Sunday, September 09, 2007
NFC West preview
This is a much improved division, but Seattle hasn’t come all the way back to the pack, yet.
1st Place
The Seattle Seahawks are still pretty good, only two years removed from a Super Bowl runner up finish. The Clarion likes theory, when in doubt go with the team with the best lines and the best skill position guys. This is a division with two good young running backs, but the Seahawks still have Shawn Alexander. This is a division with two good young quarterbacks, but Seattle still has Matt Hassleback. Their offensive line is still the division's best. They have a terrific homefield advantage, one of the loudest crowds in the league. They will take the division fairly easily. They will be the only squad with double digit wins.
2nd Place
Everybody loves the 49ers, the Clarion can’t quite figure out why. We like last year’s trendy pick the Arizona Cardinals better than the 49ers or the Rams. It was too bad how it went down for good ol' Dennis Green. Hopefully he gets one more chance somewhere else. But the Cardinals got a steal in new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who brought offensive line guru and former Washington Redskin Hog, Russ Grimm with him to coach the O-line. This will help the Cardinals immeasurably. The Clarion likes future superstar Matt Leinart way better than the higher paid, higher drafted Alex Smith. Smith in our eyes is still a system quarterback created by Urban Meyer. The wideout talent the Cardinals have may be the best in the league, Boldin and Fitzgerald will challenge anybody’s best. Edgerrin James will be most grateful for better blocking and respond with a bounce back year. The Cardinals could be sniffing around the edges of the NFC Wild Card, but figure to finish out the outside looking in.
3rd Place
Contranarian at heart, the Clarion thinks the 49ers are going to take a step back this year. All the football talking heads are on their bandwagon early, always a bad sign. They won’t have as easy a schedule this year as they did last. We already told you we aren’t in love with Alex Smith. Frank Gore has had a couple of terrific seasons, but his preseason injury reminded us of why we didn’t think he was likely to amount to much in the NFL coming out of the U. We like tight end Vernon Davis, but it is likely a bad sign when your top wide receiver is a former QB like Arnaz Battle. The free agent additions to the defense were wildly overrated, Nate Clements is no Champ Bailey, Buffalo didn’t battle to keep him. Walt Harris is an aging plug-in. The Clarion has read good things about rookie linebacker Patrick Willis, but San Francisco still hasn’t fully replaced the impact of, departed to Seattle, star linebacker Julian Peterson. The 49ers will be nipping at the Cardinals heels, around the seven to eight win mark.
4th Place
The Rams will take another step back this year. Marshall Faulk and the Super Bowl years are a fading memory. They have convinced themselves that Mark Bulger is a star quaterback and signed him to a ridiculous contract this offseason. In St. Louis it is the system that makes the QB. Bulger is a poor game manager who does not raise the talent level of those around him. Have they fogotten that when the skill players were at their peak and they still had Marshall, they were able to plug in Arena Leaguer Kurt Warner and win. Heck they have the kind of offense you could take a last round draft pick out of Harvard plug him in and he’d throw for 300 yards. Unfortunately, Issac Bruce is another year older. Future Hall of Famer, and former Wolfpacker, Torry Holt is banged up. Drew Bennett is wildly overrated. Dante Hall is past his prime and was always a better special teamer than starting receiver. Teams will stack the box against Stephen Jackson and dare Bulger to beat them.
The defense has some players. Will Witherspoon at middle linebacker. Criminal Leonard Little at defensive end. Rookie Adam Carriker at defensive tackle. It might be enough to keep the Rams in some games, but this looks like a six or seven win team to the Clarion.
1st Place
The Seattle Seahawks are still pretty good, only two years removed from a Super Bowl runner up finish. The Clarion likes theory, when in doubt go with the team with the best lines and the best skill position guys. This is a division with two good young running backs, but the Seahawks still have Shawn Alexander. This is a division with two good young quarterbacks, but Seattle still has Matt Hassleback. Their offensive line is still the division's best. They have a terrific homefield advantage, one of the loudest crowds in the league. They will take the division fairly easily. They will be the only squad with double digit wins.
2nd Place
Everybody loves the 49ers, the Clarion can’t quite figure out why. We like last year’s trendy pick the Arizona Cardinals better than the 49ers or the Rams. It was too bad how it went down for good ol' Dennis Green. Hopefully he gets one more chance somewhere else. But the Cardinals got a steal in new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who brought offensive line guru and former Washington Redskin Hog, Russ Grimm with him to coach the O-line. This will help the Cardinals immeasurably. The Clarion likes future superstar Matt Leinart way better than the higher paid, higher drafted Alex Smith. Smith in our eyes is still a system quarterback created by Urban Meyer. The wideout talent the Cardinals have may be the best in the league, Boldin and Fitzgerald will challenge anybody’s best. Edgerrin James will be most grateful for better blocking and respond with a bounce back year. The Cardinals could be sniffing around the edges of the NFC Wild Card, but figure to finish out the outside looking in.
3rd Place
Contranarian at heart, the Clarion thinks the 49ers are going to take a step back this year. All the football talking heads are on their bandwagon early, always a bad sign. They won’t have as easy a schedule this year as they did last. We already told you we aren’t in love with Alex Smith. Frank Gore has had a couple of terrific seasons, but his preseason injury reminded us of why we didn’t think he was likely to amount to much in the NFL coming out of the U. We like tight end Vernon Davis, but it is likely a bad sign when your top wide receiver is a former QB like Arnaz Battle. The free agent additions to the defense were wildly overrated, Nate Clements is no Champ Bailey, Buffalo didn’t battle to keep him. Walt Harris is an aging plug-in. The Clarion has read good things about rookie linebacker Patrick Willis, but San Francisco still hasn’t fully replaced the impact of, departed to Seattle, star linebacker Julian Peterson. The 49ers will be nipping at the Cardinals heels, around the seven to eight win mark.
4th Place
The Rams will take another step back this year. Marshall Faulk and the Super Bowl years are a fading memory. They have convinced themselves that Mark Bulger is a star quaterback and signed him to a ridiculous contract this offseason. In St. Louis it is the system that makes the QB. Bulger is a poor game manager who does not raise the talent level of those around him. Have they fogotten that when the skill players were at their peak and they still had Marshall, they were able to plug in Arena Leaguer Kurt Warner and win. Heck they have the kind of offense you could take a last round draft pick out of Harvard plug him in and he’d throw for 300 yards. Unfortunately, Issac Bruce is another year older. Future Hall of Famer, and former Wolfpacker, Torry Holt is banged up. Drew Bennett is wildly overrated. Dante Hall is past his prime and was always a better special teamer than starting receiver. Teams will stack the box against Stephen Jackson and dare Bulger to beat them.
The defense has some players. Will Witherspoon at middle linebacker. Criminal Leonard Little at defensive end. Rookie Adam Carriker at defensive tackle. It might be enough to keep the Rams in some games, but this looks like a six or seven win team to the Clarion.
Labels: NFL, Predictions, sports
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