We continue to overview the NFL Divisions as Training Camp nears.
We previously looked at:
NFC South
NFC East
NFC North
NFC West
2023 Standings
San Francisco 12-5
Los Angeles 10-7
Seattle 9-8
Arizona 4-13
The Rams lost by 1 in the Wild Card Round at Detroit.
San Francisco beat Green Bay in the Divisional Round, and Detroit in the NFC Championship, prior to losing in OT to Kansas City in the Super Bowl last February.
2024 Current Over / Under Projected Win Totals
San Francisco 11.5
Los Angeles 8.5
Seattle 7.5
Arizona 6.5
Quick Hits
49ers – The Niners can absolutely get back to the Super Bowl. They outscored the opposition by 193 points last year. They had 9 players reach the Pro Bowl, with 7 players being All-Pros. Like the Ravens, the ’23 Niners were one of the Top 10 teams every by DVOA. The Offensive Line is not great. The Secondary is not great. The skill position talent is amazing. Brock Purdy might be a system QB, but he’s shown an ability to operate this offense at a very high level. Get the ball out, and let the weapons make plays in space. It would be highly surprising to me if they didn’t win the West, and they are clearly one of the prohibitive favorites to win it all.
Rams – LA won their last 4 games in the regular season, and threw a scare into the Lions in the Wild Card round. Puka Nacua was a 5th round draft pick, who threw up 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards in his rookie year. Kyren Williams was a 5th round pick in ’22, that had 1,100 yards rushing at 5 yards a clip, with 12 tds on the ground. Added another 3 as a receiver. There are concerns about his foot though. Sean McVay can scheme up offense. Matt Stafford looked like Matt Stafford down the stretch. Cooper Kupp didn’t look like 2021 Cooper Kupp, but he’s now a year further removed from the ankle surgery which ended his ’22 season. That’s a good group. I’d expect Rookie RB Blake Corum to be used in interesting ways and add to the mix. Defensively, Aaron Donald retired, and there is no way to spin that. He was still an All-Pro last year. They did select a pair of Florida State Seminoles Jared Verse, and Braden Fiske with their 1st and 2nd round selections to aid their Defensive Line and add to Byron Young, and Kobie Turner. In addition to losing Donald, they also lost last year’s Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris who is the new HC of the Falcons. Every write-up I see on LA says the defensive depth overall has been improved, even while losing Donald. One other thing I like about the Rams is that with Jimmy Garoppolo, and Stetson Bennett; I think they have two backup QBs who could stand in for multiple weeks if Stafford misses games (8 game season in ’19, 9 game season in ’22, 15 game season in ’23). To be clear, Stafford gives the Rams upside, but the backups I think are good enough to keep you afloat for a couple of games.
Seahawks – With RB Kenneth Walker III, and WR’s DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba; Seattle has an offensive core that can compete with most anyone. If you felt better about the QBs – Geno Smith and Sam Howell – and their O-Line, there’d be more excitement about their weapons. Smith played a total of 15 games during 2015-2021; before breaking out in ’22 with a huge year. There was a step back in ’23 (and he missed two games) but Smith was still useful enough last year. Similar to Purdy in SF, he just needs to get the ball out and give his guys a chance to make plays. Howell had a ton of picks last year in Washington, but there is some talent there. If Smith has any further regression or injury; Howell could wind-up getting regular starts. The Offensive Line wasn’t good enough last year, and looks like it is again a question. The Defensive Line looks strong though, and they added 1st rounder DT Byron Murphy II. They also added former Ravens DC Mike Macdonald as their new Head Coach. Macdonald had talented personnel here in Baltimore last year, but also feel like he out schemed competition. Will be interesting to see him as newest NFC West wunderkind HC behind Shanahan, and McVay. Beyond having a strong D-Line, Macdonald also has talent in his Secondary which should give him Seattle opportunities to be very aggressive defensively.
Cardinals – It’s Year 2 for Arizona Head Coach Jonathan Gannon. It’s Year 6 for Arizona QB Kyler Murray. Over the last three years, Murray has played 14 games, 11 games, and 8 games. Any chance of the Cardinals improving to respectability starts with Murray staying on the field and available. If that’s possible, and you team him with Rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr, TE Trey McBride, and RB’s James Conner and Trey Benson; they could be more competitive than the existing expectations. Helping in that scenario is the O-Line looks to be pretty solid. Rookie EDGE Darius Robinson, and CB Max Melton should provide some immediate help to the defense.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.