The Last of the divisions.
San Francisco 49ers
Keep your pants on all year and the season will be a success.
Head Coach: Mike Singletary
Offensive Coordinator: Jimmy Raye
Defensive Coordinator: Greg Manusky
Special Teams Coordinator: Al Everest
Owner: Jed York
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Shaun Hill
HB: Frank Gore
TE: Delanie Walker
WR: Issac Bruce
WR: Josh Morgan
LT: Joe Staley
LG: Tony Wragge
C: Eric Heitmann
RG: Chilo Rachal
RT: Barry Sims
TE: Vernon Davis
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Issac Sopoaga
DE: Justin Smith
DT: Aubrayo Franklin
LB: Manny Lawson
LB: Takeo Spikes
LB: Patrick Willis
LB: Parys Haralson
CB: Nate Clements
CB: Dre Bly
FS: Michael Lewis
SS: Dashon Goldson
Special Teams
K: Joe Nedney
P: Andy Lee
Position Battles:
Preseason is over, so these are gonna be short this week.
QB: Wasn’t much of a fight, Hill beat out Alex Smith who is considered a huge bust at this point. Nate Davis might be the best QB on the team.
Rookies to Watch:
If Michael Crabtree ever signs he’s going to be really good. But he’s not here yet and the longer he waits, the less impact he’ll have this year. Glen Coffee should be a good backup for Frank Gore but isn’t going to light anything up. Nate Davis could be the best of the bunch. He’s got a big arm and with a year or two to learn the system he might be good.
Season Expectations:
They’ve got some talent at a few positions. Joe Staley is an anchor at LT and Shaun Hill played well last year leading SF to a couple late wins. Getting Crabtree in soon would really help the WRs here and make the offense even more dangerous. Morgan is a good receiver but Bruce is old and slowing down so they really need a second WR to take the attention off of Frank Gore would is very talented but injury prone. Vernon Davis has look good in preseason and might break the workout warrior label this year. His development should also boost the offense. The defense has plenty of talent in the back side. Nate Clements, Dre Bly, Michael Lewis and the linebacker Patrick Willis and Parys Haralson are all very good. Manny Lawson needs to step up and bring pressure of the edge to stop opposing QBs from just sitting back in the pocket and picking the defense apart. I think Singletary is a good coach and is pointing the team in the right direction and they could surprise some teams this year.
Arizona Cardinals
The Super Bowl let down is real.
Head Coach: Ken Whisenhunt
Offensive Coordinator: N/A
Defensive Coordinator: Bill Davis
Special Teams Coordinator: Kevin Spencer
Owner: William Bidwill
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Kurt Warner
HB: Tim Hightower
FB: Dan Krieder
WR: Anquan Boldin
WR: Larry Fitzgerald
LT: Mike Gandy
LG: Reggie Wells
C: Lyle Sendlein
RG: Deuce Lutui
RT: Levi Brown
TE: Stephen Spach
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Calais Campbell
DE: Bryan Robinson
DT: Darnell Dockett
LB: Chike Okeafor
LB: Karlos Dansby
LB: Gerald Hayes
LB: Clark Haggans
CB: Bryant McFadden
CB: Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie
FS: Antrel Rolle
SS: Adrian Wilson
Special Teams
K: Neil Rackers
P: Ben Graham
Position Battles:
RB: Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells are both going to get playing time and the battle will continue into season. Whoever gets hot will get the carries.
Rookies to Watch:
Beanie Wells is talked about as a big time candidate for RoY, but I’m not sold on him. He has good vision and quickness, but he doesn’t possess breakaway speed and really doesn’t seem like much of a step up over Hightower.
Season Expectations:
Kurt Warner can’t keep this up forever. Even with the best WRs in the league he’s going to slow down eventually. Might not be this year, but it’s going to happen. The offense is still really good with Fitz and Boldin. The line is still steady as they come and the two-headed running attack might give them some sort of a running game. If that happens this offense becomes ridiculously scary. The defense should be a little bit better than last year. Bryant McFadden and DRC form a solid set of CBs, Wilson is one of the best strong safeties in the league and Antrel Rolle is learning the Free Safety position. Dansby is a great linebacker but he’s about all they have in the front 7. They’re going to have trouble stopping the run again and they’re going to have problems getting to the QB. So this years team is going to look a lot like last years team, except they won’t be sneaking up on anybody this year. They have the luxury of playing in a terrible division so the playoffs are not out of the question by a long shot.
