How would you rank the NFC West in terms of roster on paper?

DVontel

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Rams are clearly #1, no doubt about that.

However, it’s weird. Although, I don’t think we’re going to finish #2 in the standings, I really think we have the 2nd best roster in the division. I’m not sure how much that is saying because I don’t believe we’re THAT talented, at least not yet.

What do you think?
 

oaken1

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I tend to agree...

Rams
Cards
Niners
Hags

we could manage to come out second in the division but it would take some breaks...probably knees...
the niners have a stronger offense... the hags dont look to really have anything aside from wilson to boast of
the rams look complete....I am sure that was their objective in the push to win the L.A. fan base... a SB appearance will go a long way for them in that city

we look to be pretty balanced right now...unfortunately we are balanced on the edge of average
 

kerouac9

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Rams
49ers
Cards
Seahawks

Jimmy G with a better OC than we have. Reuben Foster will come into his own.

Seahawks might be in the running for the #1 overall pick.
 

MadCardDisease

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Seahawks/Cards tied
Niners


Never count out Russell Wilson. He will always find a way to create something out of nothing. Plus they will win a game or two off of bogus calls from the refs.

I'm not buying the Niners hype machine. Color me not impressed with the 5 wins to end the season against crappy teams or teams sitting starters for the playoffs. I'll believe it when I see it.
 

mojorizen7

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My take:

Rams 11-5
Seahawks 9-7
Niners 8-8
Cards 6-10

Seahawks are clearly on the downslide but i don't see them bottoming out quite yet. Wilson is still the best QB in the division and the hardest to defend.

Not sold on the Niners making a sudden leap from 6 wins to a playoff berth or even a wildcard. That's still a bad defensive team IMO and lacking proven weapons on offense.

A full season with Bradford and the Cards could win 9 games and finish in 2nd place but it's not going to happen. Cards finish last due to rookie QB and what will IMO be a very one dimensional offense in terms of where the ball is going every week.

I think that as a whole the NFCW is the weakest it's been for quite some time. It's not that long ago that SEA, SF were elite, AZ was a serious contender and even Fishers Rams were cellar dwellers who could win 7 games and give good teams fits.

Right now the Rams are contenders and the other three teams are mediocre at best IMO. Times have changed in the West.
 

LoyalRam

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My take:

Rams 11-5
Seahawks 9-7
Niners 8-8
Cards 6-10

Seahawks are clearly on the downslide but i don't see them bottoming out quite yet. Wilson is still the best QB in the division and the hardest to defend.

Not sold on the Niners making a sudden leap from 6 wins to a playoff berth or even a wildcard. That's still a bad defensive team IMO and lacking proven weapons on offense.

A full season with Bradford and the Cards could win 9 games and finish in 2nd place but it's not going to happen. Cards finish last due to rookie QB and what will IMO be a very one dimensional offense in terms of where the ball is going every week.

I think that as a whole the NFCW is the weakest it's been for quite some time. It's not that long ago that SEA, SF were elite, AZ was a serious contender and even Fishers Rams were cellar dwellers who could win 7 games and give good teams fits.

Right now the Rams are contenders and the other three teams are mediocre at best IMO. Times have changed in the West.

Nah bro...I think you are a little light in the number of Rams wins. 14-2, as I predicted in the smack section, is what I think.

As for the rest of the NFC West, Oline play and defense will decide things. Gurley and Johnson are the two best RB's in the NFC West, and it's not close. I think Goff will be better than Wilson, but still give the edge to RW in this very moment. Bradford can be very good if he has protection, but I am not convinced about the Cards oline. The same is true about Seattle, but RW is a heck of a mobile QB. Jimmy G. has been annointed the Golden one by the media, but he hasn't proven anything to me yet. Win 6-2, Niners, in the first 8 games and I'm a believer. Otherwise, shut the hail up.

The Cards have the best defense outside of the Rams, and I'm not sucking up to everyone here....I predict 7-9 if Bradford is injured during the season, which I unfortunately I think is a certainty. Rosen might be really good in the future, but not this year.
1. Rams 14-2
2. Cards 7-9
3. Hawks 6-10
4. Niners 6-10
 

Dr. Jones

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My take:

Rams 11-5
Seahawks 9-7
Niners 8-8
Cards 6-10

Seahawks are clearly on the downslide but i don't see them bottoming out quite yet. Wilson is still the best QB in the division and the hardest to defend.

