San Francisco, Arizona Set To Battle For NFC West Crown

It won’t take the San Francisco 49ers long to see where they fit in with the rest of the NFC West.

In fact, they should get an indication during the first month of the 2009 season.

San Francisco will play all three western divisional foes during its first four games of the season. If the 49ers want to gain any kind of edge over their rivals, a hot start would be the way to do it.

For the fourth straight season, San Francisco opens the regular season against the Arizona Cardinals, and that has not gone well for San Francisco over the past three years as the same scenario has turned into a 1-2 record.

In week two, the 49ers return home to host the Seattle Seahawks, and after a trip to Minnesota in week three, come back to Candlestick Park for a meeting with the St. Louis Rams.

It’s a stretch that can go far in determining if the 49ers will be contenders.

Last season, San Francisco was 3-3 against their league foes, but a closer look shows how each of those games could have put the 49ers into the playoffs last year and not the Arizona Cardinals.

San Francisco lost its season opener to the Cardinals 23-13 in a game that was tied at 10 all at the half. But in the second half, the Cardinals ran 42 plays and scored 13 points while the 49ers ran 15 plays and settled for just three points. The field goal came at the end of a 13-play drive, while their final two drives lasted just one play each.

In the teams' second meeting, the second game under head coach Mike Singletary, San Francisco held a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win the game in the final seconds. Instead of living with a win, the clock ran out as Michael Robinson's rush attempt up the middle fell short at the Arizona 1-yard line in a 29-24 loss.

After that game, the 49ers went on to win five of their final seven games, including two wins over St. Louis and a road win against the Buffalo Bills and home win against the New York Jets. The strong finish led many San Francisco fans pondered what could have been had the 49ers won the game in Arizona.

The Cardinals staggered into the playoffs, losing four of their last seven games before making the incredible run only to lose in the final minute against Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.

This year, the schedule makers were not kind to the 49ers.

After the opening month, San Francisco will host playoff-team Atlanta before its bye week and after that must travel to Houston and Indianapolis back-to-back before returning home to take on Tennessee.

Winning against their west rivals that first month will be vital for the 49ers playoff chances.

Here is a rundown on how all four teams come into the 2009 season.

Arizona - The Cardinals main drawback is the uncertainty of wide receiver Anquan Boldin. The standout wide receiver remains unsigned and his demands to be traded have still been a focal point in Arizona’s camp. Gone is Edgerrin James, but Tim Hightower seems primed to take the next step as his replacement. They still have Kurt Warner and his connections with Larry Fitzgerald will rank up there with any in football.

St. Louis - The Rams won just two games last year and during the off season lost wide receiver Tori Holt to Jacksonville. They will count on Travis Brown and Donnie Avery to carry the void he leaves behind. A healthy Steven Jackson is vital to the Rams' success and quarterback Marc Bulger will have to do better than his 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season. The Rams are hoping OT Jason Smith, taken with the second pick in this years NFL draft, will help the offensive line. Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis was a nice second-round pickup and will help the defense. How good the Rams will be under first-year coach Jim Spagnuolo is yet to be seen.

Seattle - The Aaron Curry era has begun in Seattle. The linebacker, taken with the Seahawks' first pick, should be an impact player in his first season. Thoughts were that Seattle  would take Mark Sanchez to back up an injury-prone Matt Hasselbeck, but decided to go for Curry instead.  One big name they were able to lock up was wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, which will boost the passing game if Hasselbeck stays healthy.

San Francisco - Getting a pass rusher was high on the 49ers' draft list, but when wide receiver Michael Crabtree unexpectedly fell to the 49ers at pick number 10, it was something they couldn’t pass up. The move though still leaves San Francisco with questions on the offensive and defensive lines. All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis will keep the defense formidable while the addition of veteran Dre Bly will help the 49er secondary. Frank Gore is as good a running back in the league and up and coming wide out Josh Morgan will team with Crabtree and Isaac Bruce to form a respectable receiving corps.