Things Looking Up in the Wild, Wild NFC West

Before the 2008 season, the NFC West title seemed to be gift wrapped for the Seahawks.  After an abysmal season in which they went 4-12, can we really expect them to win this division in 2009?

The Miami Dolphins did it last season with an awful record.  That’s why the NFL is so captivating.  Your team could be 1-15 the year before and win the division the next.

Parity in the league is common, and none is more evident than in the NFC West during the 2008 season. The division finally had a winner other than Seattle for the first time in four years in 2008. 

It was the Arizona Cardinals. 

How many of us really thought the Arizona Cardinals would win the NFC West in 2008?  I have a feeling that the number was as low considering they were 8-8 the season before and had only been to the playoffs once.

Arizona actually had a pretty sub par season, at 9-7 and losing four of their last six, including a 47-7 drubbing by the New England Patriots, no one expected them to win a playoff game let alone go to Super Bowl XLIII.

How well did the other teams far in 2008?

San Francisco, a potential sleeper in the division, fell into obscurity around Week Seven.  After a 2-5 start, they fired head coach Mike Nolan and replaced him with Mike Singletary. 

After sending Vernon Davis to the locker room in the middle of the game against Seattle, he began to change the losing culture of the 49ers.  They ended up finishing a surprising 7-9 and taking 2^nd in the NFC West.

St. Louis, coming off a terrible 2007 campaign, did not fare well at all in 2008.  Trying to improve on a 3-13 record, they fell to a franchise worse 2-14.  They started 0-4, and after firing Scott Linehan in favor of Jim Haslett, still only managed two victories.

Seattle, the reigning four-time division champions, looked to fly out of the gate.  But after a falling to Buffalo big on the road and suffered a stunning overtime loss to San Francisco at home, the Seahawks began the season 0-2.

The Seahawks never fully recovered from the wide receiver injuries to begin the 2008 campaign.  After scuffling to a 3-11 record, the Seahawks played their best game of the season on a blizzard like day in Seattle, upsetting the first place New York Jets 13-3.   The Seahawks finished in Arizona, losing 34-21.

After having the division winner represent the NFC in the Super Bowl last season, could this be the season that the NFC West gains respectability?

Let’s look at the division team by team:

Arizona

The 2009 Cardinals will look a little different than the 2008 Cardinals.  They did manage to re-sign veteran QB Kurt Warner.  However, there is still a dispute with star WR Anquan Boldin, who is looking to restructure his contact.  Don’t be surprised if he is traded, creating a void in the WR core.

The Cardinals held the 31^st choice in the draft and were handed a gift in RB Chris “Beanie” Wells, who was projected to be taken in the top 15. 

They then drafted DE Cody Brown out of Connecticut to bolster the defensive line after losing Monty Beisel to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Arizona schedule is not as easy as in past years.   They have two tough games back-to-back games in Week 6 and 7 against the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.  They catch a break at the end of the season with their final two games at home.

If they manage to avoid that super "hangover", it is still the Cardianls division to lose in 2009.

San Francisco

The 49ers ended last season winning four of their last five games, including wins against the New York Jets and Washington Redskins.  Mike Singletary made an immediate impact on this team by setting the tone in week 8 against the Seahawks. 

The 49ers have had a quiet off season thus far.   They added veteran QB Damon Huard and re-signed LB Takeo Spikes.  They did lose QB J.T. O’Sullivan to Cincinnati.  O’Sullivan began the 2008 season as the starter for the 49ers.

The 49ers had a very good draft, drafting gifted WR Michael Crabtree in the first round and adding a durable runner in Glen Coffee in the third round.

The 49ers schedule looks very promising for 2009.  They do have some very tough road games against Indianapolis and Philadelphia.  They also finish three of their final 5 on the road.  If this team can get Alex Smith to perform to his potential, this could be a sleeper team again in 2009.

If this team can develop a quaterback to get the ball to their star players, watch out for San Francisco in 2009.

St. Louis

The 2008 Rams were looked to improve from 3-13 the previous year.  However, things quickly unraveled for the Rams as they were blown out in their first four games. 

After Scott Linehan was let go, the team turned to former New Orleans head coach Jim Haslett.  They promptly won two games in a row against Washington and Dallas.  However, they lost their final ten games to finish 2-14.

The Rams have had a very interesting and questionable off season.  They released veteran OT Orlando Pace in an effort to get a younger offensive lineman in the draft.  They also released veteran WR Torry Holt in a stunning move, especially with the emergence of rookie Donny Avery. They also released leading tackler Piso Tinoisamoa.

The Rams again held the second overall pick in the draft.  As expected they chose OL Jason Smith from Baylor.  Smith will replace Orlando Pace at left tackle.  In the second round, the Rams selected Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis.  

Laurinaitis is expected to help bolster the LB core after the Rams released Tinoisamoa.

The Rams open their season on the road against the Seahawks, who have beaten the Rams in eight straight games.   The rest of the schedule does not fair to well for the Rams, who have road games against Washington, Chicago, Tennessee, and Jacksonville.

Seattle

The Seahawks have a great chance to bounce back from their 2008 season.   After suffering a massive amount of injuries and facing two of the toughest divisions in football last year the Seahawks struggled to a 4-12 season.    

The Seahawks had arguably the best off season in the NFL, signing the best available WR in T.J. Houshmandzadeh and signing a run stuffing DT in Colin Cole. 

They also acquired another DT in Cory Redding in exchange for LB Julian Peterson.  The Seahawks recently signed Ken Lucas, a big corner to play opposite pro bowl corner Marcus Trufant.

The Seahawks drafted Aaron Curry to replace Julian Peterson and scored an excellent choice in Max Unger to give Mike Whale a challenge at left guard.

The schedule is brutal this year for the Seahawks, with three straight road games in November.  That could be the difference when discussing postseason aspirations.  However, playing in the weak NFC West gives the Seahawks a great chance to have a winning record this season.

Is this division is on the verge of becoming great?  We won’t know till January.  If history holds serve, we are looking at potentially having the worst division in football.  Who knows?  Maybe we have potentially the toughest.  That’s why they play the game.