NFC West Declared Unwinnable
OK so the NFL has not "officially" declared this, however, let's rewind the clock approximately three weeks to week 14. The Rams and Seahawks were tied for the NFC West lead (Rams held tie breaker) and the 49ers were two games behind them, seemingly, out of the picture altogether.
In week 14 the 49ers put a beat down on the Seahawks 40-21 and that opened the door for the Rams to put a one game gap on the Seahawks, and keep the two game gap against the 49ers, if they could come out and surprise the Saints.
The surprise that happened was the Rams poor play, and a game which was not even close to competitive, particularly in the second half. Result? Saints 31 Rams 13 and nothing changed other than the 49ers hanging around, and this time only a game behind the Rams and Seahawks... and oh by the way, the 49ers currently hold the tie breaker against the Rams thanks to a collapse at candlestick earlier in the year.
So that means, technically, the 49ers are only one game away from the division lead at this point.
Now let's look at week 15. The 49ers, back in the mix and coming off from a 40 point performance, laid down an absolute stinker against the Cargers 34-7.
The Rams and Seahawks now had a chance to put the 49ers out of their misery, and maybe even pull a one game gap against the other with a win on Sunday.
With the 49ers curled up in a fetal position, and the Seahawks playing the powerful Falcons, the stage was set... the Rams coming off from winning two out of three on the road, finally back at the EJD where Sam Bradford has looked invinceable.. the problem? The Chiefs were in town.
The result? Kansas City thumped the Rams 27-13 with more Chiefs fans in the stands than Rams fans (seemingly) and as expected, Atlanta took care of business against the Seahawks 34-18 but that didn't matter.
The Rams and Seahawks ended the day tied for first place (Rams hold tie-breaker) and the 49ers are still one game out with a head to head matchup against the Rams on Sunday.
So, in the last 2 NFL weekends there has only been one victory by three teams in five games, and that ONE victory came against a divisional opponent (SF over SEA).
I mean seriously... is this division winnable?
It seems like i've typed, "(Rams hold the tie-breaker)" about 400 times this season. At some point something has got to break. With the Rams struggles the last two weeks, I hope we aren't seeing what is breaking.
Perhaps at the end of the regular season, we'll see Roger Goodell doing a ceremonial coin flip for the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks to see who should hoist the trophy. At this point, it doesn't appear anyone wants it. Heck, I say bring Arizona into the mix as well. Something has to be said for consistency.
The problem? Coins only have two sides. Good luck Roger.
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The west sucks.
No team deserves to be in the playoffs. Not with a sub 500 record. It’s ok that the rams still suck. Because they are better than last year. Anyways, merry Christmas. Go Rams.
by Skunkburner on Dec 24, 2010 8:37 AM CST via mobile reply actions
Good post VT.
While we should have won about 10 games already this season, the absolute worst defeat was the 23-20 OT loss at SF. Except for that fiasco, we’d be in the driver’s seat right now at 7-7, and the 49ers would be eliminated from contention. I love the Rams but my confidence that we can beat back the whiners this week and then go to Qwest Field next week and beat the Chickens of the Sea is minimal. Jason Smith is playing terrible, Adam Goldberg is terrible, Saffold is a little off his game, we have no go-to receiver and all these factors adversely affect Sam’s ability to make plays. On the defensive side, we can’t rush the passer and have no credible OLB’s. And as far as coaching goes, we continue to make poor decisions at all critical junctures. The only thing that will win the West for us at this point is shear dumb luck. Go Rams!
I beg to differ
in that the game we really should’ve had was the loss to Arizona back in week 1. Clearly that team has shown it has not been capable of beating anybody, and given our success at home against much better teams, I look back and shake my head about that game.
Also, if Clifton Ryan hangs onto the ball for a TD, or just falls down, we most likely win the game. Ugh.
go cards, o's, and phillies.
...boiler up.
Indeed, another embarassment that goes along with the Oakland, Detroit, Tampa, SF and KC teams that we shoulda beat.
Nt sure if toucan count the lions. They kicked our ass. Now the Atlanta game, we were in until the INT’s.
by Skunkburner on Dec 24, 2010 1:26 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Sad, but true. It was a very lackluster effort.
And, I have no trouble blaming the guilty either. I think Jason Smith killed our 1st drive with his penalty. Start out 7-0 and the game’s entirely different.
We coulda stayed in contention, but none of our receivers could snag a ball in the 2nd or 3rd quarter and our defense couldn’t get off the field.
Then, just when we’d crept back into it @ 20-13, our lack of OLB’s allowed KC to make an 80 yard run to seal the deal.
Cards & 49ers
were declared the fav. in the West, 9ers going to the SB if they beat the Cards. The Rams and Hawks were supposed to be the doormats, I find all this funny the experts are always right. 7 & 9 team to the SB.
NFC West huge embarrassment for Roger Goodell
National pundits will mock Div winner but still hope Rams win…. 8-8 record… awesome
Can we please bury the nonsense that their were more Chiefs fans
at the game than Rams fans last Sunday? I’m sick to death of hearing it. The official estimate (yes, there is such a thing) was that there were 6.000 or 7,000 Chiefs fans in attendance versus a capacity of 67,000. 10% does not equal “more than” 90% in any math class I ever attended. Unless you are using some new math, let’s stop trotting out that ridiculous claim.
I agree
I was at the game and there were definitely more Rams fans and I thought the Rams fans were louder. Admittedly I was cheering myself so it was hard for me to tell how much noise the Rams fans made. The only time I noticed the Chiefs fans was on 3rd down or if they made a big play. For Jason Brown to say the false starts were caused by fan noise is ludicrous. If the offensive line can’t hold their water with such minimal noise I would hate to see them in a real hostile environment like Seattle will be in the last game. Keep your head in the game!
haha sorry guys
didn’t mean to ruffle y’alls feathers! I said “seemingly” because that’s all I heard as well… plus the sea of red!
Pooch punts should be illegal inside an opponents 38 yard line.

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