I don't really care what the commentariat says, that 'Zona has this thing done already.  I think the winner of the NFC west will be 8-8 or 9-7. 

One of the 2-6 teams in the basement will challenge, maybe even Seattle once we have our cube back.

Nothing we have seen so far indicates any of the 2-6 teams could go 6-2 or 7-1 in the second half to get it there, but can the Cards really continue with no QB injuries vs the Giants, Philly, and Minn in coming weeks?  I think Zona got lucky catching the Cowboys and Bills slumping, and their air attack will have to come down at some point. 

Whatcha think?

I didn't put this in the bitch thread because... it's a reality check.

There's no way this last game was a must-win game to get in the playoffs, it's not week 17 and there's still a ton of games left over.

Let's look at the 'Hawks losses so far this year:

1.  Buffalo on the east coast... this team has consistently gotten blown up on the road in the eastern time zone by interior teams, and it was a predictable loss

2.  49ers loss.. eerily similar to Hasselbeck & Alexander running in to eachother to gift AZ the win a couple years ago.  The game could have easily gone either way

3.  NY Giants on the east coast... see comment #1.  Also, Giants may be a lot better than anyone expected, regardless, they were clearly on a hot streak.

4.  3rd string QB against last year's NFC runner up?  I'm surprised it was as close as it was.  I wrote that game off when I heard Beck was scratched.  That holding call on the guard on Jones' long run was terrible -  you could call that every play against a jumbo line like Dallas or Pittsburgh.

We still have a pile of divisional games left, including some against Arizona where we can start to close the gap.  Some predicted losses (New England, AFC East in gen'l) may actually be winnable games, especially if these early losses get us to rally together.

We are in the division race, regardless of if paper thin AZ as the leader now.  They have a surgically repaired origami swan for a quarterback and it's only a matter of time until he goes down.  The 49ers are who we thought they were.

GO HAWKS!

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AiFaPUQkjM3Iup4W1OyUboyW2bYF?slug=sixnflteamsunlikelytomak&prov=tsn&type=lgns

The section:

Seattle Seahawks With coach Mike Holmgren entering his final year on the sideline and the team’s next head coach (Jim Mora) already working in the building, there’s a strange vibe coming out of Seattle. Shaun Alexander, the league MVP in 2005, is long gone, and the hole in the left side of the line that was created by the departure of Steve Hutchinson in 2006 is still there.

The rest of the team seems stagnant, in a division with three other squads that could be getting better. If only one of them delivers, the Seahawks will lose their hold on the NFC West.

My point of view:

Mike Wahle? New stud RBs? Team stagnant? Locking up team leaders, great defensive talent for a long time to come, qb in his prime, motivation of Holmgren's last hurrah...

I was shocked to read that paragraph.