Two weeks ago I threw out some possible conclusions we could make about the NFC West after one week of football.  I wouldn't say things have necessarily changed all that much as it is still hard to draw too many conclusions about the division.  Well the Rams still suck, but that's rather obvious.

Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals find themselves at 2-1 heading into the Meadowlands as the first NFC West team to face the Brett Favre-led Jets.  The Cardinals of the recent past were known for their offensive fireworks and poor defensive efforts.  To date though, the Cardinals have put together solid defensive efforts, the loss to Washington notwithstanding.  The Redskins are a solid squad and I certainly would not qualify that as a "bad loss," even if I was a Cardinals fan.

The Cardinals face an upcoming 3-game stretch before their bye that will definitely test them to the limits.  They visit the Jets and then host the resurgent Buffalo Bills and a very Dallas Cowboys squad coming off their first ever win at Lambeau Field.  The next three weeks will tell us a lot about the Cardinals AND the 49ers as the 49ers have an equally tough stretch at New Orleans and then hosting New England and Philadelphia.  The Seahawks are only getting healthier so this could be their chance to climb further into the divisional race.

Seattle Seahawks
Speaking of the Seahawks, after defeating a god-awful Rams squad, John Morgan happily doused himself in the Kool-Aid:

The Seattle Seahawks are a damn good football team. That's the perfect, rational description of their talent, skill and depth. Seattle is a Super Bowl contender. They took the worst part of their offense, built it back from the ground up, substituted the worst football player in the NFL with a good, complete and underappreciated running back in Julius Jones, resigned vital parts of their defense and had a hell of a draft. Somehow losing two games caused the miasma of ESPN-like reactionary thinking, panic and outright stupidity to crawl into this team, onto this site and into my brain.

But this win was ejaculatory. The frustration, doubts and stupidity are out of my brain. And if I have to purify this site with flames, I will to get back a place I can talk Hawks with intelligent fans.

On the one hand, the Rams might be on their way to an epically bad season.  As has been mentioned with the 49ers, beating a crappy team doesn't make you a good team (shlecko ©).  However, I also think Seattle reached rock bottom and if they get completely healthy, they are going to be a good team this season.  I think Arizona and San Francisco improved themselves enough to challenge Seattle, but they're certainly going to be dangerous the rest of the way.

St. Louis Rams
It's certainly easy to feel bad for a team struggling the way the Rams are struggling.  At the same time, when the Rams were ruling the division I don't think their fans were feeling bad for everybody else.  Quality play seems to come in cycles and right now the Rams are definitely in a downturn.  They've even benched Marc Bulger for the ageless one Trent Green.  I'd imagine the odds of Scott Linehan lasting the entire season are dropping rather precipitously.

I think it's safe to say that if the 49ers don't sweep the Rams, something is clearly wrong.  The Rams are bad and their fans are moving way past wearing brown paper bags to games.  Much could change between now and their first matchup in mid-November, but I'm not really holding my breath.

Conclusions
For now, the NFC West is a 3-team race.  Divisional wins will be huge for tiebreaker purposes.  Given the fact that each team has to face the AFC East and NFC East, wins will be at a premium and as previously mentioned 9-7 or possibly even 8-8 could do the trick.  All three teams face a tough stretch of games in the next three weeks.  Aside from the games mentioned above, following a Week 4 bye, the Seahawks play at the Giants, host the Packers and visit the Buccaneers, heading into a Week 8 showdown at Candlestick.  Suffice to say, the next month is huge.

As I look back at my posts this week, you'd think this was a lock-win for the 49ers and anything less than a two touchdown victory might be a disappointment.  The gambling folks appear to agree with my initial thoughts (maybe they read NN, right?).  The Seahawks opened as 9.5 point favorites, but as of this evening they sit as only 6.5 point favorites, meaning heavy money is going on the 49ers.

So I thought I'd take a step back and see what the folks at Scouts Inc. and the rest of the World Wide Leader have to say about our favorite team.  In their predictions, there's a 4-4 split among ESPN analysts.  However, the scouts are predicting a 24-14 as they think the defense will be its stellar self and the offense wil somehow find a way to make plays.

While I realize Matt Hasselbeck is a very solid quarterback, it's hard for me to fathom what he will create Sunday.  But as they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  According to the scouts, when the Seahawks are on offense:

The pass protection . . . must improve after Hasselbeck was repeatedly dropped by an aggressive Bills pressure package. More three-step drops and quick throws can limit the hits on Hasselbeck, but will the timing be there with a group of inexperienced wideouts? The Seahawks could get the backs and tight ends more involved on short zone reads and checkdowns. Yet another injury -- RB Maurice Morris' knee -- will mean more carries for RB Julius Jones, which could be beneficial. A rotation keeps backs fresh but can make it difficult for runners to find a rhythm.

If the Seahawks go to a lot of short reads and checkdowns, how will that affect the 49ers defensive scheme?  I'd imagine Manny Lawson will get a lot of time covering the likes of John Carlson and Will Heller.  With Parys Haralson and the defensive line able to bring the heat, it opens up a guy like Lawson for coverage.

