The NFC West had a rough year in 2007. Seattle won the division with a 10-6 record, but was 1-1 against playoff teams. They won their Wild Card game against Washington before being blown out by Green Bay in the Divisional Round.
Arizona finished 8-8, but two disappointing losses to the 49ers kept them out of playoff contention. The 49ers were a trendy pick to win the division after a free-agency spending spree, but they finished 5-11.
Finally, the Rams, who were also a trendy pick to win the division, finished 3-13, and had the second overall pick in the draft. Injuries and inconsistent play were largely responsible for a division that produced only one team with a winning record.
The NFC West has been owned by the Seattle Seahawks, who have won the division four consecutive seasons and made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons. Here is how I see the 2008 season playing out in the NFC West.
1) Arizona Cardinals
‘07 Record: 8-8
Points Scored: 404 (7th)
Points Allowed: 399 (27th)
Playoff Result: N/A
2008 Strength of Schedule: 119-137 (.465) (T-22nd in NFL)
Strengths: The Arizona Cardinals have one of the strongest passing-offenses in the NFL. Larry Fitzgerald had 100 catches for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns. Anquan Boldin added 71 catches for 853 yards and nine touchdowns, despite missing five starts with an injury. Those two form the most explosive wide-receiver combo in the NFC.
Fitzgerald will be 25-years old at the end of August, and Boldin will be 28-years old in October. If the Cardinals can resolve Boldin’s contract issues, they should have a dominant receiving duo for years to come.
Bryant Johnson was a solid, third receiver and is only 27-years old. Losing him to division rival San Francisco was a meaningful loss. He has filled in well in the past when Boldin or Fitzgerald were hurt.
Ben Patrick and Leonard Pope are young tight ends that the Cardinals hope can emerge. The Cardinals are loaded with young offensive weapons at WR and TE.
Kurt Warner enjoyed his best season since his years in St Louis. He had 11 starts, 3,417 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, 17 picks, and an 89.8 QB rating. He is expected to be the backup to third-year QB Matt Leinart, who really struggled at the beginning of the season before having his 2007 campaign cut short by a collarbone injury.
Leinart has reportedly looked very strong this offseason, but Warner is still taking snaps with the first team. If he struggles, the coaching staff will not hesitate to go with Warner.
Edgerrin James rebounded slightly in 2007, thanks to a coaching staff that focused on the run slightly more than Dennis Green. His 1,222 rushing yards were seventh in the NFL, and he improved his yards-per-carry from 3.4 to 3.8, which is still not great. That signing has not produced the results many thought it would. The Cardinals had no one else that ran the ball and finished 29th in rushing-yards gained.
16 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
ilyas siddiqui about 1 year ago
i think that what you are saying is not right, i think the 49ers are going to be far far better than what you are saying, above 500, leave alex alone, you are like most people, alex smith sucks, give him one more year and then talk, the 49ers could go well above 500
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
Ilyas, How about this?
Tell Alex Smith to produce this year...Then I'll shut up and apologize!
Deal? Fair?
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ilyas siddiqui about 1 year ago
yea he will, and you will see it with your on eyes, yes thats a deal, and you have to look at a lot of factors, gore will probably rush +1250 yards because the pass will be better, if you read news about the niners a lot of people are saying he is doing really well, he is preparing, he has had obstacles, what i expect of the 49ers offense, in the receiving corps, it will be a 5 man force, bruce battle johnson davis and gore, and it will produce, but i respect what your saying in how alex smith hasnt done too much, but give him this year, he will produce, he will be solid, and that will make the defense better, it will change i expect the niners to be 9-7 or 10-6 being that alex smith is good, if gore can rush for 1100 yards in 15 games with 8 guys in the box, a crappy o-line, and lackluster pass offense, imagine what will happen when martz makes alex better, dont be surprised if the niners win the nfc west
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Aron Glatzer about 1 year ago
I like Ilyas' optimism as a 49er fan, but the realist in me says SF is in for another average/mediocre season. Going 4-12 is way too harsh though. I think with that emerging young defense and gore, 6-10 at worst and 8-8 at best is more likely.
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
Ilyas and Aron, I remebver last pre-season optimism abounded for the same reasons: a young on the way up defense and Gore.
Gore went Wa$hington and the defense never jelled.
Now, we've got the Mike Martz novelty but let's face...Martz has become a myth for what he did in St. Louis, or should I say for what Warner, Holt, Bruce, Bulger and Faulk did in St. Louis?
He didn't fare very well in Detroit, did he? Sure, Kitna (4,000 + Yards) and Roy Williams had a decent statistical season in 2006, but the Lions as a whole finished with a 3-13 record.
Why, because of lack of a running game and a respectable defense.
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ilyas siddiqui about 1 year ago
im sorry but u are retarded, u say the lions had a bad running game and respectable defense. In 2007, when the pass wasnt even close to 31st in the nfl with under 150 yards a game, the running game did relatively well for a guy named frank gore with a sprained ankle and 8 guys in the box. When the 49ers offense had possession for less then 25 minutes and the other team's offense would have the ball for more than 35 minutes, the defense was known as respectable, now that martz is here alex will do well, firstly because he is training well, everyone is saying he will be good, ur just crazy, i question your thinking skills. Anyway when the offense is better and takes possession of the ball, it will be 4 core recievers, bruce, battle, johnson, and davis. And when the offense is better, the defense will be quite good, it wont be 2000 baltimore ravens, but it will be definitely the top 10-11 defenses in the nfl, with decent to good recievers and a good running back who could probably rush for 1600 yards, being he gets the ball 300 times, and alex smith passing for over 3200 yards, the 49ers will be a pretty good team. 9-7 or 10-6, and i question you seriously. What good is leinart, he has had three good recievers and what has he done, nothing, he had fitzgerald, boldin, and johnson, as well as edge, and he did relatively nothing, Alex Smith has had ok to decent targets, and ur statement on how he helps the oc get fired every year, i question whether ur even qualified to analyze sports, i think arizona will be better, but to say the 49ers will go 4-12 and to say smith sucks when he wont, i think that is far fetched
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
I meant a young defense on their way up.
