Coming into the 2012 season it was well known that the 49ers are top dogs in the NFC West. After 4 games into the year season, all viewers
outside of the Seahawk, Cardinal and Ram Faithfull’s of course, have been front
row and center to the surprise divisions in the entire NFL. The Cardinals 4-0? The
Seahawks and Rams both at 2-2 with quality wins? It hard to tell if it's just
early season success, help from the replacement officials or maybe this is now
a division that is not a doormat to the 9ers. As of right now I would compare
the NFC West as a whole to a Nikki Minaj hairstyle, you just don’t know what’s
real it looks funky but some how it ends up working out in its own kind of weird unique way, take
the Seahawks uniforms for example.. although I am personally a fan. One thing we
must take serious, is the fact that these teams have made it a point to improve
their defenses. In a copy cat league and with a blueprint from San Fran all four teams rank top 15 in the league in total defense and although still early
that is one way you continue to keep yourself in football games. Offensively the 9ers are
the most well rounded but each team has their own identity whether it is on the
ground with Steven Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Frank Gore or in the air with Larry
Fitzgerald. The NFC West features a Rookie qb, a former backup, and two former number one
overall picks as the men under center and not one of them are deemed to be elite as of yet. We are far
removed from the high powered St. Louis Rams of the early 00’s and the 9ers of
the late 80’s early 90’s that won Super-Bowls with great offenses. Or even more
recently unpredictable Cardinals and Seahawks teams that represented the NFC in
the Super Bowl within the last 10 seasons. This is a new look division with
head coaches that have focused on a more well rounded approaches. Will this be
the year we see more then one team from the NFC West enter the playoffs? Will
the 9ers who were a fumble lost away from going to the Super Bowl get their chance
once again? I believe it’s a general
consensus that the 9ers are legit, but we’ll have to wait and see if that
stands true for the rest of the division. One things for sure, I will be tuned in tonight for an
important early season division showdown between the Rams and the Cardinals.
This should be 5-0 start for the birds out in Arizona right?
Here are my Power Rankings for the NFC West:
San Francisco
49ers: Last Season (13-3) -2012 (3-1)
Key Losses: WR Joshua Morgan
Key Additions: WR Randy Moss, WR Mario Manningham, WR A.J.
Jenkins, RB LaMichael James, RB Brandon Jacobs
A team with the best defense in the NFL as well as arguably the
best balance overall. The 9ers are expected to win this division and are
expected to return back to the playoffs for another run at the Super Bowl. We
saw this team go through an early blip in the schedule after loosing to the
Vikings who have seemed to do that to a few teams already to come back a week later to
embarrass the Jets 34-0 on the road. Jim Harbaugh has changed the mentality of
this 9ers team, he has given Alex Smith a new found confidence to lead and win games. We see one of the best ground attacks in the league
with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter who has emerged as an explosive backup.
We’ve also seen a wrinkle of the wildcat with second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick proving
to be another explosive weapon which opposing defenses will have to prepare
for. To add they have future Hall Of Famer Randy Moss patiently waiting to make
his impact in the red zone which was the one area as well as 3rd down
conversion percentage where the offense seemed to stall last season. So I will
chalk that Vikings loss to one they were caught sleeping, the 9ers are legit
and this is their division to lose. And a scary thought it the fact that the more efficient that offense gets?? Watch Out.
2.
