NFC West
The NFC West is home to the reigning NFC Champions who fell flat in the Super Bowl and need to redeem themselves. The Seattle Seahawks with their new addition on defense may stand in their way of doing just that. The Cardinals are just hoping that they have their future quarterback.
Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray or bust. That’s what this season is all about for the Arizona Cardinals. Murray will be paired with first time NFL head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Having a head coach and quarterback with a combined zero games in the NFL could be genius or incredibly dumb. Nobody quite knows what plays Kingsbury is going to call or how Murray’s game will translate into the league.
Expectations are extremely low for this team. The defense probably won’t be very good and it’s already down it’s best player, Patrick Peterson for the first four games of the season. The team is relying on 15 year veteran Terrell Suggs to lead the pass rush. Murray is behind a very shaky offensive line and will likely struggle at points in his first season. Any sign of improvement from last season will be welcomed.
San Francisco 49ers
Similar to the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers are all about Jimmy Garrapolo this season. While he is in his sixth NFL season, nobody is quite sure what to make of the quarterback. Many of those years were spent playing behind Tom Brady and sadly in his first season with the 49ers he suffered a terrible knee injury that kept him off the field for the majority of the season. Now that he is back and healthy, all eyes will be on the $137.5 million man.
In the preseason, Garrapolo had very big highs and very big lows. In the team’s preseason game against the Denver Broncos he posted a 0.0 passer rating. However, just days later in a game against Kansas City, he posted a 116.2 passer rating. This just adds the enigma of Jimmy Garrapolo. Which performance is the real Jimmy?
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks made a big splash recently by landing a guy by the name of Jadeveon Clowney. Opposing offensive lines will have to contain both Clowney and Ezekiel Ansah. Good luck. Very reminiscent of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett during the team’s Super Bowl run in 2013.
Russell Wilson is still under center and continues to win games for this franchise. Wilson is coming off a phenomenal season in which he threw 35 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. If the game is left in Wilson’s hands, there’s a very good chance Seattle will have success. While this team is reminiscent of the 2013 Super Bowl team, it now has to deal with a very good Rams team.
Los Angeles Rams
The defending NFC champions who only managed to scratch out three points in the Super Bowl. Either they come into this season with a fire to prove to the entire league that they’re back and they’re ready to defend that title or they come out flat and defeated and never get on track this season.
One thing is for sure. This team really believes in their quarterback Jared Goff. Just days ago, the Rams locked up their quarterback for four years with a contract worth $134 million with a record setting $110 million guaranteed. The Rams have always viewed Goff as their guy, trading up to the top spot in the 2016 draft just to guarantee they got their guy.
