NFC West is W_I_D_E open...

[mojorizen7]

Lets see...after 3 weeks we've seen the Cards escape St Louis,get pummeled by Atlanta and get flat-out lucky vs Oakland.Saw this mediocre team coming 100 miles away.
AZ 2-1

We've seen the Rams fail to take one from AZ,give one to Oakland, and beatdown Washington.
ST LOUIS 1-2

We've seen the Seahawks ambush San Francisco,get rolled by Denver, and beat San Diego(1-2).
SEATTLE 2-1

We've seen the 49ers get bludgeoned by the Seahawks,just come up short vs New Orleans, and get bent over by the 3-0 KC Chiefs.
SF 0-3

So...what do we know?
My take is that we now know what we already knew....this division sucks.

Now for my other take(s).....
The Cardinals 2 year run at winning anything important is so incredibly over,meanwhile there are legit starting QB's playing in new city's all over the NFL....well maybe not ALL over the NFL but certainly not in AZ, where somebody thought that replacing Warner w/nobody was a good idea.

Then we have Seattle,who can't win a road game.....or a home game against a credible opponent. To be honest,they've surprised me somewhat. I thought the whole Pete Carroll Escape from USC saga would be a trainwreck of mammoth proportions. Maybe i was dead wrong...Its still early so we'll see....but they're playing fairly well i guess?.?.?

"Knock knock...Hey Frisco?....hey wake up!....the season started 3 weeks ago.....Hello?....is there anybody in there?".....
Again i was way off here, thinking they were ready for prime time,ready to pounce on AZ and grab the division.I think its safe to say that as much as AZ's offense has gone into a shell,the 49ers defense has shriveled up a bit under the pressure of being being "touted."

And last, but certainly not least(just skip over this part if you cant stand what i like to call..."objective grandstanding" ) we have my young St Louis Rams. A team that couldn't beat the dead off a horse for the last 3 years....
A team that did most everything right against a then superior AZ Cardinals team(create turnovers,get to the QB,run the football,throw TD passes,excite a lethargic fanbase...) they did it all except find a way to win. 4pts....Damn. 0-1

Then we go to Oakland,into the Coliseum,and we kick them in the teeth for 2 qtrs..... Bruce Gradkowski? WTF? Cards fans are familiar with this guy now i'm sure : ) Anyway,lose by 2 points...Damn.Gotta find a way to win.
0-2

Hello Washington Redskins....would you like a first half beatdown?....Here ya go.....granted the Skins probably aren't a very good team(sort of like AZ,Seattle and San Francisco) but we punched 'em in the mouth to the tune of 30-16....and we found a way to win a game.
1-2

This division belongs to NOBODY right now. Not you San Fran(you snooze you lose),not you Arizona(your defense ain't gonna carry you),not you Seattle(I still feel a trainwreck approaching)....and not to my beloved Rams either(gotta grow up)......BUT, I like our chances. I like them alot to be honest.

First team to 8 wins takes it.


GO RAMS Baby!

 

[AzStevenCal]

First team to 8 wins takes it.


GO RAMS Baby!

I think you're delusional. Actually, I know you're delusional. Try, first team to 7 wins takes it. And yeah, your Rams may well be the one that makes it there. Still, you can't overlook the advantage the Cards hold. We are 1 - 0 on the road in division. It's uphill for everyone else.

You have to admit, it would be pretty darned funny if the Chiefs and the Rams both won their divisions this year. I wouldn't be laughing but I'm sure someone somewhere would be.

Steve

 

[TheHopToad]

Then we have Seattle,who can't win a road game.....or a home game against a credible opponent.

You don't think San Diego is a credible opponent?

They have some special teams issues and they're off to their annual bad start, but there's no reason to believe that they won't pick it up like they always do and close out the season strong. And nothing like having the Cards come to town to help get them jumpstarted.

 

[mojorizen7]

You don't think San Diego is a credible opponent?

They have some special teams issues and they're off to their annual bad start, but there's no reason to believe that they won't pick it up like they always do and close out the season strong. And nothing like having the Cards come to town to help get them jumpstarted.

Just basing that off of S.D.'s early results. Losing @ KC, who i think will come back down to Earth, and beating a bad Jacksonville team. Good point about their annual slow start.

We know that Seattle is a tough place for most teams to visit.
Like i said,it's still early,and Seattle has surprisingly played fairly well thusfar....but it took a monster day from Leon Washington(2 KO return for TD's) to win in their own building by 7 pts.

Seattle plays three of their next four on the road: @St Louis,@ Chicago, home vs AZ and @ Oakland. IMO they go 1-3 through that....winning only against AZ or Oakland.

