2015 NFL Preview: NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

2014 Record: 11-5

Head Coach: Bruce Arians (3rd year)

Notable Additions: G Mike Iupati, DE Corey Redding, RB Chris Johnson

Notable Departures: CB Antonio Cromartie, DE Darnell Dockett, DT Dan Williams

 Offense:

The Cardinals offensive woes ultimately derailed their promising season in 2014. The offense remained stable after starting quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL in Week 10 against the Rams,  but once backup Drew Stanton went down with a severe knee sprain in their second contest with the Rams a month later, the offense hit a standstill in their last 3 games of the season, which culminated in a new record for fewest yards of total offense (92) in playoff history their Wild Card matchup with the Panthers.

Going into 2015, the success of the Cardinals offense is going to largely hinge on Palmer's ability to recover from a torn ACL. Palmer is now 35 years old and the ACL tear he suffered last year is the 2nd of his 13-year career. Palme has reportedly looked sharp since he training camp opened and his young, talented receiving corps anchored by Michael Floyd and potential breakout candidate John Brown should help him through his reacclimation process, but there's no guarantees that Palmer will be able to regain the polish and swagger he played with a year ago.

One thing that could save this offense if Palmer falters is their revamped rushing attack. Bruce Arians' teams are typically defined by their strong rushing attacks, so the Cardinals paltry rush offense a year ago (31st in the league) had to really tear him up. The Cardinals made their dedication to the rushing attack clear this offseason by picking up guard Mike Iupati and running back Chris Johnson in free agency and using high draft picks on tackle D.J. Humphries (24th overall) and running back David Johnson (86th overall). While Humphries and Chris Johnson are nice pickups that help bolster two areas of weakness for the team, Iupati and David Johnson have the best chance to make an immediate impact. Iupati is one of the best run-blocking guards in the league and David Johnson gives the Cardinals a hard-running powerback that nicely counteracts the scatbacks that round out the rest of the depth chart.

The man that should benefit the most from these roster moves is 3rd-year back Andre Ellington. Ellington was largely effective as a situational back in his rookie year, but when he became the feature back in 2014, it became immediately clear that his body couldn't withstand the physical toll of being an everydown back (Ellington was banged up for most of the year with a variety of injuries and was put on IR in December with a hip injury).The presence of the brothers Johnson should allow Ellington to go back to his role as a situational back and he could very well see his production from 2013 return ( 618 yards on 118 carries, 5.5 yards/per carry) in the process.

Defense:

Much of the Cardinals identity in the Arians-era has been derived from their strong defensive play. Even with the departure of defensive cordinator Todd Bowles- who played a pivotal role in building this defensive powerhouse- the defense should once again be the cornerstone of this team.

The Cardinals defense blueprint is a bit unconventional opposed to the other top defenses. They aren't loaded with talent in the front 7 like the Bills or Rams or in the secondary like the Seahawks and Broncos, they just have a a bunch of solid players who do their job well and can make huge plays. Cornerback Patrick Peterson is the face of the defense and when he's on his game, he's as good as corner in the league, defensive end Calias Campbell is one of the most productive run-stoppers in the league and new addition Sean Weatherspoon is a tackling machine who adds a much-needed veteran presence to this young linebacking corps. Losing interior run-clogger Dan Williams and pass-rushing specialists John Abraham and Matt Shaughnessy stings, but this unit has the depth and overall talent to keep on chugging.
   

The only real issue facing this unit is finding someone to replace Antonio Cromartie as the number 2 corner. Cromartie stumbled out of the gate of the last year, but once he regained the elite form that defined his stays with the Chargers and Jets, the Cardinals secondary became one of league's best. As of right now, their number 2 corner situation is pretty bleak. Projected Week 1 Starter Jerraud Powers has a solid amount of experience as an NFL starter, but he's been mediocre at best for the duration of his career. If Powers doesn't work out, the Cardinals are going to have to force special teamer Justin Bethel into a starting role or convert starting free safety Tyran Mathieau back to his college position of cornerback. Regardless of who ends up with the job, the Cardinals are going to need have to a 2nd reliable corner emerge or their secondary could potentially unravel.

 Bottom Line:

The Cardinals strong coaching and improvements to an already gifted roster make their odds of returning to the playoffs in 2014 very high.

