NFL: NFC West Division Preview

Part 4 of our look at all the divisions across the National Football League this preview raps up our look at the National Football Conference.

1. NFC East
2. NFC North
3. NFC South

Division Outlook: Last season the teams in the NFC West were a combined 28/36 tied for worst in the league. However, the division did field the eventual NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.


Arizona Cardinals

• 2005 Record: 5/11 (third place)
• Click Here for Roster & Depth Chart
• Key Question: How long before Matt Leinart takes the field?
  
• Team Strength: The receiving core is one of the better one's you'll find in the entire NFL. They also have a running game with the arrival of Edgerin James.
  
• Team Weakness: The defense seems a bit shaky to me at times, but is not as much of an issue as the team's offensive line.
  
• Outlook: This is a team on the rise. They are many people's playoff sleeper. Not me, I've been burned by this 1-too-many times to fall for it again this season.

St. Louis Rams

• 2005 Record: 6/10 (Second Place)
• Click Here for Roster & Depth Chart
• Key Question: How will the Rams fair with a new head coach?
  
• Team Strength: It still lies on the offensive side of the ball with Tory Holt, Steven Jackson and Mark Bulger being the key group at skill positions.
  
• Team Weakness: I'm still not a big believer in much of anything on this Rams defense.
  
• Outlook: I think the Rams might be a better football team than last season and could actually finish with a worse record because of the improvement that Arizona has made.

San Francisco 49ers

• 2005 Record: 4/12 (forth place)
• Click Here for Roster & Depth Chart
• Key Question: Is Alex Smith a bust or an improving QB?
  
• Team Strength: They are headed in the right direction with a good coach.
  
• Team Weakness: This is a very young team with not a lot of experience and it is all over the field. I don't find anything scary about their receiving core (at least in a good way) nor is their running back stable something that frightens me. This is a team headed the right direction but they are at least 2 years away from getting to that point.
  
• Outlook: Contenders for a top 5 pick, this team may be worse than Green Bay but lets not toss that out there lightly.

Seattle Seahawks

• 2005 Record: 11/5 (first place)
  
• Click Here for Roster & Depth Chart
  
• Key Question: Can this team avoid the curse that has befallen previous Super Bowl losers? Last 5 losers missed the playoffs the next season.
  
• Team Strength: The Team is still together, with few major losses and that's big in the salary cap age.
  
• Team Weakness: None really, unless I can count playoff coaching as a weakness.
  
• Outlook: This team will avoid the fait of previous Super Bowl losers and will return to the playoffs as a high sead. It won't just be because the team's opponents are so bad, this is a quality football team.

Projected Finish:

1. Seahawks
2. Cardinals
3. Rams
4. 49ers