The referees in stripes looked more like the convicts in stripes during last year’s Super Bowl as they helped steal the Lombardi Trophy from the Seattle Seahawks so they could pawn it to the Pittsburgh-kind of Steeler.
This season, the Seahawks will return to the playoffs and end a five-year drought for NFC champions. None of the past five NFC champs have been able to return to the playoffs in the subsequent year, a trend that the Seahawks will reverse this year. The Seahawks will coast to their third-straight divisional title, although they should get a little more pressure in the division than the 6-10 Rams were able to apply last year.
1. Seattle Seahawks (11-5)
It only takes three letters to express how good Shaun Alexander is: M-V-P. It’s a shame that Alexander is virtually hidden up in the Pacific Northwest, because if he played in New York, Dallas or Denver, the nation would have a chance to watch this guy on a regular basis.
Alexander is not the only player that makes Seattle’s offense go; he has one of the most underrated quarterbacks on his team. Matt Hasselbeck slings the football to Bobby Engram and Darrell Jackson with one of the highest ratings in the league. Engram and Jackson give Hasselbeck a couple of excellent targets, making Holmgren’s offense one of the best in the league. The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” defines the Seahawks. It may surprise some to hear this, but the Seahawks averaged more points than any other team in the league last year.
The Seahawks also sacked the opposing quarterback 50 times last year, which was better than any other team in the league. Interestingly, they didn’t have one single player reach double digits, meaning that Seattle gets pressure from all over.
Seattle doesn’t have the cake-walk schedule that it had last year, and the ‘Hawks will not go undefeated against the division as they did in 2005, but the Seahawks will win the division when they beat Arizona in Week 14.
2. Arizona Cardinals (9-7)
Arizona will literally have an edge as the Cards try to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1998. The Cardinals pulled Edgerrin James away from the Colts in the offseason, which potentially makes the Cardinals one of the most exciting teams to watch in 2006.
Time has distanced Kurt Warner from his two MVP seasons, but the Cardinals will hope he still has some proverbial gas left in the proverbial tank. Warner has two of the most exciting young receivers in the game today.
Larry Fitzgerald is quickly making the Cardinals look brilliant for taking a receiver third overall in the 2004 draft. Fitzgerald’s route-mate Anquan Boldin gives the Cardinals one of the most explosive 1-2 punches in the NFL. James’ ability to establish a running game in Phoenix will help make the passing game wide open. Fitzgerald and Boldin should both go for more than 1,000 yards apiece his year.
As good as the Cardinals’ offense is, it will need to put points on the board to help keep its defense off the field. The defense is not abysmal, but the less it is on the field the better Dennis Green is going to feel about his chances. Kleenex is better at preventing a sexually transmitted disease than the Cardinals are at stopping opposing teams from putting numbers on the scoreboard.
3. St. Louis Cardinals: (6-10)
The self-proclaimed “Greatest Show on Earth” has long since packed up the clowns and elephants and moved onto greener pastures.
Steven Jackson is a similar back to Larry Johnson in that he is a north-south power runner who can also bust to the outside and make linebackers miss. Mark Bulger is an above-average quarterback who can still deliver the ball to Issac Bruce and Tory Holt. Bruce seems to be aging a bit, and even though Holt missed two games last year, he still caught more than 100 balls and racked up his seventh straight 1,300-yard receiving yard season.
Besides having talent at the offensive skill positions, the Rams look pretty depleted everywhere else, and unless Jeff Wilkins learns to make 70-yard field goals, the Rams won’t be able to score enough points to win most games.
The Rams will not repeat their 1-5 division record of last year, but their schedule does not leave Rams fans jumping for joy. Besides having to play Seattle twice, the Rams play tough home games against Denver, K.C., Chicago and Washington. The Rams also have to go on the road to play San Diego, Carolina and Green Bay, which is a hard road game no matter how many picks Brett Favre throws. Plain and simple, the schedule doesn’t invite much optimism for a rebuilding team.
4. San Francisco 49ers (2-14)
I know Utah has traditionally had a lot of 49ers fans because of the locality and the fact that one of its beloved sons led the 49ers to a championship. And even though the Alex Smith now plays for San Francisco, how long can Utah, or anyone for that matter, continue its allegiance to the 49ers?
Try and answer this question honestly. How many 49ers players, besides Alex and receiver Antonio Smith, can you name-one? Maybe two? Now look at its roster, how many players do you recognize?
There are really only two questions the 49ers need to ask themselves. How ridiculous will it look if we just stuff Alex Smith’s helmet with goose down pillows to try and cut down on the inevitable concussions that lie ahead, and how do we make it look like we are actually trying to avoid the worst record in the NFL this year?
The 49ers won’t win more than three times this year, and I will tell you where those wins will come from. They will beat Oakland, they will barely beat the Lions in Detroit, and they will win the first overall pick in the 2007 draft. Week one might not be too soon for the 49ers to seriously start looking at film for the Class of 2007.