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G H about 1 year ago
LOL Cards to win the NFC West?? The Seahawks overall actually have a stronger team then years past. Yes their offense is not as good as before but their defense has grown leaps and bounds...
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William Keeler about 1 year ago
After reading this I was going to post about how wrong you are about the 49ers. After reading Mike49er's comment, I don't have to. Thanks Mike.
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
Thanks for the "Kind" words Mike!
And one wonders why teams don't give a good effort on improving. When their fans don't get on their case, but bash anyone that tells (reports) the truth about their bad seasons, they have no motivation in producing a winner.
The Cardinals won't win the West because Leinart has looked good during minicamps, but because of the depth at the QB position.
Leinart struggles, they have veteranship and experience in Warner. Something that is missing in the 49ers team. Am I wrong?
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
Also, Bryant Johnson "Filled in" well at times. There were times that he struggled in the WR2 position.
Aging James had 200 more yards than STUD Frank Gore. The Cardinals receiving duo of Boldin and Fitzgerald is much better than what the Niners currently have.
When we say the Rams got a bad break due to injures is because if not for them, they could have had a great season because they possessed great weapons on offense. The 49ers didn't even if healthy!
Comparing Alex Smith's lone good season and QB ratio to Favre and others is an insult to those guys.
It's like when in Baseball, a newly promoted player hits .800 in two days.
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
I'll prepare a good reply for you. Talk to you soon!
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Cameron Vaccarella about 1 year ago
every frickin year people get together and say this team is going to challenge the NFC west and hurt seattle or knock them off of their top-tier stance in the "weakest" division in the league...when u make predicitions try to remember that it takes talent and team chemistry to win...so far none of the 3 remaining teams besides seattle has enough talent and chemistry combines to win any division....so do your math..4 division titles in a row ringin a bell?
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
MIKE49ERS:
From Derek, the article's author: (our articles are written by different people)
"Thank you for the comments. Obviously everyone is not going to agree with our analysis. The fun thing about this sport is that there are so many different ways to look at the teams and the individual players. I wish I had time to address everything you wrote, but the volume of your comment makes that impossible. Here are a few things I think you should consider.
1) 49ers vs Cardinals QB situation. The difference is that if Leinart doesn't work out they have Warner who had a very solid year. Better than the 49ers having to go to Hill, who did look okay in a few games, but is not the experienced commodity that Warner brings to the Cardinals.
2) Alex Smith - The thing about Smith is that he is not putting up good numbers, nor is the team winning games. Favre was the youngest player to make the Pro Bowl. The Pack won 9 games. Big Ben didn't have big numbers, but the Steelers went 15-1. Manning had the Giants in the playoffs his second year. Vick beat the Pack in Lambeau in 2002.
You can argue that Smith has played on bad teams and had bad coordinators. The Pack were 6-10 and 4-12 prior to Favre. The Steelers were 6-10 prior to Big Ben. The NY Giants were 4-12 before Manning and 6-10 his first year. The Falcons were 5-11 and 4-12 the years before they drafted Vick.
Those quarterbacks came to bad teams and offenses and elevated their franchise. Smith has not done that. He was the first pick in the entire draft. By the time a guy is entering his 4th year he should have done that already. He should be putting up numbers and / or winning. He has done neither. A lot of that is his fault. He is a bust.
3) The 49ers dynasty - I think you need to refresh yourself on your NFL history. Not every dynasty crumbles the way the 49ers have. The Cowboys had a winning record every year from 1966 to 1985. They bottomed out, were competing by 1990 and won the first of 3 Super Bowls again in 1992. The 49ers have 2 years to do that, but appear a lot further away than the Cowboys. The Steelers won 4 Super Bowls in the 1970s. They still made the playoffs 4 times in the 1980s and in the 1990s made a Super Bowl and have been a dominant AFC team since 1992.
I wasn't saying it was surprising the 49ers weren't winning 4 Super Bowls every decade. What I was saying is that it is a surprise that a team that once had the best front office in football has evolved into one of the worst. That this team is stuck and the mud and spinning its wheels.
I appreciate people that disagree with me. It wouldn't be much fun writing this if everyone agreed with me. However when you start making comments like "You abuse the right to be stupid" you are really losing the point of this.
This is supposed to be fun. I really shouldn't have taken the time to write this comment given the tone of your comments, but I wanted to show you there is a way to disagree with people's comments other than the approach you are taking. Not everyone that views the 49ers differently than you is an idiot. If that is the only thing you take away from this you will be a much better fan and will be in a better position to influence people when you post comments. I wish you and your team happiness."
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Football Maniaxs about 1 year ago
MIKE, gotta run!
Have places to go, people to see.
Soccer practices to attend, lol...
I'll be eagerly waiting for your first article to come out!
You could make for a hell of a writer, if you want to.
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Jonathan Slotter 11 months ago
Cardinals!!!
If Leinart plays efficient, and the O line blocks and our line backers mature it could very well be the year. The NFL West is so weak that its our best shot!
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