Could the 9th best team in the NFC possibly be in the playoffs?

The Cardinals took a beating this off-season and now some chump is gonna win the West. I could see the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Saints, Vikings, Packers, Pathers, and Falcons all being better than the West Champion and 3 of those teams will end up out of the playoffs in deferrence to a lousy division champion. Kinda sucks don't you think?