2009 NFL Previews - NFC West

Over the next four weeks I will be previewing and predicting each division in the NFL. First up, the NFC West.

1. Seattle Seahawks

2008 Record: 4-12, 3rd place in NFC West
Coach: Jim Mora Jr. (1st year Seattle, 27-23 career)
Schedule: http://www.seahawks.com/schedule/season-schedule.html
Key Additions: WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, DT Colin Cole, LB Aaron Curry
Key Losses: RB Maurice Morris, WR Bobby Engram, FB Leonard Weaver, DE Julian Peterson

2009 Outlook: I picked the Seahawks to make the Super Bowl in 2008 but little did I know that almost their entire receiving corps would be decimated by injuries, or that QB Matt Hasslebeck would miss most of the season. Instead of reaching the Super Bowl, the Seahawks limped to a 4-12 record in Mike Holmgren's final season. This year, Jim Mora Jr. takes over and the Seahawks are expected to have a recovery season. Part of the optimisim comes from the signing of WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Houshmandzadeh will be their number one receiver and it will be interesting to see if he can be just as effective when is the number one, as he was as the number two guy. The Seahawks are also counting on a full season from Hasslebeck, as they would like to avoid having to turn to Seneca Wallace again. The Seahawks defense was also a major issue in 2008, which they hoped they addressed with the signing of DT Colin Cole, and the drafting of LB Aaron Curry. Hopefully, they don't make me look silly for a second straight year, but I see the Seahawks taking back their throne as NFC West champs.

2009 Prediction: 9-7

2. Arizona Cardinals

2008 Record: 9-7, NFC and NFC West champions
Coach: Ken Whisenhunt (3rd year Arizona, 20-16 career)
Schedule: http://www.azcardinals.com/gameday/schedule_2009_final.php
Key Additions: RB Beanie Wells, CB Bryant McFadden, TE Anthony Becht, S Keith Lewis
Key Losses: DE Antonio Smith, LB Monty Beisel, CB Rod Hood, RB Edgerrin James

2009 Outlook: The Cardinals shocked everyone last year when they made their run from Wild Card team to NFC Champion. I picked against the Cardinals in every single one of their postseason games and finally got it right, when they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. History is not on the Cardinals side as a trend has started where the Super Bowl loser goes on to not make the playoffs. Many people are thinking the Cardinals will be one hit wonders and go back to their usual awfulness. I think the Cardinals are a good, not great, team that got hot at the right time. The Cardinals will be in every game because of their prolific offense led by QB Kurt Warner and WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and might get even better this year with the drafting of RB Beanie Wells. The Cardinals defense really stepped up their play in the playoffs and are the biggest question mark for Arizona. Bertrand Berry blossomed into a star in the postseason, as did CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

2009 Prediction: 9-7

3. San Francisco 49ers

2008 Record: 7-9, 2nd place in NFC West
Coach: Mike Singletary (1st year San Francisco, 5-4 career)
Schedule: http://www.49ers.com/gameday/season-schedule.html
Key Additions: WR Michael Crabtree, WR Brandon Jones, CB Dre Bly, DE Demetric Evans, FB Moran Norris
Key Losses: LB Tully Banta-Cain, CB Donald Strickland, QB J.T. O'Sullivan

2009 Outlook: Usually journalists are supposed to be objective, but I am no journalist and I will proudly state that the San Francisco 49ers are my favorite team. Last season was an up and down year for San Francisco. The Niners got off to a 2-5 start and fired head coach Mike Nolan, replacing him on an interim basis with Hall of Famer Mike Singletary. The team would lose its first 2 games under Singletary but then finish the year with wins in 5 of their last 7 games. You could tell the team really took to Singletary's no nonsense but always honest approach. Expectations are high for San Francisco this year but one problem is the most important position in the game, QB. Despite leading the Niners to a hot finish last year, QB Shaun Hill finds himself in a competition with former number one pick, Alex Smith. The talk this off-season has been that Smith has shown a renewed focus and is looking to prove himself, especially after taking a pay cut to stay in San Francisco. While Smith winning the job would make me feel better about my purchase of his jersey a couple years ago, I think Hill should be the starter. He is not brilliant but he has shown he can lead the team to wins, while Alex has not. The other story dominating headlines for the Niners is the continued holdout of 1st round pick WR Michael Crabtree. Crabtree's idiot cousin came out and said Crabtree was willing to sit out the entire season to get the deal he wanted. I take it with a grain of salt since Crabtree didn't say it, but I am losing patience with him. WRs have major adjustments going from college to the NFL. Unless Crabtree is as good as Randy Moss, which I doubt, he needs to get his butt into camp and get to work. The Niners continue to have a dependable running game behind RB Frank Gore. The 49ers defense really came through towards the end of the season, led by Pro Bowler LB Patrick Willis. CB Dre Bly was added in the offseason, and hopefully CB Nate Clements can start to live up that huge contract he signed. I hope the Niners can finally make the playoffs this year but they have a difficult schedule. I was hoping for a division title this year but it looks like it could end up being another season of disappointment.

2009 Prediction: 8-8

4. St. Louis Rams

2008 Record: 2-14, last place in NFC West
Coach: Steve Spagnuolo (1st year St. Louis, 0-0 career)
Schedule: http://www.stlouisrams.com/schedule/
Key Additions: OT Jason Smith, LB James Laurinaitis, SS James Butler, C Jason Brown, FB Mike Karney
Key Losses: WR Torry Holt, OT Orlando Pace, QB Trent Green, S Corey Chavous

2009 Outlook: The Rams were absolutely dreadful last year, where aside from a two week stretch against the NFC East, they were as bad as the Detroit Lions. They fired coach Scott Linehan in the middle of the year, and replaced him with former New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. We will find out just how great a defensive coach Spagnuolo is when he doesn't have the talent the likes that Giants had. The Rams were atrocious on defense last year. FS Oshiomogho Atagwe was just about the lone bright spot for the defense, although defensive lineman Chris Long did show some promise. The Rams drafted LB James Laurinaitis in the second round and will expect him to contribute early. Once the Greatest Show on Turf, the Rams offense is in shambles. QB Marc Bulger is almost there by default, as ever since he signed his huge contract, he has been terrible. Bulger can blame some of his struggles on his porous offensive line, which the Rams hoped to have fortified with the drafting of Jason Smith. The Rams have almost nothing at WR, especially with the recent injury to Donnie Avery, which could have him miss the beginning of the season. RB Steven Jackson is the Rams lone bright spot and even he can't really be counted on, due to his constant injuries. I expect the Rams to be just as bad, Spagnuolo won't make a difference.

2009 Prediction: 3-13