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NFC West: Power Ranking the Teams in the Division

Ryan Sakamoto — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:36:00 +0000

Dec. 16, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) defends Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) in the first quarter at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

When people brought up the NFC West 10 years ago, it was a division that was merely an afterthought. The division was horrible all the way around, and there seemed to be little competition at the top. Sure, the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals made their Super Bowl run, but the success stopped there, and the NFC West was most commonly known as the “NFC Least.” How times have changed. A division that was a laughingstock throughout the NFL has quickly became arguably the league’s toughest division.

The NFC West has now turned into what I like to call the “NFC Best.” That’s right, the NFC West is by far the superior division in the NFC, and for good reason. In this article, I will breakdown all four teams within the division and where they stack up against each other in my NFC West power rankings. I will take into account free-agent additions, rookie draft class, and new personnel in making my decision. So without further ado, here are my NFC West ower rankings.

1. San Francisco 49ers

This should come as no surprise, as the 49ers are once again a clear cut favorite to go to the Super Bowl. With the off-season additions of wide receiver Anquan Boldin, nose tackle Glenn Dorsey and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, the 49ers get better on both sides of the ball. Sure, they lost All-Pro free safety Dashon Goldson, but to counter that loss they traded up for FS Eric Reid (LSU). The Niners are making all the right moves, and until the Seattle Seahawks knock them off, the NFC West crown is theirs.

2. Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are on the brink of overtaking the NFC West, as they are loaded with talent and very well-coached. They brought in the biggest fish in wideout Percy Harvin and another solid pass-rusher in DE Cliff Avril. It was a game of chess between them and the 49ers; whenever the 49ers made a move, the Seahawks countered. However, the one area where the Seahawks may have lost their most valuable asset is on the defensive side of the ball, as defensive coordinator Gus Bradley left for greener pastures as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. A great coach and defensive mind, the Seahawks defense will need to make up for the loss, some way, some how.

3. St. Louis Rams

The Rams are tough, physical, and aggressive. They play hard and are very relentless. They fight to the very end, and always give their NFC West opponents fits. They improved their line with the signing of offensive tackle Jake Long and also had a solid draft class. Head coach Jeff Fisher has all the pieces in place to make a run in a couple years, so do not be surprised if they overtake the Seahawks in a couple years.

4. Arizona Cardinals

I’m not trying to downplay the Cardinals. They are a very good team and are headed in the right direction. They had a great draft class and arguably the best steal in CB Tyrann Mathieu. Also, by adding new head coach Bruce Arians, the Cardinals finally find their leader as the Cardinals will indeed turn some heads in 2013.

Arizona Cardinals: Interview with Ramblin’ Fan Editor Nathan Kearns

Baily Deeter — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:55 +0000

Nov. 25, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: St. Louis Rams players line up against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams are rivals, and the two will both be in contention in 2013.

Rams fans are excited, and Nathan Kearns counts as one of those fans. The Ramblin’ Fan editor answered questions about the offseason improvements both teams made, how the two teams stack up against the NFC West, whether the Rams will make the playoffs and which team has the better quarterback in an email interview, and I answered the same questions (about the Cardinals) on Ramblin’ Fan.

How well will the Cardinals and Rams fare in 2013? Find out in this in-depth interview.

Did the St. Louis Rams or Arizona Cardinals improve more in the offseason?

That is a tough question considering both teams had a successful draft and made some key upgrades in areas of need. However, I would give the edge offensively to Arizona, simply because their roster had so much room for improvement, but I will give St. Louis the nod on defense.

On offense, the Cards needed a quarterback, running back, and essentially an entirely new offensive line. Carson Palmer is infinitely better than any quarterback on their roster in 2012, Rashard Mendenhall (if healthy) should be adequate in the backfield, and the returning Levi Brown paired with the two rookie guards should be an improvement over that mess-of-a-group from last season. Add on Ryan Swope to the receiving corps, that their offense could be a force in the NFC if the bookends can keep him upright.

However, on defense, the Rams went out and either plugged or upgraded every position of weakness from the 2012 roster. By retaining William Hayes, St. Louis has their entire defensive line rotation back, which lead the NFL by accounting for 39 of the team’s 52 sacks. The only weakness in the linebacker corps was on the strongside, which they filling with Alec Ogletree, the top 4-3 OLB prospect in the 2013 NFL Draft class. Their other weakness was safety, namely Craig Dahl. They will have a fully healthy Darian Stewart (who was Top 5 in sacks, pass deflections, and hurries on the quarterback among safeties in 2011), on top of adding the biggest power-hitting safety from the draft in T.J. McDonald.

Will the Rams be able to repeat their success against the Cardinals and NFC West?

The St. Louis Rams should have nearly identical success against the Cardinals and the NFC West, but we will have to see how the roster shakes out by August. The Rams simply match up well with the NFC West, both offensive and defensively. Sam Bradford has historically played significantly better against 3-4 base defenses, with his top three performances of 2012 coming against the Cardinals, Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers.

