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GreatRamNTheSky
I didn't see the 49ers game against Houston but I understand they had a pretty good 1st half despite losing. So I cannot comment on them.
The Seahawks, I get the sense they are on schedule and will be a strong team this year. Saw parts of their games against KC and Minnesota and while not impressive I do not get the sense they are pressing to win pre-season games anyways.
The Cardinals may be much like Seattle in lack of urgency to win but one thing they cannot be happy about is their offense has looked like crap. 1s, 2s 3s all the way down the line. They scored 10 points against the Raiders and 3 points against the Chargers.
Grits
I didn't see too much of any of those games, but it does appear the Cardinals and Seahawks will be fighting for the division.
The 49er's could step up a bit due to their new HC, they still may not win more than 5 games, but if Kaepernick can win the starting job, and get back to some of the things he used to do, they could be a surprise 7 to 9 game winner. Probably not, but things happen sometimes. Change for the better for the 49er's is more likely with Chip Kelly IMO, than change for the better for the Rams with Jeff fisher.
The Rams and 49er's will be fighting for 3rd place in the division, regardless of the players they added, the Rams are nowhere near a playoff team. They are far more than one player (QB ) away from being competitive. There's been no huge improvement in the WR group, TE may be improved, but again they need far more than an improved TE to be competitive.
Their losses on D are more significant than they're willing to acknowledge, Chris Long was starting to decline, but still a player to be accounted for by the opposing team. When he was out last season the Rams D suffered for it. Ogletree is not near to Laurinaitis in being the "QB" of the defense, he could be a better player, but if the D can't get lined up for what the opponent is doing, then it makes no difference how good a player you are. By the time you figure it out it's too late. Defensive backfield is not going to be what it was without Jenkins. The biggest improvement in that group has to be Gaines coming back.
Overall there just hasn't been too much difference (names have changed) between this year and last, and I don't see them doing any more record wise than they did in previous seasons with Fisher. 7 wins tops, and the move is a distraction even when they'll say it isn't, it is.
Young guys, with money, in LA, how could that possibly be a distraction?
