Fearless TST predictions for the NFC West
by Ryan Van Bibber on Jun 22, 2009 9:28 AM CDT
in Preseason
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PrintOptimism abounds this time of year. Even for long-suffering Rams fans there's always plenty of hope to go around in the early dog days of summer. That holds especially true this year now that the Jay Zygmunt statue in front of Rams Park has been torn down and beaten with shoes. But will these changes translate immediately to success on the field for the Rams?
Playing in the NFC West essentially means anything can happen. Realistically, it's tough to see the Rams fighting their way back above .500 this season. Not that it couldn't happen, just tough to prognosticate that outcome so heavily constrained by precedent. With that, and a quiet offseason day on our hands, let's put on the old prognosticating hats and make a quick run through the NFC West.
Arizona gets the de facto nod for the division title here. On paper, they still have all the parts they need to make a run at it. However, Kurt Warner is 38-years-old (today!) and coming off a 20 game season. He looked like a 20-year-old during their run last year, but Warner has never had back-to-back seasons in which he started all 16 games. Can Matt Leinart step up if he has to? This is a much better team than the one he last quarterbacked.
Seattle, to me, seems to be in a place more akin to where the Rams have been in recent seasons: some young talent here sprinkled here and there, but mostly an aging core trying to recapture faded magic. San Francisco will try and build off the success they enjoyed last season after making Mike Singletary the head coach. Beware the fleeting improvement of a coaching change though. Most teams perform well in the weeks after such a move; carrying that momentum over to a new season is different task entirely. They also have quarterback issues and an offensive line that was worse in pass protection than our own. And at the risk of being branded a heretic, I'm not a Frank Gore believer: the 49ers offensive line contributed more to the success of their running game than Gore did in his 14 games played. Just take a look at the difference in adjusted line yards (4.30) versus RB yards (3.96) from Football Outsiders. On top of that, they were very poor on first and second downs, and their running game had a league worst -20.1% DVOA in the second half of the season, amidst their Singletary-inspired swoon.
Ok, enough Hater-Aid, let's have a fearless prediction. Arizona wins the division again, but doesn't sweep their division mates like last year. San Fran can leverage the strength of their defense to get to second place. The Rams improve considerably (from 2 wins to 5 or 6), Seattle finds out just how hard it is to drive a car held together with duct tape and bailing wire, finding themselves at the bottom of the division this year.
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Predictions
Arizona 9-7
SF 7-9
Stl 6-10
Sea 4-12
The NFC West, the laughing stock of the NFL, followed closely by the AFC West.
Myprediction is...
the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers and Seahawks… in that order.
I also predict the Rams will tote a final season win / lose record of 7 – 9 with the 49ers just under that at 6 – 10 and the Cardinals just over that at 8 – 8.
Seattle will go down the toilet so I really don’t care how many wins they get (ya gotta love it) but if I had to guess I’d say no more than 5 wins and probably more like 4.
Go Rams!
"We can't run. We can't pass. We can't stop the run. We can't stop the pass. We can't kick. Other than that, we're just not a very good football team right now." --- Bruce Coslett, New York Jets Head Coach circa 1990s
Matt Leinart = Ryan Leaf
“Can Matt Leinart step up if he has to? This is a much better team than the one he last quarterbacked.”
The team is much better because he’s (thankfully) not the quarterback anymore.
Matt Leinart is a certified bust.
The bum can’t even carry Kurt Warner’s jockstrap.
Arizona wins the NFC West again.
The Rams won’t win another division title for 80 years. It will be known as the “Curse of Kurt”.
Asshat, you might have Kurt..
..but you’re also stuck with Brenda. I think it was a fair trade-off for us.
Also, change the name of that team already. I suggest the “Arizona Five 0’Clock Shadows”.
by mooseknuckles41 on Jun 23, 2009 1:52 AM CDT up reply actions
I'd take 10 Brenda's and dump a dozen Martz's...
to have had Kurt stay with the Rams. We’d have been in the Super Bowl after the 2003 season instead of losing to Carolina in the divisional playoff if Warner had been the QB.
wow
there’s a lot of optimism for next season from you guys. I’d say if they’re heading in the same direction, maybe the following season they’ll put up a .500 or so record
"Score some damn runs, or the baby pandas die"
Surprise!!!
Cards = 10-6 and could go right back to the Super Bowl and win this time
Hawks= 9-7 on the strength of their LB’s and the Hasselbeck-Housh connection
49ers = 9-7 Singletary makes the most of Gore and Crabtree
Rams = 6-10 dramatic improvement, but need one more draft and offseason to get competitive
But, I hope lightning strikes and we turn out to be the Dolphins of 2009. But the facts are that our D-Line is bad, our receivers are unproven and Bulger is probably done.
I love the optimism in the voting
It just doesn’t seem to show up in the comments. Although I seem to disagree with him in an unusually large majority of instances, I agree with ed (see above) on our outlook this year. I’m skeptical (but hopeful) as to how productive our D-line will be and what that means for our defense.
As for his Seahawks and Niners predictions, I couldn’t disagree more. I think the Hawks could challenge the Lions for the worst record in the NFL this year.
Your uncle molests collies.
49ers = 10-6….. This team will play for Singletary, and they seem to be recognizing/reacting to old mistakes, putting people in spots they can be successful at. V Davis a blocking TE? Whatever works. Willis = All World in the middle with Mike as his coach.
Cards = 9-7…… Leinart MVP of west coast party league, busts in NFL when called upon (and he will be called upon).
Hawks= 7-9 ……A team in decline, big names will do more for ticket sales than actually getting W’s.
Rams = 6-10 ….First time Head Coach, first time OC, first time DC, nuff said. Even if they shore up the WR corps and relax the 4 pillars, a winning record will be extremely unlikely when you have to rely on first timers to turn around two extremely weak seasons in a row.
Lived in LA during the Rams and Raiders days. Now based in NorCal, I am still a die hard Rams fan and Raiders season ticket holder.
Agrees and disagrees
Patrick Willis is the perfect 3-4 ILB. He can do no wrong.
Singletary is a motivator, but you need more than motivation. A NFL-quality QB would help.
Leinart will be called upon; do Cardinals fans want him traded or baited?
Big names? In Seattle? Who? A rookie OLB does not count. Matt “Yes, I am still in the NFL” Hassel-blech does not count. TJ Whosmymomma does not count.
Agree on the record in St. Lou, disagree on the reason. While a new coaching crew certainly spells difficulty, it won’t hold us back as much as a lack of talent on the D-line, a yet-to-gel O-line and craptastic special teams (outside of our kicker and punter)
Your uncle molests collies.
by 3k on Jun 24, 2009 3:57 PM CDT up reply actions
yahbut
I think the D line could be helped, and it would make a huge difference. Whereas the rest either can’t or wouldn’t. Sort of your point, in converse.
Lived in LA during the Rams and Raiders days. Now based in NorCal, I am still a die hard Rams fan and Raiders season ticket holder.
by CoachConnors on Jun 24, 2009 6:44 PM CDT up reply actions
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