Apr 25, 2013; New York, NY, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell introduces wide receiver Tavon Austin (West Virginia) as the eighth overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The NFC West is shaping up to be a very tough division in 2013.  The division appears to be full of talented young quarterbacks and stingy defenses, but this article is about the dynamic playmakers that reside in the division.  The San Francisco 49ers have their own dynamic playmaker in Michael Crabtree, but he definitely leans more towards the “traditional wideout” role than the NFC West’s newest playmakers.  The Seattle Seahawks made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by trading for the Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Percy Harvin.  The Seahawks gave up a significant amount of draft capital in the trade, as well as signing Harvin to a contact extension averaging around $11 million per year.  The St. Louis Rams waited to get their dynamic playmaker in the NFL Draft.  The Rams also gave up a significant amount of draft capital in the trade with the Buffalo Bills to move up from the 16th to the 8th spot to snag West Virginia star Tavon Austin.  So which team made the best offseason move?  Well until these players actually play a season or two for their new teams its way too early to tell, but hey snap judgements is what todays society is all about so let’s get to it.  Let’s start by taking a look at the draft profiles for each player, so that we are at least attempting to compare apples to apples.

Looking at the draft profiles and it seems that Tavon Austin rates as the more explosive player.  Austin has the better 40 yard dash time, as well as scoring equal to or above Harvin in every category.  One surprise is that the Scouts rated Austin a 2 on durability, even though it is said that he has never even missed a single practice let alone a game due to injury.  His size is a concern related to durability in the NFL, but the way the NFL protects wide receivers today it should be less of a concern than it would have been 20 years ago.  If you watch Austin’s highlight reels you will notice he has incredible vision and awareness, and I have yet to see a defender lay a solid hit on him.  Austin appears to be an NFL ready receiver, that is to say that he is a very polished route runner with the ability to gain separation against man coverage, as well as find the soft spots in zone coverages.  If Austin can pickup the Rams playbook he could have a huge impact from day one.  Even if Austin has a limited grasp of the playbook he will be a dynamic player once he gets the ball in his hands, and the Rams will find ways to get the ball to him on special teams as well as on offense.

The Seahawks picked up Harvin, who prior to going on injured reserve, was in the MVP conversation as he was having an outstanding season as the Vikings only offensive weapon not named Adrian Peterson.  Harvin has proven that he is one of the most exciting playmakers in the NFL during his four seasons in the league.  Unfortunately Harvin also missed 10 out of the 64 regular season games that the Vikings have played since they drafted him, with 7 of those games being missed during the 2012 season.  In four seasons in the NFL Harvin has scored 29 total touchdowns (4 more touchdowns than Stedman Bailey scored at West Virginia last season), via rushing, receiving and special teams.  The draft profile for Percy Harvin definitely had some questions regarding his durability, as well as the intangibles such as leadership and maturity.  

So who got the better deal in the NFC West?  Well if you are the Seahawks you have to be very excited about getting a dynamic playmaker for your offense, but Harvin definitely didn’t come cheap.  If you are the Rams you have to be very excited about snatching up the most dynamic playmaker in the NFL draft, but until Austin proves that he can be effective in the NFL it does carry some risk.  Both teams invested high amounts of draft capital to get their guy, but the Rams will end up paying Austin considerably less than the $11 million a year that the Seahawks owe Harvin.  If Harvin can manage to play the entire season for the Seahawks and put up similar numbers to what he was doing last year, the Seahawks will be very happy with their decision.  If Austin can provide the type of playmaking ability that most draft analysts predict, the Rams will also be very happy with their decision.  It is too early to tell just who come out as the winner here, the Seahawks appear to have a higher level of risk associated with their decision given Harvin’s injury history and huge contract.  If both players can stay healthy and live up to expectations though I would say that both teams and their fans would feel like winners.  Thanks for reading and as always Go Rams!!!

December 23, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) huddles up with the offense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

To simply put it, the Rams need this win.

The Rams brief noise of playoff hope was silenced by the Vikings’ stunning victory over the Texans, but a win against a red-hot Seattle team who has averaged 50 points a game the last three weeks would give this team a tremendous boost of confidence and provide another step in the right direction headed into the off-season.

St. Louis has a lot to play for as they hope to post a winning record of 8-7-1, go undefeated in the NFC West with the record of 5-0-1 and put everything on the line as this could be Steven Jackson‘s final game in a Rams’ uniform. Jackson is also 10 yards away from his historic eight consecutive 1,000 yard season.

If the Rams manage to play the role of spoiler inside the harsh confines of CenturyLink Field, it will show how the Rams perform under high expectations set by head coach Jeff Fisher.

I don’t believe in moral victories, but for a franchise that has gone 15-65 the previous five seasons and the mark of 2-14  last season shouldn’t be discouraged if they finish with the record of 7-8-1.

This tall order won’t be a walk in the park as they face the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense and the league’s second-ranked rushing attack. With a record of 10-5,  the Seattle Seahawks are on board to make the playoffs with still an outside chance of winning the division. They have an unblemished record at home  (7-0) where they are outscoring their opponents 223-82. The Seahawks are also sending four players to the highly scrutinized Pro Bowl: starters Russell Okung and Max Unger, the second leading rusher in the NFL Marshawn Lynch, followed by S Earl Thomas and KR Leon Washington.