We'll definately know more about this division after week 4.
Seattle @ St Louis(last season's NFC West cellar dwellars)
AZ goes to San Diego(who lost to Seattle)
and San Fran travels to Atlanta(who pummeled AZ).

 

[mojorizen7]

Still, you can't overlook the advantage the Cards hold. We are 1 - 0 on the road in division. It's uphill for everyone else.
Steve

"It's an early advantage that has been blessed upon your QB-less team my child.."
Meanwhile,your pt differential(-29) says that you're living on borrowed time at 2-1.

 

[AzStevenCal]

"It's an early advantage that has been blessed upon your QB-less team my child.."
Meanwhile,your pt differential(-29) says that you're living on borrowed time at 2-1.

Probably (maybe even closer to definitely). Still, the delusional side of me is hoping that we're kind of like the Steelers. We're racking up wins but we have a real QB coming soon who will take us to the next level. I have no idea who that real QB is but I'm convinced it will happen soon. I don't really believe that mind you, I just refuse to believe anything else.

BTW, as I type this I just watched Amendola make one of the best catches I've seen so far this season. It was like watching Brooks Robinson play the hot corner.

Steve

 

[mojorizen7]

3-way tie for 1st place.
Just like that.

This is the smack shack however,so i'll go ahead and declare St Louis the best team in the division at the week 4 mark.
Debate it.....take a shot. Even if you find this debatable(which it certainly is)...........it is however a fact that this is the only team in the division getting better from one week to the next....( in all 3 phases).

Best QB
Best red zone defense
Season pts for/against differential +25
Pts allowed from week 1 to date: 17,16,16,3
Pts scored from week 1 to date: 13,14,30,20

Good times for Rams fans today

 

[AzStevenCal]

3-way tie for 1st place.
Just like that.

This is the smack shack however,so i'll go ahead and declare St Louis the best team in the division at the week 4 mark.
Debate it.....take a shot. Even if you find this debatable(which it certainly is)...........it is however a fact that this is the only team in the division getting better from one week to the next....( in all 3 phases).

Best QB
Best red zone defense
Season pts for/against differential +25
Pts allowed from week 1 to date: 17,16,16,3
Pts scored from week 1 to date: 13,14,30,20

Good times for Rams fans today

This is the NFC West. The Rams are the toughest kid at band camp.

Steve

 

[mojorizen7]

This is the NFC West. The Rams are the toughest kid at band camp.

Steve

Nice one Steve

Good thing Dec 5th is a couple months away,that oughta give the Cardinals plenty of time to circle the bandwagons and rally around the horn section before the Rams come to town.

What?!

 

[AzStevenCal]

Nice one Steve

Good thing Dec 5th is a couple months away,that oughta give the Cardinals plenty of time to circle the bandwagons and rally around the horn section before the Rams come to town.

What?!

By December it may well be vultures circling the bandwagons. OTOH, right now we're on a pace to win 8 games and that may still do it. Has any team ever alternated between lucky wins and blowout losses?

It's hard to talk smack when the best you can hope for is to get lucky 8 times so you can brag about how mediocre you are.

Steve

 

[Mulli]

3-way tie for 1st place.
Just like that.

This is the smack shack however,so i'll go ahead and declare St Louis the best team in the division at the week 4 mark.
Debate it.....take a shot. Even if you find this debatable(which it certainly is)...........it is however a fact that this is the only team in the division getting better from one week to the next....( in all 3 phases).

Best QB
Best red zone defense
Season pts for/against differential +25
Pts allowed from week 1 to date: 17,16,16,3, 44
Pts scored from week 1 to date: 13,14,30,20. 6

Good times for Rams fans today

Bump

 

[ajcardfan]

Good times for Rams fans today

Well, that didn't last long. Too bad about Clayton.

 

[mojorizen7]

Well, that didn't last long. Too bad about Clayton.

Yeah losing Clayton is a MAJOR blow.

I still feel good about us going forward though. IMO the coaching staff failed during the week in terms of coaching between the ears and not preparing to go on the road against a desperate Lions team.

As for AZ,i'm now convinced that ya'll will somehow scrape together 9 wins.....

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[mojorizen7]

Here we are in week 6.
AZ 3-2
SEA 2-2
ST LOU 2-3
SF 0-5
1.Somehow,by the luck of the Gods the Cardinals are sitting in 1st place.
2. Seahawks are still jeckyll & hide.
3. Rams came back down to Earth.
4. Gee!'s 49ers/Chilean miners joke in another thread about sums it up for SF.
http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f23/asfn-funny-friday-158881-2.html
#21

Cards get the bye week to gloat over the Little QB that Could. Nice story...for now.
3 lives used up. 6 to go?
Ya'll are preparing to travel to Seattle in week 7.
QWest Field......Ouch!

