Here’s our take on the NFC West as we saw it way back in early May.

NFC West

As we predicted last year, the Arizona Cardinals did indeed make noise in 2008. They earned a coveted spot in the Super Bowl, and were actually just 30 seconds away from winning it. The Cards’ run came as no surprise to us. Their offense was absolutely loaded, and their defense had some serious young talent. But can a one-dimensional passing team with an aging QB repeat last year’s production? We don’t think so because teams that can’t run the football rarely get where the Cardinals got. And there are a couple of players at odds with management, namely Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett. Even in a weak division, the Cardinals figure to regress this season.

After the firing of coach Mike Nolan mid-season, the San Francisco 49ers played respectable football for the remainder of the season. Mike Singletary took over, and because of his results, was retained as the head coach. Offensively, the 49ers need somebody to take over the quarterback spot. J.T. O’Sullivan struggled, and Shaun Hill doesn’t look like the answer either. Frank Gore is solid at running back, and the selection of Michael Crabtree should make the Niners more explosive. San Fran has a lot of needs on defense, especially in the back 7. Singletary has changed the culture, but the 49ers are still a couple of years away from being a consistent winning football team.

One of the worst teams in the league a season ago, the St. Louis Rams will look to get back to respectability. But new head coach Steve Spagnuolo has a major rebuilding job on his hands. Their 2-14 record was expected; the Rams had a ton of question marks heading into the season. And some of those same question marks still exist. The offensive line is in a state of flux, and their wide receiver corps is extremely thin. Their rush defense was atrocious and doesn’t figure to be any better. The Rams will be installing a West Coast-style offense which will require them to learn on the go. St. Louis was competitive down the stretch as four of their last five losses came by 4 points or less.

Spotlight Team

A perennial playoff contender, and a few years removed from a Super Bowl appearance, the Seattle Seahawks hit rock bottom in 2008. They went just 4-12 in Mike Holmgren’s final season, and it will be up to new head coach Jim Mora to get back to the winning ways. QB Matt Hasselbeck is back from injury, and his presence alone should get Seattle back on track. The Seahawks inked T.J. Houshmandzadeh who will give Hasselbeck a primary target. New OC Greg Knapp will install a zone-blocking scheme which will aid the aging O-line. The weak spot on defense is their secondary which allowed over 4,000 yards through the air. And playing in a pass-happy division, the Seahawks must find some answers quickly. The Seahawks have one of the strongest home field’s in the NFL, but went just 2-6 last year. With the history of this club, look for Seattle to be much improved in 2009.

Caution: If the teams listed below fail to perform like we expect, discontinue betting-on or against them. You’ll learn more by watching a couple of games than you do by making preseason assessments.

Thanks for reading, Matty