Arizona
Cardinals Last Season (8-8) 2012- (4-0)
Key
Losses: CB Richard Marshall
Key Additions: WR Michael Floyd, CB William Gay
Kevin Kolb or John Skelton, the Cardinals were the last team
to announce their starting quarterback coming into the season and we all sat back thought it’s the
Cardinals who cares??!.. right?.. Well they had us all fooled, dating back to last
season Arizona has won 8 strait at home and 11 out of their last 13 games. Those
type of numbers don’t happen by accident. With the emergence of young players
RB Ryan Williams 3rd year wide out Andre Roberts on offense, and on the
defensive side CB Patrick Peterson and 3rd year linebacker Daryl
Washington who leads the team in tackles, the Cardinals early success can be
attributed to consistent play, mainly on defense as well as late game composure from Kolb. I mentioned the young guys but Safeties
Adrain Wilson, Kerry Rhodes, DT Darnell Docket are still playing at a high level. Arizona has guys stepping up by committee on the other side of the ball, and lets not forget they still have a
top three wide-out in the game in all-pro Larry Fitzgerald. Wins against the Patriots
and Eagles two teams we mostly see as playoff contenders coming into the
season, the Cardinals are a team you must bring you’re A game against. I did
not rank them 1st in the division because they still have to go
through the 9ers who won this division a year ago as well as barley escaping a near
scare against the Dolphins last week which I believe brought them back down to earth.
They’ve found a way to get it done thus far and I am curious to see how legit
they are as the season continues.
3. St. Louis
Rams Last Season (2-14) 2012- (2-2)
Key Losses: WR Brandon Lloyd
Key Additions: CB Cortland Finnegan, DT Michael Brockers, WR
Brian Quick, CB Janoris Jenkins, RB Isaiah Pead, WR Chris Givens, CB Janoris
Jenkins, Head Coach Jeff Fisher
Kurt Warner, Issac Bruce and Marshal Faulk aren’t walking
out the tunnel anytime soon, this is a different looking Rams Squad. They now
have the head coach from the opposing team of their one Super Bowl victory in
recent history, who is already changing the identity of this 2 win squad fro a
year ago. Well they have as many wins as a year ago so far so there goes one
accomplishment in itself. Joking aside with the few additions they made to the
defensive side of the ball, mainly CB’s Cortland Finnegan and rookie Janoris
Jenkins this has become a scrappy unit that’s is ranked top 15 in total
defense. LB James Laurinaitis has continued to come into his own as the
leader of that defense now in his 4th year out of Ohio St as he leads the team in tackles.
Offensively is where this team needs to pick it up, former number 1 overall pick Sam Bradford has played solid but has yet to live up to the hype
of his draft stock. This could be a result of the lack of
weapons he has around him so I don’t give him all the blame. 5’11 3rd
year receiver Danny Amendola has emerged as the teams leading receiver and
Sam’s go to target, other then Brandon Gibson there fails to be another wide
out with over 10 catches on the year. Relying on the run game with all-pro
running back Steven Jackson is a must but on the down side is his health remains
to be an issue. We will see who if anyone steps up for this offense as this
remains to be a team that will rely on their defense and special teams.
4. Seattle
Seahawks Last Season (7-9) 2012 (2-2)
Key Losses : MLB David Hawthorne
Key Additions: QB Russell Wilson, QB Matt Flynn, DE
Bruce Irvin
I rank the Seahawks last in the division for now due the
fact of the controversial “Touchercption” against the Packers and last weeks
loss to in division Rams. But on the positive side this Seattle team has one of the best overall
defenses from top t bottom in early season play. We saw the 8 first half sack performance
and explosive D-Line play from Chis Clemons and rookie Bruce Irvin against
Aaron Rogers. We continue to see one of the best secondary groups in all of
football with Safeties Cam Chanecllor, Earl Thomas ,Corners Brandon Browner
and Richard Sherman. The problem is clearly not on the defensive side of the
ball. The problem is they have a rookie quarterback who although shows a lot of
promise has not passed for over 160 yards in a game yet. And in a passing
league this is a problem which needs to be fixed in order for the Seahawks to
take the next step. They seem to have the names to be more potent in that facet
with names like Sidney Rice, Golden Tate, Braylon Edwards or even a Doug
Baldwin who has not been fully healthy but came on strong in the 2nd
half of the season last year as a rookie. This is another team who like the
Rams must rely on their all-pro running back, and although Marshawn Lynch embraces his
role to the fullest, defenses know what to expect as well. If they some how can find
a way to put up points with that defense this is a team that will challenge for years to come
in the NFC West, but as it stand now they don’t have the cohesion on offense to
get it done, this is why they are currently in last place.