Toughest competition in the NFC

Hi all Hawk-fans,

I've just joined the site, been a UK Seahawk fan since 2005 (before their run to the superbowl!) and the obsession has certainly grown every year since!

My view of the 2013/4 Seahawks was that they were almost unbeatable when Russell had time to throw. If the O-line play improves and Percy stays fit, this offense looks explosive (BPR & PH = scary). The defense has lost a bit of depth through free-agency but with some top talents coming back from IR and a couple of nice draft prospects (Marsh i'm looking at you) , I'm really hopeful despite the tough tough schedule.

Anyway, I can't wait for the NFL to kick back into gear post-draft and wondered who other posters consider to be the main danger in the NFC? The 49ers are the obvious pick (or do i call them "Whiners" on all posts? ), mainly due to they raise the possibility of going on the road in the playoffs / getting in at all, but other squads with large steps forward include the Packers, Cardinals, Eagles with perennial contenders the Saints likely to compete. Another worthy consideration would be the Panthers.

I still think the winner of the NFC West is the most likely superbowl representative for the NFC.

Russell

:2:

Saints are biggest threat in my opinion

As far as other teams go, pretty much all of the ones you listed. The NFC West I think will by far be the biggest test. It seems as all 3 teams got a lot tougher in the draft... Well on paper any way

The only other things I would add to being their toughest competition is their own complacency and/or injuries.

One team I don't know what to expect from is the Rams. On paper they have the talent to match up with anyone on the defensive side, and with Bradford playing a full season they could be dark horses. The alternative view is that they will finish 4th in the division despite being an accomplished team, probably losing a number of close games to their division rivals and finish up in the 7-9, 8-8 range.

The NFC West is just another level by the looks of things.

The NFC West is just sick. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember if there's ever been a division that had FOUR potential playoff teams in it. Closest that I can really remember is (ironically) the AFC West of the mid-80s, when all five of the teams were good, including the Seahawks.

Knowing the gauntlet of tough teams that we had to beat last year to win it--that makes the victory all the more sweet!

Followthelegion":7ig5lluo said:

One team I don't know what to expect from is the Rams. On paper they have the talent to match up with anyone on the defensive side, and with Bradford playing a full season they could be dark horses. The alternative view is that they will finish 4th in the division despite being an accomplished team, probably losing a number of close games to their division rivals and finish up in the 7-9, 8-8 range.

The NFC West is just another level by the looks of things.

Click to expand...

The Rams will not make the playoffs with Bradford as quarterback

The usual suspects of Packers, 9ers and Saints, most likely the Panthers (WR corp is questionable). The NFC East is a toss-up depending on how RGIII bounces back from last year. They could challenge the Eagles.

The next tier is Cardinals and Bears.

The NY Giants, Falcons, Lions, Rams and Cowboys are wildcards. Giants have been down the past few years, does that continue? Cowboys need to get their defense together. Rams need Bradford to put up or be replaced. Falcons need their defense to get better and injuries to be kinder on their offensive players. Lions are a mystery and I am not a Caldwell fan. At least they should be a more mature team. Not sure what was Schwartz's issue, just put out a very undisciplined team.

Darkhorse is Tampa Bay. Will Lovie get them to play at his usual level while with the Bears? His teams may have lacked dynamic performances, but until Urlacher went downhill and other losses on defense, they were competitive.

Vikings will get better under Zimmer, that guy is probably just as revered as Dick Labeau. I think he has Norv Turner on his staff, which should help turn around the offense that has been pathetic on the passing side of things.

tldr;

Saints, 9ers, Packers, Panthers and Cardinals. Saints the toughest, I think the Saints win HFA this year.

Short answer:
Our div foes.

The Rams and Cardinals would be really scary with above average quarterbacks, though their Ds are more than capable of giving us headaches.

I could easily see the NFC West being represented in the Super Bowl more often than not over the next few years.

