Who will win the NFC West this year?

[Uhsplit]

It's actually not a surprise that Seattle and SF struggled short yardage situations.

Running focused offenses especially physical ones are all but guaranteed to run up the gut in those situations which makes it easier for the defense since they know what's coming and they just sell out to clog up the middle which makes it a difficult conversion no matter how good your offensive line is.

Teams that pass more or are more finesse aren't as likely to run it up the gut in those situations and have higher odds of doing a play action or quick pass to get the conversion so defenses can't quite sell out as much and have to keep multiple options in mind when defending.

It's why as a 9er fan it drives me nuts that we'll continue to mash Gore up the middle when it's blatantly obvious the defense is fully expecting that.

Great observation.

 

[Clayton]

It's actually not a surprise that Seattle and SF struggled short yardage situations.

Running focused offenses especially physical ones are all but guaranteed to run up the gut in those situations which makes it easier for the defense since they know what's coming and they just sell out to clog up the middle which makes it a difficult conversion no matter how good your offensive line is.

Teams that pass more or are more finesse aren't as likely to run it up the gut in those situations and have higher odds of doing a play action or quick pass to get the conversion so defenses can't quite sell out as much and have to keep multiple options in mind when defending.

It's why as a 9er fan it drives me nuts that we'll continue to mash Gore up the middle when it's blatantly obvious the defense is fully expecting that.

Yeah, but there is a point where the Niners tend to wear down teams sometimes. I've seen it a couple of times and its not really something that is represented by stats.

In other news, apparently a bunch of sources are hyping up the rookie WR John Brown that the Cardinals picked up saying he is the real deal. Someone on the Cardinals said that they dont think the Texans had a single guy who could cover him. If they got a Tavon Austin type in the 3rd round then thats a steal

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Yeah, but there is a point where the Niners tend to wear down teams sometimes. I've seen it a couple of times and its not really something that is represented by stats.

In other news, apparently a bunch of sources are hyping up the rookie WR John Brown that the Cardinals picked up saying he is the real deal. Someone on the Cardinals said that they dont think the Texans had a single guy who could cover him. If they got a Tavon Austin type in the 3rd round then thats a steal

John Brown has been the real deal thus far. The Cardinals secondary are having a tough time covering him in practice. If he can stay healthy, watch out.

 

[ram29jackson]

Ram29jackson, are you a rams fan, redskins fan, or packers fan?

since you asked nicely.


I grew up in Pasadena California. Rams on tv so naturally follow them.
time goes on, my dad is from Wisconsin. See packers when they play Rams in LA.
Go to Wisconsin and watch Packers camp/practice and realize that every team has to do the same hard grinding practices no matter how good or bad they are. The Packers are bad but I follow what they do.
as I grow up I read sports illustrated and sports autobiographies and gain respect for all athletes and teams and sports in general. I'm a sports fan. Sports is entertainment ( more than most realize now)

I like the actions and aesthetics of sports. I don't need to be some diehard fan and waste time watching a team lose all day or be like some dumb ass fans who treat it like you are member of the Eagles or Cheifs gang. Its just sports. Its sometimes fun trivial crap to talk about

 

[HaroldSeattle]

since you asked nicely.


I grew up in Pasadena California. Rams on tv so naturally follow them.
time goes on, my dad is from Wisconsin. See packers when they play Rams in LA.
Go to Wisconsin and watch Packers camp/practice and realize that every team has to do the same hard grinding practices no matter how good or bad they are. The Packers are bad but I follow what they do.
as I grow up I read sports illustrated and sports autobiographies and gain respect for all athletes and teams and sports in general. I'm a sports fan. Sports is entertainment ( more than most realize now)

I like the actions and aesthetics of sports. I don't need to be some diehard fan and waste time watching a team lose all day or be like some dumb ass fans who treat it like you are member of the Eagles or Cheifs gang. Its just sports. Its sometimes fun trivial crap to talk about

Short version, I'm not a fan of any team, works out great, that way when I talk shit about a team, nobody can give it back to me, because I got no team.

 

[SonnyCID]

Ram29jackson before SB: "the Seahawks dont stand a chance, Manning and his super-offense will beat them like a red headed step child."

Ram29jackson now: "of course the Seahawks won, it was part of the script. Everyone saw that coming."

 

[SonnyCID]

In my opinion, the Seahawks' depth is overrated. I think the 49ers have the most depth by a mile.

A mile? Really?

Well then there should be no excuses if/when they start the season down a few impact starters.

 

[RegentDenali]

Who will win the NFC West this year?

Let's use a picture to describe the answer.

Marshawn Lynch is the Seahawks. The defender is the the rest of the NFC West.

 

[WizardHawk]

I like the actions and aesthetics of sports. I don't need to be some diehard fan and waste time watching a team lose all day or be like some dumb ass fans who treat it like you are member of the Eagles or Cheifs gang. Its just sports. Its sometimes fun trivial crap to talk about

And yet you camp out up here all the time obsessing over some crazy conspiracy bullshit.

Yeah, it's trivial stuff that doesn't matter right?

