The Second Half Forecast In The Weak, Weak West

The Seahawks have owned the NFC West for the past four seasons. These days are over. I'm not saying the Hawks (2-6) have no shot to win the division, but if they do, it won't be the typical way the West is won for Seattle.

The odds-on favorite to win the NFC West is now the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards have a three-game lead on Seattle, San Francisco, and St. Louis who are all 2-6, and you'd have to bust out the record books to see the last time they held that big of a lead. 

Kurt Warner is back to his "Greatest Show on Turf" form, and he could be a Pro Bowler this year. Warner has been hooking up with Anquan Boldin in the end-zone all year, and the Cardinals don't look half bad. 

In any other division in the NFL, the Cardinals would be towards the middle of the pack at 5-3. I see the Cards going 8-8, maybe 9-7 this year. They aren't bad, but there are still so many question marks surrounding this team. 

There's a new team in the NFC West this season. The Seahawks are now theSeachickens. We haven't seen the Seachickens up in the Pacific Northwest since 2002, and now they're back.

The Seachickens are the team that gets blown out 44-6, 34-10, 21-10, and 26-7. They're the team that has an awful secondary, no wide receivers, and a coach that appears already mentally gone. 

At best, the Seachickens can go 10-6... But that would require them to win out. If they can get back on track in Miami this Sunday, I think there's a slight chance the Chickens can go 8-8, but 6-10 is the logical guess.

The Niners are a disaster, and Mike Singletary has been doing some questionable things. He threw Vernon Davis out of a home loss to Seattle and dropped trou in the locker room to prove a point. I think San Fran will finish up their year at 5-11.

Since canning Scott Linehan, the St. Louis Rams have looked decent. They killed the Cowboys, and also beat the Redskins on the road. 

Similar to the Seachickens, the NFC West also has the St. Louis Lambs. This is the team we have seen for the past four seasons, especially last year. Don't look for the Lambs two fluke wins to mean anything- this is a 5-11, maybe 6-10 team. 

So looking down the division, my projected standings will have the Cardinals representing the West in the playoffs (briefly) in the 8-9 win range, the Chickens will probably come in at 6-10, and the Niners and Lambs will both end the year at 5-11. 

This is an all-around pathetic division. However, making the playoffs is making the playoffs. It will be funny to see some 10-6 or 11-5 wild card teams from the NFC East play the Cardinals in the playoffs though. 

Don't expect much shift from the current standings in the NFC West. I don't doubt that the Cards will win it.