2012 NFC West: Go for Gold

The NFC West was my favorite division to watch last year mainly because my 49ers were there kicking a** and taking names. They were one of the surprise teams of the NFL what with the season they had in 2010 and how good their defense was performing last year. It's obvious who my favorite here is.

But before I claim the title of "Captain Obvious," let's see how the rest of the division fares. Two of the other teams have interesting QB conversation. The first being the Seahawks naming Russell Wilson as their starter instead of Matt Flynn who they traded for. There is no doubt that Russell Wilson was the better starter in the preseason and he deserves the starting role but that team is likely going to be middle of the road at the best, even with Matt Flynn as their starter.

The other team with the QB controversy is the Cardinals. They name John Skelton as their starter instead of Kevin Kolb who was injury prone a season ago. It might not matter at all who they put out there considering they still have Larry Fitzgerald to throw to.

As for the Rams, I'm not sure which direction this team will be headed, especially at the QB slot. Will we see an improved Sam Bradford or the one we saw last year? They might still have Steven Jackson but I don't see them doing much in Jeff Fisher's first year as head coach.

So the favorite is no doubt the 49ers. Now anything can happen in the NFL but I have to believe after last year's performance that the 49ers are the best team in the NFC West. I have watched them all preseason long and while they don't look great I still like what I see. They still don't have a great pass defense to go along with that amazing run defense they showed last year but as long as you can make the other team one dimensional you have a great defense.

The offense could still use improvement. Alex Smith hasn't been impressive but he hasn't been horrible either. Maybe Jim Harbaugh is not tipping his hand so to speak. Quite frankly I'm hoping that this is the case. What I did see, however, was a very good Colin Kaepernick. I was very impressed with his performance in that last preseason. He seemed like he could step in no problem if something happened to Smith. Now I am routing for Smith to do well (which is something I haven't done in a while) but it's nice to know where the back up is.

49ers are the favorite this year and have to be considered Super Bowl contenders seeing how far they got in the postseason. Here's hoping they get a bit further.

P.S. Despite my enthusiasm for the team, I can't help but feel worried. I am a pessimist at heart so this whole post is out of character. I can't help but feel like something will go horribly wro wro wro.... I shouldn't think this.