NFL: Who will win the NFC West?

[MMC]

Going Seahawks (bleh).

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[Avs_19]

Still worried about the Seahawks OL but that defense is still strong so I'm going with them. I also don't think Palmer will hold up for the Cardinals.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Seattle is always a tough team in the division. Arizona will be carried by David Johnson, but I don't think he will be enough.

 

[Blitzkrug]

The division title rides on the arm of Palmer.

If he can bounce back from a pretty meh 2016, Arizona probably wins the division. If not? Ball's in Seattle's court.

Given Palmer is older, put my money on the Hawks, with like probably 10 wins.

 

[Falco Lombardi]

Seattle edges out Arizona

 

[John Price]

Seahawks
Cardinals
Rams
Niners

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

The Rams are trash. Who voted for them??

 

[rangerssharks414]

Seattle... I learned my lesson from last year.

 

[Street Hawk]

Seattle... I learned my lesson from last year.

I think Seattle will win the division. SF and LA, don't expect great things from their QBs. Competition is Arizona and how Palmer fares.

For Seattle, can they get a first round bye?

North - GB/Min/Det - how many wins will the division get? GB will be in it with Rodgers. Can Minny's OL be better and can Bradford be solid for them? Can Detroit step up and take the division?
South - ATL/CAR/and the up and coming TB. NO, don't think the D is strong enough to win the division. How many games will the division winner get? 11?
East - I doubt Dallas will put up 13 wins. Division winner might only be at 11 games.

So, if Seattle wants to secure home field, they need to hit the 12 win mark.

It comes down to the OLine and how Cable is able to coach the group up. Keep hearing he's one of the best OL coaches in the game. Time to put up. Same goes with Bevell. It can't take 2 full years to learn how to use Jimmy Graham at TE.

 

[DoyleG]

Hawks: Win division as long as Wilson can remain healthy. Playoff bye will come down to how well they do outside the division.

Arizona: How well will both Palmer and Arians hold up this season.

Rams: Still a mess

Niners: Ditto.

 

[GKJ]

Seattle is always a tough team in the division. Arizona will be carried by David Johnson, but I don't think he will be enough.

Being carried by your running back is usually a bad recipe these days. Palmer needs to have enough in the tank. Good chance it's Larry Fitz's final season as well.

Curious if some of the hits that our guy with the heart of a lion starts catching up to him, especially if the Seahawks line doesn't hold up. The door is more open than some think, imo. Seahawks did not beat the Cardinals last year.

 

[sigma six]

Got this.

 

[darko]

Seahawks

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Cards

 

[BigMac1212]

Be a homer and vote Cards.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Arizona. I think Seattle takes a bit of a step back, and the other two teams are even worse than Jacksonville

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Palmer is soon to be 38 and I don't expect him to replicate 2015

Showed some signs of slowing down last year and expect him to do it more

As long as Seahawks have Wilson + Good D they should be favorites for division

 

[Memento]

The Rams are trash. Who voted for them??

I did.

Seattle lost their starting left tackle in George Fant, and they're relying on a bust in Joeckel to replace him. Wilson is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but can he have enough time to throw when teams are pressuring him from all sides? As for the defense, it's stout.

Palmer and Fitz are another year older, and Palmer has had injury concerns. They have John Brown and J.J. Nelson as other options in the receiving game, but their offensive line is also a concern. And unlike Wilson, Palmer doesn't have the mobility to escape pressure. Their defense is much weaker without Campbell and Jefferson. It's still good, but if I were Cards fans, I'd worry about the secondary - Patrick Peterson aside.

The Forty-Niners are rebuilding under Kyle Shanahan, who is a talented OC. We'll see how he does as a head coach. They have some young pieces on defense in Armstead, Thomas, Buckner, Witherspoon (whom I was really high on in this year's draft), Reid, Ward, and Lynch, but they're switching to a 4-3 when a lot of their pieces were for a 3-4. The offense also looks like a dumpster fire with their quarterbacks especially. It's bad when Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert were upgrades over the current crop.

As for the Rams? Yes, they have a young head coach. Yes, they went 4-12 last year. Yes, they just switched to a 3-4. But hear me out for a second. They hired Wade Phillips, one of the best defensive coordinators out there, who runs a penetrating 3-4, which has similar roles to a 4-3 (i.e., Donald would still be a 3-tech). They hired the quarterbacks coach of the Atlanta Falcons as an offensive coordinator, who developed Ryan into an MVP, and added on with Greg Olsen, who is respected throughout the league as a quarterbacks coach. That's going to work wonders with Goff. As a matter of fact, it already has: look no further than the preseason game against the Raiders.

And the offensive line is extremely impressive. It's better than it's been in the last ten years. We upgraded Greg Robinson with Andrew Whitworth. We upgraded Tim Barnes with Jon Sullivan. The other offensive linemen are a year older, healthy, and better than they've ever been under the guidance of a top-notch offensive line coach (Aaron Kromer).

The receivers have a new pecking order with the acquisition of Sammy Watkins. He's a true number one receiver, Robert Woods is our number two, Cooper Kupp is dynamite in the slot, as he proved in the preseason game. When Tavon Austin gets healthy, when Josh Reynolds, Pharoh Cooper, and Mike Thomas earn roles as backups, look out.

All of that is going to help Todd Gurley tremendously. Last year, he had nowhere to run. He was the guy that defenses keyed on, daring Case Keenum to beat them without falling to pieces without an offensive line. With wide receivers who can do something, Gurley is going to ball out.

And that's not even mentioning the defense. Once we re-sign Aaron Donald to a contract, we have a lynchpin to our success. We have so much depth in the front seven, it's ridiculous. Michael Brockers is a very underrated nose tackle who will be able to show his pass-rushing skills in this system. The linebacking corps has Alec Ogletree, Mark Barron (who has found a role as a linebacker after failing as a Tampa safety), Robert Quinn (who is fully healthy), and Connor Barwin (who had a ton of success in a 3-4). That's not even mentioning solid subs such as Josh Forrest, Samson Ebukam, and Ejuan Price. The secondary is much improved. Trumaine Johnson is playing under a franchise tag. Kayvon Webster and Nickell Robey-Coleman round out the corners. Lamarcus Joyner and Maurice Alexander are finally in roles that fit them (free safety and strong safety respectively).

Our special teams is the best in the league. There, I said it. Nobody is better than Johnny Hekker. I don't care what Raiders fans say about Marquette King (who is a damn good punter in his own right); Hekker broke several records in punting and only had one touchback all season long. Greg "The Leg" Zuerlein has bounced back in a big way. Jake McQuaide went to the Pro Bowl as a long snapper (which, I know, isn't a good way to judge how good someone is, but sue me. ).

I feel that with all of the pieces we have, there's no reason the Rams can't win the division. It's wide open.

 

[sigma six]

Joekel is going to stay at guard. Sounds like they want to look at Rees Odhiambo (sp) at LT.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Seattle. Arizona has no playmakers besides David Johnson on offense. Fitz is old and reliant on scheme to get open.

 

[Trap Jesus]

The Cards always seem like a good choice with the talent on their roster, but the Seahawks are just way too proven to go against.

 

[MMC]

My Rams are NFC West champions. Never thought I’d be able to say that any time soon

 

[Memento]

Rams win, Rams win! I get bragging rights!