For years the NFC West has been the butt of jokes for being the worst division in the NFL. This reached a peak when Seattle qualified for the playoffs as divisional champion at 7-9 and became the first team with a losing record to make the playoffs.
In 2011/12, the San Francisco 49ers reestablished some respectability for the division with a 13-3 record and a devastating loss in the NFC Championship game.
Week 2 of the NFL season saw the NFC West deliver the most impressive collective performance with 4 out of division wins.
These included the impressive with Seattle beating the Cowboys 27-7, the narrow with St Louis holding on to win 31-28 over Washington and the confusing with Arizona somehow beating New England 20-18.
San Francisco’s 2011/12 season seemed to be an aberration, after years of disappointment and underachieving, the 49ers finally achieved played with some consistency and powered by a historically strong defense, returned to the playoffs.
Entering this season, the 49ers seemed to be a prime candidate to regress to the field. After two weeks and two dominant performances against last year’s playoff teams, the 49ers have confirmed that they are an elite team and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
In a quarterback oriented league, the 49ers are a contrast in style to the majority of elite teams in the NFL.
Like the Steelers and the Ravens, the key to the 49ers success is their defense. They have the most complete defenses with depth and talent at every position.
Unlike the Steelers and the Ravens who have legitimate questions at cornerback, the 49ers excel as much in pass coverage as they do in their run defense.
Patrick Willis looks to be the closest thing to vintage Ray Lewis, Justin Smith is a nightmare on the defensive line and Carlos Rogers, Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner provide a blanket on the back end that can stop the best passing attacks.
The 49ers have shown that they are able to slow the best passing offenses to a near halt. Neither the Lions nor the Packers, two of 2011’s best offensive units, had answers for the 49ers.
Offensively, the 49ers have more questions. They do have a solid running game led by Frank Gore and when former Oregon standout Lamichael James returns from injury, the rookie should only propel the 49ers to a relentless running attack. Quarterback Alex Smith will never be Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers but he doesn’t have to be.
Smith’s strength is his intelligence. He rarely makes mistakes – his last interception was thrown Thanksgiving 2011.
Smith is able to diagnose defenses and put the 49ers in a position to capitalize on their running game and punish opposing defenses when the key in on stopping the run. The 49ers balanced attack is effective and mistake averse. They will never score 45 points but they don’t have to.
When gifted with the field position and scoreboard advantage that their defense provides, 20 points usually will win the game.
Maybe the 49ers would have been better earlier if they had have drafted Aaron Rodgers or Jason Campbell back in 2005 but right now Alex Smith is the perfect quarterback for this team.
The interesting trend in the 2012 NFL season is that despite the league turning pass happy and the belief that quarterbacks win championships, the three best teams in the league; Baltimore, San Francisco and Houston, are united by their elite defenses.
Whether this is an outlier for this season or will continue for the seasons to come remains to be seen. Maybe defenses do win championships.
Arizona beat the Pats
Arizona’s victory over the Patriots is baffling. A field goal fest, both teams were sluggish offensively with Kevin Kolb throwing 140 yards and although Brady threw for 316 this was only possible by attempting 46 passes.
The obvious reason for the Patriots’ loss was the usually automatic Stephen Gostowski missing a 42 yard field goal but the Patriots inability to to convert their opportunities is a worrying sign for a team loaded with offensive weapons.
Somehow, despite their questions at quarterback, Arizona are 2-0 and tied for the lead in the division with the 49ers.
Rookie quarterbacks had a better weekend with three rookies (Luck, Wilson and Tannehill) notching their first win with the three victorious quarterbacks performing effectively but not outstanding.
The losing rookie quarterbacks had performed better with Brandon Weeden the standout throwing for 322 yards.
Other headlines include the New Orleans Saints continue to struggle without head coach Sean Payton falling to 0-2 after losing to the Carolina Panthers 35-27. Pittsburgh delivered a quality performance across the ball with a 27-10 victory over the Jets.
San Diego are an early surprise at 2-0 with a 38-10 win over Tennessee contradicting their established trend of disappointing September performances. Baltimore were very unlucky in their narrow 24-23 loss to Philadelphia that was clouded by a controversial offensive pass interference call on Torrey Smith late in the fourth quarter.
Performances of the Week:
Eli Manning (NYG) 31-51 510 yards, 3 TDs, 3 Interceptions: The three interceptions aren’t ideal but Manning did just about everything he could to will the Giants to a comeback win against Tampa Bay.
Manning showed again that he ranks as one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the league, powering the Giants to a 25-7 final quarter to win 41-34 win. The 510 yards thrown for was the 8th most ever by a quarterback in the NFL.
C.J. Spiller (BUF) 15 carries, 123 yards 2 TDs: In the opening two games, C.J. Spiller has been the most explosive runner in the NFL. He has ran for 292 yards on only 29 carries for an absurd 10 yards a carry.
After two disappointing seasons that failed to justify his high draft selection and in which he saw only spot duty behind starter Fred Jackson, Spiller has made a remarkable rise to be the best running back in the early part of this NFL season.