Not sold on the Niners making a sudden leap from 6 wins to a playoff berth or even a wildcard. That's still a bad defensive team IMO and lacking proven weapons on offense.

A full season with Bradford and the Cards could win 9 games and finish in 2nd place but it's not going to happen. Cards finish last due to rookie QB and what will IMO be a very one dimensional offense in terms of where the ball is going every week.

I think that as a whole the NFCW is the weakest it's been for quite some time. It's not that long ago that SEA, SF were elite, AZ was a serious contender and even Fishers Rams were cellar dwellers who could win 7 games and give good teams fits.

Right now the Rams are contenders and the other three teams are mediocre at best IMO. Times have changed in the West.
I agree with this......
 
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My take:

Rams 11-5
Seahawks 9-7
Niners 8-8
Cards 6-10

Seahawks are clearly on the downslide but i don't see them bottoming out quite yet. Wilson is still the best QB in the division and the hardest to defend.

Not sold on the Niners making a sudden leap from 6 wins to a playoff berth or even a wildcard. That's still a bad defensive team IMO and lacking proven weapons on offense.

A full season with Bradford and the Cards could win 9 games and finish in 2nd place but it's not going to happen. Cards finish last due to rookie QB and what will IMO be a very one dimensional offense in terms of where the ball is going every week.

I think that as a whole the NFCW is the weakest it's been for quite some time. It's not that long ago that SEA, SF were elite, AZ was a serious contender and even Fishers Rams were cellar dwellers who could win 7 games and give good teams fits.

Right now the Rams are contenders and the other three teams are mediocre at best IMO. Times have changed in the West.

Thanks! This ensures we win at least 10 games. ;)
 

Jetstream Green

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On paper, which means starting talent, meaning no injuries and not including coaching (which as Cardinal fans we really do not know yet, but he looks like a good coach through two preseason games)...

Rams
Cardinals
Niners
Seahawks

but with the way the NFL varies in a sea of mediocrity called parity, the Seahawks still might not go quietly into the night but this division is going to be a lot stronger than some people think :)
 

mojorizen7

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Nah bro...I think you are a little light in the number of Rams wins. 14-2, as I predicted in the smack section, is what I think.
You'd think! But they've really struggled to win games at the Coliseum since the move(including last year).
The numbers:
Rams at the Coliseum
1-6 in 2016
3-4 in 2017
4-10

Yet they're 11-7 away.

It's the elephant in the room and i seem to be the only Rams fan that will acknowledge it.

If they don't get that turned around i see another 10 or 11 win season. There's no way they go 8-1 away again. Is there?
 

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1 Rams 12-4
2 Cards 10-6
3 Hags 9-7
4 49ers 8-8

Looking at the rosters I think we are a close second to the Rams. Where they have us beat is on the defensive line. With Donald, Suh and Brockers.
 
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DVontel

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1 Rams 12-4
2 Cards 10-6
3 Hags 9-7
4 49ers 8-8

Looking at the rosters I think we are a close second to the Rams. Where they have us beat is on the defensive line. With Donald, Suh and Brockers.
& OL...& secondary...
 

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1 Rams 12-4
2 Cards 9-7
3 49ers 9-7
4 Hags 7-9

It feels like we're about even with Rams on OL - if we're talking about starters. Even though they proved it last year and we're only proving it in preseason. But based on the way our revamped interior is playing, it looks really good.

Of course our backup OL looks below average. How are the Rams backups? They didn't have any injuries last year, right?
 

Snakester

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& OL...& secondary...
That's two areas that we have them beat. They have a slight edge at QB, we have a slight edge at RB. At WR they have a slight edge but we have a Larry which makes two of anybody elses receivers. If they lose Goff to injury they suddenly become a less than 500 ball club. We at least have our Goff in Rosen waiting behind our starter.

They do have a better RT than we do but both of our guards and our LT are better than their's. I give them an edge at center because our guy is a rookie but he is playing very well. Patrick Peterson is the best in the NFL so he trumps Marcus Peters. Talib gets the edge on Taylor but our safety unit is better than there's. They have us beat on the D-line for sure but if and its a big if Nkemdiche plays this year like the Darnell Dockett clone he can be then even the defensive lines would be a wash. They have Donald we have Chandler Jones. That's a wash at best and really I give Jones the edge. The Rams are not that much better than we are. If they have a couple of major injuries we could win the division. To me it's all about who is healthy at the end of the year. The healthy team wins the division.
 

