By: Andy Davies

The NFC West was considered the elite division in the NFL as little as a year ago but things have progressed since, despite having the current Super Bowl champions in the Los Angeles Rams. 

Russell Wilson is no longer in the division, and no one quite knows who will be the QB1 in San Francisco. 

But who is the divisions best quarterback? Here are the rankings of the NFC West quarterbacks from best to worst.

Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)

What better place to start than with the QB1 of the Super Bowl Champions. Whilst Stafford was not the reason the Rams won Super Bowl 56 over the Cincinnati Bengals, with 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, he was certainly the final piece of the jigsaw as the Rams hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the first time since the 1999 season. 

The Rams were always contenders, making it all the way to Super Bowl 53, but there was always something missing at the quarterback position. Jared Goff did well but even he would admit he was probably not good enough to take the Rams where they needed.

He was traded to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Stafford and the rest is history. Stafford had reached the postseason on three previous occasions, but each time came up short at the first attempt. His lack of playoff wins was a factor pointed out by sceptics when he arrived but when the Rams made the playoffs, Stafford showed why the team gave up so much to get him. In four games, he threw for 1,188 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions as well as having a 70% completion percentage (98 from 140).

In the regular season, Stafford also impressed. Only Tom Brady (43) threw for more touchdown passes (41), with Stafford throwing for the third-most passing yards (4,886). 

Stafford is clearly the choice for the number one spot on this list and it will take a lot for the other players in this list to catch him up.

Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)

Murray’s future is unclear, with his fifth option exercised but no longer-term deal in place at time of writing. 

The 2019 first overall pick has shown signs of his potential but is yet to fulfil this on a consistent basis. In three seasons, he has thrown for 11,480 yards, 70 touchdowns and 34 interceptions, whilst also recording  1,786 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. 

A trend of Murray’s career so far is starting off the season well but tailing off down the stretch. He will need a big year to convince the Cardinals front office that he is the player moving forward. Either way, he still remains second on this list.

Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers)

When the 49ers lost to the Rams in the NFC Championship game back in January, it was seen by many to be the end of Jimmy G in San Francisco. However, he is still on the team.

Having missed OTA’s due to rehab on his shoulder,  he has yet to be traded. Say what you want about Jimmy G, but he wins games. Simple as that. Whilst he has never been the reason for the 49ers winning games, he is a very serviceable quarterback. With uncertainty over Lance after reports of the organisation being underwhelmed, Garoppolo is the right guy to be under centre for the 49ers in week one. 

Drew Lock/Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)

Whether it is Lock or Smith, there is no way they aren’t at the bottom of this list. Lock has a great start to life in the NFL, when he started for the Denver Broncos towards the end of the 2019 season, his 2020 and 2021 campaigns flattered to deceive. Meanwhile, Smith has been a backup for most of his career. Neither of these quarterbacks, whoever starts against the Broncos in week one, are likely to inspire confidence from fans or the Seattle coaching staff. 

The post Ranking the NFC West Quarterbacks right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Arizona Cardinals have slowly crafted a roster full of talented young players. With hope that they will build on a somewhat lackluster 2020 season that saw them finish with an 8-8 record, expectations will be high for this team heading into the  2021 season. 

In order to improve, it will take contributions from players, specifically players that haven’t broken out into stardom. Here are two players on the Cardinals that are primed for a breakout season on either offense or defense. 

Offense: James Conner, Running Back

James Conner is new to the running back room in Arizona. He signed with the Cardinals this offseason and will hope to jumpstart his career.
After a very strong 2018 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers where Conner reached the end zone 13 times and had nearly 1,500 yards from scrimmage, Conner has yet to return to this form. 

In 2019, Conner appeared in just 10 games but still found his way into the end zone seven times. The difference in 2019 was that Conner proved to be a receiving threat. Three of Conner’s touchdowns came through the air. Even with the scoring success, Conner produced only 715 yards from scrimmage. 

Conner’s 2020 season was not much better than his 2019. In the 13 games that he played in, he reached the end zone just six times. There were positives that came along with it though. He still proved to be a threat in the receiving game and while not scoring through the air, he was still able to haul in 35 receptions. 

Conner has just turned 26 years old and choosing to sign with the Cardinals could be just what his career needs. 

Conner will be joining an offense that is led by quarterback Kyler Murray and star wide receiver Deandre Hopkins. Conner will also share a backfield with running back Chase Edmonds. 

Edmonds had his ups and downs over the course of last season and there is no guarantee that there will be a clear lead back in Arizona. Conner and Edmonds could see a clean split in carries and whichever running back that has the hot hand will be who is fed the ball more. 

While there will be pressure for Conner to perform, the Cardinals strong offense will allow for him to ease his way onto the field. 

Kyler being the QB1 will also allow for Conner to play with a quarterback that is also heavily involved in the run game. This will allow for more opportunities for Conner. If all goes to plan, he will be back to his 2018 form and be a real playmaker for this young Cardinals Team. 

