Why No NFC West Team Deserves To Be In The Playoffs

Living on the west coast for my entire life I’ve seen more than enough football from the teams that reside in Seattle, Arizona, San Francisco and St. Louis. I’ve watched these teams numerous times this season and, despite wins, I’ve been really unimpressed with these teams.

When these teams lose it’s usually in horrific fashion.

All four of these teams are going through transformations and have been in some sort or another over the past few years.

The Arizona Cardinals are in complete shambles. They currently have no sense of identity  and everyone hates their quarterbacks, including the players on their own team. There is not a player under center that I’d trust with my life with the game on the line or to even lead me to a field goal during 7-on-7 drills.

Their defense has taken a step back and their secondary doesn’t seem nearly as cohesive as it did in the past. You can chalk that up to losing to losing such a glue piece and playmaker in Antrel Rolle. I thought DRC would step up and be a leader next to Adrian Wilson, but I don’t recognize him on the field.

Do I think the Cardinals are going to put enough wins together to take the division?

No, not even close. I think they can beat Carolina, but it’ll be stealing a game from another team, maybe Dallas or San Francisco (they always play the 49ers tough) but I think five wins is about where this team peaks and definitely should not be allowed in the playoffs.

The St. Louis Rams may be the most injured team in the NFL, especially at the skill positions.  They are extremely feisty and they never give up. That is a credit to Steve Spagnulo. Spags is easily the best coach in the NFC West with how he gets his players prepared and how they play whistle to whistle for a full sixty minutes.

I’ve yet to see a minute of their games where all eleven guys on the field didn’t give more than 100 percent.

They have talent on the defensive side of the ball and at QB and running back.

I am really impressed with Sam Bradford and how he’s handled playing in the NFL. His entire four years at Oklahoma I ripped him and didn’t think he’d amount to anything in the NFL. He has proved me wrong and shoved every bad word I’ve ever said about him down my throat.

The Rams could reach eight wins just by effort alone, but I don’t think they’ll do it. I think seven wins is their absolute ceiling. I’m really pulling for the Rams and if they can get a receiver or two in the offseason, they are going to be a very dangerous team going forward. They are young and well coached. The Rams could be the team of the future in the NFC.

The San Francisco 49ers are such an enigma. They have talent everywhere on the field and may have found the star at QB they’ve been missing since Steve Young, in Troy Smith. Sure, he’s only won two games, but he looks so much more comfortable in the pocket and running the offense than Alex Smith ever did.

I honestly thought that Nate Davis was going to be eventually running this team, but from what I’ve heard he just doesn’t have the right work ethic. He loves the idea of getting the paychecks of an NFL quarterback (though his are much smaller) than actually being an NFL quarterback.

I think this team needs one more year together before they are actually a contender and I thought this was a 10 win team coming into the year. Sadly, I think they top out at six or seven and will once again be watching the playoffs from home.

Now on to the favorites for the single worst division in the history of football.

Seattle changed over 50 percent of their roster from last season and most said they probably had the least amount of talent of any team in the league. They’ve come out and managed to put together five wins over such juggernauts as the 49ers, Chargers, Cardinals twice and probably the worst 6-3 team in the history of the NFL, the Chicago Bears.

Pete Carroll, to his credit, has kept this team together, and they seem to have a lot of confidence. They are an injury plagued team and they have been for the last few years. Not sure what is wrong with the health in Seattle but it seems to be a prevailing problem over three coaching regimes.

Looking at the Seahawks schedule there are only about two or three winnable games left on the schedule (KC, Carolina and maybe the Rams). The Seahawks are not going to win more than eight games and after such an alleged big win over the Cardinals on Sunday, their reward is a trip to New Orleans and a 30 point beat down by the Saints.

Would we want to see that matchup in the first round of the playoffs? Seahawks swiss cheese offensive line against a blitz happy Philly or Atlanta team?  How about Drew Brees or Eli Manning completely picking apart this putrid secondary?

Also, am I supposed to believe that Earl Thomas is really six feet tall? That guy is maybe 5’7” in heels.

Do the Seattle Seahawks deserve to be in the playoffs?

No. They’ll finish 8-8 at best and there will be three teams, at least, with better records that will not even be able to get into the playoffs. Ironically, those teams will probably have beaten the Seahawks during the regular season (Atlanta, New York, Tampa Bay).

The NFC West is the exact reason why the top six teams in the conference should go to the playoffs. Teams like the 2010 Seattle Seahawks do not deserve a chance to play for a Super Bowl, they don’t even deserve to be blown out by 30 at home on Wild Card Weekend. 

For more of my thoughts on other sports and non sport related items check out my personal blog at www.kdn4.com