The Scouts also pointed out three keys to success.  For Seattle these were:

1. Give Hasselbeck more time: "Expect more conservative two-man routes and max-protect schemes this week if the 49ers try to emulate the Bills by pulling out the stops."

2. Develop a run game: "The front side of the line needs to be more physical on wide run plays, and all Seahawks blockers need to do a better job of sustaining contact."

3. Make dramatic improvements in the third phase (special teams): "Preseason concerns about coverage units were well-founded, but the Seahawks need to get much better in all areas of the kicking game."

As far as the third one is concerned, it will be tough without your regular return man, so hopefully the 49ers can take advantage.  The other two will be interesting.  Julius Jones was mostly a platoon running back with Marion Barber down in Dallas.  So, if he's going to be carrying the load tomorrow, I'm curious how he can handle it.  TJ Duckett is there to spell him, but it sounds like they want Jones to be the guy, at least for now.

It's obvious to state, but the running game will play a major role in the success of the Seahawks.  It's tough enough when your top receivers are all injured, but the running game is huge for winning, but also for that first key to success.  The offensive line will need to create time, but an established running game slows down the pass rush considerably.  I think Matt Hasselbeck could make some nice, short plays with me as a wide receiver if given enough time.  If Jones can be contained, the 49ers will be able to send additional blitzers without fear of getting burned.  Furthermore, the lack of a running game would kill any play-action plays, freeing up the linebackers and safeties for blitzing or pass coverage.

I do think this will be a relatively low-scoring, defensive battle.  Neither offense did much of anything last week and both defenses are going to be solid this season.  It's a huge game, particularly for the 49ers.  A loss drops them to 0-2 in the division.  Considering the crappiness of the division and the tough non-division schedule, every divisional win is huge.

Last week we did a breakdown of matchups with Revenge of the Birds.  Unfortunately, Field Gulls is a bit busy this week so we won't be able to compare our thoughts.  I still like the idea of comparing matchups, so I'm going to go ahead with it on my own.  Due to injuries things have changed, but there are still plenty of significant matchups to consider.

Match-Up #1: Seahawks pass rush vs. 49ers pass protection
Advantage: Seahawks (slightly) - I used the phrase pass protection because this includes running backs stepping up to block.  The Seahawks linebacking trio of Julian Peterson, Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill are quite impressive.  While they are solid dropping into coverage, Peterson and Tatupu are bad-ass pass rushers as well.  Patrick Kerney is tough enough on the line, but the Seahawks will also welcome back Rocky Bernard, the man who began the injury saga of Alex Smith.  If the 49ers aren't careful, one of those guys could very well take JTO's head off and think nothing of it.

After a strong preseason, the 49ers offensive line struggled a bit against the Cardinals.  JTO was sacked 4 times and the pocket collapsed several other times.  If they perform the same way this week in pass protection, it could be an ugly day.  It will be important to establish the running game, but if the offensive line isn't stopping the speed rush, it won't matter all that much.

Match-Up #2: Seahawks secondary vs. 49ers receivers
Advantage: Even - The Seahawks bring a solid secondary in Marcus Trufant and Kelly Jennings.  Nickel back Jordan Babineaux returns after a one-game suspension, which definitely gives them more depth.  The 49ers wide receivers were not exactly spectacular last week, but the talent is definitely there to make plays.  While Isaac Bruce was blanketed last week, Bryant Johnson was able to get open a few times to make some solid gains.  Throw in Arnaz Battle not getting a reception until the second half and you'd think the wide receivers were completely useless.

However, I remain convinced that the 49ers have enough weapons to make plays against this secondary.  Vernon Davis is getting a chance to line up wide, which adds a potent weapon.  There were a couple of 3rd and shorts last week where I wished they ran a wide receiver screen with him.  On this quick plays, he's a virtual guarantee of 3 or 4 yards simply because of his size.

I leave this as an even matchup because the potential is there for both units to be rather solid.  Either side could have a big day and it wouldn't surprise me.

Match-Up #3: Seahawks Running Game vs. 49ers rush defense
Advantage: 49ers - I think I've made it very clear my thoughts on the Seahawks running game.  It's not very good.  Now, Maurice Morris will be out and Justin Forsett was released, leaving a running back duo of Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett.  Combining two guys have been relative underachievers for their careers does not create one good running back that will overachieve (I used to be an accountant, I know how this math will work out).

We'll discuss the Seahawks passing game more tomorrow, but with a relative weak passing attack, it puts more of an onus on the running game, which I don't think they can reach.  The 49ers linebacking corp provides solid backdoor protection to the defensive line.  The 49ers linebackers have a lot of speed which should be sufficient to cut off the outside running lanes.  The primary weakness of the 49ers defense is Aubrayo Franklin.  If he gets shoved around it opens up holes in the middle of the field.  Fortunately tackling machine Patrick Willis and a combination of Takeo Spikes and Jeff Ulbrich can back him up there.  The 49ers held the Cardinals to 2.8 yards per carry, primarily because they were busy being shredded through the air.  The Seahawks might average more than 2.8 yards per carry but I'd be surprised if they successfully mounted much of an attack.  The league average is 4.0 (which they reached last week) and I don't see anything better than that.

