1. St. Louis Rams
Last season, Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger were beaten up thanks to a porous offensive line, but the addition of Kyle Turley at right tackle and the re-signing of holdout Orlando Pace gives the Rams one of the best lines in the league. Warner should again have time to throw the 20- to 30-yard darts on crossing patterns that made the Rams offense devastating in 2001. The lack of a good third receiver was a problem last year, but they picked up a pair of speedy rookies in Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald that should be able to contribute in the slot.
The Rams secondary is by far the weak link on this team. The projected starting corners have a total of 11 games of NFL starting experience, and safety Jason Sehorn is sidelined until at least October. Depth at linebacker is a little thin, but the starters have great speed and should hold up fine barring injury.
Bottom Line: With the offensive line solidified and former MVPs Warner and Marshall Faulk healthy, the greatest show on turf will be back. If the defense is a little above average, the Rams should be a shoe-in for the division title.
2. San Francisco 49ers
In my opinion, letting Steve Mariucci go was probably the worst move of the off-season. All he did was get this team to the playoffs, while Dennis Erickson has never really accomplished anything in the NFL.
The biggest concern of the 49ers has to be the health of Jeff Garcia, whose back problems could flare up at any time this season. He has been very durable over his career, but if he goes down, San Francisco’s offense will be in the hands of a QB that has never started an NFL game. If Garcia stays healthy, the offense should put a lot of points on the board.
Defensively, the 49ers have a bad combination of poor pass coverage and an anemic pass rush. Mike Rumph, who was miserable as a rookie, is being counted on as one of the starting corners. He has shown some improvement in the preseason, but he still has a long way to go. It's questionable also whether the defensive tackles will be able to hold up to the run.
Bottom Line: The 49ers will score a lot of points if Garcia stays healthy, but they’re going to need them. Teams like division rival St. Louis will move up and down the field at will, so get set for some big shootouts. Overall, the 49ers do not have the defense or the depth to win this division.
3. Seattle Seahawks
Before the injuries to Chad Eaton and Shawn Springs, I felt like the Seahawks were ready to overtake the 49ers and challenge for the division crown, but now I’m not sure they’ll have the defense to get the job done. Seattle’s run defense was horrible in 2002 , and any playoff hopes they have could go away quickly if teams run on them like they did last year. A lot of the pressure to stop the run will now fall on the shoulders of defensive tackle Norman Hand, who was acquired in a trade with the Saints.
