|
Welcome, friends, to the NFC West. While not exactly a great division, it's at least an interesting one. Teams Arizona Cardinals Los Angeles Rams San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Division titles 49ers -- 19 Rams -- 16 Seahawks -- 8 Cardinals -- 3 Super Bowl appearances (winning years in bold) 49ers -- 6 (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2012) Seahawks -- 3 (2005, 2013, 2014) Rams -- 3 (1979, 1999, 2001) Cardinals -- 1 (2008) For most of the 80s and 90s, this division belonged to the 49ers with everyone else fighting for second place, but the 2002 realignment significantly shook up the power dynamics. The Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints all went to the newly formed NFC South, while the Cardinals came in from the NFC East and the Seahawks moved over from the AFC West. The 2000s was mostly defined by the Seahakws and Rams having memorable battles for the title, while the 49ers kept tripping over their dicks and the Cardinals were the Cardinals. In the early 2010s, things really kicked into high gear when Jim Harbaugh took the San Francisco job and Pete Carroll made his NFL return with the Seahawks. The two coaches reignited their college feud and Seahawks-49ers quickly became one of the best rivalries of the modern era, with awesome games and legitimate hatred between the two. And then Jed York got mad about Harbaugh and everything went to poo poo. Meanwhile, the Cardinals quietly got good for the first time in their history, while the Rams faded into obscurity as the Greatest Show On Turf stars aged out. Despite having numerous high draft picks to build around, the Rams became a laughingstock under Jeff Fisher and moved back to Los Angeles after pummeling St. Louis into apathy. Things got way more interesting in 2017. Sean McVay immediately re-energized the Rams, delivering the team's first playoff appearance since 2003. The 49ers made a bold midseason trade for Jimmy Garoppolo, which paid off with five straight wins to close the season and real upward momentum under Kyle Shanahan. The Seahawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and face questions about their long-term future with an aging core. And the Cardinals are staring down a potential rebuild following the retirements of Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer. If 2017 felt like a changing of the guard in this division, the 2018 offseason solidified it. The 49ers locked up Jimmy G, replaced Carlos Hyde with Jerick McKinnon, and bolstered the offensive line in free agency. The Rams doubled down on their newfound contention window, bringing in Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, and Ndamukong Suh to strengthen the defense. As of this writing, those are the clear two contenders for the division crown in 2018. Meanwhile, the Seahawks said goodbye to the LOB era, trading Michael Bennett, releasing Richard Sherman (who naturally went to the Niners), and letting key pieces like Jimmy Graham and Paul Richardson leave in free agency. The Cardinals signed Sam Bradford, released Tyrann Mathieu, and ... that's about it, really. Seems like they're really banking on a healthy David Johnson to carry them forward. Never a dull moment in the NFC West. Come and post with me as we go on this wild journey together. Benne fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Apr 2, 2018 |
#
¿
Jan 21, 2017 04:44
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 15:39 |
|
|
It's really weird that the NFL aggressively expanded into the South in the 60s, but it took them like 35 years to realize "duh, we should have a South division for the Southern teams."
