NFC West 2009: Seahawks Will Regain Spot on the Perch

The NFC Worst, I mean West, is often referred to as the NFL’s abomination standard.

In 2008, three of the four NFC West teams earned top ten picks in the NFL Draft (Rams had second, Seahawks had fourth, and 49ers had 10th, respectively).

In defense of the NFC West, the NFC Champions have come out of this division twice in the last four seasons (2005 Seahawks, 2008 Cardinals). In the past decade, four of the NFC’s Super Bowl teams have come from the NFC West—more than any division in the NFc.

The NFC West featured three teams with losing records in 2008 (St Louis 2-14, Seattle 4-12, and San Francisco 7-9), more than any other division. Although the Cardinals made the 2008 Super Bowl, they finished with the worst record amongst the NFC divisional winners. The NFC West has not produced a Wild Card playoff team since the 2004 Rams.

The Seahawks have owned the NFC West in recent years. They won the division four straight years, from 2004-2007, with the only exception being the abysmal 2008 campaign (4-12). They have finished no lower then second place since they came to the NFC West in the NFL’s divisional realignment in 2002 (except for 2008).

Given the NFC West’s “weak” reputation, one would assume the division to be wide open. This could be a determining factor in whether the Seahawks make 2008 an aberration and overtake the one-year-wonder Arizona Cardinals.

 

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams appear to be in rebuilding mode. They have a new coach, former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnualo. Spagnualo was a vital part of the Giants 17-14 upset of the nearly perfect New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII .

He appears to be reshaping the roster to his appeal, like most new head coaches. He got rid of major contributors to the 1999 “Greatest Show on Turf” offense by cutting ties with Pro Bowler WR Torry Holt and future Hall of Famer T Orlando Pace.

Those are two prominent losses from an offense that finished 31st in 2008 in points scored, and 26th in passing yards with 184.2 YPG. They also cut ties with free agent bust, WR Drew Bennett, and 2008 leading tackler, LB Pisa Tinosumaua.

Cutting Tinosumaua was a very surprising move. This move appears to have been made based on drafting former Ohio State standout LB James Laurinaitis in the second round. Laurinaitis was considered a top 10 pick in the 2008 draft class, but decided to stay for his senior season. His production dropped off and he fell out of the 1st round this year for that reason.

They will replace Torry Holt with Donnie Avery, who showed promise in 2008, hauling in 53 catches for 674 yards and three TDs. Cutting Holt is a vote of confidence in Avery by the Rams coaching staff.

They have not upgraded the defense, but rather subtracted the leading tackler from a defense that finished near the bottom in every single statistical category, including 31st in points (29.1), 28th in total yards surrendered (371.9), and 29th in rush defense (154.7). Rookie LB James Laurinaitis will attempt to offset the loss of Tinosumaua.

They have made some improvements through the draft and free agency, such as drafting T Jason Smith with the second pick in the 2009 draft. They expect him to be their franchise tackle to replace Orlando Pace. They signed the top available interior lineman in free agency, ex-Baltimore Ravens C Jason Brown, to a lucrative five year, $37.5 million deal.

On defense, the Rams retained promising CB Ron Bartell with a four year, $28 million contract.

This team should improve over it’s 2-14 2008 campaign, but don’t look for them to compete for the NFC West crown in the near future.

 

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers showed the most improvement in 2008, improving by two games from their 2007 finish, while transitioning from Mike Nolan to new head coach Mike Singletary.

They were only a few close games against the Cardinals away from a postseason berth and won four out of five games to close out the 2008 season.

They added playmaking receiver Michael Crabtree with the tenth pick in this year's draft and WR Brandon Jones in free agency. Both should help pick up the passing game, which finished a modest 13th with 211.2 YPG in 2008. Only two starters were lost to free agency, as WR Bryant Johnson signed with the Detroit Lions and DT Ronald Fields signed with the Denver Broncos.

They also cut oft-injured starting tackle Jonas Jennings. He will be replaced by free agent acquisition Marvel Smith, a former Steeler. He should provide an upgrade and help open more holes for star RB Frank Gore. Smith represents the only impact free agent signing made by the team this offseason.

They traded their second and fourth round picks this year for Carolina's first next year. This gives them ammunition to trade up and take a franchise QB in 2010, such as Heisman-winning Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford or Texas QB Colt McCoy, if they so choose.

Other significant free agent casualties include role players RB Deshaun foster, DB Keith Lewis, and CB Donald Strickland. DL Demetric Evans was a solid free agent pickup who will be a rotational player for the 49ers defensive line. Rookie RB Glenn Coffee figures to be a solid role player behind starter Frank Gore.

With only one impact signing (T Marvel Smith), and one impact rookie drafted (Crabtree) Look for the 49ers to post a sub .500 record. Which may be good enough to win this division. The prospect of the potential addition of Hall Of Fame coach Mike Holmgren after 2009 at some capacity has this team looking bright in the future.

 

The Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals were the league's 2008 Cinderella story. They went from NFL laughingstock to Super Bowl participants.

