Gregg Williams is notorious for his complex, effective defenses that feature blitz packages that are difficult to identify and cleverly disguised coverage schemes.  Moving to St. Louis wouldn’t exactly be a loss of talent for Williams, coming from New Orleans, as he would have young cornerstone players in Chris Long and James Laurinaitius to build around.  The Rams had the 26^th ranked defense last year. … [visit site to read more]

Stock Watch: St. Louis Rams rising fast; First 2 Draft picks will be huge. - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Will they get In?

The 2012 NFL season is winding down and the playoff picture is becoming clearer every week.  Last week I discussed the AFC/NFC South picture.  This week we will discuss the improving AFC/NFC West conference playoff picture.  We will go into remaining schedules and predictions.

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs: The NFL can certainly change quickly.  The Chiefs were the AFC West 2010 Champs.  In 2011, injuries have decimated this team and now their HC Todd Haley was recently fired.  I think Haley is a good OC, but not a good HC.  He lacks the ability to remain consistent in his day to day approach.  Injuries were a huge detriment this season with season ending injuries to Matt Cassell, Jamal Charles, Tony Moeaki, and Eric Berry.  That is a lot of talent on the IR.  Currently at 5-8 they are not mathematically out of the playoffs but they are not going to make it in this year.   They play the Packers and the Raiders at home before going to enver.  At best the Chiefs will finish 6-10 and a good chance of improving next year.

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Will they Get In? AFC/NFC West Playoff Picture: The John Skelton Dilemma - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Patrick Willis an MVP Candidate? I think so.

1. Who is a coach on the hot seat in the NFC West?

I think right now you have to look at Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona as a coach on the hot seat. The 49ers just hired Jim Harbaugh, and I don’t think he’s on a short leash as of right now. Steve Spagnuolo has his Rams on the cusp of being a very good NFL team, and Pete Carroll is only entering his second year with the Seahawks.

Since going to the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, Whisenhunt and the Cardinals have been on a severe decline, and they made one of the boldest trades I have seen going after unproven Kevin Kolb for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2nd round pick. I think the Cardinals are one of the most overrated teams in the league, so we’ll see if Whisenhunt can keep them afloat and in contention for a division title.

… [visit site to read more]

NFC West Season Preview: Five Questions Facing the Division - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Pete Carroll continues to show that he is one of the best recruiters in the nation (Sidney Rice pictured)

Arizona Cardinals

Grade: B

• Signed TE’s Jeff King and Todd Heap
• Signed WR Chansi Stuckey
• Traded for QB Kevin Kolb
• Signed LB Stewart Bradley
• Signed OL Daryn Colledge
• Signed DE Nic Eason
• Re-signed OL Deuce Lutui
• Signed CB Richard Marshall

In my opinion, the Cardinals added a bunch of average or below average players in free agency that will slightly mask their deficiencies offensively and defensively, but they made one move that could keep the franchise from being incompetent over the next few years. Acquiring Kevin Kolb to run the quarterback position isn’t exactly a low risk move ($63 million, DRC gone, 2nd round pick gone), but it is going to significantly increase their chances of keeping Larry Fitzgerald around after this season.

The Cards upgraded their tight end position significantly by bringing in King and Heap, as well as drafting Rob Housler, but the offensive line remains a concern even with the signing of Daryn Colledge.

Just two years ago, this team had one of the best wide receiver groups in the NFL, now they may have one of the worst, even with Fitzgerald in the fold. Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston have both left the team, and now they are left with Andre Roberts and/or Early Doucet as a relatively unknown number two receiver. Both guys definitely have potential, so we’ll see what they make of it. They missed out on the Braylon Edwards sweepstakes to division rival San Francisco.

… [visit site to read more]

NFC West Free Agency Winners and Losers - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Detroit Lions

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

St. Louis Rams

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The NFL Elite of 2014 (NFC Edition) - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

We Know DeMarcus Ware and the Rest of the N.F.C. East Can Rush the Passer, But Are They the Best Front 7? (Picture source cowboys.belogblog.com)

I took a couple week haitius from my ranking the divisions series, but I thought I’d get back to it today by ranking the division by the front 7. Originally I was going to rank the defensive lines, but I think with the huge difference between a 43 and 34 defensive line I should just do the front seven overall.

