NFL Divisional Breakdowns: AFC West

NFL Divisional Breakdowns: AFC West
By Jake Bailey, TheSportsStand.com (7/27/07)

With the NFL season fast approaching, it's time to preview the upcoming season by breaking down each team. This article will be the second of the eight part series brought to you by TheSportsStand.com. Article two will deal with the AFC West.

1. Denver Broncos: The Denver Broncos are coming off a very disappointing 2006 Season. They had a lot of talent and missed the playoffs. The Broncos have improved immensely this past offseason and filled a lot of the holes that were plaguing them. Throughout all this, they had to deal with problems many other teams did not. They tragic deaths of two of their players: Darrent Williams and Damien Nash. This has no doubt affected the team emotionally but I think that they will come together through this. Now let's take a look at the team. They have a young quarterback in Jay Cutler who showed flashes of brilliance last season in his few starts. The Broncos have geared him for success as well by surrounding him with strong weapons. The running game last year was not as strong as years past. Tatum Bell was a horrible back and Mike Bell was decent. Looking to improve the horrific offense of 2006, the Broncos made some moves. The Broncos picked up Travis Henry who is a perfect fit for their system. He will flourish in the one-cut and go scheme and many expect him to be the next 1,000 yard rusher of the Denver system. 1,500 yards is not an unrealistic goal either. They also added TE Daniel Graham of the Patriots and WR Brandon Stokely of the Super Bowl Champion Colts to give Cutler more weapons. Those are just additions. The Broncos still have Javon Walker who is a great receiver. They also have a young, up and coming WR in Brandon Marshall who has high expectations placed on him. Of course, the Broncos still have a great veteran in Rod Smith who, although he has lost a step or two, can be a mentor to young receivers and will continue to be a leader. On defense, the Broncos are strong. Now that they have gotten rid of Larry Coyer, who is a complete fool, the Broncos defense should really show their talent and potential. Jim Bates has a great track record and he has a lot to work with. The Broncos have the best CB in the entire league, and arguably the best ever in Champ Bailey (debate in another article of mine), a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. They attempted to fix their defensive line problems by drafting three in the NFL Draft. Time will tell to see if it will fix it, but the young prospects should perform well. They lost Al Wilson but Ian Gold and DJ Williams will keep the LB positions strong. The Denver Broncos have a lot of talent and if they can pull it together, they can win this division and even make a run for the Super Bowl.

2. San Diego Chargers: The Chargers were one of the best teams in the NFL last year and were a favorite to win the Super Bowl. They suffered a defeat to the Patriots and consequently, they fired Marty Schottenheimer. They now hired Norv Turner, who is considered by many to be a great offensive coach, but personally I'm not sure if he can be a good head coach. He has a lot to work with on a very talented Charger squad. Philip Rivers had a Pro Bowl season last year. They have, in my humble opinion, the best Tight End in the league in Antonio Gates. Also on the squad, of course, is LaDainian Tomlinson, the league's reigning MVP. LT had a record setting season last year and broke the record for most TDs in a single season. He will continue to produce and be a terror for defenses. The Chargers are quite weak at WR, however, and I see that being a weakness that could hold them back. Their defense is very talented, and are lead by Shawn Merriman who, despite missing four games, was another candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year. They have strong LBs. The question remains if they will use a 3-4 or a 4-3. Their defense might be weak because Norv Turner is not known for his defense. I don't think they will win the division, but they will absolutely get a wild card (most probably the first one). The Chargers will win the division if the Broncos stumble and do not live up to their potential. They will still be a feared team and might be involved in many shootouts...or Give It to LT-outs.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: The Kansas City Chiefs have a great O-line and the second best RB in the league in Larry Johnson. Their defense seems above average although not outstanding. They will run into a lot of problems offensively. Larry Johnson is holding out as we speak because according to the Chiefs he's asking for too much. They got rid of veteran Trent Green who did quite well with little talent at the WR position. Damon Huard did a swell job of of filling in for the injured Trent Green last year, but now teams will have film on him and I don't think he will do that well. They still have an excellent TE in Tony Gonzalez but teams will zone in on him in coverage with little respect for the weak WRs of the Chiefs. If LJ continues to hold out, the Chiefs might rely on Priest Holmes who has been injured the last few years. However, when healthy with the Chiefs, Holmes was deadly, but I don't think he can make the comeback. The Chiefs will suffer offensively and I don't expect too much. Herman Edwards is a good coach, but not a great one and I don't think that he is going to help that offense. He is good with defense, and the Chiefs defense will do pretty well, but I don't see the defense as a great one that will strike fear into offenses and opposing QBs. The Chiefs will not do great and I think they will miss the playoffs.

4. Oakland Raiders: The Oakland Raiders...what to say? They are a horrible team. I honestly did not see one positive come from the offense last year. They alienated their star receiver, played musical QBs, and pretty much shot themselves in the foot at every possible opportunity. They improved their QB situation by drafting the talented JaMarcus Russell, but he has no weapons to throw to. They have a decent RB in LaMont Jordan. The offensive line is terrible and the receivers are quite weak now that they've gotten rid of Randy Moss. Russell will be crushed by opposing defensive lines and will not have any time to throw. This might be a complete waste of a young, talented man with a lot of potential. It's quite a shame. The only positive from last year was the defense. The Raiders D played really well, surprisingly well for a post-Super Bowl loss Raiders team. The defense carried the team to a whopping two wins. It was really good, but the offense could not score any points at all. This is how I break down the season. The offense: 14 losses. The defense: 2 wins. They now have a new coach. His name is Lane Kiffin. Who? Yeah, I had the same thought. Don't expect too much, and any progress made last year will probably be lost as usual. If Al Davis continues to change coaches every other day, the Raiders will not make much progress. Maybe the Raiders will get one more win this year.

In my opinion, the teams of the AFC West are of top caliber, except of course, the Raiders. This is the strongest division in the NFL right now, and if not, it is one of. They have the two best RBs in the league, and the Denver running system which consistently produces 1,000 yard rushers (Henry might be one of the better RBs. They have good if not great defenses on all the teams. Two players from this division were nominated for Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. It's quite a talented the division and have some young talent as well. They have produced at least two playoff teams in the last few years. This is a really strong division and many will have their eyes peeled on the teams involved in this division. The divisional match-ups between all of these teams have the potential to be marquee games.

Sound off on this topic on our Messageboard