If you dress in Seattle blue and green, Arizona red, or St. Louis blue and gold on Sundays, don’t get angry with your cable or satellite provider; the fact that your team is not on the broadcast schedule this week is not a mistake. It’s also not a “typo” that Oakland will be playing “at home” in Wembley Stadium, this week at least. It’s going to be wacky in the NFL in general and mostly quiet in the NFC West as three of the four teams are on week 4 byes. It’s extremely early and way too soon to say where they will wind up, but all four teams will have a quarter of their season in the books as of this Sunday, so we’ll review where each team is in the very early goings and help set the expectation for the rest of the season.
Arizona Cardinals (3-0, 1-0, 1st place): It’s not exactly 2008 and Kurt Warner isn’t warming up at QB, but this team has impressed perhaps everyone in the league save for themselves. They haven’t faced a murderer’s row of opponents (yet), but they did improve to 3-0 despite starting QB Carson Palmer missing week 3 due to a shoulder/nerve setback. The passing game is looking better every week, the running game is just good enough, and the patch-work defense is holding offenses to 15 points per game despite many changes from last season’s squad. With five division contests still to go and a stretch that includes some of the best passing attacks in the league at Atlanta, at Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington; the defense will be tested through the air and Palmer will have to prove he can still endure and win shootouts. Based on their progress so far, it will be tough to count out Arizona, but given their lack of depth they simply cannot afford a single injury on either side of the ball. It’s irrefutable that they are undefeated and Seattle is not, but given their schedule has been markedly easier than Seattle’s so far, they earn a grade just a ½ game in the division higher than Seattle’s. GRADE = A-
Seattle Seahawks (2-1, 0-0, 2nd place): This is a young and hungry team built for the long haul. They beat up Green Bay, then had an ugly loss in San Diego in blue unis in the Sahara-type heat (reports show 118 on-field temps, and if you call that an excuse, you’d better ask the Chargers brass why they requested the road/away uniform switch), then closed out their first quarter of the season with an inspired OT win at home against a vengeful Denver team. While they don’t have any major injury concerns, they will need to make sure to make the most of their week off to rest up for a brutal remaining schedule, including just two consecutive weeks at home, and 5 of their final 6 games against the division. Three games against Kansas City, Oakland, and the New York Giants should get them cheap wins (not to mention 2 of the 3 are at CenturyLink), but the way the NFL is shaping up this year, anything can happen. The running game and offense in general looks better than last year, and the defense is playing nearly the same level as the 2013 juggernaut. That they have all six of their division games remaining doesn’t exactly bode well for the fatigue factor as competitive as the West has become, but this team has proven over and over just how tough they are on both sides of the ball, and I don’t get the impression that there’s a single team in the league that legitimately concerns them. They’re the best 2-1 team in football today, and had arguably the toughest first quarter schedule to prove it. GRADE = B+
St. Louis Rams (1-2, 0-0, 3rd place): Despite being blown out by Minnesota and failing to cling to a big lead against Dallas, and then a small lead, and then failing to regain the lead, but did beat Tampa Bay on the road in between those embarrassments. The Rams find themselves in front of San Francisco in the division by a ½ game, and that honestly should feel like a big deal, given the talent the 49ers have vs the injuries the Rams have sustained and found a way to endure (so far). They, like Seattle, have all six of their division games still to come, but they do get a break with two separate sets of consecutive weeks at home. This is a resilient bunch, however their slate of games in November could be a back-breaker, as they have games at San Francisco, at Arizona, home against Denver, and at San Diego before finishing at home against Oakland Thanksgiving weekend. Regardless of whether they prove their mettle and finish 8-8 or better, or struggle down the stretch in the best division in the league, the Rams will be known as a team that plays tough, and not as the “circled-win” they were as recently as 2012. GRADE = C
San Francisco 49ers (1-2, 0-1, 4th place): Wow, this team is either destined for an amazing turnaround, or they are just one hot mess. They beat the Cowboys handily in Dallas in week 1, squandered their 20-7 3rd quarter lead in a loss to Chicago in opening night at their new stadium in week 2, and then had a disappointing loss at Arizona after going in to halftime up 14-6 over the Carson Palmer-less/Drew Stanton-led Cardinals in week 3. It doesn’t help their morale any that their head coach is now rumored to be pursued by his alma mater for the (currently filled) head coaching job at the University of Michigan, or that Colin Kaepernick has just 4 touchdowns to 3 interceptions, and his judgment throwing while being pressured has been a big problem early on, and could become a major concern if pass protection doesn’t improve. Sunshine/Ronnie Bass/Blaine Gabbert is the lone man behind him on the depth chart, so their season will be officially over if “Kap” takes too many hits and winds up on the trainer’s table. There’s still a lot of football left and 5 division games to go, but the early reviews haven’t been pretty. They are down arguably their best overall defender in NaVorro Bowman (on PUP list through week 6), their best pass rusher in Aldon Smith (suspended through week 9), and the defense as a whole looks out of sorts without them, but I can’t name a team that could lose its best run stuffer and pass rusher and be just fine. And yet they have held a second half lead in all three of their games so far, so it’s not panic time in the Bay, not yet anyway. The passing attack looks better than last year even if the protections don’t, and Carlos Hyde has been a welcome compliment to the aging Frank Gore in the running game. Their division schedule aside, San Francisco will have anything but an easy run of it, with games against Denver, New Orleans, and San Diego still to come. While their depth may not be inspiring this year, if they can avoid any serious injuries, get two key players back in the lineup, and clean up their mistakes, they still have their week 8 bye to look forward to and three sets of consecutive home games remaining. This is still a very talented team that has not missed the NFC Championship Game under Jim Harbaugh, and they have a home contest against Philadelphia this Sunday to try to get back on track. GRADE = C-
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