The St. Louis Rams will win the NFC West

Response to Opening Statement: I did not foresee an argument based on semantics, and do not wish to engage in such a debate. To clarify: It is my personal belief, that the Rams are the best team in the NFC West and that belief leads me to defend the resolution: The St. Louis Rams will win the NFC West. I will prove (using expert analysis, statistics, performance metrics, etc..) that the Rams are the best team in the NFC West, and with such a designation it only logically follows that they will win the NFC west. I apologize to my opponent for any confusion. I wish to engage in a debate centered on football. I would have preferred if my opponent had commented, asking for clarification, before accepting the debate. I hope (for the sake of an interesting debate) that he drops the semantic argument. C1: The Rams have the best Quarterback in the NFC West This contention relies upon the premise that success in the NFL is first and foremost, dependent on solid production from the QB position. Sam Bradford has out-produced every starting quarterback in the division. He leads the division in yards and touchdowns. The two stats that are most indicative of QB production. Experts note that one of the biggest deficiencies in the NFC West is the lack of stability at the QB position (Rams excepted) [1]. Now let’s take a look around the division at the other possible starting quarterbacks: In SEA: Tavaris Jackson: When Jackson was given an opportunity to start for the injured Brett Favre, he failed to produce. According to the experts at ESPN: “Jackson…doesn’t have the throwing accuracy or decision-making chops to be an above-average signal-caller.” [2] Charlie Whitehurst: As with Jackson, Whitehurst got an opportunity to start in the place of an often injured QB in Matt Hasselbeck: but he performed even worse than Jackson [3], resulting in his benching, in favor of an unhealthy and inconsistent Hasselbeck. [4] In AZ: Kevin Kolb: Admittedly Kevin Kolb is a highly touted prospect, but his limited body of work makes him a relatively unknown quantity. If we look at the statistics: he is a relatively mediocre passer. He threw seven touchdowns and 7 interceptions. [5] I’m willing to give him more credit, however and call him a highly touted prospect. He is going to a team with a weapon at wide receiver in Larry Fitzgerald, but he’s leaving behind a coaching scheme he knew and was comfortable with for a team where Fitzgerald is his only asset. In SF: Alex Smith: We do have quite an extensive body of work with Smith. Unfortunately, his resume is not impressive. In the only season where his playing time was not diminished by being injured or benched due to ineffectiveness. He sported 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. [6]. What do the experts at ESPN have to say about Smith? “ Smith has lost heat off his [throws] because of shoulder injuries because of shoulder injuries… [Smith is] jittery in the pocket and has never conquered the accuracy issues that have plagued him since day one… It’s not good news for the 49ers.” [7] Colin Kaepernick- Colin is young and athletic, but he has a lot to learn about a pro style offense. There is no telling whether his playing style will translate well with the 49ers, offense. In that sense he is a completely unknown quantity. The Rams also spent three of their eight picks on receiving weapons for Bradford (two wide receivers and one tight end); to supplement what the experts say was the Rams biggest weakness in the 2010 season: receivers to throw to. C2: The Rams have a solid running back in Steven Jackson who has produced year after year while the other RB’s in the division failed to produce or have a worrisome injury history Steven Jackson has rushed for at least one-thousand yards in each of the seasons in which he has been the starter. He has also proven to be a volatile weapon out of the backfield catching at least 38 passes, while recording an astounding league high for the position in 2006. Jackson also improves in ball-control skills last year, only fumbling the ball once. [8] Frank Gore of the 49ers is a great running back. He can power through an offensive line’s holes with ease and has a nose for the first down marker. He struggles with versatility allowed and generally struggles to run to the outside. He’s not a great receiver either and has a long history of nagging injuries. He and Jackson are both the same age, at 28, but Gore would appear to be more vulnerable to the injury bug because of the aforementioned history which follows him back to his college days. Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells have both struggled with injury. The success of the Arizona running attack seems to be contingent both of them working in tandem, which we do not have a large sample of because both have missed time due to injury in their respective young careers. The highlights of Marshawn Lynch’s career have been on draft day when he was drafted in the first round by the Bills and one run he made at a key moment in the playoffs last year. Other than that his skill set seems to be well below the par set by Jackson and a healthy Frank Gore. C3: The Rams have successfully remedied their biggest woes from 2010 and are still looking to improve further with moves in free agency. As mentioned earlier the Rams supplemented Sam Bradford’s receiving arsenal by drafting two young, talented wide receivers and a pass-catching tight end. They also cured an issue that plagued them last year by signing Quinton Mikell to replace former safety Craig Dahl. Conclusion: The Rams had a talented nucleus of core players like Sam Bradford and Steven Jackson to guarantee that they’ll have a great chance to score. They’ve also vastly improved their defense with the signing of Quinton Mikell. They have the offensive line to protect Bradford and Jackson for a long time. I have more to add, but I’ll rest for now as I feel I have given my opponent a lot to digest. I’m looking forward to a second round free and clear of questions regarding definitions. Fair warning: if my opponent’s argument is to be solely a resolutional critique, I will simply extend my arguments and ask voters to vote Aff; especially on the grounds of conduct. I sincerely hope that is not the case however. Thanks to my opponent for accepting this debate and thanks to my Debate.org comrades for taking time to read and eventually vote. Sources: http://www.101espn.com... http://games.espn.go.com... http://games.espn.go.com... http://sports.espn.go.com... http://www.nfl.com... http://www.nfl.com... http://games.espn.go.com... http://www.nfl.com...