St. Louis Rams

2014 Record: 7-9

Head Coach: Jeff Fisher (4th year)

Notable Additions: QB Nick Foles, DT Nick Fairley, OLB Akeem Ayers

Notable Departures: QB Sam Bradford, RB Zac Stacy, T Jake Long 

Offense:

The Sam Bradford-era in St.Louis is officially over. The oft-injured quarterback that lined up under center for the Rams for the past 5 seasons was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for quarterback Nick Foles at the start of the free agency period on March 10th. The move could prove to be huge for the Rams and provide the stability at the quarterback position that Bradford wasn't able to offer (Bradford has tore his ACL in each of the last 2 seasons). While Foles struggled with turnovers last season (10 INT's in 8 starts), he's just 2 years removed from a a 27 TD/2 INT season that saw him put up one of the best single season QB ratings and TD: INT ratios in NFL history. Foles also has a much stronger arm than Bradford and is not afraid to take chances on throwing the ball downfield or into tight windows, which should allow Jeff Fisher and new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti to run a more aggressive offense than they've ran the past few seasons. It's unlikely that Foles will ever be as dominant as he was in 2013 again, but he's got a good shot to redeem himself and prove that he's a legitimate franchise quarterback this season.

The Rams rushing attack recieved a similarly drastic makeover in the offseason. The Rams shipped 2013-leading rusher Zac Stacy to the Jets after his lackluster 2014 and relived last year's leading rusher Tre Mason of his starting duties after drafting Todd Gurley in the 1st round of this year's draft. While Mason was impressive as a rookie last year, his size (5"8, 205 lbs) makes him a less-than-ideal candidate to be a permanent 3-down back in the league.  On the other hand, Gurley is essentially everything you look for in a prototypical NFL running back. He's monstrous in stature (6"1, 221 lbs), is fast as hell, runs with a lot of power, and is an excellent reciever out of the backfield.  There's concerns about his health coming off a torn ACL that shortened his junior season at Georgia a year ago, but if he can stay healthy, he could materialize into a really special back.

The one area where the Rams could run into some serious problems is at wide receiver. Their receiving corps- which is led by Brian Quick, Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey- is easily one of the weakest in the league. The most reliable of the bunch is Quick and he's coming off of a major shoulder injury that ended his 2014 season after 7 games. The rest of their top targets are either mediocre veterans (Britt) or young receivers who have failed to live up their status as high-draft picks (Austin and Bailey). It's kind of astonishing to me that the Rams didn't take advantage of and use a 2nd or 3rd-round pick on a receiver. This is a unit desperately needs an injection of young talent, so drafting a raw quarterback in Sean Mannion 89th overall when potential under-the-radar studs like Ty Montgomery, Jamison Crowder and Rashad Greene were still on the board doesn't make much sense. Unless Foles is some kind of miracle worker that can cure the ills of long-struggling wide receivers, this receiving corps will once again hold back this offense.

Defense:

Like their counterparts in Arizona, any success the Rams have enjoyed over the past few years has been driven by their defense. Their defensive front anchored by defensive ends Robert Quinn and Chris Long and reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald is one of the deepest and most dominant in the league. The front managed to get even scarier this offseason with the addition of former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley. Fairley has had some problems with consistency and conditioning over the course of his first 4 years in the league, but he's one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the league when he's on his game. This front is a near lock for 40+ sacks in 2015 and with the addition of a interior pass-rushing demon in Fairley, they could very well end up leading the league come year's end.

The front is going to have to perform at an especially high level in 2015 because their secondary is riddled with question marks. Top cornerback E.J. Gaines has already been lost for the year with a Lisfranc injury and the slated starters aside from strong safety T.J. McDonald (free safety Rodney McLeod and cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson) are all wildly inconsistent. The loss of a promising young corner in Gaines is devastating to a unit that was already 19th in the league against the pass a year ago. To make matters worse, Johnson missed all of 2014 with a torn ACL and has struggled significantly in the preseason. The one silver lining is that all 4 starters for the Rams have experience as starters at the NFL and have all shown flashes of dominance at their respective positions in the past.

Bottom Line:

The Rams are continuously making steps in the right direction, but their lackluster offense and place in the toughest division in the league should keep them firmly in the middle of the league's pecking order.

