Sean Higgs breaks down the NFC West Division

San Francisco 49ers – I am calling for the Niners to make major strides and win the West. This franchise hasn’t had a winning season since 2002. San Fran has young playmakers in TE Vernon Davis, WR Michael Crabtree to make defenses pay. Steady RB Frank Gore should make things easy on QB Alex Smith who must become the franchise player the team thought they drafted at #1. After drafting a pair of OL in the first round to protect Smith, HC Mike Singletary must feel that this is the year. The defense is a bit thin especially in the secondary. With the retirement of Kurt Warner, the division is clearly up for grabs. Let’s take the ‘trendy’ to actually do something this time.

Seattle Seahawks – New HC Pete Carroll escaped the fire at USC to head to the rain of the Northwest. QB Matt Hasselbeck is excited about T Russell Okung being taken at #6. That should help keep him upright and get the ball to some decent WRs including TJ Houshmandzadeh and rookie Golden Tate. The key for the Seahawks is staying healthy. If they can keep their key people on the field, then there is no reason they can’t challenge for the NFC West Title. After a disappointing 5 win season, it would not surprise me to see Seattle double that in 2010.

Arizona Cardinals – This team was in the Super Bowl 2 years ago, make no mistake that is a distant memory. Matt Leinart now takes over at QB for retired Kurt Warner. WR Larry Fitzgerald will catch anything thrown near him, and is at the top of his game. The offense will come down to QB Matt Leinart and how he grows into his role. The defense has always been a bend don’t break unit and lost their leader Karlos Dansby and replaced him with the outspoken Joey Porter. Can’t see the Cards winning 10 games this year, but a 8-8 record should be reachable.

St. Louis Rams- Coming off a 1-15 season, they break in the #1 pick in the draft QB Sam Bradford. Let’s hope the football Gods take mercy on the Rams and let Bradford’s shoulder be 100% healed. St. Louis is now in year 2 of the Steve Spagnuolo plan. Make no mistake, this team is years away from being thought of as a winning franchise.

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