For the Cardinals, they match up well against the defense, without a true No. 1 wide receiver that could be keyed on by Patrick Peterson. The St. Louis’ line, even last year with significant injuries on the right side, dominated against 3 to 5-man blitzes, allowing Bradford to excel in the short, quick passing game. The Cardinals do not have the depth or speed at cornerback or safety to match up with Lance Kendrick and Jared Cook at tight end, or Chris Givens and Tavon Austin at receiver. Jerraud Powers and Antoine Cason both ranked 80th in the league or worse last season at corner, which is not a significant upgrade over William Gay. Even if they choose to put Mathieu in the slot, scouts lambasted his inability to cover down the field, or to keep stride with quicker receivers, which wouldn’t bode well against either Austin or Givens, and certainly not against Jared Cook.

Offensively, the Cardinals’ success or downfall will hinge on their ability to protect the quarterback. The Rams’ defensive line rotation is the best in the NFL, and with Arizona returning Bobby Massie and Lyle Sendlein, they could be in trouble… again. Even with Levi Brown returning, it isn’t a huge upgrade on the blindside. In his last full season, he allowed 11 sacks, 5 hits on the quarterback, and 40 hurries, ranking him 57th out of 76 offensive tackles in 2011. The Cardinals saw what pressure on the quarterback can lead to against a St. Louis secondary, one that is not scared to take a risk on an errant pass from a quarterback in duress.

The Rams should finish somewhere along the lines of 5-1 or 4-2 in the NFC West this season.

Is Sam Bradford better than Carson Palmer?
The term “better” is fairly subjective, so it that will be hard to answer. If the question was who would I rather have as my signal caller next season, the answer would be Sam Bradford.

Carson Palmer played well in 2012, and put up some big numbers as the leader of the team. However, that 4,018 passing yards figure can be a bit misleading, especially given the offense that was run in Oakland. The Raiders were a pass-first offense, somewhat out of necessity, as a result of 1) no running game and 2) being down in the 2nd half of nearly every game. In fact, they attempted only 376 rushes in 2012, ranking 28th in the NFL. As a result of being down, Palmer was allotted plenty of attempts to tally that large figure. Three of Palmer’s better statistic games came against the Miami Dolphins (27th) in passing yards allowed), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32nd), and Cleveland Browns (25th). Big numbers against bad defensive secondary, in garbage time, is nothing special… In fact, Palmer never threw for over 300 yards in any of the Raiders’ four wins last season. Which goes to the next point; winning.

The long-time Bengals’ signal caller won only four games in Oakland, two of those coming against the Kansas City Chiefs, and one coming against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Putting up big numbers in garbage time clearly does not equate to wins. When Palmer threw for over 350 yards, the Raiders held an 0-5 record, losing by an average of 14.6 points. To make matters worst, the Raiders play in the AFC West, the worst division in the NFL.

Aside from Bradford’s injury-plagued 2011 season, he has never led the team to fewer than seven wins, which is fairly impressive given the talent that has been around him since 2010. From 2010 to 2012, he has improved in total yards, yards per attempt, and touchdowns while decreasing his interceptions and fumbles despite a drastic increase in roster talent in the NFC and, more specially, in the NFC West. This will be the first time that Bradford has played in the same offensive system in consecutive seasons, and will also be the first time that he has an above-average group of receivers, albeit extremely young, and had a solid offensive line in front of him.

Both should put up solid numbers in 2013, but it would be hard to imagine a scenario where Palmer comes out ahead of Bradford. Even last season, with unlimited attempts, playing one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, Palmer still threw fewer touchdowns, tossed more interceptions and lost more fumbles than Bradford. Carson Palmer also played behind an offensive line in Oakland that allowed only 26 sacks on 595 dropbacks; a line was graded out positively in pass blocking according to Pro Football Focus. He will come into Arizona, where there are two rookies playing guard, and the other three projected starters gave up 27 combined sacks in their last year in the NFL (2012 for Sendlein and Massie; 2011 for Brown). Tack on the fact that Palmer will new offensive playbooks, no knowledge of the division, and be entering a team with a new head coach, and it would be easy to see how Palmer might struggle in 2013 …

Will the Rams make the playoffs?

My heart says yes, but my mind says… maybe. The NFC playoff picture is a bit mangled at the moment, with only a handful of “for sure” teams, and a baker’s dozen teams that could “potentially” make the cut. The Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, and Atlanta Falcons are locks… which leaves only one spot left for the Rams (since some team from the NFC East has to make it in). Minnesota, Chicago, and potentially the Buccaneers, Saints, and Giants and/or Redskins could all be fighting for that last piece.

The Rams should win between 8 to 12 games this season, assuming they play at, or above, their abilities from last season. In reality, it is probably going to be closer to the lower end of that figure, which probably puts them outside of the playoffs. However, if they can sneak in a couple of wins, a 10-6 or 11-5 record would certainly have them in the last Wild Card slot.

Arizona Cardinals Audition for 2013 is Officially on, Get Smoked by St. Louis Rams 31-17

Scott Allen — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:40:52 +0000

Nov. 25, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Ryan Lindley (14) escapes a tackle by St. Louis Rams free safety Quintin Mikell (27) during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Rams beat the Cardinals 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Well, short of calling the season over…it’s over. Sure, the Arizona Cardinals still have five games left, but any realistic chance of winning has left town. Even slim has checked out. The best chance for victory in the final six games was today. However, Cards rookie quarterback Ryan Lindley was picked off four times en route to a St. Louis Rams rout 31-17 over the Cards on Sunday.

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