San Francisco 49ers

2014 Record: 8-8

Head Coach: Jim Tomsula (1st year)

Notable Additions: WR Torrey Smith, RB Reggie Bush, T Erik Pears

Notable Departures: OLB Aldon Smith, ILB Patrick Willis (retired), RB Frank Gore

Offense:

The disappointment of the 49ers 2014 season can largely be attributed to their offense. Quarterback Colin Kapernick's play was spotty at best, their receivers outside of Anquan Boldin were practically invisible and for the first time in ages, their offensive line was riddled with injuries and could not be relied to run block or pass protect with any type of consistency.  With longtime starting running back Frank Gore and guard Mike Iupati and tackle Anthony Davis out of the picture in 2015, things could very well end being even worse in 2015.

The poor wide receiver play that plagued this team last season hasn't really been fixed headed into this season. Big free-agent pickup Torrey Smith is a premier deep-threat with the speed needed to stretch the field, but his hands are suspect (he led the league in drops last year) and he regularly goes prolonged stretches without making much of an impact. Even if Smith overachieves and shows more consistency than he did during his time with the Ravens, there's no one behind him to deploy as a 3rd receiver or emergency starter if Smith or Boldin goes down. Even last year, the 49ers could rely on veterans Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd to come out and potentially do some damage in 3-to-4 receiver sets. This year, those duties are being relegated to Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington. Patton and Ellington have a combined 12 career receptions and have not made the impact the 49ers had hoped they would when they drafted them in 2013 and 2014 respectively. It's entirely possible that 1 of these guys will catch on in extended playing time, but as of right now, it's safe to say they're both risky propositions heading into 2015.
   

The X-factor in this offense is Kaepernick. Kaepernick has the mobility to overcome their potentially shaky offensive line play (with ex-Patriot guard Jordan Devey and ex-Bills tackle Erik Pears taking over the starting roles vacated by Iupati and Davis, it's highly likely that this line will run into some problems this year), but he's going to have mature as a passer if he wants to prevent this offense from repeating their ineffectiveness from a year ago. Kaepernick's ability to read defenses and make throws in the pocket have rapidly deteriorated of late and he relied on running the ball way too much last season. His athleticism and ability to run should work as a nice complement to his skills as a passer, not be his primary asset as quarterback. The rushing attack could help take pressure off of Kaepernick if Carlos Hyde can build on his productive rookie season and Reggie Bush can return to form after suffering yet another major injury in 2014, but if that rushing attack fails to produce, the offense is going to lie squarely on Kapernick's shoulders and I'm not sure if he can handle that big of a burden. If Kaepernick can regain the form of his first 2 years as a starter when he lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl and NFC Championship in consecutive seasons, the 49ers could avoid the implosion many people around the league are predicting will occur this season.

Defense:

The 49ers defense underwent possibly the worst offseason in the history of the NFL in 2015. The first sign of trouble came when Patrick Willis decided to call it a career at age 30 after missing almost all of last season with a toe injury. Things got even more gloomy as promising young inside linebacker Chris Borland and veteran defensive end Justin Smith decided to follow Willis into retirement and cornerbacks Chris Culliver and Perish Cox and outside linebacker Dan Skuta left the team in free agency. To top it all off, outside linebacker Aldon Smith picked up 3rd DUI in 2 years at the beginning of training camp-which proved to be the final straw for the talented-but legally-challenged Smith and led to his release from the team.

Given the drastic nature of the losses they suffered this offseason, it's going to be incredibly difficult for the 49ers to recover this season. Aldon Smith and Justin Smith pretty much drove their pass-rush, the loss of Borland and Willis pisses away any depth they had at inside linebacker and Culliver and Cox were the top corners on the team by a pretty wide margin. The replacements they have lined up for these guys are largely suspect with first-time starters outside linebacker Corey Lemioner, cornerback Kenneth Acker and defensive tackle/end Quinton Dial set to lineup in Week 1. Even the veterans who have done well in spot starts (cornerback Tramaine Brock and inside linebacker Michael Wilhoite) don't seem like great choices to be permanent starters in this revamped defense. It would be a remarkable accomplishment if the 49ers were able to retain their standing as one of the best defenses in the league from a year ago.

