Saturday, November 12, 2005
NFC West Update week 10...SPECIAL EDITION
I like to put this out on Wednsday or so, but was unable to. Since alba is probably holding his breath until it gets posted, I figured I would put it up.
But first, a divisional rant.
If you look on that map we put up, you'll see that I am in Carbondale, IL. Not only is that prime Rams territory, but it is also Bears Country. If you listen to the hype they self produce:
~The Bears a legit Super Bowl contenders this year.
~Kyle Orton is the best Bears qb in 20 years.
~(and my personal favorite) the NFC Central is not as bad as the NFC West.
No, no, and couldn't be more wrong. (OK, so maybe Orton IS their best qb since their last title...) I won't go into why the Bears are not a legit contnder, but basically their argument is this: San Fransisco? Arizona? Come on, your division sucks.
To which I fire back, Green Bay (whose one win came outside the division)? Detroit (who while having a better record than Arizona is still led by Joey Harrington)? and Minnasota (whats not funny about their season? They are playing better though.)?
I'll let you make your own conclusions...
The standings:
Seattle 6-2 (3-0)
St. Louis 4-4 (1-2)
Arizona 2-6 (1-3)
San Fransisco 2-6 (1-1)
Team breakdowns
St. Louis Rams
Last week: Bye
Threat to win the division: Medium
The skinny: Everyone assumed that when Bulger went down, that would be two losses for the Rams. Instead, Jamie Martin held serve, and they won two straight. Now Bulger, Isaac Bruce, and comapny are all back.
Joe Vitt has also realized that running the ball is a great idea, and Stephen Jackson is getting a lot of touches.
The defense was impressive going into the bye, and now have Leonard Little back.
This week: at Seattle
Arizona Cardinals
Last week: 33-19 loss to Seattle
Threat to win the division: Low
The skinny: Remember when Arizona was going to make the playoffs this year? Remember when they were supposed to be real competetive last season? Remember when Kurt Warner was the answer to their problems?
Remember this when you're filling out your First Coach to Get Fired office pool next season. (You're welcome for the tip.)
This week: at Detroit
San Fransisco 49ers
Last week: 24-6 loss to New York Giants
Threat to win the division: Low (But threat to win the #1 pick is medium)
The skinny: I know Mike Nolan has his team playing well, but shouldn't he make a speech to his team that goes something like this?
"Alright men. We're making some great strides, but think of how much better we'll be with Reggie Bush on our team. For that to happen, we need to lose every game for the rest of the year."
It would inspire me to play my worst.
This week: at Chicago
SPECIAL EDITION PART!
Seattle
Last week: 33-19 win over Arizona
Threat to win the division: High
The skinny: The defense needs a little help, but have played well this season anyway. The offense is great. We all know about this team, so I'm going to bring up what I said to a couple friends this week.
This game does not scare me. At all. The Rams have all their weapons back, they had them when we beat them earlier in the season. This one's at home, and we play better at Qwest.
I won't even be scared if we lose this game. The wheels won't fall off this team. Last season, that loss to Washington would have spiraled us to a 6-10 season. Instead, we win the identical game two weeks later. The division might get a little tighter, but we can outlast the Rams.
Besides the fact that we still play San Fransisco twice. If we lose this game, we're likely to go 5-1 in the division.
And if we win, its a 3 game lead in the division, with 7 to play (and 2 against the 49ers) Who else likes those odds?
Enjoy the games.
And since we have two games against the NFC Central, root for Cards and Niners. I want to listen to silence on Monday from Bears fans.
Alan
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Alba's happy. I'm sitting on my back porch on a beautiful sunny Fall day with my wireless laptop watching my kids play in the yard...AND...I get to read Alan's NFC West update, complete with a Special Edition report on the Seahawks.
ReplyDeleteLIFE IS GOOD!
Posted by alba
very nice indeed, Alan...
ReplyDeletethose who contribute here, contribute well...and I love reading this one...and I have to thank you, Alan, for calming me about tomorrow's game...yes, its still huge, but you made some great points to stay optimistic.
One factor you forgot to mention...Bruce is still questionable, and apparently Holt is still a gametime decision, though it would be shocking if Holt doesn't play...and unlike our last game, as you pointed out...they had all their weapons when we beat them, and this one is at home...but you also forgot...this time, we have Bobby Engram
After what we did the last time, especially what JJ did to them, teams were focusing on JJ, resulting to him not able to repeat that performance, now that Engram is healthy, and his rust is off from last week...they once again have to worry about JJ...as Engram opens him up
This game is interesting on so many fronts, win or lose...i still want to punch the Jaguars for choking
Posted by adp
Not me, but I just got my Seahawks-Colts tickets. It's goin to be the best game EVER.
ReplyDeleteI hope.
Posted by Bluefoot