Who Will Win in Week 2: NFC West

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

There was a ton of excitement from these division teams last week including one team ended with a tie to break in the season. But even though the underdogs of this division lost, they proved that they can give the opposing team a run for their money.

Each of the NFC West games this week may not be so concrete as who will win their matchup.

LA Rams vs Saints/Sunday, 4:25pm ET

Why not start Week 2 with an exciting game as it will be a rematch of the controversial game from last season’s playoffs. Remember, it was the bad pass interference call that cost the Saints the game and sent the Rams to the Super Bowl. But now with the new rule change of reviewing pass interference calls, let’s see if the game can stay clean with these two teams.

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Who Will Win in Week 1: NFC West

Dayna O’Gorman
Senior NFL Reporter
AFC and NFC West

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

The NFC West is known as one of the best divisions in football, but, on occasion, can have a slow start to a season. While some of the teams seem to have gotten a good draw for week 1 of 2019, you can never count out an underdog.

I asked the fans who they thought would win each of the NFC West games this week, and the results aren’t really a surprise.

LA Rams vs Carolina Panthers
Sunday, 1p ET

The injury report for the Los Angeles Rams is exactly how head coach Sean McVey drew it up during the preseason. No Injuries Listed. By sitting his starters all preseason, McVey made it clear he wasn’t taking any chances for week 1, and it worked. Carolina, on the other hand, has 2 on their injury report, defensive end Bruce Irvin and tackle Greg Little, both listed as out.

Fans don’t seem to think the Rams will have the same “shaking off the rust” issues that the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers did in Thursday night’s opener.

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Injury update for the NFC West

Dayna O’Gorman
Senior NFL Specialist
AFC and NFC West

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

“Just don’t let anyone get hurt”. That is the motto of most fans during the preseason. Unfortunately, injuries do happen, and they can make a huge impact on a season. This year, many teams have tried to minimize season impacting injuries by having their starters sit, but that doesn’t always work. Now that preseason is halfway over, let’s take a look at where the NFC West stands with injuries.

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have completely changed the structure of preseason football. They have sat all offensive starters for every game and have no intention of playing them in the preseason. The formula has worked well for Los Angeles, but it isn’t perfect.

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Preseason week 2 for the AFC and NFC West

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

One of the nice things about covering both the AFC and NFC West teams is in the preseason is they usually play each other. It makes it easy to do a weekly preseason round up, but it also makes for a very long article. Stick with me, people.

Week 2 of the preseason gave most fans a good look at their backups. And yes there were lots of mistakes, but…its preseason. Let’s take a look at the games played so far.

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What to look for in the first NFC West preseason games

Dayna O’Gorman
Senior NFL Reporter NFC West and AFC West

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

While we all look forward to the Pro Football Hall of Fame game as the official start to the preseason, in the back of our minds, we all know that it is those first preseason games the week after that really kick things off. Let’s take a peek at the NFC West and what we should be looking for during week one.

The 2018 season for the NFC West had some fantastic matchups, a Super Bowl contender, and a team in turmoil. The Los Angeles Rams won the division at 13-3, with the Seattle Seahawks (10-6), San Francisco 49’ers (4-2), and the Arizona Cardinals (3-13) rounding it out. The Rams ran through the playoffs but were defeated in the Super Bowl by the New England Patriots.

This season is expected to be more competitive between the teams in the division. Seattle has signed their two most important players, quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner, to long term contracts, stabilizing the team. San Francisco is hoping to avoid the dreaded injury bug that plagued their team last year so they can finally be able to see what they have in their QB Jimmy Garoppolo.

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Future playmakers found in the late rounds of NFC/AFC West drafts

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

When people talk about NFL stars who were found in the late rounds of the draft, there are a few names that are always brought up. Tom Brady, Richard Sherman, Bo Jackson, Terrell Davis… it’s a long list. The western divisions in both conferences have a tendency to find these players regularly and turn them into superstars. Let’s take a look at this year’s picks and see if there could be another future star.

