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NFC West Outlook

National Football Conference

NFC West

Conventional wisdom states that the NFC champion is coming out of this division, and for once I’m inclined to say that conventional wisdom is right.  These four teams have come a long way since the “NFC Worst” days of the mid-2000s when 7-9 and 8-8 teams could walk away with a division title…now, the two Vegas favorites to win the NFC reside out West and the other two squads are far from pushovers.  Every team in this division has been to the Super Bowl within the last 13 years, something none of the others can claim.

While I could wax poetic about the Rams, who I really wanted to put into the playoffs, I won’t, because they still have a few too many issues with consistency.  And even Arizona is going to be quite pesky, but even though Carson Palmer will win the Cards some games and help Larry Fitzgerald not just pull a Barry Sanders and walk away, he’s also going to lose a lot more.

The NFC West is about two teams: the 49ers and the Seahawks.  Whoever wins the division is going to the Super Bowl and they’re almost destined to face off in the divisional round after the winner gets a bye and the wild card wins their game handily. So, which loaded team pulls it out?

Both squads lost a major receiving threat, possibly for the entire season.  Both defenses are feared across the league, though Seattle is in the rare sports situation of making a team from San Francisco actually look good when it comes to PEDs.  Both running backs are highly dangerous and both young, mobile QBs have ridiculously high ceilings.

Ultimately, I think San Francisco pulls this out by a nose because of their experience and road prowess.  The Seahawks are damn near unbeatable at home but on the road their defense starts to crack and their unimpressive receiving corps won’t be able to carry things as well.  Plus, if I have to trust Pete Carroll or Jim Harbaugh in an adverse late-season situation, I’ll take the smug, over-reactionary guy from Stanford over the one from USC any day.  In the playoffs, you have to lean towards the home team, and I think San Francisco rides that all the way to Met Life Stadium.

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