These two divisions are so weak that there might only be one true contender among the bunch – and it’s not even the team that I predict will go 12-4.

After the departures of Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin and Karlos Dansby from the desert, the NFC West is clearly San Francisco’s to lose. Heck, Arizona has even started trade talks about their supposed replacement for Warner, Matt Leinart. The Cardinals are going to have to try to win games with running and defence this season, and that just isn’t going to happen.

The 49ers have assembled a great defence, a sturdy offensive line and their passing attack looks to be above-average to compliment their running attack. Frank Gore is a stud, as is Patrick Willis. Vernon Davis has even started living up to his potential with coach Mike Singletary captaining this ship. Take a look at their schedule too; it’s actually believable the Niners could be the No. 1 in the NFC.

The Seahawks and Rams are both in the rebuilding mode and won’t contend, even in this terrible division. At least the building is under way and maybe these two moribund squads will be able to get back into contention after years in the dumps. And seriously, besides Steven Jackson, is there a single good fantasy player on these two teams?

Predictions:
49ers 12-4
Cardinals 6-10
Seahawks 6-10
Rams 4-12

In the AFC’s version of the slums, a perennial doormat could actually come to life this season. Of course, when you’re talking about the Oakland Raiders, expect anything, especially around draft time. This year they solidified their defence and could win a few games on that alone – especially against division opponents. They’ve even made a huge upgrade at QB with Jason Campbell coming in. He may be average on all fronts, but that’s 80% better than JaMarcus Russell.

San Diego may have a few holdouts and some new faces in key places, but this is still the powerhouse of the division we’re talking about here. Washed-up LaDainian Tomlinson to rookie Ryan Matthews should be an upgrade and the passing game shouldn’t miss Vincent Jackson too much.

Believe it or not, the Broncos actually made the Super Bowl with a 12-4 record in my recent season of Madden. Of course, that’s with a few key free agent signings and Elvis Dumervil not on the IR, but still a huge upset. At least they still have their home field advantage and can win some late-season games there in altitude.

The Chiefs are still trying to recreate their Patriots West idea, but without a stout defence or a decent offensive line, that’s not a possibility. Also, coach Todd Haley doesn’t seem so cut out for the job. Maybe he was better served as an offensive co-ordinator.

AFC West
Chargers 11-5
Raiders 8-8
Broncos 6-10
Chiefs 6-10

But, really it did happen to the Miami Dolphins’ Kendall Langford. He “forgot” to take off his bling, a 2.5 karat diamond stud earring and now it has gone missing.

He even spent hours after practice, with the help of other players, looking for the ear ring. He finally gave up when he had to leave for a meeting. Plus, the lawnmowers were coming out, meaning certain doom for that diamond.

But I’m sure he won’t be too broken up about his loss. His salary this year alone is enough to buy  ten of those ear rings.

Look around and see how many injuries there already are. Subjecting these guys to two more weeks nearly constitutes cruel and unusually punishment.

It’s a well known fact that if you’re any good or have even a somewhat key role on a team, you’re not going to be playing more than one complete game total in the pre-season. A drive here, a quarter there, maybe a whole half. It’s really nothing more than a glorified scrimmage for guys trying to make the team. So, cutting down pre-season games won’t necessarily cut down on the injuries that would no doubt be more common with an 18-game slate.

Could you imagine the fantasy ramifications as well? Leagues, more and more, would be won with waiver wire guys like Jerome Harrison and you would be lucky to have three or more guys you drafted starting for your squad at season’s end.

All sorts of records would be shattered too. It’s bad enough that a lot of passing marks are falling in this aerial attack era; now imagine two more games worth of yards and TDs. We could see three or more QBs hit 5,000 yards in 2012.

I don’t even want to think about how many yards Chris Johnson could run for, or how many receptions Wes Welker could make. Or how many interceptions Jay Cutler could throw.

Really, the only people that an 18-game schedule truly benefits is the owners, who get one more regular season home gate and two more games worth of TV money each. If this goes through, let’s get pray the poor players will be rightfully compensated.

It’s actually kind of sad that Ramirez, one of the greatest sluggers of his time, is now being passed around like a champagne bottle on New Year’s Eve. He has been on the DL three times this season and it’s clear that he has lost most of his power game. He has hit only eight home runs this season in 66 games. In comparison, two seasons ago, he hit 17 HRs in 53 games after his move to L.A.

You could blame his rash of injuries this season and the disappointing numbers on the fact he was busted for PEDs last year, but there’s no way we can say that for sure.

If anything, it will be interesting to see how Manny Ramirez and Ozzie Guillen get along. Now, that would be worth the $4 million he’s being paid for the remainder of the year.

Yes, it is “probable” that Stephen Strasburg is going to need Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. He reportedly has a significant tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, not just a strained forearm tendon like originally thought.

Could this have happened at a worse time for the Nationals? They’re finally beginning to turn their team around based on their youth. They drafted another phenom, the amazing Bryce Harper, and have a solid core coming together. They were even sitting around .500 for the longest I can remember since their move from Montreal.

So now, it looks like it’ll be another year before Strasburg is back on the hill. I hope for the sanity of Nationals fans, this team doesn’t fall apart in the off-season and undo all the good they’ve built.