8. N.F.C. West

The front seven is all about stopping the run and rushing the passer and the N.F.C. West is not very good at that. Who’s the most feared pass rusher in the N.F.C. West? No one. The 49ers, Rams, Cardinals, and Seahawks all felt their pass rush was lacking last season. The lead sack person for the Cardinals was Calais Campbell with six sacks and I”m not sure anyone believes Chris Clemons is for real. The Rams have a decent pass rush that should get better with Robert Quinn and the 49ers were led by Justin Smith with 8.5 sacks (which is very good). The front seven of the 49ers is not bad, they just need more of a pass rush. With the drafting of Aldon Smith they hope they have found that for the future.

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Ranking the Divisions: Front 7 - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

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Where Will Nnamdi Asomugha Land? Are the Baltimore Ravens Favorites? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Chris Johnson Had a "Down Year" Last Year, but is Still one of the top Running backs in the league(Picture source: titansgab.com)

So far in the first two ranking the teams by divisions the N.F.C. East has been the best because of talented they are at the top and how much depth is throughout the division. Let’s see if anyone is better than the N.F.C. East runningbacks.

#8 AFC North

Ray Rice

Rashard Mendnhall

Peyton Hillis

This low rankings is probably because I don’t truly believe in Peyton Hillis and Cedric Benson might be leaving the division this year and he also had somewhat of a down year last year. Mendenhall is a very nice running back. Willis McGahee and La’Ron McClain are the two best running backs for depth here.

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Rankings the Divisions by Runningback: Can Anyone Top the NFC East - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Tom Brady is a Stud but the quarterbacks in the rest of the division? Not so much. picture source: midwestsportsfans.com

While we sit around and wait for the lockout to end, I thought I’d go through and rank the divisions by each position to see what division might stand above the rest. The most important position, as we all know is the quarterback position, so let’s start there. I’ll rank from worst to best. I intended this to be a fluff article that would just kill time while we wait for some football action, but I really started to think about it and boy I think I could re-arrange this entire thing again and still not be satisfied. This is kind of tough to do so take my rankings with a grain of salt and let me know what your rankings are in the comment section.

#8  N.F.C. West

There is one team in the N.F.C. West with a franchise quarterback unless Hasselback comes back. Sam Bradford looks like the real deal, but the rest of the division is littered with question marks.

#7  A.F.C. East

This was the toughest one for me here to decide between the 7, 6, and 5 spot. Tom Brady is excellent arguably the best player in the entire league which I could let skew the rankings up a ton, but the rest of the division is not very good. Mark Sanchez is trending up, but needs to be more consistent. The other two teams: The Dolphins and the Bills have major needs at quarterback. Again, I originally had the A.F.C. East all the way up to #5 because of Tom Brady, but reflecting on that more I knocked them down. Tough call for me. Jets fans will think the ranking should be higher, but I want to see more from Sanchez. I like his clutch ability, though.

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Ranking the Divisons: Quarterback - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Robert Quinn couldn't have asked for a more perfect situation to go into

Now that the Rams have a franchise quarterback and two high picks at offensive tackle (Roger Saffold, Jason Smith), they are ready to start building a winner around their cornerstones. The Rams showed last year under Bradford that they could be an explosive offense, but as is the story with any rookie or young quarterback, there will be inconsistencies. The thing with Bradford is, though, he really does carry himself like a veteran.

Even leading up to the draft, he added some 20 pounds to his frame and showed at his pro day that he was all business. Bradford is a high character guy who I was very high on leading to last year’s process, and he did not disappoint.

So, the key for the Rams in 2011 had to be putting the necessary pieces around Bradford to make this offense great, right? St. Louis realized that, saw a plan of attack, and executed it almost perfectly. The Rams added some of the best pass catchers in the draft to put around Bradford, and also improved their defense significantly. I love what the Rams did on draft day, and I think they might be my leading candidates this season to come out of the NFC West.

1. First Round, 14th overall: Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

St. Louis head coach Steve Spagnuolo is known for his ability to put together an elite pass rush, and in order to put together an elite rush, you have to have good personnel. Well, the Rams certainly are on their way to accomplishing that with the selection of Robert Quinn, probably the most gifted 4-3 defensive end prospect in the draft. The aging James Hall led the team last year with 11 sacks and six forced fumbles, and Chris Long finally showed some life in the pass rush department, finishing with nine sacks and three forced fumbles. Add Robert Quinn to the mix, and you have the makings of a potent defensive line. Quinn is a guy who could come in and start right away, or they could put him in a rotation. Between Long, Quinn, C.J. Ah You, and George Selvie, this has the makings of a solid young defensive end rotation. Quinn is extremely talented as a pass rusher and could be a double digit guy in the near future.

Pick Grade: A+

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St. Louis Rams 2011 NFL Draft Review - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football