San Fransisco 49ers: 9-7; 1st place Finally! Finally the 49ers will be back in the postseason. They'll be back, but just barely in what will be the most average division in football. The Niners threatened last season but this year their defense, led by their head coach Mike Singletary, will power this team forward. This team surrendered a total of just 3 touchdowns for an average of 10 points in their 6 games versus divisional rivals. Keeping teams out of the endzone wins games, and the Niners have proven to be capable of that.
Their question mark, ever since Steve Young's retirement, has been the offense. They have yet to find a successor to Young, and Alex Smith certainly is not that person. They do however have one of the best tight ends, Vernon Davis, and one of the best running backs, Frank Gore. Wide receiver, Michael Crabtree could have a breakout season. Smith does not have to be Steve Young or Joe Montana; all he has to do is keep from turning the ball over and the 49ers will succeed.
St. Louis Rams: 8-8; 2nd place
I probably have this team ranked way too high. They were God-awful last season, and drafting a marquee QB to fix things rarely works. Preseason doesn't always translate to the regular season.
I don't care.
Sam Bradford has looked fantastic. In the 3rd preseason game, the only one that really matters, since the 1st string plays 3 quarters, Bradford tore apart the Pats defense. He had the pocket presence, and accuracy of a veteran, not a rookie. He has Stephen Jackon to assist in keeping the pass rush off, and Bradford can definitely thrive this season.
Their defense will need to step up as well. Hopefully Bradford rejuvinated the entire team, not just the offense. Six times last season, this team gave up more than 30 points. You will not win many games when surrendering that many points, and the Rams proved that by not winning any of those games, with their only win coming against the Lions, 17-10. That might not have been a fun game to watch, but as long as Bradford remains healthy, the Rams' games this year will have excitement.
Seattle Seahawks: 7-9; 3rd place
Pete Carroll has nothing to prove. He does not need a Super Bowl to validate his coaching excellence. He tried coaching professionally in the past, both with the Patriots and Jets, with mediocre success. Players did not adapt to his Phil Jackson-esque, zen way of coaching. Now having proven his coaching intelligence, the Seahawks will listen better than the Jets and Pats did, and the Seahawks will improve. Just not yet.
The team, like the rest of the division, is just average. Their running game should be good, with Julius Jones, and Leon Washington, but their QB, Matt Hasselback is average. Their receivers, Deion Branch and Golden Tate, are average. Their defense will be average, with the exception of Lofa Tatupu. The only not average aspect of the team is their names. Lofa, Golden, Julius, Quinton (Ganter, the fullback), and Lawyer (Milloy, safety).
Arizona Cardinals: 7-9; 4th place
The Cardinals will be back where they belong. Pigs will stop flying and the Cardinals will not make the playoffs. They still have talented players, but too many subtractions were made without adding enough. Kurt Warner and Matt Leinhart were replaced by Derek Anderson, who was not good enough to play for the Browns. Anquan Boldin was cut off of the three-headed threat of Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, and Boldin.
On defense, they lost Karlos Dansby, but added Joey Porter. Their defense lost less than the offense, but this team gave up 90 points in their 2 playoff games. 90 points! This team will struggle with their new QB, and if their offense can't score, the defense will give up a lot of points every game.
Up Next: NFC South
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