At long last it’s the final installment of my 2016 NFL preview. I saved the best for last as the NFC West takes center stage. This division features two of the best teams in football (Arizona and Seattle) and will make for the best divisional race in 2016. The Rams made a big trade to nab the number one pick in the draft, starred in this season of Hard Knocks, and moved back to Los Angeles, what that means on the field remains to be seen. The Chip Kelly NFL experiment now resides in San Francisco and faces numerous challenges in his first season. Those are just the quick hits from this division; let’s take a deeper look at the NFC West.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals had a statement season in 2015, going 13-3 en route to winning the NFC West. This team featured one of the best offenses in the league and a dangerous defense. Both sides of the ball look virtually the same from last year, which is a bad thing for the rest of the league. Offensively this team was juggernaut, attacking defenses aggressively downfield. All of the key players are back and ready to go this season, including Carson Palmer to run the show. The x-factor for the Cards will be running back David Johnson, who burst onto the scene late last season and is drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer, Marshall Faulk. This offense looks like it will pick up right where it left off in 2015, and potentially even more dangerous. Health is the only thing that could hold this offense back as quarterback Carson Palmer is prone to getting banged up over the course of the season.

Playing in complement to this lethal offense is an equally dangerous defense. This unit ranked in the top-ten statistically last season and has the makings of getting even better. Arizona traded for linebacker Chandler Jones in the offseason and drafted defensive end Robert Nkemdiche to bolster an already formidable front-seven. The healthy return of Tyrann Mathieu to the secondary only adds to the firepower of this unit. I expect big things out of Arizona on defense, even more than this vaunted offense.

Barring injury, Arizona is a lock for the playoffs. Whether they win the division and push for home field, or have to gut out a Wild Card run will come down to the pivotal games with Seattle.

Seattle Seahawks

Last season saw the rest of the NFC catch up to Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. They went from being a play away from repeating as champions in 2014 to getting stunned by Carolina in the Divisional round in the playoffs. A season-ending injury to Marshawn Lynch prepared Seattle for his retirement in the offseason. With all the bad news out of the way, these are still the Seahawks and Russell Wilson is still at the helm. Wilson was magnificent last season and continued to show improvement as he climbs up the rankings of the league’s best signal callers. He has three dynamic receivers to get the ball to in Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockette, and Jermaine Kearse. Filling in for “Beast Mode” at running back will be a combination of Thomas Rawls and Christine Michael. Rawls looked great last season prior to an injury, while Michael finally looks like he’s living up to his potential. Now if only Pete Carroll and his staff can figure out the chemistry issues with Jimmy Graham they would really have a potentially unstoppable offense on their hands.

If you’ve watched the NFL the last three season then you already know what the story is with Seattle on defense. The Legion of Boom is back once again to terrorize opposing offenses. The combination of Richard Sherman, Cam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas make this the best secondary in the game. Linebacker Bobby Wagner mans the middle of the defense while Michael Bennett wreaks havoc on the defensive line. This will be the strength of Seattle once again this season.

Like I mentioned with Arizona, Seattle should be a lock for the playoffs. Right now I’m giving a slight edge to Arizona for the division crown, but it will all come down to the two head-to-head matchups between these two teams.

Los Angeles Rams

I’m still getting used to writing Los Angeles, but the Rams big move this offseason brought them to the bright lights of Hollywood (well not exactly Hollywood, but you get the point). The Rams then traded up to select California quarterback Jared Goff with the top pick in the draft (although he won’t be ready to play just yet). Aside from that nothing has really changed. Offensively, LA will be looking to pound the ball with Todd Gurley, then use speedster Tavon Austin in gimmick plays to surprise the defense. Case Keenum will be at the helm until coach Jeff Fisher decides to make the move to Goff. If that happens, this season will have already been lost for the Rams.

Defensively, you can’t deny what the Rams have put together. This is one of the best defensive lines in football led by All-Pro Aaron Donald in the middle. It’s a unit on par with some of the best defenses in the league talent-wise. They make it tough to score points and force turnovers. Sounds like a recipe for success right? Well yes and no. The front-seven are tough to beat, but losses in the secondary in free agency leave the back-end vulnerable. Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod left for greener pastures and will be extremely difficult to replace.

This is a Jeff Fisher led team, and they’ll likely be flirting with the .500 mark all season long. Sorry coach, I know you don’t want to go 7-9 again, but there isn’t much here to put you over the top.

San Francisco 49ers

Now I could take the easy way out and just post a picture of a dumpster on fire here. But where is the fun in that? This is going to be a bad team this year, there really isn’t any way around that. Chip Kelly takes over a team that looks light years different from the team that made the Super Bowl a few years ago. Truthfully, having watched Chip Kelly in Philadelphia for almost three seasons didn’t inspire much confidence in his ability to coach in the NFL. Every defensive coach in the league looks well-read on his tendencies and schemes after bringing his lightning-fast offense into the league. This leaves little-to-no chance for success for the defense either. There isn’t much to love about this offense, which is almost devoid of talent. The same goes with the defense, outside of NaVarro Bowman (man do I feel bad for him, he’s one of the best LBs in the game and being wasted in his prime years). To sum all of this up, San Francisco will be the worst team in football in 2016.

 

Check back tomorrow as I make my playoff predictions for 2016, my betting picks for Week 1, fantasy advice for Sunday, and another edition of the Weekend Viewer Guide. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.