By Zack Cimini

Take a look around the NFL and one division stands out. It is not because of great play either, it’s because of how embarrassing and degrading the division looks to represent the NFL. Two years ago when the NFL’s new realignment kicked in, this division arguably looked like one of the best from top to bottom. To make things worse the division winner could end up being 8-8.

The NFC West features the Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and San Francisco 49ers. Scratch off the 49ers due to poor decisions by the front office. There downfall was coming anyways, as they’ve had their fair share of years as a dominant franchise. So that leaves the Seahawks at 6-5, Rams at 5-6, and Cardinals at 4-7 to try and snag the division.

You would think the division winner would end up one round and out in the playoffs, but then again we’re talking about the NFC this year. Philadelphia and Atlanta have all but secured home field, but Atlanta could be vulnerable to an upset. A team like Seattle or St. Louis would be an awfully scary match up for the Falcons, even though they’ve played well all season.

With five games left, let’s break down the three hopeful division winners.

Seattle is the front runner right now at 6-5, and should be three to four games ahead of anyone in their division. But they’ve struggled defensively, and the offense hasn’t been as powerful as it was earlier in the year. That’s not because of Shaun Alexander either, as he continues to have a quiet monster year. Matt Hasselbeck just hasn’t had enough sometimes to give them the win. The good thing for Seattle is a lot of their losses have been close. The bad news for Seattle is that they have the toughest remaining schedule out of their division counterparts. They face Dallas on MNF, Minnesota, the Jets, Cardinals, and Falcons. With the way they’ve been playing they will be lucky to win two to three games. But they could snap out of their funk starting this week, and play the football that they’re capable of. Basically for Seattle it comes down to if they really want it. We will soon find out starting on national television Monday night.

A change is definitely needed in St. Louis, and it is bound to happen at the end of this season. The Rams are 5-6, and must win their next three games to even have a murmur of chance. They play San Francisco, Carolina, and Arizona in those three games, and a playoff team should win those easily. If they can’t win those, then their record percentage will falter even more in the last two weeks against the Eagles and Jets.

Down in Arizona we’ll have to see how John Navarre plays this weekend. If he plays well, then Arizona has the best shot out of the three teams. The odds on that happening though are as slim as the Panthers getting a shot at returning to the Super Bowl. Navarre is a rookie seventh round draft pick, that’s debut should be seven times as bad as Eli Manning’s. When the Cardinals end up finishing with six or seven wins, Dennis Green can blame no one except himself. He is the one that praised Josh McCown, and decided not to go out and pick up a solid veteran quarterback. Their defense has played well enough this year, to have a few extra wins under their belt. Out of their four wins, two of them have come from Seattle and St. Louis. In their remaining five games, they’ll have to play both of them again. The Cardinals are just too inexperienced right now to take on the Rams or Seahawks. With a few right moves in the off-season though, they should come in as the front-runner.

In the end you’d have to think the Seahawks have the best opportunity. In September they were Super Bowl favorites with the way they were playing. They still have that same talent, and will have the best running back in the NFC once the playoffs come. That’s always a key in succeeding because you can control the clock, and get your team into that playoff rhythm.