Defense: Byron Murphy Jr, Cornerback

Byron Murphy Jr. will be entering his third season with the Cardinals. The former second-round pick has spent almost all of his time in Arizona as the team’s primary slot cornerback. He has made his presence felt at the slot corner spot and has become one of the best in the league at that spot. 

There is potential that Murphy could spend more time playing outside corner. With the addition of veteran corner Malcolm Butler and the departure of Patrick Peterson, the number two corner spot is up for grabs. Could Murphy potentially earn that spot? It could be his for the taking. 

In year two, Murphy looked much different than he did during his rookie season. When comparing the two seasons, stat wise Murphy may look as if he regressed. During his rookie season, Murphy racked up 78 tackles and one interception. In comparison, Murphy had just 51 tackles and zero interceptions in his second year. 

But, this doesn’t tell the whole story. Murphy’s on field performance changed dramatically during year two. In comparison to year one, where Murphy allowed nine touchdowns in pass coverage. Murphy allowed just two during his second season. He also added two sacks and, overall, was much more of a threat to both the pass game and run game. 

All signs point to Murphy taking a much bigger role in year three. He should be prepared for this role as he has made great strides to being a top-tier corner in the NFL. 

The post Arizona Cardinals that could break out in 2021 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Reese Nasser

The Arizona Cardinals, after having an excellent start to their 2020 season, finished in the middle of the pack with an 8-8 record. This mediocrity seems to still be following the Cardinals into the off-season.

The team is projected to finish near the bottom of the division. Albeit a very strong NFC West, a bottom finish will not be good for Arizona. The fans and players alike are expecting a big leap from last season to this one. But this doesn’t change how the team is being viewed. The expectations are low from people on the outside. Here are a few reasons why the Cardinals are still being underlooked. 

Coaching

Apparent offensive guru Kliff Kingsbury has been the Cardinals coach for two seasons now. He has a record of 13-18-1 during his time in the NFL. Kinsgusry was considered one of the greatest offensive minds in football when he was hired by the Cardinals. 

During his time as the head coach of Texas Tech, his passing attack was a thing of beauty. The unit finished in the top-10 in scoring every year that Kingsbury was there.But this offensive display has not necessarily translated to the NFL. The offense at times has looked mediocre at best, even with some of the most talented players in the NFL. Over the last two seasons, the Cardinals have ranked 16th and 13th in point differential. The offensive unit is much different than what many envisioned when Kingsbury was brought in. His mediocre playcalling and apparent misuse of wide receiver Deandre Hopkins has led to some believe that this offensive experiment may not work. 

As Kingsbury has underperformed during his time in the NFL, the Cardinals will continue to be underlooked. Expect to see a much improved unit this upcoming season. Kingsbury knows that the pressure may be on him and this team will have something to prove come the start of the season. 

Kyler Murray

The play of Kyler Murray up to this point has been soemwaht inderappeactied which may lead to the Cardinals being underlooked up to this point. Much like the rest of the offense, Murray started out the season extremely well. Up until the halfway point, many believed that Murray was a potential MVP candidate. 

After week eight, the offense began to slow down. Murray, who had been a touchdown machine, stopped producing scores. By the end of week eight, Murray had already racked up 24 touchdowns. Throughout the rest of the season, he only added 12 more scores. Murray had only three games where he had three touchdowns or more, unlike the first eight games where he had six games of three or more touchdowns. 

The offensive issues derailed the season and much like a coach takes a majority of the blame, so does the quarterback. Murray is the face of this team and his play dictates how this unit will be viewed. His highs are the teams high and his lows and the team’s lows. As Kyler steps into year three, if he wants this team to be regarded as a top contender, he will have to prove the league wrong and ball out for a full 16 games. An MVP, and possibly a super bowl, will be in his future if he can lead this unit like he can. 

Strength of Divison

The Cardinals play in what is arguably the toughest division in football. The NFC West consists of the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Los Angeles Rams. 

All three of the teams that the Cardinals share a division with saw themselves get better since the season ended. 

Arizona has also improved but it arguably has not been like the other teams in the division. The Rams have a new QB1 in Matthew Stafford. The 49ers selected North Dakota State qb Trey Lance with the third overall pick and he is destined to be the future of the franchise. And the Seahawks have Russell Wilson. They will always be in the conversation for the best team in the division based solely on the fact that Wilson is their guy.

This Cardinals team has added strong role players such as wide receiver A.J. Green and running back James Conner. They had a strong draft that added starters on both offense and defense. But it still doesn’t seem to be enough. They have a 30/1 odds of winning the super bowl, the third best out of the teams just in their division and the same as the Seattle Seahawks. Expectations are not absurdly high for this and mediocrity is basically expected by many people around the NFL. This notion will only change if Arizona can make it change. This team as a whole must be better in order to get the attention that they deserve. And if all goes right, they will be better. 

The post Why the Cardinals are still underlooked in the NFC this offseason appeared first on Pro Football Mania.