AFC West - The Denver Broncos biggest move by far
in the offseason – their biggest move in a long, long time, in fact – was to
win the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. Now, all sorts of hype surrounds this
suddenly reenergized franchise. This is a team that entered last season with
relatively low expectations, although they did boast a relative superstar (or
is it more fair to call him a big name) in backup quarterback Tim Tebow. But
Tebow did not remain a backup for long and, perhaps as a harbinger of things to
come, the teams fortunes reversed almost as soon as Tebow took the reins at
quarterback. The team kept on winning games that they did not appear to have
any business winning. Tebow would play three bad quarters of football, and then
would come alive in the fourth, producing one miracle comeback after another,
en route to a surprise division title. It did not end there, either. The
Broncos hosted the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers, who had made it to three Super
Bowls in the previous six seasons, and Tebow managed to work his magic there, too,
throwing a touchdown pas in overtime for only the second Broncos postseason
victory since the 1998 championship season. Some people felt that Tebow was
wronged by John Elway and the Broncos, who were quick to scrap their
quarterback, who had suddenly produced some truly amazing results, in favor of
Peyton Manning. But Manning may very well be the greatest quarterback in
history, and one does not simply pass up such an opportunity. Manning will get
the freedom to run his offense, and that proved enticing. But just as enticing,
the Broncos give him a very real chance to reach another Super Bowl, most
likely. They boasted a truly elite running attack last season (although Tim
Tebow was a part of that, surely), and their defense was fairly strong. Add
an exceptional quarterback that adds a strong passing game to an already
effective running game to the equation, and seemingly overnight, the Broncos
went from a surprise division championship delivered last season, to seemingly
Super Bowl hype going into this season. Perhaps the main obstacle to success
will be the hype itself. Just ask last year's Philadelphia Eagles about that.
That is a real risk. Also, there are risks with Manning. He is no spring
chicken, being in his mid-30's, and having been out of football for a full
year. Also, what he had to overcome was a serious injury, and there are
questions about just how well he will take it when he starts to really receive
the inevitable hits and punishment. Indeed, maybe Elway and the Broncos may
come to regret this decision. That said, if this works out, then the rewards
could be enormous. Manning is a proven winner, and the Broncos then might have
a real chance at reaching the Super Bowl within the next few seasons, provided
he remains healthy. If they play their cards right, they even have a chance at
it this season. It will likely need to begin with another division title, and I
am predicting that Denver
A few years ago, the San Diego Chargers seemed just a
notch, maybe two, below the other AFC elites of the time, specifically the
Patriots, the Colts, and the Steelers, but seemed to be closing in. They had
knocked the Colts out of the playoffs in both 2007 and 2008, and had been
competitive against the others. In 2009, they seemed to finally have put al the
pieces together, collecting a 13-3 regular season record and the second overall
seed in the playoffs. They had a strong offense behind elite quarterback Philip
Rivers, and seemed on the verge of finally reaching the Super Bowl, and
providing Rivers with that much needed opportunity at a championship ring,
which would have been the final hurdle to be considered among the very, very
select elite quarterbacks. But the Chargers lost against the Jets in the
divisional round, quite unexpectedly, and this team never seemed to recover
from that. They got off to a terrible start in 2010, and although they managed
to salvage a winning record at 9-7, it was not enough to get them back to the
playoffs. Last season would have been the time to redeem themselves and send a
strong statement to the division and the rest of the league, and indeed, the
Chargers started off 4-1, looking like they were going to be good. Then they
lost a tough game to the Jets, and the season completely spiraled out of
control after that. The Chargers lost their next six games and, in effect,
removed themselves from playoff contention at 4-7. They did recover a bit,
finishing the season with a respectable 8-8 record. But the days when this team
ranked near the elite teams were seemingly done. Has that window closed on the
Chargers, or do they have it in them to get back to that level, and become a
contender once again? The answer is not that easy, as this team has become
rather unpredictable just lately. Rivers has not been himself the past couple
of seasons, but a return to form would certainly help. Make no mistake, he is
still a strong quarterback, and there is no risk of him losing the starting
job. But he has dipped a bit in recent seasons, and has not been at the elite
level of play that he formerly was at. He would need to get back to that level,
if this team will be competitive. The defense showed some ups and downs, but
there were stretches where they played rather well. If the defense plays a
little better more consistently, and Rivers rediscovers his elite quarterback
skills, the Chargers could catapult themselves back atop this division, and
possibly even be a threat to make some noise in the playoffs, as well. Whether
they do so or not is anyone's guess, but this is a tough division, with teams
already strong, or on the rise, while the Chargers may appear to be heading in
the other direction. Still, this is a talented team, and it is hard to imagine
them not being at least in second place here.