New Orleans will be interesting to watch, they seem to be following our blueprint (especially in terms of defense, and the drafting of Cooks who draws comparisons with Harvin). Still, Sherman > Jean-Baptiste, Thomas & Chancellor > Byrd & Vaccaro. They're basically a poor-man's Seattle Seahawks.

There's always a dark horse that rises .. while one of the perceived favorites falls apart due to injury and bad luck.

My dark horse in the NFC this year is Chicago. I just can't see that defense being as miserable as it was a year ago, and while Jay Cutler is an insufferable douchebag on the field.. he was playing pretty damn well before injuries set in. That Chicago offense is scary good.

But in the end I'd be surprised if Seattle and San Fran weren't the 1-2 powerhouses yet again.

Trenchbroom":6cfjc0vw said:

The NFC West is just sick. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember if there's ever been a division that had FOUR potential playoff teams in it. Closest that I can really remember is (ironically) the AFC West of the mid-80s, when all five of the teams were good, including the Seahawks.

Knowing the gauntlet of tough teams that we had to beat last year to win it--that makes the victory all the more sweet!

Click to expand...

I'm old enough to remember those days. We had a rivalry with every team our div except San DIego. and they were all hard-ass playoff veterans. Bo Jackson, Christian Okoye, John Elway, Derrick Thomas,

Niners - Had CK not KaeperCHOKED in their final 3 possessions. We could possibly be seeing them visiting the white house today. I fully expect CK to continue to grow, combine that with more offensive weapons on their team.

Packers - They finally have a running game.

I do think we have the best team in the NFL. BUT in a game of inches, where every play, call, injury matters. I can see any of the top 6 teams in the NFL hoisting the Lombardi next year.

Whiners by a long shot with Aints being 2nd in my mind. Panthers are right in the mix with Aints too. I don't see Lambs with Bradford or Cards with Palmer. I think Cards fall off a bit this year. In fact I could see Bradford figuring it out and the Lambs being the Cards of last year before I see the Cards repeating last season's success. Packers still don't have enough D to play with the other 4 big boys in the Conference (Hawks, Frisco, Nawlins, Carolina). Ditto the Eagles, ditto the Skins.


And I agree with the Doc that Tampa Bay is kind of a wild card in the NFC. If McCown is near what he was last year with Chicago and with Lovie as the HC I can see this team doing some damage.

Niners and a healthy Rodgers IMO. That saints team doesn't scare me

ZagHawk":1bm7et7z said:

Niners - Had CK not KaeperCHOKED in their final 3 possessions. We could possibly be seeing them visiting the white house today. I fully expect CK to continue to grow, combine that with more offensive weapons on their team.

Packers - They finally have a running game.

I do think we have the best team in the NFL. BUT in a game of inches, where every play, call, injury matters. I can see any of the top 6 teams in the NFL hoisting the Lombardi next year.

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I agree about the Packers.

Just a point about SF...I feel in comparison to the rest of the NFC they are slightly over-rated. You go back and watch the NFCCG, SF get their points from 3 possessions:
1) RW fumbles first play of the game and gives them posssession on the 20, they don't get a 1st down, kick FG
2) TD run on 4th & goal after 2 huge CK runs
3) 35 yd TD jump pass which ET fails to deflect by a matter of centimetres straight after a fumble which was booted forwards 10 yrds, picked up by SF O-Lineman.

Given the above the 23-17 scoreline flatters SF. From an offensive standpoint Seattle should have held them under 10. Thats just one game obviously. but even the Carolina game and 2 other Seattle games last year didn't impress me as much as the media it would seem.

ZagHawk":19vx6ncn said:

Niners - Had CK not KaeperCHOKED in their final 3 possessions. We could possibly be seeing them visiting the white house today. I fully expect CK to continue to grow, combine that with more offensive weapons on their team.

Packers - They finally have a running game.

I do think we have the best team in the NFL. BUT in a game of inches, where every play, call, injury matters. I can see any of the top 6 teams in the NFL hoisting the Lombardi next year.

