NFC West: 49ers look golden. Seahawks and Rams fight for silver. Cardinals fight history
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Miami Dolphins/NFL 2023 season preview
The Miami Dolphins have high expectations as head coach Mike McDaniel enters his second season at the helm of the franchise.
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NFC WEST
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Coach: Jonathan Gannon (first season as an NFL head coach).
Last season: 4-13 (fourth in the division).
Key additions: OT Paris Johnson, Jr., LB Kyzir White, DT L.J. Collier, LB BJ Ojulari, WR Michael Wilson.
Key subtractions: WR DeAndre Hopkins, DE J.J. Watt, DE Zach Allen, LB Markus Golden, CB Byron Murphy, C Billy Price, OG Justin Pugh, LB Isaiah Simmons, QB Colt McCoy, OT Josh Jones.
Looking ahead: Tyler Murray defines “Cardinals’ franchise quarterback” and not in the best way. After playing the first 40 games of his career, Murray has been on the field for only 17 of the last 26, his torn ACL and the Cardinals 2022 injury problems being a broken franchise in microcosm. Murray’s being under renovation parallels this also-under-renovation roster, coaching staff and management staff. A nice 2023 draft and a Costco cart of high 2024 picks set Arizona up for the future. For now? Another House of Cards.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Coach: Sean McVay (ninth season with the Rams, 60-38 in the regular season, 7-3 in the playoffs).
Last season: 5-12 (third in the division).
Key additions: G Steve Avila, DT Kobie Turner, LB Byron Young.
Key subtractions: LB Bobby Wagner, CB Jalen Ramsey, LB Leonard Floyd, DT Greg Gaines, CB Troy Hill, S Taylor Rapp, DT A’Shawn Robinson, S Nick Scott.
Looking ahead: No defending Super Bowl champion ever did a bigger Acapulco cliff dive than the Rams. To be fair, they were down starting QB Matthew Stafford, All-Pro WR Cooper Kupp and All-Future Hall of Fame DT Aaron Donald by Thanksgiving and used 14 different offensive line combinations. Only Donald and two starters return on defense. Stafford’s missed significant time two of the last four seasons, is a creaky 35 when healthy and his backups aren’t ready. That last part fits a roster too heavy on untested youth.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Coach: Kyle Shanahan (seventh season in San Francisco; 54-47 in the regular season, 6-3 in the playoffs).
Last season: 15-5 (first in the division), lost the NFC Championship Game to Philadelphia.
Key additions: DT Javon Hargrave, K Jake Moody, S Ji’Ayir Brown.
Key subtractions: QB Jimmy Garoppolo, DE Samson Ebukam, OT Mike McGlinchey, LB Azeez Al-Shaair, CB Jimmie Ward, K Robbie Gould.
Looking ahead: The 49ers are so comfortable with their roster (when healthy), they took a kicker with their second draft pick. Quarterback is the question, of course. How well can 2022 last draft pick overall Brock Purdy come back from injury? What will former high first round pick Sam Darnold, on his third team, look like in this offense? The trade of their 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance says they missed on that gamble bad enough to gamble betting on Purdy and Darnold. The 49ers allowed the fewest yards, points, had the best turnover margin and NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa. Tough to repeat that, but not impossible.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Coach: Pete Carroll (14th season in Seattle, 128-81-1 in the regular season, 10-9 in the playoffs).
Last season: 9-9 (second in the division), lost in the NFC Wild Card round to San Francicso.
Key additions:. DE Dre’Mont Jones, S Julian Love, LB Bobby Wagner, RB Zach Charbonnet, LB Derek Hall, C Evan Brown, DT Jarran Reed, LB Devin Bush, CB Devon Witherspoon, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, NT Cameron Young.
Key subtractions: G Gabe Jackson, S Ryan Neal, NT Al Woods, DE Shelby Harris, RB Rashaad Penney, LB Bruce Irvin, long snapper Carson Tinker.
Looking ahead: We see you, Geno, looking like an NFL starter nine years after the Jets took you in the second round. Now, can Geno Smith go back, Jack, do it again? He’ll still have a pair of 1,000-yard receivers, DK Metcalf and Tayler Lockett to target and the Seahawks added rookie chain mover Smith-Njigba. Having a defense rank 30th against the run and 26th overall might be the only thing that makes septuagenarian Pete Carroll feel old. So, Seattle brought back Wagner and Reed, brought in Jones so the Seahawks can keep teams from avoiding the Legion of Boom, Next Gen secondary Carroll’s trying to build.
This story was originally published August 31, 2023 at 8:45 AM.
