How Anquan Boldin will affect 49ers, NFC West

As some of you have heard, Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin has given agent Drew Rosenhaus the boot. After failing to secure a new contract or a trade from the Conference Champions, Boldin now will try to find a new agent to help him with his desire to get out of Arizona.

This should be interesting seeing that Boldin looks extremely serious about finding a new home as soon as possible. Since the Cardinals haven't budged in giving Boldin a new contract (whereas they've loaded lots of money for teammates Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner), Boldin's desire to be traded could come true soon.

And if Boldin does end up on the go, the NFC West title might just be a little bit easier to attain-- at least that's what it would look like on paper.

The Cardinals rode the success of a great offense last year to make it all the way the Super Bowl. The team featured three 1,000-yard receiving wide outs and the blossoming of Fitzgerald have allowed the Cardinals to become contenders to win the division title again this year. But with Boldin out out the picture, defenses can focus more on Fitzgerald. And I don't think Steve Breaston can match up to what Boldin has been for the Cardinals all his career.

With Boldin's departure more likely to happen, the rest of the division will surely be happy about the impending trade. This move could and should put the Cardinals back to middle of the pack and the division title for them is not a shoe-in as some people have predicted.

The Seahawks and 49ers are clear contenders for the division title as well. The Hawks, if they have a healthy Matt Hasselbeck, could put up a lot of points-- especially with newly acquired TJ Houshmandzadeh. The running game could very well be as effective with Julius Jones' style of running. The defense for the Seahawks has always been solid and I would expect rookie LB Aaron Curry to be a beast.

As the Boldin trade holds on longer and longer, the best the Cardinals might get in return could just be future draft picks. With no immediate impact for the Cardinals, the 49ers should definitely take advantage of the opportunity.

After signing veteran cornerback Dre Bly, I would expect him to win the starting job and play alongside Nate Clements. That isn't a bad secondary. Michael Lewis has always been a solid tackler and free safety Dashon Goldson has looked very good in the OTA sessions.

For the two games the 49ers will have against the Cardinals, the 49ers secondary will have their hands full. Last season, the 49ers held the Cardinals wide receivers in check. The receivers still had solid games, but none of the catches burned the 49ers. The teams split the two games. The Cards swept the series. (My mistake, I was thinking 2007 for some reason).

This year, the Cardinals might have to fix up their pass attack with Boldin likely out of the picture. I actually believe that the 49ers secondary could be stronger than last year. The 49ers defense played much better down the stretch last year and I hope that they can continue that going into this season.

If the 49ers can win four or five of their division games, they are giving themselves a great opportunity to take the division crown. And with Boldin playing somewhere else, the road to sweeping the Cardinals might just be a little easier.

At least that what it would look like on paper. The Cardinals can still become a dangerous offense the 49ers still have a lot to do in terms of gelling on offense. But there could be a better chance for the 49ers to take the division title if Boldin does eventually get traded.