Now, many say that predicting the NFL season is like trying to win the Idaho lottery: it’s pretty much a crapshoot.   In the past, I’ve experienced that for myself.   And it’s easy to see why: there are only sixteen games in a season, teams can get really hot or really cold really fast, players can go down with season-ending injuries, others come from out of nowhere to make a name for themselves, etc.   You can go on and on with any number of reasons why the NFL is so hard to predict.   But yet, we media members are going to go right ahead and predict it anyway.

So, without further ado, I bring to you my annual NFL prediction columns.   As we head out into the preseason, I will take a look at the NFL, division-by-division.   I’ll give you my thoughts on each team in that division, why I think that team will/won’t be any good this season, and give you an estimated order of finish in that division, one through four.

Yesterday, I started the show, so to speak, with the NFC North, perhaps the weakest division in football yet again.   Today, a division that once held that title, the NFC West, will be my topic of the day.   And much like the NFC North, the NFC West also is proud to be the home of a recent NFC Champion, the Seattle Seahawks.

Arizona Cardinals

Head Coach : Ken Whisenhunt is in his first year as an NFL head coach after spending the previous three as an offensive coordinator to Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh.

Offense : offensively, if the Cardinals are ever to shake the label of being the Los Angeles Clippers of the NFL, a franchise so embarrassing that fans have to show up with paper bags covering their faces, this is the year that it has to be done!   Edgerrin James is still peaking, the new head coach just spent three years as an offensive coordinator, and, oh yeah, there’s that Matt Leinart kid who is now entering his second year in the NFL.   He’ll still have Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and Bryant Johnson (underrated wideout, BTW) to throw the ball to, so this is it.   Granted, the Cards didn’t do much to improve that bad offensive line, but hopefully, the draft selection of Levi Brown will be enough to change the landscape of the line, and Whisenhunt can get them to play differently.

Defense : another area that the Cardinals have struggled with since…umm…ever?   Their defensive line is still suspect, their linebacker unit is still Karlos Dansby and a bunch of people nobody’s ever heard of, and their secondary doesn’t look that great on paper, either.   However, the additions of defensive backs Terrance Holt and Roderick Hood will hopefully change all of that…at least, in regards to the secondary.

Overall : the only way to truly build a franchise is by taking baby steps.   Any true football fan cannot, and should not, expect Matt Leinart to transform into Joe Montana overnight.   It’s going to take some time, and I think this season will be a great start.   Hey, let’s look at this in a positive light: at least the Cardinals are finishing higher than last place this season.

Prediction : 3^rd in NFC West, won’t make the playoffs

San Francisco 49ers

Head Coach : Mike Nolan

Offense : this season could be the coming out party that Alex Smith has needed.   Granted, half of his offensive line may be falling apart, and I’m still not sold on Frank Gore as an elite NFL running back, but Smith has three things going for him: one, they did draft Joe Staley out of Central Michigan, which is nice; two, they acquired wideouts Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie, giving Smith two more targets to throw to; and three, they also went out and acquired quarterback Trent Dilfer.   Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying Dilfer and Smith are going to have a quarterback controversy in the Bay.   This is still Alex Smith’s team.   But, Trent Dilfer is a class act, a great leader, and can show Alex the ropes and maybe get him to play with more poise and composure.   So this should be the year Alex Smith breaks out of that timid shell and becomes a leader in the NFL.

Defense : anytime you have Derek Smith as one of your top linebackers, that doesn’t suck very much.   However, the rest of the defense just might.   Yes, they did draft Patrick Willis from Mississippi, and they did go and acquire former Eagles safety Michael Lewis.   But, the defensive line is suspect at best, and Bryant Young probably shouldn’t even be out there.   I remember watching that guy when I was in high school…a freshman in high school.   But, all jokes aside, maybe the rookies they drafted will help out in this regard.   I just don’t see it happening.

Overall : I still believe that this is the year Alex Smith starts to come out of his shell, instead of being shell-shocked all the time, but the defense just doesn’t have enough to compete.   They won’t make the playoffs, but they will finish higher than both St. Louis and Arizona.

Prediction : 2^nd in NFC West, won’t make the playoffs

Seattle Seahawks

Head Coach : Mike Holmgren

Offense : with exception to Darrell Jackson, the regular cast of characters for the most part is back.   Matt Hasselbeck is once again behind center leading the charge, flanked closely by former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, with Deion Branch and Nate Burleson once again at the wideout positions.   To top that off, they added tight end Marcus Pollard, who may be getting old but still has some juice left.   Plus, they didn’t do much to disassemble the offensive line, so they should be okay there.

Defense : not only did Seattle maintain a lot of their key guys on defense, including linebacker Julian Peterson and defensive backs Jordan Babineaux, Marcus Trufant, and Michael Boulware, but the Seahawks also went out and got two more key defensive players: safety Brian Russell from the Browns and defensive lineman Patrick Kerney from the Falcons.   Top to bottom, this may be the best defense in the division.

Overall : if the bodies don’t start going down left and right like they started to last season, and if the defense can step it up, I honestly think this team can once again become a serious player in the playoffs.   There’s no question in my mind that they will win the division, but the question remains, “Is another Super Bowl run left in these guys?”   You never know.

Prediction : NFC West Division Champions

St. Louis Rams

Head Coach : Scott Linehan

Offense : with exception to a couple of minor losses, the same offensive unit is back again.   Marc Bulger is once again behind center, and he does have his two legendary targets in wideouts Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.   Steven Jackson is once again the top running back in the depth chart.   However, Marshall Faulk has retired, and Adam Timmerman and Kevin Curtis are gone.   However, fear not, Rams fans.   They still have Stephen Davis, they acquired Travis Minor (just in case Jackson and Davis go down), and they got Bulger more targets: former Dolphins TE Randy McMichael, former Titans WR Drew Bennett, and former Chiefs WR/KR/PR “The X-Factor” Dante Hall.   So not only is their passing game more amped-up than ever, they have perhaps their best special teams player since Az-Zahir Hakim.

Defense : on top of keeping their top three defensive linemen (Leonard Little, La’Roi Glover, and Jimmy Kennedy), they drafted defensive lineman Adam Carriker from Nebraska, and traded for defensive lineman James Hall.   Furthermore, their linebacker unit remains strong, as Pisa Tinoisamoa, Dexter Coakley, and Will Witherspoon have returned.   Their secondary, however, is not that good.   The hope in St. Louis, I’m sure, is that the defensive line and linebackers will make the secondary’s job a little easier.

Overall : the offense can put some points on the board, no question.   They’re going to score touchdowns.   The real key factor for this team will be its defensive unit, and I just think that there are just too many players, particularly on the defensive line, that may be on the decline this season.   I think management senses the same thing; otherwise they wouldn’t have drafted Carriker.   Get used to seeing the tailfeathers of those Cardinals, Rams fans, because the cellar will be where your team is going.

Prediction : 4^th in NFC West, won’t make the playoffs

So, looking at everything overall, here’s how the NFC West shapes up:

1.)      Seahawks

2.)      49ers

3.)      Cardinals

4.)      Rams

RaulCBK@comcast.net

Tomorrow, it’s time to go south…the NFC South, that is, as it could either be a dogfight (no pun intended) or a runaway race with the Saints marching all the way back to the top.