Benne fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Jan 21, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2017 05:59
|
|
|
Just for fun, here's a look at the divisions before realignment. AFC East Patriots Dolphins Bills Jets Colts AFC Central Steelers Bengals Ravens Browns Titans Jaguars AFC West Broncos Raiders Chiefs Chargers Seahawks NFC East Cowboys Giants Eagles Washington Cardinals NFC Central Packers Vikings Bears Lions Bucs NFC West 49ers Rams Falcons Saints Panthers The Cardinals used to be in Chicago and St. Louis, which explains why they started in the East. The AFC Central got wacky in the 90s -- they needed to put the expansion Jags somewhere, and when the Browns came back the division had 6 teams for a few years. I can't explain why the Falcons and Saints were in the West, other than the East rivalries were cemented and they didn't want to mess things up. Honestly, the NFL is much better off with the new format. The divisions make more geographical sense (aside from the Cowboys in the East but they were never going to break up those rivalry games), the smaller sizes make the title mean more, and scheduling all divisional games in Weeks 16-17 was a stroke of genius. Benne fucked around with this message at 11:12 on Jan 21, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2017 11:10
|
|
|
Super Bowl 50 and WrestleMania 31 will be the only times Levi's Stadium ever sees a champion again
|
|
#
¿
Jan 22, 2017 11:03
|
|
|
The Niners' wild swing of fortunes is kind of crazy over the years. Juggernaut for most of the 80s and 90s. Laughingstock for most of the 00s. Build back up to near-juggernaut status in the 10s, only to immediately go back to laughingstock. Harbaugh's last season was totally surreal. Like all year long we kept getting these random leaks about front office dissent, and I remember the reaction of Niners fans going from "lol no" to "there's no way, they can't be that stupid" to "oh my God it's really happening." Benne fucked around with this message at 09:42 on Jan 25, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2017 09:36
|
|
|
 Still Febreeze's finest work
|
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2017 21:25
|
|
|
Paul Allen is too busy chilling on his yacht to meddle in the front office
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2017 03:00
|
|
|
The thing about the Cardinals for me is, what exactly is the identity of their fanbase? Seahawks fans are smug hipsters, Niners fans are smug tech bros, Rams fans used to be Midwestern hicks and are now frontrunning LA scum. What are Cards fans? How am I supposed to hate them without an easily identifiable stereotype to hone in on? 
Benne fucked around with this message at 09:00 on Jan 26, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2017 08:55
|
|
|
I hated the Broncos in the 90s because gently caress John Elway, but Raiders fans were just behind Cowboys fans as the most obnoxious kids on the playground.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2017 22:04
|
|
|
If Carson Palmer does retire, then what do the Cards do at QB? Do they make a run at Romo, or draft some game-manager type who's only asked to hand the ball off/throw screens to David Johnson? Arizona's kind of in a weird spot right now. On paper the roster looks ready to win now, but they're getting old in some key spots, and if Fitz follows Palmer out the door you have a bare cupboard at WR, with John Brown regressing and Michael Floyd DUI'ing his way out of town. Honey Badger is a game-changing talent, but he hasn't looked the same coming off a second ACL tear, and the Cards need him on top form to make that defense work. A lot of people (myself included) pegged them as title contenders before the season, but they suddenly have more questions than answers right now. Benne fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Feb 1, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2017 06:32
|
|
|
Cutler would actually be an interesting fit in Bruce Arians' "gently caress it go deep" scheme, but he takes too many dumb risks and Arians is an old-school grouch about turnovers, so I doubt he'd be interested.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2017 06:42
|
|
|
For all the talk about Seattle's O-line, cornerback is the position I'm most worried about right now. DeShawn Shead tore his ACL in the playoffs and probably won't be ready for Week 1, and we don't really have a starting-caliber CB2 to step into his place. We need to either find someone in the draft ready to start right away, or overpay a guy like Trumaine Johnson just to make sure that position isn't a total black hole.
Benne fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Feb 15, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2017 06:24
|
|
|
Rotoworld posted:In addition to Matt Schaub, the Sacramento Bee's Matt Barrows names Brian Hoyer as a free agent quarterback the 49ers might pursue. 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2017 07:57
|
|
|
Spoeank posted:Let's be clear here, if the Niners don't get Cousins in FA because of the tag, they're just twiddling their thumbs at QB this year. They'd be better off drafting a guy and throwing him into a "trial by fire" rookie year than going with Brian loving Hoyer
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2017 08:04
|
|
|
Spoeank posted:Oh no the Niners might only win 2 games again next year. This would probably be an easier conversation if the rookie QB class wasn't such a giant ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. If not Cousins, then who? They're sure as poo poo not convincing Romo or Cutler to come over. Maybe take a shot on Glennon?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2017 08:10
|
|
|