However, winning four of their last five games, St. Louis have become road warriors as three of those four victories have come on the opponents’ home field. St. Louis went the entire first half of the season without coming away with a win on the road. In fact, this is the longest road winning streak in nine seasons for the NFL’s youngest team.

The Rams are much improved from last year, but this young team squandered many opportunities to come away with a few more victory throughout out the season.  Fisher knew he was entering a rebuilding process as he took over the reigns of the Rams head coach. You can tell by the tenacious and never quitting attitude that he has implemented in his team that he was aiming to play football in January.

St. Louis will look to add more talent through the draft and free agency to compete for the NFC West crown next year, but in the meantime knocking off Seattle is the only objective on the Rams’ mind.

Oct 25, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) carries the ball during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Metrodome. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Half of the NFC West is on a bye this weekend as the St. Louis Rams and San Fransisco 49ers both have the weekend off to rest up and prepare for their game against each other in week 10.  As a bit of a coincidence the other two NFC West teams are playing NFC North teams this weekend, the two divisions that were being considered the toughest in the NFL a few weeks ago.  The argument over which is the better division has certainly cooled off for now, but this weekends games could go a long way toward either divisions case as the NFL’s best.  So let’s take a look at each game and how each team matches up against one another in each phase.

Arizona Cardinals @ Green Bay Packers.  If you are a fan of the Arizona Cardinals you have to be dreading this game.  After the Cardinals dropped their 4th straight game to fall to 4-4 I am beginning to wonder if they will win any more games this season with the divisions toughest remaining schedule.

Cardinals Defense vs. Packers Offense.  The Cardinals strongest unit versus the Packers strongest unit will definitely go a long way in determining how competitive this game is, but considering how good Alex Smith looked against the Cardinals defense in week 8 all signs point to a huge day from Aaron Rodgers.  While the Packers still don’t have much of a ground game Rodgers has been very sharp in the second quarter of the season and should make life difficult for the Cardinals secondary.  If Patrick Peterson couldn’t handle Michael Crabtree I imagine that Randall Cobb will have similar success.

Cardinals Offense vs. Packers Defense.  The Cardinals will catch a break here as they go from facing arguably the best defense in the NFL to one that is really more middle of the NFL and is plagued with injuries.  The bad news for the Cardinals is that the Packers are tied for the NFL lead in sacks (with the Cardinals actually) led by Clay Matthews and his 9 sacks.  The Cardinals offense will have to try to run the ball effectively to take pressure off their quarterback if they are going to have a shot at the upset.

Special Teams.  I will give the special teams nod to the Arizona Cardinals and their ever dangerous return man Patrick Peterson.  That being said Peterson hasn’t been nearly as effective this season as he was in his rookie campaign.  The Cardinals offense desperately needs Peterson to start having a big impact in the return game by scoring touchdowns or providing the short fields required for them to generate points.

The Packers should have a relatively easy time with the Cardinals in Lambeau field, however I also would have expected them to beat the Jaguars by 30 points last weekend so you just never know in the NFL.

Minnesota Vikings @ Seattle Seahawks.  This is honestly one of the more intriguing matchups of week 9, two teams fighting to stay in the playoff race that rely on a strong running game and a young quarterback.  The Vikings started the season very well before recent struggles from Ponder have cooled them off, while the Seahawks have been a whole other team at home in 2012.

Seahawks Offense vs. Vikings Defense.  The Seattle offense has been built around a power running game and with good reason, they have the kind of defense that can win low scoring games.  Lately though the offense has started to run a little bit more through the rookie Russell Wilson and by all accounts he has delivered.  Wilson still has a ton of room to improve, as his 180 yards per game statistic would imply, but he throws a very nice deep ball and is almost impossible to rattle.  As long as he doesn’t turn the ball over the Seahawks can win with that kind of production.

Seahawks Defense vs. Vikings Offense.  The Seahawks defense is allowing only 85 yards per game on the ground at 3.7 yards per carry.  While I do believe that they are a very solid defense I can’t imagine they will have that level of success against Adrian Peterson on Sunday.  The Seahawks secondary is a formidable bunch that can take away your prototypical #1 receiver with physical play at the line of scrimmage, one area they struggle at is covering the small quicker receivers as Titus Young showed last week.  That is good news for the Vikings as they have Percy Harvin, probably the most dangerous small and quick receiver in the league.  Of course the Vikings don’t have a player like Megatron lined up on the outside to draw coverage away from Harvin and provide him the space he needs to make plays.

Special Teams.  The Seahawks should hold the advantage in special teams as they have one of the best returners in the league, as well as a solid kicker and one of the top punters.  The Vikings do have the big play ability in special teams as their win over the Lions in week 4 showed, when they returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns.  The slight advantage goes to the home team here as I don’t expect either team to have an impact play on special teams.

If you are a Rams fan who still believes that they have a shot at the playoffs the best thing to root for here is a tie.  Either one of these teams securing the win makes the Rams road to the playoffs that much more difficult.  It is hard not to take the Seahawks at home, but you can’t count out any team that has Peterson in the backfield.

Even though the Rams aren’t playing this weekend the games could have a big impact on their positioning within the NFC West.  If the Seahawks and Cardinals were to lose this weekend it would put the Rams only 1 game out of 2nd place heading into their matchup with the 49ers in week 10.  Of course the Rams will need to start winning again for any of that to matter, but hopefully the extra planning and a return to health in the bye week will be enough for the Rams to make a push in the second half of the season.  Enjoy the games this weekend and as always GoRams!!