With just days left until the start of the NFL season, Stats Insider will be previewing each of the NFL’s eight divisions and asking one pertinent question for each team. 

Today, it's the NFC West.

The NFC West has been the NFL’s most diverse division this decade, sending a team to four of the last seven Super Bowls, with all of the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and LA Rams representing the division at the 'greatest show on earth' since 2013.

In recent times, the Rams have stolen the title of the NFC West’s most dominant squad from the evergreen Seahawks, winning the last two division titles while also playing off for the Super Bowl last February.

While Seattle’s concentrated rebuilding efforts are already paying dividends, and with the 49ers harbouring internal expectations about a return to the playoffs with their franchise quarterback fit and firing, it’s been the Arizona Cardinals who have become the division’s sob story, with the franchise electing for a complete reset in the aftermath of a disastrous 2018.

UPDATED: Every Division Preview (as they are published)

- Inside the NFC SOUTH: Saints, Falcons, Panthers, Buccaneers
- Inside the NFC NORTH: Bears, Vikings, Packers, Lions
- Inside the NFC EAST: Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Giants
-Inside the AFC SOUTH: Colts, Texans, Titans, Jaguars

What else does LA Rams' Sean McKay have up his sleeve?

When Sean McVay was appointed head coach heading into the 2017 season, the Rams were on a twelve-season streak of missing the NFL Playoffs while not producing a single winning season in that span.

Within two years, McVay has completely transformed the tenor of the franchise, immediately winning the division in 2017, while going a step further last season by taking the Rams all the way to the 2018 Super Bowl.

In short time, he’s completely overhauled the Rams offence, literally transforming Los Angeles from the worst attack in the entire NFL, into the league's highest-scoring outfit within one season.

McVay’s LA revolution has been assisted by the excellent development of franchise quarterback - and former NFL Draft #1 overall pick - Jared Goff, in addition to retooling the role of his star running back, Todd Gurley.

The former Washington Redskins offensive coordinator proved in season two he wasn’t a one-hit-wonder, with the Rams returning as an even more explosive team in 2018, jumping out to an 8-0 start before advancing to the franchise's first Super Bowl in 18 years (the St. Louis Rams lost Super Bowl XXXVI to the New England Patriots 17–20).

The big question for Sean McVay and the LA Rams, however, is just where do they go from here? 

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After such exponential improvement in seasons one and two, does the franchise have any more room to evolve in season three?

One area where the Rams already find themselves on the back foot is in regards to Todd Gurley’s troublesome knee, which degenerated last season, and, which severely limited him in the lead up to, and during, the NFL Playoffs. Gurley is on the most expensive contract among NFL running backs, and, considering his importance to the structure of the Rams offence, his knee is a question mark McVay could do without.

The Rams’ hideous Super Bowl performance (where their high octane offence produced just three points) will continue to haunt McVay and the Rams throughout 2019, but, will undoubtedly also work as a chief motivator to return for another shot at the Lombardi Trophy.

Are the Seattle Seahawks ready to win another Super Bowl? 

••Editor's note- Since publication, Seattle's Bobby Wagner has signed a three year, $54 million extension with the Seattle Seahawks while also adding Houston's Jadeveon Clowney.

When the Seahawks broke through to win their first-ever Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2013 season, it was off the back of the sport’s most dynamic defence, ranked #1 in the NFL for both points and yards conceded, while their 39 total takeaways was also league’s best mark.

The menacing nature of the Seattle defence earned them the ‘Legion of Boom’ moniker, and, in 2019, only linebacker Bobby Wagner remains from that defensive core, and even he enters the season under a contractual cloud.

In recent seasons, the Seahawks top brass - led by GM, John Schneider - has sought to prioritise the offensive side of the football around the talents of franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson. 

Wilson, whose career progression into one of the league’s consistently best players, was rewarded in the offseason with a four year, $140 million contract, the richest deal in the NFL.