They feature an explosive passing game that boasts freshly re-signed All-Pro QB Kurt Warner, and the NFL’s best trio of WR’s:  Larry Fitzgerald,  Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston. Each of the Cardinals top three WRs posted 1,000 receiving yards in 2008.

Fitzgerald is widely considered to be the NFL’s top WR. Boldin has demanded to be traded; his agent has stated it will be done by the start of Training Camp in July. If this trade does go down, it will be a huge blow to the Cardinals aerial assault (Seahawks fans, cross your fingers).

Despite a prolific passing attack, the Cardinals finished dead last in the NFL in rushing, averaging 73.6 YPG. They got a steal at the bottom of the first round in this year's draft, snaring former OSU RB Chris “Beanie” Wells as their new starting RB. The Cardinals hope his addition will boost that ranking.

Wells replaces recently released RB Edgerrin James, who was vital in their postseason run. He put the running game on life support with a modest 3.95 YPC average in the 2008 postseason.

The defense was leaky and often exposed during the 2008 season. They only went 3-7 outside the NFC West in 2008, largely due to multiple annihilations (gave up 53 points to the NYJ, 48 points to the Philadelphia Eagles, 35 points to the Minnesota Vikings, 47 points to the New England Patriots, and 37 points to the New York Giants; all losses)

They cut starting DE Travis Laboy, starting CB Roderick Hood, and did not retain nickel-CB Eric Green. The loss of Green was offset by the addition of CB Bryant McFadden. McFadden now figures to be the No. 2 CB opposite of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

They drafted LB Cody Brown to add depth to the LB corps after losing LB Monty Beisel to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency. Retaining veteran DE Bertrand Berry gives them a viable replacement for Laboy.

They have only come away with one apparent upgrade (rookie RB Chris Wells) in the 2008 offseason. The subtraction of a starter on an underwhelming defense (Bryant McFadden replaces CB Roderick Hood, Bertrand Berry replaces Travis Laboy) leaves some question marks heading into the 2009 season. With the rapid improvement of the Seattle Seahawks, they will certainly be pushed hard for the NFC West crown.

 

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks came away with the NFL’s best offseason and set the gold standard for revitalizing a 4-12 team. They figure to be the most prominent team to challenge the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West.

After all, they have won it four of the last five years.

The Seahawks were hit with a plague of injuries in 2008 unseen in recent memory. It claimed seven different recievers and hit all five starting offensive linemen, all of whom finished the year on injured reserve.

Starting QB Matt Hasselbeck missed nine games. DE Patrick Kerney and LB Leroy Hill finished the year on injured reserve. Safety Deon Grant and CB Marcus Trufant played significant portions of 2008 with a torn hamstring and a broken wrist, respectively. Those were the most serious and crippling injuries sustained.

They added marquee free agent receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh from the Cincinnati Bengals with a five-year, $40 million contract. They drafted speedy WR Deon Butler, who recorded times as fast as 4.28 in pre-draft workouts. 

Fullback Justin Griffith will be the new starter and offers a better blocking skill-set then former FB Leonard Weaver, who bolted to the Philadelphia Eagles.

They retained promising tackle Ray Willis, and added depth by trading up to the second round in this year's draft to grab Oregon C/G Max Unger, who was one of the top interior offensive linemen available in this year's class.

They also came away with the Denver Broncos' 2010 first round pick by trading away their second round pick this year (No. 37 overall). Like the 49ers, this also gives them the chance to find their heir apparent to aging QB Matt Hasselbeck (33).

On defense, they added run-stuffing DT Colin Cole, who can command double-teams just based on his 335 lb frame. They traded for DE Cory Redding, who will represent a huge upgrade over 2008 first round pick Lawrence Jackson. Jackson only tallied two sacks in 14 starts last season. They brought in CB Ken Lucas, a big CB (6 ft, 210 lbs.) to be the No. 2 CB, and match up with bigger, psychical WRs.

They also got who many believe was the 2009 draft class' top player in former Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry, to replace LB Julian Peterson (trade for Redding). ESPN’s Jon Clayton also said the Seahawks had the NFL’s best offseason.

The Seahawks have 11 starters who missed significant time in 2008 returning to full health. They have added as many as seven new starters to an underachieving roster.

They have upgraded or overhauled every position they lost starters at to free agency, except at runningback—DT Rocky Bernard, WR Bobby Engram, FB Leonard Weaver, and LB Julian Peterson.

They also brought in an offensive coordinator who has never finished below 10th in the league in rushing, Greg Knapp. Knapp has led three No. 1 and five top-five rushing attacks during his tenure in the NFL. The Seahawks have averaged a 17th overall rushing ranking since 2006

Injuries played a significant role in the Seahawks fall off the “not-so-lofty” perch of the NFC West. The combination of healthy returning starters, and the upgrades to a team one year removed from a playoff run give reason for heavy optimism.

I look for the Seahawks to overtake the Arizona Cardinals and make a potentially deep postseason run. It should be a very interesting battle between the two, with the 49ers possibly being a factor. Circle the dates 10/19 and 11/15: these head-to-head AZ/SEA matchups could very well be the determining factor in the race for the NFC West crown.

Seattle’s health will be the breaking point of success or utter failure in the upcoming season