The Oakland Raiders have been on the
cusp of being a serious contender for the division title for a couple of
seasons now. Two years ago, they swept everyone in the division, although they
had a horrid 2-8 record against everyone else in the league, and so a division
title was out of reach. Last season, they improved against the rest of the
league, but only went 3-3 within the division. They need to find a happy medium
between these two tendencies, some more consistency. This is a good offense
that could compete in the league, and indeed, the Raiders have been a tough
team in the AFC West for a few seasons now. But there always seem to be things
that hold this team back. One of those things would be the defense, which was
rather weak last season, and had some horrible spells. Out of sixteen games,
they managed to keep only three opponents under 20 points, and those were
against relatively poor offensive teams (the Chicago Bears were trying to win
against the Raiders without Cutler, who had gotten injured right around then).
So, the defense absolutely needs to improve if this team realistically hopes to
field a contender for the division. Another defensive year like the last one
will likely be detrimental for Oakland
, and could return them to the depths once again. This team could easily fall
to last place this season, and it is hard to imagine them being any good
without some significant improvements on the defensive side of the ball. I like
the way the Raiders have become competitive recently, and they seem to have
potential to repeat that, as well. With Carson Palmer at the helm, it could
happen, if he returns to his formerly elite status. They did reinforce the
offensive line, but this team had some holes, and I am not sure that they
really did enough to warrant any strong measure of faith that they have any
realistic hopes at a division title, or a playoff berth.
The Kansas
City Chiefs had been bad for
a long time, when suddenly, they managed to produce a 10-6 record in 2010,
enough for a surprising division title. The Chargers, the traditionally
dominant team as of late in the AFC West, seemed to have slipped and had a bad
season. The Raiders looked great against the division opponents, going a
perfect 6-0 as they swept everybody, but it as not enough, as they finished
8-8. The Denver Broncos, meanwhile, had a terrible season. And so it was, the
Chiefs were AFC West champs then. That was the high. But reality came crashing
down when they lost in the playoffs to the far more experienced Baltimore
Ravens. Then, of course, there was last season, where Kansas City seemed to pay for their success
of the previous season. So, what happened? The main problem was on offense,
where the Chiefs ranked very near the bottom, and produced the second least
point total in the league. Only their cross-state rival Rams scored less
points. They managed 28 points in two consecutive games, but that was their
highest total all season, by far. Injuries played a significant role, including
at the pivotal position of quarterback. In 2008, quarterback Matt Cassel
stepped in capably for injured Tom Brady, and led the Patriots to an 11-5
record. So impressive was he, that several teams were interested in his services,
but the Chiefs got him. They were not very good in 2009, but then they won the
division in 2010. Last year, this team bottomed out in the division, yet their
record was not all that bad, really. Considering this team started off 0-3,
that is saying something. It could have been better, but at least the Chiefs
made themselves relevant again, following that horrible start. Many other teams
would not have been able to do that much. But one thing this team did have was
defense, which has traditionally been a strength for this franchise, as it was
last year. When the team got off to that miserable 0-3 start, they scored a
total of 27 points in those three games. That was about the point when most
people suspected that it would not be a banner year in KC, and that there was
not going to be a repeat of a division championship. Yet, they reeled in four
wins in a row, and got back into contention within the division. Then, came
another atrocious losing streak of four games, during which time, they scored a
grand total of 25 points. They were 4-7, and mostly done at that point. That
was pretty much because of their offense, which was quite inept. In the entire
second half of the season, the most critical point, the Chiefs managed to score
a total of 80 points in those final eight games. If the Chiefs hope to be
competitive this season, they obviously need more offensive production, and Cassel will need to step it up. Otherwise, this team
could find themselves in the bottom of the division yet again. The defense in Kansas City is good, but
not good enough to overcome the weaknesses of an offense that proved to be such
a liability last season.
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