Let’s start at the top. The 49ers are
fresh off of a Super-Bowl appearance, a game they would have won had the
referees not blatantly ignored Michael Crabtree being held on the final play. Despite
that disappointment, 2013 is looking up for San Francisco. They’ve retained
arguably the NFL’s best coach in Jim Harbaugh, recently awarded ESPYS best
breakout athlete Colin Kaepernick, and the best defense in the league. Unfortunately,
Michael Crabtree suffered and ACL tear and safety Dashon Goldson left for Tampa
Bay, but GM Trent Baalke wasted no time in recovering, trading for ex-Baltimore
receiver Anquan Boldin and drafting LSU safety Eric Reid, who joins a defensive
unit that already features All-Pros Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, and Aldon
Smith. Not to mention that Frisco also just drafted Tank Carradine, standout
defensive end at that other Florida college. No telling when the Raiders will
catch up, between Kaepernick’s 49ers and Steph Curry’s Warriors, it looks like
the Bay is back.
Staying at the top, although slightly
less at the top, we have the Seattle Seahawks. In 2012, they very well could
have made it to the Super Bowl, if not for some questionable decision-making by
head coach Pete Carroll. Despite their playoff loss to the Falcons (who were
trying really hard to lose), Seattle took the NFL by storm last season. Their elite
play on offense, defense, and special teams led them to amazing touchdown after
ridiculous comeback after highlight reel. NFL analysts doubted Russel Wilson’s
ability coming into the season, but he quickly quieted their concerns. His rookie-sensationism
was aided by the success of Beast Mode (also sometimes goes by Marshawn Lynch)
and the running game. When the offense wasn’t dominating (which was rare),
Bobby Wagner, under-rated rookie linebacker, and the defense kept the team in
games. From top to bottom, the Seahawks are stacked. Seattle lost return
specialist Leon Washington to the Patriots, but they nabbed this off-season’s
best free agent in all-purpose all-star Percy Harvin. With veteran corner Antoine
Winfield now added to the defense, it’ll be no surprise if the Seahawks make a
deep playoff run this season.
I’ll group together this division’s
bottom half, the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams. But don’t be fooled, the
NFC West isn’t as top-heavy as it seems. Both the Rams and Cardinals have made
moves that will benefit them in the 2013 season, but the Cardinals look to be
in better shape. Arizona brought in last season’s Coach of the Year, Bruce
Arians, who was left in charge of the Colts while Chuck Pagano dealt with leukemia.
Arians was the architect behind Ben Roeslithberger’s success (something we saw
fade under Todd Haley’s stewardship) and most recently Andrew Luck’s breakout
rookie campaign. Conversely, St. Louis’s biggest move this offseason was losing
Danny Amendola to the Patriots in free agency, but don’t count them out. The Rams
have a talented core of young players and if the offensive line can manage to
protect Sam Bradford, they may be a playoff contender in 2-3 years. And here’s
something, amidst St. Louis’ 7-8-1 record in 2012, their two games against the
49ers resulted in a win and a tie. Arizona and St. Louis are teams I would classify
as “On the Come Up”.
There you have it, folks. That’s just
about all you need to know about the NFC West for now, as we not-so-patiently
wait for the season to start. As always, comments are welcome. And seeing as
how I’ve yet to receive a comment through 18 articles, there may just be
something good in it for my first commenter. 49 days till kickoff!
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