2010 NFL Preview-NFC West
San Francisco 49ers (10-6): How do you know you're writing about the worst division in the NFL? The best team--by far--is starting Alex Smith as their opening day quarterback. Don't get me wrong, Mike Singletary is an excellent coach (though I'd be too scared to say otherwise) and they have excellent players in Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, and Michael Crabtree, but Alex Smith? That's like telling me they're throwing Tim Couch out there; it just doesn't make sense. They aren't great defensively, but they have the best linebacker in the game in Patrick Willis; he's a great leader and that doesn't hurt. I figure they'll lose only one division game and make the playoffs, but I don't think they're quite good enough to do much past that this year.
Arizona Cardinals (7-9): Speaking of quarterbacks, how does Jeff Garcia not have a job in the NFL. The Cardinals rightfully get rid of Matt Leinart, but how can they possibly think that Derek Anderson is the answer? All Jeff Garcia has ever done is throw for a ton of yards on crappy teams and caught flack for it. He's playing in the UFL; he wants to play and he's clearly better than Anderson. I don't understand. Regardless, Larry Fitzgerald takes a huge hit with him under center and the loss of Anquan Boldin to the Ravens. He's a great receiver, but they don't have a lot to help him. I'm not sold on their running game and nobody covets their defense; the Cardinals are much closer today to what they were five years ago than in their run to the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks (6-10): This has all been so hilarious. First, they hire Pete Carroll, the most abhorant coach in the Pac-10. Then, he trades actual picks for Charlie Whitehurst to back Matt Hasselback up. Finally, he stocks his team with former USC players, including Mike Williams, the former Trojan washout. I'm guessing that Carroll covered the football in frosting in practice, finally finding a way for Williams to chase after the ball. Imagine his suprise when there's no frosting on the ball during the game; I sense a huge breakdown. Seattle seems to have never realized that they began to dwindle in about 2006, and now it's too late. Seeing the Seahawks lose and seeing Pete Carroll fired in discrace are both worth waiting for. Plus, Erik will be miserable watching it, though he'll say he doesn't care. There's a lot of win in Seattle's sucking.
St. Louis Rams (2-14): Once again, the quarterback is the story of the team. Is there nobody the Rams could get that could stay the starting of Sam Bradford? Given the right circumstances, I think Bradford could be a very good NFL quarterback and, though it was fun to hang out with Erik in a bar in Jonesboro, AR, and see Bradford get injured, I'm actually a fan of his. The circumstance he's in, however, is closer to David Carr than Aaron Rogers, and that doesn't bode well for his future. It appears to have worked with Matt Stafford, so I guess we'll see. Otherwise, they have one good player on offense in Steven Jackon, who has been overworked for years, and one good player on defense in Oshiomogho Atogwe, who is irrelevant when the rest of the D sucks. They were the worst in the NFL last year and so again this year.
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