Here comes the NFC west! No longer a cupcake division, the west is looking like one of the strongest divisions in the NFL. Two years ago the division was won by the Seattle Seahawks with a 7-9 record, which was very disappointing. I am not for a team with a losing record to have a spot in the playoffs, just sounds ridiculous. Last year the NFC west had one dominate team and it was the San Francisco 49ers. The rest of the division struggled at the start of the season, but the Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals began to catch fire past the halfway point of the season. They were able to salvage their seasons and each finished with an unexpected 8-8 season. Both teams are once again looking good. The Seahawks are coming off a blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys, while the Cardinals posted the biggest upset of week two with a win over the New England Patriots in Foxborough.

Let us not forget about the St. Louis Rams. The Rams gave the Detroit Lions all they can handle in week one in a losing effort. In week two the Rams, too many fans, had a surprising win over the Washington Redskins. The Rams have a whole new attitude with new head coach Jeff Fisher and will be competitive throughout the season.

Week three possesses big challenges for the division expect for the Niners. The Niners will face the Minnesota Vikings and will be looking to go 3-0. It’s a safe bet to assume a Niners victory, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the division. The Rams will head to Chicago to face a Bear’s team that is coming off a bad lost to the Green Bay Packers. The Rams surprisingly are a big underdog and I honestly believe they can win this game. The thing going against the Rams is the Bears will be highly motivated after the Green Bay lost. I see it being a closer game than many expect.

The 2-0 Cardinals will face the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles. The Cards are coming off a huge week two win as previously mentioned, but a win over the Eagles will legitimize Arizona as a playoff team. The Cards have a spectacular defense and is the reason why they are off to a good start, but the offense has been very bad. The offense has struggled to score points and WR Larry Fitzgerald has only four catches in two games. If the Cards are going to win it is going to be by forcing the Eagles into many turnovers; which the Eagles are prone to doing. If you like to watch great defense, this is your type of game.

The Seahawks will face the Packers on Monday Night Football. The Hawks are very similar to the Cardinals in the case of they both play great defense but have bad offenses. The Hawks do have RB Marshawn Lynch to depend on offense since they are starting a rookie quarterback in Russell Wilson. Wilson has good targets to throw the ball to, in other words, the Seahawks offense does have potential. Once again I see a close game with the victorious team winning by a field goal.

The NFC west went 4-0 last week and if they do it again in week three, it will make them the best division in the NFL. The Niners do not have it easy this season, with that said the Niners are 2-0 against two playoff teams from a year ago and the Niners can match up with any team. The Niners are still the favorites to win the division and to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Before I get to the offense I thought I’d start with the special teams which is also among the very best in the NFL. The coverage units have yet to give up a touchdown return and its biggest error was allowing a blocked field goal in Philadelphia. Andy Lee continues to show that he is the best punter in the league; the guy can boot the ball 60 yards almost automatically 70 with regularity. David Akers has been excellent in both field goals and kickoffs hitting on all but 2 kicks (1 was blocked). Ted Ginn Jr put the game away against Seattle with 2 TD returns in a span of a couple minutes and has been excellent in the return game all season long.

Now onto the offense, Frank Gore had a horrific start to the season averaging only 2.5 yards per carry. Niner faithful everywhere were screaming about Gore losing a step, calling for more Kendall Hunter even. Then the 49ers went on an East Coast road trip that watched them and the offensive line get things together. Gore has surpassed 100 yards in each of his last 3 games capping it off with his most impressive performance at Detroit with a 144 yard performance on just 15 carries. Kendall Hunter has provided a spark and a different dimension to the running game with his scat back like around the edges style is a perfect complement to Gore’s power game.

While Gore was busy getting pelted with rocks early in the season he wasn’t alone, the offensive line was right there with him. The OLs performance the first 3 games was forgettable but not awful. Early in the season the team held up ok in pass protection but couldn’t get it right in the run game. It’s obvious now by watching this group that the running game has been given the biggest makeover on the offense and is much more complex than it was under former coach Mike Singletary. The group now seems cohesive and together, a young group that should only get better as the season goes on.  Personnel wise Mike Iupati ranks as one of the very best guards in the NFL.  Jonathan Goodwin is a very solid center that has won a superbowl and went to a probowl at 32 he’s the oldest player on the team but has less mileage than a typical 32 year old since he didn’t become a starter until his 5th season in the NFL and has played very well for the team thus far.  Joe Staley made the famous “we don’t suck” comment after week 3 when the OL was struggling has settled in at left tackle and dispite giving up what seems like 1 sack per game Staley has been solid.  I’ve heard a lot about Staley being overrated by fellow 49er fans, something to take into account is that Staley should get better as the season goes on let’s not forget he missed a large portion of last season with an injury.  The right side of the line has been the target of considerable scrutiny as guard Chilo Rachal has struggled, luckily the 49ers have serviceable backup in Adam Snyder  who has played mostly well since taking over for Rachal as the starter, this is a position the team needs to target next offseason.  Anthony Davis the young 2nd year right tackle struggled early, especially in pass protection but has put together a couple of very good games back to back vs the Bucs and Lions.  Davis has huge upside but needs to cut down on his mental mistakes especially penalties to fullfill that potential. 
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