So I’m not sure if most of you know, but the NFL had it’s annual draft this last weekend. It’s fine if you weren’t aware of it, the league generally does a bad job of showing it on TV and ESPN ignores it on Sportscenter. However, it is important for every team in the NFL and this draft was especially important for the NFC West. St. Louis had the top pick in the draft, while Seattle and San Francisco both had 2 picks in the first round. Going into the draft I was hoping both Seattle and San Francisco would blow this chance to improve their teams, but for the most part I was disappointed (although I did love the Cardinals draft class this year and that gives me hope).

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Weaknesses: Not the best athlete at DE, Jason Pierre-Paul is much faster. Not suited to play OLB in a 3-4 as his coverage skills would be lacking. Other than this, he doesn’t have many weaknesses. 

Why the Giants will draft him: I was honestly a little surprised he was still on the board, as most analysts consider Morgan the top DE in the draft. The Giants value defensive line players more than almost any other position. Although they still have Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka, they still have a need at DE. Umenyiora has been unhappy as a Giant and unlike Anquan Boldin, this affected his play last year as he recorded only 6 sacks. Drafting Morgan, who would be able to start immediately, would give the Giants some leverage with Umenyiora and may make him fall back in line. Kiwanuka is a good talent, but will become a free agent next year and it is unlikely he’ll resign with the Giants if he is not made the full time starter. Their other starter Justin Tuck is coming off surgery, and defensive line depth is extremely important to the Giants. They really want Rolando Mclain with this pick, but since he’s off the board, I think they’ll be satisfied with Morgan.

This puts kj197728 on the clock with the Titans pick. lorenzothedog is now on deck with San Francisco’s second pick. Please send your picks to revengeofthebirds@gmail.com. The picks are after the jump…

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Like we promised last week, this week’s Fly Around the NFC West will be devoted to the 2010 NFL Draft. There are only 18 days left until the draft and it’s a big one for the NFC West, as those teams have 6 first round picks, including the 1^st pick in the draft.

Quick note: the Rams and the Niners are both out of the Donovan McNabb trade market now that he’s heading to Washington. I’m thankful I don’t have to write about those ridiculous rumors anymore.

San Francisco 49ers: Before today, the 49ers were considered players in the Donovan McNabb sweepstakes, but as he was traded to the Washington Redskins today, Alex Smith looks like the Niners QB for next year. The Niners are in a unique position at not having too many glaring needs, but a bunch of small ones. What they do need is an elite cornerback and a franchise offensive tackle, but with two picks in the first round they can afford to take a "value" pick, like CJ Spiller, over a "need" pick. Spiller, the Clemson University running back, has been linked to the Niners for a very long time. Many mock drafts have Spiller going to the Niners with their 13^th pick, but with Joe Haden’s status falling, he could be a good pick for the Niners also. Considered the best CB in the draft, Haden was a sure fire top ten pick until he recorded subpar 40 times at both the combine and his pro-day. The Niners could take Haden with the 13^th pick if he’s still available, but it is a risk (Cardinals fans have experience with slow CBs taken in the first round, although luckily for the Cards, Antrel Rolle ended up playing safety pretty well). The Niners other first round pick will probably be an offensive tackle, possibly Anthony Davis from Rutgers or Charles Brown from USC. Offensive line is a big need for the Niners and look for them to fill that need with their second first rounder and/or their second rounder.

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It’s been a pretty busy two weeks for the NFC West (due to some technical difficulties - mainly my computer being broken for a week and a half - there was no Fly Around the NFC West last week). Trades for QBs were made, general managers left teams, and Donovan Mcnabb rumors are plaguing multiple NFC West teams, so let’s get to it.