About the only positive news the 49ers have to look forward is the long-awaited return of inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman after missing all of 2014 recovering from a torn ACL and MCL suffered in the 2013 NFC Championship Game. Based on his dominant play in the preseason and extremely impressive performance in training camp, Bowman looks to be revitalized. If Bowman can keep this level of play up in the regular season, his contributions should go long away at restoring order in this decimated defense.

Bottom Line:
The 49ers abundance of major losses on both sides of the ball this offseason makes them a near lock to be one of the league's doormats in 2015.
 

Seattle Seahawks

2014 Record: 13-3

Head Coach: Pete Carroll (6th year)

Notable Additions: TE Jimmy Graham, CB Cary Williams, RB Fred Jackson

Notable Departures: C Max Unger, CB Byron Maxwell, OLB Malcolm Smith 

Offense:

The Seahawks went out and made the biggest bombshell move of the offseason when they traded for former Saints tight end Jimmy Graham at the start of the free agency period in March. Graham gives quarterback Russell Wilson a truly lethal playmaker for the first time in his career and his presence should allow the Seahawks to deviate a bit from their run-first mentality. Graham could very well end up being the piece that pushes this offense over the top and makes them one of the scariest units in the league.

The only reason for concern in this the offense is the instability on their offensive line. The Seahawks gave up center Max Unger, their only excellent offensive lineman, in the trade to acquire Graham and are counting on a motley crew of outcasts to protect Wilson and open up holes for Marshawn Lynch and new acquisition Fred Jackson. Injuries have caused left Russell Okung to regress from the Pro Bowl form he showed in 2011 and 2012, Justin Britt and J.R. Swezy are below average guards and newcomers tackle Garry Gilliam and center Drew Nowak are both undrafted free agents with less than 3 years experience and a combined 1 start between them. The Seahawks have the benefit of having a quarterback in Wilson that can extend plays with his legs and a running back in Lynch who is essentially a human wrecking ball, but if their line can't deliver, this offense might end up hitting a wall

Defense:

The Seahawks defense has pretty much been the gold standard for the league over the past few seasons. Their defense is loaded with talented from top to bottom, has an almost unfair amount of depth and plays with a physicality that simply can't be matched by the other 31 teams in the league.

For the first time since Pete Carroll's first couple of years in 2010 and 2011, the Seahawks defense appears to be showing cracks in their armor. Worst of all, those flaws are solely contained in the vaunted secondary, largely known as "The Legion of Boom", that has generated a majority of the national attention they've received over the past few years.

Cornerback Byron Maxwell landed a huge contract from the Eagles in free agency after his strong showing starting alongside Richard Sherman last season and strong safety Kam Chancellor is currently holding out in search of a new big-money contract, a mere 2 years into the 4-year/$28 mil extension he signed prior to the start of the 2013 season. To make up for these losses (or in Chancellor's case, potential loss) the Seahawks are calling upon Cary Williams and Dion Bailey to step into the startling lineup. To say these moves are a downgrade would be a massive understatement. Williams has spent last 2 seasons getting eviscerated by opposing receivers with the Eagles and Bailey is an undrafted free agent who hasn't played a snap in the NFL and got cut from the Seahawks 3 separate times last season. These moves will prove once and for all if the Seahawks coaching staff are geniuses that can get maximum production from whatever players they have their disposal or get them to embrace just how valuable their core star players are.

Even with the question marks involving half of their secondary, it's highly unlikely that this defense will bottom out in 2015. Their front led by inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and defensive end Michael Bennett is chock full of talent in the entire league and is loaded with guys that are about to enter their prime or are firmly in the middle of their respective primes and Sherman and free safety Earl Thomas are still 2 of the most dominant young defensive backs in the league. Unless some kind of mass injury bug strikes or unexpected rapid decline in play occurs, the Seahawks defense should be at the very least respectable in 2015. 

Bottom Line:

Despite walking into an unusually cloudy situation on defense, The Seahawks are still one of the most talented and well-coached teams in the NFL. It would be a massive surprise if they weren't in the thick of the Super Bowl hunt for a 3rd consecutive year.

Projected Standings for the NFC West:

1.Seattle Seahawks (12-4)

2.Arizona Cardinals (11-5)

3.St. Louis Rams (8-8)

                                                          4.San Francisco 49ers (5-11)