Seahawks got 2 weeks to prepare for Chicago,travel to Soldier Field and likely look unprepared on the road.
Cutler is back and i expect him to shred Seattle's secondary.

Rams get San Diego in the dome and will be facing a legit opponent for once. This will likely get ugly....unless we can take advantage of the Chargers weak ST's.
Bradford's targets have dwindled(as if he had any to begin with) with the loss of Mark Clayton. Our defense will have to man up to keep it close. Uh Oh Illinois Mike finally returns at TE(rejoice!)

The Niners play host to the Raiduhs....who will start Campbell at QB.
Bay Area Battle....i'd actually like to see this game. I wont be talking about the 49ers and the NFC West division anymore if they fall to 0-6.

In all likelyhood the division is now officially a 3-team race to claim the title of the worst division in football.
Predictions:
Cards keep pumping up Max Hall and prepare him to lose next week in Seattle.
Seahawks lose.
Rams lose.
49ers finally get started in week 6. (Tooooooooooo.....late)

GO RAMS!

 

[mojorizen7]

Seahawks lose.
Rams lose.

WTF do i know?
GO RAMS BABY!!

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[Renz]

St. Loser still has to win on the road, which they haven't come close to doing. They've already lost one home game so the best they can hope for is a 7-9 season.

That ain't getting you to the playoffs, even in this division.

 

[TheHopToad]

St. Loser still has to win on the road, which they haven't come close to doing. They've already lost one home game so the best they can hope for is a 7-9 season.

That ain't getting you to the playoffs, even in this division.

To be fair, they did come close to beating the Raiders at Oakland. A two point loss is hardly a blowout.

 

[mojorizen7]

St. Loser still has to win on the road, which they haven't come close to doing. They've already lost one home game so the best they can hope for is a 7-9 season.

That ain't getting you to the playoffs, even in this division.

Well well,its about time one of you Dead bird fans got the nutz to come in here and talk some smack.

Digest this Renz....Cardinals are the SAME team they were six weeks ago brutha. Ya'll escaped in week 1 vs a green rookie QB and a green Rams team...and ya'll keep on escaping week after week....while we get better which each tick tock of the time clock.

Speaking of winning on the road,good luck in Seattle next week.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well well,its about time one of you Dead bird fans got the nutz to come in here and talk some smack.

Digest this Renz....Cardinals are the SAME team they were six weeks ago brutha. Ya'll escaped in week 1 vs a green rookie QB and a green Rams team...and ya'll keep on escaping week after week....while we get better which each tick tock of the time clock.

Speaking of winning on the road,good luck in Seattle next week.

Not hardly. We've been playing without most of our wide receivers but unlike the Rams, ours are coming back. Also, we have the addition by subtraction rule going as we've replaced the worst pro QB on the planet with Mini-Max - the most HIGHLY REGARDED QB to have been ignored in the draft this year.

Steve

 

[mojorizen7]

Not hardly. We've been playing without most of our wide receivers but unlike the Rams, ours are coming back. Also, we have the addition by subtraction rule going as we've replaced the worst pro QB on the planet with Mini-Max - the most HIGHLY REGARDED QB to have been ignored in the draft this year.

Steve

Are the AZ Cardinals (as a team) getting better,worse, or running in place?
Pick one.

I-MAX is highly regarded here in Mesa thats for sure. Ok,the kid looked "ok" last week. I'll give you that much : )

 

[AzStevenCal]

Are the Z Cardinals (as a team) getting better,worse, or running in place?
Pick one.

I'd lean towards getting better but I wouldn't rule out running in place. Given that, from the start of preseason we appeared to be spiraling downward, even running in place feels like an improvement.

I wish I was a Rams fan because then I'd have two things to be thankful for. We won today and we don't have to face those scary Lions again this season.

Steve

 

[Hawkfan]

Seattle is coming off a huge road win and fans are pumped it is going to be a crazy game in seattle this weekend gotta luv it

 

[mojorizen7]

Seattle is coming off a huge road win and fans are pumped it is going to be a crazy game in seattle this weekend gotta luv it

Definately a pivitol game for obvious reasons.
QWest Field<----------------advantage

 

[Mulli]

Seattle is coming off a huge road win and fans are pumped it is going to be a crazy game in seattle this weekend gotta luv it

Crappy Bears made the Seahawks look better than they really are.

Go Cards.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Wide open, but the Seahawks suck dew soaked goat nuts.