San Francisco 49ers: In a move that surprised no one, but perplexed everybody, Scot Mccloughan, the 49ers general manager, and the team parted ways. Mccloughan was the 49ers vice president of player personnel until 2008, when then coach Mike Nolan was stripped of his duties and Mccloughan moved into the GM role. As a GM, Mccloughan was part of a front office which drafted RB Frank Gore, LB Manny Lawson, TE Vernon Davis, LB Parys Haralson, LB Patrick Willis (who Mccloughan had to convince Mike Singletary to draft), and T Joe Staley. 49ers president Jed York claimed the parting was "in the mutual interest of both parties," and that Mccloughan’s departure was due to a "private personal issue." Whatever the case may be, the Niners are left without one of their better talent evaluators and a man who has drafted many of the Niners starting lineup today. Taking over draft duties for Mccloughan next month is director of player personnel Trent Baalke. Although Baalke and Mccloughan probably have similar philosophies and draft styles, this is still an inopportune time to lose their GM.

On the rumor front, many in the league are linking the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb. It is unknown whether this talk is based upon actual interest from the Niners, but most likely it is being leaked by Eagles executives trying to create a perceived market for the 33 year old veteran. The Eagles reportedly want a top 42 pick for McNabb, which I don’t see the Niners willing to give. If the Niners do trade for the QB however, many pundits would put them at the forefront of the NFC West for next season. There was also a report earlier in the week that the Niners were interested in Adam "Pacman" Jones, which I sincerely hoped was true, but all reports indicate that it was a rumor drummed up by somebody in his camp, probably his agent.

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I’ve always said free agency is much more interesting after the first week is over. Once the Julius Peppers and Antrel Rolles (the highest paid players in their positions… I still have trouble believing it) are signed, you see the transactions which will really help teams win. Teams that spend like crazy have been very unsuccessful for the last decade because they have failed to build through the draft and supplement those picks with low cost, high value free agents. The most interesting movies come after the big free agents are gone and that is even more true with the NFC West. 

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks and the Cardinals both are trying to woo Chargers’ restricted free agent Charlie Whitehurst. Whitehurst was a 3^rd round pick in 2006 by the Chargers and is tendered at a 3^rd round pick. The Seahawks and Cardinals have both reportedly offered a contract to Whitehurst and waiting for him to decide. The Hawks have reportedly come to an agreement with the Chargers in which they would send something lower than a 3^rd round pick. This trade is dependent on Whitehurst accepting the Seahawks’ offer. Our friends at Field Gulls have a good report on Whitehurst here. Whitehurst is expected to compete with Matt Hasselbeck for the starting job. He replaces Seneca Wallace in the depth chart, who was traded to the Browns earlier in the week. In other free agent news the Seahawks have also signed former Patriot Chris Baker to a 2 year deal. Baker has been with the Patriots and Jets for the last 8 years and was signed after the Hawks failed to sign the player in front of him on the depth chart in New England, Ben Watson.

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What a crazy week for the NFC West. Our own favorite team, the Arizona Cardinals, headlined the week, losing Antrel Rolle, Karlos Dansby, and Anquan Boldin, then quickly trading for Jets safety Kerry Rhodes to replace Rolle. While the Cardinals were easily the most newsworthy team in the first few days of free agency, the rest of the NFC West also had a busy week.

San Francisco 49ers: It was just reported tonight that former 1^st round QB David Carr decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers. Carr was pursued by a number of teams, including our very own Cardinals, and signed for 2 years for around $3-4 million (exact numbers have not been released). While this means the Cardinals lost out on one of their free agent targets, it is nice to think that David Carr thinks he has a better chance of beating out Alex Smith than Matt Leinart. Funny enough, Carr’s career has been very similar to Alex Smith’s. Both QBs were selected with the first pick in their respective drafts, and neither lived up to expectations. Star linebacker Patrick Willis already criticized Carr on his Twitter, saying that the 49ers had three quarterbacks better than Carr, but later said he would welcome Carr as he would any new teammate. In other free agency news, backup right tackle Tony Pashos left the team for the Cleveland Browns.

