2009 Standings:
Arizona Cardinals – 10-6 *Playoffs
San Francisco 49ers – 8-8
Seattle Seahawks – 5-11
St. Louis Rams – 1-15

2010 Preseason:
San Francisco 49ers – 4-0
St. Louis Rams – 3-1
Arizona Cardinals – 3-1
Seattle Seahawks – 1-3

2010 Regular Season Predictions:
San Francisco 49ers – 11-5
Arizona Cardinals – 6-10
St. Louis Rams – 4-12
Seattle Seahawks – 4-12

Team Breakdowns:

San Francisco 49ers:
The San Francisco 49ers are the favorites in the NFC West because they were the only team in the division to have a stable off-season. The 49ers will stick with the run first offense this season. I expect the run game to be very effective thanks to the 49ers two first round draft picks – Anthony Davis (RT) and Mike Iupati (LG). These two players should help the 49ers improve their smash mouth running game led by All-Pro Frank Gore. The passing game is much improved from a couple of seasons ago. Alex Smith looks like he will be a reliable QB, although not a great one. The receiving core is very young with 2nd year Michael Crabtree and 3rd year Josh Morgan leading the way. The Niners also have one of the best pass catching tight ends with Vernon Davis. The defense will once again be the team’s strength. They have one of the best linebacking tandems in the NFL, lead by Patrick Willis (the best LB in the league) and Takeo Spikes. The secondary can be exposed at times but with Nate Clements returning from an injury that caused him to miss 9 games last season, it will be slightly better.

Arizona Cardinals:
The Arizona Cardinals are coming off back-to-back division titles, but that streak should end with the retirement of Kurt Warner. Warner’s retirement has left a huge hole at QB for the Cards. Matt Leinhart was released by the Cards leaving Derek Anderson as the signal caller. Anderson was a Pro-Bowler in 2007, but as Browns fans will point out, that Anderson has been MIA for awhile. If Anderson does struggle, the Cards have no depth at QB. The other two QBs – Max Hall and John Skelton – are both rookies. The RB situation is also somewhat shaky. Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells are both decent, but Wells has had knee problems during the off-season. At least they still have Larry Fitzgerald, but they are missing his perfect complement after losing Anquan Boldin in the off-season. The Cardinals’ defense will be strength and should help them remain somewhat competitive in the relatively weak division. Darnell Dockett (DE), Adrian Wilson (SS) and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (CB) will be joined by Joey Porter (LB) and Kerry Rhodes (FS) to form a solid defensive core spanning the line, linebackers and secondary.

St. Louis Rams:
The St. Louis Rams are making progress, but they suffered a major set-back at the same time. They will be starting rookie Sam Bradford in Week 1, and I still am not sure what to think about him. I still think he might be considered a bust in a few years, but he has potential to be pretty good. The set-back facing Bradford and the Rams is their best wide reciever, Donnie Avery, will miss the entire season with a torn ACL. Outside of Avery, the Rams don’t have many receiving threats. Although the recent trade for Mark Clayton is a step in the right direction. Of course no discussion of the Rams’ offense would be complete without mentioning the workhorse – Steven Jackson. Clearly the best player on the team, Jackson has come to camp in great shape and he should be ready to go after having minor off-season back surgery. The Rams defense was not good last season, and I don’t expect it to be good this season. They don’t have any player that truly stands out to me, and I expect them to be towards the bottom of the NFL in yards allowed per game and points, just like last season.

Seattle Seahawks:
The Seahawks made some splashes this off-season. They signed Pete Carroll as the head coach, they traded to get LenDale White and then cut him, they traded for Leon Washington and they cut T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Although, I think the Seahawks are making progress, I think they will need at least one more season before they contend for the division again. The offense is not the greatest with QB Matt Hasselbeck being past his prime. The wide receivers are an interesting situation. After cutting Houshmandzadeh, the Seahawks elected to name former USC stand-out Mike Williams as their #1 WR, with Deion Branch (former Super Bowl MVP) as the #2 wide-out. Will this be the year Williams finally lives up to draft day expectations? The Seahawks hope so or it could be a long season. The running-back trio of Justin Forsett, Julius Jones and Leon Washington will be fast, but they lack the bruiser change of pace option (a White-type back). The offensive line will also be weak. They drafted Russell Okung in the first round to replace the void left by Walter Jones, but Okung has an ankle injury that will force him to miss at least Week 1. On defense, the Seahawks should be slightly improved from last season, but still not great. They will have Lofa Tatupu (LB) back after he missed 11 games last season and they get Marcus Trufant back after he missed 6 games last season. They also drafted a promising safety in Earl Thomas that will get the start from the beginning.

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None of this mattered to the 49ers. The 49ers, who can never be accused of not playing hard, came out in a fury against their division rivals. They forced 5 turnovers on way to a 17-0 halftime lead. The 49ers defense was attacking the ball all night long. Everytime the Cards had the ball, the 49ers aimed at the ball and they did not miss tackles. Warner was pressured all night long.

The 49ers were able to keep the momentum throughout the second half and force 7 turnovers (5 fumbles and 2 INTs) on their way to a 24-9 victory, completing the season sweep of the Cards. Frank Gore was dominant on the ground rushing for 167 yards and a TD. Alex Smith was good enough, throwing 2 TDs (one to Davis and one to Crabtree). He did throw 2 INTs, something that must be worked on. Kurt Warner was a dismal 16 for 29 for 178 yards with 2 INTs and no TDs.

The Cards now have a 2 game lead on the 49ers, but it will be hard for the 49ers to overcome the deficit. The Cards and 49ers both have similar schedules to end the season. In week 15, the 49ers travel to Philadelphia, in week 16 they host Detroit and they end it in St. Louis. The Cards travel to Detroit in week 15, then they host St. Louis in week 16 and they host Green Bay in week 17. I can see both the Cards and 49ers going 2-1 over their last 3, and unfortunately that won’t be good enough for the 49ers to make the playoffs this season. But then again, the Browns beat the Steelers and the Raiders beat the Eagles, so anything is possible.

Either way the 49ers’ faithful have to be happy with a possible 8-8 season, considering the Niners haven’t had a winning season in 6 years. Try not to think about what could have been… if Favre didn’t throw the magical pass in week 3, the halfback pass for a TD against the Colts in week 8, the last second field goal against Seattle in week 13.

The talent is there and the team is young, one or two more pieces and another year of growth and the 49ers can possibly reclaim their glory of the 80s and 90s.