NFL Division Preview: Seahawks Still Rule Roost in NFC West
If they can’t, look for the Rams to make a push for the division title. But it would take a lot for the Seahawks to falter and not win the division, even at 10-6. The Cardinals are beginning to show signs of life under coach Dennis Green and the addition of running back Edgerrin James should add at least three wins to the Cardinals in 2006. Rookie quarterback Matt Leinart has received some interesting press, lately, allegedly being named the father of a baby out of wedlock, however, it’s his solid passing numbers in the preseason that has people asking how long it will be before starter Kurt Warner is out. The 49ers are still in rebuilding mode, a la the other Bay Area team, the Raiders. You should see marked improvement from quarterback Alex Smith, but San Francisco may require a regime change in the near future to make anything happen.
Seattle 13-3
St. Louis 10-6
Arizona 9-7
San Francisco 5-11
SEATTLE (13-3, 1st NFC West, NFC Champions)
OFFENSE
The cupboard is not bare in Seattle; it just seems that way since so many teams, contending or no, made moves in the offseason to beef up their offenses. The Seahawks lost only one impact player, receiver Joe Jurevicius and kept everyone else. This should add up to another productive year and possibly Seattle’s first Super Bowl ring. Quarterback and Pro Bowler Matt Hasselbeck is back to run the West Coast offense, running back and league MVP Shaun Alexander is ready to do battle and receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram return in their familiar spots. In addition tight end Jerramy Stevens had 5 touchdowns on the year in 2005 and he too is back. Seattle is truly the NFL’s version of the Terminator; they will be back and this year, they may go all the way. The offensive line combined has more than 35 years of NFL experience and all offensive positions go at least two-deep.
DEFENSE
The Seahawks front four is fearsome and again, experienced. Bryce Fisher led the way for Seattle with 9 sacks in 2005, but the other end of the line isn’t bad, with Grant Wistrom there (4 sacks). Inside are Rocky Bernard and Chartric Darby, with Darby having the least experience of the bunch. Lofa Tatupu leads a talented linebacking corps, but watch out for new acquisition Julian Peterson, who came over from San Francisco and could have a Pro Bowl year. Losing Andre Dyson will impact the defensive backfield in Seattle, but Ken Hamlin will fill in and is capable of doing a good job (he had 4 interceptions in 2004) though he fought injuries in 2005.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Josh Brown returns to Seattle as the kicker, despite averaging only 72 percent on field goals last year. And the Seahawks have a new punter in rookie Ryan Plackemeier. Bobby Engram and Josh Scobey will split punt and kick return duties for a unit that looks to be weakest on the team.
IN SUM
Seattle will be hard pressed to not repeat their Super Bowl appearance in 2006. The offense is loaded, the defense actually got better and the only question mark seems to be on special teams. The schedule only features four playoff teams and one of them comes to Qwest Field. The toughest part comes early, when in weeks 3 and 4 they host N.Y. Giants and go to Chicago. After that it dies down considerably and the Seahawks should win the division and have a good shot at homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
PREDICTION: 13-3, 1st NFC West
ST. LOUIS (6-10, 2nd NFC West)
OFFENSE
After suffering through a lackluster season by Rams standards, quarterback Marc Bulger has renewed hope under new head coach Scott Linehan, a former offenive coordinator. Though Bulger’s preseason finale wasn’t impressive, one game does not make a season and all of his weapons are back. Running back Steven Jackson is back, however he will have competition in the form of Stephen Davis, a veteran rumbler capable of big things. You will likely see Davis in most short-yardage situations and this will certainly help the Rams in ways they never thought possible. The receivers are also staying put, with Issac Bruce returning for his 14th season and Torry Holt anxious to increase his 1,400 yard output in 2005. The backups at all three positions are solid, too, giving defenses a reason to sleep less at night. Tight end will feature two rookies but St. Louis has a way of incorporating tight ends into their offense and so don’t be surprised to see either getting their share of grabs. The albatross looming over St. Louis is the offensive line, which isn’t as impressive as other years. For this reason, there is no way for the Rams to win the division and though there will be vast improvement, the Wild Card game is the best they can do.
DEFENSE
La’Roi Glover was acquired from Dallas to give the front four more of a push and the other end, and he’ll play alongside Jimmy Kennedy in the middle, while Leonard Little leads the ends with 9.5 sacks in 2005. The linebackers are relatively young, with Pino Tinoisamoa fronting the crew. The Rams also picked up Will Witherspoon from Carolina. The secondary is also quite young, with Corey Chavous coming over from Minnesota to help along the youth. Overall the defense goes two-deep, however one injury will have a huge impact on how the season goes for St. Louis. If injuries pile up like last year, Arizona may move into the second spot in the division.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Jeff Wilkins is timeless and continues to have success. Picking up Matt Turk from Miami should boost the Rams punting game and give them better field position. But the players to rave about on special teams are Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald, two gamebreakers who are capable of running back a kick for a touchdown at any time.