The Seahawks are now pinning their franchise hopes on the back of their dynamic offense, which last year produced a franchise-high 428 points, which was enough to end Seattle’s one-year playoff hiatus. Wilson’s 110.9 QB Rating, as well as his 35 touchdowns,  were both career highs, while his 1.6% interception rate was a mark bettered by just four QB's (Aaron Rodgers, 0,3%, Drew Brees, 1%, Matt Ryan, 1.2%, Dak Prescott/ Alex Smith, 1.5%) and equal with former Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco.

The biggest question mark surrounding the Seahawks going into NFL 2019, is what effect Wilson's new contract will have on Seattle’s cap room, with the QB’s deal responsible for a whopping 13.6% of the Seahawk’s total payroll. Some argue that investing that much in Wilson has come at the cost of desperately needed defensive upgrades, with Seattle failing to rank in either the top ten for points or yards against for the second consecutive season.

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If the Seahawks indeed can improve on defense, coupled with the MVP-calibre skillset of Russell Wilson, then Seattle can definitely think about returning to NFL prominence.

Will the San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo investment ever pay off? 

For the San Francisco 49ers, the last four seasons have been purely dreadful, while their 17-47 record over that period qualifies as the league’s second-worst return outside of the consistently horrible Cleveland Browns.

But, unlike Cleveland - who are now on the cusp of genuine contention thanks to GM, Jon Dorsey’s diligent draft-first approach - the 49ers are still playing catch-up, having chosen to crawl out of their predicament through spending significant salary.

And to spend it on one player particularly.

When the 49ers gave QB Jimmy Garoppolo a five-year, $137 million contract, it was definitely a case of paying for potential, rather any kind of concrete on-field production.

To this point, injures have meant that 'Jimmy G' has never started more than five games in a single season as an NFL player (although to be fair, three of his five NFL seasons were spent as Tom Brady's backup at the New England Patriots), with the 49ers increasingly desperate to start seeing some return on their gargantuan gamble.

Reports are suggesting that the former Patriot's knee has recovered fully from ACL surgery and that he will be ready for week one of the 2019 season, which is at least some bright news for a San Francisco franchise who have now gone five straight seasons without an NFL Playoff berth.

Thankfully for the 49ers, their first four games of the season are against teams who didn’t make the post-season last year, which could potentially provide a platform for a positive start to their campaign.

Can the Arizona Cardinals fall any further?

The Arizona Cardinals were the worst team in NFL 2018, winning just (a franchise-low) three games while producing just 225 points scored - the league’s lowest mark since the Rams scored 224 in 2016.

The Cardinal’s dreadful season resulted in a franchise overhaul with head coach Steve Wilkes sacked after just one season.

Arizona have since turned to an untried college coach, Kliff Kingsbury, who’ll introduce the NFL to its first-ever, full time ‘Air Raid Offence’ - a scheme used predominantly in the college game - which works to prioritise the passing game whilst operating almost exclusively without a huddle.

The Cardinals revolution went into overdrive by drafting QB Kyler Murray with the #1 NFL Draft selection - himself a graduate of an 'Air Raid Offence' at Oklahoma - and trading their own former first-round QB selection, Josh Rosen, to the Miami Dolphins, believing Murray better compliments what Kingsbury wants to achieve.

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In theory, Arizona’s reset does make sense, but the tough reality is their roster is simply in no shape to contend anytime soon.

The Cardinals have to fill massive holes in nearly all positions, while many questioned the wisdom of drafting Murray at #1, considering they already had a QB in-situ, and especially when so many other parts the roster needed to be addressed.

The Cardinals will be looking at their division rival LA Rams as the template for a rapid revival, pairing a bright, young offensive mind at head coach, along with a franchise (#1 NFL Draft pick) QB. And, while this kind of ambition is admirable, the starting point for Arizona must simply be increasing last year's win total of three games, which - considering the present state of the roster - would actually be an excellent achievement.

Stats Insider will have weekly dynamic match predictions, as well as Super Bowl futures projections all throughout the NFL season. Keep an eye on StatsInsider.com.au!

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