2009 NFL Preview: NFC West

It's that time of year! The NFL is just about locked and loaded. As a part of a virtual tour around the NFL, let's take a look at what teams have done over the off-season to improve their odds in 2009. Today's division of choice? The NFC West.

St. Louis Rams

With a new general manager and head coach (Steve Spagnuolo) in place, the Rams are looking to build a new direction for this team. One of their first moves was to get rid of Orlando Pace, who has suffered several injuries over the past few seasons and was draining the Rams cap space. To replace Pace, the Rams brought in Jason Brown from the Ravens and drafted Jason Smith, the big mawler of a tackle out of Baylor University. The two should combine for a formidable duo, however, it may take some time.

With Tory Holt gone at wide receiver, the Rams hope to develop a new #1 wide receiver in Donnie Avery. Whether that can be done, remains to be seen, but Avery did show some very explosive ability last season. The Rams also drafted 5^th round pick Brooks Foster, who has great speed, but he isn't exactly refined himself as a receiver yet.

On the defensive side, where new coach Spagnuolo will hang his hat, the Rams drafted linebacker James Laurinaitis in the second round. This guy will obviously be someone Spagnuolo hopes to build the defense around, much in the same way he did with Antonio Pierce back in New York. However, many will question the Rams decision to go with Laurinaitis over Rey Maualuga, the heralded linebacker out of USC.

San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco committed to coach Mike Singletary this offseason, making him the permanent head coach. The first draft pick under Singletary? Michael Crabtree. Crabtree was one of the most impressive wide receivers ever to play college football, and he certainly had the best first two seasons of any wide receiver ever. In bringing his game to the 49ers new offense, you have to expect that Crabtree will come out of the slot a lot in the beginning, as he battles with incumbents Jason Hill and Josh Morgan, as well as free agent signing Brandon Jones.

At quarterback, the 49ers made no moves, and it is still undecided, but it appears as if Shaun Hill will have the starting job by the start of the NFL season.

Defensively, the 49ers didn't do much, however, they did try to upgrade their secondary, adding defensive back Dre Bly, as well as throwing a flyer out at cornerback Jimmy Williams.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are officially moving in a new direction, as coach Jim Mora and GM Tim Ruskell take over for the departing Mike Holmgren. One of the GM's first moves was to send Julian Peterson to the Lions in exchange for the highly overpaid Cory Redding, who played miserably last year. That move will be highly criticized unless Redding can return to the player he was a few years ago when he earned his ridiculous contract. However, drafting first-round pick linebacker Aaron Curry should be far less controversial, should he live up to his athletic ability.

Offensively, the Seahawks drafted Max Unger and Deon Butler. Unger is a very solid center, and Deon Butler was one of the most explosive playmakers in college football last season. Both should see time on the field this season. Of course, the biggest offensive acquisition was T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who hopes to be catching passes from a healthy Matt Hasselbeck, who many are expecting to bounce back with a stellar year after a very impressive string of offseason workouts.

Arizona Cardinals

Freshly removed from an NFC Championship, the Arizona Cardinals are hoping to build on last year's success by plugging in some key holes. Thus, they eventually managed to give Kurt Warner the money he wanted in order to come back and play for the Cards. They also refused to give in to Anquan Boldin's trade request, assuring that they would maintain the receiving core that boasted 3 1,000-yard wide receivers last year. To sure up the running game, the Cards drafted Chris Beanie Wells out of Ohio State, and he should see a lot of carries, provided the oft-injured running back can stay on the field-something he didn't quite do in college.

Defensively, the Cards didn't do much (no surprise there). They did, however, sign Bryant McFadden to come play corner for them, but that won't do much for their secondary's performance-I promise.