The worst team in the second worst division?

Update [2007-12-27 11:21:17 by VanRam]:The TST fantasy league featured a dramatic finish, more than we can say for the Rams NFC West. Congrats to 636 The Struggle for winning it all; Rejects for taking home second place; and Option 27 for a third place finish in what many (me and him) would consider to be the real championship! A big thanks to Reebok for offering up some sweet prizes for the 1st and 2nd place teams. Be sure to check out their Zero Degrees line for more.

Just three days and some change until the Rams take on the former STL team; I came into this post assuming that the NFC West was easily dismissed as the worst division in the league. I took a quick look at the standings to confirm this.

Wow. Once again I've learned the valuable lesson about making assumptions.

Outside of Seattle (more on them in a second), all the teams in the NFC West have records below .500. The Cardinals have the chance to finish the season even steven with a win over the Rams this week. But the West isn't the only division in either conference with all but one team under .500. Three of the four teams in the NFC South sit below .500. Like the Cardinals, the Saints can make it .500 with a win over the Bears this week. This might be the weakest division in the NFC (toss up with the NFC West), considering the division leading Buccaneers have the worst record of any division leader in the NFL. They were at least a perfect 5-0 against their division mates.

The award for most pathetic division will be presented to the AFC West, where no team behind the division leading Chargers will finish the season at or above .500. Ironic that the AFC East features the (likely) undefeated Patriots, the one win Miami Florida International University Dolphins and the 3-12 Jets, competing with the Rams for draft position.

The best division? I'd go with the AFC South. Cellar-dwelling Houston put together a respectable season, and a win this week over division-rival Jag-u-arrs, who sit at second in the division at an impressive 11-4, will put them at .500. If the third place Titans win this week, they'll move to 10-6 and give the AFC South three entrants in the playoffs.

The AFC/NFC split is looking an awful lot like the AL/NL split, huh?

Let's celebrate the NFC West not being the worst division in football with a quick look at what's happening.

RAMS

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• ClanRams forum looks at the premier free agent market.
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• Joe Namath roughly the equivalent of Marc Bulger?!?!
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• Sean Alexander has one TD to reach 100. Holmgren will likely run the hell out of him in a meaningless game against the Falcons, making the first round wild card game that much more difficult for the Seahawks.

• I had to read further to find out just who in the hell Shaun Hill is.

• Arizona has at least as many questions heading into next season as the Rams, not the least of which is getting Matt Leinart ready - and 100% committed - to playing again. Could they have given Seattle a run for the division crown this season with fewer Warner mistakes and some other adjustments?