NFC West Preview

San Francisco 49ers TE Vernon Davis.

If there's a division in football that's easy to predict, it might be this one. The San Francisco 49ers were so far ahead of the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, and St. Louis Rams in the division last year that they were able to clinch the division in the first weekend of December. The offseason seems to indicate that the team atop the NFC West throne will not change anytime soon either. There is a lot of promise to look forward to however.

The Seahawks used their third round pick on QB Russell Wilson of Wisconsin, and head coach Pete Carroll has been so impressed with him, he named Wilson as the starter over QB Matt Flynn. Flynn signed a three-year deal worth around $25 million, based on two solid performances he had backing up QB Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. In the 2010 season, when Rodgers was out with a concussion, Flynn lit up the New England Patriots defense in Foxboro, but still threw several interceptions. During the final game of the 2011 season, Flynn destroyed the Detroit Lions defense to the tune of 480 yards and six touchdowns.

Seattle Seahawks rookie QB Russell Wilson.

Outside of those two games, however, there isn't much justification for giving Flynn this much money. Carroll didn't worry one bit about inserting Flynn as the starter because of his contract. He held an open quarterback competition, along the way deciding QB Tarvaris Jackson wouldn't be their quarterback either. They traded him to the Buffalo Bills, and with Wilson as the starter, the Seahawks are looking for great things out of him early. Wilson can turn heads. Despite his lack of size, Wilson has the arm and the physical ability to absorb contact. If Wilson struggles early, look for Carroll to throw in Flynn right away.

The Arizona Cardinals have probably had the worst quarterback competition out of any team in the NFL. QB John Skelton and QB Kevin Kolb didn't do much at all to prove they should be the starter. However, Skelton did some solid things last season after Kolb got off to a lousy start. The Cardinals are also going through the same thing the Seahawks are going through. The Cardinals signed Kolb to a $65 million deal. This wasn't a bright move because Kolb didn't do much with the Philadelphia Eagles to prove he was worth that much. The Eagles did not look impressive in Kolb's starts, and when QB Michael Vick took over, the Eagles flourished.

Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald.

The Cardinals don't have much on defense, but they do have a potential playmaker with CB Patrick Peterson. Peterson has already shown he is dangerous with the ball in his hands on punt and kick returns. On offense, they drafted WR Michael Floyd of Notre Dame to line up opposite WR Larry Fitzgerald and take away a lot of the pressure. If Skelton struggles badly, the Cardinals have a major problem on their hands. They were one of the teams unable to bring QB Peyton Manning to the team, so they don't have any internal options if Skelton performs poorly.

Their is some promise for the Rams after last season's debacle. They hired Jeff Fisher to be their head coach. Fisher has been through down times during his years with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans. He has been able to rebuild teams successfully in the past, so the Rams are hoping he can do the same there. Fisher does have a franchise quarterback in QB Sam Bradford, so that should help a great deal. Bradford had a solid rookie season as he led the Rams within one game of winning the NFC West in 2010. However, it came apart under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels last season, and he was let go.

St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford.

If Bradford can get back to an offense where he can be an effective game manager, the Rams will definitely improve this year. A lot is riding on Bradford's health as well. He was injured and missed a good amount of games last season. The Rams picked up WR Steve Smith from the Philadelphia Eagles,  so they are hoping to pair him up with WR Danny Amendola to provide consistency. RB Steven Jackson, the veteran, will be called upon to eat up clock and help Bradford out. That may be a tall order at this point in his career, as he has battled injuries, but he is capable of doing so.

It's pretty simple. Unless the 49ers lose QB Alex Smith to injury and are forced to go with unseasoned QB Colin Kaepernick, the 49ers should win this division rather easily. They should expect better competition from the Seahawks. They field a solid defense as well, and if Wilson can be a solid game manager or even better, the Seahawks will definitely be one of the most improved teams in the NFL. The Cardinals should hope they don't regress from last season's mediocre year, and the Rams just want to improve. They have nowhere else to go but up.

Predictions

San Francisco 49ers 12-4
Seattle Seahawks 9-7
St. Louis Rams 6-10
Arizona Cardinals 5-11