IN SUM
The health of the St. Louis Rams will determine their fate in 2006. Comparing the Rams’ offense and defense is like comparing night and day; it’s just not a fair assessment. But if the Rams can manage to keep teams out of the end zone and allow their offense some time on the field, good things should happen in St. Louis. They have a had, but not a brutal schedule and the tough games (Denver, Seattle, Carolina, Chicago) are spread far enough apart that the Rams can make up for those losses by the end of the season, provided they stay healthy.
PREDICTION: 10-6, 2nd NFC West
ARIZONA (5-11, 3rd NFC West)
OFFENSE
Quarterback Kurt Warner enters his second season in the desert with one thing on his mind: Get back to the way things were in St. Louis. Because frankly, things haven’t been the same for the former league MVP since he left Missouri. Not even a stop in the Big Apple could do much for Warner. Not only that, he hasn’t played more than 10 games in any season since 2001. But he is a deadly thrower of the ball and now he has weapons beyond belief to throw to. Running back Edgerrin James is the newest addition, having come from Indianapolis. James will be able to solidify the ground game, giving Warner more options in terms of throwing to James in the backfield and stretching out defenses in the air. Statistically, this could be the best season for Warner in five years, however he will need James in a big way. On a team with so many weapons, including Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin (1,400 yards each in 2005), you would think it’s due to the pass protection. It was not. In fact, the Cardinals are so banged up in their offensive line that at press time, there is no left tackle listed on the official depth chart, though it’s likely that Fred Wakefield will fill in the spot. The leader in the bunch is Milford Davis, who played in 15 games last year.
DEFENSE
The defensive front is led by Chike Okeafor (7.5 sacks in 2005) and Bertrand Berry (6 sacks). But the real concern in Phoenix is the linebacking crew, because their leader, Karlos Dansby is out for the near future with a toe injury, leaving the beginning of the season as one of doubt. In his place will be Calvin Huff. The Cards are hopeful that Antrel Rolle is over his injury-plagued 2005 season and is ready to go in 2006. But the leader of the unit last year was Adrian Wilson, who had a whopping 8 sacks from his position. Though Arizona is riddled with injuries already, the defense ranked 8th in the league last year so anytime Dennis Green is at the helm, good things are always possible.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Neil Rackers hit on a whopping 95 percent of his field goals last year, which is almost unheard of. And Scott Player had a 44 yard per punt average. Bryant Johnson handles both the kick and punt return duties for Arizona.
IN SUM
The Cardinals open their new, state-of-the-art stadium this season and it plans to be an exciting one. Expectations are already high now that James has arrived and the All-Pro receiving duo just makes a winning season a possibility. The only if factor is the defense, which is good as advertised but cannot afford too many injuries, especially this early in the season. The schedule favors the Cardinals, other than an early season matchup with Seattle, a midseason tussle versus Chicago and a late-season ruckus, but the Chicago and Denver games are at home. And Dennis Green has a reputation for getting teams into the playoffs. But injuries will get the best of this team in the end. They already are.
PREDICTION: 9-7, 3rd NFC West
SAN FRANCISCO (4-12, 4th NFC West)
OFFENSE
This is a team in a rebuilding phase that needs help everywhere. In the one phase in which they were solid, running back Kevan Barlow has since left for New York. Quarterback Alex Smith is entering his second season at the position and the 49ers were able to pick up receiver Antonio Bryant. At offensive line the Niners grabbed Larry Allen from Dallas to go with a unit that is probably the most stable on the team. This is good news for Frank Gore, who will now assume the duties at running back. The interesting variable to watch for here is Trent Dilfer, who is Smith’s backup. It could be dÃ?©jÃ? vu all over again but it may take two years for San Francisco to put the pieces together to make a run, a la the Baltimore Ravens of 2000. I’m not saying it will happen, but it might.
DEFENSE
Bryant Young is back for his 14th season to lead his other two D-line charges into battle. The worst news of all, though is at linebacker where only Derek Smith and Brandon Moore reside; the other projected starters are coming off of injury (Jeff Ulbrich) or a rookie (Manny Lawson). The secondary is also banged up. It looks like another long season for a defense ranked 32nd last year.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Joe Nedney could be the leading scorer on the team in 2006 and I’m not kidding. Andy Lee was the team’s punter last year. Maurice Hicks is the 49ers big-play guy, netting more than 600 kick return yards last year.
IN SUM
The season will be about as brutal as the San Francisco weather. One minute things will be fine then the next they will fall apart. Like last year there will be no quit in this team and look for Dilfer to offer some leadership to the team before the season is through. They will improve by just one game this year, with the real push to come in 2007.
PREDICTION: 5-11, 4th NFC West
