People From NFC West Who Need to Step Up This Season
The 2021 season is less than a month away, and the NFC West is arguably the toughest division where all the four teams can make the playoffs. Let us look at some of the key individuals who need to step up this season.
49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
He is probably the quarterback most discussed during the 2021 preseason. Even Mathew Stafford's trade to the Los Angeles Rams did not last long in the news circles. Throughout the offseason, head coach Kyle Shanahan dropped too many hints to the public that he is desperate to move away from Garoppolo.
Since the beginning of training camp, the 49ers seem to be locked on the Garoppolo as their starting quarterback. The narrative from the training camp is that he has had the best performance so far. It doesn't matter how much the 49ers play around with the description to pump the value; Garoppolo needs a solid season behind him. If he gets to start Week 1 as announced, the performance should justify it. A season similar to 2019 is not enough. Garoppolo cannot let the team around him carry the bulk of the weight. Instead, he must step up to justify that he is worth 27 million dollars as a starter. This season will decide his future as an NFL quarterback.
What Garoppolo should achieve in 2021
- Keep his starting job without conceding to Trey Lance.
- Minimum 4,000 yards passing with a touchdown-to-interception ratio better than 2.5:1.
- Lead the team to the playoffs.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford
The 33-year-old quarterback made the headlines when Rams coach Sean Mcvay pulled the trigger to trade Jared Goff to Lions. Stafford is a veteran who has never won a playoff game in his three attempts so far. And in a recent interview with Grant Cohn, 49ers safety Jimmie Ward questioned the reasoning behind this trade, pointing to the fact that Jared Goff has been to a Super Bowl. The conventional argument is Stafford never had a reliable team around him. In comparison, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson continue to guide their teams almost every season to the playoffs. So Stafford needs to prove that the Rams made the accurate decision by trading the quarterback who already made it to the Super Bowl.
What Stafford should achieve in 2021
- Take Rams to playoffs with 10-plus wins.
- Win the NFC West division.
- NFC Championship game appearance.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury
Kingsbury is the second-oldest coach after Pete Carroll in the NFC West, and 2021 will be his third season as the head coach of the Cardinals. In 2020, his team missed a golden opportunity to make the playoffs when they lost to the injury-depleted 49ers. There should not be any excuse for the third-year coach not to make it to the playoffs now. With the addition of players such as J.J. Watt and A.J. Green, the Cardinals have strengthened their squad. Kingsbury should make the best out of Kyler Murray's rookie contract years.
What Kingsbury should achieve in 2021
- Record of 10-7 or better.
- Make it to the playoffs.
- Resolve the contract issues with Chandler Jones.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan
It is challenging to write an article related to the 49ers without mentioning Shanahan. Heading into his fifth season as a head coach, Shanahan has only one winning season and a 31–36 record. It is hard to believe a gifted offensive mind such as him would struggle with consistency. While 49ers have had injuries through his regime, it should not be considered an excuse since some of the players drafted are highly questionable. Still, it is way too early to label him as a failure. We need to remember Bill Belichick started his head coaching career with a record of 41-55. There is plenty of time to correct the course for Shanahan, who already lost two Super Bowls with fourth-quarter leads.
What Shanahan should achieve in 2021
- Minimum 10 wins during the regular season.
- Top 3 finish in NFC West.
- Make it to the playoffs.
- Resolve starting quarterback position.
- Address why the 49ers are highly injury-prone.
