Jeff: NFC West

There needs to be a rule that when a division's this bad, they do not deserve a playoff team. Or at the very least don't give them home-field advantage in the first round. Like last year, somebody has to win the West (which means try and get to .500), and therefore somebody has to go the playoffs and get creamed by a much better team. Wouldn't you know it two teams from this division (Seattle and St Louis) met in the first round, prolonging the trouncing by one round (Atlanta destroyed the Rams 47-17). All four teams in the South are better this year than anybody out here. Just ugly. I'll try and make this as quick and painless as possible.

4. San Francisco 49ers (2-4 wins)
The good news: the Niners have a great chance of getting the #1 overall pick for the 2006 draft. The bad news: considering how they handled this year's #1 pick, who says they'd do any better with next year's? So new coach Mike Nolan didn't fair well with his first draft, but hey, if they match last year's win total of 4, he should be coach of the year. Or if they could find a way to sim their season like the Madden video game, that'd be even better. The other local football teams, Cal or Stanford, or even high-school powerhouse Matrei Dei, could give them a run.
OFFENSE
The Niners could have Joe Montana in his prime playing QB this year and even he couldn't get much out of this offense because there is NO ONE to throw to. That's why taking Utah QB Alex Smith #1 instead of Michigan WR Braylon Edwards blows my mind. All Edwards did was dominate against the biggest and best schools in the country and be named the top receiver. Smith? Um, he looked pretty good against Wyoming. The man hasn't taken a snap from under center since high school. But hey he scored pretty well on the wonderlic test. Too bad the Niners don't give them to their front-office folks so they could avoid decisions like this. RB Kevin Barlow looked like a future star while sharing carries with medical miracle Garrison Hearst. What does he do with the backfield all to himself last year? Barely average three yards a carry. Roger Craig could come out of retirement and do as well. So San Fran brought in another back who's familiar with the operating table in 3rd round pick Frank Gore (not one not two but THREE knee surgeries!) to push him. The offensive line? They're "offensive" in deed. San Fran could be the first non-CFL team to start punting on 3rd down.
DEFENSE
This is actually a pretty good group, especially if star LB Julian Peterson comes back anywhere near the player he was before that horrific achilies injury last year. DE Andre Carter provides a solid rush on the end, and the secondary is young at the corners but improving, and Tony Parrish is one of the league's best strong safeties. However, the D might as well put bunkbeds and a mess house at midfield because they'll be living on it all year. No matter how good your defense, if their offense keeps putting them back on the field, they're in trouble.

3. Seattle Seahawks (6-8 wins)
Mike Holmgren better have his resume in order. Coming off back-to-back Super Bowl appearances with the Green Bay Packers (if you reside near Wisconsin chances are you know this whether you wanted to or not), coach went to Seattle in '99 with the promise of finally bringing a winner to the Pacific Northwest. Well 6 years and zero playoff victories later, it still hasn't happened. There were few changes from the team that backed into the playoffs at 9-7. For Holmgren to keep his job, he needs to win a playoff game this year. Like I said, he better have his resume up to date.
OFFENSE
Matt Hasselback took a step back last year after looking like he was finally going to be the leader Coach Holmgren told everybody he would be. Of course, not all of that is his fault. With a core of receivers that lead the league in dropped passes, Hasselback's chances of a successful season were about as good as trying to row across a lake with a hole in your boat. The Hawks top two talents, Darryl Jackson and Koren Robinson, both have plenty but are still grasping the whole "receiver" part of wide receiver. So Seattle's trying something new this year: receivers with basically no athletic ability (Joe Jurevicius and Jerome Pathon) but get this- they actually catch the ball when it's thrown to them!! Quite a concept, indeed. Plus they signed a guy named Taco Wallace. Gotta love that. Despite the woes of the aerial attack, the running game remains one of the league's best. Shaun Alexander did the smart thing by getting into camp on time, and will be an unrestricted free agent next year. If you've this sport, or any other, you know guys playing for contracts have huge years. Alexander, one of the league's best backs playing behind one of the league's best lines, will be no different, regardless of whether Hasselback can find somebody who'll actually catch a pass or two.
DEFENSE
Things went downhill when big free agent-signee E Grant Wistrom got hurt. Without his pass rushing threat off the end, teams were much more comfortable going to the air. With Wistrom healthy and the Hawks signing former Titan standout Andre Dyson at corner, things should improve. The linebackers could use help, and the Hawks are hoping that a chance to play with his younger brother Michael (an improving safety), could convince former Baltimore Pro Bowler Peter Boulware to sign for less. Ken Hamlin is developing into one of the better safeties in the NFL.