We'll have some more matchups tomorrow....

My intial plan was to post some of the player quotations and some analysis on what they had to say.  Unfortunately for me, most of the quotes lacked the kind of sizzle that make for good analysis.  So, instead, with one week down and a big 49ers-Seahawks divisional showdown fast approaching, let's reassess where the NFC West is as a whole.  Based on performances today, it might be safe to say that the division is up for anyone to grab...except maybe the Rams.

Seattle Seahawks
Over at Field Gulls, John Morgan is definitely not pleased with the Seahawks performance.  Of course, if the 49ers had been smacked around 34-10, I'd probably be just as pissed.  The Seahawks struggled in all aspects of the game, and while their defense certainly wasn't abysmal, I don't know if John's use of the word "fine" is the best descriptor.  Not in bad shape, but even they have plenty of room for improvement. 

As some of us mentioned before, that running game is going to have to work to become more impressive.  Falling behind early didn't help matters, but Julius Jones and Maurice Morris just doesn't inspire fear in anybody.  Jones is certainly talented, but we'll see if he can break through and return to his somewhat respectable 2006 performance.  As for Seattle's special teams?  Well, this video isn't pretty and I don't just mean the blurry picture.  We'll have plenty to preview going forward this week.

St. Louis Rams
I really don't think week one could have gone any worse for the Rams.  For a while it looked like they could come away with keeping DeSean Jackson quiet on punt returns, but then he busted one for 60 yards.  VanRam went so far as to even consider beginning a discussion about the #1 overall pick.  I do think Philadelphia is a talented team and I'm not stunned that Donovan McNabb appears to have finally bounced back from his knee surgery.  That kind of surgery usually takes more than a year for a 100% recovery.  Once they get Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis healthy, the Eagles will be dangerous.

The Eagles aside, probably the only highlight was Randy McMichael with a solid debut for the Rams.  I certainly think there are enough bad teams in the league that the Rams will win some games.  In spite of the 49ers flat effort I feel a little better facing the Rams.  However, while the Rams are not a playoff bound team, they are definitely not as bad as they appeared today.  Steven Jackson missed a significant amount of time with his holdout, so he probably isn't quite 100%.  The Rams definitely need to work on their pass protection as Marc Bulger is going to get killed before the end of the season otherwise.  While awful this week, I'd like to see how they play against the Giants in their home opener.

Arizona Cardinals
Well, we know how these guys looked.  Considering how poorly the 49ers performed, the Cardinals probably should have put 30+ on the board.  They left 11 points out there on two drives because of one moronic personal foul and another poorly time chop block.  While we can blame JTO and company all we want, the Cardinals got pressure to force the two O'Sullivan fumbles.  He had issues with staring down his receivers and I'm kind of surprised he didn't throw more picks.

Kurt Warner remains the 49ers nemesis as even in the face of impressive pressure at times, he made things happen, particularly with Anquan Boldin.  The 49ers would get them to 3rd and long and then give up a first down catch.  Even the Cardinals running game was slightly less than stellar and yet it seemed like they were taking care of business when it mattered most.  The Cardinals only averaged 3.8 yards a carry, but they made some important gains on short yardage situations.

I would also briefly like to address the luck situation.  Luck is often taking advantage of an opportunity.  I definitely don't think the Cardinals were lucky to the beat the 49ers today (in fact I think the 49ers were lucky to not lose by more).  However, it felt at times like things were bouncing the Cardinals way all day long.  Every punt seemed to bounce just right.  A Warner pass would be deflected by a defensive lineman, only to end up in Anquan Boldin's arms.  Things like that.  It's not sour grapes because I wouldn't be surprised for the shoe to be on the other foot in some of these games.  Nonetheless it's certainly frustrating when your team is not on the receiving end of those lucky bounces.

Conclusions
I don't have a separation section for the 49ers because obviously we have been and will continue to discuss them plenty.  For now, while the 49ers certainly were not wildly impressive today, they did enough for me to be hopeful in what for now is a wide-open NFC West.  If the Seahawks can get bodies back I still think they're the team to beat in this division, poor running game aside. They are certainly better than they showed today, particularly their defense.  However, it won't be easy work for them in the division.  The Cardinals show a certain spark under Kurt Warner that will definitely make them a tough out.  It's hard to judge their defense against a developing 49ers offense, but they definitely can bring some heat at times.

I remain somewhat hopeful for the 49ers season because if the season goes anything like this for the likes of Seattle and St. Louis, the 49ers and Cardinals both could conceivably win the division.  Even though the Seahawks will improve this season, I think the 49ers will as well and the Rams will certainly not be this awful (or maybe they will).  If an NFC West team walked into the playoffs at 8-8 I would not be remotely surprised.  Of course performances in the coming weeks could certainly change my thoughts on all of that.