Goff is such a weird black box at this moment. Air Raid QBs have a rough track record in the NFL, but at the same time Goff had nothing to work with last year and was basically thrown to the wolves. Maybe a real coaching staff and a scheme not stuck in the 1970s can help him turn around (along with WRs worth a poo poo), but the tape he put on last year was not very encouraging. I mean, his rookie stats were on par with Leaf and JaMarcus, so it's gonna take a lot of work for him to wipe away those comparisons.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 22, 2017 05:39
|
|
|
Speaking of former Seahawks, Breno Giacomini is a FA again, and god drat is our RT position such a black hole that I'm getting nostalgic for Breno loving Giacomini.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 25, 2017 09:48
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/837083512759070720 At least one part of this team will be watchable next year
|
|
#
¿
Mar 2, 2017 00:58
|
|
|
Febreeze posted:Okay, that owns, but I hope they change the uniforms too, otherwise white horns with yellow and blue jerseys will look garbo Good news https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/837468605205757953
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2017 02:53
|
|
|
Febreeze posted:That's not bad. Nice and clean. I was worried they'd keep the shoulder stripe and it would look too close to the colts but they made the whole shoulder blue and made the stripe gold, that's nice. Kind of looks like a uniform Navy would wear. I still wish they went back to the blue/yellow, but the old-school white/blue is a classy style that still holds up today, so it's fine. At least they stopped emphasizing the gold, which always looked like an awkward fit next to the traditional Rams colors.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2017 10:36
|
|
|
Goff will have 14 lovely games and his two good games will inexplicably come against the Seahawks, because that's just how things work in this division.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2017 23:48
|
|
|
I'm tempted to fantasy book Torrey Smith on the Seahawks, but a one-dimensional deep threat is kinda redundant when Tyler Lockett can do more (when healthy). On the other hand, I will gladly take him over Jermaine Kearse.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2017 04:59
|
|
|
If Hope Solo played hockey instead of soccer she'd be the greatest goon of all time (assuming she actually fought the opponents instead of her own teammates in a drunken rage)
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2017 07:23
|
|
|
Even if the Niners get Kirk Cousins, who the gently caress is he throwing to? Jeremy Kerley and Lucky Fans In Section 306, Row 12?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 8, 2017 07:21
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/839564908614324225
|
|
#
¿
Mar 8, 2017 20:58
|
|
|
Eddie Lacy will be fine as long as he never discovers Dick's Drive-In
|
|
#
¿
Mar 10, 2017 03:56
|
|
|
Luke Joeckel sucks but he's probably still an upgrade over Fant at LT. Also the Seahawks are interested in Jared Cook for some loving reason. Benne fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Mar 14, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2017 01:47
|
|
|
Jared Cook is the eternal "if he could just stay consistent ..." tease. That playoff catch will ensure he has a job for life.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2017 05:28
|
|
|
Schwack posted:I assume Cook is just being brought in to show Willson that his replacement would be easy enough to find. I don't think Luke has had any publicized visits yet, has he? Also Jimmy is due $10 million and will be a FA next year, so this could be a leverage play to convince him to sign a team-friendly extension.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2017 07:59
|
|
|
I love Fat Eddie and I'm glad he's on my favorite team now
|
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2017 18:05
|
|
|
Who cares about Eddie's weight when he can do rad poo poo like this
|
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2017 18:18
|
|
|
Every Chinese food truck in the country is relocating to Seattle as we speak
|
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2017 21:10
|
|
|
Seattle and San Francisco both have big Asian communities, I'm guessing that's where the teriyaki craze started before white people took it nationwide.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2017 04:29
|
|
|
I could see them trying to restructure Sherman in the next year or so, but trading him now is essentially selling low. Also Michael Lombardi is a dummy but y'all already knew that.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2017 06:06
|
|
|
Water wet, sky blue, Seahawks trade out of the first round again 
|
|
#
¿
Apr 28, 2017 06:36
|
|
|
The Bears got outsmarted by a Fox Sports B-list announcer
|
|
#
¿
May 3, 2017 01:19
|
|
|
Do the Cardinals even run a traditional 3-4? I was always under the impression they mix and match depending on the players, with an emphasis on position-versatile guys like Honey Badger, Bucannon and now Budda Baker.
|
|
#
¿
May 6, 2017 04:17
|
|
|
 EDDIE LACY MAYBE NOT FAT ALERThttps://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/864162764675264513
|
|
#
¿
May 15, 2017 18:52
|
|
|
Is there anything in sports more lame than "Conference Champions" merch? Even the players look embarrassed to be wearing those shirts after winning the game.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2017 07:31
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 15:39 |
|
|
Jared Goff has a lot more problems than being stuck with Fisher for a year
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2017 19:34
|
|