TSN football analyst Chris Schultz breaks down all the teams and each division in the NFL leading up to the regular season. Next up, the Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks of the NFC West. San Francisco 49ers If you evaluate teams in terms of toughness and heart, the San Francisco 49ers are as tough and driven as any team in the NFL. They have an excellent offensive line that runs complex blocking patterns and led by Justin Smith, a defensive line that can create a pass-rush without linebackers and defensive backs. The line of scrimmage players are the strength of the team. A lot of emphasis will be put on quarterback Colin Kaepernick and as spectacular as he is and can be, he needs to improve. Surprisingly, San Francisco was the 30th-ranked football team in pass offence last season and when you consider how good the division is, that has to improve significantly to win that division. Kaepernick throws bullets and sometimes overpowers his receivers. Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Stevie Johnson with Vernon Davis give Kaepernick all he needs to improve as a complete passer. As a spontaneous or premeditated runner, I dont think he has a superior in the entire league. But to beat Seattle he has to have both skills at their best. With a new contract equal to any with his success and a fourth year pending, this could be - and should be - his best year ever. I also though the 49ers second draft pick, Carlos Hyde, was a good one. Frank Gore is in his ninth year and for a running back that is a lot. Hyde is a very similar type of back and because of his youth, he will have his opportunities. Bottom line for the 49ers is the two Seattle Seahawk games. Both are in the second half of the season - on November 27th and December 14th - so injuries and avoidance of injuries may determine everything. The recent history of success is very good for San Francisco and that is good and bad. Good in the sense that you know you can win because over the last three years the 49ers made it to the NFC championship game to lose to Seattle. They made it all the way to the Super Bowl and lost on the last play on offence 34-31 to Baltimore, and the year before lost to the Giants 20-17 in overtime. The 49ers know they are goo but do they have the energy to do it again and stay healthy all year long? The exhibition season has not been good for San Francisco so far and there are rumours that Jim Harbaugh is running out of his motivational ways. Still, this is a tough physical team in every way and is still hungry. Seattle is good but they have reached the mountain while San Francisco is still climbing. 49ers - first in the NFC West. Seattle Seahawks Even though the Seahawks lost 10 players to free agency, when you study personnel you must still conclude they have no individual weaknesses. What I find interesting when you look at the free agents that they signed is that the only well-known name is Terrelle Pryor. The other four free agents I dont recognize as previous starters to any major degree. Maybe Seattle does know something or evaluate and conclude a step better than the other 31 teams. The Seahawks are coming of not just a dominant 35-point Super Bowl victory but a dominant season. The total margin of loss in their three defeats was 15 (Colts by 4, 49ers by 2, Cardinals by 7). You can truly say Seattle showed up every single week. The goal this year is to "do it again" and with a healthy Percy Harvin they may be able to do it. But only eight of 47 previous teams have repeated as Super Bowl winners and none over the last 10 years. The confidence, composure and consistency of Russell Wilson was amazing to watch and the dominance of the secondary was the "group" reason for the teams success. They finished last year tops in total defence (273 yards per game), passing defence, (172 yards per game), points allowed (14 per game) and best takeaway/giveaway ratio (plus-20). And, the Seahawks are one if the youngest teams in all of football. I dont think Seattle will regress but I wonder if others will progress when they play Seattle now that they are the most hunted and identifiable team in the league. They will get the oppositions best each and every week. Seahawks - second in NFC West. Arizona Cardinals The toughest division in football is the NFC West. When the third place team finishes 10-6 (Arizona) and does not make the playoffs even though Green Bay in the NFC North finished 8-7-1 but had a home playoff game, youre in a tough division. And each team in the division has a great defence, with the Cardinals as good as any. Now, the loss of Darnell Dockett is significant. A very productive player and leader, it puts more emphasis on John Abraham as linebacker and defensive end to make an impact in his 15th year. The loss of Dockett is big but not insurmountable. Last year, Arizona finished number one against the run, number seven in least points allowed and number six overall. That side of the ball should still be exceptional without Karlos Dansby, but with Antonio Cromartie at cornerback and number one pick Deone Bucannon at safety. Defensively good. Offensively? Maybe. Carson Palmer begins his 12th year and Larry Fitzgerald his 11. The two oldest on the offence have to play with an absence of age for Arizona to repeat at 10-6 or better. Fitzgerald, I dont think there will be a problem; Palmer you just dont know. Last year, he had 24 touchdowns but 22 interceptions. Can Bobby Massie hold down the left tackle position? Can Jonathan Cooper live up to first round expectations? Can Micheal Floyd, first round pick from two years ago be another Larry Fitzgerald? Who will emerge as a productive tight end? Very few questions on defence, yet a lot on offence. When you look at the six losses last year for Arizona, three of them could have been wins -- opening game at St. Louis lost by three, game 12 lost in Philadelphia by 3, and the last game of the year lost to the 49ers by 3. Even the six losses can be rationalized as a positive. Only once last year did Arizona lose back-to-back games as four times after a loss it was a win. Finally, Bruce Arians seems to have a motivating effect on his players. From his days in Pittsburgh and assisting Ben Roethlisberger become what he is to his support and self-control in Indianapolis in regard to Chuck Pagano. To ask a rookie head coach creating 10 wins, you get the sense Bruce Arians knows the people side of pro football as well as any other aspect of the game. This division is going to come down to the six divisional teams when they play each other. Last year, Arizona lost to San Francisco twice, split winning one in Seattle and split with St. Louis. Going two wins and four losses. Key game to win the division is in Week 3 against San Francisco at Arizona on Sept 21. It all starts there. Cardinals - third in NFC West St. Louis Rams Amazing how things can change in