Turf Show Times, our brother Rams blog here at SB Nation, decided to put together an All-NFC West team on Thursday. As you can imagine, the list is very interesting, but it is also somewhat biased because it was written on the Rams' site (it would be no different if one of our writers did that here on ROTB).
I ran down the entire list a few times and there really isn't a whole lot I can disagree with. At the quarterback position, Sam Bradford wouldn't have made my cut because the writer is banking on potential rather than results, as he says. Russell Wilson would have been my #1 guy, followed by Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers.
Scrolling down a bit more, if we are going purely by results, does Michael Crabtree belong ahead of Larry Fitzgerald on the wide receivers list? To be fair, I think Fitz is the better receiver of the two, but statistically, he had a worse year. Yes, the difference in quarterbacks plays a large role in that, but if we are looking at results, Crabtree would get that #1 spot among receivers.
It's sad to think that only Seahawks and 49ers players made the offensive line list, but you can't argue with the selections. Daryn Colledge is the only Cards player that would really even get a second look, but he is not better than Mike Iupati or Alex Boone at guard.
On defense, TST wrote this as if it were a 4-3 front since that is what the Rams run. The division is split with the Cardinals and 49ers running a 3-4 and the Seahawks and Rams going 4-3. He has Calais Campbell as a defensive tackle in this formation, which would presumably be a good fit for him.
NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis and Daryl Washington as the linebackers would make the best trio in the NFL and the prospect of that is exciting to think about. The same goes with the cornerbacks, as the NFC West would line up Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson as the two starters. As for Cortland Finnegan, one could make the case that Brandon Browner or Carlos Rogers deserve a spot over him, but I don't mind the choice.
The safeties are where the NFC West runs into trouble. Earl Thomas is a star at FS, but DaShon Goldson should hardly be the pick at SS. I'll take his teammate Donte Whitner or even an aging Adrian Wilson over him.
In all, TST included 4 Cardinals on their list of 25 players. They didn't do special teams, but I would think Dave Zastudil would be an easy fifth Cards selection as the punter. Greg Zuerlein would probably be the kicker and Patrick Peterson could be the punt returner.
What do you make of this All-NFC West list? Is it accurate and fair? Who would you replace? Tell us in the comments section below.
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