Divisional Setbacks Are Seahawks Gains

Before I plunge into this topic, let me first preface this article by saying that I would never wish an injury on any player, regardless of how good they are or what team they play for.  With that being said, there are injuries a-plenty piling up in the division, the most recent and notable one being another torn ACL for Sam Bradford.  This unfortunate setback all but flushed any hopes of winning the NFC West down the drain for the St. Louis Rams.

San Francisco, who has been struggling all pre-season, will have a lot of ground to make up defensively.  NaVorro Bowman will be out for a good chunk of the year as he is still recovering from his horrific leg injury that he suffered during last years playoffs. In addition, Aldon Smith has a laundry list of legal issues coming down the pipeline, and is expected to miss about a third of the season.  Meanwhile, Colin Kaepernick has looked pretty terrible during the preseason, leading his team to an underwhelming total of 3 points during his time on the field.

Arizona is in the best shape of the teams mentioned so far. Still, they will be without their star defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, who also suffered a torn ACL during a practice, ending his season before it began.  That’s really the biggest red flag that the Cardinals are dealing with at the moment. However, I still have my reservations about Carson Palmer.

So where does this leave the Seahawks?  As it stands right now, I would say with full confidence that they are, indeed, in the best position to once again win the division and head into the playoffs sitting pretty.  Keep in mind that with a healthy Percy Harvin the offensive playbook just burst wide open, and has anyone else noticed how calm Russell Wilson has been looking on the field lately?  He kind of looks like defenders bore him at times when he is evading the rush.

There are about a thousand reasons why I would pick Seattle to win the NFC West once again, but just based on what has been going on with the divisional rivals leading into the season is enough to convince nearly any skeptic that a Super Bowl repeat is not necessarily a pipe dream at this point.