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.

By: Jake Rajala

The Arizona Cardinals were one of the biggest surprises in the NFL last season. I believe the team that Cynthia Frelund nicely projected a high ceiling for the Cardinals in 2021, would be able to separate themselves from nearly every team with a few breakout players in 2022. With that said, I’m going to untwine three breakout candidates on the Cardinals.

Rondale Moore

The Arizona Cardinals 2021 rookie Rondale Moore will keep Kliff Kingsbury up late at night creating plays for him in space. Moore will nicely replace Christian Kirk (who is in Jacksonville) and his ability to make YAC is magic. I expect Moore and Hollywood Brown to really be leaned on in DeAndre Hopkins’s absence. Moore unveiled 435 yds in 14 games last season and I really expect him to have similar production as Kirk last season (988 yds) while making his presence felt with big plays.

Zach Allen

The pass rusher Zach Allen had a modest four sacks last season and he will be asked to replace Chandler Jones in 2022. Allen will benefit from playing next to J.J. Watt and it may finally be time for Allen to put it all together in his fourth NFL season. The Cardinals young buck with a first-round pick coming out of the draft would do himself and the Cardinals defense a big favor by unveiling 8+ sacks in 2022.

Isaiah Simmons

It’s time for the athletic freak Isaiah Simmons to react faster and be a pivotal force on their defense. Simmons made positive steps last season, as he had 105 all-purpose tackles. He needs to stand out in crunch time and be an effective TO macine. The former Cardinal Haason Reddick was a late bloomer out of AZ, perhaps Simmons can finally have his biggest season in 2022.

The post 3 breakout candidates on the Arizona Cardinals appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Andy Davies

The NFC West is the NFL’s best division. All four teams are seen as playoff contenders, with some media personalities having all four teams in the postseason according to their predictions.

Here is a preview of the most stacked NFL division.

Arizona Cardinals (2020 Record: 8-8. Missed out on playoffs)

The Cardinals struggled for consistency, going 6-3 before a 2-5 run down the stretch. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is under some pressure this season after failing to make the playoffs in his first two seasons.

Kyler Murray is also under some pressure, albeit not a tremendous amount. He is a walking highlight reel when it comes to the ground game. However, his arm talent still needs work. With wide receiver Deandre Hopkins and Christian Kirk to throw to as well as 2021 second-round selection Rondale Moore, he is not short of options. The Cardinals acquired long-time Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, but is the aging wideout enough to transform this offense? Franchise icon Larry Fitzgerald departed in Free Agency, with a 38-year old still without a team. He has spoken of how he “doesn’t have the urge to play right now”, which is almost announcing your retirement without actually doing so. He may still join a team late into the season and the playoffs, which may give him the best chance he’s had since losing to the Steelers in Super Bowl 43.

Murray excels in the run game, but he can’t do it all by himself. Kenyan Drake departed in Free Agency, giving Chase Edmunds the chance to become the number one back. James Conner has arrived as a free agent this summer to provide depth to this running back room.

Their biggest headline offseason addition came on the defensive side of the ball, with Houston Texans great J.J. Watt arriving in Arizona. This came to the surprise of most who saw the defensive end suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers or Cleveland Browns. Linebacker Haason Reddick has left during the offseason after a brilliant 2020 season. Linebacker Zaven Collins was drafted sixteenth overall in 2021 as his replacement. Fellow linebacker Isaiah Simmons will want to improve on his anti-climatic rookie season after being seen by many as the steal of the 2020 draft. Their defensive x-factor is safety Budda Baker, who is one of the best in the entire league.

A tough opening six games sees them face the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Rams, 49ers, and Browns. This could easily be a 2-4 or 1-5 start. They then face the Houston Texans, Packers,49ers, Carolina Panthers, and Seahawks, which will only give Arizona 2 more wins. This will leave them either 3-8 or 4-7 before a final 5 games versus the Chicago Bears, Rams, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, and Seahawks. I can only see two wins here, leaving the Cardinals finishing the 2021 season either 5-12 or 6-11.

When the two biggest headline offseason acquisitions for a team who finished 8-8 last season are two players at the end of their careers, this is never a good thing. With a head coach on the hot seat and with a tough schedule, expect Arizona to really disappoint this season.

Prediction: 4th in NFC West.

Los Angeles Rams (2020 Record: 10-6. Lost in Divisional Round)

The Rams go into this season as the NFC West team with the most hype after the trade for Matthew Stafford. This saw their first overall pick from 2016 in Jared Goff go the other way as part of the trade. Head coach Sean McVay has a new QB to work with and will be excited to work with another former first overall pick.

Stafford was drafted in 2009 and has thrown for 45,109 yards, 282 touchdowns and interceptions in the 165 games he has played. This includes eight 4,000 yard seasons, one even stretching to 5,038 along with 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. This amounts to 273.4 yards per game and with 3,898 completed passes, he has a career average of 11.6 yards per completed pass and a touchdown per every 13.8 completed passes.

Stafford has an immediate upgrade when it comes to receivers. Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp represent an immediate upgrade at the receiver position. The running back room is the one area of the Rams’ offense that could let them down. Cam Akers was expected to be the lead back, before injury put a stop to his season before it even started. Darrell Henderson and offseason signing Sony Michel will be the two running backs to take Akers’ place.

The Rams will also be aided by the number one defense from last season. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers and could be a big miss. Under new defensive coordinator Joe Barry, they will still be a force, thanks to Aaron Donald who is one of the best players in the entire NFL, with 85.5 career sacks in the regular season. Using a 3-4 scheme, the defensive end is the undisputed star of the defensive line. Behind him is linebacker Leonard Floyd, who recorded 10.5 sacks in 2020. Their secondary is one of the best in the league, with shutdown corner Jalen Ramsey the best cornerback in the league. Alongside Darius Williams, this represents arguably the best cornerback tandem in the league. Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp are both young and exciting players. John Johnson will be a big miss in the safety position.

It remains to be seen if Matt Stafford is the difference between the Rams winning a Super Bowl or not. It also remains to be seen if the Rams can be a great defensive unit without Staley. Either way, we will soon find out.

Their schedule sees five almost guaranteed wins, as they face the Bears, Lions, Giants, Texans and Jaguars. Matchups against the Vikings and Colts as well as two games against the Cardinals sees the Rams are favorites whereas their divisional home and away games against the 49ers and Seahawks represent four tough games that are very much 50/50. The Ravens, Buccaneers and Packers games are also very even affairs for the Rams. Winning those “easy games” plus winning half of the 50/50 games would have the Rams finishing 12-5. This could be enough to take them to the division title.

Prediction: 1st in NFC West.

San Francisco 49ers (2020 Record: 6-10. Missed out on playoffs)

There have been no real significant incomings or outgoings this offseason in San Francisco but they will be buoyed by the return of many starters. The 49ers reached Super Bowl 54 in the 2019 season but only managed six wins in 2020. George Kittle, Nick Bosa and Raheem Mostert were just three of the big-name players to spend last season on the sidelines.

Running back Trey Sermon was drafted in the second round, with quarterback Trey Lance taken third overall. The 49ers traded up for him, giving multiple draft picks to the Miami Dolphins in the process. This sends immediate pressure on Lance’s way. Nobody knows who will start out of Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. There is talk of head coach Kyle Shanahan using a two-quarterback system, something that has a lot of NFL fans really intrigued. With the amount of draft picks the 49ers used to trade up, Lance will eventually start. It is wise for the 49ers to slowly bring him in, especially considering the strength of the division.

With all their big names back, this will put the 49ers at full strength on both sides of the ball despite the loss of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. They will make a return to the playoffs but the quarterback situation may just prevent them from reclaiming the division title.

Prediction: 2nd in NFC West.

Seattle Seahawks (2020 Record: 12-4. Missed out on playoffs)

The Seahawks are in that group alongside the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in that they are the perfect example of consistency. Head coach Pete Carroll always has this team in contention but can they once again make the postseason despite no major additions and just three draft picks.

Safety Jamal Adams signed a new deal and quarterback Russell Wilson decided to stay after some offseason unrest. With receivers such as D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett at his disposal, he won’t be short of options. He will hope for better protection in 2021, being one of the most sacked quarterbacks in recent years.

With defensive studs such as Adams and linebacker Bobby Wagner, they have two legitimate game changers in a defensive unit that improved throughout the 2020 season.

The Seahawks should expect another appearance in the postseason but their lack of activity this offseason might hinder their chances of going far in the postseason.

Prediction: 3rd in NFC West.

The post Latest NFC West Preview 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.

By: Reese Nasser

Unlike in recent years, the NFC West is now up for the taking. The Seattle Seahawks roster is nearly identical to the team that they sent out last season and it took Russel Wilson nearly everything to get them a 12-4 record. The Los Angeles Rams made a huge splash and traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and pairing him with Sean McVay could unlock a whole new offense for them. The San Francisco 49ers used their first-round pick on QB Trey Lance and it is still unknown who their starter will become in week one. They still have a top-ten defensive unit and will be a force to be reckoned with. And then there is the Arizona Cardinals. 

The Cardinals have been one of the more interesting teams in the NFL. Their coach, Kliff Kingsbury, is labeled as an offensive guru. They have some of the most talented players on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Up until the halfway point of last season, many people thought that it could be the Cardinals year. So is this their year? Will the NFC West be there for the taking? It just might be.

High Powered Offense 

On paper, the Cardinals have one of the best teams in the NFL. Each position is filled with someone who could be near the top of their position. Kyler Murray and Deandre Hopkins are clearly the main duo but when looking past them, the talent is still there. Chase Edmunds and James Connor could be a top-five backfield in the NFL. Include what Murray brings to the running game and this could become the best running team the NFL has seen in some time. And then there are the receivers. Deandre Hopkins is still here and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Let’s not forget what he did this season.

While Hopkins is the obvious head of the unit, the group also has stud rookie Rondale Moore out of Purdue and ex-Bengals wideout A.J. Green. If Green is able to have a resurgence, he could become one of the best free-agent signings of the offseason. Moore, while small, is a beast and can make plays.

If Kingsbury can put together this offense and utilize everyone correctly, the unit could take over not only the NFC West but also the NFL. 

Rebuilt Defense

In order to be successful playing in the NFC West, a quality defense is necessary. This is something that the Cardinals have struggled with in the past but it looks like it will be different this season. Arizona restructured their entire defense and will be sending out a much different unit than they did last year. The addition of three-time defensive player of the year J.J. Watt was just the start.

The Cardinals also added super bowl XLIX hero Malcolm Butler in free agency and re-signed linebacker Markus Golden. To top it off, Arizona selected linebacker Zaven Collins in the first round to pair with last year’s first round selection, Isaiah Simmons.

The defense will be led by solidified veterans in Chandler Jones, Byron Murphy Jr, and Budda Baker. It is clear that this defense was built to be athletic and modern, much like the offense. This unit is expected to make a large jump from last year, and with the players that they have leading the pack, it should happen.

Balanced Roster 

There is a clear balance to this roster. A strong foundation set by seasoned players. There is also a distinct mix of young and old. With older players such as J.J. Watt and A.J. Green being brought in, the Cardinals were able to add two players who have dominated the last decade. By drafting Zaven Collins and Rondale Moore, they have added athleticism at two of their most important positions. The mix of experiences could make for this to be a very fun team to watch. With Kyler Murray and Deandre Hopkins at the helm and Kingsbury leading the charge, this team can become the best in the NFC West. It’s their year to make it happen. 

The post 3 reasons why the Arizona Cardinals can win the NFC West appeared first on Pro Football Mania.