The Front Row with Mark Nelke September 12, 2010

One one side - curiousity.

On the other - expectation.

Somewhere in the middle - a clash of mediocrity.

The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks kick off the season today before some 67,000 mostly Seahawk crazies at noisy Qwest Field.

The good folks at Sports Illustrated predict the 49ers will win the NFC West. However, they pick them to win it with an 8-8 record - which means to their way of thinking, well, somebody has to win the division.

The 49ers think this is their season to win the division, apparently based on the assumption that Arizona will be much worse with Derek Anderson at quarterback than Kurt Warner. That may be, though the Cardinals still have some pretty good athletes at the other positions.

WE'LL SEE. San Francisco's defense has gotten better in recent years, mostly because the 49ers have gotten a lot of practice at it, since the offense has struggled in the past merely to avoid going three-and-out all the time. Now, the offense has the same offensive coordinator for a second consecutive year, seemingly for the first time since Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens hooked up to beat the Packers in the playoffs.

If the two rookies - one being left guard Mike Iupati from Idaho - can solidify a leaky offensive line, the 49ers have a chance. If not, quarterback Alex Smith will spend a lot of time running for his life, and throwing the ball way before he wants to.

Of course, Seahawk fans aren't feeling very sympathic toward what they consider to be their main division rival. Their Super Bowl appearance following the 2005 season seems so long ago. They've been besieged by injuries the past two years, going 9-23 over that span, and Pete Carroll is their third coach in three seasons.

Still, Qwest Field is a heckuva home field advantage, and if they can stay healthy and get anything going offensively, they could challenge for the division title. Really.

Because somebody has to win it.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.