NFC West Breakdown: Week 15
By Scott Allen
(Scott Allen writes for Raising Zona, which is FSB’s Arizona Cardinals blog. Representing the rest of the NFC West are 12th Man Rising, Niner Noise. and Ramblin’ Fan.)
Keep laughing. That’s what the rest of the country is doing, laughing at the ridiculous division that this has become. The only team with a winning record, the Arizona Cardinals, continued to show it’s weakness outside the division. San Francisco went back to their losing ways, showing that the win in Buffalo was just an aberration. Seattle and St. Louis were left to duke it out for last place and trust me, fight for it they did. If it weren’t for the AFC West, which is almost as abysmal, this division would get more pub on it’s ineptness. With two weeks to go, the possibility now exists that the NFC West may not have a single team finish over .500. Sad, but true.
Arizona Cardinals (8-6):
Looking Back:
I heard someone refer to the Cardinals last night as “the best of the worst”. That person might be right. If it weren’t for the NFC West, the Cardinals would have 3 wins. Let me repeat that, 3 wins. Wow! Luckily though the NFC West is all made up of NFL teams (I think), so every victory counts. The Cardinals were thoroughly defeated by the Minnesota Vikings 35-14. The game wasn’t that close either. A couple of bounces the other way and this game ends 49-7.
Looking Forward:
This week the Cardinals get one more trip back east to New England. When the schedule came out in April, I made a prediction of the scores of Cardinals games for the upcoming season. I predicted, half sarcastically, that the Pats would win 75-2. The way the Cardinals have handled themselves on the road in New York and Philadelphia and getting spanked at home against Minnesota, that prediction might not be so far fetched. Unless the Cardinals spend time making a lot of adjustments to their game plan, and I can’t see the Cards changing a lot with the division already wrapped up, this game is a throw away and the Cardinals will have one last shot at home in week 17 against Seattle to put themselves over .500.
Looking Back:
They can’t even beat 2-12 Seattle at home. Things have gotten that bad for the Rams. At least the made it a game, however they squandered a 7 point lead in the fourth quarter on Sunday to lose to the Seahawks 23-20. A serviceable day by Marc Bulger, but it wasn’t enough as Seattle kicked the game winning field goal as time expired.
Looking Forward:
One more chance for a divisional victory at home as San Francisco comes calling. Will the Rams be blacked out at home again? The Rams were blacked out on local television for the fifth time over the past three seasons.
Looking Back:
If San Francisco had half an offense, they might be sitting atop the NFC West and not the Cardinals. After scoring 10 and winning in Buffalo a couple of weeks ago, they went on the road back east again, this time in Miami, scored 9 points, and lost 14-9. Of course, it didn’t help that running back Frank Gore had to sit out due to injury. Frank Gore is the Niners offense. Without him, they are mediocre at best.
Looking Forward
Off to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. They will be playing the Rams in front of hundreds of fans. This should be another close contest, however, in the wild and crazy NFC West, you never know what can happen. NFC West football, it’s fan-tastic!! Ok, not so much, but they still have to play the games until they reach 16 contests played.
Looking Back:
The Seahawks finally won a game. They cam away with their third win of the season, second over the Rams this season, winning 23-20 on an Olindo Mare field goal as time expired. Seneca Wallace played in place of starter Matt Hasselbeck and played admirably. He didn’t turn the ball over in a controlled offensive scheme that kept it close untiul the overcame a late deficit to defeat the Rams.
Looking Forward:
The New York Jets come knocking on Sunday. With the Jets, you can never be sure what team will show up. Will it be the one that demolished the Cards at home 56-35 or defeated New England on the road or will it be the team that lost twice in the bay area to the Niners and Raiders this season? If that team shows up, Seattle might be able to find victory against a winning team, something not even the Cardinals have been able to accomplish lately.