Our final NFL preview of the 2013 season finds us in the NFC West. Super Bowl runner-ups San Fran will be looking to finish the job in 2013. The Seahawks want to show everyone they are the real deal. The Rams are looking to shock some team with a new offense. Arizona just hopes to peel themselves up off the ground after a terrible year.
1. SAN FRANCISCO 49ers – This division is obviously top heavy with SF and Seattle. I think these guys got better in the off-season. The bring in Boldin for Moss and then get Asomugha, who was a couple years ago THE premier corner. Not too bad. I think Kaepernick will regress a bit as they open up the playbook. But he will still be very good. The defense again is stout with Aldon Smith, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis and friends. NY or bust for this bunch.
2. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS – Another roster loaded with talent. I love this secondary, especially in this pass-happy league now. Their weak-spot is the DL and getting pressure on QBs. Still, these guys have a legit shot at getting to the Super Bowl. Another young QB in Russell Wilson will look to avoid a drop-off. He should get plenty of help with running back Marshawn Lynn rolling over opponents looking for another huge 1500 yard season. It will be party time early as SF comes to town on September 15th.
3. ST LOUIS RAMS – I like HC Jeff Fisher. These guys went from 2 wins to 7 in his first year. Now we will see if they can build on that. They went offense in the draft and gave QB Sam Bradford some new toys to play with in Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. Also bolstered his OL with Jake Long and drafted C Barrett Jones. They will be breaking in new RBs to take over for departed Stephan Jackson. The defense is littered with former #1 picks, so there is plenty of talent. They just need everyone to get on the same page. This was a solid unit last year (14th) but will need to be better if they want to sniff the playoffs. The Rams actually went 4-1-1 in division play last year. Now if they can put together some out of division wins, they might be onto something!
4. ARIZONA CARDINALS – These guys started out 4-0 and finished 5-11. Tough job ahead for new head coach Bruce Arians. They brought in some veterans in QB Carson Palmer and RB Rashard Mendenhall. They have stud WR Larry Fitzgerald to throw to and hope Palmer can get him the ball more then the trio of last years QBs. Believe it or not the defense is pretty decent. The DL is solid and they have the electric Patrick Peterson in the secondary. I still feel this is the weakest team here though.