OK, round two, and we’re going to the NFC side of things to the division where the defending NFC Champion sits; welcome to the NFC West. And for the last time (maybe not), thank you to the 49ers for losing me a lot of money in the Super Bowl; really appreciate that guys. Losing their CB early in that game definitely hurt them; still thought they’d be able to pull it out, but… I guess reviewing OT rules will be a priority in the offseason? The thing is… everybody is back, right? Purdy, CMac, Deebo, Aiyuk… the defense is still very good; they were missing that safety too. Half the starting secondary missing for most of the Super Bowl against Mahomes and Reid? I guess that helps explain it. I like Purdy, and the Niners should be right back at the top of the NFC, but… how many times can they get there and lose? One more time?
As far as the rest of the division… the Los Angeles Rams will be returning without Aaron Donald, who some say is one of the greatest defensive players ever, but you know, recency bias… Still, a big blow to the middle of that D. Honestly, I thought Stafford was over the hill, but he looked pretty decent last year. Kupp will be back healthy to join rising star Puka. If Matt could still sling it, well, maybe? Their RB isn’t too shabby either. But the defense… without Donald… Niners still outclass them IMO.
If the Niners still outclass the Rams, then how about the Seahawks? Geno Smith returns with a new head coach, but still with plenty of good WRs. I love Witherspoon in the secondary, but the rest of the defense doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies. So both the Rams and Seahawks may be lacking on defense against the Niners potent offense? Yeah, still looking for a team that will push the Niners in the West.
This brings us to the Cardinals. Spoiler alert: they won’t dethrone San Francisco either. Although with the return of a healthy Murray and Maserati Marv coming into the fold, maybe they can make a little noise. The thing I’m most interested in with the Cardinals is how they’re going to fare Week 1 in Buffalo. The Bills will be one of the most picked teams in survivor pools across the country; will they be ours?
That was a little weak… not a whole lot of meat on these bones, but so what? Even the Chiefs with their greatness will be challenged more in their division than the Niners will be in theirs. The Niners will punch their ticket to the playoffs with another division crown, but that’s not the crown they’re really interested in. Can Purdy be that guy, like Montana, like Young before him, and bring home a Super Bowl back to the Bay? Next.
Leave a Reply