Teams are listed in expected order of finish and team names are preceded by Rank within Conference / Rank within NFL.

NFC West

2/3. Seahawks:

These guys have an offense that should give Philly a run for its money. But is their defense good enough to put them at the top of the NFC? Last season they finished defensively ranked at 19th overall and tied for 15th against pts scored. In the NFC, that could be good enough to reach the Championship game.

They have big question marks in the defensive secondary. They still have Safety Ken Hamlin, who contributed 96 tackles (76 solo) last year. But they dumped Reggie Tongue, who added 63 more, getting both thinner and less talented at Safety. They also lost CB Shawn Springs, and while his replacement, CB Bobby Taylor, is an upgrade from the standpoint of pure skill, he has proven unable to stay healthy for longer than a few weeks at a time.

The best thing Seattle has done for their defensive secondary is to sign DE Grant Wistrum, upgrading the pass rush.

What really may save Seattle, aside from playing in the NFC, is a fairly weak schedule.

10/21. Cardinals:

Dennis Green is an excellent coach. He’s made some first-class moves in both the FA market and the draft. He’s also turned things around on a philosophical level and has guys already believing that they can win.

The problem is that Arizona was so bad before he got there, that it’ll take more than a year to see them in the running for a playoff birth.

The Cardinals should have a ton of talent at the WR positions. But RB is, to say it politely, an area of some concern, and the O line needs an infusion of talent after allowing 44 sacks last season, tied for 30th worst in the NFL.

Defensively there have been some upgrades, especially on the line. But DE Bert Berry benefitted heavily from playing opposite of Trevor Pryce in Denver. He has no such counterpart in AZ, so a repeat of his 12.5 sack ‘03 performance is highly unlikely. He’ll be the guy drawing the double teams this season. Who will pick up the slack on the other end?

11/22. Rams:

Martz is being foolish in his loyalty to Marshall Faulk. On the surface this is admirable, but football is a business and there is more than Faulk to think of.

Martz has a responsibility to the organization, the team and the fans to win games.

Steven Jackson will give them a better chance to win, so Faulk should be demoted.

In addition to that, the Rams’ D has lost both depth and talent, making the unit one of the weaker in the league. St Louis will not hold off Seattle this year.

16/32. 49ers:

They dumped almost any player who was worth a damn and signed no one to replace any of them. Should be a stellar year for the 9ers and their fans. Yeah, ok, they’re “rebuilding”. Let that be a comfort when they’re playing to a half empty stadium.

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