You have thousands of posts across several sports chat sites over something trivial in nature and something you don't respect at all. Sure makes sense to me.

 

[dirtboy068]

im going with cardinals.

 

[ram29jackson]

im going with cardinals.

they'll be in 3rd or last place

 

[UK Cowboy]

Niners
Rams
Seahawks
Cards

Clip and Save

 

[Wolvie]

Niners
Rams
Seahawks
Cards

Clip and Save

The niners are taking a pretty big step back on defense this year. The cornerbacks are not good, they downgraded Whitner with Beathea and no Bowman for half a year and probably the same for Aldon Smith. In order to combat that deficiency, the offense will have to pick up the slack. The WR unit should be improved but Kaep will have to improve ten fold from last year. If Alex Boone continues his hold out it will make it just that much harder for the offense to gel

 

[Clayton]

The WR unit should be improved but Kaep will have to improve ten fold from last year.

I will say this: Kaepernick wasn't actually all that bad last year. He was just bad against Seattle. And he was actually pretty good with Crabtree in the mix.

 

[ram29jackson]

I will say this: Kaepernick wasn't actually all that bad last year. He was just bad against Seattle. And he was actually pretty good with Crabtree in the mix.

ranked 20th over all is basically sucking

 

[Clayton]

ranked 20th over all is basically sucking

Ranking at what with who healthy?

I think the Niners are vulnerable next year but I dont think QB is one of their weak spots

 

[Jikkle]

The niners are taking a pretty big step back on defense this year. The cornerbacks are not good, they downgraded Whitner with Beathea and no Bowman for half a year and probably the same for Aldon Smith. In order to combat that deficiency, the offense will have to pick up the slack. The WR unit should be improved but Kaep will have to improve ten fold from last year. If Alex Boone continues his hold out it will make it just that much harder for the offense to gel

I wouldn't bet on them being as dominant but I also don't think they are going to take as big of step back as people believe.

They just have a number of guys that are talented but haven't gotten the attention or media coverage.

People are really underrating Tramaine Brock at CB. Beathea might not have the physicality of Whitner but I see him as an upgrade in coverage with far less personal fouls. Cully and Ward are question marks but they do posses the skills to be good in coverage.

Bowman's loss hurts but I feel Willis is getting a bit sold short here. Willis is no slouch at LB and Bowman while being a stud on his own did benefit from Willis playing the role of grunt out of the ILBs.

Aldon Smith's suspension will hurt but people are sleeping on Corey Lemonier because he didn't get much action as a rookie last year. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the most efficient pass rusher among rookies last season. He just didn't get a lot of attention because he put up a lot of QB hits and pressures and not sacks.

And 2nd year guys like Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial look like they'll be able to contribute and rotate in the defensive line to keep guys fresh and have depth.

So maybe it's just homer glasses activated but I actually think the defense will hold it's own quite well until Bowman and Aldon Smith get back.

 

[Ramsfan95]

A mile? Really?

Well then there should be no excuses if/when they start the season down a few impact starters.

That's not really fair because they are already down more than a few players (according to ourlads depth chart): Bowman, Hunter, Lattimore, Dorsey, Ramsey, Reaser, Thomas, Fonoti, Williams, Jacobs, and who knows, Alex Boone may never report.

I mean right now, they can withstand those injuries and still finish 1st or 2nd in the division, but we all know that once the football season starts more injuries begin. Regardless, they have far more depth than the Seahawks.

Depth WR's: Brandon Lloyd, Stevie Johnson, Bruce Ellington, Quinton Patton
Depth QB's: Gabbert, Josh Johnson, Bethel-Thompson
Depth OL: Adam Snyder, Jonathan Martin, Marcus Martin, Netter, Carter
Depth RB: Carlos Hyde, LaMichael James

On Defense they have less proven depth but still good talent in Lemonier, Moody, Borland, Chris Cook, Cox, Cornellius Carradine, Quinton Dial, Wilhoite.

 

[Ramsfan95]

My NFC West Prediction??

The Rams and Cardinals both make the playoffs. One of the two win the division, the other gets in as the first wildcard.

The 49ers finish 3rd, maybe with a 10-6 record, and may or may not miss the playoffs depending on how the other divisions do.

I have Seattle going 9-7 and missing the playoffs and finishing last in the division.

 

[Ramsfan95]

My NFC West Prediction??

The Rams and Cardinals both make the playoffs. One of the two win the division, the other gets in as the first wildcard.

The 49ers finish 3rd, maybe with a 10-6 record, and may or may not miss the playoffs depending on how the other divisions do.

I have Seattle going 9-7 and missing the playoffs and finishing last in the division.

The Cardinals are facing a lot of teams they match up favorbly to this season outside of the division IMO. I can honestly see them getting 8-10 wins outside of the division, yeah, they could honestly win every game outside the division. They're that good. I think they'll go 3-3 in the NFC West. That means I think ARI is going anywhere from 11-5 to 13-3.
I think the Rams will go 4-2 in the division this year and win 7-8 games out of the division meaning they finish either 11-5 or 12-4.