2014 NFL futures betting: Breaking down the NFC West

It was just four seasons ago that the NFC West was so down in the dumps that a seven-win Seattle Seahawks team was crowned division champions and awarded a playoff spot.

Now, the division is among the best in football, with the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers establishing themselves as the class of the NFC in recent years.

Oddsmakers don't expect a Super Bowl hangover from the Seahawks, as seen in the odds comparison below.

Odds courtesy Bovada, Sports Interaction, William Hill.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks look like one of the top teams in football once again after winning the Super Bowl back in February.

The team returns many of the same faces that raised the Lombardi Trophy at MetLife Stadium. Marshawn Lynch tried for an offseason cash grab but failed and arrived at camp on time. A wise move with Christine Michael waiting in the wings. Russell Wilson loses two of his top targets in Golden Tate and a retiring Sidney Rice, but Percy Harvin is back from injury, and bigger roles for Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse are long overdue.

The Seahawk defense endured a fair bit of turnover in the offseason, but nothing that can't be overcome. The team's All-Pro safeties return to anchor a secondary that will again be the strength of the team, while Bobby Wagner leads a front seven that did a great job of making plays in the backfield last season. There's no reason to believe the unit won't remain elite.

San Francisco 49ers

Anquan Boldin had some big games which really hid how poor Colin Kaepernick's receiving options were a year ago. He'll be in for a big bounce back season with Michael Crabtree returning to full health and Stevie Johnson in tow. Frank Gore will again be the guy making the offense go, and he'll have Carlos Hyde and LaMichael James pushing him in a deeper backfield than many are giving credit for.

The offense is going to need to be better because the team's defense could be in for a regression. The linebacking corps which has been the strength of the unit for so long will be without an injured Navorro Bowman until some time after the midway point of the season, and Aldon Smith's looming suspension should keep him out a while. The situation in the secondary isn't much better. 

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals went 7-2 down the stretch last season after spending much of the early part of the season picking up Bruce Arians's complex offensive system.

The team added some beef up front in Jared Veldheer, who brings some legitimacy to an offensive line that has been terrible for a long while. That's good news for Andre Ellington, who now has a clear path to carries with Rashard Mendenhall having moved on. Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd look like they'll be one of the better receiving duos, and Carson Palmer showed last year that he still has what it takes to get the ball out to them.

The Cardinal defense took a hit right in the middle with Karlos Dansby moving on and Daryl Washington having been suspended for the season. Larry Foote and Kevin Minter will be tasked with picking up the pieces as they take over starting roles. A once dominant defensive line is aging, while Antonio Cromartie joins Patrick Peterson to form a great playmaking corner tandem.

St. Louis Rams

Sam Bradford returns, though he may not be called upon to do all that much after the team found success with its power run game once he went down a year ago. A strong offensive line only gets better with the addition of first round pick Greg Robinson. Zac Stacy and Tre Mason will combine to wear defenses down three-and-a-half yards at a time.

The Rams' defensive line has been the strength of the stop unit and gets a great boost with the addition of defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Outside of the line, the unit is rather ordinary. James Laurinaitis hasn't progressed like Rams fans had hoped he would following a standout rookie season, and the secondary doesn't have what it takes to slow elite, or even above-average, passing attacks.

Where to put your money

The Seahawks will be in tough as they look to repeat their accomplishments from a season ago, but there is just too much talent on that roster not to expect big things from the team once again, particularly with the 49ers looking down. The Seahawks at +125 on Bovada is the way to go.

More 2014 NFL futures betting articles:

AFC East | AFC North
AFC South | AFC West

NFC East | NFC North
NFC South | NFC West

Super Bowl odds | Yardage leaders odds
MVP odds | Win total odds
Super Bowl odds II