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What's that stench? The NFC West

Seahawks the best of the division — which isn't saying much

Image: SmithAP
Seattle's Jordan Babineaux (27) sacks 49ers quarterback Alex D. Smith and forces a fumble during the second quarter.

That the 49ers won their first two games was total luck. They were outgained by huge margins by both the Rams and the Cards and eked out wins in both games. Since then, they’ve showed what they’re really made of, which is something you can buy by the bag down at the garden store to fertilize your roses.

The rest of the division has no excuses, either. The Cards have found that Matt Leinart was a good No. 1 choice — by comparison to Smith — but so far not in comparison to much else. The Rams are simply a mystery — a once-great team gone entirely to seed. And the Seahawks made the primal mistake of showering huge wads of money on a running back, Shaun Alexander, who lost interest in his job the moment the bonus check cleared.

The Seahawks will win this division; with a 5-4 record, they have it all but wrapped up. But come playoff time, they’re one-and-done.

On the East Coast, we hadn’t really seen the NFC West until Monday Night’s showcase game. Now we know why.

Mike Celizic is a contributor to msnbc.com and a freelance writer based in New York.


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