The NFC West changed hands quickly with the 2019 champion San Francisco 49ers going from 1st to worst due to massive injuries and a very difficult schedule. This division is by far the most interesting one for me for 2021 being that the Rams made a huge move at quarterback. The 49ers now have an easier schedule and should be a lot healthier, while the Seahawks still have Russell Wilson. The Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray are looking to improve when they barley missed the playoffs last year due to their loss to the Rams at the end of the season. The NFC West has to play the AFC South and the NFC North which should be relatively easier than the other NFC teams.
1. Seattle Seahawks – Win Total 9.5 juiced to the over -125
Seattle’s Power Rating: 2.75
Schedule – Medium Easy – At large vs New Orleans, @ Washington, @ Pittsburgh
Key losses: CB Shaquill Griffen, DT Jarran Reed, CB Quinton Dunbar
Key additions: DE Kerry Hyder, TE Gerald Everette, CB Akello Witherspoon
Key draft pick: WR Duane Eskridge
Summary: Here we go again with the immensely over-achieving Russel Wilson led Seahawks. Wait… I said that last year as well. Seattle had one of the worst defenses in the league last year and they still haven’t made a switch off defensive coordinator Ken Norton. This team really didn’t do anything much in free agency and they only had about 3 draft picks last year due to poor trades. The good news for Seattle is that they have a very easy schedule for team playing their at large game vs New Orleans who is fresh out of fa-Breese. Seattle’s Pythagorean winning percentage was much lower than their actual wins of 12 games in 2020. Part of that was due to an easier schedule and a clutch Russell Wilson. Even with the minimal upgrades to this team, the schedule puts my wins at 10.1 but it isn’t enough to make a play.
My number: 10.1
Action – No Play
2. LA RAMS – Win total 10 juiced to the over -140
LA Rams power rating: 5.
Schedule: Medium Hard – At large games vs Tampa Bay, @ NY Giants, @ Baltimore
Key losses: QB Jared Goff, S Jon Johnson, OLB Samson Ebukam, CB Troy Hill, DE Morgan Fox, TE Gerald Everett and a few more.
Key additions: QB Matthew Stafford, WR DeShawn Jackson
Key Draft Picks: WR Tutu Atwell, and a bunch of meh
Summary: For whatever that the Rams gained by getting Matthew Stafford in that massive trade with the Lions, this team lost on defense. The Rams have acquired over the years some high priced players and that never bodes well for free agency and my biggest issue is the Rams not having a lot of top draft picks over the years. What the Rams at least retain is their great coach in Sean McVeigh. Maybe he will be enough to live up to all the hype that this team is getting, but I really do not trust their defense as much as last year after losing a few keys players and it also looks like their schedule will be the hardest one in this division. Lots of this might not matter because Stafford was brought in for the playoffs and that is what is really important here. Let’s see if he moves the needle come that time.
My Number: 10.76
Action – No Play
3. Arizona Cardinals – Win Total 8.5 juiced to the under -130
Arizona Cardinals Power Rating: 2
Schedule – Medium – At large games vs Carolina, @ Dallas and @ Cleveland
Key losses: CB Patrick Peterson, RB Kenyon Drake, OLB Hassan Reddick, DE Angelo Blackson, OLB Devondre Campbell
Key additions: DE JJ Watt, WR AJ Green, CB Malcomb Butler, RB James Conner, SS Shawn Williams
Key Draft Picks: LB Zaven Collins, WR Rondale Moore, CB Marco Wilson
Summary: Kyler Murray is coming into his 3rd year and the team has made some big time moves. Does that mean that the moves were the right ones? Well, I am not that sure. Hassan Reddick is gone and I thought he was worth keeping around. I really thought Patrick Peterson was washed up so I agreed with him going. I really like the additions of JJ Watt and AJ Green, but the big problem for me is that the Cardinals really didn’t fix their defensive line all that much to stop the run. Arizona ranked 21st in opponent rushing yards per game and the only reason that it wasn’t higher was due to some of the shootouts that this team was involved in. The good news is that I do not think that this team got worse as a whole, and if they actually are able to stop the run this year, they might be that surprise team in this division. JJ Watt will be the leader of this defense and there is some young talent with Simmons in his second year and a great draft pick in Zaven Collins across from him. My number is close to the win total.
My Number: 8.56
Action – Lean Over
4. San Francisco 49ers – Win total is 10 juiced to the over -125
San Francisco 49ers Power Rating: 2.25
Schedule – Easy – At large games vs Atlanta, @ Philadelphia, @ Cincinnati
Key losses: QB Jimmy Garopollo?, DE Kerry Hyder, CB Akello Witherspoon, DE Solomon Thomas, WR Marquise Goodwin, Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh,
Key additions: C Alex Mack, OLB Samson Ebukam, WR Mohammed Sanu
Key Draft Picks: QB Trey Lance, G Aaron Banks, RB Trey Sermon
Summary: What the hell is this team doing and why the hell did they move up this far to draft Trey Lance? I must say that being only 1 year out of the Super bowl, the San Francisco 49ers are looking quite desperate by giving up an extra 2 first round draft picks for a young quarterback that didn’t even play in 2020, and maybe even worse, didn’t even play in the FBS. This is a massive head scratcher to me. It isn’t hard to see what Mike Shannahan and John Lynch feel about Jimmy G. Come to think of it, we also kind of saw their thoughts on him during last 2 minutes in the Super bowl vs the Chiefs in 2020. In my opinion, I think making this move when a team is ready to win now is Ludacris. Plus, the 49ers might have gotten Lance anyways by waiting for pick 12. Either way, I highly doubt that Jimmy Garoppolo, who is set to make over 20 Million this year doesn’t really appreciate what happened here. I would be shocked if he is playing for this team by the start of the season. The good thing for this team is that their adjusted Pythagorean winning percentage is at 8.7 compared to their adjusted 2020 wins of 6.38 That tells me they underachieved and could win a lot of games IF Jimmy G stays or Trey Lance proves me wrong. I have to assume Garoppolo stays for now but I won’t make a play.
My Number: 10.54
Action: Lean over
