Who will win the NFC West this year?

[Clayton]

Niners would be Tank at DE. Top 15 talent but tore his ACL towards end of year. Fully ready to go and has been great in Training camp so far.

Imo, it would be pretty shocking for him to come in and have a huge impact. Thats a lot to ask for a guy that hasnt seen much football. He is probably a year out from being an impact guy, imo

 

[ram29jackson]

no one has bothered to mention he's probably just doing the veterean thing to avoid camp ?
They say odds are he'll be back next Tuesday.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The Seahawks are simply to deep. They aren't just the best team in the NFC West, they're the best team in the NFL. I expect a repeat. I expect Lynch to be in camp in a week or two. The new CBA makes it very difficult for players to holdout. Even if he doesn't come back they have plenty of depth at RB.

 

[Uhsplit]

Maybe huge mistake wasn't the best wording but I can see players speaking out negatively towards the organization because of a comment like this. Kind of like the Harbaugh "we are above reproach" comment that is used every time a 49ers players gets in trouble. I mean it already has media and players both commenting on it and how it was a stupid thing to say. Maybe it goes away but these kind of comments have a way of resurfacing.

No argument there.

 

[Ramsfan95]

The Seahawks are simply to deep. They aren't just the best team in the NFC West, they're the best team in the NFL. I expect a repeat. I expect Lynch to be in camp in a week or two. The new CBA makes it very difficult for players to holdout. Even if he doesn't come back they have plenty of depth at RB.

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

 

[Ramsfan95]

More talent doesn't always mean W's. Situational game factors (coming off a tough road game and then headed to the black hole), a potential schedule let down type of game. If you don't factor in the situational game factors, then you might want to use the Pro-Reference link or the PFF link to educate you on upsets and how talented teams still get beat by inferior talented teams.

The Raiders will win 4 of 10 vs the AFC / NFC West teams. A slight homer prediction but it will be smash mouth football on both sides of the ball. Look for low scoring slugfests. You shall see soon enough, so buckle up.

I really don't think this is that outrageous of a prediction. Kansas City isn't the powerhouse they're made out to be and the Chargers still have a way to go IMO.

 

[BloodType49]

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

I think both teams are deep at different positions, 49ers have incredible depth at LB I mean it really is nuts, we can lose a guy like Willis and basically not skip a beat or Aldon can miss 5 games and a rookie like Lemon-Yay and Dan Skuta can basically tag team the position until he is back with minimal drop off. Seattle has sick depth at the CB position though, probably not so much now that Thurmond and Browner are gone but still deep none the less.

 

[Uhsplit]

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

Disagree. Too much reliance on older starters.
Both teams have unproven depth, but Seattle's starters are younger.

 

[Uhsplit]

I think both teams are deep at different positions, 49ers have incredible depth at LB I mean it really is nuts, we can lose a guy like Willis and basically not skip a beat or Aldon can miss 5 games and a rookie like Lemon-Yay and Dan Skuta can basically tag team the position until he is back with minimal drop off. Seattle has sick depth at the CB position though, probably not so much now that Thurmond and Browner are gone but still deep none the less.

I don't think SF has better depth at LB than Seattle. In a base 4-3 that we run, Bruce Irvin is our next man up. From there we have unprovens or 2nds, just like you.

 

[SonnyCID]

I don't think SF has better depth at LB than Seattle. In a base 4-3 that we run, Bruce Irvin is our next man up. From there we have unprovens or 2nds, just like you.

I think you're just considering bench depth, where they are probably close. But including starters their overall depth at LB trumps Seattle's.

Overall as a team? Its close, but Seattle has proven to get more out of their bench than SF.

 

[Uhsplit]

I think you're just considering bench depth, where they are probably close. But including starters their overall depth at LB trumps Seattle's.

Overall as a team? Its close, but Seattle has proven to get more out of their bench than SF.

To me, depth is what is left after the starters. I can sure see someone else thinking it includes the starters.

 

[ram29jackson]

wins ?

the entire division goes 8-8

 

[Clayton]

wins ?

the entire division goes 8-8

Sounds more like the AFC North

 

[Clayton]

Interesting Football Outsiders concerning the division's running attacks last year.

Seattle's Lynch rated really highly (5th overall) and their offensive line had average numbers across the board except in one area: they were dead last (32nd) in their ability to convert 3rd and short and 4th and short which is traditionally seen as the most important part of the running attack.

