5 reasons the Rams may be an NFC West favorite

The San Francisco 49ers are long past the Colin Kaepernick/Jim Harbaugh Super Bowl days. This past Sunday, just up the coast in Santa Clara, the Niners got thumped by the Carolina Panthers 23-3. Quarterback Brian Hoyer turned it over twice, leading to two Panthers touchdowns.

Like the Rams, San Francisco is rolling out a new head coach in Kyle Shanahan, a new quarterback in Hoyer, and a bevy of new faces. But unlike LA, the 49ers aren’t necessarily committed to their guy under center.

And oh yeah, they are also in rebuild mode, meaning that their new head coach will be reevaluating each week in an effort to find a winning combination.

That also means Shanahan won’t be committed to Hoyer longer than he has to be if his starter for now isn’t producing. They also have a leaky offensive line, and are a team transitioning from two, one-and-done head coaches. Truth is the 49ers are a team closer to the bottom than the top in 2017.

While the Cardinals are reluctant to admit where they are as an organization, San Francisco knows what it’s up against. That bodes well as the team makes its climb back up the mountain that is the NFC West.

Like Arizona, they aren’t a challenger to the Seahawks.

They also won’t be to the Rams.