NFC West Preview

NFC West Preview

San Francisco 49ers (last year 8-8)
- Key Additions: Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Ted Ginn Jr
- Key Losses: Shaun Hill, Dre Bly

Throughout the past few years we’ve seen the NFC West undergo many changes. We witnessed the shift of power as the once dominant Seattle Seahawks passed the torch on to the high powered Arizona Cardinals. This year, with the retirement of Kurt Warner, we might see yet another shift. However, this time it’s the San Francisco 49ers waiting at the helm to receive the torch. But how many times have we heard this before? How many years has it been since the 49ers have been dubbed the dark horse team? How many times have we heard “this is it, this will finally be our year?” Clearly, we’ve heard it enough times and 49er fans have been teased plenty enough with their fast 2-0 starts only to see their team fall gracefully back down to earth as the season progressed.

But what makes this year any different? The key will be the maturation of Alex Smith. Last year in a short stint, fans finally saw brilliance from the former #1 draft pick. In the 10 games that he played, he threw for 2350 yards 18 tds and 12 ints. To equate that into a 16 game season, that’s 3760 yards 28 tds and 19 ints. Great numbers right? Yes, but let’s look at these numbers more closely. Of those 10 games that he played he really only played well in 5 of those games. Of those 5 games that he played well in, 4 of those came against non playoff teams and 3 of those being 3 of the worst passing defenses in the league (Seattle #28, St. Louis #31, Detroit #32). And the one playoff team he did play against (Houston) is at best a middle of the road defense.

There are many questions surrounding Alex Smith coming into the season. Can he be consistent? Will he be able to keep up his level of play? Will he be great? All those questions aside, I think the most important question is, does he even have to be great? With the division being as weak as it is and the 49ers running game and defense being one of the best in the league, I think the 49ers can get away with Alex Smith being just “good enough.”

Prediction: 9-7 (Divisional Champ)

Fantasy Predictions
QB: Alex Smith – 3600 yds 25 tds 14 ints
RB: Frank Gore – 1278 yds 14 tds 34 rec 312 yds
WR: Michael Crabtree – 83 rec 854 yds 7 tds
TE: Vernon Davis – 76 rec 915 yds 9 tds

Seattle Seahawks (last year 5-11)
- Key Additions: Russel Okung, Golden Tate, Leon Washington
- Key Losses: Nate Burleson, Darryl Tapp, Cory Redding

No one likes to rebuild, but at some point everyone has to and the Seahawks have finally started their much needed rebuilding process, sort of. The problem with the Seahawks is that they are still stuck in between not knowing if they want to compete or to completely overhaul the team. The result, they’ve done neither.

Let’s take a look at what the Seahawks did in the off season. First they made a big splash by signing Pete Carroll. “Yay!” “…boo!” Mixed reactions from everyone. Then they decided to address the quarterback situation, “Great, finally! But wait…who did they trade for? Charlie who? And they gave up what to get him?” At this point, Seahawk fans were sort of confused, some hated the move and others blindly supported it. However, after a while most fans came to the conclusion that Pete Carroll and crew must know what they’re doing and this Charlie Whitehurst guy has to be some hidden gem ala Tom Brady because they gave up so much to get him. So hope is once again instilled in Seahawk nation, “Yeah, go Seahawks!” Now, fast forward a couple of months, it’s training camp and not only is Charlie Whitehurst not battling Hasselbeck for the #1 spot at QB, but the Seahawks had to go out of their way to sign JP fricking Losman because Whitehurst looked so bad during camp.

So what exactly are the Seahawks doing? Are they rebuilding or are they not rebuilding? I think deep down, the Seahawks secretly think they are only a couple moves away from competing and possibly winning the division. Delusional? Maybe, but then again I don’t blame them. They are in the NFC West after all. And as bad as the team has been, if key players such as Hasselbeck, Trufant, Tatupu, etc are able to stay healthy, if Russell Okung can solidify the offensive line, if Golden Tate can stretch the field for Housh, and if Aaron Curry can make a fricking tackle, the Seahawks could easily win 9-10 games, and that is plenty enough to win the division. So can they do it? Of course. But is it likely? Probably not.

