49ers Could Strike Gold in the Wild NFC West

The 49ers have a good shot a being the NFC West champions!

I said the same thing last year, but would have never bet any money it.

Destiny may have just brought together the ideal circumstances for a mediocre team like the 49ers to win their division and make the playoffs.  The Niners are in the NFL's weakest division, the NFL West, and have a relatively weak schedule facing Seattle and St. Louis twice. 

The Cardinals won the division with a 9-7 record, and made a good run in the playoffs, being crowned NFC champions.  If it weren't for some shoddy coverage by the Cardinal's secondary in the fourth quarter, the Super Bowl championship would reside with the NFC West.

It doesn't appear that the other two teams in the division, the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks, will contend in the West. Most likely, they will be bottom feeders of the NFL, once again. 

The Seahawks start fresh with a new coaching staff and a new system with ex-coach Mike Holmgren out, and a quick adaptation translating to winning football seems unlikely.  The Rams have been on a steady decline since Super Bowl XXXVI, bottoming out last year with a 2-14 record.

The teams to watch in the NFC West are undoubtedly the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals.  Luckily, the first game of the season gave NFC West enthusiasts the matchup for which they had been waiting since last year's Monday night thriller. 

If the Niners win this matchup, they will be on their way to winning the division title.

Since Mike Singletary took over as coach midseason, the 49ers looked energized and finished the season with a 5-4 record.  This fact, paired with a weak division and an easy schedule, gave the 49ers have a good chance of winning the wild wild NFC West. 

And, yes, I would bet money on it!