2. Arizona Cardinals (7-9 wins)
So this is everybody's chic pick to have a breakout season. Two things bother me:
1) it's the Cardinals. Awhile back I wrote about how many other NFL franchises there are that would be worse to cheer for than the Vikings, and I believe Arizona was near the top, or bottom depending on your view, of bad teams. One playoff appearance, that's right ONE, since moving to Phoenix in the '80's. Nothing ever goes right for this franchise. And yes I realize that the Bucs won a Super Bowl and the Red Sox a World Series so anything's possible. Well neither were even close to the level of futility the Cards have maintained. As a matter of fact they're thinking of changing the word futility to just "cards". But hey at least they're consistent.
2) Dennis Green is coaching this team. The same Dennis Green who always prided himself on undefeated preseasons and winning regular seasons in his 10+ years with the Vikings. Oh he was also good at not preparing his teams for minor things like conference championships. But now he's the savior in the Desert and people are using "Denny" and "a good young defense" in the same sentence, which is much like saying "Canadians hate beer and hockey". It's just wrong. So forgive me if I'm not quite ready to gush about the Cardinals playoff chances. Of course he did actually spend a first round pick on a defensive player (this year's defensive rookie of the year, CB Antrell Rolle) which last happened...looks like never. Ok so maybe this is the new Denny-or they're not letting him make all the decisions.
3) oops forgot the 3rd thing--everybody likes them, which can be the kiss of death.
OFFENSE
Sure Denny doesn't worry much about his defense, but he always seems to make the offense work. Kurt Warner may have enough gas left in the tank to run the offense. Personally, I wouldn't want him bagging my groceries let alone running my offense, but Denny IS the master of making crappy quarterbacks a little less crappy. JJ Arrington should be a very good back behind a very good line. Compact, shifty, with good wheels to the corner means a good shot at offensive rookie of the year. The Cards lack a true deep threat at WR, but have two very talented young receivers in Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Like every Denny team, the O-line is good, and moving monster pro-bowler Larry Davis from guard to tackle will only help.
DEFENSE
There's talent and speed here. Can this REALLY be Denny's team? The ends need to step up, and should be helped by all the attention Wendell Bryant and last year's early round steal Darnell Dockett, will bring at d-tackle. The linebackers are all young, athletic and ridiculously fast, and the faster rookies Darryl Blackstock and Lance Mitchell learn, the better the D will be. Rolle will step in immediately as the team's #1 corner, and barring the Cards doing anything stupid (it's the Cards so maybe that should read "until" they do something stupid), will be the team's best corner since Aneas Williams left via free agency a few years back. S Bob Griffith, one of the few good defensive players Green had in Minnesota, reunites will the Sheriff and will try and mentor talented safety Adrian Wilson. You know, this IS a good young team. Maybe Arizona's futility and Denny's lack of playoff production will cancel each other out?

1. St Louis Rams (7-9 wins)
It sure wasn't pretty, but somehow a team that won 8 games last year, including just 2 on the road, made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs. They beat the Seahawks in Seattle twice in as many weeks; first to clinch a playoff spot, and then theu won the right to get throttled by Atlanta in the playoffs (which they did 47-17). Shades of the teams' Super Bowl caliber high octane offense remain, but a transition year should be in order to keep the team atop the division. BUt when has Mark Martz ever done the right thing? Super Bowl, you say? Remember, that was teary-eyed Dick Vermeil hoisting the Lombardi trophy. And it seems since taking the reigns the year after Martz has been hell-bent on doing things HIS way to escape Vermeil's shadow. Number of Super Bowl's doing things Martz' stubborn ways? Yeah, zero. And the number will be the same after this season. But they'll be in the playoffs again because somebody from this division has to be.
OFFENSE
Yes I'm aware a good offensive line is the key to any good team. But it's the #1 issue for this offense, which has plenty of weapons to choose from, but needs the blocking to make it happen. Hopes of a high octane offense were dashed when RT Kyle Turley was lost for the season. His replacement, most likely rookie 1st rounder Alex Barron, needs to solidify the end and allow QB Mark Bulger the time he needs. Bulger is better than Warner now, but will never reach the MVP-level Kurt attained in their Super Bowl year. If he keeps his interceptions down, and continues getting the ball to Torry Holt and the ageless wonder, Isaac The Bruce, the passing game will be dangerous. Marshall Faulk has been one of the best backs of the last decade, but it's time to step aside and let bruising 2nd year stud Stephen Jackson take the bulk of the carries. Jackson doesn't have the all-around abilities Faulk had in his prime, but then again neither does Marshall now. What Jackson does do is move the chains and punish people between the tackles, and his pass-catching is much improved. Faulk could still be lethal as a change-of-pace. Still, with Martz calling the shots, all of this makes way too much sense to happen.
DEFENSE
Raise your hand if you know the name of last season's leading tackler? Uh huh...uh huh...interesting...yeah, thought so. Even Rams fans probably aren't familiar with the name Pisa Tinoisamoa, let alone how to pronounce it. The 3rd year linebacker from Hawaii was a pleasant suprise, but is really going to have his work cut out for him this year. Aeneas Williams and Tommy Polley are gone, and their replacements are as inconspicuous as Pisa. SS Adam Archuleta needs to be great to help this unit come together. The better the offense, the less pressure, and better these guys will be.