Predictions: 7-9 (2nd place finish)
Fantasy Predictions
- QB: Matt Hasselbeck – 3550 yds 24 tds 18 ints
- RB: Justin Forsett – 220 carries 1050 yds 5 tds 55 rec 490 yds
- RB: Julius Jones – 105 carries 441 yds 3 tds
- WR: TJ Houshmandzadeh – 94 rec 1150 yds 8 tds
- TE: John Carlson – 57 rec 650 yds 5 tds

Arizona Cardinals (Last year: 10-6)

- Key Additions: Joey Porter, Kerry Rhodes
- Key Losses: Kurt Warner, Karlos Dansby, Anquan Boldin, Antrelle Rolle

I guess the hottest topic circulating camp this year is, “will there be life after Kurt Warner?” As a team the Cardinals have a solid foundation in place. They have a good young core of players on both sides of the field, a good mix of veterans, and probably one of the better coaches in the league (Ken Whisenhunt) heading the team. However, you can’t underestimate the loss of Kurt Warner. This is no slight to Matt Leinart, but Kurt Warner was to the Cardinals what Steve Nash is to the Suns. People forget but the entire Cardinals offense literally ran through Warner. His ability to accurately hit a receiver in stride, his pocket presence and quick decision making followed by his quick release not only helped out the receivers but it also masked the fact that the offensive line wasn’t really that good.

The departure of Warner now leaves Matt Leinart the burden to carry the torch. Can we expect Leinart to produce the same way as Warner did? Probably not. Leinart lacks the arm strength and the quick release that Warner has, which will limit the offense and will probably cause Whisenhunt to draw out more of a short pass run first type of offense rather than the usual aerial attack that we’re so used to seeing with the Kurt Warner ran offense. Which probably means, more Beanie Wells.

Wells is a running back that possesses a rare package of size and speed. The 6’1 228 pound back came off an impressive rookie season rushing for 778 yards and 7 touchdowns. Wells is still a work in progress in terms of pass blocking and blitz recognition, but as a pure runner Wells definitely has the talent to become one of the elite backs in the league. The talk is all about Leinart and what he will be able to bring to the table, but personally I think the key to the Cardinal’s success this season will be Beanie Wells and his progression. This team doesn’t need to win 42-35 anymore, they have a solid enough defense and a good enough running back to grind it out and win some 17-14 games or some 13-6 games.

Prediction: 7-9 (3rd place finish)

Fantasy Predictions
- QB: Matt Leinart – 3400 yds 19 tds 15 ints
- RB: Beanie Wells – 255 carries 1147 yds 9 tds
- RB: Tim Hightower – 140 574 yds 5 tds
- WR: Larry Fitzgerald – 103 rec 1350 yds 11 tds
- WR: Steve Breaston – 65 rec 730 yds 3 tds

St. Louis Rams (Last year: 1-15)

- Key Additions: Sam Bradford, Rodger Saffold, Bobby Carpenter
- Key Losses: Marc Bulger, Alex Barron, Leonard Little,

Sadly, in a year when the NFC West is as weak as it is, the Rams are probably the only team ruled out of contention. But that’s to be expected out of a team who only won 1 game the previous year. 2010 will finally mark the end of the Marc Bulger era and the beginning of the Sam Bradford era. There are a lot skeptics who doubt Bradford, but health questions aside, when healthy Bradford is everything you could ask for in a franchise quarterback. He’s a winner, he has the build of an NFL quarterback, he can make all the throws, he has pin point accuracy, and as much as people bag on him for being fragile, Sam is a tough guy.

Now the question is, can Bradford stay healthy? Of course no one can answer that question definitively, but from early reports from camp, it seems like Bradford’s shoulder has healed quite well. Whether or not he stays healthy will depend a lot on how his offensive line will hold up and of course a little bit of luck as well. The talent surrounding Bradford is still a work in progress, but there are definitely some pieces worth noting.

On offense, the Rams have their work horse in Steven Jackson. At 6’2 236 lbs, S-Jack is without a doubt one of toughest backs in the league. In an era where every team is splitting carries between backs to preserve their health, S-Jack is one of the few backs left that can take on 320 + carries and 50 + rec in a year. At the wide receiver position, the Rams aren’t very deep, but they have some young talent in Donnie Avery and newly drafted Mardy Gilyard. Both wide receivers are a good compliment to each other as Avery is more of a speedster that stretches the field ala Santana Moss where as Mardy Gilyard is more of a slasher that makes the tough catches in the middle of the field. There’s not much expectation in terms of wins and losses this year for the Rams, but with Sam Bradford as the face of the franchise, at least there’s hope for the future.

Prediction: 4-12 (Last place finish)

QB: Sam Bradford – 2100 yds 9 tds 13 ints
QB: AJ Feely – 1350 yds 6 tds 4 ints
RB: Steven Jackson – 335 carries 1474 yds 6 tds 55 rec 490 yds 2 tds
WR: Donnie Avery – 50 rec 730 yds 5 tds
WR: Mardy Gilyard – 45 rec 510 yds 3 tds

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