Shannon Sharpe and Boomer Esaison debate important story lines on CBS Sports' NFL post game show Sunday evening.
In case you missed it, my hometown Seahawks handled the Cowboys 27-7 this weekend behind a steady performance from Russell Wilson and a rock solid defensive effort. I immediately decided that I wanted to write something about the Hawks' victory, and while CBS didn't specifically have Seahawks content, they tipped their caps to the suddenly impressive NFC West in Will Brinson's "Sorting the Sunday Pile."
For those not familiar with the NFC West, the last few years have been rather lackluster. The Seahawks won the division in 2010 with a 7-9 record. They set a new NFL mark for being bad and still making the playoffs (although they won their first playoff game that year, thanks to the play that is now simply known as the BeastQuake).
However, after the first two weeks of the season, the division is 6-2, with just one loss to a team outside of the division (and that was the Rams, so it's kind of a given). Brinson noted the key to the division's early success is its ascent as possibly the best defensive division in football. San Francisco have arguably the best defense in the NFL, while Seattle's young defense has limitless potential, and Arizona and St. Louis boast much improved units as well.
Brinson talked about the impressive 4-0 weekend the division posted. All four teams notched wins over pretty solid teams. The most shocking of the four wins came Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, when the Cardinals shocked the Patriots 20-18. The Rams also played above expectations, slowing the RGIII hype train with a win over the Redskins.
Brinson didn't totally swoon over the division however, as he criticized the Seahawks poor receiving core (don't even get me started) and pretty much the entire offense of the Cardinals besides Larry Fitzgerald. But the fact is that the NFC West is legit this year, and it was good to see the perennially unheralded division get some national credit.
(Here's a bonus clip of Cowboys middle linebacker Sean Lee getting blown up by Seahawks receiver Golden Tate)
For those not familiar with the NFC West, the last few years have been rather lackluster. The Seahawks won the division in 2010 with a 7-9 record. They set a new NFL mark for being bad and still making the playoffs (although they won their first playoff game that year, thanks to the play that is now simply known as the BeastQuake).
However, after the first two weeks of the season, the division is 6-2, with just one loss to a team outside of the division (and that was the Rams, so it's kind of a given). Brinson noted the key to the division's early success is its ascent as possibly the best defensive division in football. San Francisco have arguably the best defense in the NFL, while Seattle's young defense has limitless potential, and Arizona and St. Louis boast much improved units as well.
Brinson talked about the impressive 4-0 weekend the division posted. All four teams notched wins over pretty solid teams. The most shocking of the four wins came Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, when the Cardinals shocked the Patriots 20-18. The Rams also played above expectations, slowing the RGIII hype train with a win over the Redskins.
Brinson didn't totally swoon over the division however, as he criticized the Seahawks poor receiving core (don't even get me started) and pretty much the entire offense of the Cardinals besides Larry Fitzgerald. But the fact is that the NFC West is legit this year, and it was good to see the perennially unheralded division get some national credit.
(Here's a bonus clip of Cowboys middle linebacker Sean Lee getting blown up by Seahawks receiver Golden Tate)
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