i think 10-6 will get them in. they would have the tiebreaker against whoever finishes 2nd in the nfc east. eagles or cowboys.
the lions are due for some type of 2nd half slide and the vikings and bears aren't going to make a run the rest of the way. the nfc south is trash minus the saints, i doubt they catch the cardinals unless they win out, but i wouldn't be shocked to see the cardinals come down to earth in the 2nd half of the season, and seattle is due to drop another game or 2 the rest of the way.
2 wild card spots and there's 2nd place between philly and dallas, 2nd place between green bay and detroit, and seattle as the competition.
i'll go on a limb and say philly takes the east, dallas has a brutal closing schedule and a tendancy of december collapses, i wouldn't be shocked if detroit has a rough closing stretch, they play miami, at arizona, at new england, and at green bay over their final 8 games which they should drop a few of those.
ultimately, i think both wild card teams come out the nfc west if the 49ers get their heads out their ***** and start winning games they should win.
I hope for our sake, I'm dead wrong about this but I don't see Cardinals dropping off to point where Niners or Seahawks pass them. This team has been overlooked for way too long and just knows how to close out games as well as come back from deficits.
They remind me a lot of the Year 1 & 2 Harbaugh Niners. Great defense that will at times look vulnerable and bend but they don't break and seem to just be able to make stops and get off the field. The offense not sexy by any means but they make that one or two plays in the game that puts them over the top.
For all the bashing Palmer gets for being a bum has thrived in Arians' system and Ellington is a true threat in the backfield. He gets in open space and it's a wrap.
I see them at worst being 12-4 but honestly think they got the West locked up.
So to me, it really comes to down to battling out with Seahawks for 2nd place in the West along with those other teams for one of those 2 wild card spots.
It's doable but margin for error is virtually non-existent and Niners need to start helping themselves out by racking up the W's along with getting some help from other teams losing.
At this point I think it shakes out:
1) Cards
2) Packers
3) Cowboys/Eagles???
4) Saints
5 & 6: Is a true toss-up in my opinion.
It'll be interesting to see if Sanchez can keep the Eagles going fine with Foles out or if he ends up costing them a few games. I still don't trust their defense which is why I'm iffy on them winning the East or even a wild card spot.
Similar with Cowboys, health of Romo and whether or not these are the same old Cowboys that fold in December.
But obviously one of them is getting the East.
I think 11-5 is a must to get in now. 10-6 and we're out like the Cards last year.
I hate em