one moment and one play. Sam Bradford out for the year and Shaun Hill becomes the starter for the opener against Minnesota. Shaun Hill is experienced with 12 years of NFL football but if he was better than Sam Bradford he would be the starter, so the regression is tangible. How the Rams will function in efficiency is unknown but they are in the toughest division in football so we will find out soon enough. Can the defence carry the team? Well, they do have one of the best defensive front sevens in football and maybe the best pure pass rusher in Robert Quinn but to depend on that area alone is too much to ask. The front seven is a known commodity but the secondary is not. Can Greg Williams reproduce a dominate turnover advantage as he did the year the Saints won the Super Bowl? As a coordinator, Williams is proven but to offset the inevitable of early offensive inefficiency, the Rams will have to finish plus- 15 in takeaway, giveaway and not zero as they did last year. The Rams use a running back rotation of Tre Mason, Zac Stacy, Bennie Cunningham and Isaiah Pea but it would be more beneficial if one became the number one. They do have explosiveness in Tavon Austin but can Chris Givens be similar in ability and can Kenny Britt rejuvenate his career? And more than in any year, they must stay healthy to off-set the absence of Bradford. Jake Long at left tackle, Scott Wells at centre and Rodger Saffold who plays both left and right tackle have to be 16 game starters in 2014. With heath and a good year from number one pick Greg Robinson who will probably start at guard, the Rams in front of Shaun Hill could be pretty good. Jeff Fisher and Les Snead have done a good job of collecting players but they have lost their most important one in Sam Bradford for the year. And in a division with a top defence in Seattle, a just as good defence in San Francisco and an underrated defence in Arizona that was number one against the run, it will be tough not to conclude. Rams - fourth in the NFC West Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home. Lakers Jerseys 2019 .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Los Angeles Lakers Gear . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. Los Angeles Lakers Shirts . Founding members of the Genie Army, a group of Eugenie Bouchard supporters who cheered for the rising tennis star during the Australian Open in January, will be in the city for the Rogers Cup, beginning this weekend. WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- With The King atop the pit box at Watkins Glen International, Marcos Ambrose wasnt about to disappoint. The aggressive Australian dueled early with Kyle Busch to fall off the pace in the NASCAR Nationwide race, then was flawless the rest of the way Saturday, holding off a hard-charging Busch at the end to win the race for the fourth time in his last four starts. "Its just something special. Im just so thrilled for the guys," Ambrose said. "I had my tongue hanging out the whole day. There was nothing left. I tried to hold him back. Another lap and I would have been in trouble." Ambrose raced to three straight victories at the track from 2008-2010, then missed the 2011-2013 events after failing to find a sponsor. Ambroses future in NASCAR with Richard Petty Motorsports remains in doubt, and he desperately needs a victory in Sundays Sprint Cup race to have any chance of making the Chase for the championship. "Theres a lot at stake, a lot of stuff going on in my mind," Ambrose said. "If I can repeat my performance today, Ill be happy." At least Ambrose will start from the front row alongside Jeff Gordon, so the catbird seat will be up for grabs as soon as the green flag waves. "Maybe this will give him a little more incentive," Petty said. "Hes just unreal. Hes doing his job, for dang sure." Joey Logano finished third, followed by Penske teammate and polesitter Brad Keselowski. Matt Kenseth was fifth as Sprint Cup drivers dominated on the speedy 2.45-mile road course. Points leader Chase Elliott finished sixth, Ty Dillon was eighth, and Regan Smith had a difficult race and came home 17th. That boosted Elliotts lead in the standings to 12 points over Smith and 13 over Dillon and Elliott Sadler, who was seventh. Ambrose led 48 laps of the 82-lap race for his fifth Nationwide victory, all on road courses and a series record. The race became intense early when Busch and Ambrose, who started together on the second row, tangled in the chicane, or inner loop, on the sixth lap. Busch drove inside of Ambrose entering the quick four-turn section, a move reminiscent of one Ambrose made when he stunned Busch in the same place in the 2009 event and went on to win the race. "I looked up hallfway down the back straight, he was close and he ducked out late," Ambrose said.dddddddddddd "I turned in late because I was very committed. He bumped my left rear. It wasnt intentional. He was trying to get out of the way. No harm, no foul. Just hard racing." Both spun out into a big runoff area after the contact, dropping several spots in the running order as the Penske duo of Logano and Keselowski took control. "I knew it wasnt over, thats for sure," said Ambrose, his young daughters smiling as they watched in the media centre. "The moment I spun out, I tried 110 per cent the rest of the way. It just goes to show you these races are never over. You cant quit." A decisive moment came just past the midpoint of the race. Logano pitted after Ambrose and zoomed onto the track as Ambrose came streaking by. Both ran side-by-side through the first two turns and into the uphill section until Ambrose edged ahead. "Super important," Ambrose said. "If I hadnt cleared him right there, he would have been gone. It would have been hard to pass him." "That was definitely a key moment," Logano added. "If I could have gotten out front of him there, I felt like if I got clean air and ran hard, I could gap him. It would have been close. Im not going to say I would have won the race, but if I didnt run so hard and burn off the tires, would it have been enough to beat him? I dont know." When the race restarted with 20 laps to go after the fifth caution, the four cars that began the race in the first two rows were still there, just in a different order. Ambrose cleared Logano when the green flag flew, with Busch and Keselowski right behind. Busch challenged Keselowski for third entering the chicane, and Keselowskis defensive move sent him spinning off course, grass and dirt flying as he dropped to sixth. Logano stalked Ambrose as the two front-runners pulled away from Busch by over 2 seconds as Keselowski tried to rebound from his mistake. Busch began to close, passing Logano with less than five laps to go but never got to Ambroses back bumper. "I just got caught in a bad spot early and battled back," Busch said. "I tried to chase down Marcos. A few more laps maybe, but." ' ' '