The AFC West has one of the most dangerous divisions in the league. The Broncos are loaded, and seem poised to have another strong season, under the leadership of veteran Peyton Manning, who truly is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The Chiefs are going in the right direction, as they seem to be improving. The Chargers used to really be something, but seem to have dropped off quite a bit in recent seasons. And the Raiders? Well, it's hard to see why they do not get better results. But then again, it's also hard to see them getting much better results this season.
In the AFC South, the Houston Texans still should rule, and the Colts should still firmly be in second place. The Titans show glimpses, but they probably do not have enough to sustain it for a truly strong season. And as for the Jaguars? Well, they almost seem predestined to be a cellar dweller. So, the AFC South should be a two team race between the Texans and the Colts, and they might appear like a tag team at times, beating up on their two weaker division opponents. But they will be eyeing one another for the division title, which I think Houston will hold onto, at least for this coming season.
AFC South
Houston Texans - Man, the Texans looked good for a while there, didn't they? They started off 5-0, one of the last remaining undefeated teams in the league. They raced out to an 11-1 start, and seemed to be a shoe in for home field advantage, with a comfortable lead over the other AFC contenders. Then, they had a dreadful, nationally televised game at Foxboro. Of course, that is a tough place to play, we all know that. But the Texans got destroyed, and looked horrendous in losing, 42-14. they never fully recovered, either. They had looked like one of the most dominant teams in recent years before that loss to New England. But after that, they lost three of four, just winning against the Colts to secure the division title by what ended up being a surprisingly close margin. They did win one playoff game, against the Bengals once again. But that was in the Wild Card round, after the Texans had, rather inexplicably, missed out on a playoff bye. And the next opponent? Fittingly, it was against the New England Patriots, the team that has caused all of the problems for Houston. If the Texans could recover and make a game out of it, they would prove a lot of doubters wrong. Instead, they allowed the Patriots to score 42 points against the once vaunted Houston defense, and got blown out again, as the season ended for the Texans, rather fittingly, at Foxboro. Schaub is a solid quarterback, and the offense looks solid overall, although there are concerns with the health of running back Foster. The defense still obviously has talent, but one wonders if they will get burned once again when they have to play one of the more explosive offenses in the league. Houston has some very tough games on their schedule, and that includes early in the season. Another red hot start is unlikely, as they play some really hard tests on the road against San Francisco and Baltimore, the two Super Bowl teams last season. They have another road game late in the season against the Colts, and have to play the Patriots, the Broncos, and the Seahawks. They should be a good enough team to be considered a serious contender, but I look at that schedule, and look at last season's collapse, and to be frank, I don't like what I see. This is certainly a good enough team to qualify for the playoffs. After that? Well, I don't see them going too far, honestly. Then again, stranger things have happened, right?
Indianapolis Colts - Well, Luck was definitely on the side of the Colts last season, wasn't it? (Sorry). The new quarterback prodigy, who is supposed to be a once in a generation caliber quarterback, showed tremendous promise in his debut season, leading the Colts to a surprising 11-5 mark, good enough for the playoffs. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Ravens in the playoffs, and the offense did not look too hot there. Still, last season can be viewed as nothing but a success for a suddenly young and exciting, upcoming team that was coming off a horrific 2-14 season just a year before. So, things are looking up for the Colts. They have an improved, young team, and bright days appear to be ahead. But the Texans are likely still the top dogs in this division, so the Colts would do well just to make it back to the playoffs. It will not be easy for the Colts, either. Paying the price for the success they enjoyed last season, they have a very tough schedule this year, which includes road games at Houston (obviously), Cincinnati, and San Francisco, as well as home games against Seattle, Denver, and of course, Houston again. So, this will be a challenging season. But Luck could be even better this year, with a year of NFL experience under his belt. And if they take a couple or so of those games mentioned, and remain healthy, focused, and do what they should do with the rest of their schedule, this should definitely be a playoff contender.
Tennessee Titans - The Tennessee Titans wanted Peyton Manning last offseason. On the surface, he might have seemed a good fit, there, as well. After all, he would stay within the same division as the Colts, and there was that familiarity with the other teams within the division. Also, he would be ending his career in Tennessee, where he played college football before being drafted into the NFL. So, maybe it could be seen as him coming around full circle. But, as we know, the Titans did not get him. And probably, there was a good reason for this. Manning knew something. The Titans were more or less a middle of the pack team offensively last season, but of course, they did not have Manning. Yet, that was not as much of a problem as their defense, which was rated worst in the league. They were horrendous against the pass, and marginally better against the run. This was a team that was not likely to contend, and that is probably why Manning opted for Denver instead of Tennessee. As for this season, it would take another "Music City Miracle" for this team to be a playoff contender. I just don't see it happening. There are just too many holes to fill.