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It’s a busy week in the NFL. The NFL Combine, which takes place in Indianapolis every year, begins on February 23^rd. The combine is a very important day for players taken in the 3^rd-7^th rounds since it’s their one chance to be compared against their peers. It is also one of the most important venues for judging talent as most contending teams rely on their draft picks from the later rounds to fill in their team around the stars. Lucky for Cardinals fans, Coach Whisenhunt and Rod Graves (at least recently) have shown themselves to be great judges of talent. The week leading up to the combine is rife with rumors and dealings and this is definitely true of the NFC West teams. Check out an interesting Rams rumor after the jump which includes giving up the number one pick.

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The worst part of the offseason is always the beginning. Teams are unwilling to talk too much about possible draft picks or their own players so as not to hurt their own draft and value from their free agents. In fact, the biggest news of the offseason so far has been the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement and the potential uncapped year. Many pundits have already said next year will definitely be uncapped, but that won’t be official until March. Although this news does relax the standards under which teams can sign free agents, there are no free spending teams in the NFC West and it is unlikely to see one team sign a great number of free agents. In fact the only team really affected by the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement is Arizona: since the Cardinals were a "final eight" team, they can only sign one free agent for a salary more than $5 million per year. However, the current agreement won’t expire until March and Cardinals fans should not worry about it until then. Luckily, there actually is news from the other teams in the NFC West this week to keep Cardinals fans busy. 

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As another week passes in the NFL, fans are now starting to realize that the season is coming to a close. Unfortunately, after getting accustomed the biggest NFL news story I’ve heard over the past two weeks has been the state of Dwight Freeney’s ankle. I am finally coming to terms with the fact that the season is over and my Sundays will now consist of 4 hours of Madden and the occasional NBA game. The silver lining is that there’s more football news during the week in the offseason. The first few days of free agency are a wild collection of rumors and half-truths, while draft day is one of my favorite days of the year. Since Kurt Warner’s retirement just shortened the gap between the Cardinals and other NFC West teams, it’s important to know what’s going on with them. After all, it was the great philosopher Sun-Tzu (or was it Amare Stoudemire?) who said, "keep your friends closer and your enemies closer."

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It’s been five days since the crushing 45-14 loss against the New Orleans Saints, and most Arizona Cardinals fans are not over it. In a season where the Cardinals were consistently underrated by the national media, they could not turn on the magic in the playoffs as they did in 2008. The biggest difference between last year and this year? Injuries. Last year the Cardinals were extremely lucky and this year they were extremely unlucky. As the Cardinals head into the offseason, questions loom around the future of the quarterback position. If Kurt Warner retires, as many expect him to do, Matt Leinart will probably get the nod as the starting quarterback and the Cards can finally see if he was worth their first round draft pick. This decision is not only important for the Cardinals, but also the rest of the NFC West. Warner’s decision is more important than any offseason move made by the other teams in the division and will likely have implications about the pecking order next year.

Note: much has happened in the last three weeks and this is an unusually long Fly Around the NFC West article analyzing offseason personnel moves and impending draft picks.

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The Arizona Cardinals are coming off a demoralizing loss, demoralizing because they lost three starters to injury. Word late Monday night is that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will most likely play while Calais Campbell and Anquan Boldin are going through further testing. Campbell, who fractured his thumb, was fitted for a special cast after undergoing surgery yesterday and the Cardinals are hopeful about his chances. Less certain is the status of Anquan Boldin. Adam Schefter reported on his Twitter page that the Cards are not optimistic about Boldin’s chances with an ankle and knee injury. However, he does not name any sources in that opinion. Q’s injury comes at an especially bad time, as he had been very dominant recently after fighting injury problems earlier in the season. Check back at ROTB for injury updates and a playoff preview.