It seems near impossible to maintain his gaudy yards per carry number but Spiller has show that he is able to provide the consistency and versatility that the Bills lost with the season ending injury to Jackson.
Reggie Bush (MIA) 26 carries, 172 yards, 2 Tds: Bush also found himself in the category of Spiller as a running back drafted high who wasn’t able to establish himself as an every down back. In 2011 Bush showed some glimpses that he has the durability to play at that rate and in 2012 Bush has delivered for the Dolphins with consistency and is gradually erasing the disappointment in his tenure at New Orleans.
Clay Matthews (GB) 7 tackles, 3.5 sacks: Although this game happened days ago, Matthews still delivered the performance of the week in leading the Packers defensive domination of the Bears. Matthews was at his best, pressuring Jay Cutler from all sides and terrorizing the Bears offensive line. If the Packers can play with a degree of defensive help, they will be find themselves back at the top of the league.
Disappointments of the week
New Orleans Saints: The loss of coach Sean Payton was obviously a concern for the Saints but their fall to 0-2 has been caused by more than just the void in coaching. The Saints defense that already wasn’t very good is worse, being shredded by Robert Griffin III and Cam Newton in successive weeks.
Drew Brees is tallying a high passing yardage but these statistics are being inflated by garbage time numbers.
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys managed nothing against the Seahawks losing 27-7. Their running game that looked so potent in Week 1 was completely shut down and they were unable to slow Seattle on the ground with Marshawn Lynch running for 122 yards. Their improved pass defense only allowed Russell Wilson to pass for 151 yards but this lack of aerial offense might have just been due to the Seahawks finding easy yards on the ground.
Dan Corbett
Roar Rookie
It doesn't make any tactical sense because Julian Edelman is clearly not as good a player as Welker. All the speculation is that this is a repeat of the Randy Moss situation. Patriots best receiver agitating for a new contract relegated to being a non factor
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Theres also the fact that Arizona have a pretty legitimate pass-rush from the inside of their line, among some other bits of a respectible defense. The NFC West isnt what it used to be, in short.
falcore
Guest
What's goin on with Belichick and Wes Welker? Not really a fan, but he's been such a pat's favourite for a while, now he's what, 3 on the WR depth chart? Contract negotiations takin their toll?
Jimbo
Guest
He also showed in the Sainst playoff game he can make some plays behind too, I think calling him a front runner sells him a little short. He is also a good athlete and can make plays on his feet if necessary.
Dan Corbett
Roar Rookie
Patrick Willis is fantastic, he is one of the best defensive players in the league and if the 49ers continue on this path he is going to win Defensive Player of the Year in a landslide unless DeMarcus Ware has over 20 sacks. As I said in the article, I think he is as good as Ray Lewis was in his prime. As for Alex Smith I love his confidence. He doesn't have the skill set that Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady have, but he puts the 49ers in the position to win and delivers exactly what is necessary to win the game. His throws in the fourth quarter especially on third down were as clutch as they come. He is a great frontrunning quarterback. He can hold and extend a lead and shorten the game. That is exactly what the 49ers need in a quarterback.
Jimbo
Guest
Patrick willis is an absolute beast. The play where he hit Brandon Pettigrew from behind whilst getting his arm around to knock the ball out and force the incompletion was huge. He is one of the few linebackers with the strength and speed to stay with the modern breed of tight end. I was highly impressed with Alex Smith too. He seemed really calm, made plenty of adjustments at the line of scrimmage, and didn't seem to let drops by his receivers get to him. Late in the game he converted 3 3rd and longs in a row. He will never be Brady or Manning, but after a tumultuous few years with different OC's every season almost, he is settling in nicely. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download it now [http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-roar/id327174726?mt=8].
Dan Corbett
Roar Rookie
I accept your point about Hernandez to an extent. Yes his loss was significant and their offense is built around the two tight ends and accordingly their game plan had to be drastically changed. But, the Patriots have Wes Welker, Gronkowski, Brandon Lloyd and Julian Edelman at Tom Brady's disposal. With an improved running game, the fact that they could not find the end zone until the fourth quarter is damning. The Patriots line is a concern, but the Patriots just seemed sluggish. This loss is about more than just the injury to one player. As for the Ravens next week, I think the Ravens are a better team than the Patriots and traveling to Baltimore, New England should be the underdog.
Eric George
Roar Rookie
The Pats upset was certainly shocking, but you can chalk a lot of that up to the early loss of Hernandez. The Patriots have built their entire offence around a two tight-end scheme, which makes both Hernandez and Gronk the least replaceable players on the offense (after Brady, of course). You could even argue that Hernandez is more important than Gronkowski as he is so important to Belichick's scheming, and is the most versatile player on their offence. The offensive line never really gave Brady a chance to take control of the match until the fourth quarter, although he was certainly sub-par throughout the match. I think a lot of people assumed that once they got Lloyd back it'd be like 2007 all over again. But Brady hasn't had a deep ball for quite a few seasons, and missed on two deep chances in this match. They'll be pretty concerned about going into Baltimore next week without Hernandez, but Brady has a knack of putting together big games on national television.