Jacksonville Jaguars - This is a bad team. They appear to be in a disarray. The biggest news they seem to make concern the potential move to Los Angeles, a far bigger market than the small market that they presently reside in. The reason that is the big news is that the Jaguars themselves are a terrible team, perhaps the worst in the NFL. No one expects too much from this team, because they do not give anyone any justification for high expectations. No huge moves to become more competitive. No awesome drafts for this team. Nothing to indicate that they will be anything but what they have now long been - a mediocre team on the wrong end of the highlight reels. This is the consummate background franchise here.
AFC West
Denver Broncos - This is the cream of the crop of the AFC West. Behind legendary quarterback Peyton Manning, the offense is one of the most potent in the league, and provided Manning can remain healthy throughout the season, this alone should make the Denver Broncos a serious contender, and the likely division champions when the season ends. They also have a defense that should hold up, and was considered, not long ago, one of the better defenses in the league. Of course, what most people remember right now was that the Denver defense allowed a long bomb touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tie up a game that seemed won. Obviously, the Broncos ended up losing that playoff game, and going home and hitting the golf courses much earlier than they wanted or expected to. That was a major problem last season, because this was a great regular season team that simply could not follow up when it counted the most, which reminded me personally of some other seasons in the past history of this franchise, like in 1983 and 1996. The good thing about those past failures for the Broncos was that they wound up qualifying for the Super Bowl not long thereafter, even making it there and winning their first ever championship the very next season following the early exit against Jacksonville in the 1996-97 season. This is a team that is a serious Super Bowl contender, too. The problem is that anything less than that would likely be considered a disappointment.
San Diego Chargers - Remember when Phillip Rivers was one of the truly elite quarterbacks in the league, and the Chargers were a perennial contender? Well, those days are gone. The Chargers seem like they should be better. But this is an aging team, and they have not been able to put it together now for a couple of seasons in a row. For the second season in a row, they looked decent last year, racing off to a 3-1 start. But they lost a tough game at New Orleans, and that began a long and embarrassing fall for this team, where they lost seven games in an eight game span, effectively knocking them out of the playoff hunt well before December came around. They were able to turn it around somewhat at the end, wining three out of the last four games, just as they had to start the season. But this team has had some significant problems last season, which includes Rivers not being the quarterback that he once was. If Rivers simply is experiencing a slump, then they might still have realistic hopes for a turnaround, and possibly a return to the playoffs. But if he is genuinely in decline in his career, you can't expect San Diego to truly be able to do much of anything this season. The defense seems to be holding up, at least statistically. But if the offense, and particularly Rivers, cannot get into gear, the season will likely be over for them before it ever really begins.
Kansas City Chiefs - Andy Reed got much of the blame for the fiasco that was the Philadelphia Eagles last season. But people forget that this is an excellent coach, one of the elites in terms of longevity and accomplishments since he took over for the Eagles in 2000. I don't know that the Chiefs could have done much better than Andy Reed This is a guy who could get the Chiefs to contend in a relative hurry. Of course, Kansas City has not been a great team as of late. Their defense was weak last season, showing vulnerabilities far too often. But that was nothing in comparison to their offense, which was rated the worst in the league last season. They scored a total of 211 points last season - worst in the league. Jamaal Charles still stands out as a solid running back, but the overall offense just does not have much right now. Again, this team has problems. I expect the Chiefs to begin a significant turnaround under Reid, a coach that I have always had respect for. It just might not happen right away, and it's hard for me to see them turning it all around quickly enough to turn this season from water to wine. No miracles in KC this season.
Oakland Raiders - A commitment to excellence. The Raiders once truly represented that, winning three titles in an eight year span. But that was a long time ago. They had a wonderful era with an explosive offense loaded with talent in the early 2000's, culminating in a Super Bowl appearance, in which they were favored. But they got blown out in that game against Tampa Bay, and they never really recovered. This is a team that should be loaded with talent, having drafted quite high for many seasons now. Yet, they seem to perennially be one of those struggling teams, and they hardly can be considered favorite to even qualify for the playoffs, or even to make a serious run for the postseason. They are in a division with the elite Broncos, a Chargers team that can still be tough, and which swept the Raiders last season, and an improving Chiefs team. It's hard to see why anyone should have a lot of faith in a significant turnaround for the silver and black this season.
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