St. Louis Rams
Yay Derek Stanley!
Head Coach: Steve Spagnuolo
Offensive Coordinator: Pat Shurmur
Defensive Coordinator: Ken Flajole
Special Teams Coordinator: Tom McMahon
Owner: Chip Rosenbloom, Lucia Rodrigues, and Stan Kroenke
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Marc Bulger
HB: Steven Jackson
FB: Mike Karney
WR: Donnie Avery
WR: Laurent Robinson
LT: Alex Barron
LG: Jacob Bell
C: Jason Brown
RG: Richie Incognito
RT: Jason Smith
TE: Randy McMichael
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Leonard Little
DE: Chris Long
DT: Hollis Thomas
DT: Clifton Ryan
LB: Chris Draft
LB: James Laurinaitis
LB: Will Witherspoon
CB: Ron Bartell
CB: Jonathan Wade
FS: Oshiomogho Atogwe
SS: James Butler
Special Teams
K: Josh Brown
P: Donnie Jones
Position Battles:
RT: Adam Goldberg is listed as the starting RT right now, but Jason Smith is going to get the starting spot at a tackle position sometime this year. He is too good to leave on the bench.
Rookies to Watch:
Jason Smith was my pick for first overall selection, so getting him second overall was good for the Rams. He’ll be a cornerstone LT for years to come. He’s got great feet and good size and Bulger and Jackson will both love him. James Laurinaitis will be a solid player at ILB, but I’m not sure he’s ever going to be the dominate player he was in college.
Season Expectations:
It’s going to be a rough year for the Rams yet again. Bulger should get better protection this year which will help his numbers, but he has a ceiling. That ceiling put in place because of the WRs he has to throw too. Donnie Avery is good, after that you’ve got Laurent Robinson, Keenan Burton and Derek Stanley. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Derek Stanley fan (I go to the same school he went too) but those three after Avery don’t instill a lot of confidence in a NFL QB. Luckily they’ve got a great RB so they don’t have to rely on the passing game week to week. The defense shouldn’t be horrible, but they took a big hit with the loss of Adam Carriker so they don’t have the dominate inside guy anymore. Chris Long is a solid DE and little animal should be a decent LB. The secondary has holes, but if we know Spagnuolo, he’ll bring pressure and the secondary holes won’t be as noticeable. It’s still not going to be a pretty year this year.
Seattle Seahawks
Can we get them to change their uniforms any time soon?
Head Coach: Jim Mora Jr.
Offensive Coordinator: Greg Knapp
Defensive Coordinator: Casey Bradley
Special Teams Coordinator: Bruce DeHaven
Chairman: Paul Allen
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Matt Hasselbeck
HB: Julius Jones
FB: Owen Schmitt
WR: Nate Burleson
WR: TJ Houshmandzadeh
LT: Sean Locklear
LG: Rob Sims
C: Steve Vallos
RG: Mansfield Wrotto
RT: Ray Willis
TE: John Carlson
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Cory Redding
DE: Patrick Kerney
DT: Brandon Mebane
DT: Colin Cole
LB: Leroy Hill
LB: Lofa Tatupu
LB: Aaron Curry
CB: Josh Wilson
CB: Ken Lucas
FS: CJ Wallace
SS: Deon Grant
Special Teams
K: Olindo Mare
P: Jon Ryan
Position Battles:
RB: Julius Jones has never thrived as a starting RB, and the Hawks brought in Edge James to compete and take a couple carries. I’d just let Jones take the load, but what do I know. Lots, that’s what.
Rookies to Watch:
Aaron Curry makes this one of the best linebacking group in the league. Hill, Curry, and Tatupu can all lay you out and cover. Max Unger is another pick that I really like as well. He can play anywhere on the O-Line and may develop into a pro-bowl center.
Season Expectations:
Health will be a big role in the team again this year. Hasselbeck has some weapons to throw to so his numbers should go up. I worry about the hawks having all their WRs being about the same thing. Burelson and Housh are both more your possession receiver and they don’t have the deep threat to test the secondary. They are going to expect Deon Butler to be that deep guy but that’s asking a young guy to have a big role in the offense, we’ve seen that work both ways. The defense should be better than last year too. They’ve got talent at every position, but it’s only one deep. If they suffer some injuries they are going to be hurting again. This should be a better year for the Seahawks, but it’s still going to be a struggle to win the division.
