NFL Preview Part 8 (NFC West)

Chris
San Francisco showed me a little something last year. Solid defense, plus a few playmakers on offense. Vernon Davis and Alex Smith finally came through, although, still, they haven’t' justified their draft position. But I think you can win with these guys, plus Crabtree and Frank Gore in a crappy division.

Plus, Arizona is going to suck this year. You can't tell me that Matt Leinart and an already gimpy Larry Fitz can carry that offense. And I never trust anyone named Beanie. It's one of my rules to live by.

Seattle will be decent if, and only if, Matt Hasselbeck stays healthy, which he won't.

And who else is in the division, oh yeah, the St. Louis Rams. Why does West Coast NFL football suck? Seriously, the NFC West and AFC West are the two worst divisions in football. I can't believe one of these 4 teams is going to be a division winner. Then again, we live in a world where one of the Jersey Shore cast members is going to bring home $5 million this year and Xavier Henry can't even get a measly rookie contract out of the Grizzlies.

1. 49ers (9-7)
2. Cardinals (7-9)
3. Seahawks (7-9)
4. Rams (3-13)

Graham
I actually like San Fran to win the division if they can get half-decent play out of Alex Smith. Which is a little like saying I like the Grizzlies to make the playoffs if they get half-decent play out of Hasheem Thabeet. That said, they have a good defense anchored by Patrick Willis, and some playmakers on offense with Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore.

After that, I hate the rest of the division. Hate it. Arizona is going nowhere fast with the Matt Leinart/Derek Anderson crap combo at QB. Seattle needs Matt Hasselbeck to stay upright, and all of Pete Carroll's positive vibes can't guarantee that will happen. And St. Louis isn't worth talking about.

But it begs an interesting question- this division has the potential to be so bad, that an 8-8 team, or maybe even 7-9 team, could win it and get into the playoffs. What if a 7-9 team gets in with an automatic division berth, but a 10-6 wild card team from the NFC East doesn't get in? Good lord. If that happens, the NFL almost needs to just step in, put the NFC West division title on hiatus for a year and try again next year.

1: San Fran (8-8)
2: Seattle (6-10)
3: Arizona (5-11)
4: St. Louis (2-14)