The NFC West - From Worst To First?

Back in 2010, the NFC West became the first division in NFL history to have a division champion with a losing record. Since winning an NFL division grants a team an automatic berth in the playoffs, the 2010 Seattle Seahawks won the division with just a 7-9 record, showing off the pure awfulness of the NFC West. The Seahawks weren’t a bad team, but they had no place in the playoffs. With a one-dimensional offense and a pedestrian defense, the Seahawks had absolutely no place in the playoffs.

The only reason they made it was due to the other teams in their division. The St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Arizona Cardinals offered nothing to the division. They were untalented and poorly coached, but because of the parity of poor football in the league, they all competed for the division title. The NFC West had branded itself as not only the worst division in football, but the worst division in all of sports.

Fast forward to the 2013 season. The NFC West is arguably to most exciting and intriguing league in football. The West has two Super Bowl contenders in Seattle and San Francisco, and two competitive teams in the Cardinals and Rams, who could legitimately beat anyone on any given Sunday and would arguably make the playoffs if they were in a different division. The West has a plethora of explosive playmakers, suffocating defenses, and high profile head coaches. So how did it all change so quickly? What were the factors from making it the worst division in the league, to possibly the best division in the league?

Quarterback Play

One of the recipes for success in the NFL is quality quarterback play. In 2010, the quarterback play in the West was absolutely horrendous. Seahawks veteran Matt Hasselbeck and Rams rookie Sam
Bradford were the only consistent starters for their respective teams. Now the West has four quality starting quarterbacks, highlighted by Pro Bowl caliber standouts in Russell Wilson for the Seahawks and Colin Kaepernick for the 49ers.

Wilson, the third-round steal of the 2012 draft, has started every game for the Seahawks since the start of his rookie season in 2012. In his rookie campaign, Wilson threw for 3,118 yards and 26 touchdowns, as well as completing over 64% of his passes. Wilson also showed his dual-threat capability, rushing for 489 yards and four touchdowns. Wilson’s incredible versatility makes it so hard for defenses to stop him. He is great both in and out of the pocket and his ability to go out of I-formation, read-option, or shotgun sets make him a nightmare to prepare for.

In week 10 of the 2012 season, Kaepernick replaced the injured Alex Smith in a game against the Rams. In that short amount of time, Kaepernick has established himself as one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league. Kaepernick led the 49ers to a 5-2 record to finish off the season and put up record setting numbers in the playoffs to lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl. Kaepernick’s world-class athleticism makes him San Francisco’s biggest weapon. His running ability in zone-read and pistol formation sets make him one of the most unique and dangerous quarterbacks in the league. Last season he also proved that he can throw the ball with accuracy as well, throwing for 1,814 yards and completing over 62% of his passes.

The other two quarterbacks in this league are not too shabby by any stretch of the imagination. The Cardinals, Carson Palmer, is in his first year with the team and is already a much needed
improvement for the team. Since the retirement of Kurt Warner in 2009, the Cardinals had not been able to find a reliable quarterback until Palmer was traded to the team from the Oakland Raiders. The two-time Pro Bowler has thrown for 1,483 yards to start the 2013 season.

Bradford, the only remaining West starting
quarterback from the 2010 season, has also show his ability to play well in this league. The former #1 overall pick and 2010 NFL Rookie of the Year winner has instilled hope in a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004. Even though he has suffered several injuries in his short career, he has had a strong start to the 2013 season, throwing for 1,432 yards and 13 touchdowns in just six games.

Sam Bradford and Carson Palmer Face Similar Challenges

 Carson Palmer knows what it's like to be the savior. In 2003, the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Palmer, fresh off winning the Heisman Trophy at USC, to turn their franchise around. The hopes and dreams of a city hinged on his performance.

In his second full season as the Bengals' starter, Palmer threw for 32 touchdowns and nearly 4000 yards in leading Cincinnati to its first playoff appearance in 15 years. But just two plays into their first round playoff matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Palmer's left knee met Kimo Von Oelhoffen's helmet, shredding his ligaments.

Palmer fought his way back through rehab and was able to start the 2006 season, but was clearly never the same quarterback. The Bengals would reach the playoffs just once more during Palmer's tenure with the Bengals.

Palmer held out during the 2011 preseason, hoping to force Bengal owner Mike Brown's hand into trading or releasing him. Eventually, Brown worked a deal that sent Palmer to Oakland where Palmer went 8-16 in a season and a half as the team's starter.

Now Palmer is in Arizona, at age 33 still trying to fulfill the promise of being the first overall draft pick. That's why he can relate to Sam Bradford.

First Round Winners and Losers: Veteran Edition

The dynasty value of a player can change at a moments notice throughout the regular season or even in the off-season. This is especially true during the last weekend in April when the annual NFL Draft is held in New York City. This year is no different as we saw draft picks who will have a great impact on the value of not only the incoming rookies, but also the veterans already a part of teams. Let’s take a look at some of the specific players whose value might be on the rise or on the decline as a result of a draft pick in the first round.

The Pick: Tavon Austin, WR STL (1.08)

The Rams moved up to select the first offensive skill position player of the draft and made diminutive wide receiver Tavon Austin that choice. Austin’s value has been steadily on the rise throughout the off-season and he should get a chance to start immediately for the Rams, as well as play a crucial role on special teams.

The Winner: Sam Bradford, QB STL

The Rams have tried for the past couple of years to get their franchise quarterback Sam Bradford some offensive weapons. In fact, they have drafted two wide receivers in each of the past two drafts (and this year would continue that trend). Rather than relying on those former draft picks, the Rams have shown they are serious by making moves in free agency and now the choice of Austin. With the weapons he now has on offense, Bradford has no excuse not to be a top quarterback in the NFL and in fantasy leagues. Bradford has never finished higher than QB20 in his three-year career, but now is his time to prove himself. His dynasty stock will see a nice jump in value and expect his ADP to rise as a result. He is now a high upside QB2.

The Loser: Chris Givens, WR STL
A good friend of mine who does a great job of studying every game played throughout the regular season shared something interesting with me after the Austin pick was made. My initial thought was that wide receiver Chris Givens would not be greatly affected by the Austin addition since he is used more as a deep threat, scoring several deep touchdowns in his rookie season. What my friend told me (and what I didn’t realize) was that many of Givens’ targets and catches came from bubble screens. It is natural to assume that Austin will come in and steal many of those targets. Givens’ dynasty value takes a slight ding with the addition of Austin, but unfortunately, this would not be the last time he makes our list.

St. Louis Rams Continue to Improve in 30-20 Loss

A lot of football heads apply the term “garbage time” to a team that finds any offensive success while attempting to come back from a deficit of two touchdowns or more late in the fourth quarter. The St. Louis Rams found success in garbage time, as Sam Bradford found an open Austin Pettis in the back of the end zone with 19 seconds left in the game.

However, it was garbage time. The touchdown simply made the final score a little prettier, but the 30-20 victory for the Green Bay Packers wasn't as pleasing to the eye of Rams fans.

After struggling for much of the first few weeks, Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned to form last week against a staunch Houston Texans defense. Rodgers continued to look normal — by his own extremely-high standard — against the Rams’ defense, completing 30 of his 37 pass attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns.