Additions: Joey Porter, Kerry Rhodes, Derek Anderson, Alan Faneca, Daryl Washington (draft)
Key Losses: Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, Karlos Dansby, Antrell Rolle

My, what changes in the desert. Kurt Warner was a big enough loss, but then Boldin, Dansby and Rolle were shown the door. The Cardinals had six good players, four of them left one way or another this off-season. Now it's just Larry Fitzgerald, Darnell Dockett and 51 guys. Alright that's a little harsh, but the window has closed. Taking over for Warner is whoever "wins" the battle between Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson, in reality the Cardinals lose. The defense, already a hindrance, gets worse all around. Considering the players available on the market Arizona did well in replacing the departed Dansby and Rolle, but the fact remains Porter and Rhodes are downgrades. The offense will struggle, the defense will struggle even more, and they'll finish in 3rd place. They couldn't run the ball all that well last year and Alan Faneca will help some but he won't turn the ship around. They couldn't stop anyone on defense last year and won't again this year. Leinart and Anderson have looked pretty bad in the preseason so far. Could they win the division? A lot has to happen, particularly things out of their control like key injuries or the refs blowing a game to the Niners and Hawks. But Ken Wisenhunt is an excellent coach, any failure on the Cardinals part won't be from coaching. I'd be surprised but not shocked if Arizona wins the West. The Niners could bust and the Seahawks could only take a small step forward while the Cardinals somehow put it together. But probably the Cardinals are back to being the Cardinals we all know and love: an easy win for your favorite team. Unless your team is the Rams.

St. Louis Rams
Last Year: 1-15, worst team in the league
Key Additions: Sam Bradford (draft)
Key Losses: When you win 6 games in 3 years, no one on your roster is key.

Dear lord is this team terrible. And I don't see how they're going to get good anytime soon. Let's start with Sam Bradford. He came out of college early, which historically does not bode well for him. On top of that, he was out for most of the season with a shoulder injury. It was his throwing shoulder. The Rams offensive line is horrible, so Bradford is going to get beat ragged, and he's got no one to throw to. Donnie Avery is a nice complimentary receiver, nothing more. Additionally, in college he would go to the line and then look to the sideline to see if the coaches wanted to change the play. He's got no experience calling his own audibles. Maybe he can do it, but he was never given the chance to. Reminds me of how Tim Couch was the #1 pick in 1999 and never had a playbook in college. Surprise, surprise, he was a total bust. Steven Jackson was the Rams' only good offensive player last year, and the Rams ran him into the ground, he played through injuries and racked up 375 touches. I doubt he has a good season again this year, which is a shame because he deserves it. Defensively they have some nice pieces in OJ Atogwe and James Laurinaitis, but that's it. You can throw on them and you can run on them. They're destined for a fourth straight top 5 draft pick.

They could be better if they didn't have such crappy management. Santonio Holmes, Leon Washington, Ted Ginn, Jr and Bryant McFadden were dealt for a 5th round pick, LenDale White for a 4th and 6th, and Tony Scheffler and Ernie Sims were dealt in a three way trade involving a 5th and 7th rounder. Where were the Rams in these? Sitting on their hands. With varying degree any of these players would have represented an upgrade. Holmes will miss 4 games due to suspension but you're telling me that 12 games of Santonio Holmes wouldn't help Sam Bradford at the cost of a measly 5th rounder? Or that the other players wouldn't be welcome additions to a roster with absolutely no depth? (The same could be said for Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Buffalo, and Jacksonville.) I don't get it.