STL and SF also struggled in short yardage situations, too, but Arizona had a great ranking (6th) in those situations. Andre Ellington was also vastly underutilized by Arizona as he was #4 in DVOA (value above replacement) meaning that he was significantly better than anyone else that Arizona was trotting out. Assuming that Cooper solidifies their oline, it wouldn't be surprising if Arizona improved in the run game next year. Its generally assumed that the Cardinals are a pass first team but they can run when they need to. This makes Arizona a very dangerous team in close games especially when you factor in how good Arizona's defensive line is against the run (1st).

San Francisco is on the opposite side of the fence as Arizona where they weren't very good at short yardage situation and they had a lot of runs stuffed behind the line of scrimmage but they were also decent at getting chunks of yards (15th) and good at big runs (5th). The problem with the Niners is that they don't have a running back at the same caliber as Lynch. No offense to Gore but if the Niners find some sort of elite running talent, their offense could really take off.

The Rams are also interesting because they drafted another running back last year even though Stacy is presumed to be the starter. The thing is: Stacy's numbers from last year (23rd) aren't all that good. Part of that is the Rams not having their oline intact and some other issues but I honestly don't see Stacy as a factor back at anything other than preventing hits behind the line of scrimmage (13th). The Rams are more of a wild card due to Robinson getting drafted who by all accounts should be an excellent run blocker.

I think all this really shows how good everything else around Seattle's oline really is. Lynch, Russell Wilson, the defense, etc, really carries the team. If they ever figure out their oline problems, they'll start blowing everyone else out. Likewise, if they lose Wilson or Lynch, they might be in some trouble.

The Niners and Rams look like they can plug in and lose skill players and probably get the similar results in the run game. The oline will probably predicate everything else.

Arizona has a lot of other issues but if they somehow get to the playoffs, they aren't a team anyone will want to face.

 

[Uhsplit]

Interesting Football Outsiders concerning the division's running attacks last year.

Seattle's Lynch rated really highly (5th overall) and their offensive line had average numbers across the board except in one area: they were dead last (32nd) in their ability to convert 3rd and short and 4th and short which is traditionally seen as the most important part of the running attack.

STL and SF also struggled in short yardage situations, too, but Arizona had a great ranking (6th) in those situations. Andre Ellington was also vastly underutilized by Arizona as he was #4 in DVOA (value above replacement) meaning that he was significantly better than anyone else that Arizona was trotting out. Assuming that Cooper solidifies their oline, it wouldn't be surprising if Arizona improved in the run game next year. Its generally assumed that the Cardinals are a pass first team but they can run when they need to. This makes Arizona a very dangerous team in close games especially when you factor in how good Arizona's defensive line is against the run (1st).

San Francisco is on the opposite side of the fence as Arizona where they weren't very good at short yardage situation and they had a lot of runs stuffed behind the line of scrimmage but they were also decent at getting chunks of yards (15th) and good at big runs (5th). The problem with the Niners is that they don't have a running back at the same caliber as Lynch. No offense to Gore but if the Niners find some sort of elite running talent, their offense could really take off.

The Rams are also interesting because they drafted another running back last year even though Stacy is presumed to be the starter. The thing is: Stacy's numbers from last year (23rd) aren't all that good. Part of that is the Rams not having their oline intact and some other issues but I honestly don't see Stacy as a factor back at anything other than preventing hits behind the line of scrimmage (13th). The Rams are more of a wild card due to Robinson getting drafted who by all accounts should be an excellent run blocker.

I think all this really shows how good everything else around Seattle's oline really is. Lynch, Russell Wilson, the defense, etc, really carries the team. If they ever figure out their oline problems, they'll start blowing everyone else out. Likewise, if they lose Wilson or Lynch, they might be in some trouble.

The Niners and Rams look like they can plug in and lose skill players and probably get the similar results in the run game. The oline will probably predicate everything else.

Arizona has a lot of other issues but if they somehow get to the playoffs, they aren't a team anyone will want to face.

Solid analysis and I had no idea Seattle was that bad in short yardage situations. It shouldn't be impossible to improve from that lowly spot.

 

[cowboycolors]

SF is my guess but that's a tight division

 

[Ksfnslayer]

It seems the Seahawks have lose a few steps. The 49ers have some digruntled players and a coach. GM feud going on. Who will win the Division?

The Rams had a great draft and if Bradford can stay healthy, they have a great chance to win the West.

I don't know if Bradford is the key to their success in fact I thought the backup did better last year. It's all getting closer but I think Seattle and SF still have the edge for this year.

 

[Ramsfan95]

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

 

[Podunkparte]

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

D. None of the above

He's an idiot

 

[Jikkle]

Solid analysis and I had no idea Seattle was that bad in short yardage situations. It shouldn't be impossible to improve from that lowly spot.

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.