Click to expand...

Kaep choked for a reason--his ass done got Sherminated.

Followthelegion":3ts4hs7d said:

Hi all Hawk-fans,

I've just joined the site, been a UK Seahawk fan since 2005 (before their run to the superbowl!) and the obsession has certainly grown every year since!

My view of the 2013/4 Seahawks was that they were almost unbeatable when Russell had time to throw. If the O-line play improves and Percy stays fit, this offense looks explosive (BPR & PH = scary). The defense has lost a bit of depth through free-agency but with some top talents coming back from IR and a couple of nice draft prospects (Marsh i'm looking at you) , I'm really hopeful despite the tough tough schedule.

Anyway, I can't wait for the NFL to kick back into gear post-draft and wondered who other posters consider to be the main danger in the NFC? The 49ers are the obvious pick (or do i call them "Whiners" on all posts? ), mainly due to they raise the possibility of going on the road in the playoffs / getting in at all, but other squads with large steps forward include the Packers, Cardinals, Eagles with perennial contenders the Saints likely to compete. Another worthy consideration would be the Panthers.

I still think the winner of the NFC West is the most likely superbowl representative for the NFC.

Russell

Click to expand...

Half the teams in the league would be unbeatable if the QB has time to throw.

I don't think the Whiners are the biggest threat even in the same division. In fact I can see them dropping behind the Rams to 4th. I don't know if it's mathematically possible since I think that the division will cannibalize the crap out of each other, but I would bet on 2 teams going to playoffs, if not 3 (may not be possible). Niners are getting old, Colon has been figured out and no matter who is WRing for him, unless he's the first option, the ball ain't going to him. I see the division going: Seattle, AZ (could slide to last if Palmer drops off, can't believe they didn't take Manziel), StL, SF. Other NFC threats would be GB and NO. The NFCE will send a sacrificial lamb to the playoffs in the Eagles and Detroit will take a WC spot if the W doesn't pull out a trifecta. The main concern I see with the strength of the NFCW is the division winner not getting homefield throughout.

There's always a good team that backtracks, I pick SF. Their coach's act is wearing thin, no Bowman or Smith, Colon (who is really not dislikable as a person for the most part and does waaaay more good than most players and more than the Russ vs Colon memes would suggest) will try to do too much in a contract year, Crabtree will be butt-hurt, and too many key players are old and they've played more games than anyone in the last 3 seasons. Wouldn't be surprised if they miss the playoffs entirely.

First and foremost our toughest competition in the NFC is ourselves. How will our guys handle both the natural complacency of winning the Super Bowl and many getting paid. Right now I don't think any of us really can answer that question.

Second, will our IR/PUP guys in addition to the new draft and UDFA guys be able to replace those who left for other teams. To me this is still an unknown right now.

Third, does our schedule this year with such a workload playoff level teams in addition to our own division make the challenge even more difficult than last year.

If all these are answered in the positive I really don't think there will be any true competition no matter the team we play against this season.

But if I had to name a few teams in the NFC it would obviously start with the NFC West. Then I would add in the Packers, Bears, Saints and to a smaller degree the Panthers (although I think they regress this year).

MB12":t807oqj7 said:

Followthelegion":t807oqj7 said:

One team I don't know what to expect from is the Rams. On paper they have the talent to match up with anyone on the defensive side, and with Bradford playing a full season they could be dark horses. The alternative view is that they will finish 4th in the division despite being an accomplished team, probably losing a number of close games to their division rivals and finish up in the 7-9, 8-8 range.

The NFC West is just another level by the looks of things.

Click to expand...

The Rams will not make the playoffs with Bradford as quarterback

Click to expand...

Jeff Fisher has taken A LOT of REALLY talented teams to 8-8 records too.

I hope to be wrong, but until I see differently, it's Santa Clara, they are still the biggest competition.
Hate em, but they are a hell of a team. Hoping they tank it big time :th2thumbs: