The Seahawks easily won the NFC West division for the fourth straight year last season. However, Seattle won the division almost by default, because everyone else was so bad. Will this finally be the season someone once again gives Seattle a run for the division crown?

Odds to win the NFC West

Seattle Seahawks Odds

The Seahawks won another West division title last season behind a strong offense and an underrated defense. Matt Hasselbeck returns at quarterback after putting up the best numbers of his career last year.

Hasselbeck has been slowed by a bad back during the preseason, but Seattle is hoping he'll be back to 100 percent for the regular season. The Seahawks cut ties with former MVP running back Shaun Alexander after another dreadful season, and Julius Jones was signed to take his place.

Seattle has a deep receiving corps, but they'll start the season shorthanded with Bobby Engram out until October with a broken shoulder and Deion Branch rehabbing from offseason knee surgery. Hasselbeck will have to rely heavily on Nate Burleson early on in the season as a result.

At , the Seahawks are a -135 favorite to win the NFC West, while they're a +1000 underdog to win the NFC.

Arizona Cardinals Odds

The Cardinals showed some improvement last season but still only reached the .500 mark at 8-8. Matt Leinart has been named the starting quarterback heading into this season, but he'll have Kurt Warner waiting in the wings again if he struggles.

Leinart's poor play last season forced him to split time with Warner before he broke his collarbone and missed the Cardinals' last 11 games. Whoever does start at QB will have a solid tandem to throw to in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

That is, unless the Cardinals follow through on Boldin's demand to be traded. Edgerrin James will carry the load for the Arizona running game, which hasn't seen much improvement since he arrived two years ago. For the Cardinals to truly contend they'll need their defense to finally emerge from among the league's lower-tier squads.

The oddsmakers have listed Arizona as a +250 underdog in the division, while their win total has been set at 8.

San Francisco 49ers Odds

The 49ers were supposed to be a team on the rise last season, but instead they stumbled to a 5-11 record. QB Alex Smith was hampered by injuries all season long, and he may have lost his starting job to J.T. O'Sullivan.

No matter who ends up behind center the 49ers are expected to pass more with Mike Martz running the offense. Frank Gore's season was one to forget as injuries limited him to just over 1100 yards and only three touchdowns. San Francisco completely retooled their receiver corps, hoping some experience in the form of Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson will work wonders for their crew of young QBs.

Patrick Willis was a pleasant surprise on defense as a rookie last season, and the 49ers defense appears to be headed in the right direction. The 49ers still have a ways to go, though, and are a +750 underdog in the division at .

St. Louis Rams Odds

Injuries completely derailed the Rams' season last year, as they were one of the league's biggest disappointments at 3-13. A variety of injuries forced Marc Bulger in-and-out of the lineup, and even when he did play he struggled behind a thin offensive line and an offensive unit that was consistently depleted due to injury.

Steven Jackson also had his season shortened by injury, and he's coming off a short preseason after missing all of training camp while holding out for a new contract. Longtime Rams standout Bruce finally flew the coop, but Tory Holt is still around and coming off another 1000-yard receiving season.

Bruce's spot will be filled by Drew Bennett, who had an adequate first season in St. Louis last year. The Rams' defense was shredded constantly last season and allowed the second-most points in the league. With little done to correct that it could be much of the same this season.

At , the Rams are a +550 underdog in the division, and their win total was bumped up to 6.5. You can also bump your signup bonus 145% at - click here for details on padding your account [1].