Jetstream Green

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That's two areas that we have them beat. They have a slight edge at QB, we have a slight edge at RB. At WR they have a slight edge but we have a Larry which makes two of anybody elses receivers. If they lose Goff to injury they suddenly become a less than 500 ball club. We at least have our Goff in Rosen waiting behind our starter.

They do have a better RT than we do but both of our guards and our LT are better than their's. I give them an edge at center because our guy is a rookie but he is playing very well. Patrick Peterson is the best in the NFL so he trumps Marcus Peters. Talib gets the edge on Taylor but our safety unit is better than there's. They have us beat on the D-line for sure but if and its a big if Nkemdiche plays this year like the Darnell Dockett clone he can be then even the defensive lines would be a wash. They have Donald we have Chandler Jones. That's a wash at best and really I give Jones the edge. The Rams are not that much better than we are. If they have a couple of major injuries we could win the division. To me it's all about who is healthy at the end of the year. The healthy team wins the division.

I don't know about QB. Goff is the factor which for me is still an unknown. McVay revamped the offense masterfully but his rookie year he had the worst outing a quarterback ever had. In many ways, last year was Goff's first year due to the change of offense he prospered under and the NFL has now had a whole offseason to review him. Not saying he is going to falter but he could... and even more so for Jimmy G
 

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Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers

Cards/Seahawks ??????????? No playoffs for either team.
 
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DVontel

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That's two areas that we have them beat. They have a slight edge at QB, we have a slight edge at RB. At WR they have a slight edge but we have a Larry which makes two of anybody elses receivers. If they lose Goff to injury they suddenly become a less than 500 ball club. We at least have our Goff in Rosen waiting behind our starter.

They do have a better RT than we do but both of our guards and our LT are better than their's. I give them an edge at center because our guy is a rookie but he is playing very well. Patrick Peterson is the best in the NFL so he trumps Marcus Peters. Talib gets the edge on Taylor but our safety unit is better than there's. They have us beat on the D-line for sure but if and its a big if Nkemdiche plays this year like the Darnell Dockett clone he can be then even the defensive lines would be a wash. They have Donald we have Chandler Jones. That's a wash at best and really I give Jones the edge. The Rams are not that much better than we are. If they have a couple of major injuries we could win the division. To me it's all about who is healthy at the end of the year. The healthy team wins the division.
Good Lord.

In what universe is Humphries better than Andrew Whitworth? I’m not even saying Humphries is bad because he’s not, but he’s certainly not better than a top 5 LT in the NFL.

I love Peterson, but no, he’s not the best at his position anymore. Peterson is better than both Peters & Talib, but 2 very good CBS triumphs over 1 great one, even though I think Peters is a bit overrated.

I’d take Budda over Joyner & John Johnson III despite them being good players, I just believe Budda will continue to reach his ceiling which I think is higher than there’s, but I’d take Joyner over Bathea due to age & Boston due to uncertainty.

Chandler is awesome, I love him, but he’s not better than Donald. Donald is not only better than Jones, he’s arguably the best player in the league. It’s INSANE how great he is. That is definitely not a wash.

You can apply that “healthy” logic to any team. The Rams are better than we are. I hate it, but it’s the truth. However, if we continue to make impact drafts like we did in 2015 & possibly franchise-game changing drafts this year, then we’ll catch up with them sooner rather than later.
 

Jetstream Green

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I will say this. I want the Rams to come back strong and Goff to be the real deal, along with the Niners and Jimmy G. I want the Seahawks to pull a front office rabbit out of the hat and salvage what is technically still a great team because they have not hit bottom yet, and of course I want my beloved Cards to build strong with Wilks and Rosen. If your objective is to win the Super Bowl and not just make the playoffs, a strong division sculpts champions. Sure, the division beats each other up to an extent and you have less teams that then make the playoffs but the teams who come out on top are then battle tested for success. You face strong opponents frequently, you become strong with a good front office to adjust to the division... also as fans, it makes the games enjoyable and important because you see quality game and game out
 
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