One of just two divisions that featured fewer than two teams with winning records in 2002, the NFC West nonetheless includes three franchises that should be viable playoff contenders this season, but only if they reduce their collective largesse.

Just one division, the NFC North, permitted more aggregate scoring in 2002 than did the NFC West, whose four teams surrendered an average of 376.5 points. Three of the teams finished in the bottom third in points allowed and the San Francisco 49ers finished 18th in scoring defense.

Little wonder the coaches in the division get the point that, to be a legitimate threat to advance deep into postseason, they've got to give up far fewer points than they did a year ago. Charity is an admirable commodity to possess but, when it comes to defense at any level, a giving mood is characteristically a disastrous mode.

	Mike Martz's Rams got off to an 0-5 start last season.

"Everyone worries about our offense, where our points will come from, but we have got to stop people (defensively) and make that our biggest priority," said Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis, whose team allowed 417 points, fourth-most in the NFL, in '02. "If you can't play defense, and it goes beyond just the statistical rankings, then you are going to be in trouble."

Indeed, in a league where a team's statistical ranking is typically the number most often scrutinized, the bottom line remains the scoreboard. And in the NFC West, San Francisco was the only team in 2002 that outscored its opponents, and even that was by a minuscule margin of just one point per game.

All four teams allowed 350 points or more and the average for the division was nearly 9 percent above the league's mean standard. Just two players in the division recorded 10 or more sacks, only two posted more than four interceptions and the combined differential on takeaways and giveaways was a minus-17.

In terms of third-down efficiency, only the St. Louis Rams ranked outside the bottom one-fourth of the NFL, and San Francisco (46.9 percent) and Seattle (46.5 percent) were the league's two worst teams in knocking an opposition offense off the field.

But even those numbers don't adequately or graphically detail just how porous the NFC West franchises were in 2002, or accentuate the communal need to improve in '03 or face another year with just one playoff entry from the division. Outside of the Cardinals, who were ranked 29th in both statistical offense and scoring offense, the NFC West clubs all are potent enough to put up points in bunches.

It's the other half of the equation that is more critical to their postseason aspirations.

The 49ers, even with a coaching change, still have an offense with enough playmakers, and under Dennis Erickson will throw the ball vertically more in 2003. Assuming that Kurt Warner is sufficiently ambulatory, St. Louis, even if not as explosive as a couple years ago, can yet turn the scoreboard into a telethon toteboard. And Seattle showed in the second half of the 2002 season, with Matt Hasselbeck finally stepping up, that it is capable of regularly moving the ball.

But while those offenses sizzle, their defenses too often fizzle, and therein lies a major problem that must be rectified. In 2002, NFC West teams permitted 30 points or more on 18 occasions, and 40-plus points three times.

"You're just not going to make a living in this league, not week in and week out, trying to outscore people," said St. Louis coach Mike Martz. "It's not going to happen. We know that and we know we have to change some things."

Perhaps the most intriguing change in the division is the Seahawks' addition of veteran defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes, whose presence alone is enough to serve as a catalyst for improvement. Seattle selected cornerback Marcus Trufant in the first round and, with the quantum improvement of second-year veteran Ken Lucas in 2002, the Seahawks may have a solid pair of young, shutdown-type cover guys.

The Seahawks also added end Chike Okeafor and tackle Norman Hand upfront, but still need to identify a capable middle linebacker.

In a somewhat surprising, but lauded move, Erickson retained coordinator Jim Mora Jr., and the continuity inherent in that decision hopefully will pay off for the 49ers. This is a team, however, that didn't add many personnel pieces to the puzzle, lacks a pass rusher beyond Andre Carter, and will have to improve internally.

	“	(If) we hold teams to 20 points, and that isn't asking much, we'll win most games. We're going to score points. The second half of the year showed how (productive) our offense can be.”
		—An unnamed Seahawks veteran

The Rams skewed their draft toward defense, completely revamped the linebacker corps and used a first-round choice on tackle Jimmy Kennedy. Arizona, which has but 65 sacks over the past three seasons, hopes first-round end Calvin Pace can pair with Kyle Vanden Bosch to provide some upfield pressure, but still has some holes to address.

Then again, so does everyone else to some extent, in a division where defense seemed to be just an afterthought in 2002.

The six NFC playoff entries in 2002 permitted an average of just 284.3 points and only Atlanta and San Francisco surrendered more than 300 points. Just getting to the average would almost certainly make the Niners, Seahawks and Rams contenders in 2003. Then again, sometimes being only mediocre is a difficult benchmark to achieve, particularly when a team is starting from so far behind.

Offenses are so good in the division, though, that the defenses don't have to be great. And that's a fact that isn't lost on some NFC West players.

"(If) we hold teams to 20 points, and that isn't asking much, we'll win most games," insisted one Seattle veteran. "We're going to score points. The second half of the year showed how (productive) our offense can be. But we've got to keep the other guys out of the end zone, you know, and I think we can surprise some people."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.