{"id":12581,"date":"2009-08-21T12:56:38","date_gmt":"2009-08-21T17:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=12581"},"modified":"2023-02-07T07:40:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T15:40:31","slug":"2009-nfc-west-division-gambling-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/cappers\/2009-nfc-west-division-gambling-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2009 NFL Divisional Previews: NFC West"},"content":{"rendered":"

NFC WEST DIVISION 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW<\/h2>\n
\"Marc<\/a>
Marc Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Marc Lawrence \u2022 Playbook.com<\/p>\n

Last year we went out on a limb and predicted that a sleeper team could emerge from the NFC WEST DIVISION and that the Cardinals appeared ready for a breakthrough year.<\/p>\n

And like the amazing Karnac, Arizona opened the envelope and answered when the Redbirds came within 30 seconds of winning the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

Is there a team inside the NFC WEST that can stand and deliver again in 2009? Or better, yet is there another sleeper team residing within?<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MARC LAWRENCE\u2019S PICKS PAGE @ <\/strong>CAPPERSPICKS.COM \u2014\u2013><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is my take of teams in the NFC WEST DIVISION for 2009. Enjoy\u2026<\/p>\n

NFC West<\/h3>\n

ARIZONA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team Theme \u2013 EVIL EYE<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the Cardinals walked off with the consolation prize in SBXLIII in February, they immediately became prime \u2018play against\u2019 fodder for the 2009 season ahead. Since the 1999 season, the dreaded \u201cSuper Bowl Loser\u201d jinx has really come to the fore with those teams going 77-85 SU and 65-95-2 ATS overall. If that\u2019s not bad enough, consider that in the last eight years, only one of those teams (Seattle in 2006) made the playoffs the following year. The jinx even bit mighty New England last season, and Ken Whisenhunt is concerned his team could be up against it in 2009. That\u2019s because teams that shun the run generally do not go very far in this league. While Arizona managed to beat the stigma last season, we don\u2019t see the Red Birds being able to run the jinx into the ground this year \u2013 not even with the addition of bruising first-round RB Beanie Wells.\u00a0PLAY AGAINST: at Seattle (10\/18)<\/p>\n

ST. LOUIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team Theme \u2013 BABY STEPS<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to put a 2-14 season under the microscope and find many positives. We could point to the last three losses of the season, (by a combined total of 8 points) and compare them to losses in the first four games of the season (by an average 26 PPG) and say the Rams were peaking at season\u2019s end. But, that would be putting a political spin on the campaign and we don\u2019t want to go there. What the microscope doesn\u2019t show was a team ravaged with injuries, particularly on the offensive line. As a result, Steve Spagnuolo moves over from his defensive coordinator post with the Giants to become the fourth head coach in five years for this troubled franchise. A newly-installed spread offense means the transition will be doubly difficult. \"<\/a> One thing is certain. A healthy dose of RB Steven Jackson will be a step in the right direction.\u00a0PLAY ON: vs. San Francisco (10\/4)<\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team Theme \u2013 SINGLE SURGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a team with a losing record last season, the Niners showed signs of promise. A 5-2 finish under interim head coach Mike Singletary, who took over for Mike Nolan in Game Eight, made believers of the owners and they responded by elevating Singletary to official head coach status. Likeable Mike will need to find a quarterback to lead his charges. Former first-round bust Alex Smith and fifth-round pick Nate Davis could hold the keys to Singletary\u2019s future. Both have plenty of potential. The question is does it surface in San Francisco? WR Michael Crabtree fell into the 49ers\u2019 laps as the tenth player chosen in the first-round of this year\u2019s draft. The NFC West is wide open and this year\u2019s schedule is split evenly between winners and non-winners from last year. If Crabtree is as good as promised, and if Singletary put his stamp on the defense, San Fran\u2019s surprising surge just may continue.\u00a0PLAY ON: as dog vs. Seattle (10\/26)<\/p>\n

SEATTLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team Theme \u2013 BOTTOMS UP<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was not the way it was intended to be. Hall of Fame head coach Mike Holmgren was to hand the baton off to Jim Mora, Jr., concluding a brilliant 17-year career as a head coach in the NFL. The exchange was botched when the Seahawks went 4-12; Holmgren\u2019s worst season ever. The Seahawks were hit hard by the injury big in 2008, most importantly at quarterback where Matt Hasselbeck missed nine games with a bad back. Reports are the former Pro Bowl QB is at full strength and is thrilled with the off-season acquisition of WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh. LB Aaron Curry, the 4th pick in this year\u2019s NFL draft, should stabilize a defense that declined 52 YPG last season. Mora did a fine job by winning 27 games in three years as a head coach with Atlanta from 2004-06. We have no doubt that he will have this team back up to Holmgren\u2019s standards in no time.\u00a0PLAY ON: vs. Green Bay (12\/27)<\/p>\n

Note: <\/strong>Marc Lawrence<\/strong> is a 30-year veteran handicapper. He finished No.1 in the nation (88-63 +25.7 Net Units) in MLB during the 2007 season as documented by Sports Watch in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Comments are Welcome!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n

Marc Lawrence Has Been Handicapping Sports Professionally Since 1975 – Check Out His Weekly Picks & His DAILY MLB PLAYS Today Here at Capperspicks.com >>><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marc Lawrence brings us his 2009 NFC West Division preview and season picks. Plus an indepth preview and betting predictions. Is there a team inside the NFC WEST that can stand and deliver again in 2009?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[258],"tags":[14795,16588,16276,14442,14913,13631,463,9912,14794,16589,16590,13519,14792,827,860,16277,14731,15145],"class_list":["post-12581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cappers","tag-2009-football-previews","tag-2009-nfc-west-betting-lines","tag-2009-nfc-west-prediction","tag-2009-nfl-predictions","tag-49ers-picks","tag-cardinals-picks","tag-free-nfl-picks","tag-marc-lawrence","tag-marc-lawrence-nfl-picks","tag-nfc-west-division","tag-nfc-west-gambling","tag-nfc-west-odds","tag-nfl-divisional-previews","tag-nfl-gambling","tag-nfl-previews","tag-odds-to-win-nfc-west","tag-rams-picks","tag-seahawks-picks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12581"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108492,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions\/108492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}