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What an absolutely crazy two weeks of highs and lows. The Cardinals-Lions game was a perfect microcosm of the last two weeks of being a Cardinals fan: the 17-0 lead was destroying the Vikings, the 24-24 tie was being brought down to Earth after a humiliating loss to the 49ers, and the win against the Lions was clinching the NFC West for two years in a row. Yes, the Lions win was ugly. Our offense looked terrible (especially Kurt Warner) and without Beanie Wells we would have lost that game. But let’s take a step back and look at the big picture. For the first time in a very long time, the Cardinals are hosting playoff games in back to back years. They finally have a potential franchise running back who is starting to play at a very high level right before the playoffs start. And to top it all off, they still have a chance at a first round bye. So during this holiday season, be grateful that you have a talented football team, that your team is again a legitimate contender for the Super Bowl, that they have a proven Super Bowl winning quarterback leading your team, and that they play in the NFC West.

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The Arizona Cardinals played one of their worst games of the year. In a game that featured 7 turnovers and 11 penalties, the Cardinals did just what every sports analyst in the country said they wouldn’t do: let up against the San Francisco 49ers. The most incredible stat of the game is the 5 fumbles lost by the Cardinals. To put that into perspective, the 49ers only have 4 fumbles all year. Losing five fumbles is inexcusable, but it takes an incredible amount of bad luck to do so. Let’s just scratch this game up to a combination of bad luck, the Cardinals taking their opponent too lightly, and a 49er team that matches up very well with the Cardinals and always plays them tough. 

San Francisco 49ers: As schizophrenic as the Cardinals are, the 49ers are even more so. After losing in heart breaking fashion to Seattle, a team which lost by 27 points to the Houston Texans this past week, the 49ers physically dominated the Cardinals and outplayed them in all aspects of the game. The Niners were able to keep very slim playoff hopes alive (more on that later) while sweeping a division rival. Life is suddenly good at Niners Nation and Mike Singletary’s approval rating is through the roof. Although I’ve avoided every sports site but Revenge of the Birds since Monday night, I do know the Niners are playing the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend. The Eagles are coming off a big win against the Giants and are essentially playing a trap game. Their offense is very dependent on the big play (WR DeSean Jackson has 8 TDs of over 50 yards this season, tied for the NFL record) and the Niners defense is very good at taking away the big play. The Eagles opened the game as 6 point favorites.

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After a very intense (but fulfilling) week 13, the Arizona Cardinals find themselves atop the NFC West, a three game lead with four left to play. Maybe it was the confidence of our friends over at Niners Nation or maybe it was a product of the damage done to Cardinals fans’ psyches over the years, but many expected the Cardinals and the Niners to fight for first place in the division during the upcoming Monday Night Game. Thankfully, that is not the case. 

San Francisco 49ers: The Niners are coming off one of their worst losses of the year (from a morale standpoint). Coach Mike Singletary came into the season wanting to instill a team mentality and a sense of toughness, and he was initially very successful in doing so. The Niners started 3-1, and came within a Brett Favre Hail Mary of being undefeated after 4 weeks (with 3 division wins), but it went downhill from there. Starting with a drubbing by Atlanta, the Niners went through a 4 game losing streak and ultimately lost 6 of their next 8 games. They are now tied with Seattle for second place in the division, and barring a Cardinals collapse, are out of the playoffs. There is a little optimism now, as many of the Niners faithful are confident that Alex Smith is the quarterback of the future. However, Mike Singletary and the much maligned Jimmy Raye need to find a way to make Smith successful while also incorporating Frank Gore into the offense (Gore has averaged only 10 carries/game over the last three games). The Niners play at home against the Cardinals this week, a game where the Cards are favored by 3.

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just read bill simmons article on the sonics leaving. got me to thinking...

if clay bennet can come in and take a seattle team that got a new arena in 1995, spent 41 years in seattle, won a championship there, and is the 14th biggest market in the us... i mean what if sarver took the suns to las vegas when stern finally allows it?

i've been watching the suns for 13 years and they've made me cry twice (both for regular season games i really don't remember. the joys of being a kid). i think i would just break down and cry for an hour if this happened.