Probably the least contested division in football history, the NFC West, will continue the trend this season. In the 1970’s, it was dominated by the Rams while the Falcons, Saints, and 49ers were awful. In the 1980’s, it was dominated by the 49ers dynasty despite the Rams still being a decent team, just not at the Niners level. In the 1990’s, it was dominated by the 49ers again because everyone else sucked, and after a few years of Rams dominance, it is being dominated by the Seahawks. Seattle is far from a dominant team, but just like in the 70’s and 90’s, no one else is good enough to challenge them.
1. Seattle Seahawks – I thinking Seattle has a 9-7 division winning season in their future, and that is probably all they need. Matt Hasselbeck is not very flashy but seems to get the job done, and the running game has more of a plan this year with Julius Jones now that Alexander is gone. Their defense is stingy, unlike all of their other division foes. In a wide open NFC, Seattle could easily be in the NFC title game if their D tightens up in January.
2. Arizona Cardinals – For I think the 10th year in a row, the entire world is on the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon, and I still don’t understand why. Was the Jake Plummer led 9-7 season and playoff win over the Cowboys in 1998 so incredible that they deserve the love they get every preseason? Since then, the Cards are 49-95, seems like the same old team for me. The completely in the gutter 49ers are actually 57-87 over the same time frame. Luckily for them, they have 2 terrible teams in their division so 2nd place and another missed playoff season seems to be the story again this season. If they can actually make the playoffs, Matt Leinart will have a real reason to party.
3. San Francisco 49ers – This is a tough call, since the Rams had a boatload of injuries last year. I think the 49ers could get a Martzian boost this season and be competitive with teams with bad defenses. It looks like they finally gave up on Alex Smith in favor of a lesser known QB from a small college program in California….kind of like Jeff Garcia. This isn’t saying much at all, but they had the 2nd best defense in the division last season. The offense was the major problem, and I think Martz could be good for 1 or 2 more wins, leaving them still under .500, but maybe less of a joke.
4. St. Louis Rams – The Rams could easily wind up in 3rd in this division if they stay healthier than last year. The Greatest Show on Turf closed its doors a long time ago but their offense will probably perform better than last season if the injury luck is more in their favor. Their defense has always been incredibly weak, and I’m not sure if adding Chris Long is going to drastically turn things around, especially with 3 teams in their division now seemingly more capable of putting up points than last year.
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