You can find an entire list of AFC draft picks for each team here.

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs have found some fantastic late round steals in the past. KR Dante Hall, DE Jared Allen, and most recently G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. This year late round gem could also be an offensive line player.

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What will the Cardinals do with their draft pick?

By Marquita Quinones //@LatinLove729

I can’t believe it but the 2019 NFL Draft is only days from now, and you best believe there is going to be a lot of action going on. NFL is already full of buzz around the potential first round picks and the Arizona Cardinals are the focus of that buzz.

Many experts believe that the Arizona Cardinals will choose quarterback Kyler Murray as their number one pick. As expected, the Cardinals are staying quiet and are taking a stance on not knowing where the organization stands with the first overall pick.

“We are not done with this process,” general manager Steve Keim said, per Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith. “We have not made a decision on the first overall pick. There are a number of players in my opinion, and our scouts’ opinion, and our coaching staff’s opinion, that warrant being the first overall selection.”

Keim may portray the team as undecided as to who they will choose at number one but the majority of analysts agree that Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray is the right choice. Murray has been viewed as a projected franchise QB. If the Cardinals want to be in the mix of playoff talks, they can’t pass on the opportunity of a player who is deemed to be an NFL starter.

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The Eight “Rookie” Head Coaches of 2019

By Kate Arhar // @ClvlndK8

This season an unprecedented eight NFL teams will have new head coaches. And for six of these coaches, it will be their first time running the whole show.

Bruce Arians has stepped out of the booth and back onto the field in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers have floundered recently and Jameis Winston hasn’t grown or flourished the way we expected him to when he was drafted in 2015. Perhaps promoting former NFL QB turned offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich will be the first step in turning Winston around.

But the seven other coaches have their work cut out for them. Let’s take a look at these “rookies” and, maybe the biggest key to their success, who will be under center as they take the field.

This week’s Blitzed Insider’s featured article!

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Could a defensive player be the first pick in the Draft?

By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303

If you’re a person that believes defenses win championships, then this 2019 NFL draft is right up your alley.

This is one of the most top-heavy defensive drafts I’ve seen in quite a while. With the exception of Kyler Murray, who declared 2 weeks ago for the draft, several NFL mocks had eight of the top ten picks being defensive players. Now, how this all really turns out is anyone’s guess, but… it’s interesting.

A lot can happen before we hear the commissioner declare that the Arizona Cardinal’s are on the clock, and you’ll be hearing a lot of names before then, so let’s just start with the two popular names being heard around the league.

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New, Young Head Coaches Smart to Add Veteran Coordinators

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

With the success that the NFL’s youngest head coach, LA Rams HC Sean McVey, it was no surprise NFL owners wanted to try to find the same needle in a haystack. This offseason brought a fury of hirings of young head coaches. Smartly, those coaches are looking to veteran coordinators to fill out their coaching staff.

While teams like Tampa Bay decided to go with a veteran head coach in Bruce Arians, most other coach-needy teams decided to go young. Arizona, Green Bay, Miami, and Cincinnati have all hired coaches between the ages of 35 – 39.

Not that age has anything to do with coaching, but it does have to do with experience. Bringing in veteran coordinators and specialist not only is savvy, but it allows the HCs to be educated by some of the best.

Continue reading “New, Young Head Coaches Smart to Add Veteran Coordinators” →

Category: Arizona Cardinals

Who Will Win in Week 2: NFC West

Who Will Win in Week 1: NFC West

Injury update for the NFC West

Preseason week 2 for the AFC and NFC West

What to look for in the first NFC West preseason games

Future playmakers found in the late rounds of NFC/AFC West drafts

What will the Cardinals do with their draft pick?

The Eight “Rookie” Head Coaches of 2019

Could a defensive player be the first pick in the Draft?

New, Young Head Coaches Smart to Add Veteran Coordinators

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